Clear Your Limiting Beliefs

If you think you can't do something then you are right. There is a trick that I use when I train many women. I don't tell them how much weight they are lifting or I will tell them that they are lifting less weight than they are actually lifting. Why? I don't tell them because many times if the weight is heavy they will start to doubt that they can lift the weight even though I know that they can lift it with no problem. If they doubt that they can lift the weight then they will never lift it. We all have limiting beliefs and these beliefs shape how we go about our daily lives. Another example that I like to use is the new client who comes in and tells me that they always get stuck in their weight loss or muscle gain at a certain point and can't make anymore progress. The reason that this client gets stuck is because he/she thinks that they always get stuck. Clear your limiting beliefs and challenge yourself to break through to new levels. Who says that you cannot get the physique that you desire. You just have to believe that you can.

New Years Resolutions

We are coming up on that time of year again when people try to get themselves into new habits. Every year people make New Years resolutions in which they tell themselves that they will get in shape. What typically happens is that people make some changes and stick with them for a couple of weeks and then all of the sudden something happens and they fail to continue with their New Years resolution. The real key to making good on your New Years resolution is to change your mind set. You have to remember that change always starts in your mind and if you can change the way you think that is the solution to making lasting changes.

Fiber

Most Americans do not get enough fiber and fiber is essential for fat loss. According to Scott Connelly "when fiber is digested, it is fermented in the gut and converted into short chain fatty acids, which can be burned for fuel. The burning of fatty acids from fiber sends a signal to your fat cells telling them to release fat, which your body burns for fuel." Another benefit of fiber is that it makes you feel full and it will help to regulate your bowel movements.

Most people do not get enough fiber because they do not eat enough vegetables. The best way to increase your fiber intake is to increase your vegetable intake. A good number to shoot for when it comes to fiber intake is around 60 grams/day. Just make sure to work your way up to this amount especially if your diet has been lacking in fiber. If you are trying to get leaner you should consider protein and fiber to be the one two punch that will get you lean.

Fructose

Class Schedule for This Week
Monday: Regular Schedule
Tuesday: Regular Schedule
Wednesday: 6am, 9am, 12pm
Thursday: No Class
Friday: 9am

Class Schedule for Next Week
There will be no class at 6pm on Wed. All other classes will remain as scheduled

"The F word in nutrition is not Fat it is Fructose." This is a quote from Dr. Scott Connelly.

So what is wrong with fructose and where do we get it from? When most people think of fructose they think of fruit, but what most people do not realize is that we get most of our fructose today from sugar and processed food. Fructose is found in abundance in our food supply today in the form of high fructose corn syrup. You must remember that fructose is processed in the liver and that our liver only has the capacity to hold about 50 grams of fructose per day. Anything above what the liver can handle is automatically converted into triglycerides(fat) in our bodies. This means that excess fructose is converted into fat. This conversion into triglycerides is also a large cause of many peoples cholesterol problems. There is also another problem with fructose in that it does not elevate insulin levels like many other carbs. If insulin is not elevated then the sugar does not get swept out of the blood stream. The high levels of blood sugar lead to a number of conditions, the most notable is accelerated aging. So how do we control our fructose consumption? First and foremost, try to cut all high fructose corn syrup out of your diet. It is the biggest source of fructose for most people today. There has been a big marketing campaign lately saying that high fructose corn syrup is not that bad for you, but if you look at who is funding those advertisements it is the corn refiners of America. The other big source of fructose in our diet today is sugar. Sugar is 50% fructose, so if you eat 100 grams of sugar then you are consuming 50 grams of fructose which is your limit. The other source of fructose in our diet is fruit and fruit juice. Fruit juice can be dangerous because it is pure fructose without the fiber. Fruit is perfectly fine in moderation but just remember that you can have too much of a good thing. Usually we try to keep most people to around 2 pieces of fruit/day max because that usually puts them at the 50 gram mark. Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to fructose is that the more you exercise at a high intensity the better you will be able to utilize fructose. When you exercise at a high intensity you deplete you glycogen stores which allows you to get away with consuming slightly more fructose. In a sedentary individual the amount of fructose they can handle per day is probably closer to 35 grams/day.

Are You Getting Your Vitamin D This Winter

Living in Virginia, we do not get much sun in the winter. This lack of sun increases our needs for vitamin D. Since we cannot get our vitamin D from the sunlight we must look to supplements. There are two easy ways that you can supplement vitamin D. One easy way is to take a quality vitamin D supplement(just remember that you get what you pay for with supplements). The other option is to replace some of your fish oil with cod liver oil. If you go the cod liver oil route then make sure that you do not overdo it because cod liver oil also contains vitamin A which can become toxic in high levels. Being deficient in vitamin D is not only common for us in Virginia but for people everywhere. Many people are deficient in vitamin D because we do not get enough sun exposure and when we do we are wearing sunscreen. Some of the benefits of vitamin D are

• lowered risk of cancer
• improved cardiovascular health
• better bone health
• better absorbtion of calcium, zinc, and iron
• lowered risk of Alzheimers, MS, Parkinsons
• lowered risk of getting the flu
• reduced arthritis symptoms

Men vs Women

I have seen it many times when a husband and wife begin a workout program together. Usually what happens is the male loses a bunch of weight quickly by just adding the exercise and making a few nutritional changes but the female does not lose weight as quickly as the male. Let me offer an explanation for this.

Females carry less muscle mass than males on average which causes them to have a lower resting metabolism(remember that your metabolism is determined by your muscle mass). Since the average female has a lower metabolic rate it is harder to create the caloric deficit that is necessary to lose weight. In order to create a bigger caloric deficit I think that females need to exericise more frequently than men in order to make drastic changes. Females who want to change their physique should be exercising a mimimum of 4-5 hours/week. I have noticed that the women that get the best results from our programs exercise more frequently.

There are some other factors involved as well such as hormones but the point wanted to make is that if you want results you need to consistently workout throughout the week.

Holiday Parties

Since it is the Holiday season I thought I would offer a couple of ways to stay lean or even get leaner during the Holidays. I typically don't condone eating excess sugar or carbs but it is hard for many people to avoid during this time of the year. So if you are going to be eating more carbs then here are a couple of strategies that may help.

1) Eat protein first. Remember that the word "protein," translated in Greek means of first importance. Protein is the most filling of all of the nutrients so if you know that you are going to be around a lot of tempting foods try to eat protein first so you will not eat as much junk.

2) Earn your carbs. If you know that you are going to be around a lot of high sugar foods then try and get an extra workout in that week. When you workout you deplete muscle glycogen which will make it more likely that when you do eat sugar it will go to your muscles. A workout right before your Holiday party may also be a good idea because you will go to the party with improved insulin sensitivity.

3) Bring your fish oil. By taking fish oil with your sweets you will improve your insulin sensitivity. This will also make it more likely that the sugar will go to your muscle rather than your fat.

4) Cycle your carbs. If you know that you are going to be around tempting foods on the weekend then make an effort to eat fewer carbs and calories during the week. This combined with an extra workout or two that week will create a situation in which the sweets can be used by your muscles. This is a trick that has been used by bodybuilders for years and it is very effective but it does require very good discipline and hard work the rest of the week.

Nobody Ever Gained Weight On Survivor

"Nobody ever gained weight on the show Survivor," is a quote that I heard from Alwyn Cosgrove when I was able to spend a week with him earlier this year. For those of you who are not familiar with Alwyn he is known as one of the go to trainers for fat loss. So what is the point of his quote? If you are struggling with your weight stop eating so much. The people on Survivor do not have easy access to food like they normally do. They are forced to hunt and forage for their food and this causes two things to happen. Number one they can't eat that many calories because there is no fridge with food waiting and number two they are forced to eat a natural diet that is low in insulin because there are no refined or processed foods. Couple these factors with more physical activity and it is not to difficult to lose weight. Pretty simple. Many times people take in more than they really need without realizing it. In order to lose weight you must be in a caloric deficit(taking in less than you are burning) and this can be created through eating less and exercising more.

Tempo

So how much does the speed of your repetitions affect the results of your weight lifting program. The tempo of your reps plays a large role in determining the results of your program. I will give you a quick example. If person A does a set of 12 squats in which each rep takes 2 seconds the total time of the set(or time under tension) is 24 seconds. If person B does a set of 12 squats and the each rep takes 5 seconds the total time of the set is 1 minute. The results of these two programs will be drastically different in terms of body fat and muscle gain. A total time under tension of 24 seconds with a weight that can be lifted for 12 reps will do little to aid in burning body fat and gaining muscle, while a total time under tension of 1 minute with a weight that can be lifted for 12 repetitions will be very beneficial in burning body fat and building lean muscle. Therefore, on paper people could do the same workout but if the tempo is not accounted for the results will be very different. Just remember that it is vital that you match your total time under tension with the desired result of the program.

When Do You Burn Your Calories

Many people are often caught up in trying to burn a lot of calories during their workouts. You hear advertisements for workouts that burn 600 or 1000 calories per workout, but how many calories you burn during your workout may not really be that important. It is how many calories that you burn during the rest of the day that really matters. So how do we burn more calories throughout the rest of the day.

