What It's All About

Sometimes getting in shape can take on a life of its own. When you're staying on top of your diet, working out consistently, and struggling with the constant pull to cheat, indulge, and give up, you naturally develop a kind of tunnel vision.

It can be easy to forget why you wanted to get fit in the first place as you hone in on getting the body fat down and the muscle percentage up. Sometimes PCPers will email me saying things like "I only lost 1 pound this week! What's the deal?" when just a few weeks earlier they would've been thrilled with losing any weight at all. Or people will get frustrated that the new exercises are difficult for them, not realizing that the very reason we had to switch to new exercises is that they have mastered the old ones.

Concentration is essential to making serious changes to your body and your life, but sometimes it's important to pan back from the tight zoom and look at the reasons you're working so hard. Most people get into this kind of work not because they want to be a certain weight or improve a certain part of their physique, but because they want to have more energy to live life to its fullest.

So my favorite stories from PCPers are not about how they did 500 jumpropes without a trip, or cranked out an extra set of chest dips, it's when they have a moment that vividly shows them how being healthy and strong really makes life better.

Some posts I can think of off the top of my head include:

Michael running a cross country race 2 minutes faster than last year with no preparation at all.

Corry just randomly doing a complete pull-up one day.

Saya and Minami discussing how their dancing has improved after getting in real shape.

My own experience of doing a full day's work outside and having the energy to run all the way home.

There are many, many more, maybe as I think of them I'll edit this post to reflect them all.

The point is, sometimes we are reminded that we're not getting into Peak Condition just for the sake of getting in Peak Condition. We're working hard so that we can squeeze every last bit out of our time with our friends and family, our careers, our personal goals. It's the reason we make people choose that activity in the center of their blog banners that will make the project more than just a fitness regime.

Which leads me to my latest, "I didn't know I could do that!" moment. Last week I climbed Mt. Fuji. Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan, and I had the misfortune of climbing it in terrible weather. Pea-soup fog, high winds, and hourly hailstorms.

You'll hear some talk about how climbing Mt. Fuji is an underwhelming experience, like this guy from a forum I found:

But be warned: Mt. Fuji is probably the most boring mountain in the world to climb. It's a symmetrical volcanic cone, so it's just slog, slog, slog up a zigzag track through a Martian rock landscape for hours on end (4-8 depending on your fitness level). Then you get to the top and freeze your rear waiting for the sun to peep over the horizon so you can head back down.

That's true if you take the usual route, but we chose the more challenging Fujinomiya ascent, which is actually a really fun climb, consisting of a lot of 3 dimensional challenges over steeply laid volcanic boulders overlooking deep ravines of moonlit banks of ice.

I did no special preparation for the trip and was expecting to have to take it really slow because I live right at sea level in a very flat city.

But, you guessed it, near peak condition, the climb was nothing. When you crank out 40 pistol squats every few days a little bit of rock doesn't pose much of a challenge. And I had absolutely no problem with altitude sickness, even as the people around me started vomiting and sucking down canned oxygen. I felt great the whole way, and even carried two packs for the final part when my partner gave out on me. All of this in those nasty conditions.

It wasn't a matter of showing off, toughing it out or fighting through fatigue. I just wasn't tired, or winded, or spent in anyway. I even jogged up a few of the lesser inclines. Just more confirmation that the rudimentary exercises we do are all you need to not only get into peak condition, but to perform a variety of challenges at peak levels. In this case, "peak" took on a whole new meaning!

So don't forget why you're doing this, or, if you're not doing anything for your health at the moment, why you should start. Looking good is just a side effect, the real action is unlocking your true potential for excellence, with the foundation of a lean, strong body that works for your goals, rather than constantly undermining them.

Now time to zoom back in and get to work!

Abs Abs Abs!

"Yo Patrick, I want a six-pack.  What should I do?"

Well, that's a tricky question.  First of all, do you know what you mean when you say "six pack".

"Um, the six muscles on the front of my stomach?"

Ok, in reality there aren't six muscles on the front your abdomen, there's just one.  Abdominus Rectus.  It's a shallow sheet of mostly white muscle that is cross divided by connective tissue, giving it it's bumpy look.  There are three of these subdivisions resulting in the appearance of 8 raised mounds.

"Ok, but I don't seem to have that muscle."

Yes, you do, if you didn't you wouldn't be able to stand up.  You just can't see it.

