Richard Amos | What are the 5 karate principles and how they could benefit any leader
Take a high-level karate master and strip away tens of thousands of hours of physical training.
What are you left with?
A human being on a spiritual path.
This path is governed by principles designed to develop an individual’s physical, mental, and spiritual being.
These principles—rooted in centuries of wisdom dating back to the Shaolin warriors and to the first ancient Indian monk who came to China—create a framework that binds all traditional karate practitioners all around the globe.
In karate class, we must move from our core. On a spiritual level, our core are our principles.
As Stephen R. Covey wrote “People can't live with change if there's not a changeless core inside them.”
I asked one of the world’s top karate instructors, Richard Amos—an 8th degree black belt—to give us an insight into the principles of Shotokan karate. Born in the UK and based in New York City, Amos lived, trained, and worked in Japan for over a decade. He’s fluent in Japanese, and trained under Asai sensei, regarded as one of the greatest Japanese karate masters to have lived in recent times. Amos is the second westerner to have completed the three-year instructor’s course in Japan as well as placing second in the All-Japan Championships, at a time when no non-Japanese had ever reached the semi-finals before.
Here are five principles he shared:
1. Strive for a whole character – Some translations say, “Strive for perfection of character.”
Amos says:
“Perfection is impossible. A more accurate meaning is whole or complete. It is about having a certain knowingness that I have only really seen in yogis such as Radhanath Swami.”
The famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, in his book, The Book of Five Rings: A Classic Text on the Japanese Way of the Sword, exemplifies this well when he says that a true master is never taken by surprise because he is wise.
Being willing to strive for wisdom means being willing to learn from our mistakes, make amends, and move forward.
“I know I can get relentless when I feel that my students aren’t getting it,” he said.
In business, good character is essential from the C-Suite down to the production line. A well-run company needs employees who are hard working, conscientious, honest, and helpful, as much as a company needs a CEO who represents the whole organization with integrity.
Management exhibiting poor character will bring about high turnover, dissatisfied customers, and ultimate failure. Take Enron and Kmart’s bankruptcies as examples. In one year, Enron went from $100 billion in revenue to zero, all because its executives used accounting loopholes to hide billions of dollars of debt as well as mislead their board of directors. Similarly in 2002, Kmart’s leaders lied to shareholders and company officials while syphoning off company money for their own gain.
2. Defend the path of truth - Some variations of this principle use the word sincerity or faithfulness, and Amos says it’s about your chosen path in life and sticking to it. It’s about integrity, matching your actions to your words. It’s about walking the walk and talking the talk.
“Who are you? Do you live by your life values or do you change when a better offer comes along?”
As the founder of Shotokan karate, Gichin Funakushi, wrote: “First understand yourself, then understand others.”
When Amos was a junior instructor in Japan, he decided to recite the five principles of karate before and after class, along with the non-instructors. At that time, the instructors were exempt from saying them out loud. Amos felt, as he does today, that the self-programming of constant repetition ensured that important principles entered his subconscious. Surrendering to your path takes humility.
In business, knowing our “why” is key, as Simon Sinek talks about in his Golden Circle TED talk, or as Guy Kawasaki discusses regarding making meaning within an organization. If our sole goal is making money, we will fail, Kawasaki says. On the other hand, if our goal is to improve the quality of life for others, to protect something good or to rectify a wrong, we have a better chance of creating meaning and in turn of making money as a by-product.
Sticking to our why or our meaning is key to success.
3. Cultivate a spirit of perseverance - This speaks to daily practice and to the laws of nature. There’s no hack or quick fix in becoming a karate master.
“I like the word ‘cultivate’ because it speaks to the daily, constant, ritualistic, all year, every year labor that is required. This is a perseverance that requires constant attention, much like farming.”
This farming analogy parallels Stephen Covey’s Laws of the Farm in his book First Things First in which he points out the impossibility of “cramming on the farm.” University students may get away with cramming for tests, he says, but farmers cannot expect to have a harvest, if they do all the work at the last minute. They can’t expect anything to grow overnight.
The laws of nature govern farming, much like karate, health, self-development, or business.
