Wednesday, August 16, 2006
A Simple Analogy
A simple Analogy to think about.
by Michael Medvig
Owner/Founder
M Factor Fitness
http://www.mfactorfitness.com
There is nothing like a good analogy to get a point across. If you have been thinking about getting back in shape and have been hedging, please read the following carefully.
Have you ever had the opportunity to own a really nice car? I mean one you dream about? What if, by chance, you finally get that car. What are you going to do with it? You have to make a conscious decision. Either you perform the maintenance or you don't.
If you do, then it will take some time and effort. It will also cost you money. Not repair money but money spent to prevent future repairs. This is a concept some people just don't get. It requires discipline.
" I am going to wait another couple thousand miles before changing my oil. What difference will a few thousand miles make?"
"My manual says I need 91 octane but that is too expensive. Gas is gas. I would rather save a few dollars every fill up. That makes sense."
"Factory recommended scheduled maintenance is for suckers. Pure profit for the dealer. My car seems to drive fine, why bother."
"Yeah, my tires are getting a little bald. Okay, they are bald but I am going to wait until spring time when they have all the tire sales."
" I don't have time to wash the car. It is too hot. Besides, it is supposed to rain later. That will wash everything off."
Now, we all know what is going to happen to this car. As it starts breaking down are you going to say,
A: " I probably should have done a better job keeping this car up."
B: " What a piece of crap. I will never buy one of these again!"
The point here is that little things we do or don't do in life tend to add up. Sometimes you get lucky and it is only repairs, sometimes it results in a crash.
The same rule holds true in fitness. You are probably going to live until you are 80. Your choice is whether it is going to be a healthy vibrant 80 or a slow, painful 80.
To keep the car analogy in mind, you need to watch out for the things you are doing to sabotage your efforts. The following tips are very basic fundamental rules to live by.
1. Your body needs water to help regulate your organs and flush out toxins. Slow down on sodas.
2. Soda leeches calcium from your bones, so if you have osteoporosis in your family, cut out all sodas.
3. You want to work up a sweat every day. Sweating means you are raising your core temperature. This helps expel toxins via the skin and the heat kills bacteria and viruses.
4. If you are going to eat bad, at least take a vitamin with it.
5. Use it or lose it. You need to find some form of exercise or sport that will help you with:
by Michael Medvig
Owner/Founder
M Factor Fitness
http://www.mfactorfitness.com
There is nothing like a good analogy to get a point across. If you have been thinking about getting back in shape and have been hedging, please read the following carefully.
Have you ever had the opportunity to own a really nice car? I mean one you dream about? What if, by chance, you finally get that car. What are you going to do with it? You have to make a conscious decision. Either you perform the maintenance or you don't.
If you do, then it will take some time and effort. It will also cost you money. Not repair money but money spent to prevent future repairs. This is a concept some people just don't get. It requires discipline.
" I am going to wait another couple thousand miles before changing my oil. What difference will a few thousand miles make?"
"My manual says I need 91 octane but that is too expensive. Gas is gas. I would rather save a few dollars every fill up. That makes sense."
"Factory recommended scheduled maintenance is for suckers. Pure profit for the dealer. My car seems to drive fine, why bother."
"Yeah, my tires are getting a little bald. Okay, they are bald but I am going to wait until spring time when they have all the tire sales."
" I don't have time to wash the car. It is too hot. Besides, it is supposed to rain later. That will wash everything off."
Now, we all know what is going to happen to this car. As it starts breaking down are you going to say,
A: " I probably should have done a better job keeping this car up."
B: " What a piece of crap. I will never buy one of these again!"
The point here is that little things we do or don't do in life tend to add up. Sometimes you get lucky and it is only repairs, sometimes it results in a crash.
The same rule holds true in fitness. You are probably going to live until you are 80. Your choice is whether it is going to be a healthy vibrant 80 or a slow, painful 80.
To keep the car analogy in mind, you need to watch out for the things you are doing to sabotage your efforts. The following tips are very basic fundamental rules to live by.
1. Your body needs water to help regulate your organs and flush out toxins. Slow down on sodas.
2. Soda leeches calcium from your bones, so if you have osteoporosis in your family, cut out all sodas.
3. You want to work up a sweat every day. Sweating means you are raising your core temperature. This helps expel toxins via the skin and the heat kills bacteria and viruses.
4. If you are going to eat bad, at least take a vitamin with it.
5. Use it or lose it. You need to find some form of exercise or sport that will help you with:
- Flexibility
- Cardio
- Muscle tone
6. One of the best way to prevent osteoporosis is to stimulate the bone cells by stressing them. Lifting weights is a great way to do that. Walking is not.
7. Invest in annual check-ups. If something is going to go wrong, better to catch it earlier than later.
8. Don't miss workouts because you are tired and don't shortcut your sleep for extended periods.
9. If you really need to make a change, commit to it. Hiring a personal trainer is the fastest, safest way to do it. In the long run it is also the cheapest.
10. Most important of all. We are all born with bodies that are extremely adaptable. No matter what your situation is, no matter how badly you have abused your body, no matter how hopeless things may seem, you can change.
Yours in fitness,
Michael Medvig
Owner/Founder
M Factor Fitness
http://www.mfactorfitness.com
P.S. You can use or copy this article but please make sure you include my name and website.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Line in the Sand
Line in the sand.
Do you guys know where this term comes from? I have to tell you I just love this term. It comes from the Alamo where they drew a line in the sand. Basically people had two choices. Run away from the upcoming battle and live the rest of your life in shame or cross the line and decide to stay and fight.
Maybe this is just my Texas roots talking, but I love stories about people drawing a line in the sand. It pumps me up. I am not talking about someone who's cousin invented this or did this. Those are pretty good too but I am talking about the person who wakes up one day and says, " I am not going to live this way any longer. Whatever happens will happen but today I am a new person!" As Les Brown said, " There is genius in Boldness".
Man, do you feel the power in that?
