At a gas station near my home, they offer $0.05 off each gallon of gas every Thursday. In the last few months, this has resulted in a longer and longer line of cars lining up to get gas on Thursdays. And this makes absolutely NO SENSE and shows our dysfunctional attitude toward the numbers. I'll explain...

This promotion has been offered for a long time at this gas station. $0.05 off a gallon of gas should be a bigger deal when gas was $2 or even at $3 a gallon. But, with the price over $4, a $0.05 savings isn't worth the extra time it takes to wait in line idling the engine to get the discount.

Viewed another way, this is a 1.25% discount (if we use a $4 per gallon price). Imagine if another product were advertised with 1.25% sale or a coupon for 1.25% off. You'd think it was ridiculous, and rightly so. All the dopes lining up on Thursdays to save $0.05 are more than burning up their savings waiting in a line of cars that is often 4-5 deep.

My point is this: Too many of us obsess about hitting an exact weight, doing a certain number of minutes of exercise, or tracking the exact amount of calories we eat. These measures can be helpful in a small way in charting our progress. But fitness isn't the numbers! Fitness is not how much you weigh, or how long you exercise, or how many calories you eat. Fitness is how CAPABLE your body is. And that is more relevant to your enjoyment of life - and the people and the things that matter to you. Make yourself more capable, and you will likely have less body fat, more muscle, and better energy as a result. Nothing magical happens when you lose (or gain) one pound, or the machine rolls over to the 30th minute of execise (as opposed to the 29th).

Fitness is about enhancing your ability to fully participate in your own life, not to obsessively fixate on empty statistics.

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert

www.AionFitness.com

Make my blog one of your Favorites!

http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/

There is much confusion about sugar. For instance, the authors of “Skinny Bitch” proclaim sugar to be the root of all evil, but then make the embarrassing mistake of recommending Turbinado sugar instead. Turbinado sugar (“Sugar in the Raw”) is touted for its chemical-free processing and its mineral content. Whopee. It is still sugar and as such is just as harmful to anyone seeking health and fat loss. Same goes for “evaporated cane juice” or any other fancy-sounding code word for sugar. Do not be fooled. Saying sugar-in-the-raw is "better for you" is like saying that it is "better" to be pushed off the 30th floor of a building instead of the 40th...

Here is some information on common sugars and sweeteners.

CORN SYRUP
Corn syrup, which consists mostly of dextrose, is a sweet, thick liquid made by treating cornstarch with acids or enzymes. It may be dried and used as corn syrup solids in coffee whiteners and other dry products. Corn syrup contains no nutritional value other than calories, promotes tooth decay, and is used mainly in foods with little intrinsic nutritional value.

FRUCTOSE
Fructose (also called levulose) is a sugar that is a little sweeter than table sugar. Modest amounts of fructose occur naturally in fruits and vegetables, which also contain other sugars. When table sugar is digested, it breaks down into equal amounts of fructose and glucose (dextrose).
Modest amounts of fructose are safe and do not boost blood glucose levels, making the sweetener attractive to diabetics. However, large amounts increase triglyceride (fat) levels in blood and, thereby, increase the risk of heart disease. Large amounts consumed on a regular basis also may affect levels of such hormones as insulin, leptin, and ghrelin, that regulate appetite, thereby contributing to weight gain and obesity.

HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP
Our consumption of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has soared since around 1980. That’s because this sweet syrupy liquid is cheaper and easier for some companies to use than sugar. HFCS has been blamed by a few people for the obesity epidemic, because rates of obesity have climbed right along with HFCS consumption. But that’s an urban myth. There isn’t a shred of evidence that HFCS is any more harmful (or healthier) than sugar. We’re consuming way too much of both.

Some people think that HFCS is mostly fructose, and fructose probably does play a role in obesity. However, HFCS, on average, is about half fructose and half glucose—exactly the same as ordinary table sugar, sucrose, when sucrose is metabolized by the body.

HIGH MALTOSE CORN SYRUP
Acids or enzymes are used to break down cornstarch into a syrup rich in maltose (35 percent or more), a disaccharide. High maltose corn syrup, corn syrup solids, and maltodextrin are similar, and each are produced in a wide variety of formulations for different applications.

HYDROGENATED STARCH HYDROLYSATE (HSH)
HSH, like sorbitol, is slightly sweet and poorly absorbed by the body. Like sorbitol, and other sugar alcohols, eating significant amounts of HSH may cause intestinal gas and diarrhea.

INVERT SUGAR
Invert sugar, a 50-50 mixture of two sugars, dextrose and fructose, is sweeter and more soluble than sucrose (table sugar). Invert sugar forms when sucrose is split in two by an enzyme or acid. It provides "empty calories," contributes to tooth decay, and should be avoided.

LACTOSE
Lactose, a carbohydrate found only in milk, is one of nature’s ways of delivering calories to infant mammals. One-sixth as sweet as table sugar, lactose is added to food as a slightly sweet source of carbohydrate. Milk turns sour when bacteria convert lactose to lactic acid. Many people, especially non-Caucasians, have trouble digesting lactose. Bacteria in their guts may produce gas.

LACTITOL
Lactitol, like sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol, is a sugar alcohol, also called a polyol. It is made from lactose, or milk sugar. Like other sugar alcohols, lactitol is not absorbed well by the body (which means it has fewer calories per gram than table sugar) and does not promote tooth decay. However, large amounts (above 20 to 30 grams) may cause loose stools or diarrhea.

MALTITOL
Maltitol, like sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol, is a sugar alcohol, also called a polyol. It is made by hydrogenating maltose, which is obtained from corn syrup. Like other sugar alcohols, mannitol is not absorbed well by the body (which means it has fewer calories per gram than table sugar) and does not promote tooth decay. However, large amounts (above 20 to 30 grams) may have a laxative effect.

