Attacking the Excuses: Fitness Tips

Are you one of those people who looks for excuses not to exercise and then later complains that they don't feel motivated enough to exercise and stick with a fitness routine?

It happens to a lot of us. We all make excuses due to lack of motivation.

Even us personal trainers sometimes catch ourselves making excuses (my personal Achilles heel is the weather conditions).

Excuse #1: I’m too tired!

When does any of us feel properly rested? Almost never. But what you might not know is that exercise will energize you and make you feel invigorated by boosting your metabolism! Follow the Nike slogan and "Just do it." Ahem. Do or do not, there is no try. Schedule all your workouts. If you don't give yourself an option, you’ll always exercise at the time you should be.

#2: I’m sore!

If your body is sore it means you need to be exercising more, not less. Focus on lighter exercises, stretching and jogging to help loosen up. Once you feel warmed up you won't notice the soreness. Exercise also removes toxins in the blood that cause soreness in the muscles and joints. Light exercise does the body good when you are feeling sore!

#3: I ache from exercising!

Achy joints are a sign that your body needs help repairing, and that your body lacks specific nutrients. Start by taking multivitamins on a daily basis to help your body heal faster. If you ache from starting a new workout program, you back off the intensity a bit, but don't stop the exercise entirely. Your boosted metabolism from regular exercise will heal the aches faster.

#4: I hate working out!

Then pick exercises you actually enjoy doing. eg. Swimming, boxing, cycling - whatever suits your fancy. If you’re doing lots of cardio and eating properly you will see results within two weeks and by the third week you’ll even start to enjoy the workouts and the fact you are seeing results, feeling better about yourself, becoming stronger, faster, and building endurance. If you can't find an exercise you enjoy then any exercise is better than no exercise. Take the dog for a walk, go for evening strolls, take up a sport.

#5: I get too bulky / gain weight!

If you are gaining weight when you want to be losing it then you’re not training right! Most likely you are lifting weights, eating the wrong foods and bulking up when you should be doing cardio and eating a low carb diet. If you combine cardio exercises with lifting weights, you’ll tighten and tone but not bulk up.

#6: I don’t need to exercise; I’m active all day!

You may feel active from whatever you do for work or chores, but that is not the same as exercising. Everybody needs to work out and challenge themselves regularly. Physical challenges keeps our bones and muscles strong and our circulatory systems healthy. Low levels of activity provide no challenge, resulting in the body slowly becoming weaker and slower.

People who sit too much and severely lack physical activity in their lives, and thus need more movement during exercising in order to reach a balance when it comes to keeping their bodies healthy. They might be walking for an hour or two every day, but that is comparatively nil. Having an exercise workout every day is to balance your lack of exercise.

Five Superfoods worth Eating

So-called Superfoods are called that because they are extremely healthy for you and good for balancing your diet out so you store less fat, burn more calories, and achieve a great nutritional balance.

1. Berries

Blueberries especially are packed with antioxidants. They prevent all kinds of disease and are known for creating age-defying skin. They have high amounts of vitamin C, E and B, and a ton of minerals. Strawberries and pomegranate also rate high. Buy frozen blueberries and mix into oatmeal or mix with low fat / zero fat yogurt. Berries go well with almost everything.

My favourite? Strawberry milkshake with fresh strawberries.

2. Beans, Peas and Pulses

Low in fat, high in protein and fiber, beans, peas and pulses are incredibly healthy, versatile and make a great entree on their own or as part of your favourite pasta dish, soup or new culinary experiment. Black beans go great with burritos, chickpeas are nice spiced, and almost any bean tastes great made into a heated or cold salad with some tomato and corn.

3. Broccoli and other Green Veggies

Broccoli is particularly notable for being nutrient dense, containing vitamin C, beta-carotene, calcium, folate and vitamin K. Frozen greens are just as nutritious as their fresh counterparts. Frozen spinach is really convenient if you like spinach. No picking through the stems and spoiled pieces, just heat and cook!

4. Nuts and Seeds

Use nuts and seeds in your cooking, for snacks and even healthy baking of oatmeal cookies. Many people are wary of nuts and seeds because of the high fat content (which to be fair, is Omega-3 fat so you want that anyway), but in moderate doses, they are full of fiber, protein, Omega-3's, vitamins and minerals. Raw almonds and walnuts are proven to reduce the risk of heart disease, prevent cancer, diabetes and they give you great hair and nails! The best seeds are sunflower and pumpkin when it comes to the nutritional value.

