STRONG IDEA: You Are What You Eat! (And More STRONG tidbits)
By Emily Stapleton on August 05, 2013 from Strong Ideas
Have you ever spent three days at a conference with likeminded professionals? That’s what I just did. The fitness industry puts on a CRAZY conference! Picture hundreds of people who love to exercise and want to learn everything possible about fitness, nutrition, and wellness in general. Not only did we network and swap ideas, we practiced A LOT of exercises. On Saturday alone, I attended five sessions, four of which included an hour-long workout. Yah, we’re not a normal bunch of people.
My mind is swimming with information and my body is sore from the abundance of exercise, but I’m eager to share some of what I learned with you. Read on for some interesting quotes and ideas, one from each session I attended. Although, I realize you probably don’t know them, these people are superstars in the fitness industry and at this conference in particular…so I’ve tried to give all of them credit where credit is due.
- "How you look is 80% what you eat and 20% what you do.” – Jenn Hall: A brilliant statement reminding us that our activity level is only a small percentage of our overall health and appearance.
- “We are what we eat.” We’ve all heard this one, right? Michael Dudley took it a step further to let us know that …“your body needs 90 nutrients to operate optimally.” That’s right 90.
- “You Can’t Fix Crazy.” – Shannon Fable: A humorous statement from a very entertaining presenter reminding us that, while we may want to, we can’t solve everybody’s problems.
- This one, told by Shannon Fable, is paraphrased. There was an old man, a young boy, and a donkey walking into the village. The old man let the boy ride on the donkey while he walked beside. When they arrived in the village, several of the village people were appalled and said “I can’t believe that boy is riding and making the old man walk.” So the boy and the man traded positions; the boy walked beside the donkey while the man rode. As they walked further into the village, some other villagers said, “That poor little boy, that wicked old man is making him walk.” So the boy and the man decided they would both ride the donkey. Then some villagers said, “that poor donkey!” So the young boy and the old man got off the donkey and decided to carry the donkey. Eventually the donkey became too heavy to carry; the boy and the man dropped him over a bridge. The moral of the story: Try to please everybody and you can kiss your ass goodbye.
- A clever way to teach a kid how to do a jumping jack: “Make an X with your body, make an I with your body…you’re doing a jumping jack!” – Yvonne Kusters: Have small kids? Try it.
- “Let go of being perfect. Let go of how you normally do it.” Gail Bannister-Nunn: A tricky concept for a bunch of fitness instructors who are used to having all the answers.
- “It’s only 20 seconds, but it feels like a lifetime.” Amy Dixon" Yep, this one’s about tabata.
- “If you cannot do it slow, you shouldn’t be doing fast.” Abbie Appel: A good reminder for us exercise overachievers.
- “Metabolism is the opportunity to burn calories efficiently.” Scott Josephson: The best definition of metabolism I’ve every heard.
- “Your body needs 30 to 35 calories per kilograms of bodyweight.” I know…you read this and say, huh? But let me break it down. Take your body weight in pounds and divide it by 2.2. That’s your weight in kilograms. Now multiply it by 30 or 35. That’s how many calories your body needs just to exist (you need even more based on activity level). Still having trouble getting it? Here’s an example: Let’s say I weigh 130 pounds. 130 divided by 2.2 is 59.1 (my weight in kg). 59.1 x 33 = 1950…so my body needs approximately 1950 calories just to exist. Go ahead, get your smart phone out and figure yours. If you drop below this threshold, you really start messing with your metabolism and you will gain (not lose) weight!
I also learned a ton of new exercises that I plan to use in my STRONG workouts. Keli Roberts taught me a new partner exercise…it involves burpees and high fives. In a session led by Mindy Mylrea, I learned one that will be perfect for tabata…it’s called a star jump. I could go on and on, but exercises are better learned in person.
And there you have it: the highlights of my conference in a nutshell. More to come on many of these concepts; so check back every Monday for more STRONGIDEAS.
Until Next Week,
Emily Stapleton
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