CALORIES OR HORMONES? Who's Responsible for Weight Loss/Gain... PART 2

As you read along, please remember that perfection is not the goal, rather it's your ongoing pursuit. Value the process and let the near win or the almost getting it, motivate you to continue pursuing... You just can't perfectly get it, but a Deliberate Effort to keep trying is what a Deliberate Fitness success looks like.

HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE

Just as the name suggests, this is the hormone that facilitates growth and assists with protein synthesis. High levels of growth hormone will increase fat release. Think of it like the  building hormone. When building is happening energy is required. This energy will not come from protein as it will be directly used in the building and neither will it come from carbohydrates, they won't provide enough fuel as it  that requires a constant supply of energy therefore it can only come from stored fats. 

To increase the Growth Hormone you'll need to perform short, intense exercises and exercises that are weight training dominant. ( Lift Weights, perform sprints on a treadmill or a bike) Weight training tears the muscles and puts stress on the bones. These are then repaired and rebuilt to become stronger and bigger. This is the building that I'm talking about and it requires energy (Fat).

Ladies do you still need reasons to sprint or perform resistance training exercises(Lifting weights or your own body weight)?

CORTISOL

It's popularly known as the Stress Hormone. Think of it as the responsive hormone, like an ambulance or the emergency department. Anything that poses a potential threat to the body will result in cortisol being called in to help. Cortisol just like stress can either be good or bad depending on the circumstances. During exercise, you want your levels to be high as it works with your other fat burning hormones like adrenaline and growth hormone, to increase fat release. You also want your cortisol levels to be low when you're not exercising.

Again short intense exercises will increase cortisol levels and performing slow relaxing exercises like leisure walking after an intense exercise will lower cortisol levels.

The idea is to balance when you need to, find when your cortisol levels should be high and when they should be low.

INSULIN

Think of this hormone as the sugar hormone. It gets released when there's high sugar levels (and this could be from any carbohydrate food- vegetables, fruits, rice, milk etc)  in the blood stream. The brain communicates that the blood sugar levels are very high or more than enough, so let's store some of it. It does this by releasing Insulin which in turn promotes storage of fat in an effort to deal with the high blood sugar levels.

Low blood sugar levels in the blood promotes the release of glucagon, which in turn helps in fat burning to increase the blood sugar levels, because the brain communicates that there isn't enough, so let's break down some stored fats to get the energy.

To control insulin levels just avoid the blood sugar level spikes. The right carbohydrate choices, the ones that will allow slow release of glucose after breakdown is the right way to avoid insulin spikes. Rich protein foods will also help release more glucagon and less insulin.

Avoid getting really hungry to a point when the blood sugar levels are low. These are the times when you feel you're craving something sweet. When you're extremely hungry you're more likely to go for a quick(usually unhealthy) meal rather than going home to prepare something.

Solution is just keep eating and drinking small portions of food & water throughout the day.

In conclusion, weight loss is about hormone balance. Hormonal balance will ensure that you actually communicate to your body what you really mean. That's all, you just mean what you say. It doesn't matter how much fat loss you desire, how well you communicate it to the body is what will bring results.

Cheers!
Nduta Maina

An overdue introduction.

I am a believer in the authors motives / skills / endeavors in general.

I am a friend, a mentor :) and a cheer leader through her journey. 

I am an ex-school mate and work in a some what similar field.  

I share a name with the author!

Therefore, I am honored and qualified to be involved in this blog. 

First things first, I have not authored anything in this blog apart from this introduction. I help in the administrative side of things, thanks to my dear IT husband. All credit must go to NDUTA MAINA. She knows her stuff and has her way with words. 

This is a weekly blog. As the name suggests, it deals with everything fitness. Unlike others, this blog is a step forward from the practical, not just empty words. Workout sessions are at YMCA Monday, Wednesday & Friday 5:25 - 6:30 pm. Personally, I admire the outdoor, minimal equipment approach. 

The Monday morning posts continue to keep me thinking and inspired, I hope you enjoy them as much too.

I will patiently await the post she promised for pregnancy workouts.

Keep reading, keep working.

Nduta G. Kanani.

CALORIES OR HORMONES? Who's Responsible for Weight Gain?

Both are. It's just that one is the message{Calories} and the other is the messenger{Hormones}.

To explain that let me share an interesting perspective on Stress & Stress Management.

