tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66805854930911330302024-03-13T14:18:33.431-04:00Only Someone RunningA newbie runner blogging as he works his way up to a 5k race. Here you will find posts about workouts, diet, fitness, strategy, running gear, and a plethora of other subjects.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-26439833993974792822014-10-14T15:21:00.000-04:002014-10-14T15:21:30.916-04:00Cough, Cough...Please bear with me as I wipe the dust off this blog. I'm finally getting back to running after a two years and several attempts to get back on the horse. Last time I tried, I got a freaky case of plantar fasciitis, which quickly put an end to any movement beyond a hobble. I'm chalking it up to the pair of "minimalist" running shoes I was trying to break in, probably too quickly. Now I'm back to the good ol' Brooks that I wore before with no problem. Here's to hoping the evil PF doesn't come back.<br />
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I'm setting my goal low this time, 5k at a respectable time. At the moment, I have no desire to run any distance longer than that. Maybe I'll eventually want to attempt 10k, or even a half, but a marathon sounds horrible to me. I really admire anyone who can run that long (or even longer), but it just doesn't appeal to me at all. I'm more interested in speed than endurance, for a variety of reasons. In addition to not wanting to be running for hours!, I like to go fast. I also believe in the miracles of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training" target="_blank">HIIT</a> and sprinting/running shorter distances seems to lend itself better than long distance running. Finally, I would like to include a myriad of exercise activities in addition to running, like biking, swimming and strength training into my weekly routine. Not having to cram in running miles should allow me more time to do that.<br />
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Stay tuned for tomorrow, when I revisit the famous <a href="http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml" target="_blank">Couch25k</a> training program.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-80220818732635251562010-07-06T10:55:00.000-04:002010-07-06T10:55:31.835-04:00Bagel TrapI fell into the bagel trap this morning. What's the bagel trap, you ask? Well, let me tell you...<br />
One of my coworkers will occasionally bring in a bag tasty bagels. I happen to love bagels. I will usually convince myself that one bagel with a little bit of cream cheese is ok to eat. Just this one, right? Well, no. I ate three! (3!) bagels today. I'm afraid of dying from a carb overdose.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-82420052430777101312010-07-05T22:30:00.000-04:002010-07-05T22:30:14.434-04:00One More PurchaseHappy 4th yall!<br />
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I went ahead and bought a stability ball this weekend. Between it, the resistance bands, the kettlebell, and the bike, not to mention running outside and access to a gym, I think I'm pretty set on the fitness front. Tonight I did thirty minutes on the stationary bike. I'm discovering that it takes a good 15 minutes to get the legs warmed up. After that, it goes pretty smoothly. Depending on the weather, I'm either going to run outside tomorrow, or go to the gym and do 30 min on the treadmill. I'm hoping to get into a bike/run/bike/run/bike/run pattern with Sundays off. I also sat down and watched the exercise DVD's that came with the bands and stability ball. Everything seemed fairly straight forward. I'm trying to decide how I'm going to split up everything. Thinking of alternating between full body work outs and yoga, since I recently found a few yoga workouts through Netflix's instant function.<br />
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On the diet front, I did slack off over the holiday weekend, but I didn't go too overboard. Today I discovered that the local coffeeshop's curry chicken salad is darn near paleo and might tasty. I'm going to try to find a recipe online so I can make it at home for a lot cheaper,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-26828970547778743942010-06-29T17:00:00.000-04:002010-06-29T17:00:02.590-04:00UpdateOk, so here is what I've been doing lately...<br />
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I bought a cheap exercise bike at a fitness resale shop a couple of weeks ago and have ridden it twice so far. It's perfect for days when it's either too rainy or just too hot to go outside and do anything. I think it was $25 and it works perfectly. It's just a little ugly.<br />
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Yesterday, I went running outside for the first time in a long time and it went horribly. My legs, lungs, and guts just weren't prepared for it. I hope it goes better Wednesday.<br />
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I also purchased some exercise bands this week. I don't have much experience with them, but I figured they would be good for when I want to get a workout in and don't have time to go to the gym. I'm still working on putting together a good training plan for them. I'll post it once I have it.<br />
