Finding Your Motivation

First, I would like to wish you all a happy and prosperous 2016! I hope that you all stick to your resolutions and continue striving for a happier and healthier life moving forward.

With that being said, it's important to reflect on what motivates us. At this point in time the idea of a "new year" seems to be enough motivation to get people started, but what about when that initial spark fades? After about a month or so we begin to see people fall back into their old habits and turn their back on the resolutions that they were so ready to accomplish. Today I want to offer some tips on finding your true motivation, as well as some pointers on how to keep it going.

So let's fast forward a month or two... Your initial excitement is beginning to fade, you aren't seeing the results that you thought you would, and your cravings for fried foods are becoming more and more frequent. At this point you're basically ready to call it quits, so what do you do? DON"T QUIT! This is a place that even the most experienced athletes/motivators/enthusiasts, reach every once in a while. It's important to understand that not everyone will be motivated all the time but how you respond to THIS VERY MOMENT is what will ultimately decide whether you succeed or not.

Once you reach the point that I mentioned above, you need to reflect back to the beginning. WHY did you make a decision to change your life? Have you really given it 100%? Are you really COMMITTED to changing your lifestyle? What is it that's holding you back? Whatever it is that is not allowing you to move forward or is making you second guess your decision to make your life better, needs to go! Take the time each morning to reflect on your decisions, the day ahead of you, and to remind yourself that you DESERVE a better life. Each day focus on what's really important and don't give in to weak feelings or temptations. Build yourself up each and every morning.

Here are some tips to finding motivation when you feel like you are ready to give up:

1. Reflect on why you are doing what you are doing. Are you committing to exercise so that you can enjoy your life with your loved ones? Maybe you decided that you were unhappy with your image and you wanted to be proud of who you were. No matter the reason, take the time to reflect and commit to the promise that you made to yourself and/or others.

2. Find someone who inspires you. Is there a movie star, athlete, or family member that inspires you to be better? If so, learn more about them. Learn about their struggles and what they did to overcome their tough times. For me, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is a huge inspiration and I often look to his story for motivation.

3. Saturate your social social media with positive things. Start following sites that post motivational quotes, videos, and pictures. I personally follow pages that display the life I want to have. Currently I'm following pages that offer content on the following: Fitness tips, luxury living, travel destinations, spiritual guidance, and motivational quotes.

4. Keep a journal or log to record your thoughts. Sometimes keeping a record of your day and looking back at it in the future can be enough to inspire yourself. This allows you to see how far you have come, or in some cases, it will show you how little effort you have actually put in to changing your life. The only person in this world that you need to be better than is the person that you were yesterday!

5. Understand that change takes time. We live in a generation of quick fixes and instant gratification. Somehow we have forgotten that success and results take time and they don't come overnight. In order to really change, we need to leave our comfort zone and this can take time for some people. It isn't easy to let go of our fears, but if we try just a little bit each day, we can do it!

If you can be just 1% better than you were yesterday, you can do great things in the future. Let's make this a great year and let's stay committed to our resolutions! No more excuses, no more fear. Let go of the negative and embrace the positive! Anything is possible if you believe it.

10 Reasons Why You're Not Getting Results From Your Workout Routine

With so much information out there today, it can be very difficult to find a legitimate workout program that suits you best (not to mention one that you'll actually stick to). It's easy to find contradicting information and sometimes it seems that the more you read, the more confused you become!

Today we'll clear up some of the confusion and go over 10 reasons why you're not getting results from your workout routine. In these 10 reasons you will also find tips to help you succeed in achieving your goals.

1. Your program is too advanced
This is especially true for beginners. If you are just starting out or have been inactive for a while, it's best to start slow and not jump into one of these programs that is guaranteed to get you extraordinary results in a minimal amount of time. Chances are this type of program requires base conditioning and is more for the person who is looking for a breakthrough in their plateau.

2. Inconsistency
Many people are inconsistent in a number of ways. Whether inconsistency refers to missing workouts during the week or jumping from program to program, this can be a huge blow to your overall success. When starting a routine, be realistic with the number of days a week you will be able to commit to. If a program is not what you thought it was, rather than completely recycle it, make some adjustments and find a way to make it work.

