It’s not every day that a 52-year-old challenges a 25-year-old to a fitness duel, but on November 1, 2014 that is exactly what happened. 52-year-old Ben Gonzalez, MD (Dr.G) of Atlantis Medical Wellness Center competed in a Holiday Fitness Challenge against 25- year-old TJ Downing of Fitness Evolution in Silver Spring, MD. The purpose of the challenge was to bring attention to the importance of having a team to support your health and fitness especially during the holidays when temptation is at its highest.
Your team should include a personal trainer and gym dedicated to a safe and effective physical training, a nutritionist or dietician knowledgeable in nutrition and diet as part of improved metabolism, and a doctor in measuring the tools in your body and interpreting the results to optimize your overall health and fitness. This fitness duel served as an example of how proper guidance in training, nutrition, and diet can be applied at any age to maximize your overall health.
This is what Dr.G has to say about this video:
“So I did something….stupid. Well, maybe not stupid but it was a bit silly on my part. I challenged a CrossFit Competitor half my age to a fitness duel. Yep, kinda stupid on my part. I did it to prove a point to anyone at any age that being fit is not about having to go to a gym or a hard core exercise class every day, it is not about competing against others, and it is definitely not about age. It is about being consistent and about surrounding yourself with the right advisors.”
How did he do this?
Here is his routine and advice in his own words:
“The most important part of what I do to stay in shape is simply have a plan and be consistent. I do not have time to do cardio every week and I do not have time to do a full weight workout at the gym each week. With my busy patient and surgery schedule I do not have time or the energy to get up at 5 am to work-out each morning. What I do make time for is a plan. In the beginning of each month I take 30 minutes and look at my schedule to map out a basic plan for working out. There are some things that remain constant month to month and year to year. One of those things I call my “Coffee Workout.” My Coffee Workout is a simple 10 minute at-home workout. It is a simple 5 to 10 minute workout that I do every single day at home. It is a leg lift/pull-up circuit of 3 to 5 sets of 20 leg lifts and 6 to 8 pull-ups. That’s it. Yours can be crunches, push-ups, yoga, planks or whatever combination that works core and a large muscle group along with some sort of stretching exercise. The purpose of this “Coffee Workout” is to simply remind your body to move, to pump your heart, to keep your body “in check” so to speak. It is a maintenance workout, not a cardio or muscle builder. This simple task is a barometer to your overall fitness. This is something you do in addition to any full workout you do in your week.
My regular workouts are 3 times a week of a combination of one of the following: 30 minute cardio, yoga, or weight lifting. No matter what the workout is I ensure it is worth my time. In other words I keep it as high intensity as possible and I try to incorporate some sort of flexibility work 5 minutes before and after the workout. I always keep my total workout time to less than 45 minutes. There are some weeks where I only do 1 or 2 workouts but I remain consistent in doing the daily “Coffee Workouts. And that is what keeps what I call my “fitness memory.” Develop your “Coffee Workout” and remember the number one thing to do to stay in shape: Be Consistent.”
If you or someone you know wants to learn more about getting in good shape contact a functional medicine clinician, today.
