My Fall 60 Day Challenge Goals

The Summer 60-Day Challenge just ended.  Although I didn't actually compete in it I was happy with my results as I was able to get leaner over the summer than I was in May at my Physique Show.

For the Fall 60-Day Challenge I will compete and it is timed well as the Northern States Natural Classic Physique Show is one week after the final weigh out for the 60-Day.

For the 60-Day my goals as are follows:

1. To win the Employee Division of the 60-Day Challenge.
2. To place better and be in better condition at my physique show the following week.
3. Most importantly, I want to be a really good example for my clients to follow for the next eight weeks.

I will keep you posted on how things are going!

Motivation Monday 7/18/16: Use a Countdown as a Motivator

Taken from http://www.wpsmartcounter.net/

One simple tool you can use for initial motivation as well as keeping motivated for a goal is a Countdown. 

Whether it is a Countdown App to use for an upcoming event or simply using a calendar, it is a great way to keep you moving towards your goal.

All you need to do to make it effective is to set a date you want o accomplish a goal by and make sure you see the countdown on a daily basis.

It is amazing how much it can keep a person on track to moving towards their goal if they look at it on a daily basis.  It enhances the sense of urgency.

Give it a try the next time you have a goal you want to accomplish.

Fitness Tool Friday: The BOSU

For this weeks post on Fitness Floor Friday I will go over the BOSU.

The BOSU was designed by David Weck in 1999 and is an acronym that means "Both Sides Up"[1].  It is a fitness tool that is similar to a Stability Ball but one half of it is flat to offer more stability.  This may be beneficial if you want to use lower body exercises to stand or step on while offering instability.

Regarding personal use, I use the BOSU either for Core exercises or as a Squat "Finisher."  For training the core I use a four exercise circuit that includes the (1) Abdominal Crunch, (2) Side Lying Crunch on each side, (3) Back Extension and (4) Seated Abdominal Rotations.  When I use it for legs I will do squats or 1.25 squats at a slow, consistent, and constant tempo done for time at the end of a leg workout.

When I use it for clients I do both the above exercise examples.  In addition I use Hip Raises and Push Ups with the flat side up.

In the future I will have video examples of some of the above BOSU exercises.

Training Tip Thursday 7/7/16: Monitor Work to Rest Ratios

People are getting more and more interested in High Intensity Training or High Intensity Interval Training as a form of cardio training.

Unfortunately most people when doing this form of cardio do what Strength Coach Martin Rooney calls the "Illogical 4" in his book Warrior Cardio.  As a result they fall short of achieving their performance goals.

The "Illogical 4" are:

1. Novelty
2. Coolness
3. Ability to produce soreness
4. Ability to produce fatigue

To avoid these in higher intensity cardio training like High Intensity Interval Training make sure to monitor the Work-To-Rest Ratio.  Rooney describes two ways to monitor this in his book:

1. Work/Rest:  An example would be 1:3.  In this example you would exercise hard for 1-minute and rest for 3-minutes before you start over again.
2. Recovery Heart Rate:  In this example you would use a Heart Rate Monitor.  During the work period your heart rate would increase quite a bit.  One you are done with the work period you would rest until your heart rate gets to a certain number.  Once you get to that number you would start the interval again.

To make cardio more effective in the future when doing aggressive intervals make sure you use a Heart Rate Monitor to track heart rate and start with longer rest periods (i.e. 1:4 Ratio).  Over time try to gradually decrease the rest periods by 15-seconds every other workout until it gets to a 1:2 Ratio.  Once you get to that point you can raise the work times by 15-seconds every other workout. 

Give this a try and see what happens.

Workout Wednesday 7/7/16: Incorporate Opposing Muscle Group Supersets Into Your Program

In many of my personal workouts and training programs as well as those I design for my clients one method I often use is using supersets for opposing muscle groups.

I wanted to take this time to give Jim Stoppani a shout out as he has a well written section on the benefits of this in his book Encyclopedia of Muscle & Strength.

