Injury Limits to Fat Loss: The Shoulder (Part 2)

In Part 1 of this two part series, I discussed what I believe is the most common cause of shoulder pain. So, if the term "scapulohumeral rhythm" is not familiar to you, I suggest checking out that post before reading this one. Anyway, if the scapula does not move freely when you move your arm, something bad is going to happen (ever hear of impingement?)

You see, when your scapula is allowed to move through it's full ROM, then the muscles have ample space to do their work. If the scapula's ROM is limited, then that space gets closed off. I won't go further into all the technical details, but I will let you know some of the major contributors to poor scapular movement.

Delayed

Sorry for the delay between posts. I have most of my shoulder series completed, but I still need to put the finishing touches on it. The delay has all been for good reason. You see, over the past few weeks, I have been in discussion with the guys at Fitness Consulting Group to come work with them them full time. Also, I have the Mobile Fitness and Performance Enhancement Seminar to organize as well. That is taking place next weekend.

Needless to say, that has been a distraction and has taken up enough of my time that I haven't found the energy to write a lot. So, look out for part 2 in the next few days. Sorry for the delay!

Injury Limits to Fat Loss: The Shoulder (Part 1)

When it comes to training, nothing can derail you faster than a nagging injury. In the past, I have reviewed low back pain as a major limit when it comes to exercise, and I have also reviewed anterior pelvic tilt as a postural limit to exercise. In fact, those are among my most read entries of all time! So, I've decided to continue the trend of discussing posture and injury in hopes that you stay healthy and can keep on training.

Today, I want to touch on shoulder pain, a common complaint among people just getting into a training program.

The Dangling Carrot: Weight Loss Goals (Part 2)

In Part 1 of this two part series, I discussed why setting goals based on what the scale says is not an effective strategy for weight loss. Instead, I suggested that you set habit-based goals because those will set you up for long term success (because let's face it, fat loss is about making a commitment to live and eat healthier, not a 6 week crash course). Weight rarely comes off in a linear, predictable pattern, and thus numerical goals can be very discouraging. If you wanted to lose 30 pounds in 3 months but only lost 5 in the first month, for example, would you really feel all that motivated for the next two months? Habit based goals are black and white. You either follow new habits or you don't. You succeed by simply taking action. Your body can't throw tricks at you. If your goal was to make it to the gym every M, W, and F for 3 months and to take 2 fish oil capsules with every meal and you did that, then you have set yourself up for success and built what I like to call a championship habit.

In this entry, I want to talk about another type of goal... a performance-based goal. This is the second type of goal you should be making in place of a "weight loss" goal.

Your Weight Loss Goals are Incredibly Stupid. (Part 1)

Every New Year, thousands of people make the resolution to lose weight. They want to lose 10, 20, 30 pounds, etc. They sign onto another 12 month gym contract and then they are off to the races. "This year is going to be different!"

After a month or two, well... the drive and motivation has died down. Either the results were not good enough or had begun to slow down. Simply put, once the weight stop coming off, people quit. Why put forth effort if there are no results?

This is a big problem we have in the fitness industry... this focus on numbers... We treat the scale like it is the only thing that matters. If the scale tells us that we haven't lost weight... then we have failed... end of story.

This is why weight loss goals are incredibly stupid. Progress is measured in many ways. The scale should be the least of your concerns. I'm going to tell you something VERY unconventional right now... something very few people will ever even think about saying... If you truly want to be successful in your weight loss program, do not think about weight loss at all! Ignore the scale... at least for now...

THE Theory of Fat Loss featured on Fit Business Insider

I just wanted to provide you all with a brief update. I have BIG news about the book. It was just featured on Pat Rigsby's website, Fit Business Insider. This is fantastic. If any of you have heard who Pat is or how much influence he has in the fitness industry, you'll know why I am so excited about this. Please, if you get a chance, check out the article.

http://fitbusinessinsider.com/get-started-as-a-fitness-professional/

Also, I'll be on WJOL radio tomorrow morning around 7:15 AM. That serves Joliet, IL, a city with about 150,000 people. If you aren't from Joliet, which I am guessing you aren't... you can listen to me online if you want at http://www.wjol.com/

One final note... I wanted to give some props to my DJ friend over at http://www.widb.net/wp/revolution/ They provide a different variety of music than mainstream radio. So, if you are a fan of new artists from the alternative, indie, metal, and underground hip hop genres, I'd recommend spending a few minutes checking them out. Maybe they'll have me on their show as well...




Have a great day!

...

And don't forget to pick up your copy of The Theory of Fat Loss for 15% off. Just visit the facebook page for details. http://facebook.com/thetheoryoffatloss.

Ab Day? So Cliche

With fat gain season nearly over and fat loss resolution season (aka January) almost upon us, it is time for everybody to start studying the layout of their gyms so they know the fastest way out in case of fire.

What I really suggest doing is going to your gym just before closing, grabbing a bunch of foam rollers, medicine balls, barbells, etc. and just spreading them out all over the floor in a random pattern to model how crowded it is going to be starting next week. Think of it like an obstacle course. Grab your stopwatch, and then time your escape. You can never be too careful.