MALTODEXTRIN
It’s made from starch and consists of short chains of glucose molecules. Normal maltodextrins are easily digested and absorbed by the body. But companies also use “resistant maltodextrin” to simulate dietary fiber. That form of maltodextrin is made by treating starch with enzymes, heat, or acids and cannot be broken down by digestive enzymes. That makes the additive an “isolated fiber.” Resistant maltodextrins may help lower blood sugar levels, but don’t help prevent constipation.

OLIGOFRUCTOSE
Oligofructose, synthesized from sucrose or extracted from chicory roots, consists of up to several dozen fructose molecules linked end to end. Like inulin and other soluble fibers, oligofructose is digested by bacteria in the large intestine, but not by human enzymes. This slightly sweet ingredient provides less than about half as many calories per gram as fructose or other sugar. Oligofructose promotes the growth of "good" bifidus bacteria.

SUGAR (SUCROSE)
Sucrose, ordinary table sugar, occurs naturally in fruit, sugar cane, and sugar beets. Americans consume about 65 pounds of sucrose per year.

 
Sugar and sweetened foods may taste good and supply energy, but most people eat too much of them. Sugar, corn syrup, and other refined sweeteners make up 16 percent of the average diet, but provide no vitamins, minerals, or protein. That means that a person would have to get 100 percent of his or her nutrients from only 84 percent of his or her food. Sugar and other refined sugars can promote obesity, tooth decay, and, in people with high triglycerides, heart disease.

XYLITOL
Like other sugar alcohols (maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol), xylitol is not well absorbed by the body, so it has fewer calories than table sugar. Also, it does not promote tooth decay. Large amounts may have a laxative effect.

You practically need a nutrition and/or chemistry degree to understand what is on food labels these days! Hope this information helps you make better choices - and eliminates the need to go back to college.

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/

A recent question on the forums is one that I'm sure is on many of your minds and is one that I get asked often:

"Is circuit weight training also a good cardio workout?"

This is a reasonable question. Circuit weight training features moving from one exercise to the next with little or no rest in between. The result is a very time efficient workout that often is accompanied by rapid breathing and heart rate.

Your body's response to exercise is determined by the demands placed upon it by the activity.

Weight training is a short duration activity that derives energy from the glucose in your blood stream and glycogen stored in your muscles and liver.

"Cardio" is a longer duration (than weight training) type of activity that uses both oxygen/fat and glucose for fuel. This is generally defined as any activity sustained beyond 2-3 minutes.

Many people reasonably conclude that since you often get out of breath when performing circuit weight training, that it is also providing a cardiovascular benefit.

However, cardiovascular training has increased oxygen use and delivery as a requirement to call it cardio...but when weight training, the primary fuel source is carbohydrates, not oxygen. So, why do you breathe so heavy while performing circuit weight training?

Increased heart rate is the answer. Your blood movement is the way your muscles remove waste products from muscular contractions and deliver more fuel to the muscles. With circuit training, you are often moving from one weight exercise to another, thus necessitating a greater need for increased circulation.

Your heart pumping faster makes the blood move around your body more rapidly. While circuit weight training, you might hit heart rates that are as much as 90% of your maximum. However, the oxygen use rarely goes higher than 50% of capacity. Oxygen use is what defines an activity as "cardio."

An increased rate of breathing is the engine that makes the heart rate go up so it can deliver more blood.

To summarize: When weight training, your muscles need increasd circulation (meaning, faster heart rate), and a faster breathing rate makes the heart beat faster. However, oxygen use by your body doesn't increase significantly enough to provide much of an aerobic benefit.

Not everything that elevates heart rate is automatically a good cardio workout. Recall the last time you were sitting still in your car and almost got in a car accident. You most likely began breathing heavy, but it isn't cardio...

Circuit training is still a great way to workout and use time efficiently. You probably don't need as much time for separate cardio as you may think. Often 10-15 minutes of challenging cardio will provide aerobic benefits.

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/

In the Washington Post last week, there was a special 5-day series on the childhood obesity crisis that is before us. It contained some truly fascinating stories. (If interested, you can read some of the series at www.washingtonpost.com/obesity.) The timing was interesting as I was on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC last week to help promote fitness legislation to Congress.

One of the key themes of the Post series is that facing the childhood obesity crisis will require an effort from individuals and all organizations.

There are two pieces of legislation that help provide financial incentives for people to get fit. I was part of a large contingent of industry professionals who descended on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC last week to lend our experience and expertise to the cause.

Before I tell you of my experiences in meeting with Senators Barbarak Mikulski and Ben Cardin, as well as House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (all from Maryland), here is a brief summary of the language of the WHIP act and the PHIT bill.

Workforce Health Improvement Program (WHIP)

The WHIP Act would ensure that the wellness benefit from off-site fitness facilities is not taxed as additional income for employees (as it unbelievably, currently is.) The benefits of this legislation would include: encouraging employers to offer more wellness programs that include fitness services to their employees; improving the health of the American workforce; and decreasing the cost of employee health care for employers.

The Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT)

The PHIT Bill allows for expenditures for physical fitness programs and exercise equipment to be payable out of pre-tax health investment accounts such as flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health savings accounts (HSAs), medical savings accounts (MSAs) and/or medical reimbursement arrangements.

It is very difficult to gauge the impact of the meetings we had with legislators. First, in each case, we met with staffers instead of the Congress-person. This is somewhat understandable given the demands on their time. However, what seemed odd to me is that despite the apparent benefits of this legislation, it seems that many people on the Hill are simply waiting to see how the presidential election plays out and are not inclined to jump on board with something new for the rest of the year.

The larger purpose for our presence is clearly to lay the ground work for having these pieces of legislation get attached to a much larger health care reform package that will surely be one of the top priorities of the incoming president. It's clear to just about everyone that the health care issues facing the U.S. simply cannot be ignored any longer.

