Everyday is Monday. When is your Monday?

As our nation continues to become more obese and less motivated, I often ask people, "When are you going to start your training and nutrition program?".  The typical answer I get is "Monday". My rebuttal sarcastically is "Everyday is Monday". What I mean is why wait. Getting a better body and  health is a difficult and lengthy process that WILL take more than a day, week, month and possibly years. All changes have to start somewhere. So if we implement "the one day at a time" motto, why not start now. 

When we have the end in mind, it is very difficult to appreciate the small changes we start slowly implementing in our lives like eating breakfast, or getting to the gym. I like setting long term goals as it helps us realize it will take time. I also like setting short term goals too. For example, if you want to lose 50 lbs in 6 months lets start with 1 lb this week and maybe 2 lbs next week.  Let's allow ourselves a moment of appreciation for a job well done.

So when is your Monday?????

Training with maximum effort

As a deveoping strength coach I find myself in a constant struggle to get people lifting more weight. Why is that? Well, a persons ability to move more weight in a particular lift with a particular tempo (or the cadence of an individual repitition) from session to session is a great way of assessing development. Also, it is assumed that if we are lifting more than we have developed more muscle thus elevating our metabolism. So what happens when your not moving forward weekly or just having a bad session does that mean I have lost muscle? Has my metabolism slipped? The answer is not that simple. I believe the largest factor to assessing an individual training session is the last 12-24hrs of the athletes life i.e..your last couple meals, how you slept, or even your stress levels for the day.

Below is a check list of guaranteed ways of improving each and every lifting session.

1. Get 8 hrs of sleep a night. A well rested body is the best way of being focused for the day

2. Eat meals every 3 hrs and a pre workout meal about 1 hr before lifting. The body has to have something to burn

3. Have a plan for lifting. Don't go into the gym and just "figure it out". Have your mind focused all day on what you would like to accomplish that day.

4. Supplements: Basic supplements that support your individual sessions like BCAA's for glycogen support, Beta Alanine to buffer lactic acid, Creatine for heavy lifting, Tyrosine and/or Carnosine for mental focus.

I can help develop these and other plans that are geared towards your individul goals. Go to http://www.powrperformance.com/ for contact information.

Remember we have to learn the best ways to be effective in our athletic development. Hard work is relative. Learn how to be prepared for mind blowing training sessions and get to your goals faster.

Fight winters aches and pains

As I was reminded at 1 am this morning when my daughter woke up with the stomach flu, we are knee deep in winter. So we need to get our bodies and immune systems in line and keep us from spending the majority of the cold months on a couch watching TV. I will give some ideas on keeping healthy this winter.

First, avoid sugar. Sugar lowers our immune systems. Fruit Juices and artificial sweeteners are included here. 

Next, get enough sleep. Getting lots of rest helps fight fatigue, which is an entry way into our body for bacteria and viruses.

Take supplements like Garlic (anti-bacteria), Probiotics (helps by adding good bacteria to the digestive tract), Glutamine (immune support, good for a healthy gut), Vitamin D (for fighting depression and stress), American Ginseng (kills colds in 6 hours) and of course a good multi and zinc.

Exercise: When you exercise you increase circulation and blood flow through the body. The immune system works better at finding a virus with better circulation and helps weed them out.

Wash your hands. This stops the spread of virus to the nose and mouth and also other people as well. 

Apply these few principles and we will have a better chance at getting through this season with our health in order

Circuits For Fat Loss

Guess what, they work. Don't take my word for it here is Kathy. She lost 15.5 lbs in 30 days.

We used a method that would keep our Lean Body Mass while burning fat. What I mean is I believe most people that are on a fat loss specific program have a tendency to lose fat and muscle at the same time. This is what I call "skinny fat". Basically your scale weight is ideal or better but your body fat % is the same or worse. This is due in large part to the increase in work load and decrease in calories putting your body in a catabolic or muscle burning state. We aimed to reverse this trend by using our "max effort lifts" and circuits simultaneously. The use of big lifts like squats, deadlifts and pressing 3 days a week with low rep ranges made our brain acknowledge the need for muscle thus preserving lean tissue. We then did 8-10 minute circuits nonstop for the lactate training effect. The goal here was to promote growth hormone and burn calories. We added cardio interval training on off days for a 6 day a week training schedule. 

The reason I did not outline the program exactly is I feel these types of programs are not for everyone. They are very demanding and can be counterproductive when done incorrectly.

For more information please go to www.powrperformance.com for contact information

He's Out There Grindin!

Hey, I want you to check out this guy. 

He's not super big, but if you look at the glute development on this animal, you wouldn't want him anywhere near your wife/girl friend.

PS. He's got on the old school Chuck T's as well. 

He probably could stomp a mud hole in your ass.