3. Stay in your range and be realistic
Something I see often is others attempting to lift a tremendous amount of weight when realistically they are nowhere near ready to even try it. If you are into lifting weights, stay in your range and do not make huge jumps in weight increments. Do not increase the weight unless you can preform the reps with great form and control. Do not bounce or throw your whole body into the lift, this is the easiest way to get hurt!

4. Lack of progression
Has your routine changed much since you've started it? It is important to always make adjustments in your routine by either adding weight, reps, or progressing your exercise (when ready). Here is a basic example of a progression: Once you have mastered the push up, try putting your feet on a bench while leaving your hands on the ground and doing a push up from there. Your exercise has now progressed because you are changing the angle at which the muscles are being worked, as well as the degree of difficulty.

5. Your routine is not specific to your goal
This one is pretty common among athletes. If your goal is to become faster, your best bet would be to practice sprinting (focusing on form and quality). If your goal is to get bigger biceps, make sure to incorporate a number of exercises that target your biceps both as the primary and secondary target muscle . Be careful though not to to neglect other areas. Muscle imbalances are very common as a result of focusing too much on one area.

6. Resting during exercise
Rest is important during exercise but it is dependent on your goal and level of fitness. If your goal is to lose fat, your rest periods should remain minimal. If you are looking for maximal muscle strength, your rest periods should be a little longer. Too much or too little rest can greatly hinder your results.

7. Giving up too easily
Your workouts should be challenging and if you want to see results you must work hard. Don't give up on a set when you know you can squeeze out a few more reps. I tell my clients to try and give me five more. By asking for 5 more I will get either 1,2,3,4 or 5 more reps than they were originally going to do.

The same can be said for an entire workout program. Don't give up just because you aren't seeing results right away, it takes time to build muscle and lose fat. If something guarantees results in a minimal amount of time with a minimal amount of effort, it is a scam! All results require hard work.

8. Not enough sleep
One of the most important keys to achieving results is making sure that you are getting enough sleep. When you are asleep the body restores and rebuilds itself. A lack of sleep can greatly hinder the body from performing its normal functions.

9. Poor nutrition
Nutrition is truly key when it comes to achieving results. You can have the best routine in the history of exercise but if you follow it up with consistently bad nutritional choices, you will yield minimal results. There is a common phrase that says abs are built in the kitchen. This is true. We all have what it takes to have "6 pack abs" but if yours are covered in fat they will remain invisible.

10. Just going through the motions and you don't know why
This relates more to education than anything. You should know why you are doing the exercises that you are doing. It is very important to educate yourself on nutrition and exercise. Yes there is a lot of false information out there, but if you can learn the basics this will truly help you on your way to achieving your fitness and exercise goals. Don't just do something because so-and-so told you it's good, or because some infomercial guarantees results. Do something because you understand the process and how it will give you results.

Understand that living a healthier lifestyle requires time and dedication. Just because you find a "good" program online doesn't mean that it'll work for you. Most programs are not one size fits all. If you are having trouble creating and sticking to a program, seek professional advice from a Certified Personal Trainer or Exercise Specialist. Good luck and stay healthy!

My Time Away From Fitness and Exercise

Hello to everyone reading this! I wanted to write a follow up to What I Learned During My Fit2Fat2Fit Challenge and write about some of my observations during my time away from fitness and exercise.

Since I had spent over a year away from the "fitness world", I began to see things through the eyes of an outsider and let me tell you; our world (the fitness world) can be intimidating, confusing, misleading, and unorganized. The people who were "hardcore" seemed annoying, cocky, full of themselves and unapproachable, trainers lacked communication (mainly listening) skills, and there was so much misinformation online that it's no wonder people buy into phony gimmicks. I can see why the average person has trouble sticking to a program and/or reaching their fitness and exercise goals.

What Outsiders See

*When I refer to outsiders, I am referring to those who do not participate in physical activity regularly or at all.

