Getting Started

Okay...now that the foundation is set, it is time to start your journey! But how to set up a fat loss/weight loss program that will get you to your goal??? Where to start? First thing you have to do in order to get rid of fat...build your lean body mass!! The attempt in any well thought out fat loss/weight loss program is to raise the Basal Metabolic Rate or Resting Metabolic Rate (the number of calories we need to burn in order to fuel essential bodily processes and keep our organs and tissues in working order). Let's face it...unless you are a professional athlete or bodybuilder, you don't have the luxury of training for hours on end. Efficiency is the key! Muscle cells are about 8 times more metabolically demanding than fat cells. So the greater our proportion of muscle to fat, the faster our metabolic rate. In the simplest of terms, if you have more lean body weight your metabolism will be faster. Period! Having said that, resistance training becomes essential in a fat loss/weight loss program. We want the residuals from our training! Let's start thinking in terms of the hours that we are not training that are the most important. Sleeping, working, sitting, these are what we do most of our day. There are 168 hours in a week...if you see the gym every day for 1 hour..heck let's make it 2 hours (overtraining)...you are left with 154 hours. 92% of the day week is filled with everything else. This is the time that the results happen! Aside from nutrition, the hierarchy of fat loss/weight loss is the following. 1. Resistance Training (weights, body weight, tension bands, kettlebells, etc.) 2. High intensity anaerobic training (buzz word nowadays is HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training). This could include sprinting, climbing stairs, running hills, jumping, etc. 3. Moderate intensity cardiovascular. 4. Long slow steady state aerobic exercise.

I look forward to being part of your fitness education and challenge you to reach farther, dream bigger, and believe in yourself.

STOP IT!!

Alright...I am going to rant like a fitness coach (I am sure Jillian and Bob-The Biggest Loser-will get a kick out of this one)! Let me make this loud and clear...THERE IS NO CAN'T!!! How in the world has this word even made it through all of the generations? It just has such a negative vibe. It's physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual limitations spread far and wide when this word (I have a really hard time even writing this word...so I will call it the "C" word) is even on the tongue. It simply astounds me how many people use this word on a regular basis. Listen...I understand that life is not easy and there are times that we will be tested, but to use the "C" word is just an excuse! I have been fortunate enough in life to be around people that have more adversity in their lives than anyone could ever imagine. Heck...I have a four year old niece who has a rare genetic disorder and she has had to endure more than I could in 10 lifetimes. Not once...not once...has my brother and my sister-in-law ever felt sorry for themselves or said the "C" word. Give up...not a chance! They persevere under the most extreme circumstances.

The cold hard truth is that when someone uses the "C" word, they either don't want to or don't know how. (As much as I would like to take credit for this phrase, it was given to me by a friend). Moving forward, instead of saying the "C" word, use some of these...

"I am having trouble with this. Could you help me out?"
"I really don't want to"
"This is difficult, wanna help me out?"

I challenge you for one day to rid yourself of this word. You will accomplish more than you ever thought possible! I look forward to being part of your fitness education and challenge you to reach farther, dream bigger, and believe in yourself.

Successful Fat Loss, Part 3

What are you specifically trying to accomplish? How are you measuring your results? Have you announced your objective to anyone else? Are the results realistic? Is there an end date?
Pretty straightforward questions...right? Well...more times than not, when people embark on a fat loss/weight loss journey these questions are not answered. Why? Let's look at it this way...would you jump in a car and simply start driving without any destination in mind? Probably not. If you have somewhere to go, typically, you'll know specifically where you are going, approximately how long it will take, what you are headed out to do, and whether or not it can be done in the allotted time. Now let me ask a question...why on earth would someone start a fitness program without any set direction? Sounds kind of silly, huh? It happens all of the time and is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) reasons for the failure of a fitness program.

I'll make it really easy for you...SET YOUR GOALS BEFORE STARTING A FAT LOSS/WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM!!! Research has proven that individuals that set SMART goals are more likely to get the results that they seek.

S=Specific. When setting a goal, make sure that it is quantifiable (i.e. lose 20 pounds, fit into a size 4, 32" waist, etc.). If you simply have a goal of "lose some weight", there is no purpose.

M=Measurable. Make sure you take pictures, perform circumference measurements, have someone take your body fat. Some of these can be very intimidating, but you MUST go for it!

A=Announced or Agreed-Upon. Let those who are supporting you know exactly what you are going to accomplish. Those people will keep you motivated.

R=Realistic. Make sure that your goals are realistic! DO NOT SET YOURSELF UP FOR FAILURE! Weight loss can be very volatile, be realistic. If you are unsure about what is realistic, contact me...I can help you out. If not me, talk to a competent fitness coach, they should steer you in the right direction.

T=Time-Based. Deadlines...we all have them. Whether it is a project at work, a wedding date, or a competition, deadlines are inevitable. They are a fantastic motivator!

Ultimately, it is up to you to define whether or not your goals will be met. I am simply presenting you the tools needed to succeed. You, and ONLY YOU, have to have the courage to reach into the toolbox and start building. I look forward to being part of your fitness education and challenge you to reach farther, dream bigger, and believe in yourself.

Successful Fat Loss, Part 2

People who we associate ourselves with on a regular basis inevitably define our character. If we want to be athletic, we will associate ourselves with athletes. If we wish to be entrepreneurs, we will associate ourselves with business owners. If we want success, we tend to associate ourselves with people that are successful. Now...I have a question...when we want to embark on a successful health and fitness quest, why do we associate ourselves with people who bring us down?

