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Category Archives for "fitness"

Health and fitness saboteurs

Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” If this is the case, are the people you surround yourself with helping you or hurting you?

Many of us struggle with health and fitness, particularly as we get older. When this occurs, it becomes even more important to surround ourselves with people who motivate, encourage, and inspire us to continue along our health and fitness journeys.

However, you may encounter saboteurs along the way. Here are a few types of saboteurs you may find in your own circles:

  1. A friend who pressures you to do something else – They may try to distract you from your workouts or encourage you to eat unhealthy foods. Peer pressure becomes an issue. You may need to spend less time with these peers.
  1. Well-meaning individuals – These people may not understand why you’re doing what you’re doing and they may be concerned. Let them know you appreciate their concern, but you need to follow your own path.
  1. Backstabbers – These individuals may try to derail your success because they measure themselves against other people and they simply do not want you to succeed. Recognize when someone is acting against you.

Focus on building up others as well as yourself. Create a strong foundation by joining teams and making connections. Say hello to people at the gym and surround yourself with these like-minded and motivated individuals who will help you stay focused on your health and fitness goals.

 

 

 

 

 

March 13, 2017

11 great reasons to quit

Quitting is not always the best policy, but there are some times when quitting can work to your benefit:

  1. Unhealthy Habits – Strike a balance between the good and bad habits. Consider replacing bad with a healthy habit.
  2. Bad Food Sources– Try to replace bad food sources with better selections. Choose organic foods or fresh, locally grown sources.  See the Toxin Solution by Joe Pizzorno.
  3. Better Opportunity – Even if just temporarily, try a new fitness modality that excites you and keeps your routine fresh.
  4. Illness – When you’re sick, take the opportunity to rest and recover. Stay out of the gym and avoid spreading your illness.
  5. Injury – This is an indicator that something is wrong. Avoid coming back too early and risking another injury. Find other ways to maintain your fitness in the meantime.
  6. Overtraining – This can cause adrenal fatigue from the stress on your body. This prevents your body from recovering. Consider taking some time off and give yourself a break.
  7. Change in Priorities – Mix in a different modality to give more balance to your program and your life.
  8. No Self Control – If you struggle with self-control, avoid these temptations altogether.
  9. Elimination Diet – Find the foods that are giving you the most issues with digestion and overall health. Find the foods that allow your body to function at its highest capacity.
  10. When You’re Full – Eat slower and be more mindful of the food you are eating. Stop when you feel ¾ of the way full and allow your body to catch up.
  11. Trying to Avoid Risk – Inclement weather or extreme temperatures can add risk to your work out. Consider working out indoors in these instances.

You may only quit temporarily, but it may be just the break you need to continue along your health and fitness journey long-term.

 

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Whoops! How do I get back on track?


 

March 10, 2017

Eating for endurance with Matt Fitzgerald

Matt Fitzgerald is an avid runner, a certified sports nutritionist, and the author of a new book called The Endurance Diet. In this book, Matt shares findings from studying the training and diet habits of elite athletes.

In the book, Matt discusses the 5 core eating habits of elite athletes:

  1. Eat everything – Those who eat all categories of food. The diet is good enough and not necessarily perfect.
  2. Eat quality – Those whose diet is skewed toward natural, unprocessed foods.
  3. Eat carb-centered – A carb-centered baseline diet, with days of high carb diets prompted by a heavy day of training.
  4. Eat enough – Those who don’t count calories, but instead reconnect with built-in mechanisms for determining how much food to consume.
  5. Eat individually – Those with different preferences or intolerances, and who must allow for individuality within the other four styles of eating.

Matt also talks about training essentials for endurance fitness:

  1. 80/20 rule of intensity balance – Spending 80% of workouts at a low to moderate intensity and 20% at full intensity.
  2. Progressive overload – Increasing capacity by continually challenging one’s self.
  3. Purpose-driven workouts – Choosing certain workouts that work better than others.
  4. Hard/easy rule – Distribute hard sessions evenly amongst the low to moderate ones.
  5. Recovery weeks – Doing less than what you normally do. Organize training in step cycles to get the greatest results.
  6. Periodization – Breaking down a training cycle into phases that focus on different fitness building objectives.
  7. Down time – Aim to be as fit as possible two to three times per year. Down time is required after each peak.
  8. Strength training – Improves overall performance by improving strength and conditioning.

To connect with Matt Fitzgerald or learn more about The Endurance Diet, visit www.mattfitzgerald.org.

 

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The tao of running | Gary Dudney

Whoops! How do I get back on track?

Donna, a podcast listener, submitted a great question about how we can get back on track after a slip up in our health and fitness journeys.

We’re human. We’re going to slip up from time to time. Getting back on track is important. To do this, you’ll need to build a paradigm around yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

You cannot fix what has happened in the past. When you first slip up, you’re angry and frustrated, and also stuck in the yesterday phase. To get out, realize that you made the decisions to act in a way that caused this setback. Own it those actions and then forgive yourself. Forgiving yourself is so important because it allows you to move on and release those negative emotions such as anger, remorse, or disappointment.