1) Intense exercise raises your resting metabolic rate for up to 72 hours post workout. Your metabolism will be elevated in order to replenish and repair your exhausted muscles. So your workout can be short and intense and still burn a ton of calories after the workout is over.

2) Carry more lean muscle. One pound of muscle burns approximately 50 calories per day while fat burns around 10 calories per day. So if you add 5 lbs of muscle to your frame you will burn an extra 250 calories per day.

3) Eat small frequent meals. Every time that you eat you require energy for digestion. So the more often you eat the more calories you burn. Therefore you should try to spread your food throughout the day into 5 or 6 smaller meals.

4) Eat more protein. Protein in the most thermogenic of all the macro nutrients. Protein requires the most energy to digest. Each one of your smaller meals throughout the day should contain a quality protein source. By doing this you will burn more calories.

5) Take a high quality fish oil supplement. Fish oil in the correct dosages has been shown to speed up the metabolism by up to 500 calories per day.

Early to Bed Early to Rise

Yesterday I was reading an article by Ian King. Ian is a very well known and respected strength coach. One of the quotes in the article was that "an hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours of sleep after midnight. Our bodies are made to go to bed early and wake up early. If you are constantly going to bed after 10pm then you are not allowing your body to fully recharge your muscles and balance your hormones. Try going to bed an hour earlier for the next week and see if it helps your results you may be surprised.

There Is No Replacement For Hard Work and Discipline

People often ask what they can do to improve their body. The answer for many people lies in working harder and being more disciplined with their nutrition and training. A couple of questions that you can ask yourself are

When was the last time you were laying on the ground following a workout or set?
When was the last time you felt slightly nauseous from your workout?
When was the last time you were really sore from a workout?
When was the last time you went more than a month with good nutrition without deviating?
When was the last time you exercised at least 4 hours/week for 12 continuous weeks?
When was the last time your were anxious about your workout?

These are just some questions to think about. Most of the answers to these questions have to do with discipline and consistency, the others have to do with the intensity of your workouts. If the intensity of your workouts is high and you are not getting results then you must look at your consistency and nutrition. If your nutrition and consistency are good then you should look at your training intensity. Many people think they are working hard but are not really sure what hard work is. Make a commitment to work 20% harder. If you are having a conversation in the midldle of your workout you are not working hard enough. Just remember that there is no replacement for hard work and discipline.

Workout of the Day
Body Composition Routine

Why Do You Need More Sleep in the WInter

In the Winter many people wonder why it is so hard to get out of bed. Part of it is probably due to the fact that people don't want to get out of their warm bed but there is also some scientific reasoning behind it. During the winter there is not as much sunlight and when we are lacking in sunlight we convert the neurotransmitter serotonin into melotonin. When this conversion happens we want to sleep more. So it is natural to want to sleep more in the winter. This is one of the reasons why it is important to get some sunshine everyday.

Workout of the Day
Interval Cardio

Class Schedule for this Week
There will be no class on Thursday or Friday of this week. All other classes will remain as scheduled.

Workout of the Day
Body Composition Routine

Workout of the Day
Strength Routine

The Most Important Aspect of Sleep

When you talk to people about their sleep there are many questions that you can ask them. You can inquire about the quality of their sleep, whether or not they sleep all the way through the night, if they have trouble going to bed at night or waking up in the morning, but according to Charles Poliquin the most important thing to consider about your sleep is that you wake up at the same time every morning. If you are a person that wakes up at 6am on the weekdays and then sleeps in on the weekends then that is not optimal for your body. One somewhat easy change that you can make is to wake up at the same time on the weekend and take a nap during the day if you are tired. By doing this you allow your body's internal clock to become regulated which will only help your health, well being, and body composition.

Workout of the Day
Stength Routine

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is an often misunderstood topic these days. Cholesterol is not a good predictor of heart disease, and something that many people do not know is that it is actually not good for you to have too low of a cholesterol. If your cholesterol gets too low then your chances of things like cancer and strokes increase. If your cholesterol is low your will also have abnormal hormone production. Many of the hormones in the body are made from cholesterol, so if you cut all of the cholesterol out of your diet you will lose the ability to create proper hormone balance. Another interesting thing about cholesterol is that it can change by 20% based on the season. During the winter and fall your cholesterol will be 20% higher than in the spring and summer. So if you get your cholesterol checked in the colder months make sure that you account for the time of year.

Workout of the Day
Interval Cardio

How Depleted is Our Soil?

One of the most common things you here in the media is that a a good diet will supply all of the vitamins and minerals that you need and that supplements such as multi-vitamins are not necessary. Here is an excerpt from the 74th congress, 2nd Session, Senate Document no 264.

"Do you know that most of us today are suffering from certain dangerous diet deficiencies which cannot be remedied until depleted soils from which our food comes are brought into proper mineral balance? The alarming fact is that foods(fruits, vegetables, and grains) now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contain enough of certain minerals are starving us - no matter how much of them we eat. The truth is that our foods vary enormously in value, and some of them aren't worth eating as food. Our physical well-being is more directly dependent upon the minerals we take into our system than upon the calories or vitamins or upon the precise proportions of starch, protein, or carbohydrate we consume. Laboratory tests prove that the fruits, the vegetables, the grains, the eggs, and even the milk and the meats of today are not what they were a few generations ago. No man today can eat enough fruits and vegetables to supply his stomach with the mineral salts he requires for perfect health, because his stomach isn't big enough to hold them. And we are turning into a nation of big stomachs."

The scariest thing about the testimony that was given to the Senate is that it was given in 1936! This quote came from the book The Miracle of Magnesium. Just think about how much further the quality of our food supply has diminished in the last 70 years. In our world today it is nearly impossible to get enough of the raw materials we need for optimal health. For these reasons it is vital that everyone is taking a quality multi-vitamin.

Workout of the Day
Strength routine

Margarine

If you go through the grocery store today there are trans fats everywhere. Try going through the grocery store this week to see how many products have hydrogenated oil in the ingredients. Trans fats should not be consumed by humans since they disrupt many processes in the body. Someone told me last week that you can actually run your car on margarine. The main ingredient in most margarines is trans fat and trans fats are actually very similar to motor oil. The are not good for us so do yourself a favor and try to avoid anything that has hydrogenated oils in the ingredients. If you do end up consuming trans fats one thing that can help is fish oil. The omega 3's help to push the trans fats out of the cells.

Workout of the Day
Strength Routine

Optimal vs Adequate

Today for most nutrients people go by the RDA (recommended daily allowance). What most people do not realize is that the RDA was developed in order to prevent disease. For example, the RDA, for vitamin C was set at the level you must consume to avoid getting scurvy. This is true for all of the nutrients, the levels are set at the level you need to avoid getting the diseases that result from a deficiency in that nutrient. What most people do not realize is that these levels are what you need to prevent disease not to have optimal health. If you wish to have optimal health then you must consume larger quantities of many of the nutrients. The same can be said about working out. There is a certain minimum amount necessary to stay lean and avoid sickness but this level is not the optimal level to really make progress and get leaner. In order to improve your body composition you must consume optimal amounts of nutrients and workout at the optimal frequency and intensity for your body. Doing the minimum will not work. Remember that extraordinary results require extraordinary methods.

Workout of the Day
Strength Routine

Number of Workouts

One of the most frequent questions that I get asked is how often people should workout. You should do something everyday with maybe one day off per week. Keep in mind that the type of workouts that you do throughout the week should vary. One thing that I learned from Charles Poliquin regarding getting stronger is that the more frequently you lift weights the more often you will stimulate protein synthesis. The more often you can stimulate protein synthesis the faster your body will change.

Workout of the Day
Strength Routine

Immune System

Often people want to know ways to get healthy. One of the best ways to keep from getting sick is to eat a proper diet and ensure that your digestive system is working properly. 70% of your immune system is in your gut so the foods that you eat play a huge role in determining your overall health. If you eat foods that are lacking in nutrition or that are inflammatory foods for your body then you are going to have trouble staying healthy. However, if you consume a good diet(which is different for everyone) while avoiding foods that you are sensitive to you will ensure that your immune system functions properly. So what are signs that your gut could be functioning better or that you are eating foods that your body does not do well with. Any type of autoimmune disorder is a dead give away that you have been eating foods that your body does not like. This could be anything from arthritis, type 1 diabetes, thyroid disorders , eczema, psoriasis, celiac disease, chron's disease, or allergies. All of these disorders and many others come from eating the wrong foods. Other signs that your gut is not functioning properly are digestive issues such as diarrhea, constipation, bloating, gas, indigestion, and heartburn.

