Healthy B.P.M.

Fitness is the essence of a man. Being physically fit gives you the ability to do your normal everyday tasks with full alertness and vigor. There’s little worry of chronic fatigue, and an extra energy reserve is a plus. Every man regardless of age and current fitness level owes it to himself and those he loves to take care of himself. Male or female the basics are the same, aerobic conditioning, resistance training, and healthy eating.

Naturally, and I mean by our creator’s design, men are stronger and have more muscle. That allows them to burn more calories than we do. If you’ve ever started a weight loss plan with your significant other you may have noticed that he loses weight quicker than you do. It’s that muscle mass thing again. No fair, I know.

Aging causes a decrease in muscle mass of five to seven pounds of muscle for every ten years of adult life, for an inactive lifestyle. Hence the saying “use it or lose it”. Fortunately, there is a good solution to this; pick up some weights and not the baby ones either. There’s a fair amount of guys who only want to lift weights. They tend to think of cardio as a girly thing. Hold on there Mr. Brawny, your heart and lungs need to be worked as well as your bi’s and tri’s. You don’t have to take a step class (unless you want to) but some cardiovascular conditioning is necessary. Those endless crunches you’re doing hoping for the six pack will be useless if you don’t burn that rubber around your middle.

You know what else you’ve got to do? Work on your flexibility. That’s the last thing you’re thinking of after a grueling workout, but it helps to seal the deal. All that lifting, shortening and tightening of your muscles will result in a build up of lactic acid. You’ve heard of ‘feeling the burn”? Well that burn is a build up of lactic acid, a waste product of muscle movement. The best way to get rid of it is to stretch, and don’t rush through it for crying out loud. Spend at least 30-60 seconds for each stretch. If you really want to work on your flexibility you could take a Yoga or Pilate’s class, but that might be too much of a stretch. Get it, too much of a stretch? At any rate, cardio, resistance training, and stretching are the foundations of your fitness plan.

Now for that eating plan. As mentioned earlier guys will lose weight quicker because they have more muscle mass. This means that they’ll burn more calories. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue and it our bodies have to work harder (burn more calories) to maintain it. This is not an excuse to post up at the all you can eat buffet and have at it with reckless abandon. Optimal health is still the goal and too much of anything is not good for you. There’s also much to be said about exercising restraint with your portions. Behavior modification goes a long way in staying fit.

Eat whole and natural foods frequently; the 4-5 mini meal rule applies to guys as well. Variety is the spice of life so keep this in mind when doing the shopping. The three important macronutrients in the diet; are fats, carbohydrates and proteins. Prioritize proteins over simple carbohydrates and never exclude any one food group.

Here are a few manly man tips:

Drink plenty of water throughout the day, especially when working out.

Do exercises using the correct techniques, whether it’s weight lifting or aerobic exercises. Always read and understand, and follow of course, the instructions outlined by your trainer.

Make sure to have a spotter when moving up in weights.

Challenge the muscles, but make sure that you do it safely

Warm-up prior to working out and cool-down gradually after sessions.

Check the equipment for safety before using it.

It is better to do less than overdo the whole thing. Overtraining will exhaust you and is a precursor to injury.

There you have it, no more excuses and no more late night runs to Taco Bell.