Inspired Journey Fitness

The Lifestyles Fitness Center has been doing some remodeling this week. Over the past few weeks we’ve been painting, received all new treadmills, and last week we installed new carpeting.

Rather than close the center, we kept the center open and let our members know that some of the equipment would not be available. We have another location a couple miles away and members could go there instead. Alternatively, we promoted this as an opportunity for people to try something different with their program. It’s an opportunity to change from having a “routine” to something exciting and different.

The carpeting process was scheduled to last three days. On day 1, members came in at 5 AM and a few were shell-shocked. They wandered around trying to figure out what to do, randomly pulling a cable here and doing a rep there. A few said, “I can’t do anything today”. One nearly climbed over a few cardio machines that were pushed together just to get to the one machine he uses every single day. He looked quite relieved and proud that he did the same thing as yesterday, and the day before, and the days and weeks before that.

Your body is a pretty amazing system. It adapts to the positive stress of exercise. When you place a load on the body it adapts to that load by getting stronger. Soon, the body sees that load as normal and unless you place a different stress on the body it hits a plateau.

If you do the same walk on the treadmill, at the same speed, for the same distance, over the same duration, your results will not improve. That program will work at first, but the Law of Dimishing Returns says that sooner or later the result will be zero. My point is that you need to keep the body guessing as to what’s coming next.

Take a look at your personal program.

Are you still doing the same thing you’ve been doing for weeks, months, years? If so, turn it upside down, make it tougher, and get ready to see results!

• Are you doing just cardio? Add weights
• Are you just doing weights? Add cardio
• Are you doing your cardio at the same intensity? Maybe you’re ready for interval training?
• How about trying a total body exercise like swimming?

Need help creating a new program to get the results you’re looking for? Give me a call at (630) 269-8992!

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Ten years ago, the world was in a panic thinking that everything was coming to an end.  Y2K was here and it was all people could talk about.  What was going to happen?  Would the world be plunged into chaos because computers would melt down, going haywire because they couldn’t handle four digit years? 

I still remember watching TV on New Year’s Day 2000 and seeing this commercial.   Y2K didn’t stop this guy from living his life.  He didn’t let the imminent end of the world ruin his fitness.  What will you be doing to make 2010 your best year ever?

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This is my favorite time of year.  It has nothing to do with the change of seasons.  Nothing to do with pumpkins, Halloween goblins, and all that. 

The Iceman is coming!

“What’s the Iceman”, you ask?

Iceman is a 27-mile point to point mountain bike race that I’ve done nearly every year for the past 20 years.  It’s held in the first week of November, regardless of the weather, and I’ve done it in wind, rain, snow, and less frequently, warm sunny temps.  It draws over 2000 participants to Michigan’s North Woods as one of the largest races in the US.

It’s one of those things that for both me and my family has created good memories that will last a lifetime.  It’s one of those examples of how fitness has made a difference in my life and why I have a passion for helping others improve their fitness so they can create their own memories.

I’ve written about the Iceman before on this blog and in two separate magazines in the Chicago area and Michigan.  Since it’s coming up this week I thought I’d share that story with you again.

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There are many reasons fitness programs fail.  One of the biggest is most people show up at the gym with no meaningful goal or at best, a pretty flimsy one.  More often than not, those goals usually don’t have a way to be measured and lack true meaning.  

To be meaningful, your goal has to have a few components: 

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Timebound

No weak goals allowed.  Lose 10 pounds doesn’t cut it here.  Why?  There’s no timeframe and no relevance.  By when do you want to lose 10 pounds?  For what reason?  Is the goal attainable in your timeframe?

Lose 10 pounds in ten weeks so you can fit into that favorite little black dress to go to your high school reunion. 

Now, that’s a goal.  You know what is to be accomplished (specific), you know when it is to be accomplished (measurable), it’s not outrageous but challenging (attainable), why it’s important (relevant), and has a reasonable deadline (timebound).

Why is the goal important?  A good goal will help you make sure you stick to the plan.  We all have a reason for working out.  There’s something that we want to do that we cannot do today, and introducing exercise and proper nutrition is a tool that can help you reach your goal.

If you haven’t downloaded it yet, get your copy of 10 Reasons Most Fitness Programs Fail.

