Club Blog

By: Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D
Fitness Psychology San Diego

See those club members who look like they can’t make up their minds on the treadmill, recumbent bikes, elliptical machines, and other cardio equipment? Fast, slow, on the treadmill running as fast as they can, then jumping to the side and barely able to catch their breath before jumping back on. They aren’t confused. They are getting fitter, healthier and stronger often in half to one-third the time of typical endurance workouts.

They are also improving their insulin sensitivity, improving their cholesterol numbers, turbo-charging their fat metabolism, potentially eliminating diabetes type 2 and some forms of depression and hypertension, increasing their levels of human growth hormone and expanding aerobic capacity. Interval training trumps steady state uphill exhaustion when it comes to putting a smile on your face and reducing stress as well.  Not bad for someone who doesn’t seem to know if he/she wants to give it his/her all or coast for a bit.

Don’t let that up and down fool you. It’s intentional. If you haven’t tried High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT, what are you waiting for? A pill to swallow?

Maximum exertion followed by a brief rest period for 6-10 cycles, is the essence of HIIT.  Start with a comfortable 3-5 minute warm-up and then a series of 30-second sprints each followed by 90 seconds of recovery, and end with another 3-5 minute cool down.  Or adjust the incline while going at a steady pace, increasing the exertion peak and decreasing the recovery time as you become fitter. Some like the idea of sprinting for a couple of minutes and then doing a slower jog or walk for a minute, followed by 6-8 cycles. When it becomes too easy, sprint for four minutes and cool it for two minutes.  Go faster and longer with about a 50% reduction in your cool down time for each “peak.” Think approaching 95% of your max heart rate and peak VO2 Max.

Your VO2 Max, which is the maximum amount of oxygen you use during peak exertion, is a measure of your cardiovascular fitness.  HIIT boosts this measure increasing your ability to use oxygen more efficiently, allowing longer and more strenuous workouts before fatigue sets in.  Your metabolism continues to burn longer as well post-exercise, some say burning up to 15% more calories during the 24 hours following a HIIT session.

Of course, obese, deconditioned, injured folks, or those with hypertension or heart disease should check with exercise savvy physicians to be cleared for this type of elevated demand.

Think of HIIT as a dance, back and for the across the aerobic-anaerobic line, each time, catching your breath.  Probably won’t get you a trophy on “Dancing With the Stars,” but it sure will increase your health, fitness and happiness in a condensed time frame. You decide what’s more valuable.

by Elyssa Tommer – personal trainer at The Sporting Club

By: Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.

Recent research has discovered that February 7th is a date in history that goes typically unnoticed by most, but is also “celebrated” by most as well. Huh? What’s that mean? It means that research on when most people stop honoring their New Year’s resolution to participate regularly in exercise at the gym, says that it happens 38 days after January 1, thus, February 7th.

How are you dealing with this apocalyptic fitness nightmare? I’d like to suggest 5 sure-fire ways to make sure February 7th was just another day on your path to health, wellbeing and happiness.

1. Don’t wait to feel like it. Do it, and then you’ll feel like it. When your blood begins pumping all of those feel-good chemicals including endorphins, serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, to name a few, usually in less than 30 minutes, you’re on the way to being happy you showed up.

2. Remind yourself of your specific, measureable, attainable, realistic, timely, enthusiastically set and rewardable goals, your SMARTER goals. What? You didn’t set any that clearly? Ahhh, maybe that’s the problem. Wanting to “lose some weight,” “get in shape,” “tone up,” “get active,” “feel less stressed,” “look better,” are so vague that nobody would ever know if they are achieving these or not. So quickly set ONE GOAL using the language above and you’re on the road to success—and staying motivated in the gym.

3. Pack a friend in your gym bag. That’s right, a real-live, human being. Not an app on your cell phone, a page torn from your favorite fitness magazine, or a picture from Pinterest. The research is clear: commitments to others keep you showing up. Sign up with a friend for a group ex class, arrange to have a workout buddy exercise with you alone, plan a power-shake after workout date—you’ll be amazed how difficult it is to let another down with an excuse. “It’s so boring,” “I don’t have the time,” and “I’m too tired,” give way to the commitment you’ve made. (For more on overcoming excuses, see my interview in the March issue of Women’s Health Magazine)

4. Your personal fitness trainer is calling. Are you answering? That’s right, a definite way to get past the “I’m done with the gym” feeling past February 7th is to have a trainer who will help keep you motivated, insure you don’t injure yourself, and help you see the progress you are making under his/her watchful eyes.

