Okay, I want you all to think for a minute and raise your (virtual) hand if you’ve ever experienced any of the following thoughts:
- Staying healthy is hard…
- I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get healthy…
- This couch is way more comfortable than the treadmill…
- It’s ok, I’ll just start tomorrow…
- Working out sucks…
**Raises hand** – Ummm, yeah. You betcha.
I’ll admit it. I absolutely, 100% have had each and every one of those thoughts pass through my mind at one point or another. Luckily, thanks to a few healthy lifestyle changes on my part, most of those thoughts are now only seen on a rare occasion. But it’s reality, and sometimes, we just don’t have our “get healthy and fit” mojo working the way we’d like it to.
A couple of weeks ago, I was sent a book to review through my association with FitFluential (which, by the way, they are ALWAYS looking for new members, so feel free to check it out and sign up! You don’t have to be a blogger to do it either!). The title of the book immediately caught my attention…
Catchy, right?
Chuck Runyon, CEO and cofounder of Anytime Fitness, is the author of Working Out Sucks, which is simply, a no-excuses, get-real guide to getting healthy. Runyon tackles all of the reasons for why working out sucks, along with the excuses most often made for not taking care of our own health. He and his two other co-authors, Brian Zehetner (MS, RD, CSCS), and Rebecca Derossett (MSW) provide a full-circle approach to getting healthy in a simple, realistic way.
I’ll admit – I’m quite lucky in the sense that, probably 85% of the time, I absolutely love working out. I love the energy it gives me, I love how strong I feel afterward, and hey, seeing the results from all of my hard work isn’t half bad either.
But not everyone feels this way about working out, and I think all of us could use a little extra “kick in the pants” every now and then to get motivated. Luckily, this book definitely does just that!
So here’s the low-down…the book is broken down into four parts.
Part One: No More Excuses
Chuck Runyon uses part one of the book to highlight a number of different problems and excuses that we all might come up with for why we can’t start getting healthy right now…things ranging from “bad genes” to “I can’t afford it.” He then follows up every mini excuse with “Working out sucks…but X,Y,and Z sucks more,” proving that many of the alternatives are often much worse. I found part one of the book very easy to relate to and very easy to read through because each mini problem or excuse outlined is only 2-3 pages long. That makes for very easy reading!
Part Two: Mental Roadblocks
Part two of the book is written by Rebecca Derossett (MSW), and focuses in on all of those lovely little mind games that we like to play, the bad habits that we make, and how we can learn to break them. This particular section of the book really hit home for me because I felt like it relates directly to my “need” for nighttime sweets. I have basically hardwired my brain to think that I need sweets after dinner, which is why I crave them…hungry or not.
Rebecca goes into detail on how we can all learn to change a behavior by developing the right skills. It involves a whole lot of mind of matter, and a desire and a willingness to change. She identifies the fact that “changing behavior can suck,” but it’s certainly possible. One big note I took away from this section? The 66-Day Rule.
Research has shown that it takes roughly 66 days for a good habit to become ingrained. The first 21 days are the most important for learning new habits; the brain is still undecided on the new habit and may not be “sold” on the change. Days 22-66 are the engagement phase, where your brain is more committed and is more prepared to accept the new habit. Very interesting stuff.
Rebecca also mentions the 80/20 rule (stay on track 80% of the time) as a way of being successful, which I wholeheartedly agree with. It’s just not possible to be perfect 100% of the time, so any person or program that acknowledges that is super smart, in my opinion. ;)
Part Three: Nutrition
Brian Zehetner (MS, RD, CSCS) takes care of part three of the book, which focuses on the nutrition aspect of things. Many of the most common nutrients are discussed, including carbs, fiber, protein, fats, water, and supplements. The author does a really good job, in my opinion, of presenting the information in a way that is very easy for anyone who may just be beginning to start their journey to health to understand. A lot of the information that was given was actually very similar to what I read while studying for my NASM exam, so it was a nice little refresher.
Part Four: Fitness Plan
Part four is also written by Zehetner, and touches on some of various aspect of fitness: how to keep moving, cardio, strength training (including some very common myths!) and stretching. The book ends with a 21-day nutrition and fitness plan to help anyone get started and kick off their healthier lifestyle. The plan features workouts and a meal plan, both of which appeared to be very well balanced and completely doable.
Overall, I really liked this book! It was a very easy read, it’s straight to the point, and even funny at times, too. For anyone who may be just starting out on their health and fitness journey, this book would be a very useful tool. It provides some good, solid advice on how to eat well and work out, and also clears up a lot of confusion about many of the “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts” currently out there (are carbs REALLY bad? will strength training REALLY make me bulk up?).
*****
So lucky for you guys, I’m not just going to talk your ear off about this book and not give you the opportunity to experience it for yourself…
I’m giving away THREE COPIES of the book to THREE LUCKY READERS!!
How To Enter:
- (Mandatory): Leave a comment on this post telling me what excuses you have used in the past to get out of working out.
- (Optional): Tweet about the giveaway and leave a separate comment telling me that you did – “No more excuses! I want to win @SweetToothCourt’s giveaway and get fit for 2012! – http://wp.me/p1g6nA-7MI #workingoutsucks”
I will choose the three winners on Thursday, January 5th. Good luck!!
Fitfluential LLC compensated me for this sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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