Here are five of those benefits listed in his book:

1. Greater strength and power.  I won't cite all the studies to support this but it seems like doing supersets can activate the muscles better.
2. Greater fat burn in the workout.  Stoppani lists references for this as well but doing two exercises for opposing muscle groups will increase the caloric burn during the workout.
3. You will hit muscles you have probably neglected.  The main muscle group that people miss is back and this technique allows you to train that more as you have to match the volume of the chest.
4. Time management.  This is a no brainer as you will be doing work while you are resting.
5. Change.  Changes are you have not done this before.

Regarding the fifth point, if you have not tried opposing muscle group supersets in the past give them a try in the future as they can be a really nice change in your program.

Tasty Tuesday 7/5/16: Steamed Vegetable Option #1

I often get asked questions on how I have an easy time eating vegetables.  One way is a simple recipe I am going to share with you.

Regarding cooking equipment all you need is a Steamer - nothing fancy, just a good basic Steamer for vegetables. 

I call  this "Steamed Vegetable Option #1."  Regarding ingredients/food all you need is the following:

• 1 Bag of Vegetable Medley.  In this photo I use Broccoli/Cauliflower.
• Olive Oil
• Lime Juice (I use the Organic brands)
• Celtic Sea Salt
• Pepper

Here are the directions:

1. Once the water is boiling, empty the bag of vegetables into the steamer and steam them to the consistency you desire (I like to steam them for 6-minutes). 
2. Once steamed, put the vegetables in a large bowl.  Most of the time I will put a pre-cooked, cut up chicken breast at the bottom of the bowl and put the vegetables on top. 
3. Add 1-2 TBSP of Olive Oil, 1/2-1 TBSP of Lime Juice, 1/4-1/2 tsp of Celtic Sea Salt, and a pinch of Black Pepper for flavoring.

Give it a try and let me know how it tastes.

Workout Wednesday 6/29/16: Increase Reps First, Resistance Second

Workout Wednesday Tip:  Increase Reps First, Resistance Second

If there is a simple fix for most people's resistance training programs it is proper progression. 
 
The first step to improve this is to choose a rep range for the exercises you are going to use for 4-6 weeks. Some examples include 12-15, 10-12, 8-10, 6-8, etc. After you determine the rep range you are going to use, multiply it by how many sets you are going to do in the exercise.

For illustration, let's say you are going to do the Barbell Squat for 3 Sets X 10-12 Reps. When you multiply 3 X 10 and 12 respectively you get 30-36 total reps - this is your range.

If you didn't get 30 total reps after 3 sets of the Barbell Squat you picked a resistance that was too heavy. If you are between 30-35 total reps after 3 sets you picked the right resistance. Once you can perform 36 or more you can bump the weight up.

Give that simple tip a try going forward as it is effective.

Grenz's Bookshelf 6/27/16: Strong & Sculpted by Brad Schoenfeld

I just recently finished the book Strong & Sculpted by Brad Schoenfeld.  It is a book that is for women who want to resistance train. 

Here are some of the things I liked about the book:

1. It is simple to read and simple to follow.  It is only 216 pages long with 127 pages geared towards exercises and their descriptions.
2. It does a nice job of explaining the science behind exercise without making things confusing or overwhelming.
3. It has four different easy to apply training phases for different levels of fitness enthusiasts.  In fact women of all levels can start at the first level and work their way into the forth level over the course of a year and get good results.

Regarding topics I wish it would have covered more:

1. In the warm up section it referenced and used examples of the General and Specific warm-ups but only talked about dynamic warm-up/movement prep briefly.  It would have been nice if it would have covered that type of warm-up more as more people need it because they are more sedentary than before.
2. Like most books on resistance training it only spoke briefly on cardio.  It talked about Hight Intensity Interval Training and Steady State Cardio but did not go into too much detail on how to apply them.

If these two topics would have had a little more meat to them a good book would have been a great book.

To conclude this post, for women who want to get into resistance training this is a good, simple to read and apply book.  I would recommend it.

The Six Pillars of Nutrtion: A Simple Nutrtional Template That Works

I recently listened to a podcast from Mike Robertson of Robertson Training Systems and he interviewed Mike Roussell, PhD.