One other thing, it is very clear that the people on Capitol Hill will get behind anything that has a groundswell of support from people like you.

Go to the websites below and locate your senator(s) or representative(s) in your state and tell them that you want their support in making fitness easier for all of us!

http://www.senate.gov

http://www.house.gov

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/

Is it harder not to workout?

Recently, I spoke with a woman who...
- works 12 hour days
- fights traffic in and out of the city to do so
- feels tired and stressed most of the day
- has gained a lot of weight the last few years
- feels pretty crappy physically and emotionally

Oh, and she added that she just hates to work out as it feels too hard because of how out of shape she is.

Personally, I would find it harder to do everything else she described! It sounds grueling and awful. And people often tell me it’s too hard to exercise? I say it’s much harder to live the way she currently is.

To me, it is much harder to work so much that there’s nothing left in you for anything else; harder to feel miserable in your body and do nothing about it; harder to ignore the signals your body sends you and keep pushing yourself in other areas while ignoring health and fitness.

It’s all in the mindset. If you “hate” your body, you’ll find almost anything to keep from experiencing that emotion. You’ll occupy your time with excessive work, internet, housework, or any number of other things you “have” to do and somehow never have the time to exercise. And of course, if exercise only causes you to sweat, feel uncomfortable, winded, and serve as a slap-in-the-face reminder of how out of shape you are, you’ll subconsciously steer clear of it.

The key is to have the right mind set. To begin doing what you can without doing too much at first. To know that with each day of making better nutrition choices and pursuing exercise, you are one day better than you were yesterday. If you push too hard during exercise out of disgust for where you are now and a need to “whip yourself into shape,” you’re creating yet another negative reinforcement for your mind of why it’s better to not exercise.

Exercise to be better, not thinner. Not because you know you should. Not because your spouse or doctor think you should. Not because you feel disgusting. Do this one thing for one reason – to make yourself better.

And if you think it’s too hard to exercise, at least consider that it may be harder not to.

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/

Many people believe the best time of day to workout is first thing in the morning immediately upon waking. After fasting all night and lying in one position, that's like asking your body to behave like a sports car without putting any gas in the tank. It makes little physiological sense to exercise and expect good performance from your body before you put food in for energy. ("Break-fast " does just what it says it does!)

While it's true that some studies have shown slightly higher rates of fat-burning in pre-breakfast workouts, so what!? The "slightly" in these studies is slow small that it will only make a difference for you if you are an Olympic athlete needing to find that edge to shave .003 seconds off your time. For us regular people, it's not enough of a difference to matter.

And there are also studies that show that energy levels peak in the late morning/early afternoon. Furthermore, evening exercise has the extra benefit of replacing typically sedentary, nighttime activities such as watching TV, and can be the perfect stress reliever from a day full of them. On the other hand, the early hours are often the ones with the fewest distractions: You won't skip because you have to work late, go to book club or help your kid with algebra.

And for some people early AM works can set the stage for injury. The discs in your spine are swollen with spinal fluid that fills up when you sleep (back feel stiff when you wake up, anyone?) Moving aggressively shortly after waking (especially with resistance training) can put the discs at risk as a result.

Confused? How do you make sense of it all? With common sense, of course.

The key is to find something that works for YOUR body and YOUR schedule. If that time for you happens to be the afternoon, then that's the best time for you. If it's the morning or evening then that's the best.

The best time of day to exercise is when you will do it. The physiology doesn't make enough of a difference for people like us to worry about.

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/

First, thanks to all of those who voted to help make me the 2008 BEST PERSONAL TRAINER on Exercise TV. Follow the link below to the see the results page:

http://exercisetv.cityvoter.com/winners/top-trainer/649/trainers/perso nal-trainer

Second, I'm crushing some destructive myths of fitness and nutrition. You'll find all of them in the various discussion forums in the National Body Challenge community. Here's a sampling of the myths that get busted:

To lose weight, you need to do lots of cardio.

You need to keep a food journal every day for the rest of your life

Lower intensity exercise burns more fat

Mind-Body Exercise means only yoga, Pilates, or Tai-Chi

Calcium builds strong bones

You need drastic measures to lose the large amounts of weight

I just can’t get my kids to eat healthy

Healthy food is too expensive

Look for each of them in the discussions.
They will be easy to find since they will begin with "MYTH" in the subject.

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/

Food isn’t the enemy and exercise isn’t punishment for bad eating. Often, when someone makes a few bad nutrition choices, they feel pressure to workout harder to burn off the extra calories. And many people make the foolish conclusion that if you exercise, you can eat whatever you want as a reward.

That’s not what successful losers do. The National Weight Control Registry is a database of people who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least a year. What tips can we find from examining how they have had success?

Only 10 percent used diet alone, and just 1 percent used exercise alone.
Conclusion: The whole is way bigger than the sum of the parts. The power of a successful nutrition plan is multiplied many times when supported by a well-designed exercise program. And vice versa. Our nutrition choices affect the response of our body to exercise. This shows – once again – that the idiotically simplistic “calories in, calories out” approach is flawed.

They eat breakfast every morning.
No surprises here. Your body needs food soon after waking to function optimally. Skip breakfast, and you force your body to slow your metabolism as it learns to live on less. And, you’ll also be one meal behind all day long – leading to a greater likelihood of overeating at night.

Very few of them eat low-carb diets.
That’s because carbs are “go” foods. The data doesn’t specify, but I’m going to guess they don’t eat a high concentration of starches. Rather, they consume a more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains as their carbohydrate sources.

They are very physically active.
Need I elaborate further?

They eat 4 or 5 times a day.
We aren’t snakes, we’re humans so we function better on a steady intake of fuel.

