Main Event Daily Tip: Weight Loss is 90% Mental

Jennifer Gruenemay of Lifescript.com had a great tip on Weight Loss and slimming down.....
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While a personal trainer is one of the best coaches you can have in your weight loss journey, a positive attitude is even better to have in your corner, and it won’t cost you anything extra. While the science behind weight loss breaks it down to a “calories in vs. calories out” equation, the reality is that weight loss is largely a battle of the mind. But the battle is lost when you end up talking yourself out of exercising, talking yourself into ordering that cheeseburger and listening to negative self-talk every time you look in the mirror and pick apart your image. If you want to get serious about weight loss, don’t just pay attention to how much you eat and how often you exercise – also make a mental checklist of how often you put yourself down, even as you’re trying to build yourself up. Once you get an idea of how damaging your attitude really is to your goals, start putting encouraging thoughts and images into your mind. Stomp out those negative thoughts and keep a positive attitude, even when things aren’t looking so great. So you missed a workout and had a piece of cheesecake for breakfast – so what? Don’t beat yourself up over it. Rather, tell yourself you’re human and you’re allowed to make mistakes now and then, but you’ll do better next time. Visualize yourself at your goal's end and you’ll find yourself there sooner than you know.

Now you know and knowing is half the battle!

Seven Proven Steps to Overcome Procrastination

I know what I need to do, but I am unable to get started. Who among us hasn't been stuck in this scenario before? Momentum is a powerful force but inertia can be more powerful. We know what to do, but we don't put knowledge into action. The result is the frustration of procrastination and remaining stuck in your current reality even though you do want change.

Inside, it seems one part wants to get started and achieve success. Yet another part wants to stop, give up, or take it easy. An inner tug of war ensues between these two parts. Which side will win? Achieving success depends on not allowing these two parts to maintain a perpetual battle and keep you at a stalemate. Success is realized when you become aware of these two opposing sides and deal with them in productive manner. You always have the choice of which side to nurture, cultivate, and strengthen.

To become successful and move beyond the status quo, check out the list below for some bright ideas on how to take action. Discover the inner motivation that will enable you to conquer complacency and move forward. Even though change is difficult, it is absolutely possible – you just have to know how!

1. Fear = False Emotion Appearing Real

It is normal that a part of you has fear and insists, perhaps rather loudly, not to get started. Fear is a natural part of any change process. However, one lesson worth learning is, “Be scared . . . and do it anyway.” It may be impossible to take your next step without experiencing fear. Do not make the mistake of waiting for fear to leave before you take the action.

2. Thoughts Determine Success

Earl Nightingale has a saying: “We become what we think about.” So what do you think about? Are your thoughts centered on fear of failure, or the joy of having what you want? Thoughts have a powerful impact on your attitude and your ability to get motivated and stay motivated.

3. Start Small

Do not underestimate the power of baby steps. If 40 minutes of exercise five days a week seems impossible, how about starting with five minutes today? Tomorrow will take care of itself. Psychologically and spiritually, the important thing was that you had an idea or a dream, you allowed yourself to think positive thoughts about having your outcome, and you took action. What action step can you take today?

4. Change Your Routine

How long has it been since you have had your desired outcome in mind, but have not moved forward? Maybe it is time to shake up your routine. Take a moment and notice the patterns of your day. Have they become predictable and dull? Now check out the goal you have in mind for yourself. Is there perhaps one specific step in your goal that sounds fun, exciting, and different? Not only could you begin taking action on something you have been wanting all along, but it could shake you out of a rut.

5. Reward Yourself

One way to motivate yourself to do something when you do not feel like doing it is to offer yourself an incentive. For instance, if you eat one extra serving of vegetables today, you can allow yourself the luxury of sleeping in tomorrow morning. Maybe you will buy that CD you have been wanting, or take a bubble bath, or get a pedicure.

Give yourself small rewards on a regular basis. It can do wonders for your motivation. Find ways to make the change you are creating as enjoyable as possible. No one is forcing you to change; it is something you have decided to do on your own. Why not make it as fun as possible? Rewards do not have to be big or expensive; they just have to be something meaningful to you. Make a list of delightful rewards and link them with your actions!

6. Connect Action With Pleasure Not Pain

When you find yourself lacking motivation, you may be associating action with pain, rather than pleasure. For instance, if you are deciding to lose weight, you may be associating the goal with having to eat food you hate, feeling deprived, connecting the idea of exercise with physical pain or embarrassment, and envisioning failure.

What you could do instead is remind yourself of the immediate and long-term positive benefits. Make a written list of the instant and future payoffs to working on your goal. What will you gain by choosing to take action on your goal? Learn to work ‘for’ what you want, not ‘against’ what you do not want.

When fear or doubt begin to creep back in, remind yourself to stand strong in your decisions to have what you want. Create positive tapes to play for yourself to override the negative ones. Staying focused on the positive unleashes your internal motivating force and changes your attitude about the action you are considering.

