Making "the Fitness Thing"
Really Simple
By Phil Kaplan
I'm often asked for a step by step guide to helping someone
get fit, and the request usually wants it all in one neat
little email. I really wish it were that simple. My programs
are actually step by step guides, but they're not quick little
tidbits I can click and send. My Best
You've Ever Been book is near 400 pages, and my TRANSFORM!
program includes a book that takes you 17 weeks to work your
way through plus 14 hours of audio and video! There's a lot
you have to know if you want to master this fitness thing.
It's also important to note that one of the flaws with "one
size fits all" diet programs or exercise regimens is
. . . we're dealing with individuals with individual schedules,
food preferences, lifestyles, metabolisms, travel schedules,
habits, etc. I've learned it's most effective to share concepts
that work across the board and empower people so they can
make their own decisions with the confidence that they understand
how to get to the desired results. That's why, more than anything
else, my programs empower people.
Do you need to buy my program to get a result? Of course
not. This site has a wealth of information that can help anyone
zero in on the path to positive physical change. Just don't
expect a read through of a few pages to equal the power of
a complete program. I'll use this page to serve as a guide,
to help you acquire vital information from the site. You'll
find topics listed at the Site Menu,
in the Updates (the bottom of each
Update has a list of previous topics), and in the audio
recordings of my live radio shows.
In order to get people started in the right direction, I'll
lay out a few fundamentals and a few links that may offer
some tips and examples for integrating these fundamentals
into your life.
The key to getting any positive physical result is a concept
I've called Synergy.
It's the combination of three synergistic elements, Eating
Right, Incorporating Moderate Aerobic Exercise, and a Maintaining
a Concern For Muscle. Let's look at them one at a time.
1. Eating Right - you want to try to eat supportive
meals frequently throughout the day, ideally every 3 - 3 1/2
hours. Every meal would have visually equal servings of a
lean protein, a starchy carbohydrate, and a fibrous carbohydrate.
This is a concept I've termed Supportive
Nutrition.
2. Moderate Aerobic Exercise - you want to perform
some sort of aerobic
exercise, which can be biking, walking, jogging, rope
jumping, stairclimbing, roller blading, or anything you can
think of that might elevate your heart rate moderately for
a period of time (I know what you're thinking . . . and yes,
I even have an
article at the site about that).
3. Resistance Exercise - you want to integrate resistance
exercise. You can find the basic
resistance movements right here at the site.
OK, now, in answer to many of your questions:
What can you buy at the Supermarket?
Stick to the perimeter of the store.
Buy lean proteins in the meat, dairy, and seafood departments.
Consider flank steak, chicken breast, turkey breast, ground
turkey breast, eggs, egg whites (in containers), fat free
cottage cheese, fat free plain yogurt.
Buy starchy carbs and fibrous carbs in the produce department.
Fibrous carbs include all of those green veggies as well as
cauliflower, carrots, red cabbage, onions, and mushrooms.
Starches include potatoes, tomatoes, corn, and peas. Then
you can sneak over to the rice aisle and pick up some brown
rice, and next, over to the cereal aisle and grab some oatmeal.
Finally, after picking up some bottled water, as you want
to drink .55 ounces of water for every pound of bodyweight
(82 ounces for a 150 pound individual), for convenience, head
over to the frozen foods and pick up some frozen hash brown
potatoes (0 fat), frozen shrimp, and frozen mixed veggies.
After leaving the supermarket, it's probably a good idea
to head over to the health food store and pick up some protein
powder or some meal replacement formulas (or, of course you
can order my EAT! formula) just
to make sure supportive nutrients are always accessible.
What can you eat for breakfast?
Consider an egg white omelet with green peppers and tomatoes,
or if time is an issue, maybe some oatmeal with a protein
shake for starters.
For ideas for other supportive meals, check out the articles,
"I
Know What I Should Eat, But" and "When
Supportive Eating Gets Boring."
What might a good workout routine
be?
Within 30 minutes of the time you rise from bed, after a
brief warm up consisting of a brisk 5 minute walk, perform
the following exercises with dumbbells on alternate days (i.e.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday):
e-mail
Phil Kaplan