Physical activity can also help people avoid developing functional limitations, can improve physical function, and can provide therapeutic benefits for people with heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, arthritis, lung disease, and other chronic diseases.

With all the benefits we can receive from regular exercise why, according to a recent CDC report, are less than half of adults in the US engaged in regular physical activity?  Certainly, it’s not due to a shortage of books, magazines, and YouTube videos on how to exercise.  Nor is there any shortage of “health” clubs; there are warehouse-sized gyms around practically every corner.  Not to mention the thousands of devices and gadgets available in stores, through catalogs, and on television promising “washboard abs” and “buns of steel”.

An article appeared in our local paper not too long ago which trumpeted the opening of yet another 70,000 square foot gym.  Reportedly, the giant health club has stone floors, cascading waterfalls, and one hundred cardio machines (each with its own plasma television playing thirty-six channels).  Theoretically, you could be jogging on the treadmill inside the gym, see a television commercial, and order the advertised product from your cell phone without ever slowing down – how convenient!

The article listed other amenities too at the mammoth gym including lap pools, aqua aerobics, racquetball courts, basketball courts, volleyball courts, and spacious studios for spinning, Pilates, yoga, boxing, and gravity workouts. You could have your golf swing analyzed, or get a facial, haircut, or manicure.  Heck, you could even get a suntan – and you never even have to go outside.

If you’re like most gym members, you can probably count on one hand the number of times you have gone to the gym in the past year.  And thank goodness we do not all show up at once.  Unless you get there at four o’clock in the morning, the gym is crowded enough with just the hardcore members and the occasionally motivated.  Just imagine if everyone who belonged to a particular gym wanted to workout on the same day… it would be pandemonium!  Parking space anyone?

Strikingly absent from the article was any reference to safety, focused, one-on-one customer attention, goal-setting, or results.

Some people do find success at big health clubs.  For some, just the prestige of belonging is like being a kid with an annual pass to Disneyland; all the sights, sounds and distractions can be very exciting.  But if you are not using your membership, or you are not achieving the desired results, it is time to be honest with yourself.  Should you really be giving them access to your checking account?  Would you give your best friend access to your checking account?  No, then why would you let a big box, a glorified storage facility for someone else’s gym equipment, take money out of your checking account each month?

Now, I suggest that you find the phone number on the back of your gym membership card, and if you are not getting the desired benefits from your club, cancel your membership.  There!  We have already helped you benefit from reading this blog, and you have just taken your first step toward improving your fitness.  Congratulations!

If you’re a gym zealot, you’re probably devoting a significant amount of time planning for your workout, packing for your workout, warming up before your workout, you probably do some “cardio” and then start working out.  After your workout, after you stop perspiring, after you wait for the locker room to clear out a bit from the lunch crowd, you spend time cleaning up after your workout.  Are you happy with that?  Are you getting what you really want?

Across the country millions of card-carrying members pay monthly dues to access facilities they rarely use.  The sad truth is that those monthly fees help drive the proliferation and success of mammoth clubs.  Your “club” could care less if you get stronger.  In fact, your club banks on the fact that you will stop showing up.  These clubs know that most people give up after six weeks when the newness wears off and the results are harder to come by than you had hoped.  They know that few of us have the self-discipline or can afford the time, hours at a time, five or six days a week.  Your club is quick to remind you that this is not their fault – the gym is open 24/7.  Your lack of success is your fault, but accepting and taking responsibility for that feels terrible.  So you let them keep debiting your checking account to absolve your guilt.  After all, you got such a “great deal” when you signed up, and the monthly withdrawals are not too much.

Gee, sounds like a swell business – prey on people’s perceived inadequacies, receive automatic withdrawals from their bank accounts, and take no accountability for providing actual results.

There is a better way. There is a simple system based on accountability and results.  Let us show you another, more elegant solution to achieving the benefits of regular exercise.

by Thom Tombs
Certified SuperSlow Instructor, Level III

SuperSlowSanDiego.com

How about another obviously useful invention: SuperSlow?  SuperSlow has only been in practical use for about 30 years.  What took humans so long to develop an effective, time-efficient exercise protocol centered on safety?  After all, thoughtfully, safely, deliberately performing muscular work for the purpose of triggering muscular growth seems very simple – obvious even.

Just as the invention of the iPhone depended on other technological advancements, certain technologies had to be in place for SuperSlow’s development, too.  First, there had to be a need to exercise. As Ken Hutchins notes in the SuperSlow technical manual, “Only 100 years ago the average American beat his body into crippling degenerative arthritis by the time he was 35.  Women died so often in childbirth that most men expected to outlive several young wives. Life was that brutal.”  Exercise anyone?

