Seriously? On National TV?

I was watching one of my favorite train wrecks yesterday, The Biggest Loser.

It seems the trainers are learning and evolving to be more constructive rather than all-out mean. I still dislike that they the way one of them uses kettlebells is inappropriate (using way advanced skills, like balancing on an upside down kettlebell, which is difficult but doesn't accomplish more than a good old plank).

Anyway, one of the eliminated contestants winds up meeting with a former contestant who was his team partner the previous season. The guy had ballooned up to what seemed to be a heavier weight than when he had started. When questioned about his weight loss, he said he had other priorities and that he just wants to relax, and that when he takes care of other things, the weight will come off. What a crock!

The eliminated contestant expressed his concern for his buddy, seeing as he recognized in him what he used to do: make excuses, stay comfortable and in denial. I remember that same person going home for a visit, trying to eat healthy meals but saying he couldn't find things he likes (he was a corn dog and fries guy), and his family (all morbidly obese by the way) telling him "you can do it" as they stuff themselves with fries!

So, here he is, a season later, bigger than ever, having blown an opportunity like TBL, with all the nutrition, support and training you can unrealistically get! I hope that the folks in his position can use this as a wake-up call and find the inspiration and motivation to be honest with themselves and that he became an unsuspecting herald for a condition that affects 2/3 of the US population.

There is nothing more important that your health. Not your family, your children or your work. And before you chastise me for saying I am a fitness nazi, which I am not, just ponder the consequences for not being healthy:

a) Diabetes.

b) Heart disease.

c) Cancer.

If these 3 don't feel like they affect you, think about it when you are unable to care for yourself, or unable to care for your family because you cannot work. Or, when you suffer a heart attack, how it's going to affect your children. You chronological age is a number, but your real age may be higher, meaning you may be 20 years old on your passport, but be over 40 (and not a healthy 40, in which a 40 y.o. person can have a real age of 20 something). So that heart attack is right around the corner.

And, oftentimes, it's not one or the other. You can get the trifecta of conditions and become the super-villain Metabolic Syndrome X!How much trust should you place in someone who cannot even manage #1?

Be a hero: be healthy. Heroes always overcome hardships, get out of their way for the greater good. The greater good is taking care of your health. Everything else stems from it. Everything. Don't believe me? Let's debate.

Business Fitness

This can sound like at least two things: the business of fitness or the fitness of your business.

If you address the former, the business of fitness is comprised of polar opposites. So many disciplines, gurus, options, preferences, proven techniques as well as snake-oil salespeople. How do you even discern what's right for you?

As a whole, the fitness industry is doing well, despite the recession. People attach more value to what is important and especially to what they can control. You can't control whether your company will keep you employed, though you can control the search for a back-up plan, but even that is oftentimes a gamble. But more and more, people realize that the one thing that can be improved regardless of the times is their physical wellness. Even the fittest of the fittest continuously improved their personal records or abilities, while rookies get started on adding years to their life, increase their chances of fighting all sorts of diseases and witness tangible improvements in their quality of life.

While some business have to scale back (for instance, individual personal training has dropped), one can always find their way to a group class (which can benefit both the trainer and the trainee alike, creating volume and savings, respectively).

Which leads me to the fitness of one's business: Just like a barbell allows you to spread a load evenly and lift more with proper leverage versus 2 dumbbells of the same cumulative weight, how do you keep your own business fit? How do you leverage your load? I've already given an example for the business of personal training (group vs private classes), but here's another example: corporate fitness, for instance, is about survival of the corporation before the individual. Which is why companies result to lay-offs when money is tight, rather than focusing on improving productivity in an already negative climate.

Think about our species: reproduction is essential to the survival of our species, while on an individual basis, it does little to affect you other than fulfill an emotional need even before addressing a primordial one. Not everyone choose to have children. Whether you do or not has nothing to do with your individual survival. Heck, not having kids can be an argument when you see the state of the world! But rather than focus on this pessimistic view, let's turn back to the fitness of a business.

If a company addresses the individual needs collectively, its chances of survival greatly improve. But, how can you address individual needs "collectively"? Stay with me: find what it is that most people need, and employee appreciation tops most everything. Yes, everyone wants money, and everyone works for the ability to pay for things. But sooner or later, it is in our nature to want more. Sooner or later, productivity drops if there isn't some form of incentive.

Incentive doesn't have to be monetary. Rewards can come in the form of a company luncheon, an afternoon off or better yet, fitness.

Don't roll your eyes just yet. You know what I do and what my passion is. But ask yourself: why do we all want more money? To get things we want? What do those things do for us? Make us more attractive to potential mates (it's called "peacocking"). Looking good is part of the mating process too :)

But more seriously, find me ONE person who ultimately doesn't like feeling better and looking better in the process. The feeling alone can boost one's confidence enough so they appear more attractive. When you feel strong and healthy, you feel like you can accomplish a lot more.

So, business owners, CEO's and HR managers, invest in the health of your employees by offering workshops or lectures on how people can better manage their wellness (fitness, health, safety -nothing boost more confidence like the ability to kick butt and defend yourself!-).

It is actually very cost effective, because that expense promotes not only productivity, but also employee loyalty. Additionally, a healthy employee costs less than an unfit employee whose immune system is weaker, thus more likely to call in sick or infect co-workers. In the long term, you can also benefit from breaks for insurance carriers for providing such benefits to your employees.

See, you can take care of individual needs collectively :)

Hire a fitness coach for your executive fitness. Schedule a luncheon presentation or a series of lectures on nutrition, posture, easy remedies and how to choose the best approach for each person to improve their wellness, and you'll have happy employees instead of grumpy ones!

Relevance

It is relevant to perform drills that are relevant to your movements.

It is relevant to have carryover from your workout to your life.

Why compartmentalize? Integrate. Share. Explore.

Allow yourself fun days for variety, but stick to the plan on everything else.

Variety is when you try that new move you saw in a magazine. It will not reshape your thighs in a matter of weeks by itself. Everything else you do will.

Side lunges have no magic movement that a regular lunge won't do. You have to stabilize your body either way with the same muscles (you just may stretch some more than others). Side lunges can help in sports. But if you only workout to look good, keep those for variety days.

Stay focused, stay the course.

Lateral raises? When do you ever do them in real life? They're not going to reshape your delts. Stick to good old overhead presses and focus on packing your shoulder and stacking your lats. You'll work more muscles, stay safe and improve your posture.

Stay engaged, stay on track. Walk the (straight) line. Broken arrows don't hit the target.