One wise old Indian man told of how he couldn't understand the concept of stress management. He couldn't for the life of him understand why anyone would want to manage stress, because according to him, people should only manage things that are precious to them i.e. Time, Family, Finances. Why anyone would voluntarily want to manage stress, puzzled him. He's definition of stress, however, is what caught my attention. "Stress is the inability to manage your inner systems; your mind, energy, emotions etc."

That definition explains why everyone complains about stress; the wealthy, the poor, the employed, the unemployed, the married and the single. It's because it has absolutely nothing to do with what's happening on the outside, but everything to do with how the inside processes the outside happenings.

This is exactly how calories, hormones & weight loss operate. Hormones are messengers that communicate certain messages(Calories, exercise) to the mind & body. So what do they communicate:

LEPTIN for example is the hormone that communicates whether you're hungry or full. When Leptin levels are high they communicate that we're full so no more storing.. in fact, let's burn some fat to create room. Metabolism increases.

When Leptin levels are low however, the communication to the mind is that we're hungry. So the body responds by slowing down metabolism, and filling up the stores.

Whenever you're trying to lose weight you immediately start to eat less than you use{ Well at least you hope to do it immediately}. This is actually what you should do, although a prolonged caloric deficit{When you continuously eat less} causes Leptin levels to drop. This is exactly why low calorie diets only work upto a certain point. Then weight loss stops, because leptin has dropped and the official communication is that you're hungry, and stores should be filled.

On the outside you have the ideal weight loss environment, eat lesser calories and expend more, but the communication on the inside is that we're always hungry, therefore let's store some for a rainy day, and while we're at it, let's lower the metabolism.

The Big Question then is how do we then control our inner communication?? About stress I have no idea how to do it. Leptin however, we just need to raise its levels from time to time. I'll give you 3 simple ways: 

1. OCCASIONALLY use high intensity interval training- Train at high intensity levels with rests in between(If you train with Deliberate Fitness, you know this is the science behind our occasional Sprint workouts and our short 6-minute intense finisher workouts). 

2. OCCASIONALLY, read that again, have a cheat meal. Have your favorite treats, or eat without portion control from time to time. This gets you that caloric surplus, which increase leptin levels, that then communicate we're full let's empty some stores & increase our metabolism. Again why Deliberate Fitness will not encourage total elimination of some foods.... Well... to some extent.

3. Get quality sleep. Leptin levels are known to rise when you're in the deep sleep cycle of your sleep. To know these cycles better get a sleep monitor. { Still working on how to bring sleep into our evening workouts, I'll let you know the progress}.

That's Leptin. Note that the prolonged caloric deficit is the problem, therefore the occasional is what should disrupt that continuity.

Find more hormones: Insulin, Cortisol and Human Growth Hormone on the blog
deliberatefitness.blogspot.com

Your challenge for this week is to stop complaining about stress all the time and read about the other hormones.

While you do that we'll be at YMCA on Monday, Wednesday & Friday 5.25-6.30pm working out.

Cheers!

STOP COLLECTING THE DOTS

Raise your right hand as high as you possibly can... Now raise it slightly higher.

Did your hand go any higher? I'm hoping it did not, but if it did, blame our text book mentality that has taught us not to give our all. We rarely give 100% because your trainer, teacher, boss or coach will always ask for more. And you'll be safe because you have more to give.

We have been taught to do things a certain way. We reward the one who can memorize the most facts by taking them to the next class. We reward a collection of working years or a collection of certificates with a job promotion. We reward those who eat the least number of calories with a number on the weighing scale. We are all busy collecting dots and the one who collects the most gets the biggest reward.

At the end of the day, we do it for the test, we do it for the weighing scale and we do it for that job promotion.

Woe unto you if you try connecting the dots... Your parent gets summoned to school because you're doing a lot less memorizing and a lot more art & sports. Try not counting every single calorie that goes into your mouth and your trainer decides you're on your own.

When you stop collecting the dots and start connecting them it stops feeling like work it starts to feel passionate, insightful and artistic.

That is where we should be headed, that's the path that should be celebrated, but is it?

If you dread Monday morning it's because whatever you're doing is a chore and you aim to do less of it. Have you ever heard an songwriter say I'm going to write 1 less song this month, or an artist, I'll paint 1 less painting this year or a striker say I'll try not to score in this game..  Neither have I.

