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Are Brief Workouts Effective for Fat Loss as You Get Older?
There is something to be said for brief workouts. Back in the 80's, when I joined my first gym, it was common for workouts to last over 90 minutes. In college I would train up to 2 hours per day with a group of friends. We would spend 90 minutes lifting and 30 minutes on cardio. The routine was "3 days on and 1 day off". Although that was WAY too much time in the gym, each of us was in great condition. With that much time sweating and burning calories, it was bound to work. The problem was that our workouts weren't time efficient. With a few less beers per week and less calories, we could have got the same results with about 1/2 the amount of time spent in the gym. In fact, with enough intensity and with a proper diet I believe I could have maintained a low body fat percentage just training a few times per week. Although a few intense brief workouts are enough for a 20 year old to stay ripped, I believe the rules are different for a 40 year old.
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Tags: Body Fat Are Push Ups Necessary if You Have Access to Free Weights?
People who have trained in the gym for years often look at something like the simple push up as a beginner's exercise. I mean, why would they want to perform push ups when they can get a "real" chest workout with heavy sets of bench presses.
Brief Exercise Found to Be Much More Effective for "Fit" PeopleBack in June, USA Today released a story that confirmed what I have suspected for a few years: The more fit someone is, the more fat they will burn after a workout session.
Buckle Down and Stop Bitching (A Rant)
"I just can't find a job, man."
He was on his third whiskey, and because I happened to sit a couple chairs down from him at the bar, he thought we were instant friends. Bars are like that.
Normally I enjoy the small talk, but this guy was complaining about everything.
"I've put in applications everywhere, but I haven't had a single call back," he said.
This guy, I could tell, wasn't in dire need of a "big time" job. All he needed was a position folding jeans or making burritos. And that's what made it insulting. A job like that in a town like this should be simple to find.
I nodded, sipped my drink, and offered the friendly bullshit conversational gem, "Good luck."
Later, when I was walking to meet my friends at another bar, I thought about what I would've said had I known him better:
"Listen, man, what are you accomplishing right now by complaining to me? You say you're broke and can't find a job? Why are you in the bar drinking top-shelf whiskey? You need a PBR. No, actually, you need to get out of the bar and get your ass home and get to work. You haven't had a call back yet? Well, what have you done to deserve a call back? How did you stand out from the group, from all the other dozens of applications?
In fact, fuck "dropping off an application." Walk into the business and introduce yourself to somebody. I don't care if it's the receptionist—at least someone would know you're there. Find the manager and hand him your application. Hang out there if you need to. It won't be pretty, but you'll get yourself a damn job."
Really, what this guy needs to do is buckle down.
He reminds me of the guys who say they want to build a badass body but don't know what to do. Don't know what to do? Ever hear of the Internet? Most of these guys jump from program to program but don't finish a damn thing. And they still have shitty bodies.
Starting something is not enough. Anyone can start something. You can start getting in shape right now by getting up and running around your house. It's not impressive. And it doesn't get you anywhere except for off your ass and perhaps into the kitchen. What I need to see is that you can keep your ass in motion. Consistency.
My client Craig Welch knows that. Look at his pictures up there at the top. That's three months of consistent effort to see some noticeable changes. Most guys bitch and moan for three months. Craig just followed his program and diet consistently. He buckled down and got things done.
In his application to work with me he wrote, "I don’t look like I lift weights at all."
Well, three months is all he needed to change that.
By the way, Craig trains at home. All he has is a barbell, a few pairs of dumbbells, a pull-up bar and an adjustable bench.
"To cover for a dip belt I put weight plates in a rucksack and wore that on my back," he wrote to me in a recent e-mail. Now that's dedication.
Craig knows the difference between the illusion of progress and actual progress. The illusion is "putting in applications" and waiting. The actual progress comes when you take responsibility and actually do something about your situation.
And since I'd be remiss to make this entire post a rant and not offer any solid take-away's let's quickly go over a few ways to stay consistent.
1. Get a piece of paper and a pen (or pull up a Word Document), write down your goal, and write down three action steps: one you should be able to do immediately, one for tomorrow, and one for the day after tomorrow.
Goal: Have a Great Body
Action Step 1 – Today – Go grocery shopping and find a workout program.
Action Step 2 – Tomorrow – Cook meals for the day, actually eat them, and go to the gym for Day 1.
Action Step 3 – Day After Tomorrow – Recruit a friend to train with to stay accountable.
2. Do it even if you don't "feel like it."
Let me fill you in on a little secret: I don't always feel like training. I don't always want to write. Sometimes I don't even want to leave my house. But I do it any way. Because once you get in motion, your mood will improve, and you'll follow through. At the very least you'll be able to scratch one more day off your calendar.
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What have you "buckled down" on lately? Got any tips to share for staying consistent while working toward a goal? Let me know in the comments!