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I rejoined the local rec center. It has a tiny gym and crappy hours but it was only $25 for the year. I won't be able to go a lot, but it will be nice every once in a while. There's a larger rec center up the road with longer hours but it's an extra $35 every 3 months. Still a good deal. It would bring the total cost to $165 for the year. Can't beat that!<br />
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Still trying to follow the paleo diet, though it is extremely tough to follow for someone who eats out a lot. Restaurants put cheese and sauce on everything and then serve it on bread with potatoes on the side. I've been eating a lot of salads with either chicken or beef on top.<br />
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In addition to finding exercises for the bands, I'm also trying to put together a daily stretching routine. I will post that here as well, as soon as I get it done.<br />
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I need to buys some heavier kettlebells. The 25 pounder just ain't cutting it. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-35831913971866963442010-06-08T13:08:00.001-04:002010-06-29T10:52:30.020-04:00Paleo DietSo I've been contemplating trying out the Paleo diet to see if it will help me lose weight and also ditch some of the intestinal problems I have. I've been doing some research on the diet, the benefits and possible dangers and so far, I think a modified version of the paleo a.k.a. caveman diet would work out well.<br />
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Here is what I like about the diet:<br />
Minimal dairy - I'm lactose intolerant, so this would be no problem.<br />
No grains - This will be the hardest to give up, but I've often wondered if I have a gluten allergy.<br />
Meat - I love meat. The diet discourages processed meats like lunch meat, hot dogs and other sausages. <br />
No beans - Beans are usually a problem for me as well, though not necessarily in the "musical fruit" kind of way. <br />
No refined sugar or added salt - makes sense. We all know they are the devil.<br />
Fluxuating consumption - three meals a day isn't natural, and neither is 5 meals a day. Eat when your hungry. Stop when you're not. <br />
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Here is what I dislike-<br />
Too much meat - A lot of the paleo bloggers I've read seem to go way overboard on the meat consumption. Even though paleoithic man was not afraid to eat meat, I doubt they ate it in the same consumption/activity ratio that modern paleo dieters are eating today.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-7999479447099638312010-05-03T17:18:00.000-04:002010-05-03T17:18:00.707-04:00Really? Well, um...sure!According to the latest issue of Men's Health Magazine, Cincinnati is one of America's thinnest cities. While I'm always happy when my city gets props, to be honest, this accolade is a bit of a head scratcher. Here's how MH said they ranked the cities:<br />
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<blockquote>To arrive at our rankings, we calculated the percentage of people who are overweight, the percentage with type 2 diabetes, the percentage who haven't left the couch in a month (CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System); the money spent on junk food (Bureau of Labor Statistics); and finally, the number of people who ate fast food nine or more times in a month (Mediamark Research). </blockquote> Seeing that survey data makes up a big chuck of the findings, I'm wondering if Cincinnati should really get the "America's Most Lying City" award.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-49750845989321525402010-05-02T23:38:00.000-04:002010-05-02T23:38:01.009-04:00Another Pig Has Come And GoneToday was the annual running of Cincinnati's Flying Pig Marathon and where was I? In bed sleeping. Hopefully this will be the last year of that as I have made it my goal to do the half-marathon next year. The fact that it is 364 days away and that I'm on week 2 of the Couch to 5k makes it seem so far away, but I know from past experience that it will be here before you know it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-8709461372219750752010-05-02T23:23:00.000-04:002010-05-02T23:23:43.172-04:00Kettlebell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://coachfong.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/kb-blacks1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://coachfong.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/kb-blacks1.jpg" /></a></div><div><br />
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</div>I've been on the hunt for a good workout that can be done at home with the least amount of equipment possible, and I think I've found it. Welcome to the world of kettlebells.<div><br />
