Healthy eating……..you’re doing it wrong if you can relate to this.

So you’re trying to eat healthy and salads have been a big of a challenge for you.

You know they can be a nutritional power house, but it’s that whole satisfaction thing, that’s kind of an important, seems to be missing.

You got protein?

Check.

How about a little fat like oil and cheese?

Yep.

Lots of variety so it’s not just rabbit food?

Sure thing.

So what’s missing?

How about adding some spice!

My latest favorite salad addition is pickled jalapeño. Just a little of that mixed in with your greens will add loads of taste and satiety.

Give it a shot. It just might make buying a pallet of pickled jalapeño seem justifiable.

Some of the best fitness information doesn’t come from a research study

Fitness and strength is one of those areas in life where theory and assumptions just won’t cut it.

In order to get in shape, you have to use information that can only come from real proven methods.

And I’m not talking about methods that are proven in a lab under tightly controlled circumstances. I’m talking about information that’s been proven in the real world where people are getting their hands dirty and working in the trenches.

This week’s podcast is highlighting over 10 lessons and principals I’ve learned from my years as a bike racer, martial artist and strength enthusiast.

bike race lessons

Yes, great changes are possible! Here’s the fine print:

Never before has the hype around diet and exercise programs been so…..well……hyped up.

Everything out there is the latest and greatest with promises that seem too good to be true.

To a degree, these promises do seem possible. After all, we do live in a time where new information about the human body is being discovered every day. Athletes are breaking records and the barriers are being broken down. Maybe, just maybe, the impossible really is possible.

But at the same time, much of the hype is just fluff that’s designed to scam people out of their money. People are no longer falling for the diet and exercise scams like they once were. Folks are more skeptical than ever.

The battle lines are drawn between truth and hopeful expectations. One day we are hopeful and the next we are skeptical.

This tug of way can create far too much stress. It can also be very dangerous.

If we are too skeptical we close off our minds to new potentially beneficial methods. But if we believe too much then we may be scammed out of time and money left and right.

To put some sense and order to the hype I created the following cheat sheet:

If you’re methods are going to bring big changes really quickly you can bet they sure won’t come easily.

If they are going to be big and come fairly easy then they will take a lot longer to happen.

And if you’re going to have quick and easy results they probably won’t be very big or pronounced.

If someone is promising you all three at the same time, there is a pretty good chance it’s either a scam or the person is a gluten for punishment.

You can also use this cheat sheet to figure out the best methods for your goals and preferences.

I personally enjoy big changes without devoting my whole life towards accomplishing them. So I’m fine with a long time table.

But if you need big changes really fast then resolve to go through hell to make them happen.

Pick the two you want the most and leave off the one you feel you can do without and you’ll have the foundation to your perfect game plan.

I believe the pull-up is within the reach of anyone and everyone.

In this video I’ll walk you through the exact method I use to help anyone slowly build up to the pull body pull up.

The playground is the place where I can often reach higher and go further than I ever had before.

Something about being outside and on different equipment makes me feel like the sky is the limit.

No rules.

No clocks.

No limits.

Check out this video for 2 unique super sets that are particular favorites of mine when I hit the playground.

Some folks have told me that the ideas of Intuitive Eating are aimed at discouraging weight loss.

I’ll admit that’s what it sounds like when you first read the book, but after practicing it for a number of years, I learned that the principals of Intuitive Eating set the perfect stage for body transformation.

intuitive eating and weight loss

I was shown this video at a party the other day and just had to share it with you.

It’s a great example to how body weight exercise can be so effective and yet allow anyone with extreme limitations to begin training.

When I first got into bike racing I always figured cheap sunglasses were just as good as the brand name.

I thought it was crazy for someone to spend more than $30 on a pair of shades much less $200.

After a few years of bike racing and really trashing my cheap pairs, I grew to love and appreciate the brand name frames.

The exact same thing happened when I traded in the lat pull down for the standard pull up.

Back in the day, I figured the two exercises did the same thing. They looked about the same and they worked the same muscles. So why bother jumping up on a bar when I have a fancy piece of equipment I can use?

However, once I made the switch to pullups, the pull down quickly felt like it was some sort of a cheap substitute.

Now I’m not saying the pull down is a bad move, I’m just saying that it can’t produce the quality of result that the pull up does.

My theory was further confirmed when I decided to play around on a lat pull after a year or two of doing nothing but pull ups.
Even though I wasn’t using the machine I still gained a surprising amount of strength and the weight I was pulling before felt easy as hell.

