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The Stevenson Fitness new social networking is the bomb. If this works correctly this will post on my blog site.

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If I take one more drink...

Memorial Day weekend is almost here, bringing with it another sunny California summer.  Fresh air, sunshine, bbqs, and perhaps some "adult" beverages are probably in your near future.  Yes, it's true, I too like to consume the occasional cocktail as much as the next guy, (though, some would argue, probably more then the next guy) BUT I also like to put in considerable time in the gym staying healthy and fit.  A conflict of interest?  Not necessarily.  I put my thinking cap on, did some good ol' fashioned research, and came up with the following tidbits of information regarding how alcohol effects your physical fitness and weight gain/loss.  Let's call it a "Summer Strategy" on consumption.  I hope you find it helpful.

First off, what is alcohol, really?  Or better yet, what ISN'T alcohol?  Alcohol is not a protein, carbohydrate, or fat.  Alcohol is, well, alcohol.  It has 7 calories per gram.  Protein, carbs, and fat all have nutritional value but alcohol has none.  Alcohol calories are completely "empty" calories.  Alcohol is also a toxin, or a foreign substance you're introducing to your body.  Very little ingested alcohol is actually stored in our system (in our fat, specifically). Instead, it is prioritized and removed from our system.  It is expelled in several different ways, including the following: in your breath, tears, carried out in urine, and through oxidation in the liver.  The process in the liver turns alcohol into acetate which then becomes your body's primary fuel source. Put simply, the body will stop burning fat as fuel in order to metabolize the alcohol.  Alcohol basically shuts down normal metabolism and stops fat burning.  It also prevents the body from processing any food you consume (the food that's still in your body by the end of the night, that is) which means that your kung pao chicken will then be stored as fat.  Alcohol is also a diuretic, and with increased trips to the bathroom, alcohol leads to dehydration.  As your body loses more and more water, you also lose minerals that are very valuable in physiological processes, negatively affecting the body's performance, kinda' slowing things down.  Oh, and let's not forget the many negative effects alcohol has on the liver, nervous system, stomach, etc.  Sheesh.  I think I'm bummin' myself out.

Another effect of partaking in the spirits, or so I've heard, is alcohol can skew your thinking, diminish your will power, and lower your inhibitions.  I found this terribly hard to believe until the Great Cisco's Happy Hour Incident of 2003, but that is a whole other blog :-)  Moving on.  Alcohol is also an appetite stimulant.  Combine this with your lowered level of self-control, and who knows what kind of deep-fried-smoothered-in-melted-cheese-dipped-in-ranch mistake you might stumble in to.  SOOOOO, if you've been keeping up so far, alcohol slows your system down, causes foods to turn to fat easier, and can cause you to eat more "bad" foods.  Yikes.  This is probably killing some of you right now, but fear not!  There's hope.

The truth is, if you are in the process of "getting fit", meaning you are still working to achieve a certain goal, be it in regards to your weight, or fitness, or both, then, to be honest, it is hard to justify drinking alcohol.  There is just no upside and too many negatives.  So, if you are working really hard at attaining fitness goals, and you absolutely must drink, keep drinking at a minimum and choose the lowest calorie alcohols and mixers.  Just remind yourself that every time you go boozin' you are taking a multitude of steps backwards for every hard-earned step forward.  BUT...

If you have worked hard, stuck to a plan, and attained your physial fitness goals, you are in the clear...sorta'.  If you are in what we'll call "maintenance mode", then drinking responsibly is no big deal.  Seriously, it's not.  Let's face it, most of us like to drink alcohol.  It's at parties.  It's great for relaxing.  It goes great with a hearty meal.  So drink up, but remember, in regards to your physical fitness, the key is drinking "responsibly."  I am what you might call a "90/10" guy.  It's a simple method or "gauge" which means that if you spend 90% of the time eating right, exercising, and taking care of yourself, then use the other 10% of time to have a few beers, eat that cheesecake, or put some extra mustard and ketchup on that corndog.  I like to think that through the 90, I have earned the 10, elliminating a lot of the guilt that goes with the occasional bowl or two or five of Cap'N Crunch with Crunch Berries.  You earned it.  Live a little.

Here are some quick tips to manage alcohol consumption in a fitness lifestyle:

1) Do NOT drink during a fat loss program.  The "negatives" are too numerous to list.

2) Do NOT drink daily.  Save it for happy hour on Friday or that party on Saturday night. (but not consecutively)
3) Manage your food intake.  When you know you will be drinking, try and eat nutritiously going into it.
4) Sneak a few non-alcoholic drinks in between cocktails, a.k.a. HYDRATE!  Water works best (duh).

5) Most importantly:  ENJOY WITHOUT GUILT!  If you choose to drink, and you normally lead a healthy lifestyle, do NOT beat yourself up afterwards.  Remember, you earned it.

2 Keys to physical change: Variation and Instensity

Your body changes because it has to!  And there are 2 variables that make it "have to" change.  They are variation and intensity.  This is important to remember as you approach your workouts so that you get the results you are looking for.  

I know many people who complain that they go to the gym 3 times a week, every week and they aren't seeing results.  What I notice when talking to them is that most people do the exact same thing every time they go to the gym.  The fact of the matter is the human body is very good at adaptation and efficiency.  The bottom line is the longer you do the same exercises or activities the less of a "challenge" it is, therefore the less benefit you get from it.

 Let's look at cardio for a moment.   If you run 3 miles 3 days a week, without any variation, after your body goes through its initial adaptation, it really doesn't need to change anymore.  And to top that off, since your body is now "good" at running 3 miles, the heart rate doesn't elevate as high and your calorie burn goes down.  So you are getting much less benefit from the same exercise because your body has now adapted.