</div><div>Kettlebells originated in Russia a loooong time ago (1700's) but only recently gained popularity in the states. The main benefit that they offer that regular dumbbells do not is their ability to be swung. The fact that the center of mass of a kettlebell extends beyond the user's hand means that more muscles are utilized in controlling its movement as compared to the lifting of a dumbbell. </div><div><br />
</div><div>If you are interested in seeing what kettlebell exercises look like, I recommend checking out <a href="http://kbellqueen.blogspot.com/">Lauren's blog</a>. Lauren is a personal trainer that specializes in kettlebell workouts and has several videos available to view from her site and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/kbellqueen">youtube channe</a>l.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I've already started doing her "Quick Fat Burning Kettlebell Workout" and have been pleased with it so far.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-51377070897487282922010-04-28T17:30:00.000-04:002010-04-28T17:30:00.816-04:00Stay On Your ToesAfter having a discussion with my sister about diet and exercise, I decided to do a post highlighting some of the biggest misconceptions about diet and exercise.<br />
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First, lets discuss the whole concept of "dieting". Everybody has a diet, so that means everyone is essentially dieting. Diet is what you eat. When you go on a new diet, you are decidedly changing what you eat to try to cause some sort of change. Some people go on diets to lose weight, others go on diets to gain weight. You can not go on a diet to lose fat nor can you go on a diet to gain muscle. What you eat does not determine how energy is stored or used.<br />
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Wait, you say, what do you mean energy? I'm eating food! We all know that food has calories. A calorie is a unit of energy. Humans (and other animals) eat food in order to get the calories it contains. Some food has very little calories, like celery. A cup of diced celery has 19 calories. Some food has a lot of calories, like a chicken burrito from a popular restaurant chain. It has 950 calories. Calories are not bad or good just like watts and volts are not bad or good. Humans tend to prefer those food items with more calories. Unhealthy things often taste good to us because our brain knows it contains a lot of calories. Why? Survival. If cavemen preferred low calorie food, they would not have had enough energy to run from lions and probably would have gotten eaten by them. So now, we still have those preferences, but we are not out running from lions anymore. We are consuming more energy than we need. Not only that, but we are eating processed foods with ingredients that are designed to trick our minds and our bodies. The natural triggers to stop consuming energy are being tampered with. I will go into more depth on that in a later post, first lets just assume that our food is not tricking us.<br />
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I am a fairly tall man with a little bit of a belly. According to <a href="http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm">daily caloric needs calculator</a>, a person my age, height, weight, and exercise level needs to consume an average of 2544 calories a day to maintain my current weight, average 2035 to lose weight gradually, and average 1880 calories for extreme fat loss. First, let me point out a few things about this calculator. One, it's not exact. It asked a few basic questions about me and spit out a number. It is entirely possible that my actual number of calories a day to maintain weight is closer to 2200 or perhaps 2700. Everyone's body operates differently. The only way a person will truly know is by trial and error. For now we'll just assume that its in the right ballpark. You may have notices that I said "average" in reference to how many calories you take in a day. Humans are experts in adaptation. If you get into a certain eating routine, your body will adapt to it and adjust accordingly. For example, say you decided to try a crash diet and drastically reduce the amount of calories you consume. At first, your body will do what you expect, less calories means less weight so boom, you lose a few pounds and you're really hungry. Then, however, your body starts to make adjustments. It thinks you are starving and that there may be a food shortage, so it slows everything down. The result is that your maintenance number starts to drop and you're still really hungry. So hungry that you cheat on your new crash diet and pig out on a pizza. Guess what? You just ate over your new maintenance amount and now you're on your way to gaining weight again. The best way to avoid having your body adjust a decrease in caloric intake is to vary it up. One day eat 2544, the next eat 10% less, 10% more the next. The idea is to keep your body on your toes.<br />
