The Next Boot Camp Is One Month Away

The Spring/Summer Boot Camp begins May 22 and will run 7 weeks until July 3. It′s a Saturday morning boot camp, beginning at 9 am. It will last approximately one hour. It′s Level 4, meaning it will be tough. If you think you are up to it, email me (tim@grahamfitness.com) or call (803-447-8557) and sign up. There are still plenty of openings.

The cost is only $99 for first timers and $49 for anyone who has gone through a previous boot camp with me. (This will be the final time I can offer the $49 price.)

We′ll utilize several different locations around greater Columbia. Boot Camp consists of running, calisthenics, team events and individual competitions. You will work hard, but you will also have great fun and feel a real sense of accomplishment.


Preview of This Issue

I hope you′ll take time to read this issue. It only takes about 5 to 10 minutes to read. (It took me several hours to write.) We cover several topics I think you′ll find helpful.

     • Does detox and colon cleansing work?
     • Is it really necessary to exercise an hour a day in order to lose weight?
     • With the warm weather, how much water should you be drinking?
     • How can you tell ″good″ carbs from ″bad″ carbs?
     • 2 fitness myths revealed … you see these everywhere.
     • Some active vacation ideas.
      You′ve probably heard or seen the ads advising you to detoxify and purify your internal digestive system for weight loss and overall better health. You might even have been tempted to try one of the advertised diets. Unfortunately, these diets are a lot of crap (pun intended). Detox diets not only don’t work, they can actually be dangerous.
     A healthy body purifies itself. Toxins, or poisons, enter the body when we swallow or inhale them, and some enter through the skin. But our bodies are well-equipped to handle normal toxins. The liver and kidneys are the primary detox organs in the body, but the large intestines are also inhabited by millions of helpful bacteria which attack and destroy toxins which are eliminated normally and without help from commercial detoxification diets or supplements.
     Detox diets which restrict certain food groups may result in temporary weight loss, but it is water loss, not fat. Even worse, they eliminate many nutritious foods and food groups which you need to sustain good health.
     Colon cleansing herbs, supplements, laxatives, and devices are disruptive to normal detoxification processes. If you′ve ever had to cleanse your colon for a medical test such as a colonoscopy, you know how it can mess up your system for days.
     The advocates of these detox programs often use scare tactics to try to persuade you to use their products. For instance, you may have heard that John Wayne and Elvis Pressley both had impacted colons when they died. These persistent myths have been around for years. There is no truth to the John Wayne myth. There was never an autopsy done on him. Elvis did have an impacted colon, but it was caused by his drug use, especially his overuse of downers which slow down and eventually stop the normal functions of the intestines to remove waste.
     Drugs, not diet, caused Elvis′ problems. His unhealthy diet may have contributed to heart disease had he lived a while longer and it was certainly a major cause of his weight problems, but his love of cheeseburgers, bacon, fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, and ice cream did not clog his intestines – his arteries maybe, but not his intestines.
     So the next time you hear an ad with some expert telling you how you need to cleanse your colon and detoxify your body with his product or diet, pay no attention. Although the so-called expert is certainly full of ″it″, you are not.
      About a month ago, the Journal of the American Medical Association published the results of a study which said that middle-aged women need at least an hour of exercise a day in order to maintain their current weight, even more if they want to lose weight. Several of my clients asked me what I thought about the report. I asked them if the report defined an hour of exercise. After all, walking for an hour is not equivalent to running an hour and lifting light weights with breaks between sets for an hour is not the same as doing supersets with heavy weights for the same amount of time. I think it can be misleading to tell a middle-aged woman or anybody for that matter that exercising for an hour a day will keep them from gaining weight as they age. 		      I tell all my clients who want to shed pounds that it is almost impossible to exercise enough to compensate for poor eating habits. In order to lose weight, you have to combine proper exercise with proper eating. Generally, I recommend about 30 minutes of cardio exercise (running, brisk walking, or the equivalent) five to six days a week and an hour of moderate to heavy weight lifting two or three days a week. This works out to 4½ to 6 hours a week of exercise. But that′s just half of the equation.
      In addition to the exercise, you need to adjust your eating to about 500 calories a day less than you are burning. There are several excellent websites to help you determine your metabolic rate using your height, weight, and current activity level. Once you know how many calories you burn a day, you can adjust your eating accordingly.
      By combining diet and exercise, you can safely lose one to two pounds a week while increasing your muscle and strength at the same time. One to two pounds a week may not seem like much, but in a year, that is a weight loss of 50 to 100 pounds.

      It′s important to drink enough water every day especially as the weather gets warmer. Dehydration can cause a host of problems including muscle cramping, lack of energy, and urinary infections. I am not however an advocate of forcing yourself to drink a prescribed amount of water. Your body is designed to let you know when you are getting dehydrated. It′s called thirst, and it has worked pretty well for over 5000 years of human existence. It′s only recently with the emergence of bottled water that we have been told we have to drink 64 ounces or more of water a day. Coincidence? What do you think?

      Here′s a great idea for a quick and delicious snack: Toast a slice of whole grain bread, spread on some applesauce, and sprinkle some cinnamon on top. It′s about one hundred calories and quite healthy.