The result is the same with resistance training.  If you do the same exercises and the same weights, your body adapts and you get less benefit.  With lifting, you break down muscle and it rebuilds tighter and stronger.  You do this by pushing to a level you can't do.  For example, your 10th rep of a 10 rep set is a struggle, your body has to change to handle that load.  If you can easily perform a 10th rep of a 10 rep set, your body has no need to change so it doesn't.  Like cardio, your body adapts to a lifting protocol and if you don't mix things up you will plateau.

So what do you have to do to keep your body from becoming used to your workouts?  You have to have variation and intensity.  

Variation is simple.  It means always changing up aspects of your workout.  You can do this by exercise selection, amount of reps, amount of sets, varying your rest between exercises, and changing the loads you are lifting.  

Intensity is how hard you do what you are doing.  You can simply "go through the motions"  or you can push through harder and faster.  While the former will yield little results the latter produces the greatest body change!

The best way to insure that you have variation is to write stuff down!  I have always been a pretty fit person, but recently I hit a major plateau.  I started writing stuff down.  Now I make sure that I change up the exercises every 4 weeks and I am constantly changing the weight.  I have since broken through the plateau and am seeing some good results.  Simply seeing it on a piece of paper keeps you conscious and holds you accountable.  As far as intensity goes, that is all on you!  At the end of a set you should feel like you worked.  If you finish an exercise and could have done a few more reps then the intensity is probably not high enough.  The good thing about variation is that usually forces you to keep the intensity up because there is always something different forcing you to do something you are not used to thus making you work harder.

So basically, your body will change if it has to.  If you are doing the same old thing all the time your body has no reason to change, but it you are continually changing workout variables and pushing your intensity the body MUST change to accommodate the demand!  So work different and work hard and you will reach all of your fitness goals!

A "great" Great Race

I can still remember the first time I ran a major race.  It was the Silver Strand half marathon in San Diego this year.  It was truly an awe inspiring experience.  Being the top-tier olympic-level physical specimen that I am, I was able to finish the race with a personal best time and a grin that spanned my face from ear to ear, an accomplishment I achieved without even training for the race.  I have only God to thank for my physical gifts that I am blessed with and thus, it is my responsibility to share my gifts with mankind.  Little did I know my chance to share my blessings would come a few short months later, in my very next race: The 10K Great Race of Agoura.

Now we all know that an athlete of my caliber has a natural and undying competitive streak.  In fact, until my intern Bray, I had never heard of a concept called "second place" (I believe that what it is called).  Whether it was winning multiple national martial arts titles, annihilating weight lifting competitions, or dominating dart championships, I have never been stopped.  Because of this, there was never a doubt in my mind that I would in fact win the 10K Great Race of Agoura and more than likely set a course record.  Due to the significance of this race I did implement a strict "run 3 miles once every 2 weeks" training protocol which I stuck to religiously.  Also, in an ingenious veteran racer move, I grew a beard to create more air resistance to further intensify my rigorous preparation.  In fact, my beard created such drag, cars would drive behind me in my draft.  Chris Stevenson, The Genetic Jackhammer, was finely tuned as humanly possible, no, as super-humanly possible and was poised to saunter his way to a monumental finish.

But this is where my story would take an unexpected turn, and I would be lucky enough to finally give back.

A young boy named Cole, who was also entering the 10K Great Race of Agoura, set for himself an incredible goal: To beat me, Chris Stevenson.  Now, anyone with half a brain, or even no brain at all, would know that this poor diluted child would have absolutely no chance of beating one of the greatest athletes in the world, nay, universe.  But Cole has looked up to me for quite a long time and often expressed his desire to grow up and be just like me.  The kid has a keen eye for greatness.  Let's race.

As we lined up at the start, it hit me.  It hit me hard and fast, like Bray hitting an all you can eat buffet.  Could there be something more important than adding another trophy to my collection? I have climbed to the top of the mountain and swam to the bottom of the sea.  Did I really have any more to prove?  It was at that very moment as I looked at poor Cole trembling in fear and awe of my massive being, I knew my purpose.  This day, my purpose was not to win.  My purpose was to help this young boy become a man by LETTING HIM WIN.  Being the humble, generous, and selfless role model that I am I decided to put my competitive nature aside, which is as difficult for me as it is for someone to put aside their desire to breath, in order to use this race to build Cole's confidence, ultimately, positively affecting the rest of his life.  This would be the moment my young admirer would learn all things are possible, and to shoot for his dreams and never ever give up.  Thanks to my sacrifice, Cole would start the race as a boy and cross the finish line as a man!

The race begins!  I run next to Cole and allow him to go stride for stride with greatness.  I PRETEND to be breathing hard, which is extremely difficult, due to my highly advanced cardiovascular system.  I throw in a few moans and groans to sell the whole work.  As I run, I enter deep into meditation in order to take control of my body on a level known only to the most elite athletes.  With this level of control, I can actually force myself to sweat profusely just by willing my body to do so.  I use this skill since the running is not a challenge, but I must, for Cole's sake, make him believe he is beating me and that I am working really hard.  Then it hits me!  I'm really going to go for it.  I'm going to let him get so far ahead that he really REALLY believes this whole farce.  I slow down without making it obvious.  Once he was out of my sight, deep down inside, I knew the real winner today was me.  I smiled knowing that my unselfish good deed would be successful.  I ran the rest of the race with a feeling of satisfaction and pride, knowing how much I helped build Cole's self-esteem and self-confidence.  In fact, at this moment, I realize I have helped EVERYONE running this race, by allowing all of the other competitors to have a chance.  Still, most importantly today, I have helped a boy become a man.  It truly was a great race.