🔵 By Steven Newell. Photo by lauragrafie.
How often do you see weight loss workout advertisements, or weight loss diets, funky looking contraptions that vibrate the fat off and cool looking futuristic light therapies that penetrate the fat cells to nothing? Sadly, I’m addicted to watching all of the infomercials being a fitness nut who can’t get enough of it. Being me I probably would try it all as well, wasting thousands of dollars just to come to the same conclusion I have come to already. It’s a bunch of snake oil starting with the lies about weight loss in order to peddle products and service to feed the multi billion dollar a year fitness industry. With the weight loss lie its mostly based off image. I speak regarding both men and women. For women its worse as you are being told thin is in.
It’s what makes you look like a model, more attractive and therefore confidence, positive self image is to follow. I’ve talked to women and men who have done weight loss programs, including myself, and once they had the abs and desired weight loss they where more unhappy and sought to put more muscle on as they lost muscle mass with the fat. As well as didn’t feel strong at all. But that’s what these weight loss programs are designed to do! Yah, your going to drop weight, but a lot of its muscles and water. So when you get on the scale that last day in the program and you see a crazy drop in weight, then weigh yourself the fallowing week you find you put 5-10 pounds on afterwards. These types of workout programs boxers and fighters use to cut weight drastically to make weight before their fights. Its just unnecessary, and not idea long term.
The truth about image really lies with you! I’m all for looking hot. But, when you think about what others think is hot, your setting yourself up for all kinds of issues and negative body image. Trust me, just because I’m a guy in prison doesn’t mean I’m untouched by these things. I’ve gone thru a lot regarding body image and fitness pursuits.
I want you to check out some of these men and women in gymnastics, cheer, dance, yoga, cross-fit and fitness models. Weight loss, cardio based programs, and starvation diets are not part of their long term, regular program. Yet they are the fittest and hottest you’ll see in the fitness world.
My belief is this: skip the craziness! Don’t buy into the lie and think about body composition and strength. You will see that you feel great and look great as a result of it. That is my fitness philosophy after 15 years of going around this tree called fitness.
Most of this stuff you see regarding weight loss is based off calorie deficit and tapping into stored fat as the bodies energy source. Which is true and how fat loss works. But its not the only way to tap fat storage. Where I believe they go wrong is trying design a crazy cardio routine only to achieve this goal. Some of these workout routines are so crazy, trained athletes have a hard time staying with the whole program, and you want the average man or women at home to do it, and stay with it? That’s a whole other reason it mostly don’t work.
after 2-3 days of running yourself into the ground you quit. So rethink it. You want to lose weight, but have an amazing, strong figure, that looks hot. Focusing on body composition will do that!
Fat loss can also take part with specifically designed routines at medium intensity at a steady state. Your body prefers to use fat for that type of workout. which, I believe is great for creating lean, strong and sculpted bodies.
Body comp is based off sculpting and strengthening. Every muscle group has more then 1 band of muscle fibers. it requires multiple angles of direct weighted or resistance based programs. You can use weights like barbells, dumbbells, or body weight routines like Yoga, Pilates, or even Piyo. If your a guy and think yoga won’t get you jacked, your wrong! You better start looking that stuff up on the internet. I developed my own Yoga routine to maximize strength and it gets me jacked without feeling burned out like weight training does. Its also a whole body routine. Which works great for those who have active rest days in their program.
I took this routine that’s based off the traditional ’sun salutation‘ and did a workshop with guys of all ages and sizes. I had a waiting list the whole year I was allowed to hold this class. It stayed packed!
Inmates desire to „look“ big, so to have guys wanting to join this class after seeing its results in myself and others speaks for itself.
Body comp is when your in program where you are hitting a specific muscle group from all angles to sculpt the muscle. You never run out of different options for lifts. I would go thru every possible lift for a specific muscle group in a program I would put together. For example: shoulder’s are made up of 3 delts. front, side, and rear. lat raises are a way to hit all 3 positions and all 3 direct delts. Front delt raises, side dealt raises, and rear dealt fly’s. So whatever program your on and that’s your shoulder workout, next time you do, military presses, front delt presses with dumbbells coming down in front of your face, and then upright rows. A routine that will sculpt the entire shoulder! Continuously rotating lifts that never gets you bored, and never let’s your body adapt. Which keeps it growing, burning maximal amount of calories and fat.
This article is far from exhaustive. If you like what you read and are interested in more you can find good personal trainers that can design programs for you if you specify body comp and weight loss. Or you can contact me and I can help you if you wish. my info is on my profile. Or you can set up an account to get on my email list at securustech.net.
In closing I want to say this: Fitness can only go as far as YOU perceive to be. Make sure who you see, is YOU! And not someone else. Have a blessed 2023! 🙂