5. Visualize how you feel after you exercise and how you feel if you decide NOT to exercise. That thing you feel after you exercise is called happy. It’s because you’ve boosted your brainpower, connected with others, you are looking healthier, you feel sexier and you are even sleeping better.

Bye-bye February 7th blues and hellllooooo to the newly re-motivated you!

San Diego Fitness Psychology

By: Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.

“Happiness depends upon ourselves,” proclaimed Aristotle. And I would add, happiness also depends on our fitness.  From enjoying physical and mental health, improved coping skills and increased satisfaction at work and in personal relationships, having a stronger immune system and increased longevity, the benefits of happiness continue to fill the pages of scientific journals, the lecterns of medical schools, newspapers and magazines, and the Internet.

University-based researchers have discovered that our overall circumstances at any given time make a small contribution to our happiness—about 10%.  This includes our jobs, financial situation, where we live, and so on. Our personality and genes contribute about 50% to our overall level of happiness.  The remaining 40% of our happiness is due to our choices, decisions, intentional factors and are fully within our control.

Science tells us that regular, consistent and vigorous exercise contributes to our feelings of happiness and joy and can generally boost our mood.  That’s right, we can use exercise to increase our happiness—and thus, the fitness we build at The Sporting Club can help us derive real life benefits as described above.

Sure you can practice gratitude, cultivate an optimistic attitude, avoid comparing yourself to others, add to your social connections, practice kindness and forgiveness, develop healthier coping strategies, find hobbies and activities in which you can “flow,” savor joy in daily living, increase meaning and spirituality in life and work towards positive goals in life.  These will all build happiness.

But when you are stressed out or frustrated, your body is busy producing cortisol that damages your organs.  Exercise will decrease the amount of cortisol in your body creating…you guessed it, happiness.

Exercise also releases the feel good chemicals. endorphins and endocannabinoids, which also lower your stress level and…you guessed it, increases happiness.

The American Psychological Association analyzed 80 studies of exercise and depression and concluded that all types of exercise reduced depression. The Mayo Clinic reported that to significantly improve depression symptoms people might need to do at least 30 minutes of exercise a day at least three to five days a week.

Resistance training and cardiorespiratory exercise lead to greater happiness.  After only two weeks of regular exercise, you will begin to feel the benefit of these chemical changes and your motivation for more exercise will naturally increase.

The value of group exercise in building happiness cannot be overlooked.  The social connections that come with small group training are important for physiological and emotional wellbeing, leading to increased happiness as well.

Fitness activities in all of its various combinations can be an effective strategy in insuring more happiness in your life.  It’s not only about sweat and muscle.  The more variety, it seems, the better.  Make it fun and sweat your way to more smiles!

By: Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.

Sure, 87% of Americans are busy crafting their, largely unworkable, resolutions to insure a healthier and financially better 2013, and some are even turning to world-class apps to help them.

From new apps such as 5K Runner, Nike+ Running, and RunKeeper,  to Fooducate, DietBet, and to Mint, and a host of others, you can set yourself up to eat healthier, exercise more regularly, drink less, learn something new, quite smoking, achieve a better work/life balance, volunteer more, save money, get organized, read more and finish your “to-do” lists. Those are the most common resolutions facing Americans for 2013.

Want to create a sound fitness plan for the coming year, one that pays off in real achievement app-free? Follow these tried and tested suggestions and you’ll see that by February, when your friends have thrown up their hands in sheer frustration, you’ll still be systematically executing your plan, with everyone wondering, “How’d she/he do it?”

1.  You need a clearly stated, passion-filled, motivating mission statement.  Use language that is specific, measureable, attainable, realistic, and time-based.  You can add, “enthusiastic and rewarding” to make your SMART goals, even SMARTER.

2.  It needs to be “computable” and data oriented.  “Lose some weight” will never happen. “Lose 1-2 pounds this week,” is much more likely to be met with success.  Before and after photos, heart-rate data, and similar hard evidence is what it takes.

3. Ever say to yourself, “I’m going out for a ride”? You meander all over the place. Very different than having Siri or Google maps direct you from here to there.  You need the same focused action plan to achieve any resolution. Be sure to start small and progressively add more appropriate exercise. Ever see the plans your trainer has for you? Ever read a progressive routine in one of the fitness magazines? During the first week or two start off slow. In weeks three and four, gradually add more volume and intensity, and in weeks five and six, blast it.  Same with your resolution solution action plan.