"But I do sit-ups every day!"

Good for you.  But know that you can do sit-ups, crunches, and leg raises from dawn to dusk and you'll never, ever see your rectus abdominus.

"Because I'm fat?"

Seeing your abs isn't simply a question of being not fat.  It requires having a body fat percentage that very few people have the patience or willpower for in this calorie rich world.

"So I need to lose weight?"

Simply getting down to a weight that is considered healthy still won't reveal those abs.  That's because they happen to sit behind the stickiest of all fats, the intra-abdominal stuff called visceral fat.  This fat will stick around long after all the fat on your face arms, legs, and butt has disappeared.  This is why someone can look pretty fit and trim but still have little or no ab definition.

"You're saying there's no hope for me?"

If seeing your abs is that important to you, you're going to have to take your training very seriously.  You're going to have to lose most of your regular body fat, and then keep going another few months past that so that the visceral fat will finally be used up.  Only then will the raised bumps of your abdominus rectus muscle start to peek through your skin.

This means a sustained period of eating right, not indulging in fattening foods, and doing some kind of cardio work.  Not just a few weeks.  Not just until you get sick of it, but week after week after week without a break.  Not many people have what it takes.

"So where do the sit-ups come in?"

All those abdominal exercises will create a little more size and definition, but they are simply the tip of the iceberg.  90% of abs is in your body fat percentage.  Ab exercises are like adding that final coat of wax to a sports car.

"It sounds so hard."

It is hard.  And even more important, in terms of health it's not terribly important to have amazing ab definition.  It's essentially a cosmetic pursuit.  That being said, when you do get your coveted six pack, you'll feel a lot of pride and a huge spurt of motivation to keep it there.  And our time period happens to place a lot of emphasis on that particular muscle, so, in the 21st century Western culture, it can be a big help with mating and career rituals.

"I just thought it would be cool to look like that person on the magazine cover."

You gotta let that stuff go.  Those people in the magazines get paid to maintain their physiques.  They have deep support systems and staff to ensure that they keep their condition.  Furthermore, before those photo shoots they don't eat or drink for 24 hours, and they have professional training about how to make their abs pop out.  Add to that make-up, lighting, and photo-shopping.  And the photographer will shoot 200 shots to get that one snap when everything looks just right.  This is the standard you're holding yourself to?  Reality check!

"I still want a six pack"

That's great!  But you need to approach it as a fun, long term project, and not a whimsy.  Anything less will result in more stress and self-reproach, which will only drive you to the ice-cream aisle faster.  Visible abs or not, you're already a whole and complete person.  That doesn't mean you should stop trying to be better.  Just do it joyfully!

Are You Really Showing Up?

I have a lot of yoga students who will show up out of the blue, come to classes steadily for a few months, and just as suddenly disappear for half a year. And then they come back and resume classes like nothing happened. I used to try to get to the bottom of these disappearances. When they would turn up after a long absence I'd try to ask leading questions, like "Have you been busy?" or "It's been a while right, so take it easy today..."

These probings were usually met with blank stares. The students didn't seem to register that I had last seen them in March and it was now August. This nonchalant dropping in and out for months at a time was a real puzzler for the first few years I ran Yoga Garden, accentuated by the fact that in those early years we really needed consistent students to keep afloat!

Gradually, I figured out what was happening. I was looking at things like a teacher and owner. The first Friday of March, so and so came, then they skipped a week, then they came back, and then skipped a month before resuming their practice in May.

But from the student's perspective, taking a yoga class or starting a workout program is much more than taking up a hobby. It's the taking up of a new identity. They are now the kind of person who "does yoga" or "works out". This sets up a kind of mental continuity that makes the gaps between practice seem much shorter than they really are.

So, for the above pattern, from the students perspective, they took 2 classes in March, had a lot to do at the office and got back to the mat a few weeks later (in May). At no point did they give up on yoga or stop thinking of themselves as a "yoga student." Meanwhile I'm at the studio asking "where is everybody!"

Now, I don't mind people taking breaks. The pace and demands of the modern world just don't allow you to always take the best care of your body (even me! check my post on getting comfortable with your priorities)

The problem arises when someone who has been taking the "one week on, three weeks off" approach to yoga or working out comes up to me and says, "I've been doing this for a year now, and my body just isn't changing."

