An Effort Worth Making..........

This weekend I did a bodybuilding competition that most good intentioned friends and family told me was a waste of my time and compromised my health.  Sometimes we have to do things that we feel help define who we are in spite of what others say.  I spent the last year training hard, the last few months dieting hard, the last few weeks preparing my mind and body for competition.  Sometimes the challenge to push ourselves to another level is so important that we sacrifice other areas of our lives to do it.  And this effort makes us realize that we can accomplish more than we originally thought we could accomplish.  It is the going beyond what you think you can do that makes you physically and mentally stronger, builds character, and prepares you to do other things in your life that before this effort, you thought you could not do.  We are all champions and we just need someone to push us just a little....to the next level!  Find a good personal trainer to help you accomplish your fitness goals! 

Best Beginning Workout - Start Here

People always ask me where they should begin to get back in condition.  I say at the beginning is a good place to start.  If you haven’t been in the gym for a while or have been going but feeling frustrated with your results, try this whole body workout for a few weeks to get your body ready for more advanced training. 

You will do each exercise 2 times and superset one exercise with another as indicated (a superset is two or more exercises performed in a row without a break in between).  If you need help with how to do the exercise or what machine to use, ask a knowledgeable personal  trainer or go to: http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/ and type in the exercise in the “Find An Exercise By Name” field.  The exercise will come up with a video you can watch and an explanation of how to perform the exercise.  Perform 12-15 reps for each set.  Use a weight that is challenging by the 10^th rep.

Do one back and one chest exercise in a superset for two sets each

Back:

Wide Grip Lat Pull Down

Cable Row

 

Chest:

Incline dumbbell Press

Dumbbell Flies

Do one shoulder and one leg exercise in a superset for two sets each

Shoulder:

Dumbbell shoulder press

Dumbbell lateral raise 

Legs:

Leg Press

Leg Curl

Do one biceps and one triceps exercise in a superset for two sets each

Biceps:

Bicep Curl

Hammer Curl

Triceps:

Reverse Grip Triceps pushdown

Seated Triceps Press

Do this workout 2-3 times a week for 2-3 weeks.  You will then be ready to split up the workout into doing less body parts per workout.  I will post a sample workout that might follow this beginning whole body workout.

You Know What You Need to Do…We Just Need to Be Reminded…to Be Consistent

The hardest thing for most of us is to be consistent with what we know we should be doing.  We know that exercise and eating healthy foods is important to our health and well being but too often we let other things distract us from getting to the gym or out for a run or preparing healthy lean protein, vegetable rich meals.  To change the way we look and feel we have to change the way we view exercise and how we nourish our bodies and we need to do it consistently.

Too often in our busy lives we let other things come before ourselves, our work, our children, our friends.  The most important thing we can do to be at our best for everything else is to take care of ourselves as well.    We need to make getting to the gym an appointment with ourselves, like being at work every day or taking our kids to their sports activities.  Make it important to also get to that Core Fitness class or on the treadmill and lifting weights 3-4 days a week.  Make it important to have healthy foods and supplements in your kitchen to support your training.  Get containers so you can transport healthy foods with you when you’re at work or running errands. 

Being consistent with healthy behaviors will incrementally result in amazing changes to your health and physique.  My next blog will be on foods and supplements that I think are critically important to support your training.

Fitness is a Journey....Not a Destination

Where ever you are on your fitness journey is ok.  It’s an ongoing process at any stage of your development.    Are you just thinking about getting your body back or are you well on your way to getting results?  The important thing is that you’re moving forward one workout, one week, one month at a time.  Consistency is the key.  Continued effort creates eventual results.  The issue might be what do I do next to get the results I want?   There is so much information out there, some very helpful, some a waste of time and effort.   It can be very confusing to glean what you need for your personal fitness goals.  Some may say doing something is better than doing nothing but that theory can lead to injury, frustration and eventual abandonment of your fitness pursuit.  You need good, solid information so that you can either evaluate your own current fitness level and create a plan of action, or hire someone else that can correctly evaluate your current fitness level and recommend how to start or keep moving forward toward positive results.  A good evaluator is a topic of another discussion. 

The elements that create a successful fitness program include the workout program, a nutrition plan, supplementation, and recuperation.  I will talk about these elements in future blogs.  Again, if you have any questions I can try and answer…hit me up.  These are my opinions only, based on my own personal experience, training others, and what I’ve learned from knowledgeable people and intelligent, science based articles.

First You Need a "Why"...and a Quantifiable Yardstick

To be really successful at achieving anything of importance to you, you must have a powerful "why" and then you need a quantifiable yardstick to measure that achievement.  When it comes to your fitness goals, write down what you would like to achieve and the reason you would like to achieve it.  It could be to feel confident about yourself again, to be more attractive to your partner, to be able to have more energy and do those things you love to do like skiing, playing tennis, running with your dog, carrying groceries up a flight of stairs. Then you need to be able to measure your progress.  It could be a measuring tape, a body fat caliper (which I recommend) or a scale (which does not accurately measure body fat loss).  Another good measure of progress is a pair of jeans you cannot wear comfortably just yet or a picture of yourself in a swimsuit (that only YOU can see at this time).  You will take new measurements (and/or pictures) every 2-3 weeks so that adjustments can be made to your training and/or your nutrition plan as needed.  It will also keep you accountable to your goals.

Are you ready to do those things that will make a significant difference in how you look and feel?  There is never a better time to start then right NOW, and if not now.....when?

Fitness for the New Year

What a perfect time to think about changing and improving your fitness goals now that we are nearing the end of 2010 and beginning a brand new year.  Most people think about what they would like to change or improve for the new year.  Why not create a healthy, physically fit body.  There is no time like right now to do this.  You don't have to wait for January 1, although it's just a few days away.  Why not begin right NOW at least thinking about what you can do to get the body you want for 2011.  So many of you are doing the same things and not seeing any changes. 


 Why not try something different, something challenging but realistic that will get you the results you want and have you feeling better about yourself with more energy to do the things you love to do.  I challenge you to up your game.  Don't be afraid to work a little harder, lift a little heavier, eat smarter, cleaner, more frequently.  What would you like to accomplish in this next year? Do you want to lose some weight (change your body composition),  tone your physique (gain muscle), have more energy and flexibility. 


Let me help you get to your fitness goals.  I don 't have all the answers but I do have a lot of knowledge through personal experience and in helping others.  I'd like to share in your  journey to health and fitness!!