Workout of the Day
Interval Cardio

Food Sensitivities

Food sensitivities are something that we do not normally think about but they can affect the results that you get when trying to lose weight, gain muscle, or get leaner. If you are sensitive to a food then you are basically allergic to it. This does not mean that you are going to get hives or break into a rash if you eat the food but it does mean that the food causes a stress on your body. When a food puts a stress on your body it increases your cortisol levels and makes your digestive system worse which does not allow you to pull nutrition from your food as well. So what are some common foods that people are sensitive to. Eggs, dairy, wheat, and soy are all at the top of the list when it comes to food sensitivities so if you have a hard time getting rid of stubborn fat you may consider cutting these foods out for a couple of weeks and see what happens.

Workout of the Day
Strength Routine

Strength

Many people think that the most important thing in fitness is cardio. The question I always ask everyone is what are you more likely to need in everyday life, the ability to lift something or the ability to run 5 miles? The answer is always going to be that you need the strength to be able to lift things. For example, this weekend I was on a flight to Phoenix and I noticed that there were several women in their 40's who could not lift their carry-on bags into the overhead compartment. They had to get help from others on the plane. In our lives we are much more likely to have to lift or move something heavy than we to run 5 miles and your training in the gym should reflect the fact that we need strength in everyday life. The most common problem I see with newcomers to the gym is that they are too weak. Just remember that muscle mass not only protects your immune system but it is also much more metabolically demanding thus it allows you to burn more fat.

Workout of the Day
Strength Routine

What do all Nutritionists Agree On

Changes in the Class Schedule
Thursday and Friday of this week the 9am class will be moved to 8am

When it comes to nutrition there are many different opinions. If you go to tbe book store you will find an endless number of diet books that all have different methods. The truth with nutrition is that it is an individual thing. Most nutritionists tend to prescribe diets that work for them. So if you got together a large group of nutrition experts what would be the one thing that they would all agree on. It wouldn't be how much protein, fat, or carbs to eat, and it wouldn't be which types of fat or carbs to eat. The one thing that everyone would agree on would be that people should eat more vegetables. Vegetables are the ideal carb source as they provide large amounts of nutrients for a very minimal amount of calories and insulin response. Vegetable intake is one of the keys to attaining your body composition goals. I often consider green vegetables to be a negative calorie food, because it actually takes more calories to digest them than they contain. So you can eat as big a portion size as you want of green vegetables.


Workout of the Day
Interval Cardio

Trick or Treating is Exercise

This Halloween I noticed something very disturbing. We had several kids that came to our door huffing and puffing from walking around the neighborhood. A couple of kids even complained about how tired they were from walking around the neighborhood. The sad thing is that for many of these kids the walking that they did while trick or treating is probably more exercise than they are used to doing. If kids are tired from trick or treating then they need more exercise. The lifestyle for most kids today is to go to school then come home and either watch tv, play video games, or get on the computer. We need to find ways to get kids more active and one of the best ways is for the parents to be more active. Kids love to workout. I have never had a kid come into my facility who did not want to at least play with the equipment and try what everyone else was doing. So if you are having trouble getting your kids moving, then start to workout yourself and see if your kids take an interest. More often than not they will be interested.

Workout of the Day
Body Composition Routine

Turn Back the Clock for Better Health

Yesterday, we turned back the clocks and everywhere people got helathier. I heard a stat on the radio the other day that when we turn back the clocks the incidence of heart attacks on that day are cut in half. Why would this be? Last week we talked about the importance of sleep for balancing your hormones. When we turned back the clocks everyone got an extra hour of sleep and since most people chronically undersleep that extra hour makes a big difference for the overall health of our society. So what happens when we undersleep. When we have not rested enough our bodies are under stress which causes a release of cortisol. If we chronically undersleep then our bodies are always under stress which means chronically elevated cortisol. Chronically elevated cortisol makes us insulin resistant, and also ramps down your thyroid. This creates the perfect environment for gaining fat and losing muscle. When we become insulin resistant our bodies also lose the ability to absorb magnesium properly and magnesium is needed for relaxing sleep and smooth funtioning of the heart muscles. So by adding an extra hour of sleep to everyones day we helped a large number of people balance their hormones better and this is the key to better health and body composition. So the take home lesson from all of this is to get more sleep!

Workout of the Day
20 min interval workout

Cut your stress to build muscle and get lean

If you want to build muscle and get lean then you need your hormones to be balanced. One of the ways to do this is to cut down on your stress. Cortisol is a hormone that is released in the body when we have stress. Cortisol steals your testosterone away from your body and lower levels of testosterone make it harder to build muscle and lose fat. So, a very simple little thing you can do to help improve your body is to find some time to relax. Try to set aside 15 minutes every day to do something relaxing and get away from the stressful things in life.

Workout of the Day
Body Composition Routine

Sleep is Vital for Fat Loss

If you are trying to get leaner then it is essential that you get good sleep. One of the main hormones responsible for fat loss is growth hormone and your largest surge of growth hormone happens when you sleep deeply. If you do not get deep sleep then you are less likely to have properly levels of growth hormone and without proper levels of growth hormone it is very hard to burn body fat.

Workout of the Day
Interval Cardio Routine

Dumbbells

Dumbbells are one of the best pieces of equipment you can use to enhance your fitness. If you compare a dumbbell to a machine or even a barbell, dumbbells are always more demanding. Dumbbells require much more stabilization and demand more of the muscular and nervous systems. Another reason why we use dumbbells for the majority of our exercises is that dumbbells when used properly have the ability to fix range of motion issues and discrepancies in strength between the right and left sides. Dumbbells allow you to move the weight through a greater range of motion than the barbell and if you are weaker on one side then you will find out. When people first start a weight training routine they should always start with dumbbells and then move onto the barbell as your body becomes more balanced.

Workout of the Day
Body Composition Routine

Plastics

In our world today we are surrounded by toxins. Plastics are at the top of the list when it comes to toxins. Plastics are a toxin that creates problems in the body. Too much exposure to plastics can slow down your thyroid, increase your estrogens and cause problems with fat storage. It is almost impossible to totally get rid of all plastics but you should make an effort to minimize your exposure to them. One thing to keep in mind is that you should not store meat in plastics. Consider the fact that toxins are stored in your fat cells. If you store meat in plastics then the fat in the meats will absorb the toxins in the plastic. Thus, the meat you are eating will contain plastics. Also, you should avoid microwaving plastics. One of the reasons why it is so important to eat a quality diet and take good vitamin sources is because our bodies need nutrients in order to detoxify things like plastics. When you are lacking nutrients in can become very hard to detoxify and lose fat.

Workout of the Day
2 min db thruster,burpee, jumprope, rowing machine
2 min rest between exercises

Download

This week we will be downloading all of the workouts. In order to download we will simply perform fewer sets in every workout this week. The goal of this is to come back next week and be stronger. During this we will still try and lift heavier weights for more reps but we will just do less sets in order to let the body refresh slightly. Next week we should have new bests from everyone.

Workout of the Day
Body Composition Routine

Perfect Technique

When you are lifting weights you should always use perfect technique. If you cannot do an exercise properly then the load is either too heavy or it is poor exercise selection for your body at the current time. Many times what I see is people trying to force out a couple of extra reps with horrible technique. I am all for pushing yourself hard, but always with perfect technique. When your technique or your range of motion in an exercise begin to fade it is time to end that set. If you train into the point where your technique suffers then you are no longer training the same exercise and you are training faulty movement patterns which can lead to injury and problems increasing the amount of weight that you can lift.

Workout of the Day
5 db swings
10 pushups
15 air squats
20 minutes for max rounds

Why Skinny People Can Eat Poorly

This weeked I took a look at Terrel Owens new fitness book. For those of you who are not familiar with Terrel he is the controversial wide receiever for the Dallas Cowboys. T.O is obviously very fit( probably under 5% body fat). The diet that he lays out in his book was very interesting to me. During the football season he eats very clean and does not cheat, but during the off season he eats candy 2 or 3 times per day. So why is it that some people can eat junk all day long and stay lean while some people cheat a little and gain fat? Part of the answer to this question has to do with genetics and the other part has to do with how lean you are. T.O is incredibly lean which means that he has optimal levels of hormones in his body. When your hormones are well balanced you can cheat more often and get away with it because your body is still able to use foods high in sugar for fuel. However, if you are not lean then it usually means that your hormones are out of balance. Since your hormones are out of balance, when you cheat you will gain fat because your body cannot utilize the sugar in the same way. So the basic rule here is the leaner you are the more you can cheat, and when you have more body fat you can cheat less. So if you want to cheat get lean first and then cheat.

Workout of the Day
Body Composition Routine

Are You Balanced

In Charles Poliquin's programs exercise selection is based on what he calls structural balance. Structural balance means how proportionate your muscles are. For example, in your upper body you want to make sure that your pressing and pulling muscles are proportionate to each other. Remember that you are only as strong as your weakest link, so if you improve your weak link then all of your lifts will improve. Some common weak links that we see in many people are the external rotators of the shoulder, the lower traps, the lower back, the hamstrings, and an area of the thigh. For many people when these areas are addressed their posture, pain, movements, and strength all improve.

