Questions?

Just wanted to give everyone an update. For a few reasons I had to change my e-mail address.

If you ever need to contact me for questions, comments, suggestions, concerns or anything else please send it to:

dspurling@une.edu

Thanks,

Doug Spurling

I have returned!

After a week long trip of excitement, humor, and relaxing I have returned to reality. First off, my vacation was a blast. Fun filled and never a dull moment, I truly enjoyed the week. It was an excellent way to reboot my body for another 6 months of school, internships, work, and the craziness of daily life.

As august leaves us and September approaches I am getting very excited. This week I move into my new apartment with 3 other UNE students on goose rocks beach. Although I enjoyed being a 2 minute walk to class on campus, I think leaving off-campus will be a great experience.

Also, in September I start my new workout program. I am doing total body program designed by Chad Waterbury. If you don't know who that is, google his name, he is a brilliant young man with a plethora of knowledge to share.

So, this week I return to school, back to work, a new workout, new goals, a new month, a refueled body, needless to say, I am pretty excited!

I will be back after I have everything moved in and organized in my new apartment to share some great news with you all!

By the way, if you have a chance, go see the movie titled Inglorious Bastards. It is probably in my top five of best movies ever!

Any questions or comments please don't hesitate to e-mail me.

Best,

Doug Spurling
djs1232@comcast.net

It's Vacation Time!

I am finishing up my summer internship and classes tomorrow. I am busy packing up all my belongings and moving them out of my dorm. As my busy summer comes to an end, I am taking a little break before fall classes and craziness pick up. Next week, I will spend a week down in Cape Cod, MA with my family. It should be a good relaxing week and give me some time to refuel before I hit the books hard again soon after I get back.

So as almost everyone goes on vacation at least once a year, I want to make some suggestions on how to workout when you are at a hotel or not able to make it to a gym.

Here is some workout ideas that can easily be completed in a hotel room and your living room.

Body weight Squats
Lunges
Step-ups to a chair
Push-ups
Sit-ups
Jumping Jacks
Mountain Climbers
Burpees


This is the workout I will complete while down in the Cape

Monday:

50Body Weight Squat
50 Mountain Climbers
50 Push-ups
25 Burpees
50 Sit-ups

*Repeat 3 times

Tuesday: Run on the beach

Wednesday:

30 Lunges
50 Jumping Jacks
50 Push-ups
25 Burpees
50 Sit-ups

*Repeat 3 times

Thursday: Run on the beach

Friday: Same as Monday

Saturday: Run on the beach

Sunday: Same as Wednesday


Be creative with your own workout. However, when you go on vacation or cant get to the gym don't start trying to think of excuses not to workout. Gym or no gym, everyone is able to workout anywhere.

Have a great week and I will see you in a week!

Best,

Doug Spurling
djs1232@comcast.net

READ THIS! What a bunch of Bull SH*T!!!!

I recently read this article in Time magazine and was absolutely appalled that this was even published.

Have a read for yourself: Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

Show me some intensity!

To be good at what you do, you must have intensity. I don't care what you do, whether it be at work or in the weight room. If you want to succeed you have to show some intensity. If you go into the gym and just go through the motions swinging around dumbbells carelessly, you are not going to get the results you are looking for. You must do it with intensity. Focus on each and every rep and concentrate on what muscle you are working.

Some of you already now this. If I am in the middle of a good workout with my headphone on, you best not interrupt me. My intensity level is high and I am focusing on what I am doing, I don't want to be interrupted. It may be my football mindset that causes me to think like that, but regardless, it works.

So, next time you step in the gym, show some intensity. Focus on what you are doing, and do it with passion. Don't just go through the motions. That goes with life too. Don't go through life, sitting back waiting for things to come to you. It is not going to happen. Show some intensity, passion, and drive and strive for what you want.

Questions? E-mail me at djs123@comcast.net

Best,

Doug

1....2....3....STREETCHH!!!!!

When you walk into a gym, what is the first thing you do? After you put your stuff in a locker, your probably jump on a piece of cardio for 5 minutes or so and then hit the weights. Then a week later you come crying to me that you pulled a hamstring. Well, the reason, improper warm-up.

I see very few people properly warm-up before they began to exercise. Hell, some people walk right in and throw themselves underneath and bench and start pressing plates. That is when injury happens.

