Own Your Metabolism

I have two empty legs and a black hole for a stomach. 

In fact, most people are astonished at the quantity of food I consume daily.  Often I joke that I became a fitness expert so that I could eat as much as I'd like and not get fat.  I am lean, hungry, and eating quite often and I don't have a shred of guilt about it.  Because I own my metabolism.

I realize that my metabolism is unique.  But so is yours.  Grasping the concept of your metabolism, that it belongs to you, is key in your quest for health.  The focus starts on not changing your metabolism but changing your attitude in its relation to you.  You must own it. 

Most people develop a strong appetite when they are going through puberty and growing.  Hormonal changes in the body spike hunger signals and turn teenagers into Fridge Stalkers--always standing, door ajar, drooling into the white light....

The problem is that the occurring hormonal growth of puberty eventually stops, the activity lessens, environmental and emotional stress grow, and those developed eating habits perpetuate weight gain.  Somewhere along the way we lose control of our metabolism and become slaves to it.  We forget to be the masters.

The first step into owning your metabolism is to understand the following Metabolic Truths:

1) We consume calories.
2) We burn calories.
3) We store calories.

Our consumption of calories is based off of hormonal driving forces.  If we learn to manipulate our endocrine system, which is responsible for the production and delivery of hormones throughout the body, then we move into the direction of owning our metabolism.

Think growth and recovery.

The best thing about exercise and activity is that the body burns calories to sustain movement and function, and to recover and adapt over time.  If exercise becomes regular then the body becomes more efficient at utilizing calories for energy expenditure.

Create the expectation for the body to burn and it will learn to continuously be ready; your metabolism will speed up.

Oppositely, do nothing, continue to eat, and watch your body become efficient at storing calories in the form of fat.

The choice is yours.  Become efficient at storing your consumed calories or burning them.  Own your metabolism or become a slave to it.

Dead Toes

Being a trainer I run across aches and pains quite often in my clients.  My ability to understand these pains, diagnose them, and help people recover is widely important.  Thankfully, because I am so active, and I do deal with aches and pains myself, I have developed a deeper understanding with these issues, and I am becoming more effective with applying proper care.

Client: "My knee hurts."
Me: "Ok.  Dull pain?  Sharp pain?  And where is it hurting?"

Client: "When I lift my arm this way it hurts."
Me: "Ok.  Look at your elbow and wrist position.  Good.  Now drop your shoulders, rotate your hand..."

So much of what I do is introduce people to their bodies.  Beyond the science of energy systems, the musculoskeletal system, and basic physiology principles for training, nutrition, and performance, beyond all the noise coming out of classrooms and muscle magazines, I want you to take your body out on a date.  Get to know yourself, your body, how it feels, should feel, can feel, and wants to feel.

We were made to move.  Bio-mechanically, the diversity of movement within our anatomical reach is staggering and quite beautiful to watch.  Sadly, though, we have disengaged from our most primitive explorations--the discovery of our selves performing to survive and communicate.  So, when we get "hurt" or feel discomfort we immediately want to be medicated, numbed, bandaged--we want to be told what is wrong and not figure it our ourselves.

Take for example, my left knee bothering me for years.  It doesn't quite hurt.  But it feels alien at times, like it doesn't listen or come from me.  So, I've worked and worked, stretched, altered my training, rested, and did all I could, but to no avail; the same knee issue persisted. 

Only until recently, did I move into my feet and realize that my knee issues were directly related to how I use them.  My left foot had a few "dead" toes, and the outside of my foot was cold to the touch.  I wasn't engaging or using my foot properly, and this had been the case for years.  How then could I expect to fire properly out of my leg, if my foundation of movement was weak?  It all made sense, I had finally found the first domino.

The excitement that persist in my discovery of my "dead" toes and cold feet is quite nerdy, I know.  But I have something to work with now.  I can do this myself.  And I can hold myself together, naturally, for the long run.

Know that nothing empowers you more than making these types of discoveries for yourself.
There are no simple answers.
Develop a consistent dialogue with your body.
Constantly ask yourself questions and listen attentively.

Your body is forever changing, healing, and evolving to your lifestyle and requests.

Accidental Bear Video Q and A's

Watch Johnny Pearman Fitness answer tough questions for AccidentalBear:


Fitness Interviews 1 and 2.
Fitness Interviews 3,4, and 5.