Look at Your Waist and Hips

One of the best ways to self test yourself for symptoms of obesity is to simply use body tape. In fact, body tape blows away using a scale and the ridiculous over used BMI guide (I absolutely hate BMI... its a joke). You should also put this to use for any body fat reducing endeavor. Obviously the best way of testing is still hydrostatic and skinfold calipers (as long as the administrator knows how to use it), but this is still a great way to self check. All you have to do is check your measurement at waist level (either directly on navel or slightly above) and the hip level. The most important is the measurement being at the waist. This is where the dreaded visceral fat can easily store up around your vital organs underneath the abdominal wall. This fat storage leads to many cardiovascular and digestive problems. We all know some guy that has a seriously hard stomach about the size of a keg. The deception is the muscle is pushed forward so the stomach is hard to the touch but underneath the vitals organs are fighting for space with oozing fat. You can't deceive the the body tape.

Here is the breakdown to make sure you are healthy:

Men your waist measurement should be below 37 inches (94 cm)! If not get training now and eat right.

Women your waist needs to be below 31.5 inches (80 cm)! If not quit wasting time on that mindless treadmill and really start training and eating right.

Check out the many articles I wrote to get started at The Fitness Road

The hip ratio portion is really hard to tell if you are out of shape or not. Some of us have seriously big engines (butts) for power and speed. Some of us have wider hips. I usually don't bother with hip stipulations. This area should reduce just like the waist BUT the waist should be lower than hip in the ratio.

What the HELL!!

Gawd Dammit to Hell!! I totally screwed things up with my regiment. For some insane reason I eliminated the chin up from my training. Three months later I'm in the gym doing a few chinups....suddenly I am totally out of strength and I am kicking around like a "X-box loving out of shape 7th grader" in gym class. This was on rep number 5 for crying out loud!!

What happened! Well the most primal of all pulling lifts known was neglected and shunned from my training and my ability to grab the bar and grind out fifteen or so chins was over. Now here I am re introducing the chinup to my body. I do a chinup everytime I pass by a bar. I do negatives and scapula elevation/depression drills on the bar. My only quest is to gain back some chinup dignity.

Excuse my rant.

Don't Let Them Get You With The Jedi Mind Trick

I sat in on a semi-conference a little while ago. It was interesting because it was filled with new and veteran entrepreneurs. Everyone socializing and networking. I would say it was a smart thing to do with this economy. Why not help other small and large businesses get an edge while they help you?

Anyway to get back to my story, these business types I figured for being very smart and able to look underneath the superficial layer of hype and marketing. Well they were smart in their crafts but not so much when it came to looking past marketing and seeing the true product or service for what it is. To my surprise many of them who I thought were rock solid in the common sense department were easily swayed to the darker side of the force. It was as if Darth Vader came in the room and grasp the attention of many of the business professionals with his death choke grip. Now, I have to admit there were some who didn't budge when a rep from a weight loss clinic started pitching out his marketing. Good for them for not falling for the old Jedi mind trick.

Now, for most of the populace in the US I expect to see a large amount fall for hype. Well, now I must report that even the best hustlers can be hustled. So I'm putting this warning out there for all who are wise enough to listen. Heed my words young Skywalker:

- If a sales person says his supplement or methods are backed by doctors, don't fall for it. The thing is many fitness related things are backed by quacks. Infomercials usually have some Doctor Dumbass that they paid off to come out and speak of the awesome power of whatever they are selling. I have news for you, doctors are not always correct. Doctors are not always healthy. Doctors are not always good liars.

- If a sales person gives you a testimonial about how fast a system works, don't fall for it. Many systems are out there that reduce weight fast. The key word is WEIGHT. Want to lose weight quickly, lock yourself in the closet for a day with no food or water, come out and weigh yourself....Presto! Magic for a moron. People can easily lose weight, the hard part is reducing fat while sustaining muscles and metabolism. That is where these "weight loss doctor enforced clinics" fail and pro trainers such as the guys and gals at The Fitness Road bring you success. Be smart young Jedi. Losing "weight" quickly without respect for metabolism and muscle leads to flabby skin and gaining it back before you can shoot another B12 syringe in your ass.

- If a sales person talks about data and research and blood work, they better be a doctor themselves. Only an idiot would let anyone but a doctor or nurse draw blood and attempt to analyze. If they start talking about triglyceride, glucose, and cholesterol levels dropping in the blood results, ANYTIME YOU LOSE WEIGHT THESE LEVELS DROP! Simply because there is less mass to you. Young Skywalker you need to be active daily to get the same results. Want to see rapid action on this, EAT RIGHT!

Now I have given you the power to see past the Jedi mind trick. Go and teach others who are ready to truly be fit and not just lose weight today and gain it back tomorrow.