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Not surprisingly, the same goes for exercise. My sister takes an aerobics class three times a week and has been doing so for years now. When she first started, she noticed an immediate difference. She lost some weight and gained some muscle but eventually she hit a wall. Why? Because her body got use to the amount and intensity of exercise she was doing. She thought that switching up her routine would be a good idea, and it generally is, but she switched to a different style of aerobics..at the same intensity. What she probably should have done was either find a harder aerobics class or throw in a different activity like running, biking, or swimming, just as long as is was more intense than the aerobics she was already doing. I suggested that she might start lifting weights and not the 5 pound dumbbells she was using in her aerobics routine. She, like a lot of women I've encountered, was reluctant to give weights a try for fear of bulking up. That's crazy! For one, it is not easy to "bulk up". If it were, every man on earth would look like the Incredible Hulk. Two, women have a natural tendency to not bulk up. Three, many women who bulk up a little after working really hard at it, find that they actually like it. Muscle tends to grow in a way that is very flattering. "But what about those lady bodybuilders? They look weird." Don't worry. You are not going to look like that unless you: work out for at least eight hours a day, five days a week, AND take steroids. <br />
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Bottom line: Keep your body on its toes, don't overeat and underwork.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-28207435896377424242010-04-28T12:01:00.001-04:002010-04-28T13:56:39.530-04:00Still At ItFor whatever reason, it has been rough getting into a running groove this Spring. Part of the reason is that it's been unseasonable cold and rainy and exceptionally overcast here lately. Not exactly the best environment for getting reacquainted with distance running. I'm going to try to give it another go this evening as part of my workout plan. The muscle-building part of my workout plan comes from this month's <a href="http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/quick-full-body-workout/">Men's Health</a> magazine. It's a 15 minute full body workout. I plan on doing this as a kind of shake-off-the-rust plan until I feel ready to start hitting the weights again.<br />
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Cardio:<br />
Couch-to-5k Running Plan Week 2, Day 1:<br />
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.<br />
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Adding 5 min. cool down, total time = 30min<br />
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Muscle:<br />
Cycle through, doing 10 reps of each and repeat for a total of 15min. <br />
Bodyweight squats<br />
Judo Pushup <br />
Sprinter SitupUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-12020251068057345922010-03-10T18:35:00.000-05:002010-03-10T18:35:00.279-05:00Annual AttemptIt finally started to warm up last Saturday and I went for the first run of the season. Because I haven't really done much of anything over the past few months, I decided to take it really slow and do Week 1, Day 1 of the Couch to 5k plan. Luckily I finished it with no problem and still had gas in the tank after I was done. The only bad part about the run was running into a couple of unfriendly stray dogs. When I came upon them, I immediately stopped, stared at them for a while, and then calmly turned around and walked leisurely in the opposite direction. They followed me for a little bit and then get distracted by another dog that was barking behind a fence. I turned down the next side street just to make sure I lost them.<br />
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I decided to give my legs plenty of rest after the first run and held off going out again until tonight. I will probably stick with the Couch to 5k program for the time being until I think that I can jump ahead a little bit.<br />
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Week 1, Day 2<br />
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutesUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-32935420924258160632009-03-24T14:15:00.000-04:002009-03-24T14:22:27.177-04:00Hanging On....BarelyIt's been hard to get into the swing of things lately. I feel like I had a lot more time to run last year. It's been a busy Spring so far with me taking two classes and work turning into a giant mess on my calendar. Tonight is shot because I leave from work, go straight to class and then stop by an informal b-day celebration for one of my friends. I might be able to squeeze in a short run in-between work and class tomorrow, but then we also have to fit dinner in somewhere.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-64812652554849602412009-02-13T13:52:00.000-05:002009-02-13T13:59:49.825-05:00What should I buy?I received a $40 gift card to my favorite running store, The Running Spot, from my girlfriend's family this Christmas and I'm itching to spend it. I don't really need shoes right now and I recently stocked up on running apparel like shorts, shirts and pants. The only thing that I don't really have right now is a decent wind breaker, but I do have a couple of old ratty ones that still have some life in them. What should I do...