So you've started working out because you want to be thinner or weigh less, but why do you want to lose that weight(Which I'm hoping is fat) or to be thinner. What will you do better once you attain your 'ideal' weight?  Your answer to that should be the focus. It should make up the entire process. It's not the number on the weighing scale or the calories in your food.

Do you really want to eat less or you just want to eat better?

This shift from collecting to connecting requires Deliberate Effort. Efforts to decide which dot will connect to which dot, not just collecting them whether they make sense or not. Deliberate Efforts to create, enjoy and feel the entire process not just the small parts that will tip the weighing scale or will appear in the test. And finally Deliberate Efforts to put yourself in a situation where you'll fail or be criticised and be ok with it because you enjoy and are passionate about the process.

Follow less, think, engage, question and enjoy more. Get to the point where you want to Deliberately do more.

The weighing scale is important but it's NOT THE MAIN THING NEITHER IS IT THE ULTIMATE GOAL.

Counting calories is neither fun nor sustainable.

Creating my own path... And I'm happy about it

This week's challenge: Forget the standardized tests, toss out the weighing scale, just connect the dots, YOUR DOTS, and be ready & willing to fail.

It's Nutrition Monday today at Deliberate Fitness at the YMCA State House Rd. 5.25--6.30pm
The only thing that our sessions have in common with other sessions, is that we don't have anything in common.

Cheers!

P.s Today's train of thought was inspired by Seth Godin; marketer, leader & author. Linchpin is one of my Favorite books by Seth.

DIFFERENT CAN BE GOOD......

DIFFERENT CAN BE GOOD

But only if you stick to it long enough to find that good side.

When I went to High School, I found my different, no that's not true... different found me. I spent the entire first year of school trying to learn a new culture and a new way of life.

My very first Geography lesson remains unforgettable to this day. See my siblings and cousins had warned me that Geography wasn't the GHC I was used to, it was a lot more complex and technical, so I was somewhat prepared, or at least I thought. But I wasn't prepared enough for what happened. The Geography teacher entered class and asked us to name a few "Fishers" that we knew of. "What sort of subject is this that we had to know "Fishermen" by name???"  Is what went through my mind. This tiny detail, my siblings left out. So much for preparation. It was until she mentioned examples;valleys, mountains, hills & plains that I realized she actually meant "FEATURES".

In that one moment, everything in my head stopped working. No one in class was confused, no one seemed lost, no one was laughing. EXCEPT ME.

Then it hit me, I was in a different place and in this part of the world, this is the norm. It is acceptable to speak like this.

I had never up until this point, heard anyone talk like this before, at least not intentionally. Where I was brought up(And it's not my fault, I was brought up in the leafy suburbs of Landless, and yes I hear the paradox in that statement) people spoke fluently and if they didn't it was standard practice to laugh at them for the next 5 minutes.

So I spent the rest of the year trying to understand this new language that I would be hearing for the next 3 years. Still laughing along the way, because it got funnier, and I didn't want to abandon my culture, of course. And at the end of 4 years, this very different, strange if you may, environment gave me character, it gave me some of the best friends that I know of today and provided me, with a solid foundation to be the great small person that I am today.

Only thing though, I was young and with no exit strategy;so I had no choice but to hang in there long enough. So I got the good.

You on the other hand, are a lot older and spoilt for choice when it comes to exits, so chances are, you are not going to hang in there long enough to see the good in different.

That experience revealed how inaccurate my wiring was, that people don't need to speak in a certain way to deliver.

So have you been sticking to something because it's the only way you know and for no other reason?  Have you been rejecting things or other people's opinions because of your inaccurate wiring? Have you gotten to a point where you no longer listen when it comes to a particular subject matter, because you're used to your way of doing things?

Here are some other inaccurate wirings that I've heard, and until you do something other than what you've always known, to challenge that, they'll always remain correct according to you, and ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING IS THE KEY THING HERE.

"That it's not lady-like to play" "If you're thin you're fit" "You have to go to the gym to get a good workout" "Healthy food is expensive" "If you only have 1 or 2 hours a week to workout you shouldn't start a workout routine" "Working out is only for fat loss" "You have to get fit to start working out" (I don't even know what that means). 

If any of the above is something you've once said or believed, your challenge this week is to do something that's totally different to that belief, stick to it and let me know your outcome.

DO SOMETHING.

