Tired of Looking at the Inside of Gym Walls? I know I am.

Let’s face it, gyms aren’t pretty and they aren’t really designed to be. They are filled with rows and rows of exercise equipment and any wall space that doesn’t feature a full length mirror is usually covered by a poster of a muscled up bodybuilder or an advertisement for one of the personal trainers that reside there. The floor, while functional with its thick padded surface, doesn’t exactly provide the same ambience as a finely woven Berber carpet.

Well, at least you have the music to help you feel more comfortable. That is if you like whatever type of music happens to be blaring out of the speakers at the time. There is always the TV though. If you are lucky enough to get a machine that has a TV you can control, you’ll have the ability to watch whatever you want as long as you place the bacteria infested earphones into your ears. Perhaps I sound a bit disgruntled and I apologize as that is not my point. The fact is, sometimes I just have to take my work out outside as the confining walls of the gym can drive just about anybody crazy after a while.

So, what is so great about working out outside? What is so great is that the possibilities are endless. The only thing that determines what you’ll see and what you’ll experience when working out outside is the areas in which you’re willing to go to perform your workout.

If you’re looking for a more calm and serene atmosphere, simply take a jog around the past they can be found at your local lake. Benches found along the pathway will provide you additional structures for you to use if you want to perform incline push-ups or plyometrics.

If you’re looking for a more varied and intense surrounding, simply make your way into the city to complete your fitness regimen. Running up and down stairs amidst the hustle and bustle of a downtown environment will not only provide you with a great cardiovascular workout but it will ensure that the scenery you encounter is ever-changing. Cityscapes, with their varied concrete jungle type structures provide a plethora of workout opportunities to anyone who has a good imagination and a sense of adventure.

Whether or not you have kids, going to the local playground can be one of the most satisfying work out alternatives to the local gym scene. Fair you can perform an incredible variety of exercises using the jungle gym just as the kids do including pull-ups on the monkey bars, plyometric jumps on the landing platforms, and even dips between the bars of the equipment itself.

So if you are tired of looking at the inside walls of your gym, simply step outside and take a look around. Workout opportunities are everywhere and stepping out into the fresh air can reinvigorate your excitement for working out and training our regular basis.

How you can avoid the prying eyes of the “Gym Fly’s.” A Women’s Guide to enjoying time at the Gym.

We have all seen them. I call them Gym fly’s. The guys that hang around the gym and do more talking than working out. They have the latest workout clothes, and are sipping on their carbohydrate and protein loaded fitness drink while they work their jaws. They LOOK the part, but in reality, they are simply LOOKING. Their target? Women.

From my experience, most women are at the gym to do one thing: workout. They are not interested in meeting guys and they are not impressed by how much weight you can throw overhead or how cool your arms look in your wife beater. The problem is, gym fly’s don’t get this. They often hover around these ladies ready to offer their “advice” to the “helpless woman.” Well ladies, listen up. Here are a few tips to help you keep these BUGS away from you and help you concentrate on getting a serious workout!

1. Knowledge is power…use it! – Many guys love to go up to women to give them advice on their lifting technique or workout in general. First of all, if ANYONE is going to put themselves out there in this way, you MUST be tactful…most of these guys AREN’T. Secondly, the fact is, a lot of their advice is often flat out WRONG. Women, if you do your homework and brush up on both your workout knowledge and technique, you will put THEM in their place. Trust me, they will leave you alone.

2. When in doubt, bring a friend – Working out with a partner will not only help keep your workouts focused and safe, it will also help keep the unwanted gym fly’s at bay. People who are together are less likely to be bothered when working out

3. Crank up the music – I like to listen to music when I workout personally. Rather than dealing with whatever is pumped through the speakers at the gym, I like to pop in the ear buds of my iPod. If you are there to concentrate on getting in shape, not socializing, then listening to music or audio books via earphones will surely let others know you mean business. Anyone who decides to interrupt you had better have a good reason as the simple fact that you will have to stop and pull out your earphones will deter many from even bothering.

4. Don’t go to the gym – Wait a second, don’t go to the gym? Yes, I said it. See, the mere fact that there are so many distractions at gyms makes working out at a gym not an option for a growing contingent of fitness buffs. This is not to say DON’T WORKOUT, but instead, workout outside of gyms at a boot camp style class. Obviously, you won’t have to deal with the aforementioned gymflys, nor any of the other interruptions and distractions that keep you from what you really want to do…get in shape! Outdoor workouts are a great alternative and if you take some time to learn a little about all the ways you can get in shape just using your own bodyweight, you may decide to stay away from the gym altogether.

Hello and welcome to the Mr. Fat Loss blog!