Workout of the Day
1min sumo squats
1 min db swing
1 min rest
repeat for 3 rounds
1 min burpee
1 min mountain climber
1 min rest
repeat for 3 rounds
1 min jumprope
1 min lunge jump
repeat for 3 rounds

What to do if you are tired

So what do you do when you are supposed to workout but you are not feeling your best? Many people would either not workout or they would go to the gym and workout with light weights. If you are tired the best thing to do is perform your normal workout in which you try to increase the amount of weight and reps that you use. The factor in you workout that you should change is the volume. When you are tired you should keep the same intensity but perform less sets. So if you workout calls for 3 sets of lunges you should only do 1-2 sets, but make sure you are still trying to increase your weights and reps in those sets.

Workout of the Day
Body Composition Routine

Diabetes

This weekend I was in Barnes and Noble looking through some books in the Health and Medical sections. I am always surprised by the number of books on diabetes. There are so many books on a disease that is not that hard to figure out. For some reason the medical world feels that it is better to let diabetics eat what they want and then medicate them, rather than teaching them how to eat properly. Tricia and I came across a press release this weekend that was put out by the American Diabetic Association. The press release stated that the ADA is acknowledging that a low carb diet works for the treatment of diabetes. It is scary that our government institutions are just now realizing this. Nutrition can be such a confusing subject because their is so much conflicting information out there.

Workout of the Day
1 min db thruster, sdhp, burpee, rowing machine
rest for 1 minute and repeat for 4 rounds

Recovery

What is the best thing you can do to speed up your recovery? Post workout nutrition is the best way to speed up your recovery so that you are ready for your next workout. What you should have post workout depends on how lean you are. Most people today consume some sort of protein/carb drink when they finish their workout, but if you are trying to get leaner this may not be the ideal drink for you. If you are trying to get leaner you should be having a drink that contains whey protein and glutamine. If you are not consuming some sort of post workout nutrition immediately after your workout you may not be getting the most from your workouts. If you are interested in finding out what you should be having post workout feel free to ask me during class.

Workout of the Day
Body Composition Routine

Workout of the Day
1 min work/1 min rest
db thruster, db swing, one legged burpee, inchworm
4 rounds

Eating on the Run

Yesterday, I was driving through town when a lady pulled up next to me eating a hamburger. It got me thinking about how most people eat their meals. Today most people eat many of their meals either in their car, in front of their computer, or in front of the TV. How many people actually sit down and eat their food at the table without any distractions? For many people, they have to eat either in their car or in front of the computer because they are in a hurry. If this is you then I would suggest that you try and make time to enjoy your meals. It will cut down on your stress levels and let you enjoy your food more. Getting away from the TV and computer while you eat will also help you cut down on your portions because you will not be distracted.

Workout of the Day
Body Composition Routine

Workout of the Day
45 seconds of work/45 seconds of rest
burpees, rowing machine, jumprope, mountain climbers
5 rounds

Alcohol

One of the most popular topics that comes up when I talk to people about nutrition is alcohol. Everyone wants to know if they can drink alcohol. First of all there is a difference between having a drink or two with dinner and getting drunk. It has been shown that 1-2 drinks/day can be very healthy, but after that the benefits go away. Consider that if you get drunk it takes several days for your testosterone levels to return to normal. If you are going to drink consider switching all of your drinks to wine. Wine can actually be beneficial to fat loss and has a positive effect on testosterone and cortisol.

Workout of the Day
Body Composition Routine

Portions vs Servings

There will be no 1pm class on Friday Oct 3

At the last seminar I went to there were people from various different countries. On the first day of the seminar I went to lunch with a guy from Singapore and another from Australia. When the food came out the guy from Singapore was in shock over the size of the portions at the restaurant. He said that the portions in Singapore were much smaller. In the U.S. our serving sizes are way too big. Studies have shown that people who are overweight tend to eat much larger portions especially of the wrong foods. There have been some studies done on portion sizes and even when obese subjects were given smaller plates they created bigger portions by stacking their food higher on their plates.

Workout of the Day
Row 500m then perform 4 rounds of 7 med ball cleans and 15 burpees

Cravings

What are food cravings? Food cravings are your bodies way of telling you that you are missing something. A craving basically means that you are deficient in a nutrient. For example, if a man craves chocolate then he is deficient in magnesium. Your body doesn't have any way to diferentiate between the various nutrients so it just sends hunger signals with cravings for certain foods. The reason why many diets fail is that many people cut their calories very low. If the person is already low in nutrients then cutting their calories lower will only lower the levels of nutrients in their body. Having low levels of nutrients in your body will make it hard to stick to your diet because you are going to get cravings. Having low levels of nutrients in you body also makes it hard to lose fat because your body cannot regulate hormones or detoxify without proper levels of nutrients.

Workout of the Day
1 min ring row, pushpress, squat jumps
3 rounds with 1 min between rounds

1 min pushups, db swings, hollow rocks
3 rounds with 1 min between rounds

Thanks to eveyone who came out to participate in the Fight Gone Bad Event. We had a pretty good turn out and the event was a lot of fun for those who participated

Workout of the Day
2 min of thrusters
2 min pullups
2 min burpees
2 min row
2 min superman hold
2 min rest between exercises

Strength is King

Fight Gone Bad Tomorrow
Tomorrow's Fight Gone Bad workout will be from 10am to 1pm on Saturday. If you are participating in the workout you can show up anytime between 10am and 1pm to do your workout. If you are not participating in the workout I would encourage you to stop by and cheer on the participants.

A lot of people are wanting to know how they can improve their times for the Fight Gone Bad competition. Just remember this simple concept "Strength is King." The stronger you are the lighter the weights will feel to you. The lighter the weights feel the more reps you will be able to do. Strength is king no matter what you are training for. Strength improves all other physical qualities. So if an athlete comes in and wants to perform better, get them stronger and they will run faster, jump higher, and perform better. If someone wants to lose body fat then strength is still king because muscle tissue burns more calories everyday. Just remember that whether your goal is to perform better, get leaner, or whatever strength is king.

Workout of the Day
8 sets of 30 sec jumprope with 1 min rest between sets

Just a Bite

Many people do not understand that just one bite or sip of the wrong food at the wrong time can ruin a perfectly good meal. For example, if for breakfast you have steak and nuts your breakfast is perfect, but as soon as you have a bite of bread, a sip of orange juice or sugar in your coffee you just messed up the whole meal. That one bite can trigger your body to store most of the meal. You must remember that it is not the calories that we are worried about, it is the hormonal consequence of what we eat that matters the most. Here's what happens, when you eat a protein and fat meal and add in a fast acting carb that one carb stimulates insulin. Insulin acts like a key to open the door to your fat cells allowing all the fat you just ate to be stored. If you can avoid eating carbohydrates that door stays locked and the fat is burned for energy.

Nutrition Class Tonight
Tonight at 7pm we will be having a nutrtition class. The cost for the class is $20, but if you bring a friend then your admission is free.

Workout of the Day
30 seconds of work/30 seconds of rest
Rowing machine
burpees
box jumps
hollow rocks
4 rounds

Nutrition Class
We will be having a nutrition class Thursday night at 7pm. The cost for the class is $20, but if you bring a friend who does not work out with us then it your admission is free.

Fight Gone Bad
The Fight Gone Bad competition this Saturday will be from 10am -1pm. If you are participating you can show up anytime between 10am and 1pm to do the workout. If you would like to participate and have not signed up yet go here.


How do your genes express themselves? We all have genes that can be turned on and off. For example, in some people when they are deficient in Omega 3's their genes express this deficiency in the form of eczema and psoriasis, while in others they may show signs of depression rather than skin problems. Gene expression is a very individualized thing since we all have a different genetic code and different lifestyles. The analogy that I have heard used is that your genes are the gun and your lifestyle is your trigger finger. Your lifestyle determines which genes are expressed and which are not. If you want to keep bad genes from expressing themselves the best way is to eat right, sleep well, be active, and keep you stress levels down.

Workout of the Day
4x6 Shoulder press
4x6 Weighted pullups

3x8 pushpress
3x8 pullups

Build Muscle to Lose Fat

Nutrition Class:
We are going to be having a nutrition class on Thursday night at 7pm. The cost for the class will be $20, but if you bring a friend who does not currently workout with us then your admission is free. A lot of people have been asking for a class on supplements. We will devote some time during this class to answer your supplement questions.

Fight Gone Bad:
The Fight Gone Bad event that we are hosting will be from 10am -1pm this Saturday. If you are a participant you can show up at any time between 10am -1pm to do your workout. Please feel free to bring your friends and family to watch the workouts. If you have not signed up for the workout yet please go here to sign up.

If you are trying to get leaner one of the best things you can do is get stronger. Every pound of muscle that you gain increases your metabolism by 50 calories per day. If you gain 5 pounds of muscle then your metabolism will increase by 250 calories per day. That 5 lbs of muscle will equate to about a half a pound of fat loss per week extra. So if you want to get lean then your first priority should be to build muscle.