7. Act When The Idea Is Hot And The Emotion Is Strong

With your goal, notice when positive emotions are present and when your idea is strong, clear, and powerful. When this happens, your idea has gained momentum and now is the time to take action. Listen to your inner wisdom and follow up immediately. If you hear about a motivational book that makes you curious, go out and buy it. Get the book before the idea passes, before the emotion gets cold. Begin the process. If five minutes of exercise sounds good right now, do not wait until tonight and do not force yourself to do forty minutes. Climb on that treadmill, or go outside and walk five minutes. Then tell yourself you did a great job. Feel good about listening to your inner wisdom and following through. Take advantage of favorable circumstances while they last. Act quickly while the opportunity is still available. Strike while the iron is hot!

'No Time To Exercise' Is No Excuse

"Time is wasted, time walking Time, time You ain't no friend of mine. " - Hootie & the Blowfish

Alright, cheesy song I admit but it brings up a real issue in the fitness industry. The catch-all excuse of I don't have enough time to exercise is ever present but now its simply not true. New studies have shown that short bursts of very intense exercise — equivalent to only a few minutes per day — can produce the same results as traditional endurance training!

From Science Daily:

"The most striking finding from our study was the remarkably similar improvements in muscle health and performance induced by two such diverse training strategies," says Martin Gibala, an associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University.

Gibala's team made headlines last year when they suggested that a few minutes of high-intensity exercise could be as effective as an hour of moderate activity. However, their previous work did not directly compare sprint versus endurance training.

The new study was conducted on 16 college-aged students who performed six training sessions over two weeks. Eight subjects performed between four and six 30-second bursts of "all out" cycling separated by 4 minutes of recovery during each training session. The other eight subjects performed 90-120 minutes of continuous moderate-intensity cycling each day. Total training time commitment including recovery was 2.5 hours in the sprint group, whereas the endurance group performed 10.5 hours of total exercise over two weeks. Despite the marked difference in training volume, both groups showed similar improvements in exercise performance and muscle parameters associated with fatigue resistance.

"Our study demonstrates that interval-based exercise is a very time-efficient training strategy," said Gibala. “This type of training is very demanding and requires a high level of motivation. However, short bursts of intense exercise may be an effective option for individuals who cite ‘lack of time’ as a major impediment to fitness."

Click here to read the original source story.

News from the World of Fitness: Updated National Fitness Guidelines

One of the biggest questions the trainers at Main Event get asked is:

How long should I work out each day?

While the answer to that question depends greatly on the person and their fitness level - updated national exercise guidelines released by the American College of Sports Medicine give a good idea of how to structure your workout.

From Science Daily — By Nancy Dohn

---

GAINESVILLE, Fla.---Fitting aerobic exercise and weight training into busy schedules may have just gotten easier. Updated national exercise guidelines released by the American College of Sports Medicine Wednesday (June 3) in Orlando show breaking up aerobic exercise into three 10-minute sessions throughout the day can be just as effective as one 30-minute session.

In addition, performing one set of weight lifting exercises (eight to 12 repetitions) will build the same muscle endurance and strength as doing multiple sets, said University of Florida exercise physiologist Michael L. Pollock.

New to the national guidelines, last updated in 1990, is the recommendation to perform weekly stretches to increase muscle and tendon flexibility, which reduces potential injury and maintains function as people age, Pollock said.

"The first guidelines established in 1978 looked mainly at the importance of cardiovascular exercise. In 1990, strength training exercises were added as part of an overall fitness program," Pollock said.

"These current guidelines include flexibility exercises and modifications to aerobic and weight training based on current research that will help the average person adhere to a fitness program."

Click here to read the rest of the story

Sweat and the Pursuit of Happiness

"The secret to getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." - Mark Twain

I'm reading a book called The Athlete's Way by Christopher Bergland and it is really resonating with me. I would highly recommend it to anyone that wants to dig deeper into the pursuit of goals. Why some people are able to take the steps necessary and others just never get started. The author has done some pretty extraordinary things such as Ultramarathons and Ironman triathlons so he is clearly an overachiever. But he breaks down the psychology of performance in such a way that it applies to all things in life.

Here is a sample:

"The most valuable lesson that I've learned about the athlete's way is that it isn't just about the outcome, it really is about what happens along the way. The trick is to set goals and achieve them, but to take it down a thousand. To keep the bar high but stay very relaxed. You need to demand the most for yourself, but cut yourself some slack. Don't be a control freak, or try to be perfect-but still try to be the best you can. This is that tightrope walk of the athletic paradox."

"The pursuit of happiness is the prime motivating force in most people's lives. Athletes like to exercise because it makes them happy. If you are someone who thinks of exercise as a suffer-fest, a disagreeable, unpleasant experience to be avoided, the key is going to be for you to flip your perspective to associate physical activity with happiness...Athletes consider working out to be rewarding and pleasurable because they intuitively incorporate the four tenets of athletic bliss into every workout:

1. Presence of positive emotions
2. Physical pleasure
3. Meaning/Significance
4. Sense of achievement

If you can make even one of these a part of your exercise experience, you will be on your way to enjoying working out."

