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The
Institute of Human Performance (IHP) Presents:
Exceeding
Excellence
by
Juan Carlos Santana
and
Phil Kaplan
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, or in information storage and retrieval system,
for general distribution, commercial, advertisement or promotional
purposes, creating new collective works or for distribution
at seminars and/or courses without prior written consent from
Juan Carlos Santana, MEd, CSCS and Optimum Performance Systems
and from Phil Kaplan.
For information contact:
Juan Carlos Santana, MEd, CSCS
Optimum Performance Systems
438 NW 13 St
Boca Raton, Florida,
33432
(561) 393-3881
www.ihpfit.com
Phil Kaplan
Phil Kaplan’s Fitness
3132 Fortune
Way, #D-1
Wellington, FL 33414
(561) 204-2014
www.philkaplan.com
or
go ahead and read through the Introduction that follows.
Program Photographs (not included in online
intro) by
Griff Fig
Mark Hoffmann
Gary Lavin
Juan Carlos Santana
Program Description
Exceeding
Excellence is a 13 week program designed to make a client
look and feel better than they ever have before.
The emphasis is on educating the client on simple,
safe and fun nutrition and exercise strategies that will stay
with them for the rest of their lives.
Within
this program there are actually two versions, one that involves
“no iron training” and a “training with iron” version.
The “no iron training” version can be done at home
with minimal exercise equipment. This version uses a medicine ball, a stability
ball, an exercise band, and a step.
The “training with iron version” can be performed in
the gym or at home and uses, dumbbells, barbells (or resistance
training machines) and cardio equipment.
WARNING:
Excellence, Supportive Eating, and Result Oriented Exercise
can be habit forming.
(oh, by the way, it’s a wonderful
habit to develop)
This
program is not intended to be everything to everyone.
If you’re erratic in your exercise habits, this is
not for you. You can order one of our more foundational programs
such as Juan Carlos’ “Fit Moves” or Phil Kaplan’s TRANSFORM!
if you want something that caters to all levels.
If you’re about to begin Exceeding Excellence, then
you’re someone who has already made the exercise commitment.
This
program is not intended to share every ounce of information
the general public needs in order to improve the health of
our nation. We’ll continue
to deliver that information in various formats, but Exceeding
Excellence is built around a unique resistance training program.
In
order for anyone to find positive physical change, there is
the primary foundational concept of Synergy.
We’re referring to the all-important synergistic combination
of three elements:
- The Right Nutrition
- Moderate Aerobic Exercise
- A Concern for Muscle
There
will be little discussion on aerobic exercise in this program.
Aerobic intensity can be judged by determining Target
Heart Zone using the standard age related formula (220 - age
x 70% - 85%), it can be judged by applying formulas that also
incorporate your resting heart rate, or it can be judged by
“perceived exertion.” Very
simply put, on the scale of 1 – 10, you should feel as if
you’re exercising at a 7 or 8.
If you’re too out of breath to carry on a conversation,
you’re working too hard.
WHY
IS THE AEROBIC DISCUSSION SO BRIEF?
There
are two reasons for brevity in addressing this topic:
- There is a massive body of
work in any library, on the web, and in the research labs
related to aerobic exercise. We’ll assume those who are ready to begin
Exceeding Excellence are already aware of the specifics
of the aerobic element (referred to in the program as “Cardio”).
- The aerobic exercise is integrated
into an overall program of strength, conditioning, and metabolic
improvement and when it’s applied as a part of the Synergy,
it is as simple as moving rhythmically for an extended period
of time (although remember the word “moderate”).
Your heart doesn’t really know or care if you’re
running on a treadmill or doing laps around your patio furniture
in your backyard.
Many
people mistakenly believe Aerobic Exercise is Fat Burning
exercise.
More
accurately, aerobic exercise is movement that stimulates the
Cardiorespiratory system, and that’s certainly a vital ingredient
in striving for excellence.
The
reality is, Synergy is the key, and with aerobic exercise
alone there aren’t any guarantees. You are capable of burning fat any time you’re
in an aerobic state. Aerobic
means, “meeting the demand for oxygen.”
