Fit For Life: Smash Your Goals!

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Matt Espeut, GoLocalWorcester Health +Lifestyle Contributor

I was speaking with a gentleman that came in for a free trial session the other day, and I always ask a new prospect the same series of questions. Do you have any existing injuries, or medical limitations; are you sedentary or active; and are you following any type of structured nutrition program? He informed me that he regularly attends the gym, uses the treadmill, and participates in regular spin classes. Quite a bit of activity from a layman’s perspective, and you would think with that being said, he was in shape. Not obese by any stretch, but he was an extremely large man. I believe he weighed in at about 280, but he also had a 6-foot-plus frame.

Still not a vision of a “fit” looking person, so I asked how his nutrition regimen was. He then replied that he always eats from Whole Foods. Ok, so with all I just described to you, one would think that should be the formula to be in the best shape ever. Spin, treadmill, Whole Foods. Why wouldn’t anyone be fit following all of that ‘healthy living’ criteria? To me this is the perfect client, because he is already giving tremendous effort, but like many others, he is a little misguided, and I know that with a few changes I can make to his routine, he is going to get great results.

Some pros and cons

Here are some pros and cons involving health and fitness. Hopefully these will show you why the ultimate physique is eluding you.

1. Everything at Whole Foods isn’t healthy. While it is just about the only place around that you can get real quality food, many of their products still contain GMOs, sugar, gluten, and other ingredients that will keep you from your goals. You still need to be informed, and read the labels when you shop there. Organic cookies will still make you fat. Over consumption of calorie-laden soft drinks will also make you fat, along with all the breaded prepared foods cooked in canola oil, fatty gravy, and sauces. So don’t think just because you shop there everything is healthy.

2. Spinning is a routine that was designed by cyclists mainly for cyclists that live in regions with limited time to ride outside. It was later adopted by the fitness industry, and put into mainstream group settings due to its popularity. Along with cycling, spin classes are great for getting you stronger, metabolically, and burning tons of calories. But the cons are that beyond the heart, lungs and legs, you are not building muscle anywhere else. Every now and then you get some renegade instructor attempting to do pushups or hold hand weights on the bike. This is not only foolish, but frowned upon by the top cyclists that instruct/certify spin instructors. I have taken continuing ed classes from top pros, and they teach you to mimic cycling with a hardcore straight, forward approach. Heavy pedaling, not circus acts. Another issue is that it is so quad, and hip dominant, it creates muscular imbalances in the body. But I say to keep spinning if you are doing it and enjoying it, just include upper body training, along with stretching your hip flexors to create balance in the body.

3. Treadmills and stationary equipment, in my opinion are the biggest waste of time and space. Unless you have a warrior mindset, you will only train as hard as you want to. Heck, most have television screens on them, and how do you expect to enjoy a program while sweating and bouncing around? Plus they actually cause more harm than good, by making the body work in a repetitive motion, on the same plane, performing the same movements over and over again, causing overuse injuries. Think about bending a coat hanger back and fourth multiple times. Eventually its going to break. The same goes for your joints, stressing them on the same plane for an extended amount of time, and eventually, something will wear out.

Smash Your Goals.

So now you are wondering what you need to do to get in the greatest shape of your life and not get hurt doing it. Well as always, I offer my solution to your fitness and fat loss goals and my facility, Providence Fit Body Bootcamp, every day. We work to deliver the best results the fastest way possible by providing a complete full body workout by using functional movement based workouts administered in a high intensity format in just 30 minutes. This is the safest and fastest way to achieve your goals. Along with great workouts, you need a sensible real food nutrition plan to achieve longer lasting and more attainable results. I believe my plan is the best in the fitness industry today, and I’m happy to share it. If you don’t believe me, just look at how long the military has been implementing boot camps for soldiers. They focus on overall strength and conditioning, training the body in various planes of motion doing bodyweight and resistance training, along with metabolic and cardiovascular conditioning. So when you want to be in the shape of a soldier, or even be the best ‘you’ you’ve ever been, give me a call.

Matt Espeut, GoLocal's Health & Lifestyle Contributor has been a personal trainer and health & fitnesss consultant for over 25 years. He is the owner of Fitness Profiles, a one on one, and small group personal training company, as well as Providence Fit Body Boot Camp, located at 1284 North Main St., on the Providence/Pawtucket line. You can reach Matt at (401) 453-3200; on Facebook at "Matt Espeut", and on Twitter at @MattEspeut. "We’re all in this life together – let’s make it a healthy one!"

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5. Wakame Seaweed

With only a bit of water, a few grams of dried seaweed blossoms into a nutrient-rich forest. Vegan, gluten free, rich in calcium, iron and folate, and it only weighs in at 1.6 oz per half cup. Throw a tablespoon of wakame into ramen noodle soups. Wakame seaweed can also be soaked in room temperature water for a refreshing salad. Add a package of tuna and some almonds from your trail mix for a satisfying lunch.

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4. Salami

Although relatively heavy, salami is worth packing along for its versatility. Salami can be cubed and fried in pasta or rice dishes, sliced thinly for sandwiches, or just chomp a hunk off with your teeth while beating your chest savagely. Unlike fresh deli meats or even Spam, it can last for days unrefrigerated.

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3. Crystallized Eggs

Forget the powdered variety, which when mixed with water omits a vague odor similar to cat pee. Thanks to food scientists, we can now purchase crystallized eggs to stir into soups, boiled with instant rice, or turned into scrambled eggs for a protein rich breakfast. Go for the ‘Ova Easy’ brand. At $54.99 for a 2.25 lb can it is not cheap, but the can lasts for 5 years on the shelf and the superior taste is worth it.

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2. Spice Wheel

A must for elevating bland, high-carb backpacking foods. Personalize by choosing which spices you want in the wheel’s 6-8 compartments. After your fourth meal of pasta, you’ll be thankful you can choose curry or cumin to keep your tongue happy. Spice wheels are widely available for less than four bucks and make great gifts for your outdoorsy friends and family.

Photo credit: camperpartsworld.com

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1. A Plastic Mug with a Lid

Okay, okay, so it’s not a food, but one lidded cup replaces a bowl, plate and drinking cup while on the trail. Cups can store your coffee and tea in the morning and your apricot cashew couscous in the evening. Purchase ones with screw-on lids double as tupperware for transporting leftovers. Some brands are clear plastic with measurements on the side for easy camp cooking. We love GSI Outdoors ‘Fairshare’ Mug, starting at $8.75 each.

Photo: GSI Outdoors Fairshare Mug via rei.com