(To read and post comments for this entry, visit http://thenategreenexperience.com)
Road Trippin'
My friends and I hopped a plane from Missoula, MT to California last week under the pretense of attending the Perform Better Summit in Long Beach. With that as our only plan (and no real place to be), we got into our rental car and decided to see what kind of trouble we could get into.
Here are the highlights (with some links to some cool places to visit if you're ever in the area).
Wednesday
- Finish an article on the plane, land in LAX, pick up rental car, and immediately stop at In-N-Out Burger. (Later, after spending an hour in the bathroom, Mike thinks he knows exactly why they decided to call it that.)
- Buy a six-pack of Sierra Nevada beer and have a few on the way to La Jolla. (No, the driver didn't drink...) Listened to a lot of horrible (yet catchy) pop-rap on the radio.
- Show up in La Jolla and hang out at the Living Room Hookah bar. Get a hook-up from a friend for a discounted hotel rate that we don't end up using.
- Walk along the beach in bare feet.
Thursday
- Early morning training session at the La Jolla Sports Club followed by breakfast at Cody's.
- Head to San Diego where we book a room at the very nice Hilton San Diego Bayfront.
- Dinner at Gaslamp Strip Club (not what it sounds like) where you grill your own meat. My question to the waitress: "What happens if I fuck it up?" Her response: "Then you need to take more cooking lessons." She was feisty. And my steak was awesome. Sipped Stone IPA and talked about life.
- After a tip from a cabbie we head to Double Deuce bar where they have a mechanical bull. Naturally, I sign us up for the rodeo. We ride like champs and think we have a fighting chance of winning till an attractive girl falls out of her top while riding. We lose, but don't mind. At all.
Mike Enjoying His Rare Steak
Friday
- Drive back to La Jolla and meet with TC, editor for T-Nation, for lunch at the Brick and Bell café. Awesome.
- I buy a shirt from Armani Exchange and get the checkout girl's phone number. She never replies back to my text message. (For shame, Yanet!) Not sure I'd know what to do if she did.
- We make it to Long Beach in time for the Perform Better social. Hang out with Alwyn Cosgrove, Robert Dos Remedios, Martin Rooney, Craig Weller, Jen Sinkler, Tyler English, Luka Hocevar, and too many other people to name.
- Drinks and dinner at the Yardhouse. 178 beers on tap. Are you freakin' kidding me?
Saturday
- Early morning training session at Gold's Gym.
- Hang out at the seminar and meet people. Someone buys me a burrito because "you're fucking Nate Green, man!" Which is the weirdest reason for which I've ever been bought a burrito.
- Watch the UFC fights at Hooters with the whole crew. Meet the creator of the TRX. Have a late dinner, drinks, and an awesome brainstorming session with Luka and Tyler English. Smart guys.
Sunday
- Early morning training session at Gold's Gym.
- Breakfast at the Omelet Inn, which, in my opinion, serves the best damn omelets I've ever tasted. Get a $67 parking ticket.
- Drive to San Francisco (about 8 hours away.) Halfway through the trip we pass Harris Ranch aka "Cowschwitz", a feedlot that produces over 100,000 head of cattle per year. They also supply all of the beef for In-N-Out burger. I suddenly feel sick. Amazing to see where your food comes from. I finish another article on the drive. (Sitting in the backseat has its advantages.)
- On the recommendation of a friend, we book a room at the W, quite possibly the coolest hotel I've ever stayed in.
- Tapas and drinks at the Thirsty Bear organic brewpub. Amazing nitro-stout and great service. We were very thirsty bears.
- Mike and I find the hot tub where we meet two very nice girls. (And, unfortunately, their two very nice boyfriends.)
Getting a little work done at the W in SF.
Monday
- Meet with Tim Ferriss for lunch at Osha Thai. Great two-hour talk. Lots of stuff to think about and do.
- Finish writing project while sitting by the fireplace, eating an awesome burger and sipping on a Chimay in the W hotel café. See legendary basketball star Bill Walton. Text my little brother (a huge basketball fan). He replies and tells me to "ask Bill about his LSD use in college." No f'ing way.
- Dinner at Annabelle's Bistro. Have an Anchor Steam beer and a great steak.
- Sip on a delicious rye-Manhattan at the RedWood Room where the portraits on the wall are dynamic. Meaning, the person posing in the picture slightly changes positions every few minutes. It scares the shit out of me the first time I notice.
- On the way back to our hotel, this happens:
Tuesday
- Have breakfast at Whole Foods, drive down one of the windiest roads in America, have awesome rice pudding and americanos at the Loving Cup, and drive over the Golden Gate Bridge, because, well, you gotta do stuff like that when you're in San Francisco, right?
- Take the Coastal Highway (Highway 1) for a few hours on the way back to LA and stopped at Half Moon Bay Brewing and the Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing Company (awesome fish tacos).