This has been something I’ve wanted to do for awhile and with everybody  coming into the marketplace with a variety of fat loss products that promise the stars and the moon, plus make you look fabulous…I thought a personal guide to assist you would be a good idea!

The main reason is that I want to help you with sorting out some of the fluff and provide some direction for you while  you look for the right fat loss program that’ll help you.

After 32 years of personal experience with exercise, fitness and health…I still look for the “new” the better, the faster or best fat loss program.

Its very hard and determining the “best or right” program can be challenge when all the information is sounding pretty much the same, just a different person or company promoting the next “magic bullet.”

I’d like to provide you with as many resources available so you can look for yourself and measure the claims made by each of the experts on the marketplace. Along with the ones I feel are important to include when putting together and building effective fat loss programs.

I’ll also be very blunt in many cases, not to offend , but to shake some of you up that have been saying you are “trying, thinking about or should” do something or that “it’s too hard to change” a bit more than “doing” what you should be doing to accomplish healthy fat loss as your goal.

In my mind, over all improved mental and physical health should be the goal of everyone on the planet…actually, to be the best human being you can. But, without making this a political forum or blog, instead comments focused on important fitness and health related topics will be welcome and appreciated with fat loss more as a side benefit of healthy lifestyle changes.

I also will have people from around the globe looking at the information here with the translator bar in all dialects available…so welcome visitors! Along with that there are a few sections you may want to explore which contain elements you might not currently have employed in your own fat loss programs.

These individuals in my professional opinion are some of the best in the world and will offer you a lot of information so that you can judge their abilities for yourself before going any further.

In addition, there will be variety of teleseminars, videos, articles and Q & A opportunity with so much new information related to any and all areas regarding fat loss strategies…with fantastic, thought provoking content.

Although it seems that each year new ideas come out about the best or fastest method for fat loss…human beings have not changed physically in a long time and unlike technology, do not adapt or evolve as quick.

Same stuff that got people lean a hundred years ago, still works today…hard, purposeful work.

That being said, you will not find a short cut method here, nor will I endorse it, but just common sense approaches to an age old desire…lean muscle.

Thank you for stopping by,

Mr. Fat Loss

Mind over Matter – Goal Setting Life Change Transformation Product

How does anybody achieve success with their life and their personal health? Where do you begin, at the beginning or do you start at the end with the goal and develop a plan and go backwards from the goal? So you start where you are, look forward to the goal and just start making strides of what ever length and move in that direction? What should you do when an obstacle appears or occurs, how do you start back up if you stop?

These were the questions I wanted to answer as I began my personal quest for excellence and develop my 31 year (so far) fitness professional career. Did I set out with the intention of excellence? No, it’s just evolved as my understanding increased and interests have deepened along with my desire to quench my thirst for this endless goal.

The definition of mind/body connection is simple and complex at the same time but in its simplest form it’s the connection or resulting from the interrelationship between one’s physical health and the state of one’s mind or spirit and overall effect on one’s health.

“But I just want to get lean, drop some fat!” some of you are saying and you will…some of you. Some of you however will be trapped by the demons, monkeys, excuses or whatever term you want to give them that reside in your minds and will act as a gatekeeper forbidding your successes until you learn to manage the little trolls.

Historical perspective on mind and body connection

From the worlds shift and mankind’s evolution from old to the new world, the basic “software” of what it means to be human hasn’t changed, but the external world has definitely changed rapidly in comparison. We still feel, think and react to the same as we did thousands of years ago to external stressors.

From the Greeks and Romans, through the Renaissance period to early Colonial American humans are pretty much the same internally…same bones, same muscles and brain.

The changes externally going from an extreme need for physical survival skills and abilities have all been in recent times outsourced from the more prosperous in society to the lesser and knowledge work has replaced physical work. With this shift, a less physical body has evolved and an overstressed mind fueled with poorly engineered food has created the beginning of the end. Is this a possible shift back to the dark ages? Can we rebound? Some will…many will not.

This is what “Mind over Matter” is all about, developing the mental disciplines to handle life’s challenges while also juggling all the balls in the air without dropping them. Possibly having to have a life changing situation event occur usually does it for some…a death, a divorce, job loss, jail term, war, violent crime…puts them over the edge and nothing brings them back. Sometimes because the tools to do this or get back up after getting knocked down and dust one’s self off were never put in place. Do you want to discover how to get these tools or just “try” to figure it out on your own…how’s that been working out so far?

Managing to eat, sleep, work, train and have a fully functioning life with challenging accomplishments to help each of us achieve a level competency for a strong mind body connection with “Mind over Matter” disciplines can be taught, practiced, refined and learned.