The Big Easy

There are few conundrums that confound even the most nimble minds. Why does anyone wear a Chanel suit? Will Starbucks eventually take over the universe? How do people who are active all summer still end up putting on weight? As a keeper of the knowledge it is my solemn duty to share the answers to the most vexing riddles yet imagined. I perform this service without charge, so that others might become enlightened. I would only suggest that before you read any further you find a comfortable chair and sit down. If possible brace yourself, and bite down on a solid object. You see it is not uncommon for seekers of knowledge to become dizzy, disoriented, and to even lose consciousness upon learning of the truth. As is my custom, I shall provide you with the answer to the last riddle first.

The term that we have coined at ThirdPower Fitness in referring to the five to fifteen pounds that some people pick up during the summer months is, “ the big easy.” Because your belly gets big, and it’s happens so fast.

This is not to suggest that the problem of gaining weight over the summer months is nearly as common as the pounds that many people pack on over the holiday period, that begins around Thanksgiving and ends around the New Year. But, in some ways the big easy is more disheartening, because people believe since they are outside, and participating in physical activities during the summer months they shouldn’t have to worry about gaining weight. So where do the pounds come from?

Although, at first glance gaining weight by the circumstances which I have just described might seem inexplicable, after careful analysis the reasons for weight gain becomes exceedingly clear. The reason why even active people gain weight over the summer, is because they are most active meeting friends for drinks and brunch on weekends, and they stop working out. Even when people get together to participate in sports in the summer, there is often at least as much time spent drinking, partying, and eating as there is actually playing the sport du jour. Think about it, in your Saturday softball league how much time do you actually spend chasing down fly balls, and how much time do you spend knocking back cold ones with the team. Or, if you think about how you went to the beach played a little volleyball, and then proceeded to eat, drink and party with your friends until three in the morning.

Now that we understand what causes the big easy you could of course make sure that you don’t fall prey to gaining those extra pounds by never going to the beach, or hanging out with your friends, and working out in the gym five days a week. I suspect you might be thinking what is the point of working out to build a beautiful, fit body if you never get to show it off, or use it. There is of course another way to ensure that you don’t fall prey to the big easy.

First, and foremost don’t stop doing what you did to get your body tight for the summer in the first place. If you were working out at he gym five days a week to look tight for swimsuit season, don’t swear off the gym until the end of the summer. The likelihood that you will get sufficient exercise on the softball field, or at the beach is unlikely at best. A better course of action would be to cut back your gym visits to two or three times a week, rather than deep six your workout regimen for the entire summer. A good trainer with access to the right equipment can develop a sports specific program that can actually improve your performance in the sport you will be participating in over the summer months. For example, I recently developed a program for a client of mine that plays softball in a league. We modified his general conditioning program to include drills, and exercises that improved his bat speed, and made him a speedier base runner.* (Example routine given below)

Secondly, assess how you participate in your summer activities. Most people use outdoor sporting events as opportunities to socialize. There is nothing wrong with this, but take a page out of the book of professional athletes. Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and other pro basketball players would often ride a stationary bike when they were taken out of a game, to stay warm, and loose. Cal Ripken Jr. was said to workout for up to two hours immediately after he played in a game. Remember, the game is a game, it is not your workout. You never know how much of a workout you are going to get in the game itself. The strategy I recommend to my clients is to ride your bike to the field if you can, and carry your trainer with you, ( a bicycle trainer is a device that easily converts your bicycle to a stationary bike). Set up your bike right next to your dugout and ride the stationary bike while your team is off the field, then if your team is off the field for a long time you are getting cardio the whole time. After the game is over, and before you join in the drinking, do a series of sprints interspersed with pushups and pull-ups. For example sprint from home base to first, immediately drop and do ten push ups, from first to second, immediately drop and do twenty push ups, second to third, thirty push ups, third to home forty push ups. Finally, do as many pull-ups as you can on the bleachers, or the backstop. Repeat the whole routine three times, and then go join your team for a few drinks. ( There are of course a myriad of post game workout variations that can be adapted no matter what sport you play. For example a soccer player may get plenty of cardio work in game, but no upper body strength work. ) If you like company while you workout, it won’t be hard to goad a couple of your teammates into participating in your post game workout routine. Especially, if you make it a challenge, and suggest that whoever loses buys the first round.

Finally, make sure that before you start drinking that you have had plenty to eat, and plenty of water to drink. This is not to keep you from getting drunk, though it will help in this regard as well. If you have had plenty to eat you won’t have as much room in your stomach, and you will drink less. If you drink less you will of course ingest fewer empty calories. If you ingest fewer empty calories your body won’t be able to convert them to fat. You want to make sure that you have had plenty to drink before you start drinking alcohol, because when you start drinking alcohol to quench your thirst you will always end up drinking more. Again, this strategy will keep you from ingesting more empty calories, and that will help to keep you from gaining weight.

By the way, as for the answers to the first two mysteries I referred to in the beginning of this article, Starbucks will eventually take over all of earth. Whether, or not they will conquer the universe or not is still open to debate. As to why anyone still wears those Chanel suits that look like remnants of bad carpeting, there is a persistent rumor that the colors and patterns of the suits really identify affiliation with two different gangs of fifty year old white women who travel to France each year to attend haute couture fashion shows. In fact they are all really splinter factions of the gang organized by the original gangster, and their hero; CoCo Chanel. I’m told that although both gangs follow her founding principles of wearing gaudy gold jewelry, and excessive amounts of make up, the west coast Gang worships at her shrine and the east coast gang believes that CoCo is still alive and simply waiting for the right time to return to the spotlight and make her presence known. Of course this is only a rumor, so your guess is as good as mine. If somebody out there has the inside scoop, please contact me and let me know. In the meantime and inbetween time.

Stay Strong,

Steel.