An Apple a Day: Basic Nutrition Part 1

What is the one thing that I hear most when I ask people about their goals? Come on, I'm sure you can get this. No, it's not to finish third in the Charles Laughton look-a-like contest. Guess again. There you go! It's losing weight.

Now, can you guess the one aspect of a good weight loss plan that people mess up the most? The thing that flat out kills most people's progress? This one is a little bit harder. It's their diet.

Whenever you have a goal involving body composition, the exercise plan, while certainly very important, is always secondary to diet. In fact, in many ways it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between a fat-loss exercise plan and a muscle building exercise plan. For example, in both you are using compound movements to either preserve or build muscle.

Why do so many people ruin their progress with their diet, you ask? Well, there's lots of reasons. For one, it's easy to go to the gym and do what your trainer tells you to do for a few hours a week while he's there watching you. It's much harder to break old habits when you are on your own and hungry. For another, we are bombarded with so much information about different diets and ways to lose weight that our eyes glaze over and we end up not doing anything different at all because we just don't know where to start. What many people fail to realize is this: good nutrition is very easy. Yes, there are some concepts that are certainly very involved and difficult to understand and implement, but for the most part those concepts only apply to very specific kinds of people with very specific kinds of goals, such as high-level athletes. For the rest of us, it doesn't have to be about counting calories as much as just using good common sense. 

For example: what's a healthier snack, an apple or a candy bar? What's a healthier meal, grilled chicken or fried chicken? You see? It's not so hard. (If you had trouble answering those questions, please call me immediately. You need some help.) What it really comes down to is just eating good, non-processed food as much as possible.

In my next few articles I will give you some basic guidelines to follow to set up a good diet. Remember, nutrition doesn't have to be difficult, just smart and logical. If you have some questions about your diet, please call me or send me an email. Now, everyone eat their oranges and I'll see you in two weeks.

-from the Castro Valley Forum February 10, 2010

Mitchell Rothbardt, CPT

MitchRothbardtTraining@yahoo.com

510-754-7113

Discover Your Strength!

An Apple a Day: Basic Nutrition Part 1

What is the one thing that I hear most when I ask people about their goals? Come on, I'm sure you can get this. No, it's not to finish third in the Charles Laughton look-a-like contest. Guess again. There you go! It's losing weight.

Now, can you guess the one aspect of a good weight loss plan that people mess up the most? The thing that flat out kills most people's progress? This one is a little bit harder. It's their diet.

Whenever you have a goal involving body composition, the exercise plan, while certainly very important, is always secondary to diet. In fact, in many ways it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between a fat-loss exercise plan and a muscle building exercise plan. For example, in both you are using compound movements to either preserve or build muscle.

Why do so many people ruin their progress with their diet, you ask? Well, there's lots of reasons. For one, it's easy to go to the gym and do what your trainer tells you to do for a few hours a week while he's there watching you. It's much harder to break old habits when you are on your own and hungry. For another, we are bombarded with so much information about different diets and ways to lose weight that our eyes glaze over and we end up not doing anything different at all because we just don't know where to start. What many people fail to realize is this: good nutrition is very easy. Yes, there are some concepts that are certainly very involved and difficult to understand and implement, but for the most part those concepts only apply to very specific kinds of people with very specific kinds of goals, such as high-level athletes. For the rest of us, it doesn't have to be about counting calories as much as just using good common sense.

For example: what's a healthier snack, an apple or a candy bar? What's a healthier meal, grilled chicken or fried chicken? You see? It's not so hard. (If you had trouble answering those questions, please call me immediately. You need some help.) What it really comes down to is just eating good, non-processed food as much as possible.

In my next few articles I will give you some basic guidelines to follow to set up a good diet. Remember, nutrition doesn't have to be difficult, just smart and logical. If you have some questions about your diet, please call me or send me an email. Now, everyone eat their oranges and I'll see you in two weeks.

-from the Castro Valley Forum, February 10, 2010

Mitch Rothbardt, CPT
MitchRothbardtTraining@yahoo.com
510-754-7113
Discover Your Strength!

What's it going to be?

Ok. I'm ready to do this. As you may know on March 14, I am going to be doing my first powerlifting meet. My goal is an 1100 pound total. That would represent small PRs (personal records) in each lift. I can do that. I can feel it. I'm excited about it. My question to you is what are your goals for the next few months? Let me know. I'm interested. I want to know. Email me, call me, put it in the comments. I'll tell you this. If you tell someone you become accountable, and if you become accountable then you have a much better chance of reaching your goal. Do it. Come on! I told you mine, you tell me yours! Let's do this together! I KNOW WE CAN!!!

To get you excited here's a video of an 82 year old, 164 pound grandfather deadlifting 420 lbs. If he can do it you sure can give it a shot!



Mitchell Rothbardt
MitchRothbardtTraining@yahoo.com
510-754-7113
Discover Your Strength!

It's Up To You!

It's up to you! These are both the most empowering and scariest words you can hear. What do I mean by that? It's simple. Those words put the responsibility on your shoulders. They give you the power! That's great because you are now the one in control. The one who decides what to do. Unfortunately, for some people those words are scary for the very same reason. The twist is in how you look at it. If you don't hit your goal, then you're the one to blame.


Do you want to lose weight? It's up to you. Do you want to get stronger? It's up to you. As a trainer, I've helped people with all sorts of goals, but the people that have had the most success are, very simply, the ones who work the hardest. They have decided that it's up to them to put the work in. My job is to present them with the best program and make sure they're using correct form, but other than that, it's up to them. They are the ones who started eating better. They are the ones who exercise and put in a great effort whether I'm there or not.

Getting our bodies to change isn't easy. Due to thousands of years of evolution, our bodies have learned to be extremely resistant to change. In other words, your body doesn't want to lose that last ten pounds or give you the ability to bench 300 pounds. It still thinks that winter is coming up and it has to preserve all excess energy and tissue. It doesn't want to waste energy doing something silly like getting stronger, or doing something dangerous like losing tissue that it might need for fuel during those long, cold winter months. You have to remember that it's a relatively recent development that we can get food pretty much when we want it, and without having to scavenge and hunt for it, too.

Saying that though, we are remarkably adaptable. When we continually force our bodies to perform a new task, our bodies will change over time and adapt to the new demands we place on it. That's how we eventually get stronger or faster or learn to play the bagpipes.

What I'm trying to say is this: Your body will do what you want it to do whether it's it's lose weight or play the drum part to "Tom Sawyer", but it's up to you to put the time and effort in to make it happen.

If you need some help to make your goals happen, call me, and remember, it's up to you to consult your doctor before beginning any exercise program.

P.S. A huge thanks to Jesse, Shane and Mario at Prevail. They taught me everything I know.
 
-from the Castro Valley Forum, January 27, 2010
 
Mitchell Rothbardt, CPT
MitchRothbardtTraining@yahoo.com
510-754-7113
Discover Your Strength!