“You can’t decide to persevere,” Amos says. “You just do it. The thought is superseded by action. Funakoshi said to keep your karate bubbling. But be careful not to boil it too high. I’ve seen people boil themselves dry. You want to keep it bubbling.”
4. Honor the principles of etiquette – The most visible outward sign of etiquette in a karate class is the bowing and kneeling, even to an adversary. In Japanese this is called rei and means “respect.”
“It’s about propriety, good manners, consideration, and hierarchy,” Amos says.” It’s about when to speak and when not to speak. It’s about knowing your place within the dojo and understanding the human condition as well as empathetic emotion. Bowing is humility.”
Amos reminds us that knowing your place in a military setting is crucial. Breaking rank could, as he says “sever the thread in the battlefield.” The original meaning of breaking rank was a straight line of soldiers falling into disarray and causing chaos. Severing the thread on a battlefield would be similar to an employee not using the lines of protocol and going over his superior’s head.
High ranked students should nurture the lower ranked students. In turn, the lower ranked students should appreciate, accept and respect the higher ranked students.
Karate practitioners greet each other with the word "oss." They come to class 10 to 15 minutes early, with a clean body and pressed karategi (or uniform). Some dojos require participants to wash their feet prior to entering class and street shoes are not allowed in the training space. Chewing gum, wearing watches, or idle talk is forbidden.
In business, etiquette is professionalism. We wouldn't dream of going to work in our gym pants, smelling bad, or with dirty fingers. A clear organizational structure is also important, as it allows for better communication, clear reporting, and efficiency. Salespeople understand etiquette and strive to make the client's life easier. They are respectful of the client's time. They answer emails and calls promptly. They aren't too personal, yet not too distant. There is a spirit of respect.
5. Guard against hot-blooded courage – “There is no first strike in karate,” wrote founder of Shotokan karate, Gichin Funakoshi. Some translate this as “guard against impetuous courage.” Amos says that the actual translation is “energetic blood,” and reminds us that the use of ‘guard against’ is key.
“This may well happen to you,” Amos says. “You’ll feel the power. The training will give you the tools to be courageous, but watch yourself, handle with care, and don’t forget humility.”
In business, overconfidence or impulsivity could lead to bankruptcy. Jean-Marie Messier’s disastrous leadership of Vivendi can only be categorized as impetuous and overconfident. The way he turned a once highly lucrative utility company into a heavily indebted global media group could be seen as the epitome of irresponsibility. He overpaid for businesses as he ventured into new industries he knew little about. Stretching an organization too thin removes any reserves needed to withstand stock market fluctuations, which was particularly true for Vivendi following the bursting of the dot-com bubble. Having multiple income streams is key in a downturn. In this Covid-19 era, this rings particularly true.
People with impetuous courage put themselves and others at risk. Stay away from them. Don't get in a car with them, don’t marry them, and certainly don’t do business with them.
These five principles were created and molded to form a warrior whose wisdom would help to bring about a better, more peaceful world. A better world is one where frameworks exist to contain and help us strive for our better selves. By applying these timeless karate principles to our businesses, we can increase our chances of success.
Chasing Bushido: How I Learned to Just Say Osu by my sensei Richard Amos is a book that I devoured in two days. It’s entertaining and I recommend it to a general audience because it covers themes of resilience, persistence, humility, and mastery, and does not get into the details of karate to such an extent that it would lose non-martial artists.
Dan Hatch | Recovery work, nutrition, and cardio are crucial for people who want to be fit
Each and every day, he sees the ravages caused by overtraining. Dr. Dan Hatch, a physiotherapist in Newport, Rhode Island, blames popular fads that are ultimately detrimental to our health.
“There’s no quick fix to living a healthy and happy life,” he says. “And preventing injury is key.”
To prevent injury and perform well, it is important to do consistent recovery work, implement good nutrition, complete your cardiovascular training in the right heart zones, address your mental and emotional wellbeing, and strength train.
Dan is no stranger to such injury. After high school, his hopes to attend college on a soccer scholarship were dashed when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
His recovery experience led to his pursuing a physiotherapy degree. Now, he works with professional athletes, including Volvo Ocean Race sailors, whose livelihoods depend on preventing injury.