Other than the first one, there shouldn’t be too much in here that shocks you. Lots of chronic dieters mistakenly claim, “Exercise doesn’t work for me.” While many people exercise to the point of exhaustion and “reward” themselves with items that can only barely be called “food.”

Heed the wisdom of the large pool of successful losers in the National Weight Control Registry. It’s hard to argue with results!

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/
Vote to make me the Top Trainer
http://exercisetv.cityvoter.com/jonathan-ross/biz/73965

Nearing the end of an 8-week commitment to the National Body Challenge and beginning to wonder, "What’s Next?

There’s no finish line to cross – you “finish” by examining the new changes you have turned into healthy habits, and thinking about what you’d like to get from the NEXT eight weeks. (For a great article by Dr. Peeke on the psychology of why the Challenge is eight weeks, see the National Body Challenge e-newsletter from Tuesday, 2/26/08.)

When you get healthier, your capabilities expand. So much so that you might begin to think about doing things you never thought possible. Your physical range is expanding and so should your thinking.

If you keep building upon changes for successive 8-week periods, you’ll pile up some tremendous progress over time.

A long time ago, I loved my soda. It was the early 1990’s and, after growing up with Froot Loops, scrapple, Pop Tarts, and a bit too frequent visits to fast food restaurants in college, I started to notice that there was a bit more of me to go around than I wanted.
I knew a little about healthy living at the time, but the notion of becoming a fitness professional hadn’t even come to mind yet. I did know that I was drinking too much soda. I don’t know the exact number, but it was probably 3-4 a day. I worked myself down to one 12-oz. can per day.

This felt like a great accomplishment at the time.

This was somewhere around 1993-1994. Now, fast forward to today. It’s 2008 and if I was STILL having one soda per day, I’d call it a disaster. (It’s now more like one or less per year!) Once I got down to the one soda per day, I kept going…it became once every other day, then once a week.

Build on successes - don’t rest, don’t stop.
Make today’s change tomorrow’s routine.
Set another 8-week goal for yourself that takes you beyond where you are now and incorporates the better fitness you now live with.
Then do it over and over again and let the results pile up!
There is no finish line.

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/
Vote to make me the Top Trainer
http://exercisetv.cityvoter.com/jonathan-ross/biz/73965

I hope you joined the web chat last night with the 3 amazing women from "The Journey." If you did, I'm sure you left fired up and motivated to continue your own journey.

Why are they amazing? Because they are just like many of you.
How does that make them amazing, you ask?

They share many of YOUR goals.
They share many of YOUR challenges.
They share many of YOUR successes.
They share many of YOUR frustrations.

But they've done it all in a public forum in the National Body Challenge Community.

They let me into their lives and shared with me their current situation surrounding their family, work, and home lives. They shared their goals, their weaknesses, their strengths, they offered the full 360 degree perspective that is necessary to make real change. That takes courage.

They have each taken the information and guidance I've given them and have run with it. They haven't been perfect, but they've been consistently moving forward - and that's all it takes for real, lasting results.

It was such a thrill to chat with them about the various experiences they have had in the Challenge.

I shared the difference between "motivation" and "committment."
Erin shared how she discovered something was missing from her hour-long cardio workouts.
Joan revealed her favorite new exercise (and I think it surprised even her!)
Anne explored the many new avenues for exercise she has discovered by engaging her husband and children in the activities she's been doing.

And they all revealed some of their biggest nutrition challenges - and the strategies they have used to overcome them.

"Fitness" is no longer an abstract concept for them - some far-off distant dream - it is now part of their lives, their thoughts, and their days. It is so awesome to see that transformation in them, and it all started with their willingness to have the courage to let me into their lives and be receptive to the strategies I laid out for them. They've done it...and they are doing it...and they will continue to do it.

If you want to learn more about them and what they've been up to in the Challenge - you shouldn't have missed the chat. (We may do another one...so don't miss the next one!) But, you can catch up with their National Body Challenge experiences by checking out their blogs:

Anne:
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/blogs.pl?op=display&uid=1231
Joan:
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/blogs.pl?op=display&uid=949
Erin:
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/blogs.pl?op=display&uid=1004

I'm proud of every one of them - and every member of the Challenge for making the committment to get fit. And even better, they are proud of themselves and are motivated to continue.

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/
Vote for me as Top Trainer
http://exercisetv.cityvoter.com/jonathan-ross/biz/73965

It’s Valentine’s Day and hearts are the topic. Everyone knows exercise is good for your heart so I won’t put you sleep with yet another reading of the heart-healthy benefits of exercise.

Instead, with love in the air today, the topic is how better fitness equates with a better sex life. (And it has nothing to do with appearance.)

The research continually piles up supporting how exercise enhances our enjoyment of sex. But, before highlighting the research, doesn’t it just make intuitive sense? Exercise improves anything we do that is physical in life: yard work, sports, shopping, and yes, sex.

The physical movements required in intercourse are of a nature and duration that they typically require appreciable levels of core strength and general fitness. And better fitness from exercise means better blood flow – to the muscles, organs, and all extremeties.

Now for a look at some of the research. (As reported by Marion Webb of ACE - the American Council on Exercise.)

MEN
Men who initiated physical activity in midlife had a 70% reduced risk for erectile dysfunction relative to those who remained sedentary. A brisk two-mile walk a day, burning 200 calories per day was sufficient to produce this effect. (American Medical Association)

This is also in line with epidemiological evidence that physical activity was associated with a 30 percent lower risk of erectile dysfunction while obesity was associated with a 30 percent higher risk of erectile dysfunction, the journal reported.

WOMEN
In women, researchers found that self-body image and actual body size play vital roles in sexual functioning. According to a study published in the Psychology of Women Quarterly, obese women had lower body satisfaction and sexual desire, fewer erotic fantasies, and less autoeroticism and sexual motivation than normal-weight women. Women with a higher BMI were found less likely to be in a dating relationship and had fewer sexual experiences than women with lower BMIs.