I am familiar with Mike through his articles on T-Nation, Men's Health, etc. and I forgot how applicable his nutritional information is in addition to being really good.  One tool he uses with his clients is The Six Pillars of Nutrition which can be found in a quick video found here or his book found on Kindle found here.

The Six Pillars of Nutrition are for people to be used as a pre-req. before they start more advanced and individualized nutritional templates.  They are:

1. Eat multiple meals/day.  Ideally breakfast, lunch and dinner with one snack.
2. Reduce processed food.  Try to avoid or limit white processed sugar, flour and food that comes out of packages.
3. Try to get fruits or vegetables with each meal.  This is pretty self explanatory, however be cautious of getting too many servings of tropical fruit like bananas, pineapple, grapes, etc.
4. Drink water.  Drink more water and limit liquid beverages that contain sugar and/or lots of empty calories.
5. Consume lean proteins.  Make sure you are getting servings of lean proteins at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
6. Be strategic with starches.  Ideally have them either at breakfast or right after the workout.

In the future before you try to get all crazy with your nutrition plan, give these six behaviors a try.  You may be pleasantly surprised by how well they might work for you!

Fitness Tool Friday 6/24/16: The Dumbbell

The fitness tool that will be feature this week is the Dumbbell.  As much as I would like to start out with Body Weight or Resist-A-Bands as you can take those pretty much anywhere (Body weight isn't an issue, bands you still need to pack), I choose to feature the dumbbells.  The reason for this is if you can at least master the use of Dumbbells you will be able to do lots of different programs not only in a commercial gym but a hotel or apartment gym as well (Most now have dumbbell pairs that go from 5-50 lbs.). 

Here are some basic exercises using dumbbells that will allow you to have a good training program for all body parts just about anywhere (Especially if you travel and need a hotel gym):  

1. Dumbbell Goblet Squat
2. Dumbbell Step Up
3. Dumbbell Lunge
4. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
5. Dumbbell Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift
6. Dumbbell Single-Leg Standing Calf Raise
7. Dumbbell 1-Arm Row
8. Dumbbell Flat Bench Chest Press
9. Dumbbell Flat Bench Fly
10. Dumbbell Bent-Over Row
11. Dumbbell Shoulder Press
12. Dumbbell Side Raise
13. Dumbbell Biceps Curl
14. Dumbbell Flat Bench Skull Crusher

Give these exercises a try sometime. 





Workout Wednesday 6/22/16: Today's Energy Systems Workout

Here is the workout I did today.

It was an Energy Systems Workout.  After the Dynamic Warm-Up I performed the following:

1. Sprint 10 yards/walk back
2. Sprint 20 yards/walk back
3. Sprint 30 yards/walk back
4. Sprint 40 yards/walk back
5. Sprint 50 yards/walk back
6. Perform 10 regular burpees
7. Rest for 90-120 seconds

*I did this for five total rounds. 

**At the end of each round I increased the burpees by 5 reps (10, 15, 20, 25, 30 reps respectively).

Give it a try as it was great to do outside.

Contenders vs. Champions

I just recently read The Champion's Comeback by Jim Afremow.  In the book he talks how there are two people who show up in sports and life:  The Contender and the Champion.  Here is the difference between them as stated in the book.

• The Contender:  They are threatened by the prospect of competition and faiure.  They either refuse help or expect others to do the hard work instead of doing it themselves.
• The Champion:  They look for tough challenges and use them as opportunities for growth.  They also look for support and feedback (From coaches, teammates, etc.).

As Afremow states, "A champion, unlike a contender regroups after inevitable setbacks and emerges stronger.  A champion embraces difficult and demanding situations and learns from both triumphs and failures."

"The ability to step up to challenges is important in all aspects of life, and it's a key ingredient of happiness and success."

Going forward decide if you are a Contender or Champion.  Hopefully after reading this you decide to be a Champion and you take risks, learn from them (Good or bad) and keep moving forward.

Thursday Training Tip 6/16/16: Two Simple Progression Tips

In order to get results in the gym progressing either resistance or reps is important when it comes to resistance training.