An avid athlete, Dan participates in triathlon races such as the Ironman. To avoid injury and to perform better, he plans enough recovery work into his weekly routine. He needs to do this if he is to climb the Matterhorn in July and to compete in the Chicago Marathon this coming October — both of which are on his agenda.
Recovery work
Dan defines recovery work as: stretching/pliability work, foam rolling, massage, and time off sport.
Stretching is based on the concept of muscle pliability that was made popular recently by Tom Brady, the quarterback for the New England Patriots. Brady — now 41 — performs better for his team than he did when he was younger. He attributes this incredible fact to his diet and training regimen, the details of which you can read in his book The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance. The cornerstone to his regimen is muscle “pliability.”
“Everything begins with pliability, the daily lengthening and softening of muscles before and after physical activity. Without pliable muscles, you can’t achieve long-term health,” his website reads.
Dan has seen what happens when clients don’t address their pliability.
“Let’s say for example that we have a muscle that’s one foot long but that now functions at six inches when it isn’t pliable,” Dan says. “Not only do you get access to half the power, endurance, strength, but this can also lead to an orthopedic negative effect. The tendons and joints now experience undue force and this can lead to tendonitis, bursitis, arthritis, and the wearing low of cartilage.”
The key is pliability work, which he says can be done be done in one form with yoga, if it is done in the correct posture and if stretches are held for the appropriate amounts of time. But beware of which type of yoga/instructor you sign up for.
“A lot of yoga out there is power-based,” Dan says. “What people need is flexibility and restoration, or what is sometimes known as restorative yoga. If done wrong, yoga can lead to more injury.”
Nutrition for weight loss
“Nutrition is most important. If you put in bad stuff, you will continue to struggle and get bad stuff out,” Dan says.
For weight loss, he agrees with the clinical opinion that the focus should be 75% food and 25% exercise.
“The old school way of thinking is that I can out-exercise my diet. But the reality is that people are getting hurt because they are over exercising more to make up for bad eating. It’s a bad cycle. We have this image of ourselves as great athletes. The reality is, great athleticism is impossible to achieve with over-exercising and a crappy diet.”
“Diet is often the real culprit. Many people think they are eating healthily, but there is a lot of flawed information out there, including our FDA food pyramid.”
Dan uses the analogy of car maintenance. “Think about not changing the oil or the tires, and not using good fuel. The car won’t perform well.”
There is a lot of confusion about food. The key is to get away from processed food.
“If it comes in a box or bag, it’s probably not good for you,” Dan says, who can attest to this through personal experience.
Since February 2017, he has lost 40 pounds; he trains well and feels well, even emotionally. “I feel great since adopting a whole food plant-based lifestyle. And I’ve tried every single thing, and this is sustainable, enjoyable, and supported by the evidence.”
Although Dan is a big fan of the vegan diet, which has been proven to work and which many Olympic and top athletes have adopted, he says that regardless of what you choose, choose whole foods that are less processed and less animal-based products. He recommends Dr. Michael Greger’s nutritionfacts.org site for tips on a healthy diet as well as Rich Roll’s inspiring book Finding Ultra.
“How do we actually progress back towards that person that we still idolize, our 20-year-old self? Or how can we even supersede that, without hurting ourselves, so we can still connect with our friends through activity and not feel left out? What we eat plays a huge roll. Rich Roll’s inspirational story shows that it’s never too late to become fit and healthy again.”
Workouts: Cardio and weights
Dan recommends cardiovascular activity three to four times per week and weight training one to two times per week.
For cardiovascular training, he says it is key to understand your heart rate zones in order to avoid overtraining and orthopedic injury.
“The sweet spot is 60 to 80% of your maximum heart rate for prolonged cardiovascular activity,” he says. “If you train too high, you go into the carb-burning zone. You only have x amount of readily accessible carbs available or about 15–20 minutes on average.
Dan recommends using a heart-monitoring device, such as a Fitbit, Garmin, or Apple Watch and to start becoming familiar with your heart and how it fluctuates with activity. Learn about your zones in percentages of your max heart rate.
“If you want to be efficient in the time that you are spending going for a walk or a run, you want to be in the fat burning zone the majority of the time.”
