Monthly Archives: July 2013

Jul 17 2013
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Motivation, Nutrition, Weight Loss

Fitness Failure: Deal With It

xmenJust because you think you’re gonna be successful doesn’t mean you’re actually going to be successful. That’s a trap. Pretending that you don’t have a problem staying consistent with your fitness workouts is a waste of time. Acting like Doritos and donuts are not your favorite foods is silly. You’re better off facing the fact that it’s likely you may fail and then come up with a strategy for minimizing the failure, working around it, or just simply surviving the failure. Life is about mistakes. If you want to win you got to know how to lose.

I’m usually a pretty positive minded guy. However, I’m a realist, first and foremost. We all have to face reality. Frankly, the idea that you can do whatever you “put your mind to” is bullshit – most of the time. They say that most people think they are above average. Most people feel that they’re smarter than most people. Think about that. That’s mathematically impossible.

If we’re so smart, why do we keep kicking ourselves when we fail to lose weight, get in shape, or keep the extra pounds off? We tell ourselves that if we can do anything we put our minds to then clearly we are either not focused or not working hard enough. We all want to succeed but are we all willing to put in the work to be successful?

Start by having a fitness failure plan. What are you going to do in the event of the failure? What’s your recovery plan? And how will you avoid this setback in the future?

Now don’t get it twisted. I’m not suggesting that you get all comfy with the idea of failing to meet your fitness goals. But if you’re comfortable with losing and failing then you’re a lost cause anyway. Losing weight, getting stronger, faster, and more athletic is a grind. It’s not a short-term process. It’s perseverance, focus, and determination. Author Jim Collins says “good is the enemy of great.” Don’t be satisfied with short-term gains. Keep pushing toward your goal.

Remember: Your fitness plan is less important than your fitness CONTINGENCY PLAN.

I’ll see you out there.

Jul 15 2013
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Fitness, Motivation

Weight Lifting: The Fountain of Youth

Like most trainers I enjoy working with competitive high school, collegiate, and professional basketball athletes. But I also discovered that working with senior clients is actually a lot of fun and very educationalsenior_fitness. We’re talking about clients 50 and over. We can’t turn back the hands of time but we can definitely slow it down. Because if we don’t do anything, we naturally lose physical function and become more susceptible to injury as we get older. This includes increasing the risk of falls due to a loss of balance, fractures because of lower bone density, and other debilitating problems.

Bones become more fragile as we get older due to a decrease in bone mineral content. We also lose lean muscle mass as we get older; a condition called sarcopenia. The decrease in muscle mass results in a decrease in muscular strength. Most people don’t realize that these processes begin as early as age 30. Reports show that 40% of women aged 655 to 64 years, 45% of women aged 65 to 74 years, and 65% of women age 75 to 84 years were unable to lift about 10 pounds.

As we lose muscle mass we also lose power. Power recedes at a faster rate than muscle strength when we get older. The problem is that power is necessary to complete most daily activities like walking, getting up and down stairs, and squatting.

We have seen significant increases in muscle strength, power, muscle mass, bone density, and general functional abilities in our clients that  regularly participate in progressive weight lifting programs. Clients also increase their energy and and resting metabolic rate when they train. Aerobic training and weight lifting are beneficial for older adults, but only weightlifting can increase muscle strength and muscle mass. We’re not talking about lifting 3lb dumbbells for a thousand repetitions either. Nobody got time for that. Heavy weight lifting is the fountain of youth.

Now get out there and get your weight up!

 

Jul 12 2013
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Uncategorized

Too Much Basketball?

Playing basketball year-round is not the best advice for athletes. The body simply cannot sustain an intense, high level of performance 12 months a year. There needs to be an off-season. A time to recover. Besides mental burnout there’s also the incidences of overuse injuries exacerbated by playing the same sport year-round. balltiredGet shots up. Work on your ball-handling. Get strong. That’s it.

I’ll see you out there.

Jul 12 2013
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Coaching, Nutrition, Weight Loss

4th of July Diet Comeback

If you’re like me, you probably lost your mind and ate too much over the 4th of July holiday. It’s even worse when holidays fall in the middle of the week because we can’t decide which long weekend to celebrate so we end up hitting ba133857_600ckyard BBQs all week long. We ate hotdogs, cheeseburgers, old-fashioned ice cream, pie, fish tacos, custard, Italian ice, triple berry bread pudding, tequila lime bars, iced lattes,…ugh. It wasn’t all bad but I’m not going anywhere near a scale for a minute. I feel bloated, sluggish, and off.

Holidays are festive and these things happen. OK, so our diet drove off a cliff. Now what?

Everyone is different but I can’t wait to get back on track as soon as possible. Back to the lab! I’m doing an Intermittent Fast to make a comeback. This program has worked for me in the past. My goals for the next two weeks are to flush my digestive system, shed a few pounds, get control of my hunger, and restore nutritional balance.

16 Hour Intermittent Fasting*

  • 7am – 2 cups of water, Omega-3s
  • 8am – 4 cups of water, 1 serving of Green SuperFood, 1 cup green tea
  • 11am – 1 cup of green tea
  • 12pm – workout (lift or sprints)
  • 1st meal at 1pm (clean, whole foods, lots of vegetables, and fruits)
  • 2nd meal at 4:30pm (protein shake)
  • 3rd meal by 8:30pm (clean, whole foods, lots of vegetables, and fruits)

*Based on Precision Nutrition’s IF program

Whatever you do to get back on track, just know that it’s ok if you’re not perfect. No one is. Food is meant to be enjoyed. And on the occasion when we overindulge we can always make a dietary comeback. So don’t be so hard on yourself. Get back up and dust yourself off. Holler if you need help.

I’ll see you out there!