As someone outside the business, you may think personal trainers kind of run on auto pilot. Maybe because we are in the health field that it all gets mundane and we hear our client's say the same stuff over and over again.
I assure you , my friend, you could not be farther from the truth. Nothing geeks me up for the day as when someone comes to me and says, " I need to make a change in my life." To me that is one of the purest things anyone can do because I know how hard it is. How do you bare part of your soul to a stranger and say " I need help!" That is hardcore and I respect that. I respect that because it takes a mixture of guts and desperation to make the leap of faith.
Look at it this way, anyone can say they want to change the way they look. What are you going to do? Spend $15 on a book? Buy Cheerios instead of Apple Jacks? Smoke 1 pack instead of 2? Watch Fit TV?
That is hollow talk. The talk of the uncommitted. Those who have the resources, have the ability but not the will. And that is sad because not only do they sabotage themselves, they usually take it upon themselves to sabotage others.
You know what I am talking about. Take a second and think about a couple things you really want to do in life. Any reason why it can't happen? Of course not. Now, think about why you haven't acted upon it. Probably because one of these uncommitted idiots took it upon themselves to personally save you from making a big mistake. " I was just trying to help!"
Have you ever read the "Celestine Prophecy"? I think it is a great book and whenever I feel I am on the cusp of a big breakthrough, I return to it because of all the good ideas it contains. Anyway, one idea that I always found to be true is that we give off energy. Makes sense since we carry an electric current. There are two things you can do with energy. You can combine it with someone else and make it grow or you can be a energy sucker and drain it out of someone.
I am absolutely butchering this idea so please do me a favor and pick up the book. It is explained much better than I could ever. But back to the point. Ever talk to someone and they are manipulative or just plain depressing? Don't you feel drained afterwards? They have managed to suck the energy out of you.
Now, ever hear the expression, "she made the room light up when she walked in the door"? Ever just feel good being around some people? These are energy givers and the exact type of people you should be around. Positive environments are healthy and nourishing. Negative environments will suck the life out of you.
When you draw a line in the sand, you separate yourself. People will know instantly that something has changed. Those who sought to manipulate you will have a harder time doing so. Those that didn't really notice you will sit up and take note. This is the genius of drawing a line.
This is one of the things I enjoy most about being a personal trainer.
When I meet someone who has drawn the line, I know they are going to be successful. There is no doubt. Whether it is to lose 20 pounds, lower their blood pressure, live to see their son or daughter graduate college, it is a done deal. All that has to be done is the work and believe this: the sweat and pain of a hard workout is nothing compared to the dull ache of living in desperation.
If you are reading this, I can tell a couple of things about you.
1. You have drawn that line already or the sword is drawn.
2. You have the power to achieve your goals.
3. No one can stop you.
I would love to hear your line in the sand story. I have had a couple myself and I would like to share them with you in the upcoming weeks. These stories have real power and we all benefit from hearing them. Nothing is as revealing about a person as a line in the sand story.
Your in fitness,
Michael Medvig
MFactor Fitness
http://www.mfactorfitness.com
P.S. If you like my stuff, feel free to pass it around, even use it on your website. Just please be nice an include my name and website.
Do you guys know where this term comes from? I have to tell you I just love this term. It comes from the Alamo where they drew a line in the sand. Basically people had two choices. Run away from the upcoming battle and live the rest of your life in shame or cross the line and decide to stay and fight.
Maybe this is just my Texas roots talking, but I love stories about people drawing a line in the sand. It pumps me up. I am not talking about someone who's cousin invented this or did this. Those are pretty good too but I am talking about the person who wakes up one day and says, " I am not going to live this way any longer. Whatever happens will happen but today I am a new person!" As Les Brown said, " There is genius in Boldness".
Man, do you feel the power in that?
As someone outside the business, you may think personal trainers kind of run on auto pilot. Maybe because we are in the health field that it all gets mundane and we hear our client's say the same stuff over and over again.
I assure you , my friend, you could not be farther from the truth. Nothing geeks me up for the day as when someone comes to me and says, " I need to make a change in my life." To me that is one of the purest things anyone can do because I know how hard it is. How do you bare part of your soul to a stranger and say " I need help!" That is hardcore and I respect that. I respect that because it takes a mixture of guts and desperation to make the leap of faith.
Look at it this way, anyone can say they want to change the way they look. What are you going to do? Spend $15 on a book? Buy Cheerios instead of Apple Jacks? Smoke 1 pack instead of 2? Watch Fit TV?
That is hollow talk. The talk of the uncommitted. Those who have the resources, have the ability but not the will. And that is sad because not only do they sabotage themselves, they usually take it upon themselves to sabotage others.
You know what I am talking about. Take a second and think about a couple things you really want to do in life. Any reason why it can't happen? Of course not. Now, think about why you haven't acted upon it. Probably because one of these uncommitted idiots took it upon themselves to personally save you from making a big mistake. " I was just trying to help!"
Have you ever read the "Celestine Prophecy"? I think it is a great book and whenever I feel I am on the cusp of a big breakthrough, I return to it because of all the good ideas it contains. Anyway, one idea that I always found to be true is that we give off energy. Makes sense since we carry an electric current. There are two things you can do with energy. You can combine it with someone else and make it grow or you can be a energy sucker and drain it out of someone.
I am absolutely butchering this idea so please do me a favor and pick up the book. It is explained much better than I could ever. But back to the point. Ever talk to someone and they are manipulative or just plain depressing? Don't you feel drained afterwards? They have managed to suck the energy out of you.
Now, ever hear the expression, "she made the room light up when she walked in the door"? Ever just feel good being around some people? These are energy givers and the exact type of people you should be around. Positive environments are healthy and nourishing. Negative environments will suck the life out of you.
When you draw a line in the sand, you separate yourself. People will know instantly that something has changed. Those who sought to manipulate you will have a harder time doing so. Those that didn't really notice you will sit up and take note. This is the genius of drawing a line.
This is one of the things I enjoy most about being a personal trainer.