If you've never experienced an outdoor workout for whatever reason that's been holding you back, Find us, Deliberate Fitness at the YMCA State Hse Road, Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays 5.25-6.30pm5.25-6.30pm.

Cheers!

Me, in a Different light..... Yeeessss DIFFERENT CAN BE VERY GOOD

APPLES TO APPLES

APPLES TO APPLES

No I'm not about to talk about the fruits. Apples to Apples is a board game that has recently found it's way as one of my favorite board games ever.

Let me explain how it's played. It has 2 different card decks; Red and Green hence it's name, and is played by 4 or more participants. Each player is dealt with 5 Red cards, each card with different extremely random words e.g. Computers, Oxygen, Indiana Jones etc. Among the players a judge is chosen, who is then handed 1 Green card. The green card has different adjectives, one on each card e.g Sensitive, Worthless, Caring etc. 

The aim of the game is once the judge has read out the adjective on the Green card and it's synonyms, the rest of the players have to pick one Red card out of their 5 cards and try and convince the judge why that name relates closest to the aforementioned adjective.

I absolutely love this game because it keeps you on your toes, you have no idea what to expect. It provides room for creativity and most importantly allows for self expression as you try to convince the judge why your answer is best described by the adjective.

These are some of the most hilarious answers my friends and I have ever come up with. The adjective(Green Card word) was 'Sensitive'. Now, when your Red Cards are Indiana Jones, Sea-Fish, Republicans, Oxygen & Recycling you have to get creative. My friend racked her brain and decided that Oxygen will be the best card to represent Sensitivity. This was her explanation "A lack of Oxygen can be a very Sensitive situation". Which is actually true if you think about it. Hit Reply if you think you can do better. 

I on the other hand, had the following Red Cards: Oyster, Dieting, Sushi, Engineering and Boss. The Green Word to match was Funny/Hilarious. As intelligent as I am I decided Dieting was the funniest of my words, and I went ahead to explain that "I'm on a See-Food Diet, where I see food and eat it. Or a balanced diet is my focus (And especially on a holiday like today) which means I have a plate of food on each hand, hence the balance." Funny stuff right? Well the judge didn't think I was funny at all.

The originality, creativity and authenticity of this game makes it so interesting. One single word can mean as many different things, to different people as possible. Conforming in Apples & Apples is a foreign term. It's fun, makes you think and gives you a different point of view as you listen to the other participants' answers.

Well, this right here is the reason Deliberate Fitness trains outside. Outdoor Fitness is our authenticity. We are more creative, work and serve you best while in this environment. We are more expressive and create real relationships here (Over the years I've found that results are really hard to achieve if a relationship is not established). We are in our element, and the results have no choice but to follow. At Deliberate Fitness we celebrate individualism in a group.

This game makes you look at the usual things unusually. You have to think of how Dieting, Boss, Engineering, Oyster and Sushi can be funny. And if you allow yourself to think hard enough, you're bound to come up with something. The environment pushes you to that extreme.

Take a moment and think about your training. Do you hit the gym like a routine just to say I go to the gym every Monday, Wednesday & Friday? Are you in the moment during that aerobics, zumba & spin class or do you just go through the motions for 60 or so minutes? Does your workout allow for self expression or do you just do it, because your trainer said so, or because it worked for your friend/relative? Is it an environment that pushes you, reveals the best and most creative you?

I dare you to try and explain how Oxygen can be sensitive or how dieting can be funny. 

I dare you to workout at night, workout outside or wherever and whatever time you feel like you're in the zone.
I dare you to express yourself and do the sort of workout only you enjoy, even if it doesn't make sense to the rest of us.
I dare you to be creative and find ways to still workout whenever you can't access the gym.
I dare you to be different and authentic.
I dare you to express your true feelings and come up with the real reasons as to why you workout.

Because Only when you do all the above, will you enjoy the process and the journey(Be it weight loss, weight gain or just keeping fit). Only then, will you love and appreciate yourself, and workout from a place of love and appreciation. And only then will you be patient enough to work and wait for the results because the results don't define who you are, they just make you better.

Add caption

We take our Goof Offs and Play time very very seriously...

  

Enjoy the holiday today and play a board game if you can.

And if you want to confirm how authentic we are, how creative we can get or how we look like when we are in our element? Be our guest, find us at the YMCA State House Rd. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5.25-6.30pm 5.25-6.30pm.

