The Fun Fit Blog

Use Your Gym Clothes To Stay Motivated

Having trouble working out in the morning or in the evening? Here's a simple tip that involves your gym clothes to give you that extra motivation to work out.

If you're planning to work out in the morning as soon as you get up, then wear your gym clothes to bed. If you're planning to get to the gym in the evening after dinner, then change into your gym clothes as soon as you get home from work. Because you're already wearing your gym clothes, you'll be more likely to stick to your workout plan.

Give this tip a try for a week or two. You might find that wearing your gym clothes ahead of time to be helpful in staying committed to your fitness plan.

Have Fun, Be Fit!

"Functional Marc"

Fitness Fuel Basics

When I first joined the gym many years ago, my trainer would ask me the same 2 questions every week before I started my workout. At first, I did not think much of these questions, but now I live by them.

The questions were:

1. Have you been taking a multivitamin?
2. Have you been drinking enough water?

So many people are so concerned over what is the best energy bar or energy drink that they lose focus of what's really important for fueling a fit body. Take a multivitamin every day and make sure that you drink enough water every day. Once you get a good routine going, then you can start worrying about the other stuff.

Have Fun, Be Fit!
"Functional Marc"

Unreliable Trainers at the Gym

I've been using the same trainer for years and I have been getting great results. But recently, our schedules conflicted, so I've been without a trainer for the past few months. While it is nice to have a break from my trainer, I started missing the whole training experience. I had a few training sessions that I never used from a gym membership from last year. But I never used these sessions. Then, I discovered that a good trainer from my last gym had starting working at my new gym. I had worked with this trainer twice before a few years ago, so I though I would use my sessions with her. After all, she was a "proven entity".  Well, sometimes even a "proven entity" can be unreliable. The first week this trainer called and canceled about 5 hours before the appointment. We then rescheduled for the next week. But the next week she didn't show up or even call to reschedule. What's surprising is that this trainer has a great reputation for being both reliable and knowledgeable. But whatever is going on with her, I don't need it interfering with my training schedule.

Reliability is a key ingredient to a good trainer. You could have the most knowledgeable trainer in the world, but if he or she keeps canceling your appointments or even worse, fails to show without calling, then that trainer isn't going to be of much help to you. I usually won't train the day before working out with my trainer because I don't want to go into the training session sore. So, when a trainer cancels 2 weeks in a row, that means 2 or more days of not working out for me. At that point, working with the trainer becomes detrimental to my training schedule.

It seems like such a simple thing, keeping an appointment. But over the past 8 years, I've had 2 trainers that just couldn't keep an appointment. So what is a gym goer to do when you have an unreliable trainer?

1. Before passing judgment, give your trainer a 2nd chance. Maybe something occurred out of your trainer's control that caused him or her to miss the appointment
2. If your trainer misses a 2nd appointment then fire your trainer. There are plenty of reliable, good trainers out there.
3. Look for a trainer that seems reliable. I don't want to age profile, but it's been my experience that older trainers are more reliable than the younger trainers. But, there are always exceptions to this rule. Ask friends for references.

If you're trainer keeps missing appointments, just fire them. Get a trainer that can keep appointments.

Have Fun, Be Fit!
"Functional Marc"

The Lipozene Clinical Studies

I admit that I love to find the holes in TV fitness products. Being a pharmacist and having over 5 years experience with clinical trials, I decided that Lipozene needed some investigating by The FunFit Blog.

Lipozene claims their product:

• helps reduce weight
• helps reduce body fat
• is safe and effective

Let's see if their product lives up to their claims. First, what is in Lipozene and what is this active ingredient that has been studied? According to the Lipozene site, their product contains Amorphophallus konjac. According to the Wikipedia entry on Amorphophallus konjac, "The dried corm of the konjac plant contains around 40% glucomannan". Glucomannan is a fiber supplement. Now we're getting somewhere! I performed a medical literature search for glucomannan and weight loss using the OVID journal database.

I reviewed 6 articles from medical journals on glucomannan and weight loss.