However, people usually don't progress enough, try to progress to quickly or are confused on the topic in general.

Here are two tips to help you get the most out of progression. 

1. Single Rep Number:  An example of this would be 5 Sets X 5 Reps using the same resistance.  If you take 5 X 5 it equals 25 total reps.  So if you are performing the Barbell Bench Press with 185 lbs. and you complete 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 reps respectively (25 total) you get to increase the resistance.  The following week you increase the resistance to 190 lbs. and complete 5, 5, 4, 4, 3 reps (21 total) you would want to keep the weight the same the following weeks until 25 reps are completed.
2. Rep Range Number: An example of this would be 3 Sets X 10-12 Reps.  If you take 3 X 10 it equals 30 reps (This is the low range).  Multiplying 3 X 12 equals 36 (this is the high range).  If you perform a Barbell Biceps Curl with 65 lbs. and completed 15, 12, 10 reps it equals 37 total reps.  You get to increase the resistance the next time you lift.  If you did 10, 8, 6 it equals 24 reps and you used too much resistance.  In the future you may want to lower it a bit.

I hope this makes sense in your workouts in the future.

Give one of these methods a try and see how they work for you.

Workout Wednesday 6/15/16: F.I.T. Class Workout for Tuesday, June 14th

Here is the format for F.I.T. that I taught at Life Time Athletic/Target Center on June 14th.  The equipment is in the photo and below is the workout in case if you missed it.

All exercises are done in for 15-20 reps in a large circuit format (One exercise done after another in a row with minimal rest in between) for 2-3 rotations based on how much time you have:

1. Figure-8-Band Tube Walk
2. BOSU Hip Raise (1 or 2 legs)
3. BOSU Push Up
4. BOSU Squat
5. Resist-A-Band Seated Row (Sit on the BOSU)
6. BOSU Lunge (Front or rear foot on BOSU)
7. Dumbbell Shoulder Press
8. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift (1 or 2 Legs)
9. Resist-A-Band Biceps Curl
10. BOSU Side Crunch
11. Dumbbell Standing Overhead Triceps Extension
12. BOSU Abdominal Crunch

Give it a try!

Tasty Tuesday Tip 6/14/16: Nuts ARE NOT a Source of Protein!

Many people say they get "Lots of Protein." 

When I ask them where they are getting the majority of their protein from a common answer is "Nuts."

I hate to break the news to everyone but nuts ARE NOT a significant source of protein.  They are a significant source of fat.

Most nut variations (Almonds, Cashews, Walnuts, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, etc.) contain about 5-7 grams of protein/serving.  In the same serving they contain about 6-8 grams of carbohydrates and about 14-17 grams of fat.  Based of this example 50% or more of their calories are from fat.

I am not saying you can't eat nuts, just make sure you get plenty of protein from actual protein sources like meat, eggs, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, protein powders, etc. 

Nuts make a great additional "Secondary Protein" (i.e. one serving can add 5-7 grams of protein to a protein from the list above) or a healthy snack between meals.  However, keep the amount you eat in check.  If you eat four servings of nuts in a day you will get 56-68 grams of fat for 20-28 grams of protein - the fat can add up fast!

Keep this in mind in the future.

Motivation Monday: Adopt a Growth Mindset

One of the keys to having optimal success is to maximize your mindset.  In the book Mindset by Carol Dweck two mindsets are discussed:  Fixed and Growth.

The Fixed Mindset has these characteristics:

• Avoid challenges
• Give up easily when obstacles are in the way
• See effort as fruitless
• Ignore useful negative feedback or criticism
• Feel threatened by the success of others
• As a result they plateau early and achieve less than their full potential
• All this confirms a deterministic view of the world

The Growth Mindset has these characteristics:

• Embrace challenges
• Persist in the face of obstacles or setbacks
• See effort as a path to mastery
• Learn from criticism
• Find lessons and inspiration from the success of others
• As a result they reach ever higher levels of achievement
• All this gives them a great sense of free will

To get optimal success in fitness, finance, friendship, etc. it is important to choose the Growth Mindset.  Always look for ways to get better and if you fail, learn from it and move forward!