You’re meeting the demand for oxygen when you drive,
when you walk, when you watch TV, even when you sleep.
Eat Supportively, follow the resistance training program
Exceeding Excellence is built around, and commit to the Cardio
time periods suggested and you can’t help but succeed!
WHY
IS THERE A NEED FOR EXCEEDING EXCELLENCE?
The
21st century began, not with our nation celebrating
health and well being, but with obesity on an unparalleled
climb and hundreds of millions at risk of heart disease, diabetes,
and obesity related illness.
The reason? There
isn’t one. Don’t misunderstand. The reasons exist, but we can’t isolate a single
“one” as the sole creator of the health and appearance of
our population.
Among
the contributors to our nation’s poor state of health we find
inactivity, due in great part to the advent of technology,
as well as ingestion of bleached, processed, and refined foods
that do little to serve the health and well being of the human
machine.
Exercise
is a must if any human being is going to facilitate a positive
physical change. That’s common knowledge, and some exercise is
better than “no exercise.”
This program, however, is not aimed at those who need
an introduction to exercise. This is designed for people who have been following
conventional exercise protocols and have found they’ve run
smack into the dreaded plateau, the place where ongoing improvement
becomes a challenge. The
body has adapted to the workload it’s being faced with and
the necessity of adaptation ceases.
There
are two common frustrations inherent with “the plateau” represented
by the following comments typically spoken by those who have
hit that point of diminishing returns:
- “What used to work doesn’t
work anymore. I must be too old, or maybe it’s hormonal.”
- “I
haven’t enough time in my day to increase my volume of exercise”
TWISTED
THINKING, FALSE BELIEFS
The
two aforementioned remarks are based purely on a thinking
process driven by false beliefs. Let’s better understand the realities of ongoing
positive physical change and the mistaken beliefs will be
put to rest.
The
routine that works today is certain to leave you disappointed
next month, as the “gains” are guaranteed to slow.
Remember, positive physical change is the result of
forced adaptation . . . asking the body to perform slightly
beyond that which it’s accustomed to.
Phil
Kaplan shares a quick story:
“A
client of mine, Rich, was in the process of building a new
home. Literally. He
was a general contractor so he was very involved in the construction
labor. He came to me
because he felt exhausted and he was developing aches and
pains. We developed a routine designed not to add additional
stress, but to add focused movement with the intention of
making his daily activity simpler.
After the house was complete Rich found great reward
in the exercise regimen. His body was no longer overstressed and he began
adding muscle tissue and reducing fat.
He was thrilled. He
finally found the right balance, a level of physical activity
followed by adequate recuperation.
I didn’t see Rich for a year.
I ran into him at a conference and his posture, his
demeanor, and his walk indicated that he was no longer enjoying
the exercise benefits. He
confessed that he stopped working out altogether because “the
routine stopped working.”
The routine didn’t stop working
. . . it just became a very manageable workload.
His body did not have to change as it had developed
sufficiently to handle the rigors of the routine.
Rather than abandoning exercise, had Rich recognized
that all he needed were a few modifications in his routine,
he could have continued a process of continuous and ongoing
improvement.
There
is some good news. After
our accidental meeting, I inspired Rich to re-commit.
We started with a variation of the routine he was accustomed
to (which was a “new stimulus” since he’d abandoned it for
a significant period of time) and over time I restructured
Rich’s program by reducing the time between movements, modifying
the set and rep schemes, and proposing some new exercise combinations.
Rich today is in what he calls the best shape of his
life at 39 years old. The false belief that “the routine stopped working”
created a mindset that led to abandonment. If you recognize that when results come to a
halt a change is necessary, you can forever avoid the dreaded
plateau.”
There
are also two consistent realizations among those who begin
the Exceeding Excellence Program.
- It is possible to exercise
and NOT see a payoff
- A minimal time investment
met with greater intensity of effort can yield an astounding
payoff.
