What does it mean to be fit and live a healthy lifestyle? Many have different interpretations and opinions on this question. Additionally, the issue arises with false information being spread, especially through social media, which targets vulnerable young adults. It becomes difficult to separate truth from myth. That's why I decided to get more information for young adults & students on what it means to live a healthy lifestyle from a trusted source.
Meet Dan Greenbaum, the owner of the Gym at Prospect. With over 20 years in the fitness industry, Dan is a trainer and a functional health specialist. He graduated from CU Boulder with BA in Exercise Physiology and Biology and has certifications from NASM, ISSA, ACSM, and N1 in nutrition, corrective exercise, metabolic enhancement, and more. Scroll down to read my interview:
So first question is, can you share your journey into the fitness and wellness industry? How did you get into it?
Dan: I started my fitness journey when I was growing up playing hockey and wanted to get healthier and stronger for that sport. That's when I was probably was between the ages of 12 and 14. I ended up asking my parents for a trainer at the age of 14 , which introduced me to weight training. I get stronger for hockey and how to actually had to eat correctly. Before, I did not know how to eat or structure food at all.
What inspired you to start the Gym at Prospect and get into training others?
Dan: So originally, I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon and went to school for it. Then, I started getting more interested in and into training, which got me more into the exercise science realm. So when I graduated, I put medical school on hold and really fell in love with training and strength training. I realized I really wanted to do it for a living. However, when I stepped back and looked, I didn't like a lot of the gyms and the fitness facilities. I didn't like the quality of their training or their equipment. So I actually got fortunate enough to get an opportunity to start my own facility and tailor it to how I wanted.
What are what are some common misconceptions younger people have about staying fit?
Dan: It can be wide variety of things from working out to food. I think a lot of times I see younger adults thinking more is better. They often don't know how to program, they just try to do different things all the time and just work as hard as possible. So, a lot of them just train and do everything all at once, opposed to starting out with a set program.
See anything thing with food and eating, I think there's a large misconception. I think men or people who want to put on muscle, will just eat everything. They just eat anything and think it's going be okay. People that want to lose weight, which tends to be women, they just think that they need to eat less calories. Everyone that wants to get lean will start to run. I think there's a misconception that people believe they will get lean by just doing cardio and just eating less food. So many people don't really understand the ins and outs of the nutritional sciences in terms of what they need to actually consume to achieve their goals.Their either eating way too much or too less properly. I think those are the most common myths and misconceptions we see.
Are there specific trends in fitness, especially from social media that you think are particularly beneficial or harmful for young adults?
Dan: I think social media has been like a double edged sort for a lot of youth. I think it's actually gotten a lot of people into training that otherwise wouldn't have got into fitness. When I was growing up, fitness and people going to the gym was seen more as meant just for athletes. The people that wanted to do it recreationally were seen as weirdos back then. I think now social media is promoting training as a thing gets other people that don't want to do sports or they don't know what they like to do activity wise is a great thing.
I think the downside of social media is all the fitness related myths it spreads because people don't know what's working for them personally. Influencers say this is what I'm doing and they don't have an education in training or nutrition. But people believe these influencers because they look a certain way and they think they will look like that if they follow their instructions. We'll actually see this in our gym, where a lot of people see the trends and use them in the gym. The exercises comes from some influencer where all of the sudden their exercises are really popular for no reason. Does it make sense from an actual mechanic standpoint? No. Also, anything with food, there's just more fads on what to eat and not eat just because somebody said so. Most of the time they aren't even following proper nutrition guidelines.
What advice would you give to young adults trying to balance a busy schedule with staying active and eating healthy?
Dan: First, I think something is better than nothing. I think people try to workout every day to the max, right? They think it's an all or nothing thing. You either workout to the fullest or do nothing. It's like saying fitness is a light switch that's either on or off. But, they fail to realize doing two workouts is better than doing no workouts or even replacing a workout with walking is better than nothing. As long as you set your foot in the gym and get some sort of excercise in, that is taking steps towards your goal.
Same thing with food, you don't have to be perfect with your food every day, especially the younger people. I think prepping and knowing where your meals are gonna come from for that day is important. So if you leave your house and you have no thoughts of where you're gonna get something to eat for that day, you're probably just not gonna eat. And that usually develops into a pattern. It's okay sometimes, but not consistently. I tell a lot of my younger athletes and clients think in the night about what meals you're going to have the next day? So those are probably the simplest things young people can do. And again, there's no perfect program, just doing something and starting somewhere is better than just saying, I'm going to do anything!
What’s a common myth about meal prep that you’d like to debunk?
Dan: I think people shouldn't be scared of anyone specific macronutrient (carbs, protein, and fats). People think they need to be need to cut out carbs or need need like a million grams of protein to get lean. It's just I think people need to focus on just literally eating less processed foods and eating a balanced diet. Protein, carbs and fats and you have to figure out what balance is right for you. Anything that is overly restrictive is also probably not right, so you shouldn't really be leaving anything out. There shouldn't be you only prepping meals full of fat because that's probably not great, but not ones that are only full of protein or carbs. Basically, a balanced diet is key to living healthy and fit.
What’s your go-to healthy meal or favorite snack for staying energized throughout the day?
Dan: Well I find a lot of people think of snacks as something small, which ends up with them not eating enough. It then can spiral into binge eating, so instead if I find myself hungry, I like making bigger meals. I especially recommend this to young people because smaller meals rather than snacks tend to keep them fuller.
My favorite snack meal is probably a variation of some ground beef. I do ground beef, white rice, but then I actually do pickles, mustard and Mexican cheese. It's kind of like a cheeseburger bowl. I know it sounds a little weird, butI tried it a long time ago, and it's always it always tastes good to me. it's really easy to make, so that's definitely one of my favorites.