<br /><br />1. Do nothing. Hold onto the card like a little miser.<br />2. Put it towards a new windbreaker so I can run in style.<br />3. By a bunch of smaller items like socks, gels, headbands, etc.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-65214255827960577452009-02-13T13:08:00.000-05:002009-02-13T13:27:17.028-05:00Tax RefundI filed my taxes using H&R Block online this year. It was relatively painless and took about twenty minutes if you don't count the time it took for me to looks for various pieces of documentation. I don't know why, but there's always at least one stray statement that somehow finds it's way out of the pile where I collect my tax info each year and I spend more time looking for it than I spend filling out my return. I chose to have my federal refund deposited directly into my bank account, which only took about 4 business days. From there, I moved it to the savings account where I'm building my emergency fund. Slowly but surely....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-43555861855335243342009-02-13T10:57:00.000-05:002009-02-13T11:05:02.024-05:00Feelin' GoodDo you ever have those workouts that just feel good? Last night was like that for me. I was able to do the running program with ease and finished with plenty gas in the tank. No side cramps and for some reason I just felt lighter. I also focused on reps rather than weight for my lifting program and am in much less pain today than I was after Monday's workout.<br /><br />Here's the plan for tonight's session:<br /><br />Swimming:<br />50m x 4 at an easy pace with a minute rest in between sets.<br /><br />Lifting:<br />Smith Machine Squats 15x?, 12X?<br /><br />(The ?'s mean I'm not sure what my starting load will be. It's been so long since I've lifted, that I have no idea how weak I've gotten.)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-73824023117462940172009-02-11T15:34:00.000-05:002009-02-11T15:48:56.060-05:00Sore City, OhioRight now my biceps and triceps are really sore from Monday night's workout. I should have gone just a tad easier on the rows, but oh well.<br /><br />Here's tomorrow's plan, but I may switch the arm exercises to abs/back if I'm still sore.<br /><br />Evening:<br />Run - Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:<br /><br /> * Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)<br /> * Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)<br /> * Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)<br /> * Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)<br /> * Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)<br /><br />Dumbell bench press 15x?, 12x?<br />Dips ?, ?<br />Rope Tricep extension - 15x?, 12x?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-64837775781236370632009-02-10T13:44:00.001-05:002009-02-10T14:56:34.765-05:00Catching UpI'm going to take a breather from my Gym Tips posts for a second. Coincidentally, my girlfriend and I made the decision to join the local YMCA on Sunday. They had a special where they were waiving the joining fee and they work on a month-to-month basis a.k.a. no contract. My family always had a Y membership when I was growing up and I have a lot of fond memories of going to day camps and swimming in the summer. I remember the facilities being ok, but not spectacular. The Y that we visited this past weekend, however, was nothing like the ones from my childhood. This one had two separate indoor pools, one giant outdoor pool, a large fitness center with brand new equipment, an outdoor fitness trail in the woods, a spinning theatre, and best of all, late hours! All the things I want in a gym.<br /><br />I did my first workout at the new place last night after having to stay late at work. I decided to give it another go on the treadmill to see where I'm at endurance wise. I was able to jog for 10, walk 2, run 8, walk 3, run 8 etc. Looking at the Couch to 5k plan, I think I fall somewhere in week 5. My plan is to start from there and work my way up to week 9 again again.<br /><br />After running off and on for 30 minutes, I did some back and bicep work. It's been a loooong time since I've lifted weights seriously. I did a two sets of two rowing exercises, one set of lat pull-downs and two sets of machine curls. I'm definitely feeling it today.<br /><br />Tuesday and Wednesday are off days for the time being. I'm taking a couple of classes at night for fun and personal growth. One they are over, I will be working out 6 days a week.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-55782949361635227222009-02-05T12:35:00.001-05:002009-02-10T13:43:08.765-05:00Gym Tips - Part 2When I showed up for my first day at the gym, I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew it had to be nicer than the location where I interviewed, but that wasn't necessarily saying a lot. I've seen nicer basement gyms. I was blown away. Everything was brand spankin' new. Not an old machine or crusty free-weight plate in sight. The carpet was clean, there was a nicely-tiled cardio area, and each of the locker rooms featured a sauna and a steam room. I thought to myself, how could someone NOT want to join here? I was eager to start talking customers and making sales, but alas, the gym had other plans. They wanted to take things slow.