5. Oats

Oats! The breakfast of champions! Filled with protein, fiber, Vitamin E, thiamine, copper, magnesium, potassium, zinc and many others, oats have amazing health benefits: Reduced risk of coronary heart disease, lower cholesterol, and they keep you full for a very long time! I personally like my oatmeal as a cookie with granola mixed in, but that is just me. Homemade Oatmeal Granola Bars!

BONUS SUPERFOODS!

You weren't expecting just five were you?

6. Green Tea

Although all tea have antioxidants, green tea is less processed and has more flavonoids (the antioxidants). Green tea has been reported to assist weight loss by increasing the metabolic rate. Green tea has also been shown to reduce gum disease, prevent kidney stones, and reduce the risk of stroke and cancer.

7. Tofu and Soy

Packed with protein, minerals, vitamins and omega-3 fatty acid. It's known to prevent cancer, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and ease menopausal symptoms. It also makes a great dairy alternative if you are lactose intolerant.

8. Orange Veggies. Carrots, Squash and Sweet Potato

Very high in beta-carotene. These antioxidants boost cell communication and strengthen the immune system. They protect the eyes from degeneration, and ward off cancer and heart disease. They also contain a ton of useful vitamins and minerals your body needs anyway!

9. Yogurt

Plain, no fruity stuff, and with live bacteria. Just don't leave it in the sun or a hot place for a long period or it will go bad. Yogurt heals the digestive tract, lowers cholesterol, boosts the immune system, clears skin and fights osteoporosis and arthritis. It's high in vitamin B6 and B12, in addition to calcium, magnesium, zinc and potassium.

Five Steps Toward A Beach Perfect Body

If your goal is to lose weight and attain a "Beach Perfect Body" then you need to get your fitness program off to an effective start, or make modifications to your existing exercise regimen and diet, to achieve the body you want with these five steps:

#1. Know Your Goals

The first question you really should ask yourself is, "Do I want to lose weight, or build muscle?"

Because if you don't know the answer to that you won't be able to go after that goal properly. It's best to focus on just one goal at a time because if you try to do both at once you will feel demotivated when you don't see immediate results in terms of weight loss (plus muscle weighs more than fat, so you will actually gain weight as you put on muscle). Muscle gain takes time, but in the beginning you can actually gain muscle faster than the speed you lose fat. So in an one month period you could actually gain 10 lbs - from gaining say 15 lbs of muscle and losing 5 lbs of fat. This speed of muscle gain is mostly due to muscle memory and the fact you are just starting. It will slow down dramatically within the first year. To avoid all the confusing aspects of trying to gain muscle and lose weight simultaneously you are better off focusing on your weight loss goal FIRST, and then adding the muscle later when your body has become a more effective machine. Your ultimate goal will depend on factors such as food consumption, time spent doing cardio exercises, time spent in the gym weightlifting, and your workout intensity will effect how quickly you reach your primary goal. Then once your primary goal is reached then you can focus on secondary goals. It is simply more efficient to focus on one goal at a time.

#2. Don't Focus on Losing a Specific Weight

This goes double for trying to gain "10 lbs of muscle". Stop thinking about measuring things that way. Instead just focus on doing your exercises and the feeling you get during and after the exercise when you know you've had a good workout. Don't worry about lifting a specific weight either or trying to beat your record time for jogging around the block. Muscle fibers are most effectively stimulated for growth at fatigue around 8-10 reps. That means that sprinting for 10 seconds or lifting a single weight 10 times will cause muscle growth. Additional sets of reps is to ensure that you rip extra muscles so you can bulk up a bit faster and jogging further than a 10 second sprint is so you can burn additional calories. Focus on your goals and the positive feelings you get from exercising / having fun, and stop worrying about how quickly you can bulk up or how quickly you can lose weight.

#3. Exercise according to your Schedule

Don't go on a program that requires five days in the gym, if you know you're only good for two days per week. It's great to be ambitious but without being realistic your dreams are just a fantasy. If you're short on time plan for an intense 30 or 45 minute workout - even if it is at home. If you only have a pair of dumbbells, plan to use exercises that only focus on what you have available to you and explore different ways to use those dumbbells to get better results and use different muscles.

