By Chad Ciri, CPT (ACE)

Let’s face it, we’ve all seen those people at the gym who spend an hour every day walking or jogging on the treadmill. More times than not, those people look exactly the same when you see them a year later…still running on the same treadmill!  There are several reasons that traditional “cardio” doesn’t yield results.  Amongst others, here are what I believe to be the top 5.

1) People hate doing cardio. When’s the last time someone smiled in excitement as they headed to the gym to do cardio?  No one gets excited about it.  Why?  Traditional cardio training is monotonous!  No one wants to stick to an exercise program that’s boring.  30 minutes on a treadmill or an elliptical trainer for 5 days a week is a guaranteed formula for failure.

2) Cardio promotes unhealthy relationships with food.  People can become obsessed with the calorie counters on machines.  I’ve seen way too many people who become completely obsessed with counting how many calories they’ve burned doing cardio.  Too many times this happens only because people are trying to put calories
in the “bank” so they can get away with over eating.  Your diet is just as important to your cardiovascular health as your exercise regime, so aerobic activity should not exist simply to negate the effects of an unhealthy diet.

3) Cardio in itself doesn’t make you healthy. There is so much more to health than 30 minutes of  “cardio”.  I’m not suggesting that regular aerobic activity isn’t beneficial, however there are so many more activities that will far exceed the effectiveness of walking in place for an hour each day.  As long as you’re active each day (doing manual labor, playing sports, or lifting weights), you’re doing enough to meet the minimum required amount of exercise for cardiovascular health.

4) Cardio does not enhance human performance. Show me the guy who has done traditional cardio training to prepare for a season of basketball, football or any other competitive sport, and I’ll show you the guys who is extremely disappointed in his performance.  The fact is, cardio does not generate gains in sports-specific fitness levels.  Effective performance enhancement training will include a combination of strength training, plyometrics, and stretching, which, by the way, will also be a far more effective tool in weight loss!

5.) Most traditional “cardio” exercises neglect functional movement. Let’s face it, one of the best things we can get from a fitness program is the ability to move better.  Using an elliptical trainer or an arc trainer simply does not mimic normal human movement, therefore it limits our ability to perfect it.  Squats and deadlifts, for example, are movements that we use every day throughout our lives and will be far more effective training methods (when done correctly) in achieving  any desired fitness result.

So what’s the solution?
So what should you be doing instead if you want to sculpt your body, burn fat, lose your belly, and build lean muscle?
You should skip the “cardio” and focus on total-body, multi-muscle resistance training and interval training exercises to help you build functional strength and fitness.  Hiring a personal trainer is one of the best ways to ensure that you’re getting the most out of your exercise program and not wasting your time with exercises that won’t yield the results you deserve!  Click Below to see our absolutely irresistible “Story Of You” July special which is only available until 7/31/09…  July 2009 Personal Training Special

In Strength and Health,

Chad Ciri, CPT
ACE Certified Achieve Fitness Personal Trainer

“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as well as labor does the body.”

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This past weekend, I participated in my first ever off-road Triathlon.  It involved a 3/4 mile swim, 15 mile mountain
bike course, and 5 mile trail run.  I had a blast and completed the course in 2:50.21 placing 55th out of 240.  8th in my class out of 32. Not too shabby considering I only decided to do it 1 week prior to the event.

I’ve always felt that I keep myself in good enough shape to where I can finish any such endurance event at the drop of a hat or on short notice.  I have now proved it to myself and it made me feel pretty good.  I love to push the limits
of physical abilities.

Believe it or not, it was around the 2:20 mark when I was doing the running portion of the race while my legs screamed in agony and protested every step I took, that I had the idea to send you this email.  It might have been
what help motivate me to finish the run and get to the finish line. Or at least to distract myself from the pain.

The Triathlon is just a side note to the story I really wanted to share with you from this past weekend though…

On my 1.5 hour drive to Rocky Gap State Park (where the race took place), I popped in a book on tape that was
lent to me by a good friend.  The book is called “The Story Of You: And How To Create A New One” by Steve Chandler.

I got to listen to the first 8 chapters on my drive up and I’ll tell ya… it had me pumped up more than any pre-race
music I had queued up in my Ipod.  The book talks about how we all have a story about who we are and how we tell it.
And how this story we tell is the most false and limiting part of our lives. How we are motivated by the stories we want others to tell of us. Sometimes, it’s the story that others have wanted us to live.  But is it the story we think we’re stuck in, what we really want for ourselves?

It also discusses how certain challenging obstacles in life have stories attached to them of how difficult they are and
therefore, we listen to the story associated with it and never challenge ourselves to do it.

Within the first 5 chapters he put into words something about personal trainers that I don’t think I have ever heard said so well (and couldn’t agree with more)…

“People Hire Personal Trainers to physically inspire them to do things they did not believe they could do. They are story busters who work not with your story but with your body’s energy, your potential.  People hire coaches, consultants, trainers who see their potential and don’t care at all about the story that was previously running the show”

Wow!

This was extremely reaffirming to me about why we do what we do and it couldn’t be more true.  I love what we do and love to share this passion with you.  I love helping people change their story of themselves.  Helping you reach goals you may have thought were never possible.

Therefore, I’d like to make you a special offer to help us be able to share our passion for fitness with you.  If you
sign up for any personal training packages(of 12 or more sessions) before July 31st and mention “The Story Of You”,
we’ll give you an additional 4 sessions free!  That’s in addition to your initial f.r.e.e. trial consultation for a
total of 5 free sessions.  That’s a $400 value. Just call 1-888-872-7961 press 1 to talk to Mike and mention
“The Story of You” to receive this incredible deal.  Or, Buy Personal Training package online.

Our accountant is probably going to strangle me when he sees I did this but so what…  I really just want to help you
reach your true potential and change the story you keep telling yourself and others about why you can’t lose weight and finally get in shape.

To your new story,

Dennys Passeto

PS: If you’d like to check out “The Story Of You”, here’s a link to where you can check it out and grab your own copy…
The Story Of You

PPS: Here’s a link to the race results from the Triathlon…
Xterra Triathlon Results

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