Cheers!

WE HAVE FAILED...And we need your help.

Fitness professionals, experts, specialists and any other name we might want to call ourselves(I personally like Exercise Scientist) we have FAILED. We have more than quadrupled in number over the years, become more scientific and we have even provided a variety of different kinds of exercises and workouts, but what do we have to show for it? A steady rise in obesity and lifestyle diseases. Postural problems are like a badge of honour(You know, for the one who sits the longest in the office) and more and more people are moving a lot less. We are associating physical movement with poverty, ( "I've made it in life, so neither I nor my children shall walk anywhere ever again"). I miss those days when children only suffered from childhood;hyperactivity, bruises, broken teeth from a tree climbing gone sour, bumps on the head etc. Back then, kids would tolerate everything including lactose and gluten. And I would know this because I spent my early life as a child.

So where are we going wrong? Trying to save the entire world because we have the knowledge and the know-how is where we are going wrong. If there's anything I've learnt over the years by increasing my knowledge it's the revelation how so very little we know.

Here's the problem with trying to save the  world, THERE'S NO WORLD. There's only 7 Billion of us, and 7 Billion different understandings of the world. My goal should be to change only ONE person's understanding (That is you) and show you how powerful and capable you are so that you can in turn change another(How you come in and help us, as exercise scientists) and we replicate this cycle until the 7 Billion are reached.

Wellness Solutions have already discovered this little secret. They are corporate wellness company that LITERALLY teaches people in the corporate circles how to put them(Wellness Solutions) out of business.

Let me explain. They are experts in work place analysis and postural assessments. (I know they're experts because I send clients with postural deficiencies or chronic back problems to them before training them or prescribing any exercise to them). They go into an organization and pick a few people from the organization, later to be known as wellness coordinators and train them to do what they do in the SIMPLEST most effective way possible. This makes the process more individualized and engaging. It arouses curiosity and creativity in the participants;the two ingredients that are the engines of achievement. EXACTLY WHY FOR US TO ACHIEVE, WE NEED YOUR HELP.

Wellness Solutions would go into a said organization, do individual tests, to reveal what needs to be addressed;if its slouching on your computer, sitting/standing for long hours, carrying heavy equipment with improper posture etc. From there on they'll train the wellness coordinators from the said organization on interpretation of the tests and what to do to address that.(If it's getting Laptop Raisers or pedometers to remind you that you need to cover a certain number of steps a day or something as simple as stretches). At this point Pro Wellness Solutions LEAVE your organization under the capable hands of the wellness coordinators to see through what they've started and only come in once in a while to check in on the wellness coordinators, help when needed and do a retest to find out if the recommendations are working.

Their aim is that within 2 years or less an organization knows what to do on their own, and they are not needed anymore.Things like backaches, neck and wrist strains will be a thing of the past. (Prevent instead of treat).

THAT RIGHT THERE, IS PURE GENIUS.

As you pick up the phone to call Wellness Solutions today to your office, I'll be job shadowing, because they are probably the only people dealing with humans as a human system and not a mechanical system. They understand that a human system depends on certain conditions to thrive.

They practice Climate Control and not Command & Control(Used when handling Mechanical Systems). They create a Climate of Possibility where people will rise to it and create things beyond their expectation, instead of just saying "Drop and give me 50".

www.pro-wellness-solutions.com

Call 0733 783 255 or 020-5286079
Info@pro-wellness-solutions.com

Challenge of the week, help us reach at least the 10 million in Nairobi only.

Today at YMCA, Deliberate Fitness, we'll be discussing Nutrition after training. 5.25pm is the time.

Cheers!

Become Thika SuperHighway

 BECOME THIKA SUPERHIGHWAY

That is of course, if your goal is lifestyle change. For those not familiar with the Thika SuperHighway it is the multi-laned road that starts from the small beautiful town of Thika all the way to our Kenyan capital Nairobi.
Can you remember the way Thika Road looked like a few years ago. Did you think, then, that the same Thika road would be the SuperHighway we know it to be today? Neither did I. How many people have you told you're starting your weight loss journey and they just laughed at you? Those you've told that you'd like to get back to your pre-birth body and they've told you to join Churchill because you can be funny? You can stop counting now, I know they are many.