To calculate this, a simple formula is to take your age and subtract it from 220 to get your estimated max heart rate. “Now, take 60–80 % of that and it gives you your fat burning zone. While training try to stay toward the higher end of your fat burning zone for the greatest effect.”
“So look at your heart rate monitor and if you are in your fat burning zone, you are being efficient with your time. But if you spend your whole entire time in your carb burning zone, you will burn through your reserves, you will be vulnerable to injury as you will become fatigued, and you will start to burn muscle. You will have the opposite effect of what you want to achieve. You will not teach your metabolism to burn off the fat: the most efficient fuel service that we have available to us.”
“Over time, even the high end endurance athletes we’ve worked with have to do this. We’ve even had some of them start off at a walk to stay in the right zone when coming off an injury. Otherwise, they too would go into the wrong training zone. If you stay in the right zone for a while, you will be able to perform at a higher level with your heart rate at the same level for longer periods of time. This is how you truly improve your heart health.”
DAN’S FINAL TIPS
Just start!
Don’t be overwhelmed by it.
Eat as many plant based whole foods as possible.
Have a balance between sport activity you’re doing and recovery work.
Start in the mornings. It’s a great time. Less pressure. These are the only times that are predictable for a lot of us; the key is to get the workout out of the way.
Go outside for your workouts.
Surround yourself with people with a similar mentality. If your goal is to be fit, surround yourself people who are fit.
Avoid pyramid schemes. Most of the fitness products sold this way are highly processed.
Find a coach — someone who can help you with accountability or a training partner.
If you want to workout in a gym, find one that: is clean; has an area dedicated to recovery work; has friendly staff; has other people who are motivating and positive; and that has a place to eat healthy food.
Remember: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You might get short-term results but not overall health. There’s no quick fix to living a healthy and happy life.
Dan Hatch is owner of NPT HealthWorks in Newport, Rhode Island, offering physical therapy, massage therapy, personal training, fitness and recovery classes, plant-based nutrition counseling, On-Running Shoes, and mental health counseling.
Nicky Donald | How to really improve your health and mind-body connection
Aside from her Scottish accent and a smile that lights up the room, the first thing you notice about Nicky Donald is her warmth and authenticity. Then, as you get to know the super fit 47-year-old sports remedial massage therapist, personal trainer, yoga instructor, and qualified community education worker, you realize that there’s a lot more than meets the eye.
Nicky has worked in wellness for the past 27 years. This experience includes founding the massage business Vital Kneads and working for a five-star hotel in Gstaad. Her hotel tenure drew the attention of a private family that, among other things, drives for the Formula One circuit. She now works for them as a personal trainer and massage therapist.
But all of the glitz has not changed Nicky, whose sense of humor and down-to-earth attitude remain.
“And I’m a Nutribullet enthusiast!” she says laughing.
Health and fitness is not just a profession for Nicky; it’s also a hobby. This explains why she and her husband moved from Scotland to Switzerland seven years ago. (By the way, her husband is the novelist and up-and-coming filmmaker Jason Donald.)
“We came here, because it enabled us to mix business with pleasure,” Nicky says. “We both love mountain biking, snowboarding, hiking, and paddleboarding. Moving is apparently something that I just do. As a child, I never sat still. As soon as my parents blinked, I was gone!”
Nicky credits her parents with fueling her lifelong interest in athletics by encouraging her to participate in sports at an early age. As a young child, she competed in gymnastics and synchronized swimming at the national level. Competing at such a high level was tough, sometimes requiring massage and physiotherapy to aid in recovery from training and injury.
“This experience fueled my belief in therapeutic touch and my fascination with the mind-body connection, health and healing. All of this led to my professional training.”
The following are some of her tips for health.
1. How should someone who is out of shape start?
Slowly!
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is doing too much, too soon. They buy expensive gym memberships that they don’t use, train too intensely and become demotivated by pain, or get overwhelmed by unfamiliar and sometimes intimidating fitness environments. Going from inactive to fit does not happen overnight. Like most things in life, baby steps are good!
I advise people to start from a place of self-love, not self-depreciation. The first step is a mental decision to want to create change in your life regarding your health. That’s a great thing! Valuing yourself to want to make positive change is a strong foundation upon which to build. Getting really clear on what that means for you is vital, and helps create realistic (SMART) goals that you want to achieve.