"Set a goal and don't quit until you attain it. When you do attain it, set another goal, and don't quit until you reach it. Never quit." - Bear Bryant

So if you have extra bandwidth in your day and can afford the time, this is a very good book to help you either get started or to reinvigorate you if you have plateaued.

Chris Scully

Main Event Fitness' Proud History & Bright Future

Since its inception in 1989 Main Event Fitness has acquired an almost mythic reputation as a gathering place of celebrities and bodybuilding freaks working out side-by-side with students and "regular" folks. When Lex Luger and Sting opened the first MEF on Buford Highway in November 1989, the buzz was unbelievable. Wrestling was climbing the charts as an entertainment outlet and many of the top talents were living right here in Atlanta.

All of the top wrestlers were regulars at MEF: Hulk Hogan, Randy Macho Man Savage, Scott Steiner, Kevin Nash, Ric Flair, Marcus Bagwell, Diamond Dallas Page...a who's who of talent were there all the time. And the neat thing about these guys was that they were on TV every week and yet they were approachable, nice guys with good attitudes toward the staff and members.

There was also the bodybuilding culture, which was huge with regular coverage on ESPN and with Atlanta as one of the country's epicenters for the sport. The Buford Highway gym was the place to be for bodybuilding, celebrity-watching, and powerlifting. The change in the area over on Buford Highway during the mid-90's caused businesses like Target and Publix to rethink their strategies and this meant MEF had to do the same thing.

The Marietta MEF opened in April 1992 as the previous occupant of the space, Skyline Athletic Club, decided to sell. The Marietta location was always considered the "bigger" and "nicer" sister to the Buford Highway gym but they both enjoyed considerable success. The focus of the business became the Marietta unit with its terrific location and huge growth potential. When Sting decided he wanted to move his family back home to California, I got a wonderful opportunity to step into his shoes as co-owner with Lex.

I credit both Lex and Sting for giving me the chance to pursue my dream. Sting could have sold his interest to any number of people and Lex could have chosen to go into business with someone else - so I'm very thankful that they allowed me to climb the ladder. I always loved the business model: a real gym, not a health club. The definition of "real gym" has changed somewhat over the years but all in all, it is still pretty easy to distinguish between a real gym and a health club.

Let me tell you, there are not many real gyms left so I feel lucky. When the Buford Highway gym was sold in 1998 it afforded us the opportunity to focus on our flagship facility and the changes that occurred at MEF Marietta over those years are immense. Wrestling and bodybuilding are no longer the attractions that they once were, the facility has been renovated several times, and Lex has moved on to pursue other interests. The celebrity faces have changed - we enjoy plenty of notable NFL players as customers now (Hines Ward, Jamal Lewis, Jason Allen, and Wayne Gandy to name a few) as the sports performance division of XPE Sports grows its business within MEF.

Our customer base, which back in the 90's was younger, is now a bit older and more affluent. Our gym is a source of great pride for me as most gyms do not last beyond three years let alone 18 years! But we are still a real gym - that is what I wanted in 1993 and that is what I want in 2013. I am also very fortunate that Bob Scully is right there with me in my quest to have the best gym anywhere! I couldn't do it without his help.

Chris Scully

Most Common Phrase: "I used to...."

I have been involved in sports and fitness all of my life and I'm a listener by nature. So it occurred to me that over the years, one phrase that is constantly used in the gym is "I used to." It's amazing how many of us look back and say that phrase when explaining ourselves to someone. Here are some that I logged because they were so darn funny:

• "I used to be on the Canadian Olympic Archery Team" - this person was from NY
• "I used to own gyms back in California" - that was a lie
• "I used to be a competitive bodybuilder in FL" - doubt it
  
• "I used to model" - if you saw what I saw, I'm not sure what kind of model they were referring to?
  
• "I used to play in the NFL" - lie
  
• "I used to be in the FBI" - probably a lie
  
• "I used to be a star baseball player but I tore my knee up and it cut my career short with the Yankees" - lie
  
• "I used to be an Olympic decathlete but only three get to go to the Olympics and I was number 4" - probably a lie
• "I used to be a world class sprinter. I beat Darrell Green (4-Time NFL's Fastest Man) in a charity race in D.C." - sure you did
  
• "I used to be the Choreographer for the Olympic opening ceremony" - lie
• "I used to be...a Navy Seal, Army Ranger, chef, taught Major Leaguer catchers how to catch, bodybuilder, firefighter, and radio d.j." - one person who did all this by age 26 - right!

There are plenty of these types of exchanges I have had where the truth was told. But it's amazing how people feel the need to embellish their past. I actually enjoy playing along with some of them. Keep them coming...it makes for good entertainment! I guess we all are guilty of looking back at the glory days (either real or make-believe).
Chris Scully