A lifestyle change is what I call becoming the Thika Super Highway. A lifestyle change is a transformation;meaning that even if rains or we get hit by a quake THIKA ROAD WILL NEVER GO BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS. Read that again. Yes, please start rethinking all those life transforming diets & exercise regimes you've been through but when you stopped or dropped out, YOU WENT BACK TO THE WAY YOU WERE.

It all started with a conscious decision to take action by our then government. They wanted change and took action by contracting the Chinese to do the work. You need to stop just reading that we are at the YMCA every Monday, Wednesday & Friday.. come and sign up. Take Action. Realizing that you need to change and then taking action is everything. 

Were the Chinese the best for Job?  Probably not. But did they deliver?  without a doubt! So are we (Deliberate Fitness) the best, {Your mind should be saying Yes} probably not, because we may not have the latest gym equipment. But will we get you the results... That, I can show you better than I can tell you.

The entire PROCESS of transforming Thika Road to Thika SuperHighway took TIME, MONEY and PLANNING. It took effort, in fact everyone had to put in some effort. The Kenyan government, the Chinese contractors, the drivers and the passengers. Collective Effort. We all had to meet each other somewhere half way.

The PROCESS, was also very very uncomfortable. It took long, very long. Different parts of the road were being closed everyday and you had to look for alternatives. Diversions were all over the road. They made people more aware when driving so that you don't get lost or keep driving around in circles. There was so much dust everywhere, most of it inside the Car and ridiculous traffic. (The Combination of dust & traffic still annoys me to date just thinking about it).

Your lifestyle change journey will look a little something like that. You will sometimes hurt after exercise, it's a process so it'll take time, sometimes too long to see results and you may have to replace your favorite treats with healthier food choices that may not necessarily be as tasty. Simply put it's going to be a long, hard and uncomfortable journey, but not painful of course. {No pain No gain is a myth}.

Did life stop for the Super Highway to be built? Haha I wish! Adjustments had to be made. We had to change the routes that we'd normally use just to get where we were going. The Chinese had to work at night, so as to disrupt the traffic a little less. We had to walk a tad further to get to the bus stop. Adjustments, Changes and sacrifices are inevitable, if you want that change. Wake up earlier & hit the gym, beat the evening traffic to make it to YMCA at 5.30pm. Cook at home instead of eating take out. Drag yourself to a workout even when every fibre in you is telling you, I don't feel like it. All these are a necessary part(Sacrifice)of the process. IT'S NOT GOING TO BE COMFORTABLE.

After all that, the Super Highway today is efficient, beautiful and a work of art. Travel has become a lot easier and faster. I don't need to spell out the benefits that you'll reap from all the sacrifice, should you decide to get fitter, the list is endless.

As efficient as the Super Highway is, does it get traffic? Or flooded when it rains? You Bet. Is there room for improvement, absolutely. When you start and commit to your fat loss/muscle building journey, it's not to mean that you won't slip every now and then. You will, A LOT. I expect that sometimes you won't feel like working out, over the holidays it is expected that you might over indulge. You can have a slice of cake or 14 every now and then. You are expected to slip and not be perfectly healthy all the time. What is not acceptable is going back to the way you were or from where you started. Once you start the journey, you'll forever be a work in progress. You can always get better, stronger, faster or limber. It'll be a never ending process.

Finally when the Super Highway got done we were all impressed, took drive tests just for fun and took photos sending them to our families in the diaspora. Right now the fire, excitement and pomp is all gone. Now it's just a highway. But does that make it less efficient, absolutely not. Expect the same thing. You start losing weight or gaining muscle(that coveted six-pack) everyone will be talking about you if not congratulating you, asking you what you've been doing. Over time, people stop noticing. This is when you remind yourself that you're still very efficient and that there's no possible way you could go back.

A lifestyle change should make it hard for us to picture how you looked like before the transformation. It should make it IMPOSSIBLE to go back. No matter what happens a butterfly can never go back into a caterpillar and Thika SuperHighway can never the Thika Road we had up until 2010.

This week's Action Step is just go out there,{YMCA State Hse Rd every Monday, Wednesday & Friday} sign up and start. Or at least use the SuperHighway to visit Thika;beautiful small town with great people. There's a reason it's called Thika SuperHighway and not Nairobi Super Highway.

This is us undergoing Construction....

Cheers!

