I heard this story on the radio on my away to work today. It's nonsense. This prisoner in the USA filed a prisoner civil rights lawsuit against the government. Why? because hes losing weight in prison where is is charged with murder!
He lost more than 80kg from 180+ to 140kg... and hes complaining? He should be thankful.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Singapore Personal Trainer: Obesity, Greater girth, shortened life
No shock here. Being obese, tubby or just plain fat not only makes you more likely to be dumber in your later years, it makes your later years lesser as well (i.e. you die younger). While this is no surprise...
It is something to worry about because this is probably the first time in recent history where the life expectancy is dropping!
Yes. The cigarette manufacturers are selling you the sticks of death...
Yes. The food manufacturers are selling you food that has nitrates, trans-fats and environmental toxins that kill ya...
Yes. We live in stressful Singapore where work hours are long and time is short...
But No that doesn't mean that we can forget about taking care of ourselves. We can always make the hard choices that lead to better health. We can't take care of our families or loved ones if we don't.
I don't think of time/money invested training and eating as "spent". I think of it as "saved"... saved on medical bills, and saved on a future low quality life!
It is something to worry about because this is probably the first time in recent history where the life expectancy is dropping!
Yes. The cigarette manufacturers are selling you the sticks of death...
Yes. The food manufacturers are selling you food that has nitrates, trans-fats and environmental toxins that kill ya...
Yes. We live in stressful Singapore where work hours are long and time is short...
But No that doesn't mean that we can forget about taking care of ourselves. We can always make the hard choices that lead to better health. We can't take care of our families or loved ones if we don't.
I don't think of time/money invested training and eating as "spent". I think of it as "saved"... saved on medical bills, and saved on a future low quality life!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Singapore Fitness Coach: Mental Toughness
I like competing and coaching sport. The MOST frustrating thing is mental weakness. Letting emotions determine play, fearing the opponent and the situation, getting affected by poor officiating, negative communication between teamates or between players and coach... all these are signs of mental weakness.
As a fitness professional I see the same things in clients. As coaches at my company Genesis Health & Performance, we help people overcome these mental and attitude difficulties as well as their physical ones!
Stuff like:
"I have to eat what my grandmother cooks" - and it's oily starchy food
"I don't have time to eat regular meals" - because my work is so stressful
"Training is tough!" - but you have to make up for the next 47 hours where you will be sitting at a desk!
AND SO on and on...
But there is nothing wrong with that. All top performers have coaches. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, etc. Having coaching is just a means to the correct end. Just like a good pair of running shoes or a better tennis racket.
How's your mental toughness?
As a fitness professional I see the same things in clients. As coaches at my company Genesis Health & Performance, we help people overcome these mental and attitude difficulties as well as their physical ones!
Stuff like:
"I have to eat what my grandmother cooks" - and it's oily starchy food
"I don't have time to eat regular meals" - because my work is so stressful
"Training is tough!" - but you have to make up for the next 47 hours where you will be sitting at a desk!
AND SO on and on...
But there is nothing wrong with that. All top performers have coaches. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, etc. Having coaching is just a means to the correct end. Just like a good pair of running shoes or a better tennis racket.
How's your mental toughness?
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Singapore Fitness Coach: Persistance (Green Eggs and Ham)
You know, part of being a coach is helping people push through tough times. Helping them to persevere and to be persistent.
Just like the Dr Seuss Book about green eggs and ham. "Sam I am" tells his friend all about green eggs and ham and how wonderful they are and asks his friend to eat them.
Over
and Over
and Over
and Over again...
16 times to be exact...
and finally his friend gives in!
How persistent are you with your fitness goals? A minor injury set you back? The diet didn't get you as lean as you had hoped? Your co workers are not supportive of your healthy eating?
16 times!
And you can even get somebody to eat green eggs.
Something to think about huh!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Singapore Performance Coach: Hamstring Injuries
I like American football. In fact I went to play with a group this past weekend. 2 of them were nursing hamstring injuries. This is common in sports where there is a lot of sprinting. But why do they happen?
Remember that my philosophy on injury prevention is that all non-contact injuries are preventable. That means that if you hurt your hamstring running, it can be prevented.
Sure, you need to train your hamstrings both as hip extensors (dead-lift type movements) as well as knee flexors (I like slide board leg curls, or leg curls on a ball).
But I believe that if your hamstrings are weak, they are not that likely to be injured. You just won't be fast!
However, it is you gluteals that prevent hamstring injury. Most athletes have terrible gluteal function. One of my most gifted basketball guys this year is an awesome player but with bad glute function. Thats what makes him injury prone!
Both the glutes and the hamstrings do similar things in movement. And if the glutes are weak, the hamstrings take over and do more work than they can. Then you get a pull. So get those glutes functioning and your hamstrings will thank you for it.
Read about glute function at my latest articles. Part 1, Part 2
Remember that my philosophy on injury prevention is that all non-contact injuries are preventable. That means that if you hurt your hamstring running, it can be prevented.
Sure, you need to train your hamstrings both as hip extensors (dead-lift type movements) as well as knee flexors (I like slide board leg curls, or leg curls on a ball).
But I believe that if your hamstrings are weak, they are not that likely to be injured. You just won't be fast!
However, it is you gluteals that prevent hamstring injury. Most athletes have terrible gluteal function. One of my most gifted basketball guys this year is an awesome player but with bad glute function. Thats what makes him injury prone!
Both the glutes and the hamstrings do similar things in movement. And if the glutes are weak, the hamstrings take over and do more work than they can. Then you get a pull. So get those glutes functioning and your hamstrings will thank you for it.
Read about glute function at my latest articles. Part 1, Part 2
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Singapore Fitness Coach: Observation - Start Health with younger population
sI am very grateful that my company and I appeared in the March 2008 edition of Pioneer Magazine. The reason I managed to get that publicity is because of my free ippt-website that helps all national servicemen of all ages and fitness levels do well in their IPPT test.
But I was thinking that I could do even better (always trying to do better!) and my next project will be a NAPFA website for youth fitness. I myself had big NAPFA problems in the past. Especially for the 2.4km run as well as the sit and reach. I'm gonna build this site so I can help young people do well in this test.
Learning how to train correctly and effectively at a young age builds confidence and competence. Confidence and competence build compliance. And that leads to long term health.
But I was thinking that I could do even better (always trying to do better!) and my next project will be a NAPFA website for youth fitness. I myself had big NAPFA problems in the past. Especially for the 2.4km run as well as the sit and reach. I'm gonna build this site so I can help young people do well in this test.
Learning how to train correctly and effectively at a young age builds confidence and competence. Confidence and competence build compliance. And that leads to long term health.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Singapore Personal Trainer: Individual Needs Met in a group setting
The whole idea of "personal training" means that its... ahem personal. That is why we do assessments, and individual program design. But think about it, do karate instructors train mostly in groups or as individuals? Groups! What about swimming, groups, what about sports teams even at international levels? They do their conditioning in groups!
Groups allow me to keep costs down yet within our groups we meet individual needs to correct imbalances, as well as fix posture and movement problems. This seems to be a win win for everybody.
The best part is the social support. Remember that we are the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with, so spending time consistently with a group of people who are going to do the right thing for their future and their health is going to be good for you.
As opposed to going it alone...
Our group classes are affordable and effective. Click here up for a free consult to see if our groups can meet your fitness and performance needs.
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