When outsiders look at the world of fitness, they see something much different than those on the inside see. They look at the TV and see dozens of infomercials for DVD's, shake weights, belts, creams, wraps, etc. They see tons of shredded fitness models and body builders, promises of new life through supplements and "magic" pills, and stories of triumph and glory. When outsiders look at the world of fitness, they see hope. This hope can quickly diminish because of the state and complexity of the current fitness world and the misinformation some have presented to the outsiders. If the outsider is not serious about this journey or if they lack the motivation to seek truth, this journey can end rather quickly. Things are not as easy as the infomercials and magazine articles have led many to believe. 

Misinformation and Information Overload

If you run a search online for the best exercise to do, you will find a different answer on each page that pops up. If you run a search for the best style of training (HIIT, CrossFit, Bodybuilding, Powerlifting etc) you will also find a different answer on each page that pops up. If you run a search for the best diet or meal plan, again, you will find a different answer on each page that pops up. Why does every page differ? How do you know which one REALLY is the best? With so much information online, you can literally think yourself into and out of each and every program.

The world of fitness and exercise has become extremely overcomplicated. The reason is because people do not take the time to educate themselves on the BASICS and FUNDAMENTAL principles of nutrition and exercise science. With some background, you should be able to sift through the BS and make an educated decision on what is right and what is wrong.

During my transition from Fat 2 Fit, if it wasn't because I had previous knowledge and a background in exercise science, there is no doubt that I would have failed miserably. With all the information online, I would have had no idea where to turn. Once an outsider realizes that the infomercials were wrong and the diet pills didn't work, they will be lost. To the trainer they go!

Issues With Personal Trainers

I spoke with many people who had previously worked with a Personal Trainer and a common issue was that the trainer lacked communication (mainly listening) skills. If a trainer is not willing to listen or try and understand what their client is saying/asking, the goals of the client will not be met and the trainer/client relationship will fail. Too many trainers think that they know it all and they will push their clients beyond their limits and this is wrong.

Trainers: If your client is complaining about knee pain during squats, DO NOT continue the exercise or set. Clearly there is a reason why their knee is hurting and as a trainer you need to take a deeper look into WHY!

Along with speaking to these people, I also reached out to various Personal Trainers. I did not let them know who I was or what I was doing, all I did was request some information and ask about their background and approach to training. I was floored to see how many trainers had absolutely no idea what they were talking about or what they were doing. Are these people serious? Who educated them? Where did they get their information? I was flat out embarrassed by the quality of trainers you find in your typical box gym. So now what, where do we turn??

In The End

Of course not all trainers are bad and not all information is wrong, but you can find a lot of both in this "Fitness World". My time as an outsider taught me to always pay attention to how I communicate with my clients, continue to further my education as a trainer, and return to some of the basic principles. It reminded me to always do my best to spread accurate information and to train people to learn the difference between accurate and inaccurate information.

If you are reading this post today, it is because you seek truth and understanding when it comes to fitness and exercise. I congratulate and thank you for wanting to educate yourself. As a community we all need to do a better job of spreading accurate information for the good of EVERYONE. We need to come together and motivate each other to become better because we all have a common goal, and that is to live a healthier and more satisfying life.

If you would like to learn more about some of the basics of health, fitness, and exercise feel free to contact me at any time! Trainers welcome :) .

What I Learned During My Fit2Fat2Fit Challenge

Hello everyone! It's great to be back and writing again. I took some time away from the blog to focus on my career and new ventures, but I am excited to be back.

As some of you may know, one of my clients had previously challenged me to try Fit2Fat2Fit. For those of you who are not aware of what that is, it is basically a challenge for me to go from being fit (in shape), to fat (out of shape), and back to fit again. The purpose of this is for Personal Trainers/Coaches/Etc., to experience first hand what it is like to be overweight and to try and become fit once again. I accepted the challenge and I am very glad that I did because I gained a TON of insight and was able to experience some of the struggles that come with being overweight and unhealthy.

Accepting The Challenge

When I accepted the challenge I understood that I was not to participate in any physical activity or exercise, and I was able to eat whatever I wanted. This sounded like a terrific idea! For the majority of my life I had strict eating habits, was constantly active, and loved trying new physical activities so the thought of finally stepping away from that was exciting but also a bit scary. This meant that for the first time in my life I could basically do whatever I wanted to do without any regard to how my body would react, but little did I know it would be more than just my body that would react....

