Mixing it Up: The Reverse Lunge

Set Goals, Not Resolutions

It's that time of year again, New Year's resolution time. I can already hear them:

• "I'm not going to eat chocolate after dinner.....on the weekends".


• "My resolution is to exercise more this year....considering I hardly exercised last year".


• "I'm going to stop having my daily sundae with hot fudge...but I'll keep the sprinkles".


• "No more drinking for me...for the next two weeks".

You know what I personally think of New Year's resolutions? I hate them. I hate hearing about them. I hate hear people talking about them. I find most of them to be ridiculous. And I find them to be about as successful as a binge eater trying to eat just one slice of pizza. Resolutions just do not work a good majority of the time because they are not well thought out. They are just something to do because a new year has started or because the chain smoker who works in the cubicle next to you decided to set a resolution and you thought you would join in on the fun. It turns out to be just something to say or do. Usually no accountability. Usually no timetable. Usually vary vague.

A much better and potentially more successful way to go would be to work on setting a goal. Notice I said, "work on setting a goal". A goal is not just a vow you make five martinis deep on New Year's Eve for the upcoming year. A lot goes into setting a goal when done right and for it to be successful. If you're looking to make a change, lets take a look at what it takes to set a goal. There might be more to it than you think.

First, set one goal. No "I want to lose ten pounds and stop eating popcorn and get to three Zumba classes a week and....". Instead of asking for a wish list, ask for one thing. Setting just one goal goes along way towards determining your level of success. It's been estimated that your chances of success are around 80% if you just set one goal. Try to accomplish two goals at the same time and you're chances of success go down to 20% for each goal. That's a big difference. Set one goal. Achieve one goal. Move onto another goal.

Second, a goal has to be well defined. It shouldn't be, "I want to get in better shape" or " I want to tone up my arms". Exactly what kind of shape do you want to be in? Exactly how much weight do you want to lose? You have to be more specific and the goal has to be measurable. There should be a number attached to your goal. "Saying I want to lose 10lbs" or "I want to take an inch off my waist" are goals. It has to be able to be measured to be a goal. A goal being well defined also means setting a time line for your goal. Once you've defined a goal that can be measured, how much time should it take you to get to your goal? Have an amount of time you want to lose that weight or drop that body fat in as long as that timeline is realistic. Unless you are unlucky enough to be selected to participate on The Biggest Loser, losing an amount of weight in a short time period is not realistic without going to extremes. Instead, set a realistic time frame. Once you get to the end of that time frame and you've been successful, it's just time to set another goal with another realistic time frame.

Third, goals are put down in writing. Dr. John Berardi, who directs very successful weight loss coaching programs states, "If it's not written down, it's not a goal. It's a wish or a dream". Simply stated. Write down your goal and once you do place it somewhere so that it constantly reminds you. Everyday take a look at your goal. In addition to writing it down, tell everyone you know about your goal. Tell your best friends. Tell your worst friends. Tell your mother. Tell that that chain smoker who just set some crappy New Year's resolution. Having it written down and telling others will create some accountability.

Lastly, the goal has to have some sort of significance. This is my main objection to New Year's resolutions. There really is no significance to most New Year's resolutions. They are just done because the calendar has turned another page or because it's the thing to do. It's really just a conversation piece, one that I will quickly walk away from. To me that's not enough of a significance. There's no real inspiration there. But if you set a a well defined goal there probably is some significance to it, one that you can be emotionally attached to whether it's for personal reasons, professional reasons or health related reasons.

Goal setting is not easy. It takes time and it takes thought. But success for most has never come easy. If it did, you are either lucky, gifted or lying.

Have a happy and healthy 2011 everyone.

Exercise of the week: Prone Row w/External Rotation

This week's exercise can be used in two ways. One, as part of your upper body warm up. Two, towards the end of your workout as a shoulder pre-hab exercise. And it's not an exercise you're going to need to load up on with weight. For some using no weight is going to be hard enough.

Holiday Workouts

Staying in Shape During the Holiday Break

And wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.

More Killer Research on Omega 3's.

I've got two quick updates today that you're really going to like.

First, here's a great research based article on how Omega 3's help with lung function. Why should you care about lung function? Bottom line: The better your breathing, the better the fat burning.

Read the article here == > Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Breathing

Second, Prograde's new and improved EFA Icon is on sale at 20% off. BUT...The sale ends Thursday, December 23rd at 11:59pm EST. SO...Be sure to get your order in NOW before it's too late!

Here's how to get your 20% off discount ==> Prograde Specials

Enjoy!

Exercise of the Week: Cable Single Arm / Single Leg Squat & Row

What I Learned in 2010

One of my last posts was another "What I Learned...." and it got me thinking about what I learned in the past year. A lot happened in 2010. I opened up a business. I learned some new training methods that will hopefully help me get better results with clients. I also discarded other training methods that I had been using for years. On a personal level, I lost my grandfather and celebrated having a new niece. So let's see if I can sum up all of this and put into words what I learned in 2010.