60-Day Transformation Tips 1-5

The last five days I have been sharing tips for the Life Time Fitness 60-Day Challenge.  The goal is to give people a tip each day for sixty days on my Facebook Page.  Here are the first five tips:

1. Design your training program ahead of time.
2. Log your food in a nutrition journal.
3. Use the "Jeans Test."
4. Increase your daily steps.
5. Try the "Meat and Nuts Breakfast."

Stay tuned for posts in the near future that describe the above in more detail.

Training Tip 6/10/16: Experiment With Tempo When Lifting

When most people lift weights they usually just lift the weight for the sake of lifting the weight.  If they focus on anything it is usually on how much weight is being lifted and how many reps they are doing.

An easy opportunity to improve your performance in the gym is by experimenting with different lifting tempos.  I give credit to Charles Poliquin for making fitness enthusiasts more aware of the positive impact it can have on resistance training.

He uses a 4-count model for tempo (i.e. 4021 for Barbell Biceps Curls) that goes as follows:

• The "4" represents the eccentric motion.
• The "0" represents the first isometric pause.
• The "2" represents the concentric motion.
• The "1" represents the second eccentric pause.
• *Using the Barbell Biceps Curls exercise as an example you would lower the Barbell for 4-seconds, don't pause on the bottom of the motion (0), lift the Barbell back up for 2-seconds and pause on top of the movement for 1-second.

To get a practical start using tempo on your lifting focus on either the eccentric count or one of the two isometric pauses initially as it is less to think about.  Once you get good at using those focus on continuous reps at tempos of 2010 where you keep the weight moving 2-seconds down and 1-second up with no pauses in between.

Give it a try the next time you lift.

Workout Wednesday 6/8/16: Tuesday's F.I.T. Class

For Workout Wednesday, I am going to give you the workout I did in my F.I.T. Group Exercise class on Tuesday, June 7th at Life Time Athletic/Target Center.

Equipment is shown in the photo and included a Mat, BOSU, Long Resist-A-Band, Figure-8 Band, and 2-3 pairs of Dumbbells.

Dynamic Warm Up:  10 minutes total time.  Each exercise is done for 10-12 reps.

Circuit 1:  2 Sets X 15-20 Reps

1. BOSU Hip Raise
2. BOSU Push Ups
3. Dumbbell Single Leg Deadlifts
4. Resist-A-Band Standing Pull Aparts

Circuit 2: 

1. BOSU Dynamic Plank
2. Resist-A-Band Seated Row (Sit on BOSU)
3. BOSU Squat
4. BOSU Dumbbell Fly 

Circuit 3:

1. BOSU Side Crunch
2. Dumbbell Bent-Over Row
3. BOSU Split Lunge (Front or Rear Foot Elevated)
4. Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Circuit 4:

1. BOSU Abdominal Crunch
2. Dumbbell Side Raise
3. Resist-A-Band Biceps Curl
4. BOSU Dumbbell Lying Triceps Extensions

If you missed class, give it a try.  If you want to have someone tell you what to do when you workout, come to class on Tuesdays at 12:00.

Have a great evening!

Tasty Tuesday Tip 6/7/16: Popcorn Replacement

This weeks Tasty Tuesday Tip involves what many people eat at the movie theater as a treat and that treat is popcorn.

The problem with popcorn purchased at a movie theater such as AMC is it can have anywhere between 225 calories (11 grams of fat) for a small serving to 1,030 calories (41 grams of fat) for a large serving and these servings don't even include butter! [1]

If you want something to snack on without all the calories the next time you go to the movies try Quaker Buttered Popcorn flavored Rice Cakes.  One of these Rice Cakes is around 30 calories with gram of fat.  You could eat the whole bag and get 400 calories with around 12 grams of fat tops.

For people trying to eat heathier when they go to the movies, the Rice Cakes may be the way to go.  In addition a bag of these Rice Cakes costs $2.25 compared to movie popcorn that can be $7-10 based on serving size.

Give them a try sometime.

References:

1. http://www.thedailymeal.com/how-unhealthy-movie-theater-popcorn