"It works for me.........."

Last week I mentioned the importance of having and achieving a goal in the areas of health and fitness. There are some people that are just satisfied with average. They go to the gym, do the same routine, and basically just "maintain". I don't see the fun in that! Why be complacent? There are so many ways to improve your strength, endurance, and body composition. So when someone says "It works for me......." what do the really mean? To be average, to maintain, to be the same person they were a year ago?
Here are a few tips to avoid getting stuck in "Average Land". Try total body workouts 3 days a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday would be ideal. Vary your rep ranges and try metabolic circuits at the end of the training session. Get outside and do a different type of cardio routine, run hills, do sprints, go to a park and perform body weight exercises. Get outside and enjoy the weather this time of year.
Here is an example of a basic total body routine to follow:
Monday
1a Alternating Lunge 4 sets of 8 on each leg
1b Push-up 4 sets of 10

2a RDL (Straight Leg Deadlift) 3 sets of 12
2b Seated Rows 3 sets of 10

Wednesday
1a Front Squat 3 sets of 6
2b Shoulder Press 3 sets of 8

2a Lat Pulldown 3 set of 12
2b Plank 3 sets of 45 to 60 seconds

Friday
1a Deadlift 3 set of 5
1b Dumbbell chest press 3 sets of 12

2a Walking lunges 3 sets of 8 steps each leg (8 steps in one direction and 8 steps back)
2b One arm dumbbell Row 3 sets of 10 each arm

Rest around 30 seconds between exercises a/b. Rest around 60- 90 seconds between exercises 1/2. This is not the "end all be all" or "the holy grail" workout routine. Just a simple routine that can incorporate total body training into your routine. Try it for 4 weeks. Try to increase the weight each week. Some exercise such as push-up and walking lunges are more for a metabolic factor then strength factor. However, Deadlifts, Front squats, Rows, and Dumbbell presses are there for you to really move some weight.
In my upcoming posts I will show you how to develop a program like this with a goal in mind. I will also discuss metabolic training and some ideas for interval training and sprinting. Don't settle for average, sometimes all you need to do is change what you're currently doing to be exceptional.

GOALS!

Once you dedicate yourself to getting healthier and in better shape, it's important to have a goal on where you want to be and what you want to achieve. Everyone starts to exercise and eat better for their own personal reasons. Some people want to lower blood pressure, reduce low back pain, some people actually want to gain weight (muscle), and some people just want to look better naked. Whether your goal is health related or vanity related you should know how to get there and how to determine you ARE there.
Now a goal is something that you can measure and document. "I want to get in good shape" or "I want to get stronger" are not measurable. You need to have some specifics "I want to get down to 10% body fat" or "I want to do 10 pull-ups" are measurable. Now you need a time frame 2 months, 6 months, a year- it's up to you, but make it realistic.
The hard part is creating a road map that will take you there. What are you going to do that will take you to where you want to be. It might sound too anal or difficult to document your food intake or workouts, however how will you know you are doing what needs to be done!
If you want to lose body fat you need to have an idea how many calories you are taking in and what nutrients are providing those calories. fitday.com is an excellent resource for tracking calories, protein, and fat. If your goal is getting stronger there are numerous resources to take you there, check out elitefts.com - maybe the most awesome site there is for strength fanatics like myself.
Now once you have your road map, stick to it! Don't get derailed- if you feel lazy, make it to the gym and get your lift in- you'll feel better once you get moving! If you are trying to get lean, make the right food choices, there is no excuse for eating chicken wings- there are far better food options when you go out to dinner. Now, it's your goal- once it is achieved reward yourself, but just cause you eat clean for one week or don't miss a workout for a couple weeks doesn't mean you deserve a gold medal. Have fun with your goal, stay positive, and achieve something great. Good luck!

Simple ways to improve your physique

If you have taken the first few steps to becoming healthier, leaner, and stronger, these little changes can be just what you need to keep from getting bored or complacent .

-Change up your cardio routine. If you do intervals try steady state cardio. If you do steady state try intervals. If you do both, try body weight/weighted circuits. Or if you want to go "old school" start jumping rope. Now I'm not saying to change forever, but for the next 3 weeks try something different. I know there are people out there that say "steady state cardio is worthless" or "I can't keep my heart rate up for a long enough time doing intervals". That's because you are in a comfort zone and need to get out! Try something different and see how it works, it just might help you break through your plateau.