This can be done on your own or, if you would like some support, with the help of a coach or personal trainer. But all change comes from within. You need to know your own motivation. A series of small changes actually results in big changes in the end, rather than a spike of good intention and then an abandonment of commitment.
2. How can busy professionals fit training into their days?
The number one reason/excuse for not taking part in training is: “I don’t have time.” However, we all know that if you really want to do something, you can make it happen. You might have to be creative, or make sacrifices somewhere else, but if training is one of your priorities, if it is really important to you, it will happen. The perception of not having enough time is normally a more accurate indication of a lack of interest in or enjoyment of the training, or not being committed to the training activity itself.
One of my friends is a busy single mum with two young children. She juggles three part-time jobs, and not only does she find time to take her kids to their activities, she finds time for her own fitness classes as well. Why? Because despite feeling tired sometimes, she knows that her training helps her sleep better. She prioritizes some of her own needs and gains enjoyment from it.
So, if you hear yourself saying that you don’t have time, take a good look at this belief and what the demands on your time actually are. If training truly is one of your priorities, choose to make it happen with good goal setting, time management and support.
Some simple tips can also help, depending on your goals. For instance, save time by doing resistance and cardio training at home using your own body weight. Or choose a gym on the way to your office and go at lunchtime or before work. You can also double up activities like spending time with family/friends whilst going for a bike ride.
How about trying a walking meeting, taking all phone calls standing up at your desk, walking to work, or always taking the stairs rather than the elevator?
3. How much of weight loss is exercise and how much is food?
That really depends on the person, what his or her body is like, and what exercise they do. Every individual has what’s called a resting metabolic rate (RMR), which is basically the amount of energy/calories your body needs just for basic function. Several factors will influence this resting rate, such as body composition. Two people who do the same job, get the same amount of exercise, and eat the same amount of food, can have a different experience of weight loss or weight gain. This can be due to factors such as how much muscle tone they have, as muscles themselves require and burn more energy.
The basic rule of thumb for weight loss is calories in (through food) must be less than calories burned everyday (through RMR, training and other activity). The type of calories you are consuming, the intensity of your training, and other factors will also affect how much weight you lose.
4. What’s the biggest mistake people make with their diets?
Portion control. Eating a balanced diet in appropriate proportions is essential for health.
More on attitudes to food/nutrition: Often when we think about food/nutrition, we think in terms of calories, diets and weight. This approach is not enough. Our focus needs to be on nurturing. Seeing nutrition for what it actually is: fuel. Just as you put the best quality fuel in a car to ensure performance, we need to put the best quality food into our bodies as fuel for performance too.
Food is nourishment. But sadly, often the nutritional value of the food we consume is often lacking the basic components that will add to our energy supply. And even worse, what we consume can deplete our energy supply, as the body has to work even harder to break down unwanted substances and remove them from our bodies.
Processed foods promote inflammation, drain energy from the body, and can aggravate several health conditions. Many common problematic health conditions have an underlying inflammation basis. Some foods promote inflammation; while others prevent it. We can all choose what we put into our bodies by seeing food as fuel, not treats.
We need a balanced diet that is composed of real food, not something processed and served out of a packet! Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds are things that have the vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that our bodies need to create and give us energy.
5. What’s the biggest mistake people make with training?
Having poor form and technique, leading to injury or pain
6. How often should someone go to the gym? How often should I work out or lift weights? Would you agree people should exercise 20 to 60 minutes, three to five days a week for health/fitness promotion (ACSM 1995)?
Hmmmmm… It all depends on your goals, and your definition of training!
For health — which is often not the real reason people go to the gym — the type of training that takes place during these 30 minutes of “exercise” depends on each individual’s fitness starting point and goals.
What does “30 minutes of exercise” mean to a gym bunny or a couch potato? The reality of “training” can look radically different to different individuals.
Exercise can also be more general movement, such as walking to work rather than taking the car, or going to the gym to lift weights.