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gym Tip #1: Beware of old gyms. One popular business model for fitness clubs is to build a new gym, sign a bunch of people up and then let it rot as they build new gyms elsewhere and start the process over again. Expect whatever equipment that is in the gym when you sign up to never be replaced, no matter what the sales person says. Sales people are lied to too.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><br />For the first four weeks, I technically wasn't allowed to sell anything. I had to wait until I was finished with the new employee training program. The program involved going to one of their eight locations and attending classes taught by their sales trainer, Betty*. Betty, too was a ball of energy. She was one of those happy all of the time people (do I sound cynical?). Though it appeared unnatural at first, I don't think she was faking it. She really was that happy. She claimed it was all because of aerobics. I thought that there was likely some medication involved somewhere. The training program had two components, fitness training and sales. The fitness training program involved learning how each machine worked, what muscle groups they exercised and how to work out on them safely. We also learned how to put together a basic fitness plan.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gym Tip #2: Most gyms offer a free workout planning session when you sign up. Do take advantage of it, but don't expect anything spectacular. These sessions are to make sure you know how to use the equipment. If you want a more customized approach, inquire about personal training and expect to pay extra for it. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">(Bonus Tip: Beware of free personal training enticements. They are usually pretty lame. Remember, you get what you pay for.)</span><br /><br />The other component of the program, sales, was more intense. We had to memorize a twenty-minute sales pitch....down to the word. No room for error. The pitch was supposedly created by some hotshot sales consulting firm and it was "proven to work". Once we had the pitched memorized, we had to give it to one of the owners. If we messed up one word at any time during the presentation, we had to start all over. When my turn came up, I was terrified. I went very slowly, but I ended up getting every word right.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gym Tip #3: Most good sales pitches are designed to get in your head and make you believe that signing up is the best decision you'll ever make in your lifetime. It may be, but the cold hard truth is, it's unlikely. Exercise is hard and eating healthy is hard. Most people have to do both to see significant results. Unfortunately the failure rate for people who try to get in shape is extremely high. Ask yourself these questions: Are you willing to be sore? To be tired? To have less time? Less money? To eat less? To eat better? Are you sure? Being healthy is a commitment that you will have to make with yourself. Gyms try to sugarcoat everything and make it seem like it's easy to lose fat and gain muscle. It's not, and it's better to tell you that before you sign up than afterward, especially if you get stuck in a contract, which brings me to tip #4....</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gym Tip #4: Just say no to contracts, no matter what the deal. By the time you start reaping the benefits of that lifetime membership they want you to sign up for, the club will likely be run down or, even worse, out of business.</span><br /><br />I hated giving the sales pitch. It was cheeseball city. I usually ditched it and just talked naturally with the customers. I made many more sales that way than I did with the pitch. The pitch was rehearsed and was designed to only allow the customer to answer an affirming "yes" when we asked them dumb questions, like "do you want to live longer?" I never got to really know the customers that way. I much preferred actually talking with them, not at them.<br /><br />The hardest part for me was selling a membership to a customer or family that I knew either wouldn't use it or couldn't afford it. I never actively tried to talk someone out of buying a membership, but I would take extra time to make sure that they knew what they were getting themselves into. Gym contracts usually stink and are tricky to get out of. Many gyms do their own collections and like credit card companies, actually make money when you don't pay your bill on time.<br /><br /><br />Most customers want to negotiate, and that's fine, even expected.