I have been in the fitness world for quite some time and have had my fair share of client success stories, but invariably, each one of these clients had someone who tried to sabotage (either consciously or unconsciously) their progress. Just the other day I had a client of mine, who has made tremendous progress, tell me about a friend of of hers who called her anorexic. Are you kidding me? The nerve....and to top it off, her friend could use a little exercise herself:-) This happens all the time and is totally unfair! Is it jealousy? Maybe. Whatever the case, the fact of the matter is that it can have a huge impact on someones psyche. Fortunately, she is strong enough to brush it off. But, what if she wasn't? How would it affect her then? The workplace can also be a cruel setting. One of my clients has just started his fat loss/weight loss quest and is extremely driven. Co-workers of his have ignored his request of no junk food in his office. With the amount of temptation outside of work, why on earth would his associates try and pull him down? Fat Loss/Weight Loss is hard enough, why should we make it harder. Ultimately, it is up to you to choose who you associate yourself with, make sure you choose wisely.
I look forward to being part of your fitness education and challenge you to reach farther, dream bigger, and believe in yourself.

Successful Fat Loss, Part 1

Do you want success in your Fat Loss/Weight Loss quest? Do you want real results this time? Here is a secret...there is no "next best" program and no quick fix! If that were the case, every fitness coach out there would be using the same program and getting the same results. So why are so many people failing? The reason for the failure rate is simple....there is no foundation! Just like building a house, if the foundation is not strong and stable, the structure will eventually crumble. In my next few blog posts, I will be explaining how to put together the fundamentals of a Fat Loss/Weight Loss program that WILL NOT FAIL!

"You are free to choose, but the choices you make today will determine what you will have, be, and do in the tomorrow of your life." --Zig Ziglar

Let's start with the most critical of all the components

SELF-DISCIPLINE.

Self-discipline is unequivocally about the choices you make on a daily basis. "Self-discipline refers to the training that one gives one's self to accomplish a certain task or to adopt a particular pattern of behaviour, even though one would really rather be doing something else", (wikipedia). Simply stated, you are either in or you are out. In terms of a successful Fat Loss/Weight Loss program, you have to look in the mirror and be honest with yourself. If you are going to pursue it, then jump in without any hesitiation. There cannot be any "dipping your toes in the water". Fat Loss/Weight Loss is not an easy task. It takes effort and time and the proverbial "blood, sweat, and tears". Do not let anyone sell you a quick fix...it NEVER works! When you look in the mirror and honestly commit to yourself, all of the choices, including nutrition, resistance training, cardiovascular training, rest and recovery, and preventative maintenance, become crystal clear. Stay tuned for my next blogpost in the series. I look forward to being part of your fitness education and challenge you to reach farther, dream bigger, and believe in yourself.

Let's Get Moving

Well...with no football on until August (the Pro-Bowl doesn't count), I was having a relaxing day in front of the TV (got my training out of the way this morning...whew) and a program about obesity in America came on the Discovery Health Network this afternoon. I find these shows extremely educational. In any case, there was a very interesting statistic that was presented by one of the medical professionals. American's have nominally increased their daily caloric consumption (approximately 100-200 calories) since 1960; however, our daily caloric burn rate (caused by exercise and simply moving) has gotten radically worse. Our daily caloric expenditure is now 700-800 calories less than it was in 1960. In terms of weight gain (fat gain) this is staggering. In one week an average American can gain 1/2 to 1 pound! This is unacceptable! It not only causes health related problems for the individual (Type 2 diabetes, cardiac disease, cancer, chronic joint pain, sleeping disorders, etc), but it is one of the leading causes of insurance increases. An article that I recently came across stated that obese adults incur annual medical expenditures that are $395 (36 percent) higher than those of normal weight incur (Ronald Sturm, “The Effects of Obesity, Smoking, and Drinking on Medical Problems and Costs,” Health Affairs-Mar/Apr 2002: 245–253).

As my first blog stated...as fitness professionals we have to stop passing the buck! This obestiy epidemic is our problem and is not going to just go away...and I, for one, am not going to sit on my hands and watch the crisis unfold. "If we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem." I look forward to being part of your fitness education and challenge you to reach farther, dream bigger, and believe in yourself.

Fitness Coach vs Personal Trainer

Hi...I am Brent Parkhill and this is a no-nonsense fitness blog where people can get real information on how to lose weight and feel great! There is so much information to sift through and it can be very confusing to figure it all out. I welcome any questions and have over 20 years of fitness experience to help you create the best fitness path for you. I will be sharing my thoughts and observations about the state of our industry, best practices for fat and weight loss, and information that will help you attain your fitness goals. Hope you enjoy this blog....

Obesity has reached epic proportions and our future leaders are getting fatter. What's even more disturbing to me is that as an industry, personal training is on the rise. In some areas of the country, the number of personal trainers have tripled in since 2004. Why is it then that our society is so fat? You would think that since there are more personal trainers, nutritionists, and fitness professionals today that the obesity rate should be decreasing....right?? Obviously, that is not the case. It is time for the fitness industry to step up and start educating our clients on what works and what is a complete waste of time. It is time for our industry to stop passing the buck and take a little responsibility to educate anybody who will listen and find a way to get through to those who won't. As personal trainers, we wear many hats, but the most important one is a coach and educator. I have been blessed to have been around some of the best fitness professionals and coaches and the one common denominator is that they all educate, coach and teach. I look forward to being part of your fitness education and challenge you to reach farther, dream bigger, and believe in yourself.