What bothers me the most about the one-monthers is not so much that they take up gym space... rather, it is the fact that they go to the gym without a plan and then get in the way. It makes me happy I train in a fully decked out garage gym. Anyway, this entry is about one particular thing that almost 100% of the resolution crowd does completely wrong... abdominal training.

P90X (Part 3): THE Theory of Fat Loss Argument

Part 1
Part 2

The Theory of Fat Loss is made up of two unique constructs that, when integrated, become a powerful fat loss tool. The theory of absolute intensity tells us that the greater the absolute intensity one can achieve with training, the greater the fat loss result will be. The limiting factor theory tells us that within any fat loss program exist multiple potential limits than can inhibit one's ability to achieve success.

In parts 1 and 2 of this critique series, I go into great detail explaining why I believe P90X is less than adequate with respect to these two constructs. In this long overdue Part 3, I will critique P90X in terms of the unified theory as a whole. Let's see where that takes us.

The 100 Gram Carb Rule For Fat Loss Awesomeness

I still have to write Part 3 of the P90X critique series (see Part 1 and Part 2), but I stumbled across something today that I had to write about immediately. It is the 100 gram carb cure (click here for the original article), and it might just be one of the best and simplest rules there is to follow that I've ever read about when it comes to losing fat.

If you don't want to click that link to read the entire article, here is my take on it.

The Theory of Fat Loss Official Book Release

It's official! The Theory of Fat Loss: A New Paradigm for Exercise has just been released! There are two ways to secure your copy. It can be purchased for its list price of $19.95 through amazon.com... or, you can get it for 10% off through my amazon createspace e-store. Simply click here and use this discount code: P94QUZGR.

Want more information and testimonials about this book before making your purchase? No problem. See what's in it for you. Click here.

P90X (Part 2): The Limiting Factor Argument

Update 12/13/2010: In response to the comments by two of my readers, apparently I was wrong in my assessment of P90X in regard to time. Both of them said that I was too nice, as the workouts are actually longer than I thought they were. So, my updated grade of P90X in lieu of this new information is C-.


This is the second of 3 installments discussing the efficacy (or lack thereof) of the P90X program. To read Part 1, The Absolute Intensity Argument, click HERE. This purpose of this post will be to evaluate P90X in terms of the construct discussed in Unit 2 of The Theory of Fat Loss, the limiting factor theory.

Note: One of the comments on my previous post suggested that it is impossible to evaluate P90X without reviewing the nutrition system with it as well. While I completely agree that you can never out train a poor diet, the purpose of these posts is not to discuss nutrition. Even the poorest exercise programs out there can look fantastic if a good diet is followed. I am simply critiquing an exercise program as it stands by itself. The Theory equips people with an evaluation system to objectively look at any training regimen, so I am merely providing you with an example of how it can be done.

Note 2: Let's not get accusatory in my comments section! It takes a lot of courage to post things non-anonymously, especially training results. I just recently posted a guest entry on this... the "your a skinny b*****" post. What matters is that people continue to make progress and that we help and support them, not tell them they are too thin or whatever. Even if somebody is technically "underweight," I don't see a problem with it if they are still improving their numbers in the gym. Now, if a person starts regressing or getting physically ill, then there is a problem, but being light doesn't mean unhealthy. I must say though that it does support my point about P90X not being a hypertrophy program.

Okay, without further ado...

P90X (Part 1): The Absolute Intensity Argument

One of my readers, a young man who goes by Mr. Huntington, sent me a question about P90X a little while ago. He wondered if I would recommend P90X as a fat loss program because he personally felt that it was useless. He said that he knows a bunch of people who have tried it and quit because it was "too hard" or they got injured or that they just flat out didn't like it. I responded to him with a lengthy email. He subsequently mirrored some of my thoughts on an Internet forum and the response was enormous. Why was that?

You see, I am not a fan of P90X at all. However, I know that thousands upon thousands of people attempt the program. I also know that many of these same people are missionaries for the cause. You see, the marketing for P90X is amazing. What they have essentially done is created a tribe of people who will defend it to the death for no other reason than that they are convinced that "everybody is doing it."  Why do they think everybody is doing it? The advertising tells them it is so. The advertising also tells them that everybody gets ridiculously amazing results and that it is by far the best and most comprehensive fat loss program on the market. Let me tell you something. The marketing team for P90X did a FANTASTIC job. You can't avoid the commercials. You can't avoid the thousands of people that sell the product as part of Beach Body's multi-level marketing scheme. You can't type P90X into Google and find a bad review because they have flooded the Internet with hundreds and hundreds of pages telling everybody about how awesome it is.

So anyway, before I make a bunch of people mad at me, I want to say that this 3 part series will not mindlessly rant about how much I dislike P90X or anything like that. What I am going to do here is raise an intelligent argument based on sound training principles to hopefully open up a discussion about P90X as a fat loss program. Ready?