The iPhone was not conceived out of nothing; cell phones, computers, the Internet, and blue t-shirts all preceded its creation and popular acceptance. Barbells, circus strongmen, aerobics and any number of flawed and injury-prone exercise philosophies had to be tried and tested before SuperSlow could have evolved, too.  SuperSlow was brought to life as a series of solutions to problems that had been encountered with previous versions of exercise. Those early versions were often preventing exercisers from safely achieving their desired results.

Just as there have been several generations of the iPhone, there have been many generations of exercise.  The work of continually tuning and improving and customizing an individual’s workouts will continue to evolve. But right now, SuperSlow is the latest iPhone in the world of exercise.

One day, iPhones may replace your mild-mannered SuperSlow instructor. But right now, there’s no app for me

by Thom Tombs
Certified SuperSlow Instructor, Level III

SuperSlowSanDiego.com

Just imagine that you are sitting on the leg press starting your first repetition…

We know that the leg press works the entire lower body, but we are specifically targeting the buttocks – so think about pushing with your buttocks – the buttocks are the largest muscles of the body possessing the greatest potential to demand the greatest response.   We know the major hip musculature is only meaningfully loaded when we follow the three rules of the lower turnaround.  As you are now completing your second repetition, slow down even more as you approach the bottom out, just kiss the weight stack, avoid unloading, and slowly squeeze through the first few inches of the positive.  You have just started your third repetition…

Now, you perceive that the repetitions are getting harder.  Your body instinctively does not like to be fatigued so quickly, and you start to receive negative feedback from your nervous system, you want to stop the exercise.  But, you soldier on, attempting to maintain a continual loading of your muscles and increase your concentration in order to maintain your proper form.

Visualize yourself in Jeff's place.

As the difficulty level increases, you grow anxious as you sense that muscular failure is approaching.  You really begin to struggle at this point, and your instructor is trying to keep you focused by encouraging you not to speed up, slow down, rest, or pause during the movement. If you were not being supervised, you would probably quit at this juncture, but you’re encouraged to try one more repetition.  This last positive portion of the repetition is now so difficult that it may take you fifteen, twenty, or even thirty seconds to complete.  The weight begins to overtake your strength.  You attempt another positive repetition, but the weight is not moving.

As you override the instinct to panic, you hear your instructor’s voice.  You deliberately refuse to accept the idea that you are no longer moving… You believe it to be moving… You have the mindset that even though the muscle is incapable, “I am going to keep pushing”.  Give it time… keep pushing…  Yes, I acknowledge my quadriceps are on fire, my muscles ache, but I know to calm my mind, relax my neck, relax my shoulders, I open my jaw and breathe. To my surprise the weights move and I complete the repetition with perfect form even as my instructor counts ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one…

Do you think that your workouts might benefit from a short visualization exercise? Even just one time, or once a year?

I would like to challenge each of you to try a short version of this visualization for yourself before your next workout. Then, decide for yourself if visualization is an effective tool for helping you attain more thorough workouts.

by Thom Tombs

SuperSlowSanDiego.com

Heading from the parking area for bus transport to the staging area, we crossed one of the obstacles, Boa Constrictor, where participants crawl through a series of pipes and are forced into freezing water.

Coincidentally, the event was held on February 26th, exactly twenty-six years from my arrival at Marine Corps Recruit training in San Diego, where all desires to crawl through cold mud, throw myself over and under log walls, and climb over obstacles were professionally and expertly satisfied.

I was comforted as we were loading-up the car at 6:00 AM – the expected low for the day was 44° F and it was already a balmy 50° F.  I was hopeful by the time our heat started at 8:20 AM, it would have warmed-up nicely.  As we made our way to Temecula the temperature gradually started heading in the wrong direction – dropping a degree or two every few minutes.  When we arrived at the event parking area, Subaru said the air temperature was a frosty 38° F, not exactly swimming weather.

Knowing that you will be down there in a while when the current air temp is 38 degrees can be a little daunting.

I looked up the average age of our fellow mudders. According to Adventure Sports Journal, the average age is 29 years for these events.  I am 44 years old – I am a old guy.  Looking around me on the course, I would estimate that our fellow participants were far above average when it comes to overall fitness level.  Check any of the photos on Facebook or any of the videos on YouTube at any of the Tough Mudder events to see if you agree.  My stepson and I finished the course in about three hours, right around the expected finish time published by ToughMudder.com.

There was plenty of mud crawling, freezing water, electrical shocks, and hills (so very many hills) included in the day’s adventure.  And aside from some inevitable scrapes and bruises from completing a crazy-tough course like this, we came away relatively unscathed.