Another study found that university students who had a positive self-body image reported better sexual functioning even after controlling for BMI and exercise. (Angela D. Weaver and E. Sandra Byers from the University of New Brunswick in Canada)

Many women have already discovered that regular workouts combined with a healthy diet boost self-confidence and with it mental and physical health.

BOTH GENDERS
According to Cedric Bryant, ACE's Chief Science Officer, "physical improvements in muscle strength and tone, endurance, body composition, and cardiovascular function (specifically, enhanced peripheral blood flow) can all enhance sexual functioning" in both men and women.

When our bodies function closer to their full physical potential, everything gets better. Food for thought today, and every day!

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/
Vote to make me the Top Trainer
http://exercisetv.cityvoter.com/jonathan-ross/biz/73965

At the half way point of the Challenge, it is very likely that you are beginning to live in a body that is experiencing better fitness and health. You’ve committed to change, followed through, and have felt your physical abilities expand as a result.

Now, it’s time to do something new!

The better fitness you have needs to be put to use. To keep you motivated, try a new physical activity. Something new to do for the new you.

Is there a fitness class you’ve always wanted to try? Now is the time.
A sport you’ve wanted to learn how to play? Start learning now.
What about an activity (non-competitive like canoeing) you’ve always wanted to get your feet wet with? Dip those toes in.
Maybe it’s finally time to learn to ice skate. It’s up to you.

As your capabilities expand, so must your activities to keep you engaged.

Too often, even when we have become more fit, we still have our old, less fit mindset. And this can hold us back from reaching for new accomplishments.

You don’t have to go crazy when you try something new. Go at your own pace...you don't need to keep up with the instructor in the cycle class you've always wanted to try but been afraid to. You are there for your workout, not theirs.

Once, a few years ago, there was a trainer that I worked with who was into trapeze. She invited me to come try it with her. And so one summer day, I gave it a try. I had fun, rubbed the skin on my hands and the back of my knees raw (that wasn't the fun part), and tried something I never thought I'd ever find myself doing. I only went that once, and not sure I'd do it again even though it was fun, but I was able to give it a shot because of fitness.

And that's my point.

Better fitness is about living a more active life, doing whatever you want. You may try something and not like it, or you may find a new passion. Whatever the result, you gave it a try. Go and explore, you've got the fitness for it!

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/
Vote for me as Top Trainer
http://exercisetv.cityvoter.com/jonathan-ross/biz/73965

It’s three weeks into the Challenge. I hope you are all doing well with your renewed commitment to fitness. You often hear that it takes three weeks to develop a new habit. So, after three weeks…Are you in a fitness routine or a fitness rut?

It is often so much easier at the beginning: there's the rush of enthusiasm, and many of your responsibilities (at work or home) are not yet ramped back up to full speed from the holidays. But, a few weeks later, the spark of enthusiasm is gone, routines return, job and family responsibilities rise to normal levels...and consistency can waver.

If you’re in a fitness routine with your National Body Challenge commitments, congratulations. You should be settling into a routine that allows you to live your life while making it better through fitness. It may be a nice realization that you can live healthier and not have to clear everything else off of your calendar to do it!

If you’re in a fitness rut, know this:
It will happen to all of us at some point. (Yes, even me!) There have been (and will be) times when for one reason or another, I don't get all my workouts in. It will happen to you, too (whether you’ve had a perfect first three weeks or a bumpy ride.) The important thing to focus on is not WHAT HAPPENED, but what your response will be to what has happened.

If you started great, but have let things slip, you no doubt FEEL a loss of fitness after a couple weeks that got away from you. (It would be great if everyone were so in tune with their bodies that they felt a drop off in their fitness levels after only a couple of bad weeks - instead of letting things go for years.)

Instead of beating yourself up with the guilt over not doing what you planned, stop for a moment, assess what you have done well and what you didn't, then lay out a strategy to get re-focused.

The best mistake to make is the one you learn from.

I can tell you, I've seen people have a couple of bad weeks and they let it be the beginning of more bad weeks. Taking the time to do a reconstruction of what happened and why, without guilt and with an eye toward learning what to watch out for in the future.

When your attitude and mindset are in the right place, you can find the silver lining in just about any situation. There’s always a way to look at a negative situation in a more positive way when you focus on learning from it.

Let me tell you a brief story…in 1995 when my father died at 424 pounds, my mother was 370 pounds and was suddenly staring her own mortality in the face. She began slowly making changes to her eating habits, then a while later added water exercise and light aerobic activity. Before you know it she was adding weight training with me and group cycling classes to her exercise routine. She got down to 200 pounds.

But…

It took her 7 years. She wasn’t perfect every day. She only made nutrition changes the first few years. If she had cleaned up her eating habits and added exercise sooner it wouldn’t have taken her as long. But, she did it. She got there. At her own pace, and on her own terms.

What’s the BEST part?

She never went backward. Never gave up ground that she had fought hard to get. Sure, she plateaued here and there, but she had periods of progress, then maintained that progress until she was ready to make the effort for more progress.

Whether you’ve been perfect for three weeks or have let things slip, it’s still only three weeks. Fitness and health are a lifelong journey where you continually do things better and move in a healthier direction. You’re worth the effort. Your loved ones are worth the effort. Keep moving forward – no matter what. Accept that setbacks will happen. Absorb them, and move on.

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/

By now, you’ve had a couple good weeks of the Challenge under your belt – and hopefully you’ve got more room under your belt as a result.

Many of you are hopping on cardio machines at Bally’s or other health club, using your own equipment at home, playing a sport, or getting outside for your cardio activity. It’s easy to feel a difference when you’re getting started as it all feels new to your body. But at this point, your body may be adjusting to your workout and you need to make sure you keep getting results as results are what fuel the motivation to continue!

