Either it’s age or it’s the fact that I work with a bunch of people who take their health rather seriously, but I’ve started to read up on health and lifestyle as of late and I’ve come across a few resources that I think other people might be interested in.
I understand that life moves fast and it’s difficult to find the time to be active let along research and find the right program. The internet, sadly, doesn’t make it all that much easier since there’s so much information. It’s with that in mind that I offer the following three sources that I’ve found that they are not only easy to follow, but can also be easily found in libraries or even online.
The following three sources deal with diet (that is, what you actually eat on a day-to-day basis), strength training and burning fat both at home and at the gym.
Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald and Racing Weight Cookbook by Matt Fitzgerald and Georgie Fear
If there’s one thing that made my life easier it was in keeping track of what I ate. I don’t mean on a spreadsheet (although I have done that too), I mean on a day-to-day basis with no fussing about and trying to remember what I ate or what the calorie content was. These folks made it easy to keep track of what I was eating and what ingredients to look for when cooking at home.
The first book, Racing Weight, presents a score card that you can use to keep track of what you eat by giving a point per serving. It includes 11 different groups split into two groups, “high quality” and “low quality”. The groups include fruit and veggies on one side and fatty proteins and ergogenic aids (eg, food bars or meal replacement bars) on the other side. Each serving is then scored on a card ranging from 2 to -2 depending on the number of servings you had. The goal is to be in the positive with the allowance that you can have one or two drinks a day with no penalty to your score.
But after the appropriate number of servings you start to lose points. Why? It has to do with how your body is able to process calories throughout the day, meaning that your caloric intake for any given day will typically burn through about 2000 calories which, depending on your body size goals (and I’m referring to lifting weights), should be enough.
All told, if there’s only one thing you do read in the book it’s the score card. That alone will help you when choosing what to eat and how much of it to have.
Kettlebell: Simple and Sinister by Pavel Tatsoulianis
Don’t let the name of the book put you off, but if you prefer a gentler title you can look up his first book, Enter the Kettlebell: Strength Secret of the Soviet Superman. The basics of these books are quite similar in that they take away any need to go to a gym and give you one type of exercise to do in a few different ways. If you can’t find the books, he does have some videos online as well as a website strongfirst.com.
The first is the kettlebell swing (if you don’t know what a kettlebell is, it’s one of those weights that looks like a bell and has a U-shaped handle on top), in which you simply swing the kettlebell in between your legs and up to shoulder height. There are two ways to do this: the first is with both hands, which is easier, the second is with one hand but switching at the top of each swing. The single-hand swing builds more muscle while the two-handed technique is better for starting out and getting proper form.
How many to do and how often?
One hundred kettlebell swings within five minutes per day.
That’s it. As Pavel says, “Do these everyday, just like brushing your teeth.” Believe me, getting to 100 kettlebell swings will take a few weeks… and you won’t be able to do it everyday for the first week or two.
The next thing to do is the Get Up, sometimes called the Turkish Get Up. These are a bit more difficult to do because they require more focus on form, but once you have the form down, it gets easier to lift the weight.
While lying down and one leg bent at the knee, you hold the kettlebell in one hand with your arm extended away from your body. From there you have to “get up” into the lunge position, all the while keeping your eye on the kettlebell and not bending your elbow. Once in the “lunge” position and still looking up at the kettlebell, you have to get up into a complete standing position without bending your elbow. Once done, reverse the motions and you’ve completed one. Do ten each side.
***As a side note, although this book describes it in detail, I recall my brother showing me this very exercise years ago and he said to start with a shoe!
Stronglifts 5×5 by Mehdi
Although the guy behind the website has an ebook available for download, you can also just go to his website (stronglifts.com) and read up on the program. This program is great for people who want to go to the gym but have no idea what to do. There are only five exercises you will do: squat, bench press, shoulder press, row, and deadlift.
The goal is to start at half of what you normally lift for each exercise and then every workout add another 5 pounds. Sounds easy enough, right? But, the name of the system comes from the fact that you’re doing 5 sets of 5 reps, no more, but, if you do less, you don’t add any weight and might even have to scale down.
The system is further broken down into A/B workouts, the first comprising of Squats, Shoulder Press and Row, the second consists of Squats, Bench and Deadlift. Much like the kettlebell workout above, the system is meant to take away the thinking involved, eg “It’s Tuesday, what should I work on today?”. Five exercises, five sets, five repetitions each. You’ll see how difficult it can get once you starting trying to bench your body weight.
Why choose this program?
First, it’s simple to follow, the only exercise you might need help on is the deadlift because you need to have proper form to move up in weight. Second, it not only helps burn fat but it helps tone the body overall while giving you the simple satisfaction of having gone to the gym and lifting something.
And with that, I hope those help you as much as they’ve helped me. I know they’ve simplified my life quite a bit and enable me to get a proper workout within a short amount of time.