When I meet someone who has drawn the line, I know they are going to be successful. There is no doubt. Whether it is to lose 20 pounds, lower their blood pressure, live to see their son or daughter graduate college, it is a done deal. All that has to be done is the work and believe this: the sweat and pain of a hard workout is nothing compared to the dull ache of living in desperation.
If you are reading this, I can tell a couple of things about you.
1. You have drawn that line already or the sword is drawn.
2. You have the power to achieve your goals.
3. No one can stop you.
I would love to hear your line in the sand story. I have had a couple myself and I would like to share them with you in the upcoming weeks. These stories have real power and we all benefit from hearing them. Nothing is as revealing about a person as a line in the sand story.
Your in fitness,
Michael Medvig
MFactor Fitness
http://www.mfactorfitness.com
P.S. If you like my stuff, feel free to pass it around, even use it on your website. Just please be nice an include my name and website.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Floyd Landis RIP
Floyd Landis RIP.
This is pretty bad. No he didn't die, just his career. In case anyone has missed this, test #2 is also positive. Sports used to be a way of teaching values to your kids. Work hard, practice and you can succeed. Athletes are role models. The fact that you have obtained such a position of influence obligates you to try and be a decent person.
The truth is that we are now seeing the corrupt underbelly of sports as it really is. In fact with 100 channels of TV, everything is getting exposed. Am I the only one who feels there needs to be some things that are held sacred in sports? To me, even though I don't care about cycling, my opinion would be that if you had to pick someone to be above all this, it should be Floyd. Backwoods, Mennonite, 19th century throwback Floyd. Not gonna happen.
On a tangent, I am surprised there aren't more Mennonite and Amish cyclists. If you can't use machinery, what better training equipment than a 100 pound hand made bicycle. Or maybe one of those antiques with the big front wheel and the little bitty back one. Train on that then switch to a racing bike and off you go. You could win everything! I know one thing, if I lived there, all you have to do is peddle faster than a horse and buggy and you are out of there. Knowing that, I would be training like a son of a gun.
Unless you dig the lifestyle, then you make the training loop.
Back to the point. Where does this leave us now? If a old time religious dude is juicing, who will be next? Are there no sacred cows left? I can understand a sleazeball like Jose Conseco. This you can explain to your son. " Son, he is a sleazeball, that is why he cheated. That is why he will live out his life eaking out bit roles on reality shows." Even the youngest kids realize what a sorry life that is.
You can point to Barry Bonds and say, " Son, if you look at his head, you can actually see it growing in the batters box. Due to HGH, his head has swelled up to twice it's normal size. It will soon grow to such enormous proportions his shoulders will be unable to bear the sheer weight of it and it will flop over to one side." Children get that too. Especially since he bears such a striking resemblance to Elmer Fudd.
But what about Floyd? You can't explain this one away so easily. Naive rube tricked by the team trainer into juicing? Shrewd, calculated and conniving? No. Just fell off the turnip truck and was ambushed by the French? I can't buy that one either.
The only conclusion I can draw from this is that like bodybuilding, it is a very dirty sport. Unlike bodybuilders, who are pretty open about it, cycling is still in the denial phase. In my eyes, if they come clean, the sport really won't lose all that much credibility. Who can watch that stuff anyway? The issue is once it is all exposed, then you have a tremendous backlash to past heroes. What is your opinion of lance Armstrong? Now he is retired, does it really matter?
Here is the problem. Athletes know what they are being tested for. If you know what drugs are being screened, it is a fairly simple matter to throw huge wads of cash at certain chemists who are trained to give you other drugs to "mask" the ones you are taking. So now instead of taking one substance, the athlete ends up ingesting a melange of chemicals designed to pass the recognized drug test. This is one of the reasons athletes will not take public drug tests. They won't know what is being tested and if they did, the time frame for the masking agents may not have time to kick in.
This is also why lower tier athletes get busted more often than higher profile athletes. More money, better drugs.
I will remember Floyd as the one guy who gets pulled over for speeding on a highway full of speeders. What will be interesting will be what he does from here. Will he adhere to Mennonite laws and come clean with everything to save is soul? Or will he stick with the cycling code of silence.
Somehow, I get a feeling this will get interesting. Floyd will make a very nice living with his hush money. And you can guess where that money is coming from.
Yours in fitness,
Michael Medvig
http://www.mfactorfitness.com
This is pretty bad. No he didn't die, just his career. In case anyone has missed this, test #2 is also positive. Sports used to be a way of teaching values to your kids. Work hard, practice and you can succeed. Athletes are role models. The fact that you have obtained such a position of influence obligates you to try and be a decent person.
The truth is that we are now seeing the corrupt underbelly of sports as it really is. In fact with 100 channels of TV, everything is getting exposed. Am I the only one who feels there needs to be some things that are held sacred in sports? To me, even though I don't care about cycling, my opinion would be that if you had to pick someone to be above all this, it should be Floyd. Backwoods, Mennonite, 19th century throwback Floyd. Not gonna happen.
On a tangent, I am surprised there aren't more Mennonite and Amish cyclists. If you can't use machinery, what better training equipment than a 100 pound hand made bicycle. Or maybe one of those antiques with the big front wheel and the little bitty back one. Train on that then switch to a racing bike and off you go. You could win everything! I know one thing, if I lived there, all you have to do is peddle faster than a horse and buggy and you are out of there. Knowing that, I would be training like a son of a gun.
Unless you dig the lifestyle, then you make the training loop.
Back to the point. Where does this leave us now? If a old time religious dude is juicing, who will be next? Are there no sacred cows left? I can understand a sleazeball like Jose Conseco. This you can explain to your son. " Son, he is a sleazeball, that is why he cheated. That is why he will live out his life eaking out bit roles on reality shows." Even the youngest kids realize what a sorry life that is.
You can point to Barry Bonds and say, " Son, if you look at his head, you can actually see it growing in the batters box. Due to HGH, his head has swelled up to twice it's normal size. It will soon grow to such enormous proportions his shoulders will be unable to bear the sheer weight of it and it will flop over to one side." Children get that too. Especially since he bears such a striking resemblance to Elmer Fudd.