It occurred to me that all I do for exercise is 8-20 minutes of SuperSlow every week, and yet I was in the middle of the pack.  I was in the middle of the pack, but the pack consisted of younger men and women 15 years my junior who were highly fit and in-shape by their standards, and I was in the middle of their pack.  Not bad for an old guy! If you ever had any doubt about the efficacy of SuperSlow, doubt no longer – it works!  If you ever doubted that 20 minutes a week was enough exercise, doubt no longer – it is!

by Thom Tombs

SuperSlowSanDiego.com

When you think of fitness in terms of weeks, you will often resort to desperate,  unhealthy, unsustainable, and often unnecessarily dangerous means of achieving your health goals. After all, you’re on a mission, and you’ve only got a few weeks to whip yourself into shape. This chemotherapeutic approach at diet, health and wellness will often have adverse effects like indiscriminate weight loss (muscle loss, bone loss, limited fat loss), fatigue, gastrointestinal distress, depression, injuries, and eventual added weight gain when your sanity returns and you quit killing yourself for the sake of being healthier.

When you think of your own personal fitness in terms of years, the picture changes dramatically.  Fad diets and unsustainable exercise regimens lose their appeal.  Boring words like moderation, balance, sustainability and safety suddenly become much more appealing.

At Christmastime moderation and balance will sometimes get thrown out the window.  But, the way to a healthier you in this New Year is not to live your life at the extremes of the pendulum swing.  The way to a healthier you in this New Year (and every New Year after), is to return to moderation, balance, sustainability and safety – boring words that will leave you more active, laughing more often, and having more fun all year long!

by Thom Tombs

SuperSlowSanDiego.com

So there I was again this year, pleasantly stuffed with turkey and trimmings, reclined on the couch with the sounds of family all around and a TV in the background.

Merchandisers have long been using the excuse of Christmas to encroach upon Thanksgiving in order to drive holiday gift sales, but it seems to become a little more perverse and invasive each year.  This year, we were treated to endless, tiresome marketing messages about “Black Friday” midnight sales and early stores openings!  Even before the Sun had set on Black Friday, “Cyber Monday” commercials were already being aired.

It occurred to me that I could care less about Black Friday or Cyber Monday.  You see, Thanksgiving to us is more than Black Friday Eve, it is a chance to reflect upon everything for which we are truly thankful – saving 50% on a pair of slacks or yet another pair of shoes just doesn’t do it for me.

At SuperSlow Zone, we have so many things to be thankful for, but mostly, we’re thankful for our awesome clients!  We’re thankful for your loyalty and appreciate your business! We are deeply grateful for your trust and confidence!  We owe the majority of our business to happy clients who talk about their results to friends and family – referrals are a fundamental part of our business – and we are very thankful for your referrals.  Without you, there would be no us – thank you!

by Thom Tombs

SuperSlowSanDiego.com

January 19

Dear Diary,
Called and made an appointment at SuperSlow Zone. Those guys don’t mess around, and they take care of everything! After 2 minutes of being on the leg press, I knew I was in the right place – it’s never been easier to work this hard.  Seriously, you’re in and out in under 30 minutes and you don’t even have to change out of your work clothes.  I can get the health benefits of exercise and live a stronger life!

January 1

Dear Diary,
It’s January 1st and I’m out of shape. But this time, I really am committed to my resolution to be healthy. It’s time to cleanse, crash diet, buy a set of kettlebells, and become an ultra marathoner. Oh well, I guess I deserve to suffer for letting myself become the couch potato of a man that I am.

January 14th

Dear Diary,
The past two weeks have been a living hell. I’m in a constant state of soreness and hunger. I’m afraid my wife thinks I’m having an affair, and I haven’t seen my kids since Tuesday. My car smells like a locker room.

January 16th

Dear Diary,
I was kidding myself. What was I thinking? I prefer being out of shape to spending all my time and energy living out of a gym locker and developing shin splints. I like my old life. True, I was overstressed because of my general lack of energy and zest for living, and I’ll probably develop diabetes, osteoporosis, or some other preventable condition, and die a weak and depressed old man. On the bright side, with new advances in medicine occurring every day, I’m sure there will be a pill which will save me, right?

This past Sunday morning, I was invited to go on a little hike out in Elfin Forest. It was the first time I had been there, so little did I know, the gentle morning constitution I was prepared for turned out to be a six mile trek on the Way Up Trail with its numerous switchbacks, down the Incline Loop Trail, back up the Manzanita & Mariposa Trails, back down and around again with a few 700 foot elevation changes along the way. We finished just as the first few sprinkles of rain started falling. I got a blister on my little toe.