There are many different types of stretching including, PNF, passive, active, isometric, static, and dynamic. What 99% of the population does is static stretch. Static stretch is when you stretch a muscles and hold it for 20-30 seconds then release, for example, the common touch your toes and hold. The problem is, people do that at the wrong time. Static stretching should be done AFTER exercise, not before. My famous example goes something like this. You have a rubber band, that represents you muscle. You tie it in a knot. So, now you have a tight and cold muscle. What happens when you pull it tighter and hold that. Yes, it gets tighter and tighter. That is what you are doing to your muscles if you are stretching a cold muscle. Instead static stretching must be done when the muscle has just finished being worked and is warm and loose.

Dynamic stretching is what should be done before exercising. This will loosen up your muscles and undo those knots. Also, if possible, before the dynamic stretching, complete a short session of foam rolling(another topic for another day). The dynamic stretching should be just that, dynamic. You should be on your feet moving your body in a way to get in properly warmed up for exercise to prevent injury.

An example of a good dynamic stretching routine is as follows. Each exercise being completed for a total of 10 reps.

Prisoner Squats
Jumper Jacks
Forward Skips
Side Shuffle
Crossovers
Backwards run
Forward Lunge
Hip Bridges
Straight leg raises
Side Leg Raises
Glute Raises
Scapula Retraction
Rotators Cuff Swing outs
T-Spine Mobility
Spider man Crawl

That is a full dynamic warm-up that should take about 10-15 minutes and will break a sweat. It will get you properly warmed up for exercise in the weight room.

Walking into the weight room and throwing around dumbbells before properly warming up is simply asking for trouble. So make sure you take the time to properly warm-up before you begin your weight training session.

If you have any questions about the different types of stretching, when to do what type, or have questions about the above exercises feel free to e-mail me.

Best,

Doug Spurling
DJS1232@comcast.net

A little fun!

Thursday, I took a day off of my crazy schedule and truly realized what it is like to be a kid again.  Between work, school, internship, and family matters I have not had much free time this summer. Working over 40 hours a week at internship plus full-time work at my local gym has put a strain on me. That is not to mention the stress of summer classes and dealing with the recent news that my mom now has cancer. 

So, some gracious members at my gym took time out of there busy work schedules and took me up to Little Ossipie Lake. While there, we attempted to try and get me up on water ski's. Lets just say getting a solid 270+ pounds out of the water is not easy. I tried a few dozen times and was unsuccessful.  I blame part of that on my over dominant quads and weak adductors. I blame the other half on having to squeeze my Godzilla size feet into the water skis not made for people with size 16 feet. Those two things combined with not the most powerful boat on the lake made for a lot of good laughs. I must of face planted about 20 times.  Regardless, it was a great time!

However, they didn't let me go home without getting a little water sport adventure. After the unsuccessful attempts at water skiing they convinced me to lay my 6'6" frame across a 3 foot round tube and pull me going 40+ MPH. Holding on for dear life, screaming words I would never say in public, I managed to hang on for a few good pulls. 

We ended this awesome day with a delicious dinner. As I chowed down on some excellent salmon, haddock, chicken, and tossed salad we enjoyed some good laughs thanks to my expert water skiing skills. Following dinner, we continued on with the laughs bringing it out onto the boat for a nice moon light cruise around the lake.

So, you might ask yourself, what does this have to do with fitness or exercise. Well, really, nothing. Oh, wait, did I mention the next morning I nearly crawled out of bed and could barely stand in the shower I was so sore. Although I am a exercise fanatic and experienced weight lifting I have never put my muscles through that type of stress. That caused me to scream like a little girl until I could plant my glutes on a foam roller and try to relieve some of the soreness. Still as I sit on a stability ball in front of my computer I struggle to lift my legs high enough to take step. 

The best part about the day was it was stress free. For one time this summer I wasn't worried about an up coming test, what exercise to use for a client, how to plan my next sports conditioning class, or if my mom will be okay. If it wasn't for this day, I would have gone all summer working 7 days a week worrying about nothing but school, work, and my internship. However, for one day, I could enjoy myself and finally feel like a kid again. Although is was only for one day, that made my summer. I am a hard worker and always will be. I cannot sit around and watch TV. However, sometimes I know I over work myself.  I don't get too many times to enjoy what its like being a 20 year old college kid. This was one of those experiences I will never forget. The best part is,  I was the youngest person there and the second youngest was old enough to be my mother. It shows you, age is just a number. I felt like I was partying with a bunch of college kids, but really they are all full-time working moms, dads, husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, and overall AWESOME people. 