But what about Floyd? You can't explain this one away so easily. Naive rube tricked by the team trainer into juicing? Shrewd, calculated and conniving? No. Just fell off the turnip truck and was ambushed by the French? I can't buy that one either.
The only conclusion I can draw from this is that like bodybuilding, it is a very dirty sport. Unlike bodybuilders, who are pretty open about it, cycling is still in the denial phase. In my eyes, if they come clean, the sport really won't lose all that much credibility. Who can watch that stuff anyway? The issue is once it is all exposed, then you have a tremendous backlash to past heroes. What is your opinion of lance Armstrong? Now he is retired, does it really matter?
Here is the problem. Athletes know what they are being tested for. If you know what drugs are being screened, it is a fairly simple matter to throw huge wads of cash at certain chemists who are trained to give you other drugs to "mask" the ones you are taking. So now instead of taking one substance, the athlete ends up ingesting a melange of chemicals designed to pass the recognized drug test. This is one of the reasons athletes will not take public drug tests. They won't know what is being tested and if they did, the time frame for the masking agents may not have time to kick in.
This is also why lower tier athletes get busted more often than higher profile athletes. More money, better drugs.
I will remember Floyd as the one guy who gets pulled over for speeding on a highway full of speeders. What will be interesting will be what he does from here. Will he adhere to Mennonite laws and come clean with everything to save is soul? Or will he stick with the cycling code of silence.
Somehow, I get a feeling this will get interesting. Floyd will make a very nice living with his hush money. And you can guess where that money is coming from.
Yours in fitness,
Michael Medvig
http://www.mfactorfitness.com
Thursday, August 03, 2006
The Craze
The Craze with Melissa Rivers
By: Michael Medvig
M Factor Fitness
http://www.mfactorfitness.com
I will never run out of funny material as long as Fit TV is on the air. You just can't. Here is a network devoted to working out and they have a lot of air time to fill. That is why these " fitness experts" seem to be pouring out of every crack and crevice to get their domes on TV. I will address the horrific show " Housecalls" in another segment.
When I am relaxing, I always surf through channel 59, Fit TV, just to see what s going on. They actually have some pretty good shows and I will talk about those at length soon. The one that had me on the floor was "The Craze". The premise is silly enough. Find a couple who needs to get in shape and randomly give them 2 crappy infomercial exercise gizmos to use. After the 2 weeks or whatever it is, the inventor goes to their house and stares them down as they have to make some really hard decisions.
" Did it work for you?"
" Would you want to keep it?"
" How easy was it to set up?"
Now I am not a rocket scientist but I would think that if Billy Blanks is up in your grill on TV, you are probably going to be nice about things and say the right thing. People are like that. We don't like to tel the truth when it is going to hurt someone's feelings. After all there is a great of pressure on these poor people. Even I , being outspoken, would not tell the inventor of the Ab lounger what an absolute worthless piece of junk they are trying to peddle and the fact that they are going to go straight to hell for lying to the public.
So to sum things up.
What they want you to believe: They will honestly evaluate infomercial products with real, average people and give you the real scoop.
What is really happening: Infomercial marketers are paying big bucks to have their products featured to give more exposure and added credibility. Fit TV is selling their soul to promote nothing more than a advertorial.
So that in mind, you know any product, no matter how abysmal will get at least a decent review. So if it is a deluxe Pilates studio you can fold up under your bed, a wobble board, some plastic thing you rock back and forth on for your abs, some magic vibrating belt, some box with straps and cables, it is not going to get slammed. If they had a chance of getting a bad review, these marketing companies would be scurrying back under the floorboards and Melissa would be back at home lounging around with her Mom all day.
The episode in question had this one fella. Pretty big guy who actually used to be a personal trainer. ( This is an indication of the sad state of affairs in personal training when a personal trainer can't design a program for himself but that is for another day.) Anyway, here is a guy that obviously likes to lift weights. Is he gonna get a Bowflex? No. Total Gym? No. $2 piece of plastic the size of a shoebox? Why yes, of course this is the logical choice. Then to add insult to injury, you have to see this poor man try and actually work out with it. You can actually see his manhood shrinking as he tries to figure it out. This is actually one of the worst things you can do to a man.
While we are on the subject, here are the worst things a man can endure. Ladies, please promise to never make your man do these things.
- Listen to Barbara Streisand.
- Attend a Broadway musical
- Watch the Lifetime network.
- Eat tofu, yogurt or meatless hamburgers.
- Promise to go on Fit TV and be emasculated by working out with infomercial plastic junk-toys while he should be in Gold's gym busting out squats.
The Craze is truly a horrifying, pitiful yet funny show. I have to recommend it to you. Although the producers were not trying to create a comedy, they really have outdone themselves with this. Much funnier than network sitcoms as long as you realize the underlying premise.
Yours in Fitness,
Michael Medvig
M Factor Fitness
http://www.mfactorfitness.com
You can pass this on to anyone you want or even post it on your website. I can give you the feed but I must insist you also include my name and website.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Jogging ain't natural Part III
Jogging ain't natural. Part III
( What we can learn from our kids.)
By: Michael Medvig
M Factor Fitness
http://www.mfactorfitness.com
I am convinced that children are born as pure geniuses and we spend their childhood thinking up cruel ways to screw them up. Kids are pure naturals at movement and exercise. Think about this. The moment they can move, they start moving. The second they can walk, they toddle non-stop. Have you ever seen an 8 year old go for a slow jog? Of course not. When you are a kid, you have places to go. Sometimes you really don't have a reason but you get there as fast as you can anyway. It may only be a distance of 5 feet but they turn on their jets.
Not only that, they run in zig-zag patterns, they skip, hop and tumble. This is genius! This is needed to fully develop. This is why kids don't have saggy butts. They are using all their muscles and working on flexibility, balance and speed. This is instinctive training. deep rooted in the Reptilian Cortex from eons and eons of evolution. This is training for adulthood. Kids don't stretch and they also don't pull muscles very often.