4. Keep track of everything you do as far as weights lifted, mileage on the treadmill or around the park or bay, food you’ve eaten, the time you spend in the gym or on the running trail and no matter what, write it down.

5. Constantly assess your progress and make any mid-course adjustments necessary to stay in the game.  Sick? Take time off while finding a way to be somewhat active at home.  Busy time for you with meetings at work? Exercise at the gym for only 15 minutes.  Lots of beginning of the year gatherings with food you don’t plan on eating? Find ways to plan ahead and consider a Weight Watchers or other program where you spread your eating plan over the day/week.
There you have 5 simple tips to assure success in the resolution game.  Follow them carefully and you’ll be pleased you did—try the same with your business resolutions and you’ll find similarly rewarding results.

By: Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.

Here’s the latest scientific elixir of happiness—gratitude.

That’s right, gratitude will fill your storehouse of happiness.  What’s this have to do with health and fitness? Plenty.

You see the study of positive psychology, specifically the work of Sonja Lyubomirsky in her book, “The How of Happiness,” has uncovered that happiness builds “joy, contentment, love, pride, and awe…improves our energy levels, our immune systems, our engagement with work and with other people, and our physical and mental health.” She adds that building happiness in our lives, “bolsters feelings of self-confidence and self-esteem; we come to believe that we are worthy human beings, deserving of respect.”

That’s a whopping list of positive benefits from being happy—and with no negative side-effects to report.  Robert Emmons, in his book, “Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier,” adds that “happy individuals are also more creative, helpful, charitable and self-confident, have better self-control and show greater self-regulatory and coping abilities. Happy people, the facts clearly show, are flourishing and successful people.”

I don’t know about you, but I sure would like massive doses of this stuff! The best part of this wonderful tonic is that it doesn’t take tons of sweating, dozens of sets and reps, jumping onto and off of anything.  It doesn’t take a medical examination, there’s no co-pay needed, and you really don’t even need a personal coach.  All you need is a piece of paper and a pencil—ok, an iPad will do as well.

Emmons famous research demonstrated that people who kept a personal journal and listed 3 – 5 things they were grateful for every day, “reminded themselves of the gifts, grace, benefits, and good things they enjoy,” found a 25% increase in their happiness over other groups who did not complete such a journal.  He also found that these increases may be sustained over a period of months, and that in as little as three weeks of keeping such a journal, you can sleep better and find more energy.

Want to feel more “joyful, enthusiastic, interested, attentive, energetic, excited, determined and strong”?  Want to sleep better? Want more flourishing relationships? Want to cut down on anxiety, stress and depression? This simple daily exercise is the answer.

One of the foremost teachers of gratitude, David Steindl-Rast, has said that we can decide to live with gratitude even in the face of challenging times.  He also points out that when we live with a sense of gratitude we don’t feel, we will begin to feel it.

Here are Emmons’ evidence-based 9 steps for becoming more grateful:
1). Keep a gratitude journal.
2). Remember the bad. If you recall tough times in life, you are more likely to appreciate what your have.
3). Ask yourself three questions every evening. Fill in the blanks with the name of a person (or persons) in your life. “What have I received from ___? What have I given to ___? What troubles and difficulty have I caused ___?”
4). Learn prayers of gratitude.
5). Appreciate your senses.
6). Use visual reminders.
7). Make a vow to practice gratitude.
8). Watch your language:
9).Go through the motions. Research shows that emotions follow behavior.

Happy holidays everyone—be grateful for what you have, and remember, abundance is not what you own, but how much you appreciate.

By: Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.

The Sporting Club saves lives.  Bold statement, I know, but it’s true.  It also saves money. Another bold statement, but it’s also true. Let’s explore.

You see, of the top 7 causes of death in America, 6 are disease we choose, the so-called, “Lifestyle Diseases.”  Heart disease, cancer, stroke, respiratory diseases, accidents, diabetes, flu and pneumonia are considered, at least in part, to be caused by a person’s daily lifestyle habits.

The Sporting Club’s array of healthy classes, nutritional offerings at the Cafè, and limitless exercise opportunities all help fortify members against the unhealthy habits that lead to these diseases, teach and reinforce behaviors required to make correct choices to avoid illness and support behaviors and thinking necessary to adhere to a healthy lifestyle.  It’s prevention on stilts.