Workout of the Day
5 db swings
10 pushups
15 airsquats

How is Your Sleep

One of the most overlooked aspects of getting leaner is the quality of your sleep. If your sleep is not good then it is hard to get lean. So what is good sleep? Good sleep is 8 consecutive hours of sleep without waking up. If you wake up to use the bathroom during the night then that is not good sleep. During your sleep is when your bodies hormones are regulated and that is why it is hard to get leaner without adequate sleep. It is estimated that 68% of the population has a sleeping disorder. There are varying reasons why people have trouble sleeping but most of them come back to nutrition.

Workout of the Day
4x6 Back Squat
3x8 lunge
3x8 good morning

Should You be Taking a Multivitamin?

If you are trying to get leaner then you should be taking a multi vitamin. Since toxins are stored in your fat, when you break fat down the liver gets flooded with toxins that must be detoxified. In order for the liver to detoxify it must have nutrients available to bind to the toxins. If there is a lack a nutrients then fat burning will slow and the body will become toxic. Therefore everyone who is trying to get leaner should be taking a multivitamin. However, not all multivitamins are created equal. One easy way to tell if your vitamin is any good is to check the magnesium source. If the magnesium is in the form of magnesium oxide then it is a cheap supplement that is not very absorbable. When you choose supplements men and women in menopause should always choose a multivitmain that is iron free.

Workout of the Day
4x6 Shoulder press
4x6 pullups

500m row

The Aspargus Test

The asparagus test is something that everyone should do. To perform the test just eat some asparagus and the next time you urinate take notice if there is a different smell. If your urine smells then it means you have a gene that requires a much higher dose of the B vitamins. Right now about 65% of the population has this gene and it is important if you have this gene to supplement with high doses of the B vitamins. The problem with most supplements is that they are not very well absorbed. Part of the reason that most of the B vitamins are not absorbed is that 99% of the population has low stomach acid. The other reason is that most people use low quality supplements. If you can buy it in a store it probably isn't any good. If you have this gene ask me about ways to address your needs.

Workout of the Day
Run 1/4 min then perform 15 db swings + 15 wallballs
3-4 rounds

Zinc

Yesterday, I talked about not being able to absorb your food without proper levels of stomach acid. If you have low stomach acid one of the main minerals that cannot be absorbed is zinc. Since zinc is synergistic to all nutrient it is vital in terms of strength and body composition. If you are deficient in zinc then it effects the testosterone/estrogen balance in the body. Starting next week we will have a really simple test to see if you are deficient in zinc. The odds are that if you are deficient in stomach acid then you are deficient in zinc. If you would like to take the zinc test let me know.

Workout of the Day
Deadlift 4x6
Lunges 4x6

Tabata Thrusters

What are you absorbing

Being at this Biosignature seminar opened up my eyes to something. It is not what you eat that is important but what you absorb. In the class we all had to take a test for stomach acid levels. Stomach acid breaks down your food so that you can absorb it. If you can't absorb your food then all of the good nutrients and any supplements that you are taking are wasted. How do you tell if you have low stomach acid. Well lets just say that everyone in the class failed the test and Charles Poliquin has only seen 2 people in ten years that have passed the test so the odds are pretty good that you would also fail, but some signs are heartburn, burping(fish oil burps), bloating, gas, bad breath, trouble sleeping, low testosterone, and indigestion. If you would like to have your stomach acid levels tested then let me know it is a very easy test to perform.

Workout of the Day
1 min T-pushups
1 min plank
1 min rest
1 min db swing
1 min squat jumps
1 min rest
3 rounds

What is for Breakfast?

The first thing that you put in your mouth in the morning influences your neurotransmitters for the rest of the day. This means that your mood, energy, and sleep are somewhat dictated by the first thing that touches your mouth in the morning. So what should you eat. PROTEIN. In Greek protein means of first importance.

Workout of the Day
Shoulder press 4x6

1 min each
db deadlift, pullups, thrusters, box jumps
2 rounds

NO CLASSES TODAY

THERE ARE NO CLASSES TODAY

Monday will return to a normal schedule other than there will be no 12pm class

Workouts on the Road

Since I am currently traveling I thought I would share some workout ideas for the road that can be done anywhere. Here are some bodyweight exercises that can be done in a hotel room or anywhere squats, jump squats, lunges, reverse lunges, bulgarian lunges, burpees, mountain climbers, pushups, planks, hollow rocks, and supermans. You can take these exercises and put them into a number of different repetition patterns and create an endless supply of challenging workouts.

Workout of the Day
30 sec R leg lunge
30 sec L leg lunge
30 sec squat jumps
30 sec pushups
30 sec plank
rest for 30 seconds between each exercise and perform 4 rounds

Take a step in the right direction

There is a saying that "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." When you are trying to achieve a goal whether it is losing weight, gaining muscle, or whatever you must start with a single step. There is one simple question that you can ask yourself, "Did I take a step towards my goal today?" I believe that there is no such thing as homeostasis, so things are always changing. Our bodies are in a constant state of change and if you are not moving towards your goal then you are moving backwards. You don't have to do anything drastic but as long as you are taking small steps in the right direction any goal is attainable. So ask yourself the question today "did I take a step towards my goal today?" If you do this everyday the results will speak for themselves.

Workout of the Day
30 seconds of work/30 seconds of rest
rowing machine
jumprope
mountain climbers
burpees
hollow rocks

Is it your training or your diet

The other day I read a statement in which someone said that overweight people always think it is their diet that is lacking so they look for the latest fad or pill and underweight people looking to gain weight always think that their training is lacking so they look for the latest workout fad. The statement went on to say that most overweight people should instead focus more on their training and the underweight people should focus more on their diet. I have found this to be true. Most people who are looking to lose weight are not active enough. If you are trying to lose weight then you should be exercising a minimum of 5 hours per week and those hours should include some sort of weight training and intervals. On the other hand every person that I have ever worked with that needed to gain weight had a horrible diet. These are usually guys who are looking to add muscle and they are never lazy when it comes to getting their workouts in. They probably workout too much and they are always looking for the latest workout program that is going to get them results. If these individuals would instead focus on their diet they would get much better results.

Workout of the Day
DB complexes
40 seconds of work/20 seconds of rest
air squat
ring rows
db swings
db shoulder press
hollow rocks
5 rounds with 1 min between rounds

Let Your Food Be Your Medicine

"Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food." Hippocrates

Hippocrates the father of natural medicine was onto something a long time ago. If your nutrition is good then good health is a result. When you give your body the nutrition that it needs it is able to fight off illnesses. Food is a drug and we must think of it that way. Today it seems that many people have forgotten the simple fact that food is medicine. Many doctors today do not believe that food can cure illnesses because they have come to rely on drugs so much, but the foods we eat definitely affect our health. If you don't believe me then eat a high sugar meal and tell me how you feel in about an hour. Then eat a well balanced meal of lean protein, vegetables, and healthy fat and tell me how you feel. Foods can have dramatic affect on our health, our mood, and our overall well being. Consider this at your meal.


Workout of the Day
Deadlift 4x6

Transition from one exercise to the next with no rest. Perform 3 rounds
Sumo high pull
pullups
pushups

Workout of the Day
4x6 pullups

5 rep db swing
10 rep pushup
15 rep air squat
max rounds in 20 minutes

Overfed and Undernourished

As a society we have a problem in that we are overfed and undernourished. What does this mean? We are eating too many empty calories that do not provide us with the nutrition that our bodies need. The other day Tricia was watching one of those mystery diagnosis medical shows and a young boy was on the show who was diagnosed with scurvy. Scurvy is a disease that presents itself when there is a deficiency in vitamin C and many people thought that scurvy was a thing of the past with all of the access that we have to food these days. The problem is that when we eat junk food we do not give our bodies the nutrition that it needs. So how did this child develop scurvy. His parents said that he wouldn't eat vegetables or fruit so they just let him eat whatever he wanted. Unfortunately, we are seeing several cases of scurvy pop up these days because of our society's poor nutrition habits. I feel that obesity is also a case of being overfed and undernourished. When the body does not have the building blocks that it needs then the body sends out hunger signals, but if more empty calories are eaten then a viscious cycle begins to set in.

Workout of the Day

10 mountain climbers + 20 sumo squats
20 mountain climbers + 20 pushups
30 mountain climbers + 30 step walking lunge
40 mountain climbers + 20 reps bent over db row
2 rounds for time

Advertising

Yesterday, I saw one of the most misleading commercials that I have ever seen. The commercial caught my attention because it was about high fructose corn syrup. There were two ladies having a discussion about high fructose corn syrup and the one lady went on to say that high fructose corn syrup is really not bad because it is all natural and should just be eaten in moderation. This commercial was paid for by the corn growers. If we have ever wondered why America is so fat and unhealthy, commercials like this are the reason. It seems that everything we think we know about nutrition in this country has been a lie that someone has told us in order to make more money. So what is wrong with high fructose corn syrup? High fructose corn syrup is probably one of the worst ingredients that a human can consume. The human body is only made to handle so much fructose and when it is presented in a highly concentrated form the body has no choice but to store it as fat. The other problem with HFCS is that it causes you to be ravenous and over consume food. It does this by two mechanisms 1) it changes the neurotransmitters in your brain which cause the wrong signals to be sent and 2) fructose does not raise insulin in the same way as other sugars which causes the sugar to circulate in your blood stream for longer. While the sugars are circulating in your blood stream you are not registering as full because the nutrients have not been shuttled to the cells. The cells send the message that they are still hungry. Sugar circulating in the blood stream is also a sure fire way to increase the aging process. In my opinion there are two ingredients that everyone should avoid and those are HFCS and anything hydrogenated.

