GET IN THE ARENA!By Steve Edwards of BeachBody.com"It is not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles. Or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement. And at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." -- President Theodore Roosevelt, Paris, 1910 If you're reading this, chances are you're interested in improving your health and fitness. Some of you are undoubtedly already in the arena. For you others, now's the time! The first step to improving your fitness is to understand the basics of what it takes. You can have all the motivation in the world, but without some type of concrete plan, it can go to waste. Gyms and fitness companies often worry more about marketing than what to do with a customer once they're there. Don't get me wrong, motivational tools and making commitments are a huge part of the process. You'll never get in shape unless you make the decision to get off the couch and do something. But it's oh-so-much easier if you have a base line of knowledge to work from. It will give you the confidence to believe that your hard work is not going to be for naught. And believing in what you're doing is one of the strongest motivational tools there is. The Rules of Fitness No matter what you decide to do in order to change your current fitness level, there are five general concepts that you should understand. These are rules of fitness. You may break them on occasion for special programs, diets, events, etc, but, in general, it's best to incorporate these rules in order to maximize any fitness program. 1. You are what you eat. You hear this all of the time, and for good reason. If you don't give your body the proper nutrients, it cannot perform to its maximum. Specifically how to eat is a large and debated topic, and too much to go into here. But diet is important, and if you don't eat well you can't expect to see much in the way of results, no matter what you do for exercise. As a general guideline, staying with the most natural diet you can is best. Limiting processed and fast foods, enriched flours, sugars, saturated and trans fats will do you a world of good. For a brief look at what some of the world's nutrition experts say, click here. 2. Supplement your diet. Intense exercise can offset a bad diet, to some degree, though not if you are nutrient deficient. Modern American eating habits and the nutrient content of many "staple" foods tends to be questionable, at best. Many studies with both athletes and active individuals have shown them to be short on many key ingredients despite ample food intake. Taking a good multi-vitamin can assure that you at least have all the basic nutrients your body needs. Beyond this, there are many ways you can go but increasing calories to handle excess workloads can be more efficient by using meal replacement drinks, protein supplements, and nutritional bars that don't contain superfluous ingredients. But learn to read labels; all supplements are not created equal. 3. Periodize your training. That means, whatever exercise program you decide upon, don't do it indefinitely. Athletes have used periodizational training for decades. The average person trying to stay in shape doesn't have any different physiological processes than someone training for the Olympics. They may not be as refined but, in general, we all work the same way. Change what you are doing each 4 to 6 weeks. Perhaps not drastically, but change it somehow. Lower the number of reps, increase them, switch to more cardio, less cardio, anything… Just change it (though it will work best if you have a plan). 4. Have a realistic short-term goal. The above is easier to plan if you know what you're after. Saying "I want to look like Cindy Crawford by the end of the month" is not a realistic goal if you have been living on Bon-Bons for the last two decades and weigh 250 pounds. A better short-term goal might be "I'm going to finish three cycles of training," so that way you don't get caught up on results when what you really need to do is change your habits. After this, the next goal might be something like, "I'm going to fit in a size 10 by Christmas", or "I'm going to finish running a 10K". You're never going to achieve that ultimate goal without conquering some smaller battles first. If you've spent that past thirty years getting out of shape, don't expect to reverse this in one training cycle. Be realistic. If you are losing (or gaining, if that's your goal) a pound or two a week, you're doing great. Give yourself targets that reflect this, and cut yourself some slack. 5. Train Holistically. Remember that the body is all connected to the same person. You want to train for a sound mind and body as one unit. Don't get caught up on your "flabby stomach", "puny arms", "pear shape", etc. We all have trouble spots and weaknesses but our training should revolve around our entire bodies. You can do sit-ups until the end of time but you won't have ripped abs unless you burn enough calories to lower your percentage of body fat. Conversely, focusing on doing curls all day long won't make you look like Vin Diesel. In fact, you'd probably just be overtraining. The program you design should focus on every body part. You might work a bit more on one area but make sure that your weekly plan contains something for the entire body.
You're now armed with knowledge. It's time to take the next step: get in the arena!
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