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gym Tip #5: Ask for the elimination of the initiation fee and you'll likely at least get a reduction. What you're not likely to get is a discount on the monthly rate unless they have an advertised special. Still, it never hurts to ask. Many gyms reward their employees based on nightly, weekly, and monthly goals. Go near the end of any one of these time periods and they may be more willing to work with you so they can reach their next bonus level.<br /><br /><br />Gym Tip #6: Don't be a jerk. Acting like a jerk to salesperson might reap benefits at a car dealership but it doesn't work well at a gym. Why? Because you will see the person you were a jerk to every time you come into the gym, Believe me, they will remember you. Never try to be clever and work with more than one sales person to get a better price either. They will find out and the one who lost out on the commission will likely hold a grudge.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />To be continued...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-60943756901224464762009-02-03T14:38:00.000-05:002009-02-03T18:23:29.718-05:00Gym Tips - Part 1A post on Jason's <a href="http://addictedtopavement.blogspot.com/">blog</a> has inspired me to write a little about my experience working in sales and management at a gym.<br /><br />First a little background on how I came to work at said gym. I had just gotten laid off from what I thought was going to be my dream job, working as a community organizer for a local non-profit. My position was grant funded and basically the money ran out. At that point, I decided I was going to go a different route in life but I needed a job quickly so I could pay the bills. There was a fitness sales job at a regional gym chain listed in the local paper. I thought some sales experience might be good for the resume and a free gym membership would be a nice perk. I called. After a quick phone interview I had an appointment to meet with the district manager that week. Things were looking up. The interview was at one of their older gyms and the facilities were, how do I put this, scary. The place was tiny, all the equipment was at least ten years old and many of the machines had "out-of-order" signs on them. I wondered how anyone could sell memberships to this place, much less a person without any solid sales experience.<br /><br />After waiting a little bit in a dingy front desk area, I was escorted into one of the sales offices where I sat down with the DM, who was nice, but an obvious fitness fanatic. In addition to overseeing four or five gyms, she taught multiple aerobics classes, took other aerobics classes, and competed in fitness competitions. She was pretty lively during the interview and I was intimidated. Apparently though, I impressed her enough that she called the one of the owners of the company and asked if she could add me on at one of their other locations, which wasn't actively hiring at the time. The owner gave the ok and I was told that I'd be starting the following week at their brand new location which was inside a popular shopping mall. I was stoked.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-30941143031858615712009-02-03T12:27:00.001-05:002009-02-03T12:48:10.521-05:00Facing RealityMy trip to the gym last night was quite an eye-opener. I learned that staying relatively dormant for 3 months completely wipes out the gains I made during the previous 8 months. My goal was to do 3 miles, and I did 3 but only 2 was actually done running. I had to slow down at the 1 mile mark, and then again at the 2 mile. It was pretty disappointing. The only thing I can do is try again Thursday.<br /><br />My second wake-up call came when I hopped on the scale after my run. 232. I knew I had gained some weight over the holidays, but not that much. I'm hoping a big portion of my gain is water weight, which should come off relatively fast once I get on a regular running schedule again.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-24072764345362836602009-02-02T12:55:00.000-05:002009-02-02T12:59:42.352-05:00Quote of the Day: The 53 Runner's CommandmentsFrom my buddy Dave at <a href="http://www.davidbenzfp.com/">Cin Sity Running</a> who got it from the <a href="http://www.pinebeltpacers.org/">Pine Belt Pacers.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.pinebeltpacers.org/Rules.htm">The 53 Runner's Commandments</a><br /><br /><br />#39. Without goals, training has no purpose.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-8679186814216471132009-02-02T12:12:00.000-05:002009-02-02T12:16:36.748-05:00A Little Bit of ChangeYou may have notice a few non-running blog posts lately and that's because I've decided to expand the scope of the blog a little bit. I love running and it's had multiple positive effects, but it's just one of my interests and only a fraction of my life. I also get bored just blogging about my running plan. So now, in addition to all the stuff about running, you'll see me talk about some of my other interests and goals. I hope it will make for a more entertaining and informative read.