Workout of the Day
1 min work/30 seconds of rest
rowing machine
mountain climbers
jumprope
clean and press R arm
clean and press L arm
ball slams
3 rounds

Aerobics Suck for Fat Loss

Yesterday, I came across an article written by Rachel Cosgrove that just came out. The article was about her training for a triathlon. In the article she shares her experience of training for an endurance event. The overwhelming theme of the article is that she was not happy with what the aerobics did to her body. After 374 training hours she only lost 5 lbs and on top of that she lost her abs. The article goes on to point out why aerobics are not good for fat loss and why high intensity exercise that includes weight lifting and interval training is far superior to cardio for losing body fat. After she finished her triathlon she decided to focus on losing body fat(yes, you read that right she had to focus on losing the body fat she had gained from training for the triathlon). She began a program that had her performing heavy weightlifting and metabolic circuits at high intensities. The results of the program are pretty impressive. You can check out the article here.

Yesterdays Top Performers
Male James
Female Ashley

Workout of the Day
30 seconds thrusters/1 min pullups
repeat for 3 rounds w/1 min between rounds
30 seconds sumo high pull/1 min burpees
repeat for 3 rounds w/1 min between rounds
30 seconds db snatch/1 min db swing
repeat for 3 rounds w/1 min between rounds

Portion sizes

This weekend Tricia and I went to the movies with some friends. Our friends decided to get some snacks from the movie theatre so we were waiting in line with them when we heard the guy in the front of the line say "wow, that's a medium." He was referring to the soda that he ordered. I think it was a 32 oz soda and that was considered to be a medium. Even though it was still probably a rip off for the $5 that he paid for it, I was shocked at how big the serving size was. The portion sizes that we consume today are much too big. We all tend to consume more calories than we think we do because we have gotten used to such large portion sizes. It is very hard to lose weight these days if you are eating in restaurants frequently because they give you so much food. The calories add up in a hurry and most people tend to eat what is on their plates.

Workout of the Day
25 ft farmers walk + 25 air squats x2
50 ft farmers walk + 30 lunges x 2
75 ft farmers walk + 20 rocket jump x2
100 ft farmers walk + 25 mountain climbers x2
2 rounds

Strong Mind

There will be no class on Monday at 6am.

There is a quote by Thomas Jefferson that states "A strong body makes for a strong mind." In order to change your body whether you are trying to get leaner or stronger it takes some mental toughness. What kind of mental toughness am I talking about? When the workout gets hard and you want to stop it takes some mental toughness to keep pushing and finish what you started. It also takes mental toughness to stick with your eating plan when you are surrounded by temptations. Changing your physique is not always easy and the mental toughness that you gain through your workouts and nutrition carries over into everything you do in life. Not only will you be mentally tough in the gym but in everything you try and do.

Workout of the Day
2 min sets of
jumprope
burpees
turkish get up sit ups
sumo high pull
rowing machine
wallball

What is Wrong with Magazine Fitness Programs

After spending some time with Alwyn Cosgrove one of the things that he talked about was how ridiculous it was that people followed the workouts in many of the major fitness magazines. He said that the articles that he and other trainers write for the magazines do not contain the actual workouts that they use with their clients. Why is this? He said that often times the magazines will approach him with a set article in mind and ask him to create a workout to fit the story. For instance, he was recently asked to write an article for a magazine that contained a workout that used only 6 bodyweight exercises. He says that the odds of him using this program with an actual client were not that high. He said that it could happen but that the odds were not that great. You have to remember that the programs in magazines are general programs that provide basic princples. They are not for everybody.

Workout of the Day
Backsquat 4x6
45 sec work/45 sec rest
reverse lunge, pullups, pushpress, hollow rocks
3 rounds

What is Your Weakest Link

Often times someone will come into our facility with a weak link and when that weak link is identified and corrected all their lifts tend to go up. This weak link could be caused by a lack of flexibility, mobility, or strength. An example of this would be someone with a weak core. If a person comes in who can do lunges with a good amount of weight but they cannot squat well it means that they have a weak core. The body is not allowing the person to squat a lot of weight because it wants to protect then spine. Your body will always try to protect itself and thus will not allow you to lift as much weight. Once you strengthen this persons core then their squats will improve. Once their squats improve their legs will get stronger and all of their other lifts will also improve. One of the secrets to a good program is working on your weaknesses. By eliminating your weaknesses you will be able to stimulate your muscles on a whole new level.

Yesterday's Top Performers
Male Bob 5;41
Female Ashley 5:41

Workout of the Day
Fundamentals Day (Practice Your Technique)
5 db snatch each arm + 5 sumo high pulls
2 min work/1min rest for 3 rounds

5 1 arm clean and press + 5 box jumps
2 min work/1 min rest for 3 rounds

Have A Goal

One of the biggest things that we went over at my seminar last week was goals. It is important to have a single goal that you are pursuing. Too often people have multiple goals that they are trying to accomplish and then they get overwhelmed by all of the things they are trying to do. Pick a goal and work hard to achieve it and once you have achieved it then pick another goal. One concept that Alwyn and Rachel went over is that when you are trying to accomplish something worthwhile your life is going to be slightly unbalanced. An example of this would be if you are trying to get leaner. Your life will not have the normal balance that it normally would have because you will have to focus quite a bit of attention on getting leaner. Once you reach your desired goal then you can restore the balance in your life.

Workout of the Day
Db Complex 4 x 5
Deadlift, Hang Clean, Thruster, lunge
2x20 Air squat, db swing, pushup, ring row

Posture

The average person today spends most of their time sitting down either driving or at a computer. This has caused most people to have poor posture in which their hips are tight, their glutes are not functioning properly, and their shoulders are rounded forward. In order to combat this we need to strengthen the muscles on the back side of the body and stretch the muscles on the front of the body.

Workout of the Day
6 deadlifts
8 pullups
10 burpees
4 rounds

Workout of the Day
30 seconds of work/ 15 seconds of rest
R leg lunge, L leg lunge, squat jumps, pushups, plank
6 rounds with 1 min rest between sets

Workout of the Day
1 min airsquat, pushups, pullup/ring row, rowing machine
Rest 1 min repeat for 4 rounds

Principles

Yesterday I spent my first day with Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove. It was a very educational day. One of the main points that Alwyn tried to hammer home with us is that he preferes to teach principles. He teaches his clients the basic principles of working out and proper nutrition and then lets them take it from there. If you can understand the basic principles of what you are doing it makes everything easier. An example of this that he gave is that he would prefer to give his clients basic nutrition principles and let them pick which foods fall within the principles, rather than telling them which foods to eat.

Workout of the Day
Row 250 meters and then perform 5 rounds of 5 pullups, 10 burpees, 15 db swings

Friday's Top Performers
Male Neil 19+3 rounds
Female Ashley 21 rounds

Workout of the Day
Shoulder Press 5x1
Pushpress 5x3
Push jerk 5x5

Jogging

Schedule changes for next week
There will be no 12pm class on Monday and Wednesday of next week.
There will also be no class at 1pm on Friday of next week.
All other classes will remain as scheduled

Is jogging a great form of exercise for burning body fat? I tend to think that it is not for a couple of reasons. Here is a list compiled from Erik Minor and Charles Poliquin.

1) jogging puts repeated stress on the ankles, shins, knees, and hips increasing orthopedic issues in the lower extremities.
2) jogging increases cortisol levels in the body - cortisol burns your muscle and causes you to store fat in you midsection
3) jogging places a huge amount of oxidative stress on the body which accelerates the aging process

If you are trying to burn body fat a better choice is to lift weights in order to accelerate your metabolism and save your knees and hips.

Yesterday's Top Performances
Male Shoulder press Dale & Bob 110
Femal Shoulder Press Carol 70
Male weighted pullup Bob 55lbs
Female weighted pullup Ashley 15lbs

Workout of the Day
5 rep DB swing + 10 rep pushup + 15 rep air squat
20 min max rounds

Reach Your Potential

With the Olympics going on it is really fun to watch people who have reached their potential and are getting the most out of themselves. We hear it all the time that someone has potential, but my college coach used to say that if you have potential it just means you haven't done anything yet. He used to say that if someone told you that you had potential it was not a good thing, because it meant that you weren't getting the most out of yourself. The Olympics are fun to watch because we are watching people who have sacrificed for years in order to reach the limits of human potential and it is fun to see what the human body is truly capable of. When you perform your workouts are you pushing yourself to reach your potential or are you holding back? If you are holding back, WHY? Is your nutrition keeping you from reaching your potential? If it is then it may be time to consider really tightening it up. The best complement that anybody can give you is that you have reached your potential and you are getting everything out of yourself.