Obviously,
based on information already discussed, it becomes clear that
when the stimulus is met with ease of action, when the routine
fails to challenge the body beyond its current ability, results
stop, even if the exercise regimen is continued. Until someone makes the necessary shifts, they
believe that they’re simply at their full potential, but once
a new stimulus is added, it becomes crystal clear that exercise
without progressive challenge is impotent in facilitating
ongoing positive change.
Two
of the most common mistakes we see among exercisers are:
REDUCING
THE EXERCISE EQUATION TO ITS SIMPLEST, MOST EFFECTIVE FORM
We’ll
put the eating issue aside for now, as with each new segment
of the program we’ll introduce some important nutritional
principles. Let’s focus,
for the moment on “too much exercise.”
I know that the idea of “more is better” being counter-productive
seems to go against conventional wisdom, but when it comes
to fitness and weight loss, conventional “wisdom” is often
the evolution of habit, not the actual application of a sound
technology of change. Overtraining
is not only going to lead to a lack of progress, it begins
a slow process of degeneration where cortisol levels are increased,
connective tissue is over-stressed, and the body begins to
cannibalize lean body mass.
A process of biochemical interactions alter neurotransmission
in the brain, and serotonin and dopamine are all but shut
down leading to despair, and in extreme cases, depression.
That
doesn’t mean just backing off on exercise volume is going
to serve you if you seek positive progress.
It does, however, suggest that there have to be some
other ways of increasing the challenge without increasing
the volume, and that’s precisely what Exceeding Excellence
does.
THE
PIONEERS TEST THE WATERS
We
started this program with a pilot group of 10 physically active
people ranging from 30ish to 60ish. The group included a personal fitness trainer,
a couple of competitive triathletes, and an assortment of
individuals from various walks of life.
They all achieved astounding results, and without exception,
everyone in that pilot group reduced their exercise volume.
Most
advanced exercisers and athletes are initially reduced the
idea of reducing volume, and “as you improve you must always
increase training time to continue improvement” is another
one of those flawed beliefs.
Increasing training time is only one strategy that
can be employed to increase physical challenge in an exercise
routine.
- We can increase the challenge
by incorporating movements that recruit greater numbers
of muscles.
- We
can increase the challenge by reducing rest periods.
- We can increase the challenge
by adding a more constant resistance or a slower muscle
contraction.
- We can increase the challenge
by focusing not only on the concentric phase of the movement
(the muscle contraction), but also the eccentric phase (the
“lowering” of the weight).
- We can increase the challenge
by increasing the number of repetitions as we decrease activity
time.
- We can increase the challenge
by moving more weight through a given range of motion.
- We can increase the range
of motion
With
a foundation of knowledge and the injection of imagination,
the methods of increasing the physical challenge are without
limit, and as you progress through Exceeding Excellence you’ll
find many of these variations in increasing intensity are
incorporated into the framework of the program.
More
than anything else, Exceeding Excellence provides clarity
and a proven path of action, and that’s precisely what active
people stuck at the frustrating plateau absolutely need.
PERIODS
OF CHANGE
In
this program, to prevent the body from reaching a stalemate
point of adaptation, we periodize the routines.
After a “get acquainted week,” you’ll begin with what
we’ve termed a Conditioning Phase. That’s followed by a Muscle Shape and Strength
Phase. The final phase
addresses a spike in metabolic activity with a focus on Fat
Burning.
Let’s
move on to the exercises, and we’ll interject bits of knowledge
throughout that will help to optimize the synergy between
the exercise and the nutrition, and with little changes from
week to week, you’ll be shocked by the results you can achieve.
This
program is simple to follow.
While it changes weekly, there are only three times
during which you’ll need to acquire new information. In each phase you’ll be introduced to some new
movements and exercise combinations and the nutritional principles
will stack upon themselves so by the end of the 12 weeks you’ve
achieved mastery over your own body.
OK,
Week 1 is just a page turn away.
Let’s “get acquainted” with the Exceeding Excellence
principles.
End of INTRODUCTION
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