So how does the club save money? The Sporting Club is unique as an independent health club in providing a leading edge, enviable, Corporate Wellness program to local companies who understand the value of having  healthy, happy and productive employees.

Healthcare costs are increasing at a rate of 8%-14% annually, threatening the profitability and survivability of companies of all sizes. Eighty-eight percent of health care spending is attributable to illnesses that are preventable. Disability claims have a significant financial and morale impact on companies. Further, companies spend about $602 per year per employee plus indirect costs such as overtime for covering missing employees, missed deadlines, lost sales, lowered morale, and decreased productivity. Employers lose more than $300 billion of productivity due to these types of illnesses, absenteeism, lack of employees engaged in their work when they are working, and retention costs. Effective corporate and employee wellness programs such as the The Sporting Club’s, can cut 25% of these costs.

By nurturing wellness in employees for companies in our local region, whether it is in factories, corporate offices, large and small companies, retail establishments, health care facilities, across many industries, our corporate partners all report sizable benefit. Specific membership programs, rates, services and features structured for corporate members have evolved to include innovative elements on-site at the club, on the club’s website designed specifically for corporate members, as well as programming at the workplace.  Not only are these services available to corporate member employees, but to their member dependents as well.

By paying attention to an organization’s unique culture, the resources it has and the individual needs of the employees, The Sporting Club develops a carefully constructed program based on thorough assessment and alignment, behavioral psychology for motivation and engagement, exercise science and nutrition to improve lifestyle choices of employees and their dependents and adds to a company’s profitability that wellness program cost-saving measures bring.

That’s it. Activity, nutrition and healthy thinking bring the results which save lives and money. It’s that simple. Doesn’t your company deserve these benefits?

By: Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D

In my last article, Three Rules For Succeeding This Time of Year,  I described the value of three rules to help get across the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s finish line:
1. Focus on the process, not the outcome
2. Never give up. Ever.
3. Talk rationally to yourself.

Well, someone stopped me in the gym and asked me, “Only three rules? To get through the entire holiday season? Really? Only three?”

Well, miss-you-know-who-you-are, here are three more. Now you’ll have six to work on, and hopefully that’ll be enough to help you, and everyone else, enjoy the festivities, food and fun feeling fine and fit. Hey, that’s six “f’s”!

Here are three very specific, additional, tools you can begin using right away.

1). Intensify your activity and movement, if not actually increase your exercise. Wear a pedometer.  You may not be able to spend more time at the gym, so find every imaginable way you can to increase your activity, even if it seems silly. One pound of fat equals 3,500 calories, so that means a 200-pound person walking three miles per day even at a moderate pace for one week can burn about 2,300 calories. Park further away from your office than you usually do, always take the stairs, carry your purchases instead of using a shopping cart if possible and turn your house cleaning into pumped up aerobic activity.  Dance, skip and hop while you vacuum! Take a jog around the airport if you are flying somewhere and have the time—who cares what “they” are thinking—you’ll never see them again anyway. Schedule training sessions now for throughout the holiday season.

2). Party smartly and healthy. That means eating more fruit, more protein and less refined carbs.  Interesting gossip going on over at the buffet? Stay away from the dangerous nibbling that goes on unconsciously.  Sure, go to the buffet line, but be when you pile up your plate, make sure you are doing so with fresh veggies, lean meats and other lower calorie goodies. Whatever else you do, become a dessert splitter.  Those cupcake look great.  Small, cute, only 500 calories!  Don’t deprive yourself though.  Allow yourself one small serving of your favorite treat and be as mindful as possible as you savor the look, taste and aroma of whatever it is that you “must have.”

3). THINK FIT.  Plan your eating before you go out and stick to your plan.  People have all sorts of unhelpful, irrational thoughts about food, diet, and weight-loss especially around the holidays.  “Watching what I eat should be easy.” “It’s not okay to waste food.” “If I get hungry, the hunger will get worse and worse until I eat something.” “There is nothing I can do to make cravings go away.” “It’s okay to eat this food because I’m stressed, everyone else is eating it, it’s just a little piece and I’ll make up for it later.”  “I’ve already blown it so it doesn’t matter what else I eat.”  It’s important to ask yourself what evidence you have that any of these thoughts, or others you may have, are true.  They aren’t.  They are just thoughts.  Before you go out armed with your food plan, have a strong counter response thought plan to each of your sabotaging, unhelpful thoughts and be sure you use them immediately.