#4. Remember that Good Nutrition is over 70% of Results

The attitude that "I can eat whatever I want because I work out!" isn't helping you. Sure, it will help you maintain your current weight - but if your goal is weight loss you are really shooting yourself in the foot by binging on junk food after you workout. Eat healthy, eat smart and you will see much faster results. You won't just see physical changes like more toned muscles and shiny hair but you will also notice mental results such as more energy, feeling more clear headed, and being happier.

#5. Hire a Personal Trainer in Toronto

What do athletes do when they train for a competition? They hire a coach. If you know you are making mistakes with your exercise routine and need to correct your bad habits, your form, etc then you really need a coach who can tell you what to do, how to do it properly, and stay motivated so you keep doing it.

With safe and efficiently organized workouts, accountability and privacy, a personal trainer is the way to go for fast, long lasting results. If you live in Toronto hire me as your personal trainer. I offer custom exercise programs for every client based on their individual needs.

Hot Dogs are Bad for You - But how bad are they?

Everyone knows hot dogs, cigarettes and greasy food is bad for you.

The Questions

How bad are hot dogs?

Is it possible to buy a healthier hot dog?

The Answers

Hot dogs aren’t nutritious – not even remotely. They’re made of processed meat and cholesterol-raising saturated fat and sodium.

The good news is if you read nutrition labels, you can find some hot dog wieners that are easier on your waistline and arteries. They're still not healthy, but they are better than the junk you are currently eating.

The average beef or pork hot dog (38 grams or kid’s size) contains:

110 calories
4 grams of saturated fat
350 milligrams of sodium

That is before the hot dog bun and any condiments.

“Jumbo Size” franks (75 grams)

approx. 230 calories
9 grams of saturated fat
740 milligrams of sodium

Shopsy’s All Beef Quarter Pounder (113 grams)

310 calories
11 grams of saturated fat (half a day’s worth)
1,120 milligrams of sodium (nearly a day’s worth for adults)

Indeed most hot dogs, buns and sugar-filled ketchup and other condiments are pretty bad for you. They raise your cholesterol and blood pressure numbers in an hurry. The heavy intake of processed meat – such as wieners, sausages, bacon, cold cuts – has been directly linked with a greater risk of colorectal cancer. So unless you want a doctor probing your bottom you might to avoid processed meats.

Also cooking meat to high temperatures (e.g. grilling hot dogs or frying bacon) forms heterocyclic amines, compounds shown to cause colon tumours in animals. Doing that with processed meats such as wieners also contain sodium nitrite, a preservative that helps prevent botulism food poisoning and gives cured meats their characteristic red colour, well its basically cooking your chemicals before eating them.

During cooking nitrite can also react with compounds naturally present in meat to form nitrosamines and nitrosamides, several of which cause certain cancers in humans and animals. Some weiner companies add sodium erythorbate (a form of vitamin C) to processed meat to inhibit this conversion and help minimize the risk - so they know their products are harmful, but they are trying to minimize that particular risk a bit... but what if the hot dogs you are buying don't contain vitamin C?

Even if you switch to chicken or turkey wieners you’ll still save saturated fat in the hot dogs. However most chicken or turkey wieners contain no more than two grams of saturated fat per serving so that at least is reducing the fat content. However it will still have lots of sodium.

Butterball Turkey Frank (56 grams)

470 milligrams of sodium, one-third of a day’s worth.

In contrast veggie dogs made from soy protein have no saturated fat and are much lower in calories than their meat and poultry counterparts. But they're still relatively high in sodium. However veggie hot dogs contain ZERO sodium nitrite.

Yves Veggie Cuisine Veggie Dog (46 grams)
60 calories
1.5 grams of fat (from canola oil)
390 milligrams of sodium

There are some companies which sell beef, pork or chicken wieners without sodium nitrite - including Life Choices Foods, Schneider’s, Maple Leaf and Loblaw - but you need to check the label to be certain.

Also, just a warning if you reading any labels that say "organic" or “natural” hot dogs, they often have similar or even higher levels of nitrites than normal hot dogs.

THE BIG TIP

Read the nutrition labels and don’t make hot dogs your regular fare this summer. An old fashioned hot dog once in awhile won't kill you, but eating them constantly will surely give you cancer.

Try to choose a wiener (38 grams) with no more than three grams of saturated fat and less than 400 milligrams of sodium and zero nitrites. At least then you are minimizing your risk.

Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables each day, especially roduce rich in phytochemicals called flavonoids such as berries, cherries, red grapes, apples, citrus fruit, broccoli, kale, onions – are known to alter the harmful effects of heterocyclic amines that form during grilling. So try to eat a balanced diet when you are not eating hot dogs.

The Exercise Regimen of a Personal Trainer in Toronto

Q

"Hello!

I am looking to make my own exercise regimen. I am curious as to what you do for your own physical regimen?

Curious,
Lisa P."

A

Hello Lisa!

Honestly, I exercise as often as I have time and energy to do so. Which is a lot since I am often exercising with clients.

However there are days when I am not meeting clients and I do have a regimen that I do at home that mixes cardio with weightlifting, stretching and yoga.

My Personal Exercise Regimen

Music - While exercising I turn my special exercising playlist so I can exercise while listening to music. My musical tastes for exercising is a mix of the 70s, 80s and 90s... and includes songs like "Eye of the Tiger" and "Gonna Fly Now", two songs from the Rocky films. I deliberately choose songs that make me feel energetic.

#1. Stretches and yoga - Varies between 1 minute to 10 minutes, depending on what I feel like doing that day. Sometimes I skip the yoga entirely.

#2. Pushups. 100 of them. Typically I divide them up into 20 pushups at a time, 5 sets of 20. If I am feeling particularly energetic I may do more than that, but always in sets of 20.

#3. Jumping Jacks. I used to do 100 jumping jacks at a time, and aimed to do 5 sets of 100. But these days I am often doing 150 to 200 jumping jacks instead - and 4 or 5 sets of them. My endurance for jumping jacks has grown over time.

#4. Headstand Pushups. I do this upside down with my feet against the wall. Typically I do 20 at a time. They're very difficult and not for beginners. Sometimes I will do 2 or 3 sets of 20.

#5. Bicep Curls - How much weight I use varies. My lightest dumbbell is 15 lbs and the heaviest is 30. If I am lifting the 15s I will sometime do 50 reps or more. If I am using the 20s / 25s then I might do 30 reps. With the 30 lb dumbbells it is 20 to 25 reps. How many sets of reps also varies, depending on how tired I am, how energetic I feel. But usually I will aim to do at least 2 reps of each different type of dumbbell.

#6. Shoulder Lifts - Using the 15 lb dumbbells I lift up my arms sideways to a 90 degree angle and hold. Then I lower my arms slowly. I do this 20 times for 5 sets.

#7. Situps - I used to do a lot of situps but these days I have grown bored of them. When I do do situps it is 100 situps at a time, usually once in the morning and once in the evening before 8 PM.

#8. Tricep Lifts - Using the heavier dumbbells I start with my arms in a raised L position and then lift both dumbbells above my head and hold for a second. Lower them down slowly back to the L position and then repeat. 30 times, both arms at once. I aim to do this for 5 sets.

#9. Behind Head Tricep Holds - Using 1 dumbbell and holding the weights at both ends I lift it over my head and then lower it behind my head. When doing this you should feel the muscles in the backs of your arms (the triceps) straining. Repeat 10 to 15 times. Do 2 to 5 sets of this, or until you feel you've strained those muscles enough.

#10. Football Twists - Holding a football between both hands I twist left and then right 100 times (50 each side), twisting as far as my obliques will let me. This is more of a cardio / stretching exercise for the obliques, but I find it also increases muscle tone.

During the Winter I often increase how often I do my exercise routine because I know I don't go outside as often in the Winter. The intensity of my workout likewise goes up in the Winter.

After I complete all of the sets and reps I usually take a multi-vitamin and chase it down with a whey protein shake.

Now I should also note that during the day I also do a lot of other random things for exercise. Some of these random things include:

• Fixing bicycles (restoring old bicycles is my hobby).
• Woodworking and Sculpture (another hobby)
• Boxing
• Cycling
• Rollerblading (in the Summer)
• Swimming and Snorkeling (in the Summer)
• Ice Skating (in the Winter)
• Archery (Spring to Autumn)
• Rock Climbing (Spring to Autumn)

I hope all of this has been helpful!

Sincerely,
Charles Moffat
Toronto Personal Trainer

The Free Gym Business Model + Investment Opportunity

This is somewhat off topic.

I have an idea for a Free Gym Business Model that I think has merit. Let me explain how it came about.

Yesterday while I was shopping in Canadian Tire I overheard this woman talking to customers from a display table where she was showing off a new product that got investment from the good folks on Dragons Den.

