How to Overcome Your Workout Excuses

By Don Otis –

I frantically dug through my workout bag in the locker room. Where was my workout shirt? (Have you ever kept looking for something in the same place even after you knew it wasn’t there?) Now, I had a decision to make that took some internal debate. Should I risk the humiliation of wearing a button-down shirt in the gym or use my shirt as an excuse to give up on my workout?

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Failure is Inevitable in the Quest for Fitness

By Don Otis –

How are you doing with your New Year goals? By February of each year, the average American (fifty percent of us) has already fallen off the wagon. By April, even more have given up on their goals.

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Increasing Your Workout Intensity

By Don Otis –

There is a row of fifty running machines and as many elliptical trainers upstairs at the local L.A. Fitness Club. Below, one can see the dabblers, yawners, flirters, talkers and serious fitness junkies. It can be an entertaining glimpse into human nature seeing a handful of the 20 and 30-somethings talking on their cell phones or texting. Others come in for their five-minute fix on a machine and then quickly disappear, presumably content they have done their “workout.” Still others look like they are in a slow motion movie or in one of those dreams where you just can’t run fast when you need to.
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How To Avoid Becoming A Resoluter

 By Don Otis

We are wired to want to change those habits we know are bad for us. Perhaps it is in our DNA. We establish New Year’s resolutions and then become discouraged when we break a diet plan, miss workouts, or simply give up. A few months ago in this column, we talked about “bucket lists.” These are life goals. They are things we say we want to do but never seem to get around to doing them. Many of us do the same with our first-of-the-year resolutions.

It is a foolproof axiom that health clubs get busy in January but clear out by April. The pattern is hard to miss for those who workout all year. Special offers bring new people into a facility but the hard work or broken resolutions kick in and people give up. We used to call these people the “resoluters.” They start the New Year with all the best intentions. Don’t we all? Then, when the going gets tough, or boring, or the challenges of life prevail, they give up.

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A Cure For Winter Malaise

By Don Otis

The days are short and cold. Is it any surprise that our motivation to get outside diminishes as the temperatures plummet? Only the hardiest of us wants to venture out after dark. The slick paths can lead to injury as footing and visibility become less predictable. The temptation is to sit inside, watch television, or make cookies. While there is nothing intrinsically wrong with these seasonal pursuits, they don’t help us stay in shape. The winter months can create other challenges to those of us who want to stay in shape.

A year ago I was feeling enormous fatigue. This led to one stale workout after another. At first I simply dismissed the poor results as age-related, or altitude (I live above 5,000 feet), or possibly too much stress. It is probable that each of these contributed to my malaise but I wasn’t sure. My doctor ordered a treadmill test, electrocardiogram (EKG), cardiopulmonary diagnostic test, and eventually some blood work. Other than discovering that I had a slight heart murmur, nothing explained my tiredness. Finally, I received a call after my blood work was in. My vitamin D levels were seriously low.

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