Yesterdays Top Performers
Male Chris S 362
Female Carol 370

Workout of the Day
1 Rep Max Shoulder Press and Weighted Pullup

Consistency

Why do so many people fail in their attempts to lose weight and become fit. In my opinion the biggest reason is that people are not consistent. Most people do not stick with their workout and nutrition programs for long enough to see the desired results. For instance, how many of us eat really well during the week only to binge all weekend. If you fall into this category then what you lack is consistency with your diet. One of the things that happens with exercise is that people stop or they change their program after only a couple of weeks. This is not a consistent approach to reaching your goals. Changing your body does not happen overnight. It requires being consistent for an extended period of time. During this time the goal should be to make many small incremental steps in the right direction. Eventually these steps will add up to impressive results.

Yesterday's Top Performances
Male Gerard 163 with 75lbs
Female Ashley 202 with 55lbs
Workout of the Day
30 seconds of work/ 1 min rest
mountain climber, burpee, waiters walk, jumprope

The Power of Protein

It seems that today everyone is looking for ways to boost the metabolism. One easy way to do this is by eating adequate amounts of protein. Protein requires more energy to digest than any other macro nutrient and it contributes to what is called thermogenesis(which is the creation of heat that results from digestion). This adds up to extra calories burned. According to Jonny Bowden's website higher protein diets can increase the metabolism by up to 100% in women. Yes, you read that right 100%. So you may consider adding a little extra protein to your meals.

Yesterday's Top Performers
Male Backsquat Derek 295lbs
Male Deadlift Derek 405lbs
Female Backsquat Carol 165lbs
Female Deadlift Carol & Ashley 200lbs

Workout of the Day
1 min thruster, sdhp, box jump, pushpress, rowing machine
3 rounds with 1 min between rounds
This is going to be great practice for the Fight Gone Bad Competition on Sept 27
If you are interested in participating in the competition or donating please go here.

Weight Loss

This weekend I had the pleasure of talking with a guy who has lost 35lbs on his own in the last 3 months. So what did he do. He said that he changed his diet. His diet now consists of lean meats, vegetables, some fruit, and healthy fats. He said that he stopped drinking sodas and going out to eat so much. He was even on an all inclusive cruise for the last week and didn't deviate from his nutrition at all. He was telling me how it was hard not to cheat while on the cruise because there were so many temptations but he did hold out and is glad that he did. The other thing that he mentioned is that he stopped eating past the point when he was full and started listening to his body. My favorite thing that he told me was "it isn't rocket science it just takes some discipline."

Friday's Top Performers
Male Neil 152 reps
Female Ashley 155 reps

Workout of the Day
1 rep max back squat and deadlift

Help Raise Money for Cancer Research and The Wounded Warrior Project

On September 27, 2008 we are going to be having a Fight Gone Bad competition. Fight Gone Bad is a staple Crossfit workout that involves 1 minute of wallball, sumo high pull, box jumps, pushpress, and the rowing machine. This is done for three rounds. Anyone is eligible to participate in the competition because the workout is scalable to any fitness level. So, all men, women, and children are encouraged to participate in the event. It should be a lot of fun and the money in going to a good cause. If you have a friend or family member who has been thinking of trying the classes this would be a fun event for them to attend. If you are interested in participating or donated money please go here. Make sure that you sign up for team Foley Performance.

Yesterday's Top Performers
Bill 299 total reps
Ashley 295 total reps

Workout of the Day
2 min of db thrusters, sdhp, pullups, burpees, rowing machine

Olympic Sponsors

I think it is funny that McDonalds is a sponsor for the Olympics. Yesterday, I saw a commercial with Olympic athletes claiming how much they love McDonalds fried chicken biscuits. I highly doubt that these athletes are eating fried chicken biscuits as the games approach. We live in a society in which we are bombarded with advertisements for all kinds of horrible foods. It is no wonder it is so hard for most people to avoid junk food. Kids grow up these days on fast food and processed junk and we wonder why they develop ADD, Diabetes, and become obese.

Yesterday's Top Performers
Bill 54 with 135lbs
Carol 53 with 55lbs

Workout of the Day
30 seconds work/30 seconds rest
box jump, db swings, pushup/mtn climber combo, ring rows
5 rounds

Food Journals

Since we implemented the new food journal system I have heard a lot of complaining about why we need to do this. The reason we are doing this is because your nutrition determines a very large part of your results, and my job is to help you get results. Most people don't realize that they can undo a weeks worth of workouts with just one bad day of eating. If you look at the literal meaning of what a coach is, a coach is something that transports you from where you are to where you want to be. I see my job as helping people get where they want to be and I really enjoy helping people change their bodies for the better. The truth is that if the food journal system is hard for you then you need it.

Yesterday's Top Performances
Male Dale 17:00 with 30lbs
Female Ashley 10:00 with 20lbs

Workout of the Day
30 seconds of clean and jerk
6 rounds with 2 min rest

Fast Food

For the most part fast food restaurants should not be an option when you are looking for somewhere to eat. If you are prepared then there should never be a need to go to fast food restaurants. Most of the food at fast food places is just processed junk. There are many places that do offer salads as options but I would still rather you make your food yourself. Just remember that if you make your own food that you can control what goes in it. I am always amazed at the number of people that eat fast food a couple of times per week. The other trend that I see is people going to fast food places for breakfast. I used to drive by Hardees and Burger King every morning and the drive through would always be packed. Most of these people don't realize that they would could probably prepare breakfast at home in the amount of time that it takes them to stop at the fast food restaurant and sit in line at the drive through.

Yesterday's Top Performances
Male Bill 315 x 3
Carol 140 x 3

Workout of the Day
Row 250 meters and then perform 4 rounds of 24 walking lunges, 12 db swings, and 12 pushpress.

Accupressure Points

Lately, I have been studying Chinese acupressure points. Acupressure points are spots on the body that fall on the meridian lines. It is believed that massaging the proper point can relieve many symptoms such as headaches, stomachaches, back pain, or any other ailment. One of the interesting things that I found is that the points that coincide with reducing blood pressure and insomnia are the same. I often times talk about the importance of sleep. High blood pressure is part of the deadly quartet that comes along with hyperinsulinemia(too much insulin). Therefore it is controlled through insulin. When insulin levels are too high it places stress on the body which causes the release of cortisol. Cortisol wakes us up. Now if you have chronically high levels of insulin, your cortisol will also be chronically elevated. If your cortisol is elevated it is tough to go to sleep.

Friday's Top Performances
Male Bill 365 x 3
Female Carol 175 x 3

Workout of the Day
Backsquat 5 x 3 , 3x6

Waves of Fat Loss

MAKE SURE TO BRING YOUR FOOD JOURNALS ALL OF NEXT WEEK !!!

Many people think that fat loss is a linear process in which they will lose a set amount of weight every week. Fat loss does not work that way. Fat loss comes in waves. For example, it is not uncommon to be stuck at a weight for a week or two and then magically drop about three pounds. This tends to happen even more as you get closer to your target weight and many people get frustrated by this process because they are not always seeing their weight move in the right direction. The trick is to not let this get you down because if you keep staying consistent with your program then you will continue to make progress, it just may not be on the timetable that you expected. Remember that if you lose on average 1-2 lbs every week for a year that is a 50-100lbs weight loss.

Yesterdays Top Performances
Male thruster/sdhp Bill 7 rounds with 115lbs
Male snatch/pushups Bill 7 rounds with 50lbs
Female thruster/sdhp Ashley 9 rounds with 55lbs
Female snatch/pushup Ashley 9 rounds with 25lbs

Workout of the Day
Deadlift 5x3, 3x6

Keep Your Food Journal

How important is keeping a food journal. In another new study that came out recently participants who kept a food journal lost twice as much weight as those who didn't. Keeping a food journal is one of the best things you can do to change your body. By making yourself accountable for what you eat it makes losing weight a lot easier. I am always suprised by the resistance and excuses that I get from people who don't want to keep their food journal. The funny thing is that it is usually the people who eat the worst that don't want to keep the journal. If you are trying to get leaner or gain muscle then you should keep a journal not only of everything you eat but also of all your activity, sleep, and stress. You would be amazed how helpful this is when you do it.

Yesterday's Top Performances
Male
Burpee Tareq 44
Row Dale 56
Jumprope Gerard 339
Female
Burpee Emily 41
Row Mary 53
Jumprope Brooke 401

Workout of the Day
5 rep thruster + 5 rep sumo high pull
10 min max rounds
rest 5 min
5 rep R hand db snatch + 5 rep L hand db snatch + 10 pushups
10 min max rounds

Superfoods

The other day we got a flyer in the mail for the "Ten Super Foods For Better Health." and what was number 6, crisp breads. Crisp breads are not a super food they are processed food. The article claims that they are great because they are fat free. When a food is fat free it just simply raises the insulin load of the food. Crisp breads also contain phytic acid which is going to leach to valuable nutrients in your body such as calcium and zinc. There are plenty of other foods that are superfoods that would make my list over crispbreads. Remember you diet should include vegetables, meats, nuts, a little fruit, and a little starch.