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Two years ago, I had the opportunity to ride one of the most famous mountains in France, Mt. Ventoux. The Giant of Provence dominates the landscape in southeast France. It’s eerie top portion, referred to as the Moonscape, is nothing but white rocks. Nothing else. For riders in the Tour de France, it’s demoralizing because you can see the summit for the final 7km but you never seem to get there.

For me, it was anything but demoralizing. I felt incredible as I rode the 22km climb with an average incline of 7.7%, sometimes kicking up to over 11%. I rode the entire climb with a giant, stupid grin on my face because I could hardly believe I pedaling my bike up one of the most iconic climbs in cycling. It took 2:15 to get to the top. I spent almost an hour on the summit before making the ripping fast descent in 20 minutes to the town of Bedoin in the valley below. I trained hard leading up to the trip and it paid off.

The Ventoux will be used in this year’s Tour de France this Saturday, July 25. never before has a climb this large been featured this late, with the race’s final day coming on Sunday. With a massive climb like this on the penultimate day, there could be fireworks among the leaders.

Be sure to watch it on Versus

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Think you can’t do it?

Is something standing in the way of your success?

Bobby didn’t think so. Neither should you.

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Yesterday, President Obama met with Latin American leaders, members of Congress, read briefs and received updates on world affairs, and did other things tha the leader of the free word does. Oh, and he got in a workout too.

In fact, he finds time to get his workout, as does the First Lady, nearly every day. It’s part of their lifestyle.

Did you get your workout? Or, were you busier than the President?

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If today was your last day?

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For me, fitness is a means to an end. It’s a way for me to be able to enjoy the outdoors and the things I love to do with my family. During the summer, we spend time canoeing, orienteering, biking, and enjoying the kids softball games.

I grew up racing bicycles, starting with BMX and travelling around the US, transitioning to mountain bikes, and this past year trying my legs at road bike criterium racing. Each race brings back different emotions, but one is special to me.

The Iceman.

I’ve done the Iceman 16 times. It’s a 27 mile journey through Northern Michigan’s sandy hilly terrain, held during the first weekend of November. I’ve done it in 50 degree temps, and I’ve done it in 10 degrees with 5″ of snow on the ground. I broke the seat off my bike one year just a few miles into the event and finished the entire race standing up (it was torture, but I couldn’t bring myself to quit…and I wasn’t last). Five of the races have been with my daughters on a tandem mountain bike.

I’ve written about the race for both Windy City Sports and Michigan Sports & Fitness. You can find the first of the two stories right here (sorry, the page is formatted strangely, but the words are still there)

I’ve been in hundreds, maybe thousands of races over my lifetime. The five that I’ve completed with Rachael and Sara are my proudest. They’ve grown too big for the tandem tag-a-long bike, so this year’s race won’t quite be the same, but I’ll always have the memories. Maybe someday they’ll ride alongside on their own bikes. Hopefully someday they’ll be strong enough to finish the race ahead of me!

For me, fitness is a means to an end. It’s a way to develop memories like this.

How will fitness make a difference for you?

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If you’ve been watching The Biggest Loser on NBC, you might have seen this week’s episode. The contestants had to compete to get a key to their gym so they could work out indoors. The whining and complaining about having to work out outdoors was incredible!

Give me a choice between indoor and outdoor and I’ll take the fresh air anytime.

No treadmill? Walk outside. Take a run. Add even more fun and hike on a trail. You might find something fun in your city that you never knew existed.

• Did you know there’s an abandoned putt-putt golf course hidden in the woods less than 4 miles from the Lifestyles Fitness Center?
• Whalon Lake offers several miles of paved trails around a peaceful lake just a few miles from your home
• Camp Sagwau offers a naturally formed rock canyon, and it’s in Lemont!
• Where can you see Bolingbrook, Naperville, Woodridge, Lisle, at the same time?
• There’s a naturally occuring waterfall just 20 minutes from Bolingbrook? Have you been there? If you’re lucky, you might even see the white deer herd.

We’ve got miles of bike trails, hiking trails, rivers, golf courses, and more right in our backyard. Think it’s too cold outside? Give it a try and you’ll be surpised how quickly you’ll warm up and won’t even notice the low temps.

It’s Mother Nature’s equivalent of the treadmill, Stairmaster, elliptical machine, rowing machine, and exercise bike. Pretty cool if you ask me!

Do you know a fun and interesting place nearby? Let’s hear about it.

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