• When it comes to be being successful with whatever business you are in, you still have to be good at what you do. You can learn all the sales and marketing techniques you want, but if your product or service is not any good, no one's going to buy it.
• What's holding people back from getting down to their desired body fat percentage or weight is their lifestyle. It's not the training programs. It's not the nutritional programs. It's their lifestyles. They don't want to make the changes that are going to allow them to get a solid workout in 3-4 times a week, have their meals planned out for the following day or get a good amount of sleep each night. The lifestyle you lead will determine the results you get.
• I would much rather deadlift than squat. It used to be the other way around. But now I feel much greater satisfaction pulling something from the floor than having something rest on my shoulders.
• Vegas is the greatest city in the world, especially when it comes to a bachelor party. How come it took about 10 of my friends getting married for someone to finally say, "Hey, let's go to Vegas for the bachelor party". Yeah, I guess it can get a bit ludicrous and expensive, but I would say the experience and fun was well worth it. Or am I just trying to convince myself it was?
• People still are not doing the simple stuff stuff that is going to get them leaner, stronger or help them to avoid injury: taking a 2-3 grams of fish oil a day, foam rolling and stretching on a regular basis, replacing their "cardio" work with interval work, doing chin ups, push ups or single leg work, eating breakfast and consuming more protein. It doesn't get much simpler than that. Simple works especially when you most of us really are "beginners".
• When it comes to a service business such as personal training, a good portion of your new and future clients are going to come referrals. You can spend a good chunk of change on print advertising with a very small or even no return. Or you can work on getting results with your clients with the only amount being spent is your time. Your clients are basically walking billboards. A client gets results with you and people are going to ask them where they're training. Or if you just are going to beat up your clients without getting any results people are going to know where not to train. The same goes with any other business. Deliver a good service and people will spread the word. Deliver a poor service and the only word that is going to spread is the bad word.
• To understand the role of your core just take a look at the way the muscles of your core attach. Your rectus abdominus runs one way. Your obliques run another way. They attach the way they do for one main reason: stability. Here's another way to think about it. Your rectus abdominus is the only muscle in the body that has that "six pack" type of configuration. It's divided that way just like the columns or supports on a bridge. To give it stability. If it was really designed for flexion it would look like your hamstring, one long muscle.
• The Patriots are always to have a chance to win the Super Bowl as long as Tom Brady is their quarterback and Bill Belichek is their head coach. And when the day comes when one of those two is no longer with the Patriots it could be quite a long time between championships. We are seeing something special here, fellow New Englanders.
• We take too much for granted. We just assume that we are going to be healthy, have a job and have our family around forever. Then something happens to you or someone you know and it kind of wakes you up. Start to appreciate what you have and stop worrying about what you don't have.
• Even though I'm still not a huge fan of it, there is a place for yoga. A lot of the mobility stuff that I've used over the last year or so has actually come from different yoga moves or postures. And just from a mental perspective it might be good to enroll in a yoga class one time a week or so to clear your head from this stressed out world we live in. And guys, there might be some cute girls in there to.
• We really underestimate the importance of the foot and ankle when it comes to lower body, low back or shoulder health. Your foot is the beginning of your kinetic chain. If you have some dysfunction at your foot, it could lead to dysfunction at your shoulder. Or if you do not have appropriate ankle mobility you'll probably going to have some knee issues. If you have some knee issue you might have some hip issue. You see where I'm going here. But I see very few people addressing their foot or ankle when it comes to their training or warm up. I know they may look like they don't do a whole lot but just doing some ankle rocks or rolling out your foot with a tennis ball prior to a workout session can fix a lot of problems.
• People still count calories and people still eat low fat foods which makes me believe that people still do not understood what good nutrition is all about. Good nutrition is eating good foods more often. That's it.
• Hopefully in 2011, I will not have to explain why doing anything standing on a BOSU ball is a complete waste of your time...unless you're trying to get better at standing on a BOSU ball. That trend can not end soon enough.

Dude, what are you doing?

I'm looking forward to what 2011 will bring. I hope you are to. Happy Holidays.

Exercise of the week: TRX Overhead Squat

Going into yesterday's TRX workshop I thought I understood the concept of the TRX and pretty much knew everything you could do with it. But after spending eight hours in a poorly ventilated, 8ft x 8ft YMCA aerobics studio with about 20 other people, I came away with some new exercises and new ways to use the TRX as part of my programming. Besides enabling you to do a ton of exercises, it's a piece of equipment that can be used to teach progressions, can be used to deload particular exercises and can help with mobility issues.

One exercise I came away with is the TRX Overhead Squat. I would use the TRX Overhead Squat as part of a squat progression or as part of a mobility warm up. Using the TRX with this exercise is going to do a few things. It's going to allow you to get to appropriate depth without fear of falling over. And it's going to turn on your core and scapular stabilizers as long you keep tension on the TRX while lowering into your squat.




It's important to keep tension on the TRX the entire time or there's no reason for using it. No slack at the bottom, no slack at the top.

Purchase a TRX by December 16 and get %15off and get free shipping. A great value...for your body and your wallet.