If you watch the Animal Planet, almost any offspring learns how to develop by play. This is an important point to consider. Have you ever seen a lioness teach her cub to hunt by casually jogging at their prey? Having the lioness keep track of the cub's heartbeat to make sure it stays within certain parameters due to age? Maybe hunt one day and take the next day of to let the muscles recover?
Of course not but we as a society tend to do anything we can to make exercise dull, repetitious and boring. A quick side note because they do the same thing with music. I am so tired of seeing these TV ads about how we are depriving the kids because music department programs are being slashed. Have you ever asked your kid what they teach in music class? Who in the hell wants to learn how to play the Tuba?
Listen, my 8 year old son listens to Green Day and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Do you think he really looks forward to music class where they will:
1. Learn how to toot on a recorder.
2. Sing songs from the Sound of Music.
3. The teacher will ask for volunteers to learn how to play the cello.
Music class was always a drag. You always had a geek teaching it. A Broadway show tune type of geek who laments that kids don't appreciate culture anymore. Of course they don't appreciate it. These teachers beat all the fun out of it. In any school system, you may get 1% of the student population that wants to learn how to play the clarinet. ( Substitute any archaic instrument you want here. Oboe, Cello, Tambourine, Harpsichord etc...) Am I right? That means 99% of the students will grow to despise music class. Why not have electric guitars, basses and drums for the kids to play. Wake up. We are not hurting the kids. They are just going into the garage to make their own music. Kids win again.
I see the same thing happening with fitness. My kids have gym class twice a week for 45 minutes. When I see some of the kids, I really feel bad for them. They want to burn energy and the teacher makes them line up and jog around the gym. Worse yet, everything gets structured and sanitized for their safety. Rules, rules, rules.
Look at dodgeball. Great game. Stay alert of get your head taken off. That is great training for life. Adrenaline pumping, throwing balls as hard as you can.....this is a great workout. One rule. No head shots, which you couldn't really enforce anyway. But you can't play this anymore because someone could get hurt. But that is for another day.
As an adult, you approach working out in a different way than you did as a child.
Let me put it bluntly, you basically turn into a wuss about it. And that is where jogging comes in.
There is no situation in life I can imagine where running slowly in a straight line is useful. You can't escape an attacker by running at 55% to 65% of max heart rate. You can't catch someone jogging. You don't get stronger, you don't get more flexible. You don't change your body shape.
Face it. The only thing you improve by running slowly is the ability to run slowly for a longer period of time. Or maybe run slightly faster than you did.
This to me is like learning how to play the recorder in music class.
That being said, I run an couple times a week.
Here is what it does for me.
1. It is nice to get out in the fresh air.
2. It clears my head.
3. I work up a nice sweat.
4. I get a tan.
Where I really improve my cardio is with a nice track workout. I am really lucky in that I live in Colorado, where you can train outside almost 365 days a year. I am also lucky that I have a great practice field nearby with artificial grass that has a foundation of recycled rubber. It is a very soft, pliable surface. There are two good points to that.
1. It is soft, so you lessen the impact of the footstrike.
2. It offers more friction than a track so you get a better workout.
Most people jog on the road and I can't think of a worse surface to run on.
Next time you want to do a structured jog, head over to the nearest field and let your inner kid loose again. Go a little slower at first to make sure you are warmed up but try to incorporate the following:
( What we can learn from our kids.)
By: Michael Medvig
M Factor Fitness
http://www.mfactorfitness.com
I am convinced that children are born as pure geniuses and we spend their childhood thinking up cruel ways to screw them up. Kids are pure naturals at movement and exercise. Think about this. The moment they can move, they start moving. The second they can walk, they toddle non-stop. Have you ever seen an 8 year old go for a slow jog? Of course not. When you are a kid, you have places to go. Sometimes you really don't have a reason but you get there as fast as you can anyway. It may only be a distance of 5 feet but they turn on their jets.
Not only that, they run in zig-zag patterns, they skip, hop and tumble. This is genius! This is needed to fully develop. This is why kids don't have saggy butts. They are using all their muscles and working on flexibility, balance and speed. This is instinctive training. deep rooted in the Reptilian Cortex from eons and eons of evolution. This is training for adulthood. Kids don't stretch and they also don't pull muscles very often.
If you watch the Animal Planet, almost any offspring learns how to develop by play. This is an important point to consider. Have you ever seen a lioness teach her cub to hunt by casually jogging at their prey? Having the lioness keep track of the cub's heartbeat to make sure it stays within certain parameters due to age? Maybe hunt one day and take the next day of to let the muscles recover?
Of course not but we as a society tend to do anything we can to make exercise dull, repetitious and boring. A quick side note because they do the same thing with music. I am so tired of seeing these TV ads about how we are depriving the kids because music department programs are being slashed. Have you ever asked your kid what they teach in music class? Who in the hell wants to learn how to play the Tuba?
Listen, my 8 year old son listens to Green Day and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Do you think he really looks forward to music class where they will:
1. Learn how to toot on a recorder.
2. Sing songs from the Sound of Music.
3. The teacher will ask for volunteers to learn how to play the cello.
Music class was always a drag. You always had a geek teaching it. A Broadway show tune type of geek who laments that kids don't appreciate culture anymore. Of course they don't appreciate it. These teachers beat all the fun out of it. In any school system, you may get 1% of the student population that wants to learn how to play the clarinet. ( Substitute any archaic instrument you want here. Oboe, Cello, Tambourine, Harpsichord etc...) Am I right? That means 99% of the students will grow to despise music class. Why not have electric guitars, basses and drums for the kids to play. Wake up. We are not hurting the kids. They are just going into the garage to make their own music. Kids win again.
I see the same thing happening with fitness. My kids have gym class twice a week for 45 minutes. When I see some of the kids, I really feel bad for them. They want to burn energy and the teacher makes them line up and jog around the gym. Worse yet, everything gets structured and sanitized for their safety. Rules, rules, rules.