Myths of Essentialism

In the Book Essentialism, Greg McKeown cleverly (Sarcastically) reminds us of how far off the essentials of life we've veered off. This is also true of the Fitness world, we are slowly forgetting the basics. I'll point out a couple of the Myths that Greg talks about and relate them to fitness.

Turning my sciency geek on...

Myth #1. I'm too busy living to think about life. In this day and age you have to always stay on, always be plugged in. Be stressed and unfulfilled but don't have down time. If you're not talking about how busy you are and how much time you never have, you're not actually living, neither are you conversation worthy.

Truth is in order to have focus and you need space to focus.

In the gym or in a workout being busy is where we confuse activity for actual work, where we are more focused on the gym time we put in, instead of the actual work being done. 

Jogging either on the treadmill or outside everyday for an hour is only beneficial for a short time. Your body adapts very quickly to this type of repetitive work. At some point your metabolic rate will drop because of the repetitive nature of the activity and your body starts using lean muscle as fuel and not fat.

I'd rather you lift some HEAVY weights, I doubt you can do it for very long. Some sprints {Or vary the speeds of your running} will do you good as well, again that can't take an hour. You'll look like you're not busy in the gym and especially because you'll not be there for long, but at least you've done some real work.

Myth #2. If everyone is doing it, then I better join in as well. Do everything that's popular... now. Let the fear of missing out consume you. Don't listen to that quiet voice telling you to be different, just go with the crowd.

The Truth is there's Joy in missing out, Please Discover it.

The latest 'Best' fitness fad may not necessarily be the best. For this reason, your muscles don't really care where resistance comes from; whether it's crossfit, bootcamp, bodyweight, kettlebells etc it doesn't matter, muscles will still adapt. The next time you ask your new gym whether they have kettlebells before you sign up, let it not be because it's the in thing.

Also jumping from one fitness trend to the next may be detrimental to your progression. Today it's Zumba, tomorrow it's spin, and the next it's Bootcamp. Variety is important alright, but don't make it a thing. Find a program that suits you and stick to it. 

I chose the outdoors because I Feel at home, I can do this all day everyday...

Myth #3. I'll stay up late and get it done. If you ever talk about sleep, only mention how little of it you got lately. Boast about getting four hours of sleep last night or how you pulled an all nighter earlier that week. It's ok to get tired and admit it, but do not under any circumstance show weakness or even worse laziness by declaring that you got a full eight hours of sleep in one night.

Truth: sleep is for high Performers.

I can't stress the importance of Quality sleep to your workout enough. Whenever you do your resistance training all you're doing is tearing your muscles. During sleep is when these muscles are rebuilt to become stronger and better. For cardio training, the quality of your next workout is dependent on how well you've recovered from your previous workout. You can't compromise on sleep and expect results.

Myth #4. More is better than less. Remember that the key is to have more of a thing than someone else, be it money, prestige or personal satisfaction. Just get more. Social media is a good place to start.  Choose shallow interactions over real meaningful friendships & relationships.

Truth: Quality over quantity anyday. And don't just say it, do it.

Your fitness journey should be a personal journey. The aim is to be your best self, not better than someone else. Aim for quality full range of motion repetitions before you can shoot for quantity. Do 5 pushups all the way to the floor before doing 19 (Like the half pushups that Michelle Obama & Ellen DeGeneres displayed on TV) Aim for 2 strict pullups instead of 5 half ones.

Myth #5 When things don't workout, Just force them. Ignore the stresses and how it affects others. Forget headaches, shoulder & neck strains. In fact get so used to the pressure that you start to ignore it. Keep telling yourself you are not straining or stressed.

Truth: You should never force anything.

This always happens when a training or a diet worked for a friend or a relative. IT MAY NOT WORK FOR YOU. If it just doesn't seem to fit, you hate your workouts and dread the food you'll be eating, don't ignore these signs hoping that if it means getting to where your friend got, you should put up with it. It's not the training or the nutrition that produces results, it's the marriage between the individual, the training and the nutrition. It's known as the principle of individuality.

(BONUS) Myth #6. It's not enough to just support a person through their problems, we need to save them. We've become exceptionally great at owning people's problems. Forget boundaries, let's make other people's problems our own, and own them fully.

Truth is we needn't and we shouldn't rob people of their problems.

This week, think long and hard about the things that are essential to you.

As usual we are at the YMCA, starting a new month New program.

Every Monday, Wednesday & Friday.at 5.25-6.30pm
5.30-6.30pm.