But, how do you know if you are at the right intensity of aerobic activity?

A common method is to use the charts that are on the displays of every machine to determine what an appropriate heart rate is. These charts are a mess. You know, the ones with age at the bottom and the heart rate running up the side. It shows you what your “Fat Burning Zone” is and what your “Cardio Zone” is. This is just wrong, wrong, wrong. Where do I start?

First, these charts assume that EVERYONE at the same age has the same heart rate. There are lots of couch potatoes and Olympic athletes out there that are the same age. This is like playing darts blindfolded and having someone spin you around three times before you stop and throw the dart. You might get lucky and hit the bulls eye, but the chances you will even hit the dart board are low.

Second, there is no such thing as a “Fat Burning Zone” or a “Cardio Zone.” Your body’s response to exercise occurs on a spectrum. There is no physiological basis for this. People in the know have lobbied to remove these charts for a long time, but the marketing people at equipment manufacturers want them there. Never a good idea to let marketing people dispense exercise guidance.

You are always burning some a mix of fat and carbs for energy when you are doing any type of aerobic activity. Your body simply adjusts the mixture based on the intensity of the activity.
I wrote an article about this a while back that explains this in more detail. Read it here:

www.aionfitness.com/the-best-fat-burning-workout-jun.-2,-2005.html

For a more accurate calculation of your target heart rate zone, see the following article I wrote called “Heart Rate Transplant” at the following page.

www.aionfitness.com/newsletter-back-issues.html

(And while you're reading these articles, be sure to sign up for my e-newsletter so you can receive great articles like these in the future. It's free and will be a valuable resource in your pursuit of fitness.)

Getting an appropriately challenging workout is crucial to getting results, and results are what will keep you going.

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/

Your scale is good at telling you how much you weigh. But are you asking it to do too much? Are you expecting it to make you happy, lift your mood, set the tone for your day, or establish a higher sense of self worth?

If you are, then you're asking too much of your scale - it can't be your friend, your enemy, your mood lifter, or your spirit crusher. All it can do is tell you the total of your weight - your skin, hair, eyeballs, bones, fat, muscle, fingernails, etc. It will never be your friend or your enemy.

It is a piece of equipment, nothing more nothing less.
It has no power over you except that which you give it.

It’s the second week of the Challenge, and the initial rush of enthusiasm may be fading. When the daily drop in scale weight tapers off, what will you have left to make you feel good about what you are doing?
   
Putting yourself through a workout and then expecting the scale to lift your spirits is missing the point of activity. Overemphasis on the scale will lead to more negativity and failure unless you can find a way to adopt a different mindset. Try these 4 Progress Questions to determine how you're doing:

4 Progress Questions: (a “yes” answer to two or three of these is a sure sign you’re making real progress.)

1 – Do you have increased energy, or do you feel more capable?

2 – Are your clothes fitting more losely?

3 – Are you starting to like what you see in the mirror?

4 – Are you getting people asking you if you have “lost weight,” or “gotten in shape?” (especially people who are only acquaintances and don't see you daily)

If you had ample energy to get through the day, were feeling good in your clothes, moved confidently about your daily activities, and were getting compliments from others that you were getting in shape, would you really care if the scale read 100 pounds or 400 pounds when you stepped on it?
(If you're thinking "yes," re-read the description in the first part and truly imagine what it would feel like to live that way, then ask yourself again and again until the answer is "no.")

The source of your frustration isn't you! There's nothing wrong with you, just with how you measure fitness. Using an intense focus on the scale to determine success or failure is certain disaster.

Read my previous posting on the scale:
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/blogs.pl?op=display&id=345

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/

At the National Body Challenge Live Event this past weekend, I presented 5 Tips for fitness success as you begin the Challenge. I'm posting them here one at a time.

Today's Tip is #5 of 5 - be sure to read

# 1 (TIME)
# 2 (FITNESS VALUES)
# 3 (HORROR MOVIE VICTIM OR HERO? )
# 4 (FITNESS DEFINED)
in previous posts.
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TIP 5 – GUILT-FREE FOREVER

I’m taking away the guilt you feel if you don’t work out one day. And I’m not letting you have it back – ever!

Here’s why: Way back in time, we needed to hunt, kill, skin, clean, and cook dinner; build our own shelters, wash clothes by hand, and protect ourselves from the elements and from predators.

Translation: We had to do A LOT of physical activity EACH DAY that was directly related to SURVIVAL. We spent a lot of calories just staying alive one more day!

The idea of expending energy that wasn't directly related to survival does not sit too well with your brain. After all, if you run around all day chasing fireflies, you may not have the energy left to run away from that sabre-toothed tiger when it chases you!

Fast forward back to today: With the need for survival-based activity largely removed from our lives, we don't "need" to be active. In fact, we are largely insulated from the consequences of inactivity by modern conveniences and can safely get by while hardly lifting a finger.

But our brains follow our genetic programming and it is hard-wired over millenia to discourage physical activity that isn't survival-related. A few decades of living with modern conveniences hasn't changed the programming in our bodies.

So when you climb on that elliptical, or pick up those dumbbells, or tell yourself, "I've got to workout today," your brain often subtly discourages it or at least makes it seem harder to get it done than it would if you had to. After all, if you do the workout, you're burning up energy that you may need to make a shelter later - or so your brain thinks.

This is why - even for fitness experts - it often takes a bit of an effort to get moving to exercise.

It's biology that drives you to inactivity, not willpower. Recognize it for what it is - the programming left over from a time we no longer live in - and just say "No" to the guilt about struggling to exercise.

I'm off to workout now, I've got no predators to run away from so I should be fine!

