Monday Motivation

Hey Fit People!

     December is almost upon us and with the month of December comes holidays, celebrations and even a few extra pounds of weight.  Studies have shown that weight gain during the winter months is a common and often expected occurrence.  This makes sense since most people reduce their activity levels as well as over indulge during the holidays.  Evolutionarily, it has also been to our advantage to store more fat during the winter months.  This fat adds to protection from the extreme cold temperatures as well as provides necessary fuel during times of food scarcity.  Unfortunately, we are no longer cave men and women!

   There's no reason that your fitness should get in the way of enjoying the holidays, as long as compromises are made.  I want to challenge you to make the following changes to this year's holiday celebrations:

1. Everything in moderation: Next time you find yourself loading up your plate with cookies and cakes, think for a moment, "What do I want?" and "What will make me filled and satisfied?".  Compare the differences between these two answers and decide what portion size is going to be appropriate to both enjoy holiday food as well as prevent any regrets later.

2. Pick up the slack in other ways:  Bargain with yourself.  Any additional caloric intake should have its countermeasure with some additional exercise or activity.  Now you don't need to go run a marathon if you have an additional glass of egg nog, but on the other hand, no crime goes unpunished.  My challenge to you is to include 30 minutes of brisk walking for any dramatic caloric increase.  Walking isn't going to stave off all the pounds, but it will keep your metabolism high during the temperature drop and it will help lessen the caloric damage that had occurred.  Better yet, you'll be much happier you had the walk when all is said and done.

3. Look for alternative recipes:  In the age of the internet, there are alternatives to just about any recipe! I've recently subscribed to a blog called, "Lean Body Lifestyle".  This blog is dedicated to taking everyday recipes and changing them to reduce calories, increase protein, increase fiber and increase micronutrients!  Something as simple as using apple sauce instead of oil while baking can create great shifts in the calorie density of foods without compromising great taste!

4. Enjoy the Holidays: Holidays are great times to rest and recuperate.  I love the month of December, because it is a time that my own training becomes less intense and I'm able to recover both physically and mentally.  This really preps me for January when I can set all new goals and really get to work at having the next best year of my life!

     Take these tips and run with them.  As long as you can give an effort to one or two of these tips, you'll be well on your way to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and not gaining any unnecessary pounds.  Keep at it and I'll see you at the gym!

Russ

Tough Thursday

     Today I'm focusing on all the training I love to do.  Every 4 weeks, I give myself a week-long treat where I mix up my training to make sure I hit all of my favorite exercises and iron out any imbalances I might have. 
    
      Some of my favoite ways to train include: TRX Suspension Training, Kettlebells, plyometrics, partner exercises, competitions, swimming, yoga, supersets with elastic bands and sprints.

     Find something active that you truely enjoy and do it today. You and your body will be happy you made the choice.

Monday Motivation

     What drives you?  Is it something external (fear of unemployment, etc...) or something from within (personal goals, aspirations, enjoyment, etc..)? Studies have shown time and time again that the best form of motivation is internal and not external.

     What does this mean? This means that the people who set their goals often achieve them and those who are told who the should be or what they should do, often don't get there.

     I challenge you this week to take time to think about what your goals are and where the pressure to achieve them comes from.  Is is something that you want because it will make you happier and healthier or is it something you "should do"?  Find the goals and explanations that are internally driven and stick to them.  These will help guide you and motivate you along the way.

     Find out those internal goals and I'll see you on the road to progress!

Stay strong,

Russ

5 Days Strong This Week

     So far this week I've been very productive. I've had 5 days of resistance training, 3 days of cardiovascular training and 6 days of flexibility training.  Even better yet: I'm going to get another workout in tomorrow!

     "How much is enough?"  I get this question all the time and the answer isn't as straight forward as it may seem.  Often times I can't give an accurate answer without asking some questions of my own:


What are your goals? 
What does achieving your goals mean to you? 
How much time are you willing to commit to exercise? 
What's at stake?


     After finding this out, the answer is simple: the more focused attention spent on achieving your goals, the better your chances of achieving them and the quicker you'll get there.

     With that being said, pay attention to your body and pay attention to your strength and stamina.  Rushing in head-first to a new exercise routine can easily backfire if you overtrain your body.  Generally, a good rule of thumb is to take a few days off and to change your routine if you see a decrease in performance by 15% or more for longer than 2 weeks.


     Some sure-fire minimums that you should shoot for each week are:


2 days of resistance training
3 days of cardiovascular training (30-60min)
Flexibility training after either resistance or cardiovascular training.


     Spend some time this weekend, determining what your goals are and what they mean to you.  Find the time to dedicate to exercise and I'll see you around the gym next week!

New Kicks & 10.5 miles down

As a part of my own fitness revolution, I've started running from one job to my other. I've started with only a 1.5 mile loop but am going to slowly increase it weekly until the snow starts flying!

Monday Motivation

    Statistically speaking, fitness centers see the greatest utilization of their facilities on Monday.  Whether this is because individuals feel guilty over a lazy weekend or invigorated by the time off, most people can find the motivation on Monday to go and workout.  This brings me to my big question: What about Tuesday?

    I've met with a wide variety of clients, fitness enthusiasts and athletes and the major distinguishing factor between the Tuesday crowd from the Monday crowd has been priorities.  For the next 8 months, my strength, endurance, fitness and overall health is going to be a priority.  I'm going to make time no matter the obstacles to workout on all of my Mondays as well as Tuesdays and I challenge you to do the same.

     Here are some tips to get motivated this week:

1. Take time to lay some workout apparel out so that it's ready (for your morning workouts, after work-workouts or even mid-day ones).

2. Pick 3 days on the calendar this week and circle them with a red marker.  Make it a short term goal to cross them out after your workouts.  Keep the calendar somewhere public so that your friends, roommates or spouse can keep you honest!

3. Reward yourself: Find something that you enjoy to do and make it a reward for your long week of exercise.  Involve someone else so that they can motivate you though the process.

4. Make a playlist: find music that gets you inspired and get moving to it. Use this as a tool to propel you through even the most agonizing sets of exercise.

5. Review your goals: figure out why exercise is important to you and give yourself that friendly reminder.  The first step is always the hardest, but the journey to your ultimate goals is like a steam engine: it's cold and slow moving at first, but once it's warmed up and moving, it's hard to stop!

     This week make your health and fitness a priority and I'm sure I'll see you on Tuesday!

Weekly Secret

Hey Fit People!

I wanted to share with you this week's fitness secret: Progress

     Progress refers to the continual increases in intensity of training. This could be anything from running longer, lifting more weight or performing repetitions.  This could even be a fundamental change in a routine such as running instead of swimming or adding some plyometrics between sets in the weight room.  The key to a change in body composition, strength and endurance is accomplished only through a progression in training.

    How much progress should you expect? A minimum of 5% weekly!  This means that if you can lift 100lbs for 10 repetitions this week, you should be able to do 105lbs for 10 repetitions next week. Another way of looking at it would be to perform 100lbs for 11 repetitions the following week (a 10% increase). Finally, while running for 30 minutes would become 31:30 after a 5% increase!

    Progress is key to making real physical changes and accomplishing your goals.  Fitness is like paddling upstream in a canoe!  If you paddle the same speed all the time, you won't go anywhere.  If you give up, you'll float downstream.  Only if you increase your speed and stroke will you make any progress!

   I challenge you this week to make that next 5% increase in your training and learn to expect progress weekly.  If you get to the point where you haven't been progressing, it's time to take a step back and change how you train!  Good luck!

Stay Strong,
Russ