I started my journey at a weight of 185 pounds and 10% body fat. I was happy with my body and felt confident with any type of physical activity. My strength levels were good, I had decent aerobic capacity, and my blood levels were great- meaning, I was very healthy. As for my mental and social health, I was sharp, confident, socially active, and for the most part I had great self control. I had no idea that EVERYTHING was about to change.

FIT 2 FAT

As I mentioned earlier, before I accepted the challenge I was always physically active and followed strict eating habits. Because of this, it took a while for my metabolism to slow down and for me to start gaining weight. I began eating a ton of fried foods, pastries, candy, drinking pop, beer, etc... I really did not care how much I ate or drank at first, but as time went on I realized that this became a habit and an addiction. I suddenly found myself addicted to certain types of food/drinks and once I had a craving, I would not be satisfied until I ate or drank what I wanted. I no longer had self control.

For the first time ever I realized that food addiction was real and I was experiencing it. It got to a point where all I could think about was food, food, food. Even after I ate, I still felt hungry. New habits were forming and I continued to let myself fall in love with them. As soon as I'd get home from work, I'd lay in my bed and eat a ton of snacks- this became my daily routine.

Along with my new food addiction, I also began to develop some major self confidence issues. As I would look in the mirror I started to notice some fat accumulating around my face and stomach area; this was something I had never seen on myself before. My clothes began fitting much tighter and soon I couldn't even fit into my pants at all. I was not confident being the person that I saw in the mirror

Now I have a food addiction, self confidence issues, I can't fit into my clothes, and soon enough I begin having health issues. For the first time in my life I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, EXTREMELY high triglycerides, high body fat, constant lethargy, etc. Any and all type of motivation for anything other than eating and laying down is non-existent. I am a completely different person.

Key Stats: My body fat percentage went from 10% to 29.1%, my weight went from 185 pounds to 230 pounds, and my pants size went from a 34 to a 38. 

Fat 2 Fit

I will be completely honest, it was much harder than I ever expected to go from Fat 2 Fit and I even had some set backs. The struggle was much more than just a physical one. Mentally I did not and could not motivate myself to exercise and eat right. There was no way that I could just get it into my head to do what I knew I needed to do. Physically, it was hard to do certain things because of the weight I added, the feeling of lethargy, and the constant body aches and soreness I had from laying in bed. Mentally, I could not make myself do anything or even THINK about doing anything productive.

Once I realized that I had to change my ENTIRE lifestyle, that's when things started to change. I had to look for motivation from the outside because everything inside of me told me to be lazy, eat my life away, and feel sorry for myself. I began letting people know about the challenge because now my credibility was at stake. There is no way that as a Personal Trainer I could stay like this forever! I started reading more about fitness and exercise, followed a ton of fitness models and motivational pages on Facebook and Instagram, and changed the way I shopped for groceries.

Even after a few weeks of exercise, I still found myself occasionally craving some junky food but I did my best to avoid it and use it as a reward. My life literally became everything fitness and everything exercise once again.

 **This was me going from Fat 2 Fit.

What I Learned

• Food addiction is real and it is very difficult to overcome.
• Being overweight affects your thought process (I had difficulty focusing,concentrating, and making decisions), hinders you physically, makes you less self confident (I wanted to avoid anything social and found myself frequently depressed), and overall lowers your quality of life.
• Self-motivation is not always possible and you cant "just do it".
• With exercise; even though your mind wants to, sometimes your body just can't and vice versa.
• The only way to really change your mind and body is to completely change your lifestyle.

Closing Notes

I am very glad that I accepted this challenge and that I am now able to understand some of the struggles that come with being overweight and how they relate to fitness and exercise. This journey was much harder than I thought it would be and I learned a lot more because of it. I now look at my clients differently and have learned new ways to motivate them and approach their battle with weight/fat loss. As always if you are interested in losing weight or in taking your health more serious, feel free to contact me at any time! Be on the look out for my next post! I will update you all with the title shortly. Have a great one and be well!

What would you like to know?

Part of the purpose of this blog is to answer any questions that you may have, or to clear up anything that may seem confusing regarding health, fitness, and exercise.

