I'm excited to announce the release of my first book, A Beginner's Guide to Strength Training, available exclusively through Amazon Kindle. This book gives you a concise guide for strength training, with 6 simple principles that you can follow to craft your own strength training program. This guide also gives you a sample weekly work you can follow to get started, as well as links to other tools to help you on your fitness journey to a stronger, healthier you! Please check it out, and let me know what you think in the comments! … [Read more...]
Process over Outcome
In the book Mindfulness, Ellen Langer discusses the concept of of being process oriented. What does this mean? A process orientation...asks "How do I do it?" instead of "Can I do it?" and thus directs attention toward defining the steps that are necessary on the way. How does this apply to fitness? If you're reading this blog, then you are more than likely interested in fitness. Maybe that interest is because you want to be healthier, you're trying to lose weight, you have a fitness goal you're striving toward, you want to get off of blood pressure medicine, or some other reason. You might be at what is called a "contemplation stage" of your fitness journey. You're thinking about losing weight. Perhaps you've just joined a gym, even scheduled a session with a personal trainer. These are all fantastic first steps. But, there may be a lingering thought of "Can I do it?" - Can I lose the weight? Can I run that marathon? Can I get back down to a size 8? Why does this doubt … [Read more...]
How to Prepare for a Disaster
This past week has been a tough one for those of us living in the Carolinas with Hurricane Florence. Fortunately, here in Columbia we weren't impacted much at all. But others have suffered a lot more with floods and road closures that are still getting cleaned up. Even though we didn't have a heavy impact personally, it was a good reminder that a disaster can strike at anytime, and the best thing to do is to prepare BEFORE the disaster comes rather than when it's happened. That's why I'm devoting today's post to the need for disaster preparedness. There are two things you can do to prepare to survive a disaster today. First, you should prepare your body. One of my underlying principles of fitness is that regular exercise should prepare you for the Activities of Daily Life (ADL). To me, Activities of Daily life include the things you love to do. This means training for the sports you play, being fit enough to travel, being in good enough shape to run around and play with … [Read more...]
The Reason Why I Exercise
Sorry for not writing these last two weeks, but I took a much needed end of summer vacation with my wife. We went to Hickory Knob State Park for some swimming, canoeing, golf, and relaxation in the natural beauty around us. View this post on Instagram Swinging into September like... if you have a set back, laugh, move in, and try again. Don’t give up! A post shared by Philip Looney (@philiplooneyfit) on Aug 29, 2018 at 9:29am PDT On this vacation, I was reminded of one of the reasons why I exercise. I exercise so I can have the energy, strength, and endurance to do the things I want to do. Let me explain. The first night there, we camped out with a beautiful view over the lake. I walked down to the shore and decided to take a dip in the lake to cool off. As I was paddling around, I looked across the dock on the other side of the lake and thought to myself "I wonder if I can make it to the … [Read more...]
My Favorite Bodyweight Exercises
Today, I'm going to share with you my favorite bodyweight exercises. I've already talked about my favorite TRX and kettlebell exercises, but the disadvantage that these exercises have is that they do require some piece of equipment. With bodyweight exercises, you don't require any equipment at all (with the exception of pull ups and jump rope, but we'll get to that in a bit). Since bodyweight exercises require little to no equipment, it means you can do bodyweight training almost anywhere - at home, in a hotel room, or better yet outside at the park. One study found that exercising outdoors can have a positive effect on mental well being in addition to the physical benefits. The participants in the study reported feeling revitalized, a decrease in negative emotions, and an increase in energy. So if you're looking to mix up your routine, take this bodyweight workout outside. Bodyweight workouts are also good for you if you're just starting to exercise and aren't in great … [Read more...]