Yesterday's Top Performances
Male Weighted pullup Bill 65lbs x 3
Female Weighted Pullup Ashley 10lbs x 2
Male tabata thrusters Bill 47 reps with 30lbs
Female tabata thrusters Ashley 71 reps with 15lbs

Workout of the Day
45 sec on/45 sec off
burpees, farmers walk, rowing machine, slamball, jumprope

Cranking

Yesterday, one of my clients brought me an article that was in the Roanoke Times recently. The article was on a new fitness craze called cranking. Cranking is basically just a spinning class for your upper body. You use one of the physical therapy upper body cycles for the workout. Please do not fall for the hype of this type of workout. Cranking is not going to get anybody into shape. Cranking is an exercise for people in physical therapy who either need to correct shoulder problems or they cannot use their legs to exercise. If we look at cranking from a Crossfit perspective, which means that you should move large loads, long distances, and quickly, then cranking would not even be as effective as cycling and people who read this blog already know what I think about spinning classes. Cranking uses a smaller muscle group which means that you cannot produce the same amount of force that you can with your legs. It has been a trend over the last couple of years to use physical therapy exercises to try and get people into shape. Physical therapy exercises are great for helping with injuries and imbalances in the body but nobody ever got ripped by doing physical therapy exercises. Basically, cranking is someone trying to make money by marketing a physical therapy tool. One cranking machine costs $1700. How could that money be better spent. For $1700 you could buy a power rack with over 300lbs in plates, a set of rings, and some dumbbells. So for $1700 you have the choice to either just crank or you could do squats, deadlifts, lunges, pullups, snatches, cleans, or any other free weight exercise.

Yesterdays Top Performers
Male Rich 11:08
Female Ashley 9:37

Workout of the Day
Weighted pullups 5x3
Weighted pullups 3x6

Health Food Stores

Today many people go to health food stores to buy some or all of their groceries, which is a good thing because health food stores are a great place to find grass fed meats and organic vegetables and fruits. One problem that many people run into when shopping at the health food stores is assuming that everything in the store is healthy. There are many things in the health food stores that are not so healthy for us. For example, there are all kinds of baked goods in most health food stores. Yes, these baked goods are probably a better alternative to commercially produced baked goods but they are still full of sugar(even if it is organic sugar). There are also plenty of other snack foods in the health food stores that are not really that healthy. They are just slightly healthier alternatives to foods that are really bad for us. So next time you go to the health food store don't get lured into the trap of buying processed foods just because they are in the health food store.

Friday's Top Performances
Chris M 238
Joni 238

Workout of the Day
30 steps walking lunge + 50 air squats + 25 good mornings w/45 lbs bar
3 rounds for time

Protein and Energy Bars

Yesterday, I was in Kroger picking up a few things and I ended up in the organic section. In the organic or health food section there was an entire aisle of just protein and energy bars. After a quick count I would estimate that there were almost two hundred different types of bars. These bars are all marketed as health food but they are really just well marketed candy bars. If you look at the ingredient list on all of the bars you will usually find some type of syrup listed as one of the top ingredients. This could be corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, brown rice syrup, or any number of types of syrup. What is syrup - SUGAR. The other common ingredient that you will find in many of the bars is maltodextrin which does not add to the total sugars on the nutrition label but it is basically just corn sugar. If the bar is truly low carb and does not have any of the syrups or starches then it usually contains dried fruit or artificial sweetener. Dried fruit is just a concentrated form of fructose and if you read the posting earlier in the week you know what excess fructose can do to your body. Artificial sweeteners are chemicals that mess with your hormones and brain chemistry. Now onto the fats in the bars. Most of the fats in the bars come from pro-inflammatory vegetable oils such as sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, or even worse hydrogenated oils. These oils basically have the opposite effect of the fish oil that we suggest everyone take. These oils will cause inflammation in the body and degrade the health of your cell membranes and receptors. So next time you are thinking about eating one of these bars take a closer look at what you are really eating.

Yesterday's Top Performers
Male Front squat Chris M 185
Male 50 rep 8 count bodybuilders Chris M1:48
Female Front Squat Ashley 105
Female 50 rep 8 count bodybuilders Ashley 2:01

Workout of the Day
1 min thrusters, sumo high pull, pullups, pushups, box jumps
transition from one exercise to the next without resting
Perform 4 rounds with 2 min rest between rounds

Bar Gazing

When we do our circuits the intensity is often so high that people tend to try and rest for extended of periods of time when transitioning between exercises. It is very common to see people just staring at the bar in between exercises. In the Crossfit community I have seen this called Bar Gazing. The truth is that in most of these circuits if you just transition from one exercise to the next without resting it will not really be that much harder than if you rested for 30 seconds. You are not going to catch your breath in the 30 seconds of rest that you take so the better choice is to keep pushing and get it over with. Remember, that intensity is where the results are and if you are wasting time staring at the bar then the intensity is not going to be as high. Just think of how much time is wasted in your circuits by Bar Gazing.

Yesterday's Top Performances
Male Farmers walk Bob 95lbs x 100ft, 115lbs hold for 26 seconds
Male 500m row Rich 1:41
Female Farmers walk Theresa 65lbs x 100ft, 75lbs hold for 55 sec
Female 500m row Ashley 1:57

Workout of the Day
Front Squat 7x3

Fructose

Yesterday, I came across a great article about fructose, which is the sugar found in fruit. The article by Cassandra Forsythe talks about how fructose can sidetrack your weightloss goals. As I have talked about before on this blog, fructose is not good for fat loss, but most people today take in more fructose than they think. Fructose can only be used by the liver, and our livers can only hold so much. Everything in excess of the livers capability is stored as body fat. So where are some secret sources of fructose. Many salad dressings, ketchup, and any other products that contain high fructose corn syrup. HFCS is everywhere today. Check your labels before you eat because you may find HFCS in many things that you do not expect. Regular sugar is also a big source of fructose because sugar is a combination of glucose and fructose. Fructose can very easily sabotage your fat loss goals so be careful how much of it you consume. Make sure to limit the amount of fruit, especially dried fruit, you eat and watch out for hidden sources of fructose in added sugars and high fructose corn syrup.

Yesterdays Top Performers
Male Bill 10+5+5 rounds with 275lbs deadlift
Female Ashley 6+3 rounds with 155lbs deadlift

Workout of the Day
3x100ft farmers walk
2x max time farmers walk hold
500m row

Cycling Classes

Cycling classes are very popular today. Whenever you go to a commercial gym you see these classes packed full of people. The funny thing is that if you take a picture today and then come back in a year it will be all the same people in the class and they will all look the same or worse. Cycling classes are not the way to get fit or change your body composition. In fact if you are a female who stores her bodyfat in the hips and thighs then cycling class may be the worst thing you can do for your body type. The constant repetitive motion of the cycling is only going to build up the muscles around the hips and thighs causing them to look bigger because the fat will still be there. How many cycling instructors do you know that have big hips and thighs? All of the instructors that I have ever seen store there body fat in this area. This is the sign of an estrogen imbalance and the only way to fix it is by correcting your hormonal balance. If you want to fix an estrogen imbalance, then one of the first things to start with would be lifting heavy weights and not performing endless amounts of cardio.

Yesterdays Top Performers in the Pushpress
Male Bill 205lbs x 2
Female Emily 85lbs x 2

Workout of the Day
5 deadlifts + 5 pullups + 15 pushups
20 min for max rounds

Workout of the Day
Pushpress 5 x 3 + 3 x 6

Omega 3's

I came across an interesting statement the other day in a published study. The statement was that if everyone in the U.S. took 3 grams of omega 3(fish oil) per day then the incidence of heart disease and cancer would be reduced by 50%. This is a pretty bold statement since 50% is such a high number, but this just goes to show how important fish oil can be. Omega 3 oils help to reduce inflammation in the body. Omega 3's also improve the health of our cell membranes which is really important because health starts at the cellular level.

Workout of the Day
Weighted pullups 7 x 3
Tabata thrusters

How active are you

According to Dr John Berardi the people that are happiest with their bodies exercise a minimum of 5 hours per week. This can be in the form of weight lifting, running, circuits, or whatever. The common theme that he has found is that the people who are exercise 5 or more hours per week have better body composition. Why is this the case? Exercise improves the balance of hormones in your body and when the hormones are balanced the foods that we eat are better utilized. There is a concept called nutrient partitioning in which the calories we eat can either be partitioned to our fat cells or to our muscle. When we exercise consistently we become more insulin sensitive which will help to partition more of the calories into the muscles and away from the fat stores. Try a little experiment this week by increasing your activity level to the 5 hours a week and see what happens. You may like the results.

Workout of the Day
20 steps walking lunge
5 1 arm shoulder presses
5 pullups
20 min max rounds