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/

At the National Body Challenge Live Event this past weekend, I presented 5 Tips for fitness success as you begin the Challenge. I'm posting them here one at a time.

Today's Tip is #4 of 5 - be sure to read tips # 1 (TIME), # 2 (FITNESS VALUES), and # 3 (HORROR MOVIE VICTIM OR HERO? ) in previous posts.
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TIP 4 – FITNESS DEFINED

Fitness feels different for everyone as we all have different goals, current fitness levels, injury histories, and preferences. But what if you had a simple, easy to remember definition of what fitness is that would help you understand what it means to live in a more fit body?

Try this:
Fitness = the ability to do whatever activities you like without having to worry about your body.

That should work for just about anyone - it speaks to your capabilities.

Fitness is not a size 0, it's not a certain number on the scale, it's how you live and what you can do with that life.

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/

At the National Body Challenge Live Event, I presented 5 Tips for fitness success as you begin the Challenge. I'm posting them here one at a time.

Today's Tip is #3 of 5 - be sure to read tips # 1 (TIME) and # 2 (FITNESS VALUES) in previous posts.
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TIP 3 – HORROR MOVIE VICTIM OR HERO?

When you watch a horror movie, you often see victims running away from the villain while looking back at the villain. And you know what happens: the victim falls down and is caught.

When you set fitness goals to avoid a negative, it makes it harder for you to find success. If you’re trying to:
- Avoid looking “ugly in your wedding dress”
- Avoid “Looking bad in your bathing suit”
- Are “tired of feeling fat in your clothes”

Your mind makes a negative connection with fitness.

Now, consider if we state the exact same goals in a different way, listen to how different they sound. What if you wanted to:
- “Look great in your wedding dress”
- “Feel confident in your bathing suit”
- “Fit into your favorite dress or pair of jeans.”

Those are essentially the same goals, but don’t they sound different in your mind when you say them?

Listen to the self-talk in your head about fitness, and carefully check your wording when setting goals.

If your efforts to get fit were made into a movie, would you want to be a victim or the hero? Set goals like a hero, and that's just what you'll be.

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/

At the National Body Challenge Live Event, I presented 5 Tips for fitness success as you begin the Challenge. I'm posting them here one at a time.

Today's Tip is #2 of 5 - be sure to read tip # 1 from yesterday - TIME
---------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------
Tip 2 – FITNESS VALUES

I hope you had a chance to watch the "National Body Challenge: Twins" show on Discovery Health Channel last night. Because something that happened to Jeff Thiel - one of the twins - is a terrific illustration of fitness values.
(You can catch the show this week, Monday – Thursday, January 7-10 at 8pm e/p).

What are your "fitness values?"

The answer(s) to this question will often determine whether you achieve your fitness goals or sporadically exercise without ever making any sustained progress.

“Fitness values” is a term I created to describe what it is about being fit that you really care about. For each of us, there is something that better fitness does for us that we treasure. It might be playing with your children or grandchildren, taking up a new sport or activity, or renewing participation in a previous one. Knowing what your fitness values are keeps fitness connected to what matters most to you.

The workouts you do day-in, day-out are often not great motivators in and of themselves to stick with it over time. They are simply a means to an end (and not just a means to reduce your end). Each of us has reasons that we value fitness, and simply looking better often only scratches the surface of what they are.

As I mentioned previously, Jeff Thiel, one of the twins featured on last night's episode is a perfect illustration of this. At one point, Jeff had lost enough weight and gotten fit enough to have an on-field reunion with his former rugby teammates. They tossed a ball around, tackled each other, and the smile on Jeff's face as he was doing all this was huge. It was so powerful to see him resume a cherished activity.

Your "fitness values" are what better fitness presents you the opportunity to do and to be.

Find them, and you'll have lifelong motivation to stay fit!

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/

What a wonderful experience it was to share the day with those of you that were at the Columbia Mall Kick-Off Event for the National Body Challenge on January 5. THANKS to the folks with Discovery and with the event staff that made it a great experience for all!

For those of you who couldn’t be there - and for those that were but want to hear them again - I'm sharing the 5 Tips I shared for fitness success as you begin the Challenge.

Each of the 5 tips will be a separate posting so you can have time to absorb the powerful shift in thinking that will occur when I present them to you.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------
Tip 1 – TIME
What better place to start than the top reason everyone gives for not exercising!
Funny thing, if you ask anyone who does exercise regularly if they are busy and pressed for time, they will say yes. It's not like everyone who exercises consistently is just sitting around looking for something to fill up their day.

In fact, I’m so busy I don’t have the time to work out either! But I take the time to.

A-Ha Moment...You will be BUSY whether you exercise or not.

It comes down to making a choice between being “busy and fit” or “busy and unfit.”

It really is just that simple.

The reality is, 33 million people watched the season finale of American Idol so we've all clearly got plenty of time available for exercise. You can watch whatever programs you want, as often as you want, but taking care of yourself is a bigger priority and comes first

The alternative: Ignore your body...and it will go away.

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/

As you begin our renewed commitment to fitness through the National Body Challenge, you may be performing new exercises with your Bally’s membership, through the workout videos available at the main site, or home-based bodyweight workouts with your family like I’ve recommended through www.FamilyFitPlan.com.

And, as a result, you may be experiencing some soreness. The question: Is this a good thing or not?

There are two types of soreness - one is okay, the other not.

The following may surprise you: any effective workout causes muscle damage.

A little “damage” gives a good stimulus for improvement, a lot results in pain and an unpleasant experience.

The right type of soreness is when your muscles let you know you gave them a good challenge, but you can still function, and it doesn't hurt to move or to touch. This happens when you give yourself enough of a challenge for your body to take note of, but it doesn't excessively damage the muscle.