Meanwhile I have been playing with idea for years of a place similar to a gym called "The Workshop" where people could go to use power tools, welding equipment, etc - things that are too big to fit in their apartment or condo because they live in Downtown Toronto. For all intents and purposes it would be a workshop for people who like woodworking, sculpture, carpentry, welding, etc. It would follow the same basic business model as a gym - technicians instead of personal trainers, welding and carpentry classes instead of yoga and pilates, and people would pay a monthly fee to use the facilities just like you would at a gym.

Listening to the woman at Canadian Tire (who kept mentioning Dragons Den every so often, to the point it was annoying) I continued my shopping... meanwhile my brain was starting to work overtime as I thought of ways people could expand on the investment model. I must admit my thoughts were influenced by the recent Rob Ford Crackstarter campaign.

Amongst my ideas I came up with the concept of what I call "The Gym" - but unlike The Workshop idea, the focus of "The Gym" would be to make a workout place that is FREE to use.

Let me explain this concept.

#1. Don't hire any personal trainers. If personal trainers want to work there, fine. They are free to use the facilities just like they are free to use public parks.

#2. Use crowdfunding / crowdsourcing websites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter to raise the needed money to buy the building location, renovate it and buy all the exercise equipment.

#3. Part of the location is a protein bar - with 1 staff person who mixes protein shakes and sells them during peak hours of the day. The profits from the protein shake bar go towards buying new equipment, repairs, etc.

#4. Lots of natural lighting from skylights and windows. Cuts down on energy costs for lights.

#5. Equipment is designed to be durable and is basically bolted / welded to the ground so they cannot be stolen.

#6. Donation supported.

#7. Minimal janitorial staff.

#8. Energy drink machines. Powerade, Gatorade, etc.

#9. Showers and lockers are all coin operated.

#10. Buy stationary bicycle equipment and other resistance based exercise equipment that uses generators which feeds into a battery supply for the lights and air conditioning (which is set on low so it uses less energy).

Essentially you follow the premise of "less is more" to create a gym that is essentially free to use, but is donation supported and offers extra services like lockers, showers, protein shake bar, etc for a fee. Similar to how some libraries now have cafes in them so people can read a book while drinking a cappuccino.

When you think about that many gyms out there are charging people $70 to $100 per month (roughly $2.33 to $3.33 per day) and have hundreds of customers who are basically getting ripped off because gyms are overcharging for their services (and stealing from customer bank accounts / credit cards even when you cancel your membership) then the concept of a free gym starts to become a lot more appealing.

Even the YMCA in Toronto has a minimum fee of $47 per month depending on the location and the type of membership.

I should note that some recreation centres do have gyms already - but their hours are weird and not very convenient. And they do charge a fee for using their facilities. See http://www.toronto.ca/parks/fitness/membership.htm for more details.

Now you might think "Hey, you said this was a business model?!"

Yes, I did call it that. The reason why is because I think a so-called free gym still has the potential to turn a profit. Especially if you are the personal trainer who gets the ball rolling, starts a Kickstarter campaign, buys the building, gets all the equipment, etc... and then the gym is just there. And you are the personal trainer who is there all the time, offering your services.

If worse comes to worse you start charging a $2 daily fee for people to use the building - It would still be better than the gyms who are overcharging people and making millions in profits because then people are only paying for the days they actually use the facilities.

Speaking for myself I am busy expanding my personal training business right now, so I am not going to be opening a free gym any time soon. But I wanted to write this idea down for the future in the case I ever want to open my "dojo". (I don't want to open a normal gym for the general public. I want a private dojo for personal training sessions where I can also teach archery, boxing, etc. The reason is because some clients feel more comfortable working out in a setting where other people cannot watch them exercising.)

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY

Earlier today I created a new page on CardioTrek.ca asking for investors in my personal training business. You can read about the details of how I am intending to do it, as I am using an unusual crowdfunding approach to getting investors. If you are familiar with Indiegogo or Kickstarter you might think this idea has merit.

You can read about my crowdfunding or "crowd shares" approach to investments by clicking investment opportunity. Feel free to post comments on the idea.

So far I already have three friends who have agreed to become my first investors. My goal is to reach $50,000 so I can expand my business.

Attaining the Beach Perfect Body using 6 Minute Cardio Sessions

How long can you exercise at your top speed before you need to stop and rest?

Maybe 5 or 6 minutes?

Aim for 6 minutes if you can.