Now is your chance to let me know of any questions you may have! Is there a specific topic that you would like me to discuss? Are you unsure of certain exercises or programs? Can't seem to get rid of a certain ache or pain? I am here to help you answer any and all of your questions.

Core Training

As it is every summer, suddenly everyone is concerned about their "abs" and we see numerous people spending hours in the gym trying to get a "6 pack". There are quite a few things that we need to understand in order for us to achieve this. You may find that you might be overtraining your abdominal muscles, and maybe even going about this whole thing the wrong way. There are many misconceptions when it comes to the abs. We need to understand the purpose of the rectus abdominis (the 6 pack) and the proper way to train it.

The number one thing I hear from nearly EVERYONE is, "I only want to lose belly fat, I'm fine everywhere else." What people need to understand is that you CAN NOT lose fat in a specific area. There is no such thing as spot reduction, so spending hours doing crunches is not going to get rid of the fat on your belly. When trying to lose fat it is important to understand that the last place you gained it will be the first place you lose it. This also means that the first place you gained it, will be the last place you lose it. If your belly was the first place that you stored fat, then it will be the last place you lose it and this means that you must work much harder to get rid of it. The take away message from this is that if you are trying to lose belly fat, you need to lose fat PERIOD. Do not focus on one specific area, focus on large muscle groups, compound movements, and full body workouts. This will get the calories burning and expend a large amount of energy.

Secondly we need to understand the purpose of the rectus abdominis (the 6 pack) and this will ultimately tell us how to train it. It is common to see people training their abs by doing countless crunches and sit ups but is this how we should be training our abs? If you have ever sat on a swiss ball and tried to sit straight for a long period of time, you would notice that you have to keep the core engaged in order to keep your body up-right and to keep good posture (position). You can slouch (crunch) all you want, but this will not keep you stable or allow you to stay up longer. From this we can see that the functional purpose of the core is to keep the body stabilized (erect) for a long period of time, in other words, endure. If the functional purpose of the abs is to endure and hold posture, then why are wasting time doing hundreds of crunches? Would it not make sense to train them by enduring and using momentary holds? If you've ever taken an anatomy and physiology course, you might have also learned that the fibers of the rectus abdominis run parallel meaning that they are built for endurance rather than power.

The Core
There is more to the core than just those frontal 6 pack muscles. The core consists of muscles on the front, the sides, and the back of the trunk (as well as deep within). As I mentioned earlier, the functional purpose of the core is to stabilize but each individual set of muscles serve for specific purposes. The muscles of the front work to flex or draw the trunk forward, the muscles to the sides work to rotate and laterally flex the trunk, and lastly the muscles to the back work to extend or move the trunk backwards. For the sake of keeping things simple, this will be as far as I go in explaining the muscles of the core.

I should also mention that when flexing the trunk forward, the abdominal muscles only flex while the pelvis is stabilized or held in place. When people do full sit ups- the hip flexors are the primary muscles working, NOT the abdominal muscles. Not only does this not target the abs it also places a tremendous amount of stress on the low back, so PLEASE STOP DOING SIT UPS.

Beyond the Gym
The most important point that should be made about getting a "6 pack" is that diet/nutrition is the key to the entire equation. We all have a 6 pack it's just that some of us have it covered up. In order to show these muscles off we have to reduce the amount of body fat that we store.

A balanced diet that contains mostly natural foods is best when it comes to promoting the reduction of fat storage. If you currently have a high percentage of body fat it is important that you start to make better food choices and make exercise a regular occurrence. To reduce body fat there must be a caloric deficit meaning that we must expend (burn) more calories than we take in (eat). In order to lose 1 pound of body fat there must be a deficit of 3500 calories for the week. This can be done by eating 200-300 calories less a day and burning 200-300 calories through exercise. This would give us a deficit of 500 calories a day and 3500 for the week. Obviously some people will reduce their calories by more than this but we need to realize that losing more then 1-2 pounds a week can be unhealthy. However, in the event that someone is obese, losing more than 1-2 pounds a week is very common.