There you have it. Three more wise, well-balanced ways to wade through the winter wassail…and yes, that’s six “W’s.”

The headlines came screaming out: Obesity on the Rise! 36% of America is Obese Today and 60% Will Be By 2030!!  That’s no surprise given the fact that newer technology brings more virtual activity and with it, a more sedentary lifestyle.  Heck, even gyms are stuffing virtual games into treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes.

But a recent set of studies is worth looking at, especially if you are a bit overweight…ok, if you are obese. I wrote my thesis on obesity way back in the dark ages of the ‘70s and the data looked gloomy then for those who were obese for longevity, heart failure, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Today, it’s as if obesity, as commonly measured by a simple ratio of heart and weight, is talked about as if it’s a death sentence.  That is, unless you understand the “obesity paradox.”

Simply stated, the obesity paradox suggests that patients with a number of chronic diseases of normal weight are twice as likely to die as those who are overweight or obese with those same diseases.  So is there a need to reexamine the assumptions we’ve all been sold on about the association between body fat and disease? You bet there is!

Whether it’s overweight/obese dialysis patients, coronary disease, diabetic patients—it seems that study after study points to a similar finding.  Cardiovascular fitness is a far more useful predictor of mortality risk than simple numbers on a scale. Trouble is, in many studies, fitness is not measured as it relates to disease processes.  But evidence is growing that’s compelling medical researchers to take fitness into account.

When studies do take fitness into account, they come up with a terrific finding for those of us passionate about our fitness—“being fat and fit is better than being thin and unfit.”  Get that?  Here, it’s worth repeating, —“being fat and fit is better than being thin and unfit.”

Need to pick one? Of course, not. Being fit and at a healthy weight (taking into account body fat, lean muscle mass, and metabolic abnormalities) are best.  But the latest research tells us if you do have to choose one, it’s more important to maintain fitness than leanness.  They gym is the place where fitness and maintaining a health weight can be combined best.  With individualized personal training  and nutritional assistance by one of the club’s highly skilled certified trainers, the correct program, delivered appropriately for you, means your best chance for healthy living.

Add the psychological components of knowing how to create positive emotions, being engaged fully in the flow of enjoyable daily activities, developing and appreciating healthy relationships, finding meaning in your life, and taking pride in your accomplishments, you’ve got it all right for a life that’s healthy, fit and happy!

By: Ph.D. Michael Mantell

Depending on who you ask, it seems almost everyone these days is “middle-age.” The US Census says it’s basically between 35-54 years old. Some say between 45-60, and others say it extends to 65 years old. Point is the idea of “middle-age” covers a whole lot of people, including a lot of members of The Sporting Club.

The visible signs of aging, including loss of skin elasticity, graying of hair, 10-20 lbs. accumulation of body fat, decrease in aerobic performance, maximal heart rate, strength, flexibility, and fertility, and of course, menopause, to name just a few of the common “ills” middle-age can bring, are seemingly universal. But the chronic health conditions associated with older age are more troubling.

Well, guess what? If you are somewhere in the middle-age range of life, you can not only foil these mid-life widespread conditions, but perhaps even more important, you can help reduce the risk of developing chronic illnesses up to twenty years later! Want to delay biological aging by more than a decade? Get aerobically fit in middle-age and create an independent lifestyle.

Research at the Cooper Institute, University of Kansas and the University of Houston, have all looked at middle-aged people who regularly exercise and are physically fit. They all report similar findings—these people have a much lower risk of developing major chronic health conditions in old age.

Alzheimer’s disease, colon/lung cancer, kidney disease, COPD, stroke, heart disease, diabetes and congestive heart failure are tempered by a moderate increase in physical fitness during mid-life. Simply stated, the more fit you are in middle-age, the less likely you may be to face these chronic illnesses two decades later.

With an aging population along with increased obesity and a corresponding growing sedentary – virtual life – lifestyle, the incidence of chronic diseases among seniors will rise significantly.

The answer? It’s right here at your San Diego gym,  The Sporting Club. Increase your regular exercise and increase your physical fitness now. The research, and common sense, tells us clearly that fitness is, in fact, one important key to healthy aging.