For me it comes back to intention and goals. If all you want is to be skinny or to “look good naked,” as prescribed by the glossy magazines, this requires some serious structured training, sacrifices and a strict diet. Six-pack abs and a toned butt do not come for free!
But if your goal is heart and mind health, training can take many — often more enjoyable — forms.
Training, for example, includes recovery. Imagine someone who is totally stressed out, overstretched to the max, and juggling a whole host of responsibilities. Then, on top of everything else, you add the burdened belief that he or she also needs to “train” to lose weight, to be “good enough”… that person is heading for a breakdown!
We all need to be aware of: our starting points, what demands we have on our time and resources, and how much energy we are willing — and what is appropriate — to expend in “training.”
We only have one source of energy to draw from for all the demands of our lives. Sometimes we need to rest, rather than train, to have the strength and reserves to cope with the demands of daily living.
7. When is the best time to exercise?
When it works for you!
We are all different, and we all have different needs and responses to exercise. Personally, I like to exercise first thing in the morning before I get washed and ready for my day. Other people prefer to exercise after work and enjoy the “me time” feeling of working out after a hard day at the office.
I loved the advice I heard from a colleague who works for the organization Hintsa. She said: “If exercise is something you do ‘after work’ then consider changing your thinking! Exercise is the reason you can do hours of work! It keeps you healthy and gives you energy. Exercise should be calculated as part of your ‘working hours,’ not considered part of your ‘leisure time’ or something you try to do after you are already exhausted from ‘work.’”
Unless you are an elite athlete pursuing mastery of your craft by pushing and dedicating yourself to grueling training regimes, it’s all about understanding what works for you.
For example, a lot of people find it too stimulating to exercise just before bed, finding that it affects their sleep. But there is an exception to every rule!
8. Is there such a thing as the best exercise for weight loss? Such as running?
Not really. Intensity, frequency and pace do matter. But working in fat-burning zones, ventilatory threshold (VT) zones, creating after-burn, efficient exercise approaches, cardiovascular, cardiorespiratory, or resistance training… This is all fitness jargon!
It’s the job of personal trainers to understand the science of exercise, and to be able to create and communicate appropriate exercise programs for their clients. But the bottom line is that all movement counts! It doesn’t matter if you are sweating due to scrubbing and cleaning your windows or sweating on a treadmill. If you are using and moving your body, you will burn calories, which promotes weight loss.
One thing to bear in mind for weight loss is the fact that the more muscle you have, the more calories the muscle itself burns for you. So, weight training or resistance training can be advantageous for weight loss, not just cardio, like running.
9. What should you look for in a gym?
Hygiene and safety first!
Is the gym well-maintained and in good working order? Gyms can be one of the worst places to pick up bugs, if they are not properly cleaned after use. Hygiene is vitally important.
Injury can also occur. And you can get very frustrated if the gym space has a poor set up.
In addition, if you want to go regularly to a gym, make sure it offers the activities that you like doing. Does it have a pool? Do they offer group classes? Does it have opening hours that match your schedule? Etc.
10. Anything else?
Sleep is vitally important for recovery of the brain, and therefore, body functions.
We all need good sleep if we want to demand more from our bodies and minds.
Schedule sleep/rest/recovery into your “training program.” We remember to recharge our cell phones every night, so why is it that we often don’t value the need to recharge our bodies too?
Born in Scotland, Nicky Donald lives in Switzerland with her husband, author Jason Donald. She has been in the wellness field for the past 27 years. Her brand, Vital Kneads, encompasses her wellbeing offering. She is a qualified community education worker, personal trainer, Yoga Alliance instructor, sports and remedial massage therapist, and Nutribullet enthusiast! She works for a private family involved in Formula One race car driving as a personal trainer and massage therapist. Nicky will be running a Swing Dance and Yoga weekend retreat in Switzerland later in 2018. Anyone interested can contact vitalkneads@hotmail.co.uk for more details.
Álvaro de Vicente Contreras | 10 tips to start a successful fitness regiment
We interviewed the gym manager at Lausanne’s Holmes Place, an international chain of high-end fitness studios operating in 10 countries. Alvaro de Vicente Contreras holds a bachelor’s degree in Sports and Physical Sciences and is an expert in running technique. Here are his 10 tips to starting a successful fitness regiment:
1. Start with a training assessment
How should someone who is out of shape start?
