I have recently worked with 2 new clients, both very nice people, wanting to start a fitness program that includes weight loss. Both of these people know my husband, Michael, because they 'hang out' at the Bird Cage, which is right next door to my husbands restaurant Larry and Hys Bare Bones BBQ. The Bird Cage is a bar. I had lunch at our BBQ on Saturday and asked Michael if he had seen either of these 2 clients at the bar recently. Well, one of them was there at that moment! I did not persue confronting this person mostly because it was my day off and I need to step out of my daily role of Personal Trainer occasionally. But, I should have because I felt so much frustration inside. Here is this person, coming to me because they need help with improving their health. But, they are not willing to help themselves. This goes right back to a previous blog. I can spend one hour a day coaching and talking and offering diet modifications and alternatives, but the other 23 hours in the day they are on their own. I can't wait for the inevitable question from this client, "When can I expect to see results?" or "I've been at this for 4 weeks and haven't lost a lb, why not?" I will then unleash my frustration pent up from Saturday and make sure they know, without a doubt, why. You will NOT lose any weight if you are 'drinking' your lunch. You need to fuel your body properly if you want results. If you do not want results, no problem, keep doing what you're doing. My next blog will have a more positive tone to it....

Pump Iron

How can it be that after teaching the same class for almost 2 years and I am still unsure about myself? Today was my day to teach Pump Iron and I felt as prepared as I always do, yet for some reason, everything that I had planned was completed in 1/2 hour. I had a whole 30 minutes of class to improvise. Of course I managed, and I believe it was a good workout, but without comments from the class, I just don't know. I tend to be very critical of myself. Whenever you take a class, and I already do this myself, make sure to give your instructor feed back. Whether it is positive or negative, if it is a good instructor, he/she can turn the negative feedback into a positive experience by making adjustments and improving their class. And of course a little positive feedback always goes a long way!!

TIME Magazine article - August 9, 2009

Recently an article was published in TIME magazine stating that exercise will not make you thin. It was written in the context of "the writer" (John Cloud) going to the gym, being trained by his trainer and not losing one ounce. Does he have to give his trainer a food journal and be accountable for his time away from his trainer? As a Personal Trainer myself, I am a bit appauled by this article. We get one-on-one meetings with our clients typically 1-3 times per week for 1 hour or so at a time. If my clients want to lose weight, I insist they keep a food journal either manually or on-line. If it was not for this tool, I would have no clue what my client was doing before and after their time with me. I can only do so much with a client that is unwilling to keep an honest food journal of some sort. Either this man, who claims his stomache "hangs over his belt", goes to the gym, works hard and then goes home and rewards his hard work with food or he has something else beyond the realm of exercise and personal training is going on with him internally. Therefore, he should seek another professional to help him, a nutritionist or maybe a therapist if his issues are emotional. Sleep and genetics could be influencing factors. The bottom line to me is that this is a highly visable magazine read by millions who could come to the conclusion that they are wasting their time exercising. It is actually frightening. On the side of health, beside weight loss, I wish I could name every client that has come to me excited because they are no longer on blood pressure meds or osteoporosis meds or they don't need oxygen when they sleep anymore or their LDL has improved or their mood has improved and the list goes on and on. I work at a gym that has almost 10,000 members and I hear these types of results frequently! I wish people would learn to exercise -and eat better- for their overall health, that way weight loss becomes more of a by-product than a goal. I will forever be searching for the answers....not excuses, as it seems the author of this article is doing....

My name is Mary Paper, I live in AZ. My job and my life revolve around exercise. I am a Personal Trainer and a Group Fitness Instructor. I teach a Boot Camp class and a Pump Iron class. I am certified through ACE, plus, I just received a certification in Punk Rope, which eventually I would like to start a class in as well. Right now, I am in the process of studying for a new certification, through ACE, to be a Health and Fitness Specialist. I just completed Chapter 10 on Obesity. What a challenging problem our country (and all over the world for that matter, we are just ahead of the race) is facing. As much time and money is being put into it to improve it, why does it keep getting worse? I want like to see that change in my community. On September 20th, I am starting a challenge at the local YMCA called the Lose to Gain Challenge. Participants sign up and commit to 10-weeks of exercise and weight loss. For every lb lost or for every 5 hours exercised, the participants promise to donate 1 non-perishable food item to the YMCA, which at the end of the 10-weeks will be donated to the local food bank. Just in time for Thanksgiving! It is my hope that after 10-weeks of exercise that those participants will have developed a "habit" or even an addiction to exercise and will keep it up for a lifetime. If not, the YMCA and myself are there to help with encouragement and motivation. It has taken the last 3 decades to become what we have become, I hope it does not take that long to reverse this epidemic!