Look at dodgeball. Great game. Stay alert of get your head taken off. That is great training for life. Adrenaline pumping, throwing balls as hard as you can.....this is a great workout. One rule. No head shots, which you couldn't really enforce anyway. But you can't play this anymore because someone could get hurt. But that is for another day.
As an adult, you approach working out in a different way than you did as a child.
Let me put it bluntly, you basically turn into a wuss about it. And that is where jogging comes in.
There is no situation in life I can imagine where running slowly in a straight line is useful. You can't escape an attacker by running at 55% to 65% of max heart rate. You can't catch someone jogging. You don't get stronger, you don't get more flexible. You don't change your body shape.
Face it. The only thing you improve by running slowly is the ability to run slowly for a longer period of time. Or maybe run slightly faster than you did.
This to me is like learning how to play the recorder in music class.
That being said, I run an couple times a week.
Here is what it does for me.
1. It is nice to get out in the fresh air.
2. It clears my head.
3. I work up a nice sweat.
4. I get a tan.
Where I really improve my cardio is with a nice track workout. I am really lucky in that I live in Colorado, where you can train outside almost 365 days a year. I am also lucky that I have a great practice field nearby with artificial grass that has a foundation of recycled rubber. It is a very soft, pliable surface. There are two good points to that.
1. It is soft, so you lessen the impact of the footstrike.
2. It offers more friction than a track so you get a better workout.
Most people jog on the road and I can't think of a worse surface to run on.
Next time you want to do a structured jog, head over to the nearest field and let your inner kid loose again. Go a little slower at first to make sure you are warmed up but try to incorporate the following:
- sprints, both 40 yard and 100 yard.
- skip 40 yards.
- hop back and forth over an imaginary line.
- run in a zig zag pattern.
- Run backwards.
I guarantee you 15 minutes will be more than enough to wake up muscles you hadn't used in years and give you an elephant size cardio workout. I can give you specific workouts later, now I just want you to think about breaking free of traditional mindsets.
Let me know what you think.
Yours in Fitness,
Michael Medvig
Owner/Founder
M Factor Fitness
http://www.mfactorfitness.com
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Switching gears
Yeah I know, bad Tour de France reference. This is a real fast note to everyone. A number of people are stumbling upon this little gem of a site and are leaving a little bewildered. I think they are looking for training advice in the traditional sense. In other words, a little blander and without the attempts at humor. If this is you, don't be embarrassed. Just go to my website, http://www.mfactorfitness.com and look for the E-Zine box in the upper left hand corner.
This is my newsletter I send out to my clients, past clients, friends, relatives....heck, basically anyone who wants it. It is free and I never sell your information to anyone. If you are new to fitness that is the place to go. In fact if you like it, send it to 30 to 40 of your friends.
I forget sometimes that I throw terms around that maybe you guys aren't familiar with. Remember, this is my time to vent and provide quality opinions about sports, exercise, fitness, the media etc.... Some blogs are about training and are filled with shop talk. Some are tangents about people in the news. Some blogs are about bodybuilding nostalgia.
The point is this. You have a choice. Go to http://www.mfactorfitness.com if you are a novice and want solid advice. Of course you are welcome to hang out here to. If you are an ironhead, then you are going to get a lot more of what I am talking about.
Hopefully this stuff helps you make your day a little better. Whether I give you a "hmmmmm, never thought of that" or a " I reember that!" or " What the hell is he talking about now?"
I seem to keep promising I am going to finish my novella on running. I will get to it. it is dancing around in my head as we speak. I also wil have some stuff on MMA, why are cyclists so arrogant?, why are soccer players are full of themselves, plyometrics, spint workouts, Jui-Jitsu, must have training equipment and more.
Yours in fitness,
Michael
Yeah I know, bad Tour de France reference. This is a real fast note to everyone. A number of people are stumbling upon this little gem of a site and are leaving a little bewildered. I think they are looking for training advice in the traditional sense. In other words, a little blander and without the attempts at humor. If this is you, don't be embarrassed. Just go to my website, http://www.mfactorfitness.com and look for the E-Zine box in the upper left hand corner.
This is my newsletter I send out to my clients, past clients, friends, relatives....heck, basically anyone who wants it. It is free and I never sell your information to anyone. If you are new to fitness that is the place to go. In fact if you like it, send it to 30 to 40 of your friends.
I forget sometimes that I throw terms around that maybe you guys aren't familiar with. Remember, this is my time to vent and provide quality opinions about sports, exercise, fitness, the media etc.... Some blogs are about training and are filled with shop talk. Some are tangents about people in the news. Some blogs are about bodybuilding nostalgia.
The point is this. You have a choice. Go to http://www.mfactorfitness.com if you are a novice and want solid advice. Of course you are welcome to hang out here to. If you are an ironhead, then you are going to get a lot more of what I am talking about.
Hopefully this stuff helps you make your day a little better. Whether I give you a "hmmmmm, never thought of that" or a " I reember that!" or " What the hell is he talking about now?"
I seem to keep promising I am going to finish my novella on running. I will get to it. it is dancing around in my head as we speak. I also wil have some stuff on MMA, why are cyclists so arrogant?, why are soccer players are full of themselves, plyometrics, spint workouts, Jui-Jitsu, must have training equipment and more.
Yours in fitness,
Michael
Floyd Landis American Hero?
Man, I know this is an easy target but what the hell. I am an American and if there are 2 things Americans don't like:
1. Cheaters that get caught.
2. Cheaters that can't even lie well enough to get out of it.
Listen, I am not a cycling aficionado. What I know of it is simply this. You are not meant to ride 30 mph up the Alps. I can see the downhills but man is just not meant to tear ass up the side of a mountain. It isn't natural. No wonder these guys are getting juiced up.
Speaking of what isn't natural, let's talk about Mr. Landis a minute.
Today on the news his latest terrible excuse at lying was " I make a lot of testosterone."
I would venture that my 80 year old grandmother makes more testosterone than you, sonny.
" I make a lot of testosterone."
