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Home > Road To Fitness > Exercise 
My advice to somebody who is just starting out and asks me what they should do is to first set a goal and then commit to it for a period of time. For most people, going to the gym and looking around and seeing what they feel like doing almost never works. I do not deny the platitude of "Doing something is better than nothing". Sure, but would you rather not put a little thought and effort into your workout and really be able to feel and maybe even see the results over a period of time? So whatever your goals may be, stick to them and be consistent. This will not only get you on the road to fitness, it will also give you a great way to prove that you can set a goal and hit it.
There are two primary aspects to physical fitness. Aerobic or cardiovascular fitness and muscular strength. Both aspects are critical in building a strong foundation for physical fitness. If you are looking for a well-rounded and physically fit body, build or pick a routine that emphasizes both equally importantly. There are many resources that can help you with different routines. Listen to the experts. Don’t listen to the hype in magazines, or the so called experts in the gym. Magazines with pictures of behemoths are not exactly what inspires the ordinary person to go to the gym. At the same token, well wishing gym-rats normally will not give you a well rounded fitness routine. They will either make you spend ½ your life in the gym, or put you on a routine that will make you do funky exercises or routines that seem to work for them but may or may not work for you. If they are really willing to invest the time and effort in you and work out with you, then by all means do it. But if you simply base your entire routine on a random piece of advice given to you by a gym rat or a mega-muscle magazine, be prepared for disappointment. In my opinion, consistency is the most important aspect of a fitness routine. What can you do day-in and day-out. Something you can do regardless of whether you feel great or not so great. Why is it that we are all so concerned with the six pack abs in 6 weeks, or the leaner thighs and tummy in a month? Does it really matter so much in the long-run compared to your health? So what if some people claim that they lost X number of pounds in 13 weeks or added Y number of pounds of muscle by taking a certain supplement. Easy come is definitely easy go. You know what? A person who is consistent day in and day out in their exercise and nutrition will most definitely outdo the fad-follower in the long-run. Most of us would much rather look lean and toned or muscular throughout the year than look like a slob for most of year and then go into a "cutting-phase" that involves drastic measures. All of us have learned to hate yo-yo diets so why exercise that way? Long term fitness to me is akin to running a marathon. I run it long and I run it hard. Most importantly, I want to get to the finish line. P.S. I do not discount the importance of mental and physical fitness that can be achieved through activities like yoga. I have tried yoga and revel in what it does for my body and soul. However, I have not made yoga or other alternative fitness regimens such as pilates as the focal point of my fitness routine so I do not feel qualified to state my opinion on these regimens. Home > Road To Fitness > Nutrition I have only recently realized the importance of nutrition in a well rounded physical fitness routine. I worked long and hard to get to where I am today and have realized that nutrition is the hardest part for me to really get down. At first I did not set aggressive nutrition goals. Yes, I had amazing results just because I worked so hard in the gym. It was only since the beginning of 2002 that I really started following stricter nutritional guidelines and I can tell you that the results I have seen have been truly astounding. As with my fitness routine, I am much more of a marathon runner when it comes to nutrition. I am very averse to doing anything that I cannot do for the long run. I love ethnic food and I don’t believe in deprivation, bland food, or silly diets. I do however believe that delaying gratification makes whatever you crave that much better. That is why I eat healthy six days out of seven. On Saturday’s I take my nutritional day off. You WILL see me at an Indian Buffet or a Chinese restaurant or Krispe Kreme on a Saturday.
I make sure I fill my every craving and then I am good for the rest of the week. To me, this works like clockwork. Eat ½ way healthy on my day off and there I am during the week slipping in second servings of food, eating a piece of cake, drinking multiple drinks when I go out. But if I really try to eat all the things that could possible make me slip up during the week on my day off then I feel great about delaying my gratification for those little treats during the week. My day off can only be at most 6 days away. Just for a mental note, there are 52 Saturday’s in a year and 313 non-Saturdays. Compare eating healthy for 313 days a year and not healthy only 52 days a year to eating ½ way healthy throughout the year. To me, eating ½ way healthy is torture and ridden with guilt. You are never supposed to have that piece of cake but you have it anyway. Why torture yourself and lower your sense of worth? You deserve what you crave. You know you work hard enough for it. Go ahead and eat to your heart’s content on your day off. Nutrition for most of us is even harder than working out. There are so many things that make us cringe when we stop and think about what we eat. Women on yo-yo diets, men too macho to diet, food and alcohol as the social norm, negative childhood experiences, food as comfort, food to mask boredom – the reasons that a well balanced diet can be an insurmountable challenge are innumerable. There is only one thing that is not insurmountable when it comes to nutrition – our inner desire to change our way of doing things. It is only when we finally make the decision to change for ourselves that this change will become permanent. It is then that our long held obstacles will fade in comparison to the intensity of our desire. Home > Road to Fitness> Supplementation I fully understand why so many people have such an anathema against supplementation. The fitness industry has done a very poor job in positioning supplements. Most ordinary people when they think of supplements get the image of a hulk of a man who is pumped full of steroids and shudder at the thought of becoming like him. Or more recently the latest and greatest ads about people who have dramatically changed their bodies by taking fat burners or metabolic enhancers. Supplementation is shrouded in marketing hype and the possible beneficial effects of a balanced supplementation routine is lost in this mess of silly advertising.
One thing I can say about supplements is that unless you are consistent in using them exactly as they recommend, you are probably wasting your money. I am not a fanatic about taking precise measures of 20 different amino acids to enhance the way my muscles feel in the gym. I think this attitude really leads you to get nowhere in the long run and does not fit in with my marathon runner mentality. However, I do believe in the positive benefits of a balanced supplementation regimen. 
As for myself, I consume a protein supplement in the form of whey protein or a nutrition bar. I also consume a multivitamin, an omega 3 fatty acid, vitamin C, and calcium. Theoretically, there is no need to consume any additional artificial substance if your body is getting enough nutrients through what we consume on a daily basis. I make no bones about my diet not being the theoretical model for a well balanced diet. Face it. It is hard to have a fully balance diet with a substantial amount of quality protein and vegetables and low glycemic carbohydrates on a daily basis. Do I work hard to keep a relatively well balanced diet? You bet I do. But I don’t go overboard with the diet analysis so I make the supplements part of my daily routine to take the guesswork out. I work out extremely hard in the gym and I have chosen to consume a glutamine supplement as well as creatine. I believe they help my recovery process and they taste good after my workout. These are certainly not a core part of a lay person’s road to fitness and I did get into amazing shape without using creatine or glutamine. Home > Road to Fitness > Resources
   
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