-Eat more FAT! Swap those processed carbs for some good old fat. Eat almonds, cashews, walnuts instead of chips or pretzels. Eat some real eggs for breakfast. Eat some grass fed beef and give buffalo a try. Cook in coconut oil- don't be afraid of saturated fat! You can also drizzle some olive oil on your veggies or salad. Adding flax seeds or chia seeds on a salad is easy and tastes great. When in doubt take some fish oil softgels, helps the heart, brain, and body.

-Eat more green vegetables throughout the day. Have some spinach with your eggs. Cut up a cucumber and pour some rice wine vinegar on it and have it to accompany a chicken breast. Have some broccoli or asparagus with your steak, turkey, or buffalo. For dinner make a big salad with different varieties of lettuce and add some protein. Green veggies will make you feel full so you will eat less and also provide a broad spectrum of nutrients.

3 reasons your trainer sucks!

I've worked in a commercial gym for roughly 8 years and have lifted in one for pretty much my entire adult life. I always like to observe personal trainers, the exercises they choose, and their conduct with their clients. For the most part, I'd say 75% of the trainers I've seen in South Florida SUCK! I will add to this list but if your trainer does any of these 3 things- fire them!
1- Your trainer uses the Abductor/Adductor machine. "But what about the inner and outer thighs?" Come on, these machines are garbage- pretty much a waste of time, but you are put on them so you "Feel the burn!" Performing compound movements, squats, lunges, and deadlifts, will improve your thighs, butt, and midsection, more than any machine.
2-Your trainer has an "Arm Day" workout. I get it, nice big/lean arms are something the majority of gym goers want. Training the arms, and only arms is a waste of time and money. There are more "bang for your buck" exercise that will improve the arms as well as other parts of your body. Push ups, over head press, and dumbbell press will improve your triceps- Rows, pull downs, and any chin-up variation will improve your biceps.
3-Your trainer is texting or even checking their cell phone while you are performing a movement. Duh? Obviously this is wrong, but I've seen it so much over the past year and clients are dealing with it. Tell your trainer you are paying them for this time slot, not the person they are texting!

There is a difference.....

On Friday I mentioned the importance of performing squats as a tremendous exercise that has numerous benefits. However, I should have said "squatting correctly". If you go into any commercial gym you will see almost everyone "butchering" the squat. Every time I go to the gym to train myself I pretty much feel sick to my stomach watching some of these clowns and clownettes perform a squat incorrectly.
For the most part, most people only perform a 1/4 squat. If your thighs are not at least parallel to the ground you are not adequately recruiting your glutes and hamstrings. Don't say "Isn't it bad for your knees to squat below parallel"- then you are pretty much a full retard when it comes to body mechanics. I also see the knees shooting forward rather then the hips shooting back. To correct this start with a box squat. With a box squat you can judge your depth and focus on shooting your hips back and your knees staying neutral rather then shooting forward.

FRIDAY!

I love Friday's! If I could wake up every morning and just convince myself it's Friday, I would go through the week in a much better mood. I have been debating on what I should include in my first couple blog's- should I rant, should I inform, or should I make people laugh?? (like anyone is reading this). Well I guess I'll do a little bit of the first two .

RANT- Drove by McDonald's this am (on the way to Starbucks) and I saw groups of parents and kids stopping to get breakfast. The majority of them were obese or at least overweight. Shouldn't parents take the initiative to feed their children a healthy breakfast? I mean, come on, McDonald's! Cook for your kids and yourself, start the day in a healthy way....

INFORM- The majority of people exercising avoid the most beneficial, useful exercises. We squat everyday to sit, pick stuff up, and go to the bathroom. However in the gym you will see far more people performing the leg extension then a weighted squat. When do we ever perform a leg extension in our everyday lives. Start squatting (correctly), you will burn more calories, strengthen more parts of your body, and overall perform everyday activities more efficiently.

I'm back.......

Soooo..... It's been a while. To be honest I am starting this up again to improve my writing skills, get my name out there, and hopefully educate some people. I been thinking a lot recently (scary I know) about how much wrong information there is regarding fitness and health. I figured why not put it out there in blog form, even if nobody reads this at least I tried. Over the next few day, weeks, and months, my goal is to provide solid information pertaining to nutrition and exercise that will make you think and hopefully you will apply. I also want to be entertaining and not sound like a boring ass lecture or research journal. So stay tuned and hopefully this thing will be a worthwhile project.