TOTAL COMMITMENT REQUIRED -

“A change in the body can cause a change in the soul.”
—Aristotle

The other day I was walking past a local downtown gym and couldn’t believe my eyes! There was a guy coming out of the door just after working out, and he was lighting up a cigarette. I felt like punching him because it was so sacrilegious. It was obvious that this guy has no commitment, does not care about health, and is training for the wrong reasons, with only mere cosmetic goals.

Physical culture is about what you do in the dark. It’s about how hard you train when there is no one to impress. It’s about what you eat, how you think, and what you do on a daily basis. It’s about doing the right thing.

I talk to guys all the time who say that they can’t gain weight. Most are wasting their money on every type of powder, pill and “magic” potion, but don’t have enough discipline and common sense to have a big breakfast every day. Some tell me “how hard” they train and they can’t understand why they are getting nowhere. However, some of them neglect to tell me that they are out till 2 am two or three nights per week drinking beer. (I find out about this sooner or later.) Some complain that they can’t reduce their bodyfat no matter what they do. Their genetics are bad, they say, or their “metabolism is too low.” But they are only doing cardiovascular exercise once or twice a week, if at all.

Unless you are a competitive strength athlete, e.g., shot putter or discus thrower, three times per week is the minimum for CV work. If you have a lot of extra fat you should be doing CV work four or five days per week. The duration for the CV work should be at least 20 minutes at target heart rate, or 30 minutes of total time as the warmup and cooldown parts don’t count. And at least 30 minutes of target heart rate work would be wise for most. Why aim for the minimum? At least 45-60 minutes at target heart rate would be recommended for people with a lot of excess fat. Target heart rate for fat burning is about 70% (200 minus your age). These recommendations are not just my opinions. They are those of the American College of Sports Medicine.

There is a lot of nonsense in “muscle magazines” about strength training, nutrition and cardiovascular exercise. Just because a drug-using bodybuilder with no academic background in exercise or nutrition writes that he trains with weights three hours per day, six days per week, and does CV training twice per week, does that mean that you should also train incorrectly?

Before accepting information as fact, check the source. If you want to be put in a coffin sooner, then follow some of the high fat and other ridiculous diets that are currently in style. Scrutinize any nutritional advice not given by a Registered Dietician, and don’t easily accept anything as fact. Anything that sounds suspicious you must get checked out by a good Registered Dietician who works with athletes and understands their nutritional demands. Nancy Clark is an example of the sort of Registered Dietician I mean.

Commitment is about self-control, self-respect, hard work, and a desire for the truth, not the latest trend. Commitment is trying to do the right thing all the time. You do it for yourself, not to impress others. It is a way of life or a sacred belief. Total lifestyle commitment is what it takes to maximize your potential. It’s not training only for cosmetics where the end justifies the means. If you focus on doing the right thing and making the right choices, every day, cosmetic results as well as good health and muscular strength will be yours.

A few years ago, while attending a sports psychology conference at the University of Virginia, I picked up a copy of that university’s football conditioning program. There was a quote in there that I loved, and I put on the wall of my gym:

Pride
The best kind of pride
is that which compels you
to do your best
even if no one else is watching.

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