Really? Then why do you resemble a cross hybrid of Kip from Napoleon Dynamite and Tweety Bird?
Too much Testosterone eh? Looking at you in that tight yellow shirt I would believe you more if you said " Too much Birdseed."
Maybe, just like Kip from Napoleon Dynamite, he was going to use his build up of testosterone to be a cage fighter after his cycling career.
To be honest, I never heard of the guy til I heard he won the Tour. Again, not to beat a dead tweety but in America we like our heroes to be a little more photogenic than Mr. Landis. Watching the race highlights it was just painful. Floyd, when you are crossing the finish line at least smile. Don't look like you are taking a grumpy! Looks like you have a perpetual case of gas.
As to the list of these lies. They are just tremendously poor.
1. "The test is a fake." ( probably not true )
2. "The French are out to get me." ( Probably true)
3. "A cortizone shot must have done it." If dude needs a hip replacement, what the hell is he doing riding up the side of a mountain? ( Cortizone does not raise your testosterone that high that quick)
4. "I drank a bottle of Jack Daniels the night before." ( Then woke up and tear assed up the side of a mountain????)
5. "Thyroid medication." ( Is that why older women get facial hair?)
Anyway.
Floyd, I know you are religious and lying goes against your grain. You probably never got into a jam like this. So that probably explains why you are so bad at it. It is one thing to have a bad lie but you have to say it convincingly. Just ask Bill Clinton. This stammering and fluttering your wings is painful to watch.
Now the question you may be asking is this. He looks like a bird and flaps his arms like a bird. Instead of juicing it up, why couldn't he just flap his wings to help him get up the mountain?
This is a really good question. Why not use your god given abilities. Why handicap yourself by forcing yourself to just use leg power?
I need scientist to help me here. I will offer up my own explanation. Remember that Tweety is not a free flying bird. He spent his like in a cage being fed by Granny. At best he is only capable of short bursts of flight. But that is all he needs to escape Sylvester. As a bystander, I would have to say the team clipped Floyd Landis's flying feathers.
We need to stay abreast of this matter and as the new excuses come out, we will have some more fun. I promise we will get back to fitness soon.
Next issue: Why jogging isn't natural.
Hey, feel free to use my stuff but make sure you include my info and website.
Michael Medvig
M Factor Fitness
Personal training in Parker Colorado
http://www.mfactorfitness.com
Man, I know this is an easy target but what the hell. I am an American and if there are 2 things Americans don't like:
1. Cheaters that get caught.
2. Cheaters that can't even lie well enough to get out of it.
Listen, I am not a cycling aficionado. What I know of it is simply this. You are not meant to ride 30 mph up the Alps. I can see the downhills but man is just not meant to tear ass up the side of a mountain. It isn't natural. No wonder these guys are getting juiced up.
Speaking of what isn't natural, let's talk about Mr. Landis a minute.
Today on the news his latest terrible excuse at lying was " I make a lot of testosterone."
I would venture that my 80 year old grandmother makes more testosterone than you, sonny.
" I make a lot of testosterone."
Really? Then why do you resemble a cross hybrid of Kip from Napoleon Dynamite and Tweety Bird?
Too much Testosterone eh? Looking at you in that tight yellow shirt I would believe you more if you said " Too much Birdseed."
Maybe, just like Kip from Napoleon Dynamite, he was going to use his build up of testosterone to be a cage fighter after his cycling career.
To be honest, I never heard of the guy til I heard he won the Tour. Again, not to beat a dead tweety but in America we like our heroes to be a little more photogenic than Mr. Landis. Watching the race highlights it was just painful. Floyd, when you are crossing the finish line at least smile. Don't look like you are taking a grumpy! Looks like you have a perpetual case of gas.
As to the list of these lies. They are just tremendously poor.
1. "The test is a fake." ( probably not true )
2. "The French are out to get me." ( Probably true)
3. "A cortizone shot must have done it." If dude needs a hip replacement, what the hell is he doing riding up the side of a mountain? ( Cortizone does not raise your testosterone that high that quick)
4. "I drank a bottle of Jack Daniels the night before." ( Then woke up and tear assed up the side of a mountain????)
5. "Thyroid medication." ( Is that why older women get facial hair?)
Anyway.
Floyd, I know you are religious and lying goes against your grain. You probably never got into a jam like this. So that probably explains why you are so bad at it. It is one thing to have a bad lie but you have to say it convincingly. Just ask Bill Clinton. This stammering and fluttering your wings is painful to watch.
Now the question you may be asking is this. He looks like a bird and flaps his arms like a bird. Instead of juicing it up, why couldn't he just flap his wings to help him get up the mountain?
This is a really good question. Why not use your god given abilities. Why handicap yourself by forcing yourself to just use leg power?
I need scientist to help me here. I will offer up my own explanation. Remember that Tweety is not a free flying bird. He spent his like in a cage being fed by Granny. At best he is only capable of short bursts of flight. But that is all he needs to escape Sylvester. As a bystander, I would have to say the team clipped Floyd Landis's flying feathers.
We need to stay abreast of this matter and as the new excuses come out, we will have some more fun. I promise we will get back to fitness soon.
Next issue: Why jogging isn't natural.
Hey, feel free to use my stuff but make sure you include my info and website.
Michael Medvig
M Factor Fitness
Personal training in Parker Colorado
http://www.mfactorfitness.com
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Why all marketers are going to hell.
Isn't it weird when you are doing something and all of a sudden a strange memory from childhood drops into your brain? Why is that? I was actually in the shower and I thought of the summer of 78. I was 13 and heavy into golf. I mean this was going to be my calling in life. I subscribed to all the Golf magazines, hit balls in the back yard, everything but take actual lessons. Who needed lessons, I had the greatest minds in the game sharing their secrets with me for $2/month!