The wrong type of soreness is when it hurts to move, to touch, and you alter your movements as a result of the pain. This is a sign that you've overdone it and the muscles need to heal before stressing them again. Gently moving them can help as it sends blood to the affected area, but the soreness needs to clear before giving that area a workout again.

Hopefully, your muscles are talking to you and letting you know they went a bit beyond what they are used to and not shouting at you and letting you know they did too much.

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
Make my blog one of your Favorites!
http://community.discoveryhealth.com/~Jonathan/blog/

What if you could get overnight results? Wouldn't that be just great?

You could let your fitness slide for years, then once you are motivated to take action, all it would take was a few workouts and a few days of dieting to achieve your goals. This would be wonderful.

Or would it?

If your body changed massively in response to a few workouts, what would happen if you didn't workout for a few days? You would balloon up again in no time.

What's my point?

The same resistance to rapid change that can be so frustrating when you begin your fitness journey works in your favor when you've been consistently following through on your committment.

Your body always fights to maintain something called "homeostasis." This is kind of like a biological "all systems normal." Your body perceives "normal" to be what state you've been in consistently most recently.

This makes it sometimes challenging to see results when beginning your fitness journey. But, have faith, your body is slowly remaking itself cell by cell, day by day. And once you put together week after week of follow through on your National Body Challenge workouts and meal plans, you will notice that your body will be more likely to stay fit when you have a bad day and you miss a workout or make a less than ideal nutrition choice.

Thus, the same resistance to rapid change when you are unhappy with your fitness level is the same thing that works in your favor when you get even a little bit more fit. Your body begins to reset it's perception of normal.

"Normal" becomes more fit to your body so it works to maintain this new state of being.

Just one of the many benefits of consistent, focuses effort at fitness.

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com

Welcome to the 2008 National Body Challenge. It's time to get started!

If you are a repeat participant of the Challenge or if this is your first time, I assure you that you will have a tranformative experience this year.

How do I know? I'm truly honored to be the National Body Challenge Fitness Expert.

Life is good, fitness makes it better. Better fitness enhances the enjoyment of every other part of your life.

I've got a number of ways to make sure you are fitter than you've ever been 8 weeks from now.

First
Make this blog a favorite - I'm posting just about daily and you will not want to miss what I share with you. I've already made many postings so read prior ones to get you in the right frame of mind as you begin. And...you never know where my comments will pop up on the discussion boards. I'm out there providing help to all of you...

Second

Third

Fourth

Tomorrow many of you will gather with family to celebrate the holidays. Too often, this can mean a lot of eating and sitting around, then eating and sitting around, followed by more eating and sitting around.

Fun, family, and fitness - they can all converge at the same time. Physical activity is not punishment for bad eating and isn't something you should feel shamed into doing.

This year, take the initiative...get the family active as a group. It doesn't have to be the often impractical advice given by some experts such as "take a walk," or "kick a soccer ball around." Have these people ever been anywhere near the Northeast/Midwest in winter!?

Play Twister, play "Simon Says", designate one lucky grown up as the mechanical bull who will get on all fours and give each kid a ride...it's up to you. Be creative, make it fun, start an activity tradition. (And if you do live in a warm climate and want to kick a soccer ball around, please do!)

Fitness need not isolate you from your loved ones and can be a shared activity that can take place right in the home. The following is an excerpt from the blog of another community participant doing just that. When I read this, it so moved me that I wanted to share it with you all here.

(from "Anne's rants for smaller pants" by annieh in The Journey)

So I have been getting into the Family Fit plan, developed by Jonathan Ross. My husband Todd and I have been using the book and working out together and with our kids. Over the last few days we have incorporated the exercises but are also finding new ways to work out... for example, my kids love to play "tick tock" which is basically where they take turns sitting in a tall laundry basket and we swing them back and forth like a clock. Then we do up and down where we basically do squats and then lift the kid in the basket over our heads... the kids can't stop laughing, and it is quite the work out!!!

Todd has always been an active dad, he plays, wrestles, engages the kids all the time. I use to sit by and watch all the fun. I still can't keep up with them, but that will come in time I am sure. But I am trying... and I am loving every minute of it... and you know what? I can already see my 4 year old responding to me differently. Tonight after a fun filled day of activity and playing, he crawled up on my lap to cuddle. He is a Daddy's boy... he follows Todd everywhere. But tonight, even with Todd right next to me on the couch, he still crawled into my lap. My heart melted.

This program isn't just about strengthening my muscles and improving my health, it is about strengthening my relationships and improving the job I do as a mom... I can already begin to see my efforts paying off.

Take advantage of the opportunity of the ones you love gathered together, show them you love them, and build stronger bonds by connecting with them through physical activity in a fun way - who knows, it just may become a new family tradition!

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com
www.FamilyFitPlan.com

Do you have a dysfunctional relationship with your scale?

Maybe you are asking too much of it.

All it can tell you is how much you weigh - the total off all the stuff that is you. Your eyes, hair, skin, teeth, organs, muscle, bone, fat, toenails, etc.

Yet, many people treat the scale as if can decide if you are a good person, if you are a good parent, friend, or partner. Sometimes we even look to the scale to determine our disposition for the entire day. Are we asking too much of the scale to have it make value judgments on our self-worth as a valid member of the human race?

Uh, yes.

Consider the following example:
I have $100.
You don't know if I have a one-hundred dollar bill, 100 one-dollar bills, or 10,000 pennies. In the same fashion, the scale only tells you the sum of the parts. It doesn't give you a break down of how much each part contributes to the total.

The scale measures the total of your body weight. It doesn't tell you if you're a good or bad person, a decent wife, mother, or friend. It's a cold, lifeless, measuring tool that determines nothing about the quality and value of your life. The only power it has is the power that each of us gives it.

Jonathan Ross, National Body Challenge Fitness Expert
www.AionFitness.com