Tools of the Trade

In the software engineering world we throw around a phrase, "You can't improve a process you can't measure" and in NLP we say "If you don't know where you are going, how do you know when you've gotten there?"

Leigh Peele of "The Fat Loss Troubleshooter" posted a fantastic article entitled "The Reality of Calories" which included a video that very graphically illustrates the point:


So what tools do I use to measure and keep track of my processes? As the video showed, a digital scale is essential. If you spend any time whatsoever logging food, you will notice that there is very little consistency in how portions are measured, if you are trying to use the English system. However almost every food label will show the serving size in grams, which is more accurate anyway. Spending a week or two measuring portions to the gram can be a very educational experience.

As far as software/online tools go, I have 3 sites I consider indispensable:

1. PhysicsDiet.com
2. TheDailyPlate.com
3. Gyminee.com

Physics Diet

Regular readers have seen me talk about this site before so I won't go into a lot of detail. Essentially, you enter a weight (and optionally other data like body fat, exercise calories, etc.) and it shows you over time what your weight is doing as well as averages your weight to help smooth out the panic over those day-to-day fluctuations we all have. The site will also use this data to show surplus or deficit calories for a given time period. This is an extremely important function because all intake and expenditure numbers are estimates and one never knows how accurate the estimates are until they have a few weeks of data.



TheDailyPlate

TheDailyPlate is a nutrition tracking site. If you read my post on figuring nutritional requirements, you understand how important it is to track the macro nutrients as well as calories. TheDailyPlate makes this process easy by having a very extensive database of foods, including the ability to search other user-contributed foods. Users also have the ability to create "meals" - a combination of foods eaten regularly such as bacon and eggs for breakfast.

TheDailyPlate will also track calories burned from exercise and automatically subtract those from amount consumed. It includes the ability to set calorie goals and track weight over time as well.

One very nice feature is the pie graph showing calories consumed that day. For those of us that are strongly visual-oriented it is a great way to see at a glance how the intake has been so far.

Gyminee

I was looking around for an easy to use workout log to take with me to the gym and happened to see this site mentioned for online logging on a bodybuilding forum. Aside from a well-designed printable log, the site has some nice features. When designing a workout, one has the ability to choose from a decent array of exercises, either cardio or strength, with the strength broken down by body part. There is the option to completely create your own workout or you can "join" workouts created by others. I saw a decent mix of upper/lower splits, Rippetoe's beginner workouts, 5x5s, etc.

Each exercise is either described well or has a video and as you progress you can look at total reps performed over time, total weight lifted or max weight lifted as a measure of checking progress from workout to workout.

Both TheDailyPlate and Gyminee have a lot of "social networking" options such as chats, blogs, forums, etc. Gyminee also will track weight and nutrition however I have not tried the nutrition feature yet.

As the diet and fitness industry continues to take greater advantage of the internet and online interaction, more and more tools become available to help us in our quest to ride that century or push the iron. I hope some of you will take advantage of these tools to realize your own goals.

TRX Suspension Training Review - Guest Follow-up

Today's entry comes from my buddy Maarburg, from A Vicious Cycle, who purchased the TRX Force Training Kit a couple of weeks before I bought my Home Bundle.

I purchased the TRX Military Bundle for the 12 week program. My first thoughts on the program were that the workload to rest ratio didn't seem maximized, but being willing to try new things and ideas, I dove in. The abdominal workout was far in excess of anything I'd ever done when I was previously involved in body building/strength training. A few weeks of screaming obliques, and the inability to laugh pain free was discouraging. This is less the fault of the program and more my over-zealousness. Additionally, there are a number of leg movements that were counter productive to my cycling training.

I've since fallen back on a workout program that has proven successful for me, but swapping out the clunky, cumbersome free weight movements for the much more challenging TRX movements. For many years I've been a fan of High Intensity Training. The Military program as provided by TRX will, undoubtedly, yield tremendous gains in balance, strength, and stability. That being said, the shorter more intense workout that I'm familiar with is something that I feel more comfortable with and makes for a better historical comparison. Since switching over to a HIT style program, I've seen immediate results. I wish I'd had the foresight to take measurements when I first got the system.

There is a tremendous advantage to the TRX system, both in the range of motion, and the inherent mobility. You are no longer stuck on a bench pressing a weight straight up with your hands in a fixed position on the bar, and limited to a 90degree to horizontal motion. The TRX system actually allows you to vary the horizontal and vertical motion on something as basic as a Pectoralis Major Press. (Can't very well call it a "Bench" press anymore, now can I?) Using this exercise as an example, the motion I've adopted is more like a Pec Fly. This system allows the flexability to switch from Flye to narrow grip, to wide grip, to decline, to incline presses, all at whim. Very very useful. The adaptability of the TRX system is without compare. When I'm done with an exercise, I can feel the results of my efforts from the point of insertion to the origin. That means that I'm working the entire muscle, something that can be a bit of a challenge with free weights.

Probably the only negative things I can say about the TRX are that exercise from is even more crucial, and a bit harder to obtain, and the range of motion might provide a challenge for those not used to muscular development exercises. The "Tee-ing" of the feet helps to alleviate a bit of the later. These, potential, negatives are easily offset by the systems abilty to provide a workout that follows the bodies natural motion and engages stabilizing muscles that machines and even free weights do not. Did I mention that the entire system (including the manual and DVD) take up less room than a pair of shoes.

The TRX system, in my opinion, is more suited to Strength and Stability as opposed to Bodybuilding. The nature of the system makes it more difficult to isolate one muscle, a common goal in Bodybuilding. For my purposes, and I'm assuming a majority of the people that do strength training, this lack of isolation is actually a benefit. The TRX encourages a more balanced and functional strength.

When you come across something that is correct, and works, you just know it. The TRX System is one of those things.