There's the hitch. Just because you internally feel like the kind of person who does yoga every week doesn't mean your once a month practice will give you the results of someone who really makes it to the mat once a week. While I believe the mind does have great powers to effect your health, it can't do the physical work of stretching or building muscles.

So if you're having trouble getting the results from your chosen physical activities, ask yourself,

"Am I letting the concept of how much I exercise cloud the actual amount of exercise I'm doing?"

Or, in other words, are you really showing up? Or just thinking it would be nice to show up?

(By the way, if you do this analysis and find that you are actually exercising a ton and still not getting results, then your diet sucks)

People who do the PCP can't believe how quickly and completely their bodies change. I'll get comments like "I've changed more in the past 4 weeks than all those years of going to the gym!" The reason is not that we have any secret formula, just that we make sure that you show up. And showing up for 90 days, for the diet, for the jumprope, for the workouts, will really change a person.

The neatest part is that when you stop making excuses and really start doing the work, not showing up just doesn't feel right anymore. You will break free of the crippling mental trap that being a person who would like to exercise more equals being the person who exercises.

So why are you still reading this? Get to it!

Hey, Guess What? You Don't Deserve It!

There's a mental tick I've noticed in myself and others that can do a lot to undermine our hard work as we try to keep the weight off and the muscle on.

This is the idea that somehow a fattening and unhealthy food becomes acceptable if you've had a tough day and "deserve it". Or conversly, skipping a workout and putting your feet up because you've "earned the break."

I'm all too familiar with the slippery den of excuses and half-truths that the mind will throw up when confronted with anything unpleasant. I've tried them all myself, in fact. But this thought pattern is particularly devilish because it appeals to our sense of balance and fairness.

If you've worked hard all day and gotten a lot done, it only seems natural that you should do something nice for yourself. Out with the jumprope, in with the cookies! All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, right?

The catch is that, in terms of calories burnt and fat stored, you don't deserve it. You haven't been working in a field, climbing a mountain, or walking from dawn to dusk. The sad truth is only that level of physical activity could offset the chunk of fat that a piece of chocolate cake will deliver to your system. Our bodies simply weren't designed to handle the incredible density of caloric content that modern food allows us to indulge in.

The richest king in all of Renaissance Europe wouldn't have had at his demand the decadent selection available at your local candy shop. We are living in the land of milk and honey... except now it's milk chocolate and honey mustard buffalo wings. And it's making us look and feel terrible.

So here's the hard truth. You have to work all day, and still do your workout, and still eat a low-fat balanced meal with small portions, to get anything like the body you want. There's simply no way around it. It sucks. It's not fair. It's maddening. But there it is.

A funny thing happens once you digest this fact however. We humans are incredibly adaptable creatures. When confronted with a bad situation, we adjust our perspective and get along with things. Employees stuck in crappy jobs still find little things to make the day go by smoothly. Prisoners serving out life sentences still live very "full" lives, it's just a somewhat diminished version of the outside world. Contentment is a moving target, and all of the movement happens in our minds.
(For more on this, check out this Dan Gilbert TED talk on happiness. It'll shake you up.)

So, imagine you have been told that you have a rare disease that absolutely forbids the consumption of pizza. Your body is host to a parasite that, in the presence of mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce, will cause you to explode. One bite of pizza and you're toast. How would you feel?

Sure, there'd be a few sad moments as you realized you'd never attend another pizza party, but after a couple of weeks it would just be part of your life, you'd miss the days of pizza, but there are so many other things to enjoy while you're still kicking around!

The western diet is also making us explode, just in slow motion, over 20 or 30 years. A steady drip of indulgent foods, even for someone with an otherwise healthy lifestyle, will put them in the overweight bracket around the age of 35. All too many of these diet excesses slip in under the guise of "treats" because we "deserve something nice once in a while."

Hey, guess what? You don't deserve it! Just tell yourself that a few times and it starts to sting less. It just becomes another unpleasant thing you can deal with. Like not having the ability to fly, or not being able to breathe underwater, it's just how your body works. A serving of The Cheesecake factory's Fried Macaroni and Cheese (2000 calories) will never, ever, not make you fatter and sicker. So let it go! Stick with your fruits and vegetables.

And here's where the magic happens. After a few days saying "You don't deserve it," the true meaning of the phrase will bubble up. You don't deserve those cheesy nachos. They wreck your body and make you feel crappy. You're a wonderful, vibrant, beautiful person. The truth is you deserve so much better!