      In the April issue of the Irmo High School
″Jacket Journal,″ Principal Eddie Walker tells the story of Shun Fujimoto, the Japanese gymnast who helped his team beat the Russians for the gold medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
      Fujimoto was 26 years old and the oldest man on the Japanese team. During the floor exercises, he had broken his right knee, but he didn′t tell anyone, figuring that without him his team could not win the gold. Later that evening, he competed almost flawlessly in the pommel horse scoring 9.5. Then came the rings which included a triple somersault dismount. His routine was everything it needed to be and more, but the dismount from nine feet in the air was yet to come. He had to nail it, and he did. In the replays, you can see the pain distort his face and for a split second his right knee buckled, but he recovered, held the pose and waved to the appreciative fans. The judges awarded him a score of 9.5, his highest ever in that event, and the Japanese went on to defeat the Russians by .4 points.
      My point in relating this story is simply this: The next time you face a difficult task, remember Fujimoto and tough it out. It′s amazing what we can achieve if we don′t let our minds tell us we can′t.
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7948 Broad River Road
Irmo, SC 29063
Phone: 749-1633

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      We′ve all heard about good carbs and bad carbs, right? But how do you tell what′s good and what′s not? The simplest way is this: Bad carbs are generally white in color. For example: Sugar, white bread, white flour. Good carbs come from colored foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
      Good carbohydrates can help keep your cholesterol and blood pressure under control. Bad carbs, on the other hand, contribute to type 2 diabetes, heart disease and, of course, weight gain.
      So just remember: If it′s white, don′t bite.

     It′s amazing how much misinformation there is when it comes to health and fitness. Recently, I was browsing through a book published in 2007, and in less than two minutes I found two errors. This particular book was written by a former British weightlifting champion, so you′d think he would know better. Both of the errors I noticed are common ones, so common in fact, that for years I believed them both myself, and even repeated them in this newsletter and passed them on to clients.
      The first tidbit of misinformation is that a pound of muscle will burn an extra 50 calories per day. The truth is a pound of muscle burns about 5 to 6 calories a day compared to a pound of fat which uses about 2 calories a day, so the net gain is minimal. There are many excellent reasons to lift weights, but significantly increasing your metabolism is not one of them.
      The other inaccuracy I found is even more commonplace. It is found in virtually every fitness book I′ve read and on wall charts, treadmills, elliptical machines, and doctors′ offices. This is the myth that you can determine your maximum heart rate (MHR) by subtracting your age from 220. According to this formula, a 40 year old woman would have an MHR of 180 (220 minus 40). It′s a nice neat formula, but it′s not factual. The truth is maximum heart rates vary according to the individual, and your heart rate is determined more by genetics than age or fitness level.
      Using the 220 minus your age formula can be dangerous. Let′s say a 50 year old man applies that formula and determines his MHR to be 170. The treadmill he is running on says he should maintain a heart rate between 65 and 75 percent of his maximum. He consults the chart or does the math and finds that he should maintain a heart rate between 110 and 178 for at least 20 minutes and off he goes on a well-intentioned fitness quest. But his actual MHR could be 150 as mine is. If he tries to work within the range the treadmill says, he could dangerously overexert himself and still never reach the upper levels indicated. Or on the reverse side, if his MHR is substantially higher than the formula says, he will end up working out at a level well below his capacity.






You can easily determine your maximum heart rate with a simple step-up test, but you′ll need a heart rate monitor to assure accuracy. Step up and down on an 8 to 12 inch step for three minutes. You should complete about 90 steps in the allotted time. Note your heart rate when you have finished, and then add 55 to it if you are in poor shape, 65 if in average shape, or 75 if you are in excellent shape. Now you have your real MHR which may or may not correspond to the one you got using the mythical formula.

      It′s important to take a vacation, and now is the time to plan it. Studies have proven conclusively that men who take at least one vacation every year live longer and are healthier mentally and physically than men who never get away. While you′re at it, make it an active vacation of some kind. Cities like Washington, DC, New York, or even Savannah or Charleston are great walking cities. You might prefer to plan some hiking into your trip. A camping trip to the mountains provides wonderful relaxation and exercise. If you′ve never done it, try white water rafting. Ocoee and Chattooga are great runs and only a few hours from Columbia. A trip to Williamsburg is excellent for walking and reliving American history, and nothing beats a morning run up and down the strip from William and Mary College to the courthouse. You can even add a side trip to Bush Gardens for more walking and some great roller coasters.










Graham Fitness
Tim Graham
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Website: www.grahamfitness.com
Email: tim@grahamfitness.com
Phone: 803-447-8557




















Harbison Recreation Center
106 Hillpine Road
Columbia, SC 29212
Phone: 781-2281

The Harbison Rec Center offers more facilities for less money than anywhere else in town These are just some of the features: a new weight room with all new machines, free weights, treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes; a 25 meter junior Olympic size indoor heated swimming pool; sauna; whirlpool; racquet ball and tennis courts; a basketball gym; and miles of traffic-free trails for walking or jogging. There are classes for seniors as well as summer camp and after school programs for kids. Also newly remodeled locker rooms and an all-purpose room for large gatherings. All for only $315 a year for singles or $600 a year for families.










Wolf′s Fitness Center
5432 August Road
Lexington, SC 29072
Phone: 356-6400

Wolf′s is a total fitness facility offering some great amenities. There′s a huge recently expanded weight room featuring free weights and machines. There is a cardio area with treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, stair steppers, and the cardio theater. Other amenities include an indoor walking/running track, sauna, child care facilities with an attendant, tanning beds, showers, locker rooms, and sports supplements. Prices are very reasonable and there are no enrollment fees ever. Wolf′s also offers a full slate of fitness classes including kickboxing and pilates, as well as all new spinning classes . Check out their website, www.wolfsfitness.com.