Get more at thefitnessroad.com

The Steroid Witch Hunt

This has to be the most laughable joke of a preceding. Celebrity athletes being hunted down because of their use of the "sauce". Seriously, how much money is being wasted testing the hell out of these athletes and searching every nook and cranny for evidence of steroid use. ARE WE INSANE!! I don't care if Bonds took steroids. I don't think I'll lose sleep knowing that a well known athlete has decided to pop a syringe in his butt. Another crazy example is bringing up the past with Jones. How long did that withchunt take.....10-12 years!!

These supposed "Keeper's of Justice" must have a serious grudge against athletes. Maybe these were the guys in highschool getting their head dunked in a toilet of urine and flushed (swirly) by some big jock. Maybe they were pushed into the cheerleaders locker room while still trying to get there pants on (after gym class). Whatever it was it left a nice deep childhood scar that can only be healed by bringing down as many star athletes as possible.

One final note, people who know anything about steroids and sports know it does not make a superstar athlete. ATHLETES ARE BORN ATHLETES. Steroids help recovery after getting smashed a few times by a linebacker. Steroids enhance strength and some endurance so you can play game after game at the demanded top condition. Steroids are not wonder drugs and they do not make a superstar what he or she is.

Five of the Worst Pieces of Exercise Equipment

There is an infinite amount of exercises one is able to use when going to an everyday gym. Some believe more variety is best. Some believe a person should do what is necessary to succeed. Regardless of which school of thought is right or wrong they both should agree on what exercise equipment is just used to waste time and take up space. I have compiled a list to allow you to eliminate useless training equipment and either train with variety or train with restricted necessity.

1. Smith Machine:


This has to be the worst piece of equipment in the gym. Many trainers will make the best of this machine and use it to do other exercises besides squats and lunges. That is creative and great. However, if you are using this silly machine to squat, lunge, deadlift, row, or press you are asking for serious joint trouble down the road.

2. Hip Ab/Adductor Machine:



A friend once gave this the nickname “good girl-bad girl” machine. This machine supposedly will “tone” your inner and outer thighs. The only problem is “toning” is simply lowering bodyfat while maintaining muscle AND there is no such thing as “spot reduction” (i.e. if you twist a lot you won’t get nice abs). The machine puts “unnatural” pressure on muscles that are used to stabilize and neutralize movement. You want to strengthen these muscles jump, sprint, squat and lunge.

3. Torso Twist Machine:

I rarely see this piece of crap in gyms anymore. This machine puts loads of unnecessary and unnatural pressure on the spine. Unless you want a nice herniated disc in your spine, don’t use it.

4. Swiss Ball Squats:

This exercise does the same horrible job as a Smith machine, minus the machine. It creates extra tension on the knees and hinders a person from doing an actual squat. Instead you learn how to fall backwards.

5. Shoulder Press Machine:


The shoulders are the most mobile and vulnerable joints in the human body. When motion is restricted as with this machine you are not saving your joints, you are just causing more chance of injury. Keep away from this silly machine.

I can go on, but I won’t. This stuff gets my blood pressure high. Also there are other pieces of equipment to watch out for, but they are too debatable to be debunked. From this list you should be able to set some good boundaries for your next workout.

A Bit About Me

Hey, thanks for stopping by my blog. In this blog , I'm going to tell you a bit about me. I have been in the fitness industry for quite sometime now and still find things about it that are surprising. I created the website called The Fitness Road to keep people like myself informed on solid principles and ideas in the industry. As we all know, there are a lot of fitness sites and so called gurus out there giving out a lot of information and a lot of b.s. It is pretty hard to decipher between the two at times. The Fitness Road started as a site to help decipher the crapola from the stuff that works. We are certainly not the only site to do this. In fact, I rather like the idea of standing with truthful sites and professionals who cut through the garbage and bring you the facts.

When I thought about making a blog about me, I found that much of what I pursue and have accomplished is highly influenced by the philosophy behind The Fitness Road. I really like looking into complications of strength and conditioning. There is A TON of information out there. I take this information and simplify into its basic components. For the most part, every experiment, training philosophy and guide will follow basic principles in fitness. Hell, life is pretty much the same way. Basic principles bind us all whether we like it or not. One major principle I use as a filter of all other information is SAID principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand). The principle simply means people (and animals) adapt specifically to their daily life and changes. In my eyes, life throws some serious obstacles at you. To overcome the obstacle it usually takes a change in simple patterns in life. Whether that is waking up earlier, eating more or less, being more patient, or whatever. It is a change that must happen to overcome the obstacle and "adapt" to the new environment (stimulus).

Obviously, I like to go off on rants from time to time. To keep from ranting anymore, I'm going to wrap this up with a little overview of me:

I'm a active guy who is either up and training or "rehabing" old injuries. I am a huge ancient history buff, there is some crazy stuff that went on in those periods (pretty close to crazy stuff that happens now). My goal right now is to bring my clean and snatch lift over 225lb. and to bring my deadlift back up to 450lb. From my experience in the fitness industry, I am wise enough to seek out "functional" methods of training. Train hard but be smart. I only hope when I turn 50 I am not the guy who says "If only I knew then what I know now...".

Thanks for tuning in, see you in the next blog