Lets pretend that your goal is to get a "Beach Perfect Body" by shedding some unwanted fat around your middle. Spot training doesn't work losing fat (it will actually bulk up that area with added muscle) so your only real choice is cardio - running, jogging, swimming, cycling, etc.

So you really need to burn lots of calories doing cardio. But maybe you don't have a lot of time in your day (or at least that is the excuse you keep telling yourself).

It is true that 1 hour is only 4% of your day... and that 30 minutes is only 2% of your day... And 15 minutes is only 1% of your day.

But every percentage of your day that you spend exercising - especially at your top speed - boosts your metabolism, kickstarts the Afterburn Effect, releases adrenaline into your blood, and burns calories.

6 minutes is only 0.4% of your day. It is a TINY percentage of your daily activities. But imagine if you use those 6 minutes to do vigorous jumping jacks you will burn 60 calories* right there.

* calorie estimate based on a weight of 165 lbs.

Do that 6 minutes of every day for a month and you've lost 1,800 calories - a little over half a pound.

If you are in an hurry you have to realize that you are not going to get a "Beach Perfect Body" by doing only one 6 minute session of jumping jacks every day. But what if you did them 10 times per day, spaced out evenly? Three times in the morning, twice during your lunch break, twice when you get home, and three times between 7 and 9 PM.

Well then you'd lose "at least" 18,000 calories - a little over 5 pounds. I say "at least" because you might burn a lot more if you managed to kickstart the Afterburn Effect multiple times during the day.

The Afterburn Effect is a heightened metabolic state which causes your body to burn through fat in an hurry in order to replenish your body. It is often triggered following periods of intense exercise - preferably a period of at least 5 minutes during which time you raise your heart rate dramatically.

Which means doing 6 minute cardio sessions - intense bursts of exercise - multiple times per day can give you multiple Afterburn Effects which will really burn calories fast and leave you feeling invigorated and wanting to do more because you will be on a bit of an adrenaline high.

So lets pretend that every year you wanted to lose weight for the swimsuit season... say 15 pounds. Then hypothetically you could go jogging for an hour every day for 3 months and you would shed the weight. But jogging might not get your heart going fast enough to kickstart the Afterburn Effect, which is why you can actually get better results by using the same amount of time to do high intensity exercises like sprinting, vigorous jumping jacks, basically any kind of high intensity exercise.

The adrenaline combined with the Afterburn Effect will leave you feeling very energetic and after a few days of doing the exercises you will want to do them more often - and even look forward to them.

In which case you won't lack for motivation as you shed the pounds and aim to get that Beach Perfect Body.

The Dangers of "Skinny Fat"

Are you one of those people who only seem to gain weight around your middle while your arms and legs stay skinny looking?

Blame it on your genes. Research shows that thin people with fat paunches are at a higher risk of diabetes and cardiac disease than other people.

If you have skinny legs and a bit of a paunch but think that’s okay because your pot belly doesn’t really show with the baggy shirts and tops you wear, think again. You are prone to collecting fat around the abdominal area caused by a biochemical abnormality known as Metabolic Syndrome.

So, never mind the skinny legs because collecting fat around your abdomen is not a good sign as such fat is deadlier than subcutaneous fat which is distributed evenly beneath the skin. This is because increased belly flab means increased visceral fat found between the organs in the main torso. Visceral fat is more active and drains directly into the liver. Free fatty acids into the liver resist the action of insulin, a hormone that helps absorb the glucose from the blood stream. The end result is what causes diabetes.

Contracting diabetes leads to an elevated risk of a whole lot of other health problems including cardio-vascular diseases and kidney problems.

Skinny Fat Quotient

Worldwide, Body Mass Index or BMI is a commonly accepted measure of body health. A BMI of over 25 indicates that you are overweight or obese. But the "skinny fat" abnormality makes people more susceptible to diabetes even though their BMI is well within the international limit of 25. Therefore there is a need to more closely monitor people who have the skinny fat abnormality for diabetes - and some doctors are arguing that people with the skinny fat gene should be worried if their BMI is over 23 instead of 25 because of the greater risk of diabetes.

But we shouldn’t trust BMI alone to assess risk for diabetes. Instead doctors are encouraging patients with skinny fat to measure their weight using their waist circumference, measured in centimeters (cm). A measurement above 80 cm for women and 90 cm for men is a matter of grave concern.