- Book a cheap-ass room at the Super 8 and watch a live car chase on Fox News.
Wednesday
- Fly back to Montana and drink about 2 gallons of water. (Know why you feel like crap when you travel? Sure, jet-lag, but you're also extremely dehydrated.)
- Slapped hands with Jason, Drew, and Mike and decided that we should not hang out for at least a few days so as not to strangle each other.
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So that's what we tried to squeeze into six days. Ever been to any of these places? Where should we have gone?
(To read and post comments for this entry, visit http://thenategreenexperience.com)
A quick recipe, a rant from a girl who can kick your ass, and a new workout to try
The "rocking my world" entry has become somewhat of a theme here on my blog. It's where I get to talk about random things that may not constitute a full blog post by themselves, but with their powers combined (like Captain Planet) make for a fun article.
The Ultimate Burger
On a week when I'm feeling extra productive I'll make a batch of these and put 'em in the fridge to eat later. Half the time I don't even re-heat them. Delicious. This recipe makes five to six burgers depending on how big you make them.
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1 small bunch Italian parsley
12 crackers (like Ritz or something comparable)
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
How to prepare and cook:
1. Put your crackers in a bowl and crush the shit out of them. (That's a cooking term.)
2. Chop your parsley
3. In a large mixing bowl add the parsley, mustard, beef, egg, and season with salt and pepper.
4. Using both your hands mix the shit out of it. (Another cooking term.)
5. Roll and pat into small patties, put on a plate, and drizzle olive oil on each side.
6. Place in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to "firm up."
7. Get a pan and put it on medium-high heat. It should be hot to the touch.
8. Cook for four minutes per side.
9. Eat, rub belly, and declare that life is good.
Girls Who Can Kick My Ass
Pip is a former client of mine, a professional skier, writer, and all-around badass. I asked her to write me a few paragraphs about how she feels when she goes to the gym. Two words: watch out.
I’m not that big. In fact, I’m what you could call pretty little. I’m 5’2”, 125 pounds. But despite my small size, I can still kick your ass. I like to do it quietly and unassuming. Walk into the gym, stretch, warm up, watch the meatheads in their strategically cut t-shirts , lats on full display, laying on the bench grunting their way through a one rep set of bench presses. One? Really dude, you can only do one? Huh.
I prefer power lifting or Olympic. Occasionally you’ll find busting through a heavy set of 3x5 or looking for my 1 rep max, but never laying down on a bench, spending more time checking out the chicks on the elipticals than working up a sweat.
After all, that’s why I’m here: to sweat. I start my workout slowly, picking out the weight, going over the different moves in the superset, making sure I have the back extension machine under lock down and plenty of space. Then it starts. You don’t want me to drop the bar? Tough. I’m not setting this bar down gently after a round of jerks. And I’m not stopping after that round either. Catch my breath? That would be cheating. This work out is all about me and the clock. How fast can I finish?
Next, wall balls, then 28” box jumps, then onto rowing, repeat. Five rounds later I’m finished, laying on the floor, chest heaving, and relieved that I’m finished. But my workout has earned more than one weary look.
“Those are the best cleans I’ve ever seen, and you’re a girl! What are you training for?”
Training for? Nothing in particular. Just life.
When you have a second, check out her blog, The Adventures of Pip.
Hardcore Density Training for Fat-Loss and General Pain
The past few months I've been experimenting with an alternative type of cardio to stay lean and improve my work capacity: bodyweight (or light weight) circuits for time. I do them once or twice per week, which serves as good active recovery from my weight training sessions.
Here's something to try the next time you go to the gym. (Warning: it sucks real bad.)
A1 Blast Strap, TRX, or Bodyweight Row x 30 seconds
Rest 30 seconds
A2 Jumping Lunge x 30 seconds
Rest 30 seconds
Repeat 2-3 more times
B1 Push-up variation (regular, spiderman, dive-bomber, etc.) x 30 seconds
Rest 30 seconds
B2 Kettlebell swing x 30 seconds
Rest 30 seconds
Repeat 2-3 more times
C1 Overhead Medicine Ball Slams x 30 seconds
Rest 30 seconds
C2 Close-grip Chin-up x 30 seconds
Rest 30 seconds
Repeat 2-3 more times
Playing Outside
Here's something to try: turn off your cell phone, pack some food, get a few friends together, and go do something outside. Brilliant!
I'm amazed at how many people never leave their homes or daily routine. Fresh air, good company, and a new physical challenge = memories and a general feeling of awesomeness.
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So what kinds of things are rocking your world right now? Let me know below in the comments! One random person will be picked to receive a free Humblecock shirt!
(EDIT: Thanks to everyone for their comments! I picked Tony Roe and Ciaran to win the free shirt. Check your email, guys.)
(To read and post comments for this entry, visit http://thenategreenexperience.com)