Fitness Contrarian

The older we get the less time we seem to spend outside. When we were kids all we wanted to do was go outside and have some fun. We would get a ball game going with some of our friends or just run around. I think we all miss that now. One of the unhealthiest things you can do as an adult is spend it all day inside.

Some of the happiest and healthiest people I know have fun doing outdoor hobbies like: hiking, skiing, walking, running, biking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping, surfing, beaching, gardening, horseback riding, kite flying, bird watching or just sitting and reading in a lounge chair. The list is really endless (…)

You have to cut down on sodium to have a healthy diet. Most people in America eat an average of 3,400 mg of sodium a day while the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) is less than 2,400 mg which is just about a teaspoon of table salt. I recommend you limit your sodium to no more than 1,500 mg per day and even less, if you have high blood pressure. I try to eat less than 1,000 mg of sodium per day.

Research has shown that reducing your sodium to less than 1,300 mg per day can reduce artery stiffness by up to 46 percent in just two weeks (…)

We all need some form of weight lifting for good health. It can be your own body weight, free weights or any type of resistance that makes you push, pull and just work hard. I’m not that concerned what type of resistance you choose as long as you workout relatively hard and keep it short in duration.

They’re so many different ways to create a response and get stronger with resistance training. My favorites are free weights, machines, bands, medicine balls and my own body weight. There is just no getting around it. If you want to have strong bones, good muscle mass, flexibility, strength, a high metabolism and a firm shapely body you have to lift something reasonable heavy on a regular basis.

We all know how important it is to get adequate sleep but so few of us do get enough. Your body can’t function at an optimal level if you are always sleep deprived. So many important reactions happen to our bodies when you are asleep. Vital hormones are released when you are asleep that help your brain function, immune system and can even help you to lose weight. Check out this article I wrote called Lack of Sleep Leads to Weight Gain.

Out of all my Fitness Contrarian principles this is probably the hardest one for me to follow. Owning a gym and training clients is a very labor-intensive job with long hours. I’m up at 5:30 AM six days per week training clients and spending whatever remaining time I have with my wife and kids (…)

Besides doing your short hard strength and interval work-outs you need to do easy longer aerobic work-outs on a regular basis. This principle can blend into living an active lifestyle (Principle #3) but an active lifestyle can be stop and go, while easy aerobics should be continuous.

It’s real important to do some type of long low-level aerobic activity for good health. What I mean by low level is anywhere from 55% to 70% of your maximum heart rate (on average your maximum heart rate is 220 – your age). You don’t even have to use your heart rate as a guide just walk, bike or do anything aerobic at a comfortable pace for an extended period of time (…)