Books : Hold It! You're Exercizing Wrong : Excerpts

From the Introduction

Everyone can change his or her body through proper exercise. Let's face it, since we're all going to exercise, we might as well do it right. This book can be your source for separating fallacies from facts on the subject. Apply these tips, and you'll become more productive, not only in fitness but in every facet of your life.

Why do nine out of ten individuals who exercise and work out do it incorrectly? Many reasons. "Do you exercise?" I ask my clients when starting to design an individualized fitness program for them. "Oh yes, I play tennis and golf on the weekends and occasionally play tennis during the week when I have time," they reply. Let's clarify something right from the beginning: recreational tennis and golf are not exercise, per se. They are really leisure activities. In other words, you're doing it backward.

Tip 1
Don't try to get fit by being active. You can become more active only by becoming fit.

Too often people's misconception about tennis, golf, skiing, and other activities causes them injury because they are not fit before they go out and enthusiastically enter into these sports. Take the avid player who says he can play tennis for three hours without getting tired. Is he fit? Not necessarily, because when I ask him to try to touch his toes or jump rope for one minute, he can't. Only then does he finally realize that there's more to fitness than just putting in court time. As I tell my clients, I won't teach you how to hit a tennis ball, but I'll teach you how to get to that ball with speed, power, and agility and to hit it with the same strength shot after shot—now that's fitness.

Tip 2
Fitness is your ability to do whatever you ask your body to do.

In short, can you run a mile without having to recover for two days afterward? Do you have flexibility? Can you lift a ten-pound curl bar and do a series of upper body exercises for twenty to thirty repetitions without becoming fatigued? Can you jump rope for ten minutes or more? Can you ride a stationary bike for fifteen minutes or more maintaining 90-120 rpm? Can you do twenty-five to fifty bent-knee sit-ups on a mat without locking your feet under a bed or bar? If you can answer yes to all of the above, then you are truly fit. (Of course if you are injured, or otherwise physically challenged, you should not or will not be able to do all of these activities, but you can still do lots of other exercises, if properly shown.) Clearly, fitness consists of many elements, which I'll address in detail in this book. The main reason people do not get fit is because they were never properly educated in the field of fitness and therefore may be working hard at the wrong thing.

Who am I? Why should you believe me rather than another fitness guru? Well to begin with, I'm the founder and CEO of the largest motivational and fitness company in the country, based in New York City. I teach people from all walks of life how to incorporate a sound fitness regimen into their daily life despite any constraint—physical or mental. During the last fourteen years I have seen and consulted with over 12,000 people—businessmen and businesswomen, mothers, mothers-to-be, physically challenged, athletes, fifty-plusers, children, professional athletes, former athletes, weight lifters, dancers, and executives who travel frequently and need a surefire traveling regimen.

I decided to write this book because I've seen definite trends among my clients. Most of the people I've met who were exercising regularly were not truly fit. Of the people who weren't exercising, all lacked the motivation to exercise and knowledge about how to exercise as well as how to fit it into their busy schedules. Interestingly, both groups were equally ignorant about many facets of fitness and getting fit.

I've educated thousands about how to exercise properly, safely, efficiently, and effectively. All have learned to become self-motivated to make exercise a part of their lifestyle for the rest of their lives. Anyone can go to a gym, a spa, or a fat-farm. But can you learn how to motivate yourself to make exercise a good, healthy habit, just like brushing your teeth, or saying thank you?

When you finish reading this book you will have that ability. This book is intended to shock you. I challenge you to realize that whatever you have or haven't been doing for fitness is most likely very wrong. This book also contradicts many professionals in the field of exercise and fitness.

Everyone has a theory about exercise. But the fact is, if you do not warm up first, then stretch, work out hard, and finally cool down, you might as well not even do it. You'll get some fitness benefits, but not as much as the person next to you who exercises in this exact order. In addition, there is no one machine or exercise that can get you fit in and of itself. But there is a way to get fit—a system if you will—by using minimal equipment if you exercise according to your body type as well as other factors. These factors constitute the genesis of this book.