So, I want to end with a HUGE thank you.  Thank you to Wayne, Kelly, "T.", Tori, Russ, and Tom for putting up with me and taking the time out of your busy schedules simply for my enjoyment. Thank you! 

I hope everyone enjoys this nice weather, and has a wonderful weekend.

Best,

Big D.

djs1232@comcast.net

Would you like to Super Size that?

So last week I left a link for you all to read about how important nutrition is when you are exercising. I hope you all enjoyed that link. I want to put my own insight on that today.

I don't think people realize just how important nutrition is. I firmly believe, nutrition is 85% of success in the gym . If you go into a gym and had just eaten a Big Mac you are not going to have your best workout. At the same time, if you have a good pre-workout meal, go to the gym, then have that Big Mac after the gym, you pretty much just wasted an hour of lifting due to poor post-workout nutrition.

I hear and see it everyday, people want to lose weight. If I had a dollar for everyone who came up to me at my gym telling me that they want to drop a few pounds, I could open my own gym and not work. I am glad they have the initiative to get started on a program, but I really don't think most people understand what it takes.

You CAN'T come into a gym a few times a week and glide on the elliptical for 20 minutes while reading a magazine and expect results. It is simply not going to happen. I have already gone into several ways to exercise whether it be strength training, HIIT, or tabata. Today, I want to focus on the nutrition aspect.

What are the two most important meals of the day? If you said breakfast and post-workout meal you are correct. That is not to say that the rest of them are not important, it just means that those are two most important ones. Think about it. You go daily eating every 2-3 hours. Then you go to sleep for 6, 7, maybe 8 hours or more. You aren't giving your body any nutrition. The first think you do after you wake up is eat, your body needs food first thing in the morning.

Next, is workout time. So, you go into the gym feeling good. You perform a full body workout and even surpass you previous record on the deadlift. Excellent! Now you go home, and don't eat for 2-3 hours. After 2-3 hours you go out with your buddy and go to the local convenience store. You grab a week old sub with bologna and mayonnaise and a Redbull. Well, my friend, everything you just did in the gym a few hours ago is wasted just because of poor nutrition.

So, focus on those two important meals. Make sure you get an ample amount of protein and carbohydrate both for breakfast and post-workout. That will help you to maximize your gains and recover quicker for your next workout.

Another big misconception for people who want to lose weight is they need to eat next to nothing even if they are weight lifting. That is crap! When you are doing resistive exercise you must consume more calories. If not, you are going to be sore for a longer period of time, not get stronger, and not get any gains in size.

Yes, it is true to lose weight you must cut some calories. However, there is a common mistake made with most people. They drastically cut there daily caloric intake by 500+ calories a day. At first, yes, they will see results. However, after about two weeks your body is going to react to it. It is going to go into a starvation mode and hold onto everything. That means your body won't burn as much calories or fat and your metabolism will come to a screeching holt. So, to lose weight eat smaller portions but more frequently, eating every 2-3 hours. This will keep your metabolism going good. When you cut calories do it slowly. Maybe the first week start with 200 less calories a day and slowly build up each week. Eventually you should get to a point where you are losing 1-2 pounds a week. Anything more then that is not the best way to go about it because it will come back a lot quicker and easier.

In conclusion, if you want to succeed in the gym you have to eat. You simply will not grow or get stronger if you don't eat. Think of food as fuel. If you don't put gas in your car it is eventually going to hit empty. It is the same thing with your body. Don't let your body go on a shortage of food or it will stop running smoothly. The last pointer I have for you is don't be afraid of food. Like I said, food is fuel, we all need it. It is just a matter of how much to eat depending on your goals, what to eat, and at what times.

Its a very busy week for me with finishing summer classes and internship so I might not be able to post much more this week.

If you ever have any questions or comments for me, please don't hesitate to send me an e-mail.

Have a good week.

Best,

Big D.

djs1232@comcast.net