Those people with a waist measurement above those numbers are more likely to have Metabolic Syndrome and a higher risk of cardiac problems than those who have normal subcutaneous fat under their skin.

Metabolic Syndrome symptoms and signs include low levels of HDL cholesterol (known as the good cholesterol), high triglyceride levels (a type of fat found in the blood), high blood pressure, diabetes and other cardio-vascular diseases.

Metabolic Syndrome effects young and old alike too. People with rich diets, low physical activity, spend all day working at a desk and dismiss a paunch as an aesthetic issue. But it’s more like a warning sign that they will get diabetes if they don't watch their weight.

Doctors and scientists recommend that people with "skinny fat" consider a change in diet to reduce saturated fats, a brisk walk for 45 minutes per day and a background check into your immediate family history of obesity or diabetes.

Culturally, we associate fat with prosperity and wealth, hence the term "Fat Cat". But those "Fat Cats" are developing insulin resistance and abdominal obesity at a young age because they are not exercising, dieting and watching their weight.

PERSONAL NOTE

Last Friday (May 31st 2013) I may have saved a man's life who went into diabetic coma while on a TTC bus here in Toronto.

I was en route to pick up new arrows at Tent City in North York when I got on the 60 bus at Finch station and I noticed a young man sleeping on the bus. At first I thought he had just fallen asleep and didn't know he was at Finch station. I said something to him and he didn't respond. I shook him gently. I shook him roughly. No response.

I then notified the driver and he tried to wake the comatose man. We checked to see whether he was breathing. Still breathing. The driver called for paramedics and the bus went out of service.

Diabetic coma can be deadly. So hopefully he made a full recovery. I got on the next bus so I don't know how the story ended. I hope he turned out okay.

What scares me is what if I hadn't noticed him? When would someone have noticed the poor guy wasn't moving or responding?

Are personal trainers worth the expense?

Do I need a personal trainer? Are personal trainers worth the expense?

These are two commonly asked questions by people contemplating whether they should get a personal trainer - and whether it is worth the cost.

Well, ask yourself the following questions...

#1. Am I making definite progress at a speed I find satisfactory?

#2. Am I struggling to find the motivation to stick with my exercise and dietary goals?

#3. Do I need an external push to make more of an effort?

When in doubt talk to some people who have previously hired a personal trainer to help them make accelerated progress and ask about their impressions, whether they felt it was worth it, etc.

Why is first hand references better? Well, first of all they cannot be faked, whereas client testimonials on a website could be faked and misleading. You are asking someone you already know to give their honest opinion - and they will either say it was a waste of time and/or money, or they will talk about how awesome it was having a personal trainer.

And to be fair, some people don't need a personal trainer. So there is always going to be some people who say personal training is a waste of time and money - because for them, it is.

But for the people who difficulty finding the right rhythm with their exercise routine, are not challenging themselves enough, don't feel motivated, and need an extra push then hiring a personal trainer is totally worth the expense.

Thus even if you don't hire me as your personal trainer in Toronto, I still fully endorse hiring someone else if you are the type of person who needs to be challenged and motivated to try harder.

Keep trying as hard as you can. Every little bit helps!

June Exercise Motivation Quotes

"Exercising is more than just a workout. Its a way of life. Changing your lifestyle, and making it a permanent change by choosing exercises you enjoy doing, is the key to grabbing control of your health and making the most out of your life."
-Charles Moffat

"The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible."
-Arthur C. Clarke

"You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind."
-Author Unknown

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."
-Aristotle

"Fortune favors the brave."
-Publius Terence

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
-Albert Einstein

"To know your limits is a state of self-delusion."
-Bill Purdin

"He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."
-Benjamin Franklin

"When you are looking in the mirror, you are looking at the problem. But, remember, you are also looking at the solution."
-Anonymous

"There is no satisfaction that can compare with looking back across the years and finding you've grown in self-control, judgment, generosity, and unselfishness."
-Ella Wheeler Wilcox

"Our central nervous system contains from 10 to 100 million cells, each one of which has a storage capacity equal to that of a large computer."
-Dr. Alexander Rich MIT Biophysicist

"The ultimate creative capacity of your brain may be, for all practical purposes, infinite."
-DRW Ross Adley - Brain Research Institute UCLA

"As long as you think you're green, you'll grow. As soon as you think you're ripe, you'll rot."
-Scott Horton

"The way life treats you is a merciless mirror image of your attitude toward life."
-Anonymous