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-71166106918765420302009-02-02T11:00:00.003-05:002009-02-02T12:08:09.060-05:00A Neverending List of GoalsI'm an obsessive goal setter. I set goals, reset them, and then reset them again. I've been getting a lot better at following through in recent years but there's always room for improvement.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How I set goals.</span><br /><br />I usually start off my making a broad "I want" statement. Like "I want to be healthy." Then I develop a list of two or three goals for each statement that, if I reach, will get me closer to getting what I ultimately want.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Finances</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Goal 1: Have an emergency fund of $15,000.</span> This amount should allow me to pay my bills for at least 6 months if I were to suddenly get laid off. I'm pretty much starting at zero here, so I have a long way to go.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Goal 2: Pay off my main credit card.</span> I want to be debt free by 2011 (not counting student loans). To do this, I have to pay off a little over $12,000 between my credit cards and my car loan. Even though the car loan has the higher interest rate of the three, there's a prepayment penalty, so I'm pretty much stuck paying the whole thing no matter when I pay it off.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Health:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Goal 1: Run a 10k.</span> I ran my first 5k last fall and, although it was a struggle, it was a great self-esteem booster. I'm finding that reaching goals has quite a snowball effect. It makes you want to achieve greater and greater things. I've been quite lazy this winter and I'm sure I've lost some of the endurance that I was able to achieve last fall. I'm heading to a gym with an indoor track tonight to see where I'm at. This week my goal is to do: Monday 3k, Thursday 4k, and Friday 4k.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Goal 2: Eat more raw fruits and veggies at every meal.</span> This is me basically trying to trick my brain. I've had the goals of eating better and losing weight for what seems like forever and I have reached it at times, but none of the improvements have been permanent. I'll eat healthy for a couple of months and then one cheat day becomes two, which becomes three, and you can figure out the rest. Now I'm taking it a meal at a time. I figure that if I force myself to think about each meal and how much of it is made up of raw fruits and veggies, it will cause me to think about what I'm eating more often and I will eat healthier.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Goal 3: No coffee after 5pm. </span>I'm a caffeine junky. I specifically love Americanos and it doesn't help that my girlfriend works for Starbucks. Unfortunately, I'm finding that as I get older, caffeine is keeping me up later and later. I used to be able to sit and study in a coffee shop all night, drinking bottomless cups of coffee, and then go home and fall right asleep. Nowadays, if I have a tall Americano at 8pm, I have trouble sleeping at midnight. So I'm switching to tea at 5pm and I'll see how that goes.<br /><br /><br />I think all of these are doable and don't require drastic lifestyle changes or punishment. I want to create goals that will positively impact my life, but also ones that I'll stick with.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-22109644475054748032009-01-21T09:47:00.003-05:002009-02-02T11:31:26.803-05:00Taming The Spending BeastMy budget has gotten pretty tight recently, now that I've resumed paying back my student loans. At this moment, I cannot say with confidence that getting my MBA will be beneficial to my salary-earning potential as most jobs out there require something called "experience", whatever that is.<br /><br />To be able to pay all the bills and still save money, I've had to cut back considerably on frivolous purchases. Instead of just making a temporary adjustment, I'm viewing this required change as an opportunity to examine my spending behaviors to find out why I buy the things I do and if those purchases can be curbed. For example, growing up I was a huge music fan, and I got into the habit of purchasing a new CD or record almost every week. Nowadays, I don't really care about the "next big thing", and I find myself listening to the same five or six artists 90% of the time with the other 10% filled in with a mixture of other stuff that I have. Now, I only venture into a record store when I know exactly what I want instead of aimlessly walking around the shop looking for something to buy.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680585493091133030.post-75947270368646782832009-01-20T16:25:00.003-05:002009-02-02T11:35:20.261-05:00I love RSS, but...I'm an avid blog reader and I love to use an aggregator such as bloglines.com to read all my favorites in one place. I was looking over my list of blogs recently and I realized that the majority of them are about "stuff" a.k.a. things I don't need. I've decided a purgin' is in order.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1