Here's a summary of clinical articles:

• One well-designed, large study with 200 overweight people found NO statistical difference between glucomannan and sugar pill for weight loss.
• A small study with 42 people found that glucomannan statistically improved body fat WHEN both resistance and endurance exercise was added.
• A clinical review article concluded that "Further investigation ....is needed to determine whether glucomannan can help to decrease the high prevalence of overweight and obesity..."
• In a study with 176 people, glucomannan induced a body weight reduction of 1.76 pounds a week WHEN given with a 1,200 kcal diet for 5 weeks
• In a small study with 25 people, glucomannan WITH a low-calorie diet produced more significant weight loss compared to the group on a low calorie diet alone
• In another small study of 20 people, glucomannan produced an average weight loss of 5.5 pounds over an 8-week period.

Now that we know some things about the active ingredient of Lipozene, let's review Lipozene's claims again:

• helps reduce weight - With a consistent low-calorie diet and regular exercise, you MIGHT lose over a pound a week for 5 to 8 weeks
• helps reduce body fat - One small study showed an improvement in body fat WITH exercise.
• is safe and effective - Many of the studies suggest that the Lipozene active ingredient is safe, but NONE of the studies state that it's effective

So to RECAP, for Lipozene

• You need to seriously diet and exercise to see any weight loss
• There's LITTLE scientific evidence that it reduces body fat
• It seems safe but there really isn't any proof that Lipozene is effective

It's strange that the Lipozene commercials NEVER mention that for Lipozene to work you need to diet and exercise. Perhaps this information would be bad for sales?

A few of the journal articles do suggest that Lipozene can lower the bad cholesterol (LDL). But since Lipozene isn't making this claim, I'm not going to address this here.

Should you take Lipozene?

• Any glucomannan product will do. So you can go with the cheapest glucomannan product.
• If you don't plan to diet and exercise, don't bother taking Lipozene.
• If you're serious about weight loss, exercise, and diet, then go for it! It may give you that edge you need.

There is no such thing as a magic weight loss pill. If you're very lucky with Lipozene, you might see about 1.8 pounds of weight loss per week, but the studies only ran for up to 2 months. So there's no scientific proof that Lipozene can help keep the weight off in the long-term. And in the end, isn't that what everyone wants, to keep the weight off in the long-term?

Exercise and diet are very important for weight loss. If you're looking for ideas to help stay fit, read the archives of the FunFit blog.

Have Fun, Be Fit!
"Functional Marc" 

References:

British Journal of Nutrition. 99(6):1380-7, 2008 Jun.
Metabolism: Clinical & Experimental. 56(8):1149-58, 2007 Aug.
Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine. 11(6):30-4, 2005 Nov-Dec.
Medical Science Monitor. 11(1):PI5-8, 2005 Jan.
Minerva Medica. 83(3):135-9, 1992 Mar.
International Journal of Obesity. 8(4):289-93, 1984.

Calf Raises With a Power Cage or Smith Machine

I've already talked about proper form for your calf raises. Today I want to talk about calf raises using either a power cage or smith machine instead of a dedicated calf machine. Both the power cage and smith machine work well for standing calf raises. Here are a few pointers:

1) Set the safety bars for either the power cage or smith machine to the proper height, so the safety bar can catch the weight if there is a problem.

2) If you're going to use something elevated to stand on, make sure it's strong enough before you use it. Some of the fitness steps you can buy were never built to support the kind of weight used in a standing calf raise exercise. So you're probably better off with a calf block.

I've been using my power cage in my home gym for calf exercises. I set the barbell to the proper level in the cage along with the safety bars. I find that I can get a good range of motion without resorting to a step or a calf block. Because it's possible to lose your balance while performing this exercise, it's essential that you use the safety bars that come with either the power cage or smith machine.

If you're looking for something different for your calf exercises and you're bored with the machines, try the standing calf raise in either a power cage or smith machine. I think you'll like it.

Have Fun, Be Fit

"Functional Marc"

 

A Weight Loss of Greater Than 10% - Keeping It Off

Here's more reason to exercise regularly. A recent study assessed exercise in 201 overweight women over a 2-year period. At the end of the study, the women who lost 10% or more of their body weight were the women who exercised the most. These women averaged over four and a half hours of exercise every week.

That might sound like a lot of exercise, but really it isn't. That comes out to be about 40 minutes of exercise every day. Find out what makes exercise fun for you. That's the key to regular exercise. So whether you're looking to lose weight or just maintain a healthy weight, keep up with your exercise program. It's good for you!

Have Fun, Be Fit!

"Functional Marc"