Key Points

• The "core" consists of more than just the six pack or frontal muscles. It includes the muscles to the sides and back as well.
• Teaching the core as a whole to stabilize allows us to function more efficiently and allows us to endure with better posture for longer periods of time.
• Include exercises such as planks to enhance core stabilization.
• When performing crunches, hold for about 5 seconds at the top before performing the next rep.
• In order to show your abs off you must eat a balanced diet of mostly natural foods to promote body fat reduction.
• Drink lots of water!
• STOP DOING SIT UPS!!!!!

Sports Conditioning and Circuit Training

I have always been interested in training athletes, but it wasn't until recently that I became interested in sports conditioning and circuit training. I'm talking about those workouts that most people hate to do; the intense, up-tempo, oxygen stealing, make-you-wanna-cry circuits and/orcomplexes.

The difference between these type of workouts and your typical cardio or resistance workout, is that these circuits do a great job of taxing the body both anaerobically (without oxygen, utilizing ATP) and aerobically (utilizing oxygen). Along with training both of these energy systems, the workouts do a great job of training for metabolic efficiency and utilize what we call "Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption" or EPOC. This is basically the after effects of intense training when your body is at an elevated state of oxygen consumption and is trying to return to a normal rate. During recovery this is where the body is able to adapt to exercise, ATP is replenished, and hormone levels become balanced. This is what people refer to when they say "increasing your metabolism". We won't get too much into the science of EPOC but I just wanted to briefly touch on it.

Generally, circuit training involves a number of exercises performed with little or no rest in between. That is to say we will perform 8 exercises in a row with little or no rest. Once you have completed these exercises, you are then able to rest for about 1 minute or full recovery (depending on your conditioning). After the rest you will again perform the exercises. About 3 rounds of circuits are usually pretty good depending on the number of exercises and the intensity at which they are performed.

The way that I set up my circuits depends on what we are trying to train. If it is a day of full body exercises, then my circuits will include upper body, lower body, core, and possibly cardio exercises. I will provide a sample session at the end of this post.

If it is an upper body circuit then I will incorporate pushing and pulling exercises and alternate between the two. Along with pushing and pulling, make sure to include pushing forward and pushing upward and/or downward, and with the pulling, make sure to pull backwards, upwards, and/or from the floor as well.

You can also perform circuits for the lower body as well, making sure to hit all of the muscles of the lower body.

Here is a simple sample full body circuit that I would use at the end of an exercise session to improve conditioning, this one uses minimal equipment. You can perform each exercises for either 8-15 reps or for 15-30 seconds. The rest between each exercises could be between the time it takes you to switch to the next one and 30 seconds. As mentioned earlier, the time between each circuit should be 1 minute or full recovery. Perform for 3-5 rounds or as needed.

Squat Jumps
Push ups
Jumping Jacks
Dumbbell or Bodyweight Squats
Weighted Upper-Cuts
Barbell (or dumbbell) Row
Mountain Climbers
Plank hold

For a more complex circuit that involves more weights and equipment, follow this one. This would be great for someone interested in MMA or Boxing. If you do not know most of these exercises or understand the circuit or do not have a base level conditioning, DO NOT perform this circuit.

1 Arm Medicine Ball Push/Throw (alternate arm with each throw)
Box Single Leg Step up with a Jump (alternate legs with each jump)
Resisted Tubing Band Punches (as quickly as possible)
Resisted Tubing Band Alternate Pulls (as quickly as possible)
Sprawls (moving quickly and exaggerating hip extension on the way up)
Dumbbell Shoulder Press (alternate arms with each press)
Romanian Deadlift
Pike Roll out on Swiss Ball
Dot drill (or other agility drill)
Medicine Ball Lateral Squats (moving from side to side as if you were ducking under a string and going on both sides of it)
Barbell Row

Whether you are interested in conditioning or fat loss, there are endless amounts of combinations that you can have for various types of circuits. Remember that with circuit training you can go at your own pace while performing each exercise but obviously the harder you push, the more intense the workout will be and most likely the better results you will achieve.I have provided a general circuit and a more intense circuit. When planning you own, make sure to incorporate various movements in all directions for whichever part of the body you are working (upper, lower, core, etc).