I also came across a story, on line, where a couple of body builders challenged a gymnast to see who could do the most reps on the pull down machine with the full stack.

The gymnast lost but only by 1-2 reps. But when the challenge was brought to the pull up bar the body builders didn’t even come close to matching the gymnasts strength and endurance.

This is a common theme I keep running accross since my conversion to body weight training. All of those years of weight lifting had limited functional carry over to applications where I had to move my body through space. However, body weight training continues to greatly improve my ability to both move through space and move heavy objects as well.

I don’t know why this is the case.

Maybe it’s because moving the body through space can potentially place more stress on the central nervous system.

Maybe it’s because I feel safer and more comfortable with body weight powered exercise so I push myself harder.

Maybe it has something to do with open vs closed chained exercise.

But for right now, I don’t know nor do I really care.

All I know is that my body weight training is still making lifting heavy things easier be it  lifting a treadmil or carrying a box up some strairs.

The messege I really want to convey is this.
The pull down is fine, but it’s most certainly not a replacement to the pull up.  It’s like a cheap knockoff.
There is simply no substitute for the pull up and if you’re not doing them on a regular basis you’re seriously missing out.

If you’re considering the pull up may be out of your league then fear not my friend. I have a cool video tutorial in the works showing how anyone can perform a pull up no matter what their level of strength is.

The great fat torching tool at work in the early days

When I flip through photo albums of my past, I notice a drastic difference in my appearance during my freshman and sophomore years in college.

I was always lean, but during that time I got super lean. It’s almost as if fat itself was being repelled from my body.

Before with a body fat around 15%

After with a body fat around 7% and a lot more hair

My secret weapon? It was none other than my simple bicycle.

I really do believe that the simple bicycle is one of the greatest fat burning tools we can use.

Some points on why riding is so effective:

It’s cheap.

When it comes to riding for fitness, there are little to no advantages from a $4,000 bike to a $40 bike. The most you can ask from your bike is that it be safe, reliable and comfortable. Beyond that, all of the other stuff doesn’t matter when it comes to getting you in shape.

So you don’t have to buy an expensive bike to get started. You may not even need to buy one at all. If you’ve already got a bike but it’s been collecting dust then it’s time to break that sucker out!

Plus it won’t cost you anything to go for a ride. it’s not like skiing or golf where you have to pay to play. Just saddle up and ride. If you’re riding instead of driving then you’re saving on gas, so you’re almost getting paid to exercise at that point.

It’s low stress

The frame of the bike supports your weight and the pedaling motion is low impact. This is the key to helping you work longer and harder to maximize calorie burn.

It’s fun

Come on! Who didn’t like riding their bike as a kid? The more fun you have the more you’ll do an activity and riding a bike can be one of the most fun ways to get exercise.

It’s wind in your hair (freedom), sun on your skin (vitamin D) and bugs in your teeth (protein). What’s not to love?

It’s transportation

Having an active commute is without a doubt one of the biggest calorie burners you can tackle. Yes even more than working out!
Just think, if you are a 30 minute ride to and from work then that’s an hour of exercise you’re getting each day.
If the average gym goer gets 45 minutes of cardio 3X a week then riding to work monday through Friday will yield more exercise in a week than the gym goer will do in a month.

It’s social

I love going on long rides with friends. It’s like taking a nice long road trip together, but the beer at the end of the day tastes so much better after covering 80 miles on a bike.

It’s competitive

It’s so easy to race on a bike. You can race the clock, your buddy or even join a racing club.
Sometimes I’ll even race mother nature. If i hear a storm is blowing in I’ll try and ride a set distance before it hits. If I get wet I lose, but if I make it home dry then I win.

The bottom line is that the bike is one of the most efficient and effective forms of calorie blasting activity you can tackle. With the weather turning nice it’s time to get that bike tuned up and head to the bike path.

The weather is nice and it’s time to get some fun in the sun!

No Rules + No Restrictions – Stress= No Limits

I began my joinery into Fitness Independence over 5 years ago.

Since day one, I’ve been perplexed to explain exactly what FI is and what makes it so special.

In today’s podcast I finally have a working construct of what makes FI what it is.

I also cover:

- The 3 sources of stress from conventional fitness methods.

- The E3 method. The 3 principals that allow you to be fit and live free.

- Plus a little rant against this idea that we are all so unique and different and why that’s a potentially dangerous belief to hold.

Stress and the E3