What I've Learned So far

Finished with you the first part of the Precision Nutrition coaching program, here are some of the major points I've picked up so far. I will not bore you with cell structure, energy pathways and the roles of each vitamin and mineral. Like I said, just some of the major points:

• A good nutrition plan meets four criteria: 1) it controls energy balance 2) it provides nutrient density 3) it achieves health, body composition and performance goals 4) it is honest and outcome based.
• About 60-75% of the calories you burn over the course of a day are going to come from your resting metabolic rate, 15-30% will come from physical activity and 10% will come from the thermic effect of feeding. In regards to the thermic effect of feeding, protein will have a higher thermic response than fats or carbs, another reason for increasing protein intake when it comes to fat loss. Or another reason to drop your carbs.
• After the age of 25, people will lose an average of five pounds of lean muscle mass with each decade. With a loss in muscle mass, comes a drop in metabolism, both of which can be prevented through appropriate exercise and nutritional selections.
• Fat in your diet is not as evil as you think it is. Fat provides energy, it helps with hormone production, it forms cell membranes and provides essential fatty acids that the body can not make. Do not fear fat...unless it's trans fat that is found in all your processed garbage foods.
• During periods of injury or sickness protein intake should be bumped up. At a minimum you should be striving to get in one gram of protein per pound of body weight. While at the same time a diet high in trans-fats, omega-6 vegetable oils and saturated fat will have inflammatory effects and slow down the healing process.
• If you're following some type of plant based diet you have to be careful of deficiencies, particularly: vitamin B12, calcium, omega-3 fats and vitamin D.
• Type II Diabetes is what John Berardi refers to as a lifestyle related disease. It usually comes from being obese, having a sendenetary lifestyle and consuming a diet high in carbs. The use of prescription medication could be diminished, even eliminated through regular exercise, good nutrition and weight loss. Another thing in regard to diabetes, it goes hand in hand with cardiovascular disease.

Gift Ideas for the Fitness Nut

Still have no idea what to get for that certain someone? If you're like me, don't worry about. You have 17 days left to get your shopping in. Also, like me, you may want to think along the lines of some new workout gear or maybe a new piece of training equipment. No, I'm not talking about going out and getting a $3,000 elliptical that serves as a coat rack four months later. I'm talking about gyms toy that are not going to break your Christmas budget. Or there are some great books or training programs that have been released over the last couple months that would serve as good gifts. So if you're thinking along those lines, here's some ideas for you:

• Gym Boss Interval Timer. Use the gym boss to time up your rest periods between sets of strength exercises. Or use the Gym Boss for your interval training or timed circuit circuit training. When it comes to your intervals you set up the length of your work period, your rest period and the number of intervals you plan on doing.
  
  
  


• TRX Suspension Trainer. If there was one piece of home training equipment I would suggest, it would be the TRX. Having a TRX around will give you over 70 different exercises to do. It is also portable so you can take it to the gym, take it on the road if you're traveling or take it down to the park if you're looking to do some training outside of the house. Yes, there are other suspension trainers on the market and I've used a few of them. I belive the TRX is the best one out there.

• A membership to Strengthcoach.com. For $9.95/month you get access to one of the best training resources on the Internet. You will have access to podcasts, videos, articles by some of the brightest minds in the strength and conditioning field and different forums to ask questions or take part in. The content applies to all individuals whether you're new to this whole fitness thing or maybe you already know a thing or two and want to have more knowledge than those knuckleheads relying on Muscle & Fitness for their latest training information.
• Valslides. Along the same lines as the TRX, having a pair of Valslides around will enable you to do more exercises than you thought were imaginable. And the portability is nice also.
• Never Let Go. A no nonsense training book by Dan John. Dan John breaks it down for you pretty simple, but simple in ways you may have never thought of. It's not only his training ideas though that make this book a good read. It's really about the lessons about life that come from his training that will make you a fan of his work and his teachings.
• Food Rules. Another book, one that might make a good stocking stuffer. This one is written by Michael Pollan the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma. Pollan breaks down nutritional strategies pretty simply. No micronutrient ratios or calorie counting. Just ways to look at what's on your plate or what you're about to scarf down. It doesn't get any simpler than "Eat foood. Mostly plants. Not too much."
• The Precision Nutrition System. I will not go as far as saying that you can not out train a bad diet, but I will say it's very difficult. So if you or someone you know is looking to lean out after an over consumption of eggnog, you have to get your nutrition in check. In my opinion, the best nutrition product out on the market for any individual is the Precision Nutrition System. The Precision Nutrition System provides you with 10 guidebooks, the Gourmet Nutrition volume 1 cookbook, and a full membership to the PN Member Zone, where you’ll find and online library and the 24/7 private support forums. Not a bad deal, for a not so bad price.
• A Gift Certificate to Accelerated Fitness. Yes, this is a bit of self promotion. And you know what? I don't care, because I know whoever you give that gift certificate to is really going to appreciate it. During the month of December, purchase a gift certificate for any amount for any service at Accelerated Fitness for 25% off. These type of deals not come around often.... actually never.

Happy holidays and happy shopping.

Exercise of the Week: Countdowns

Try not be to envious of that vertical jump.

Mixing It Up: The Inverted Row