“We schedule a training assessment, during which we measure your body as well as your goals. Then we decide what to put in practice to reach the goals. The assessment is really important. Everybody thinks they are better than they really are. Objective measurements include weight, body fat percentage and balance. Everybody wants to lose weight, but they don’t understand what that really means. They often focus on the scale number, and forget that muscle weighs more than fat.”
2. Know that training one hour per day equals 6% of your day
How can busy professionals fit trainings into their days?
“It’s a fact that training one hour per day equals 6% of your day. It’s not that much. Training improves your capacity to perform in other areas of your life. Energy, efficiency, concentration will improve. Training has a domino effect: feeling good affects the rest of your life. If training one whole hour is too much, go for 30–45 minutes. After a shower, you can be on your way in an hour.”
3. No burn, no loss
How much of losing weight is exercise and how much is food?
“Some say 80% is food and 20% is exercise. I say yes and no. Why? We all need to eat, but if we don’t burn, we won’t lose weight. You can decrease eating, but you need a minimum. If you don’t eat enough, the body will go into survival mode and decrease your metabolism. Yes, you will lose fat but you will also lose energy.”
De Vicente points out that our caloric intake has to be high enough to fuel our metabolisms and provide energy, by making the following comparisons:
Take a typical diet: 2000 calories burned — 1000 calories eaten = 1000 balance. This leaves you with no strength and no energy.
Take a healthy way of living: 3,500 calories burned — 2000 calories eaten = 1,500 balance. You will have a higher metabolism, strength, and energy.
If there’s no burn, there’s no loss.
4. Stay away from crazy diets; change your lifestyle instead
What’s the biggest mistake people make with their diets?
“Extreme dieting such as these one- to two-week diets is the biggest mistake people make with their diets. You become crazy. I am against the concept of dieting, in general. Instead, create the habit of proper nourishment. It’s a lifestyle change. Make sure you include the things you love. Just exercise moderation, by allowing yourself to eat that burger and those fries, but just eat them once per week or eat fewer fries. We need to educate people.”
5. Learn the proper techniques
What’s the biggest mistake people make in training?
“Do you know how to run?”
I nod.
“Few people know how to run properly. Take the following tax return comparison: I can fill it out myself. The job will be done, but I won’t take advantage of all the deductions and benefits that hiring an expert would give me. How to run for fat burning? What’s the right technique? There’s always something to learn. This is why there are professionals in the room. It’s safer, and more efficient than doing it alone.”
6. Something is better than nothing
How often should someone go to the gym? The American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) suggests that people exercise 20 to 60 minutes, three to five days a week.
“In an ideal world, we should exercise every day. But if you do something, you’re already winning. If you can’t do five trainings per week, do four. Create a habit. Something is better than nothing. Once you start doing it, you’ll feel the pleasure of it. The motto of Holmes Place is about making health and fitness enjoyable.”
7. Morning is best
When is the best time to exercise?
“Morning. Why? Honestly. It’s scientifically proven. In the evening, you’re activating your metabolism. Your body will be excited. You’ll go to bed too late. You won’t sleep that well. In the morning, you activate your body before work. You activate your brain as well, helping you to focus more.”
8. Lift weights to lose weight
Is there such a thing as the best exercise for weight loss?
“Strength training, because it requires you to use more muscles, which will require more energy and burn more fat, than using fewer muscles. It is more efficient to lift weights and do cardio for 20 minutes than being on the elliptical for one hour — if you do it right. But most people do it wrong.”
9. Look for gym ambiance, philosophy and quality of trainers
What should you look for in a gym (besides cleanliness and good equipment)?
“First, make sure it’s not too crowded to ensure you get access to the equipment you want. Second, make sure it’s a place with good ambiance and a shared philosophy of respecting each other and of wellbeing, a place where you will feel good and welcome (i.e. no overbuilt guys throwing weights around). Third, make sure you check the professionalism of the personal trainers.”
10. Start slowly
Anything else?
“Get into it and enjoy. Start slowly and little by little, at your own rhythm.”
“If I can improve the life of someone, that’s a bigger success than finishing first in a race.”