This weekend, we went on an electric bike tour around Balboa Park with San Diego Fly Rides – the weather cooperated with us once again. We could not have asked for a more beautiful, picture-perfect San Diego afternoon – in November! The owners Ike and Megan Fazzio were wonderful guides and extremely warm and inviting… they treated us to gourmet refreshments, sparkling wine and made sure we were well-entertained. They are full of personality and fun facts about San Diego and Balboa Park and were the perfect hosts. I think electric biking with these guys is going to become our new activity of choice whenever our relatives come to visit.

So, what does paddle-boarding, hiking, and electric biking have to do with SuperSlow exercise? EVERYTHING! If you’re out trudging through the rain to get your miles in, you’ve got it all backward. We stay strong with a short, weekly, high-intensity exercise session so we can enjoy our lives and do anything we want – hiking, climbing, paddle-boarding, surfing, snowboarding, skiing, even trudging along in the rain… Whatever you enjoy, you’ll enjoy it more, and you’ll enjoy more of it being strong.

by Thom Tombs

SuperSlowSanDiego.com

Part 6 of 6: Increased Caloric Expenditure

Increased activity does burn extra calories – a few… damn few. – Ken Hutchins

As we have been discussing the most important exercise factors for fat loss, you may have noticed a proverbial giant elephant sitting quietly in the room. Conspicuously missing from our discussion so far is our topic for today - increasing caloric expenditure through “cardio” exercise.

After a lifetime of my own experience with diet and the experience of talking with hundreds of clients about this topic over the years, here’s how the thinking usually goes:

1. In order to lose weight, I know I must create a caloric deficit
2. The bigger the caloric deficit, the faster the weight loss
3. I eat very well and I like to eat whatever I want, so I don’t want to change what I’m eating or reduce my calories that much
4. What else can I do besides reducing calories?
5. I know, I’ll start ______________ (insert any “cardio” activity here)

OK, let’s put all of this together with the concepts we discussed earlier in the series:

1. In order to lose weight, I know I must create a caloric deficit.
TRUE!

2. The bigger the caloric deficit, the faster weight loss.
TRUE! But let’s ask a better question.

The bigger the caloric deficit, the faster the fat loss.
FALSE! We have to ask ourselves, do we want to lose weight indiscriminately – muscle, bone, fat and organ tissue, or do we want to lose fat exclusively?  To lose fat exclusively, we want to create a small caloric deficit while strength-training to ensure muscle gain.  Too big of a deficit will lead to loss of fat, muscle, bone, and organ tissue – recommended only if you enjoy frailty and looking and feeling like a zombie!

3. I eat very well, and I like to eat whatever I want, so I don’t want to change what I’m eating or reduce my calories that much
HUH? You may not be psychologically prepared to make a real and lasting course change.  You may wish for less body fat, but you haven’t really decided to modify your diet.  Don’t worry, when you are serious about dropping fat, it’s easy.  The decision to eat somewhat fewer calories is a small change that’s easy to maintain.  Often, when making better nutritional choices, you can actually eat more and still reduce calories!  Plus, with healthier choices you can pretty much say good-bye to mood swings, drops in energy throughout the day, and many digestive troubles.

4. What else can I do besides reducing calories?
HELLO! Refer to the earlier parts of this series. Rev-up your resting metabolism by adding lean muscle tissue, stay pre-occupied with mindful activities, and if you do develop a craving, get up and clean the house, throw a ball to your kids, walk the dog, or wash the car.  These activities won’t burn a lot of extra calories, but they will help depress your appetite, diminish your craving, keep you pre-occupied, plus you’ll score big points with your loved ones.

5. I know, I’ll start ______________ (insert any “cardio” activity here)
Unless “cardio activity x” really is what you love doing, NOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Instead, do things that need doing or things that you enjoy doing. I recommend that you read the first several chapters of The Cardio-Free Diet by Jim Karas to convince yourself to give-up trying to lose weight by burning-up additional calories with time-consuming “cardio” routines.  Karas writes, “Cardio kills your weight-loss plan, your joints, your immune system, your body composition, your time, and most of all, your motivation to stay committed to losing weight.  But there’s one thing cardio doesn’t kill: your appetite.” We have a copy of his book in our mini library; feel free to borrow it any time.

The Mayo Clinic agrees, “[t]he key to weight loss is burning more calories than you consume. Because 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound (0.45 kilogram) of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in to lose 1 pound. So if you cut 500 calories from your diet each day, you’d lose about 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories).”

If you’re building muscle while modestly reducing your caloric intake, you can be sure you’re losing fat!  There you have it folks, working and building your muscles is the role of exercise in fat loss.

by Thom Tombs

SuperSlowSanDiego.com