On a good day and at least twice a game, I could drive the ball a little over 200 yards. So of course that meant I had a 200 + yard drive. This is a true measure of manhood, distance off the tee. So here I am in the heat of summer leafing through magazines when the best idea in the world hit me. This is perhaps up there with the invention of fire, the wheel and the domestication of cattle. The idea was simply this: on every page of the golf magazines, there were ads promising to add yards to your tee shot, straighten out your swing and knock 5 strokes off your game.
There it was! Plain as day. I may have been the only to have noticed but all I had to do is get all that stuff , add it together and I would be on the pro tour at no time. Maybe by age 14.
Listen, don't laugh. Take my 200 yard drive. By changing balls I could add 20 yards. If I really want to be sneaky, I could get those " Illegal" balls and add 50 yards. Okay, so now I am at 250 yards. I found out I had the wrong driver. It was the driver that was stifling my inner greatness. Get the right clubs and add 30 yards. Hey, look a magic tee. Chalk up another 10 yards. Better golf shoes, 10 yards, breathable golf shirt, 10 yards, get a couple of those " Secrets that Golf Pros don't want you to know"and now I have a straight 400 yard drive.
The one hiccup of this absolutely brilliant plan was that I didn't have the $7,500 or so laying around the house or else I would be a legend by now.
Alright so now you think I am an idiot. The concept is very logical and I think that is why so many people fall for marketing. Now that you are feeling all smug about my foolishness, take a look at our beloved fitness industry. Take a gander at the fitness magazines, ( it doesn't matter whether it is a men's or women's magazine ) and start looking at all the promises. People are easily spending $100 to $200 a month on bogus supplements, " Secrets to attract the opposite sex" "Secrets to benching 500 pounds", "secrets to adding 25 pounds of shredded muscle in 10 days", etc....
It is not that supplements don't work or that these articles don't have at least some truth to them. They do. It is that in the marketing biz you have to yell a little louder than the person next to you to be heard. Pretty soon all these ads turn to a level of hysteria to get you to even read the ad.
Combine the false promises of marketers and the innate laziness we seem to have developed and there is the reason you don't have the body you want. Plain and simple.
Going back to Golf. Instead of spending money upgrading all my gear, what if I actually invested that money in golf lessons with a pro? Hmmmmmmmm. You mean actually get a professional to work with me and teach me the fundamentals of the game?
Trust me, it would have helped.
So next time you think personal training is too expensive, think back to this golf story. How much money have you wasted on fat pills, fad diets and expensive supplements only to be disappointed. What if you found a good trainer and invested that money with him/her. I use the term invested because the stuff you learn you will be able to use all your life. You will have a better quality of life along with more years.
Think about it.
Yours in fitness,
Michael Medvig
M Factor Fitness
http://www.mfactorfitness.com
Hey, by the way, feel free to pass these articles on to anyone you want. All I ask is that you use the article in it's entirety and you must, must, must use my name and website.
Isn't it weird when you are doing something and all of a sudden a strange memory from childhood drops into your brain? Why is that? I was actually in the shower and I thought of the summer of 78. I was 13 and heavy into golf. I mean this was going to be my calling in life. I subscribed to all the Golf magazines, hit balls in the back yard, everything but take actual lessons. Who needed lessons, I had the greatest minds in the game sharing their secrets with me for $2/month!
On a good day and at least twice a game, I could drive the ball a little over 200 yards. So of course that meant I had a 200 + yard drive. This is a true measure of manhood, distance off the tee. So here I am in the heat of summer leafing through magazines when the best idea in the world hit me. This is perhaps up there with the invention of fire, the wheel and the domestication of cattle. The idea was simply this: on every page of the golf magazines, there were ads promising to add yards to your tee shot, straighten out your swing and knock 5 strokes off your game.
There it was! Plain as day. I may have been the only to have noticed but all I had to do is get all that stuff , add it together and I would be on the pro tour at no time. Maybe by age 14.
Listen, don't laugh. Take my 200 yard drive. By changing balls I could add 20 yards. If I really want to be sneaky, I could get those " Illegal" balls and add 50 yards. Okay, so now I am at 250 yards. I found out I had the wrong driver. It was the driver that was stifling my inner greatness. Get the right clubs and add 30 yards. Hey, look a magic tee. Chalk up another 10 yards. Better golf shoes, 10 yards, breathable golf shirt, 10 yards, get a couple of those " Secrets that Golf Pros don't want you to know"and now I have a straight 400 yard drive.
The one hiccup of this absolutely brilliant plan was that I didn't have the $7,500 or so laying around the house or else I would be a legend by now.
Alright so now you think I am an idiot. The concept is very logical and I think that is why so many people fall for marketing. Now that you are feeling all smug about my foolishness, take a look at our beloved fitness industry. Take a gander at the fitness magazines, ( it doesn't matter whether it is a men's or women's magazine ) and start looking at all the promises. People are easily spending $100 to $200 a month on bogus supplements, " Secrets to attract the opposite sex" "Secrets to benching 500 pounds", "secrets to adding 25 pounds of shredded muscle in 10 days", etc....
It is not that supplements don't work or that these articles don't have at least some truth to them. They do. It is that in the marketing biz you have to yell a little louder than the person next to you to be heard. Pretty soon all these ads turn to a level of hysteria to get you to even read the ad.
Combine the false promises of marketers and the innate laziness we seem to have developed and there is the reason you don't have the body you want. Plain and simple.
Going back to Golf. Instead of spending money upgrading all my gear, what if I actually invested that money in golf lessons with a pro? Hmmmmmmmm. You mean actually get a professional to work with me and teach me the fundamentals of the game?
Trust me, it would have helped.
So next time you think personal training is too expensive, think back to this golf story. How much money have you wasted on fat pills, fad diets and expensive supplements only to be disappointed. What if you found a good trainer and invested that money with him/her. I use the term invested because the stuff you learn you will be able to use all your life. You will have a better quality of life along with more years.
Think about it.
Yours in fitness,
Michael Medvig
M Factor Fitness
http://www.mfactorfitness.com
Hey, by the way, feel free to pass these articles on to anyone you want. All I ask is that you use the article in it's entirety and you must, must, must use my name and website.