The next step is to recommit. If you’re not committed to your health and fitness journey, these cycles of failure will keep happening. Your commitment is based upon your why. Reconnect with your why and revision your vision of the future and what you’re trying to achieve.

At this point, you are ready for tomorrow. To look to the future, you must do a root cause analysis of why you had a slip up. Drill down beneath the surface level reason and find the root cause of why you made those choices. Establish good habits to manage future points of frustration instead of choosing familiar bad habits, such as eating unhealthy foods.

Consider journaling how you feel, what you ate, and how you slept. Meditation is another option to assist with recognizing thoughts and feelings. Both of these tools will help you understand yourself better and be better equipped to bounce back from any future slip ups.

 

 

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11 Health and fitness objections


 

February 24, 2017

The essentials of mass building

When our weight lifting objective is mass building, there are three key phases to consider: work, food, and rest. All three phases are very important, as you cannot properly build mass without focusing on all three.

Work Phase

This is what most people think of when building muscle mass—doing the actual work or exercise. Pick particular muscle groups that you want to work. This work tends to be more single-joint movements that will isolate muscles. Reps for each set should be in the six to 10 range, with three to four sets total. The weight with the movements are slow and controlled to create time under tension combined with this volume of reps. That combination will give the stimulus to grow the muscle.

Food Phase

After each workout, you will need to consume certain foods to assist in building mass. A little bit of carbs after the workout will restore the glycogen used during your workout. You will also need protein, so consider 1-1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of lean body mass. Also, be sure to drink plenty of water and maintain an overall healthy, nutritious diet.

Rest Phase

Between sets, be sure to rest for 60 to 90 seconds. Slowing down will give you energy and intensity to put into your sets. For most people and muscle groups, a proper rest period between workouts is about 48 to 72 hours. Even if you’re still experiencing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), as long as you’ve given yourself the proper rest period, you should be okay to proceed. Make sure to get quality sleep, usually seven to nine hours per night.

Remember to focus on all three phases to put your best foot forward in building muscle mass.

 

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Body by science | Dr. Doug McGuff

February 22, 2017

11 of my health and fitness pet peeves

Here are a few of my biggest pet peeves related to health and fitness:

  1. Stuck on calories in/out – All of these calorie measurements are estimates. Eat good quality, nutritious food and let your body tell you when it’s full.
  2. Barbie reps – Not burning calories or building muscle. Not getting benefit of a true resistance program that includes a challenge on the muscle.
  3. Food puritans – Food choices are often limited anyway. Do the best that you can. Food is about replenishing our body and making the best choices possible given our circumstances.
  4. Bro science –Don’t always follow the crowd, because sometimes the crowd is wrong. Do a little bit of research on your own.
  5. Pre-workout stimulants – Avoid these. If you’re getting proper nutrition, that is all you need.
  6. Fat loss supplements – If you’re eating a good diet and you’re moving around, your body will begin to burn fat without these supplements.
  7. Flat stomach machines – Your body has a natural rhythm to how it wants to store fat. These machines will not be the difference maker.
  8. Incomplete nutritional information in apps – You must do your own diligence to be sure what you’re eating is a true serving compared to the information within the app.
  9. Ignoring food, stress, and sleep – You cannot ignore these, as you need them in your program just as much, if not more, than exercise.
  10. Scale worship – The scale is not a good measure of health and fitness, but a measure of body mass. Focus on how you look and feel.
  11. Irresponsible headlines – Misleading headlines cause people to make health decisions without understanding the real implications.

 

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How to shop for good food

11 Health and fitness objections

There are many health and fitness objections, but many of them don’t hold up. Here are some of the most common:

  1. Bad genetics – Your genetic potential is to be a better person. With the right amount of work and managing your health, you can accomplish any goal. Mindset is key. Your body will follow.
  2. Tried everything – It’s not about the temporary fix. To make change, you must fix your lifestyle.
  3. Boredom – A good walk outside is never boring. Many different machines in the gym will keep you entertained. There are options to increase variety.
  4. Don’t want to get bulky – Those who get bulky often have genetic advantages and are using supplements. Focus on being lean and strong.
  5. Intimidated by the gym – Consider hiring a personal trainer to introduce you to the equipment. Check out a gym before joining to be sure you feel comfortable and perhaps work out with a friend.
  6. Unsupportive spouse – Have a conversation with your spouse about your goals and gaining their support. Encourage them to join you.
  7. Can’t move like that – You’re not competing with others. You are competing with you. Over time, you will improve your mobility, strength, and endurance.
  8. No time – This really shows a lack of priority. Make a commitment and schedule time on your calendar.
  9. Illness – Don’t go to the gym if you are sick. Instead, try doing your workout at home.
  10. Injury – There are ways to work around your injury. Avoid the area of injury, but focus on other areas of your body.
  11. Don’t know where to start – First, solidify your goal and assemble the program to get you there. Consider hiring a personal trainer or joining the Surefire Results for Weight Loss

Need help? Reach out to me at main@forever.fitness.

Another episode you may enjoy

Gym etiquette

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