6 Ways to stay motivated

1) Be real with yourself and find out why you are working out and what outcome/results you are striving for. It is hard to stay motivated toward a goal if you do not know what that goal is.

2) Get rid of negativity! The " I cant's ", "I'm tired", and " It hurts" will only hold you back and keep you from making progress. Think it terms of the positives of what will come about from you exercising. Visualize how good you will look and feel.

3) Know going into it that working is hard and will be painful sometimes. If you expect everything to be roses and a walk in the park then your wrong. This will be a tough journey, but this is what makes it badass the fact that not everyone has the strength and toughness to do it and that is what will separate you from the average person. Go get it!

4) Reward yourself when you reach small goals or make progress. Self acknowledge that you now can do 10 full pull-ups or can go a whole 45 minutes of working out with minimal rest. Maybe you buy something or maybe you give yourself a cheat meal to enjoy your favorite food.

5) Get to know others in the gym. One of the best ways to stay on track is to find other people who have similar goals as you. On those days when you don't feel like working out they can help push you through your workout. Once a community atmosphere starts to build you will now become more accountable and be more likely not to miss workouts.

6) Change things up! It gets easy to become unmotivated when you are doing the same thing over and over. Get yourself amped up to go to your next workout by doing something new. Change creates change.

CONSISTENCY- You must have it!

Are you stuck in a rut that you cant get out of? Are you seeing limited results in your workout program? Are you not hitting your goals like you thought you could? If the answer to these questions is yes than you are most likely lacking consistency in your program. In my mind consistency is the key to getting results.

First, lets take a look at your workouts. Are you consistently going to the gym day in and day out or do you go for three days and then miss the next two? You will never get what you want if you follow that type of pattern. That's great if Monday you just kill it in your workout and dominate it like no other, but if Tuesday through Thursday you don't get back into the gym then I don't care about your monster Monday workout.......you wont get results! Be consistent in the gym and you will get consistent results...period! No matter what your goals you must be consistent to gain the strength, strip the fat, or gain the muscle.

Second, lets look at your eating habits. How many days would you say you actually eat stellar in a week? If the answer is only a few than you aren't consistent. Your eating should go hand in hand with your workouts. If you eat super clean for two days you better not be spending the next day at the buffet and Dairy Queen. Eat consistent throughout the whole week and the results will follow.

Take away message- Take the idea of consistency and use it in play everyday. If you want to be like everyone else and not get results than that's fine.......but if you do want to get ahead of the game and take your body where you want to go than be CONSISTENT! It starts today! Get excited that you had a great day both eating and in the gym but remember that is day one of seven....don't slide, but stay the course!

Go Dominate people............

H4 fat burning full-body workout

This is a great full body routine that you can use to burn a ton of calories in your workout in minimal time. I would not recommend this workout for any beginner. Here is the workout on paper.

Everything is a super set and do each super set 3-4 rounds without rest. Take your rest between groupings of exercises.

A1) Dumbbell pushup/deadlift/jacknive combo-6 reps

A2) Box Jumps-15 reps

B1) lateral lunge with dumbbell row- 6 reps per side

B2) Ball slams-15 reps

C1) Lateral band chops- 15 reps per side

C2) Lateral plate squat and press-6 reps per side

D1) Band row and reverse lunge ( palms down grip )-15 reps per side

D2) Floor jacks-20 reps

Now get yourself off the floor and rest your done!

Interview with Bret Contreras

Bret Contreras is a well know strength coach/trainer and currently speaks across the country and is known as the "Glute Guy." He is the man when it comes to training the glutes and the backside of the body. Check out his YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/bretcontreras1 where you can search the exercises he talks about in full. Below is the Q&A from my interview that I did with him recently.

Q- What is your favorite tri-set for the glutes?

Bret-Hip thrusts, followed by band seated abduction, followed by band hip rotations. This tri-set is totally brutal. Check out the videos on how to do these exercises on the above YouTube channel.

Q-What are the 3 best training tips you have heard or have ever learned?

Bret-A)The best workout for you is the one in which you will be the most consistent. B) Never stop experimenting with your routine in order to learn more about your uniqueness. C) Learn the difference between good pain and bad pain and if you experience bad pain, STOP!!!!

Q- What would be a good exercise maybe that nobody has heard of or uses very often?

Bret-Gliding leg curls which are a very effective hamstring/glute exercise. Check his YouTube videos.

Q-What is missing from most peoples workouts?

Bret- Pendulum quadruped hip extensions and hip thrusts. Refer to his YouTube channel for the how to on these.

Pumping the pecs!

This is a routine I read once from Jeff Anderson. AKA "The muscle nerd." Give this a try on your next chest day.

Start out with the barbell bench press

1) Pick a weight you could do for 12 reps to failure. Make sure you stack the bar with 10lb plates and 25lb plates since you will be quickly taking weight off later on.

2) Do 12 reps on the bench press to failure. Once you reach failure, jump up and strip 50% of the weight off.

3) Now with no rest do as many reps as possible with a very wide grip. The wide grip will take the triceps out of it and keep the focus on the pecs.

4) Once you finish that set rack the bar and grab a dumbbell. For most a 30-50lb dumbbell should do fine. You will do a set of dumbbell pullovers keeping your arms very straight and locked out. Do this to failure.

5) Rest up for 2-3 minutes and do this whole giant set again 1-2 more times.

Enjoy!

Get motivated! Some of my favorite inspirational/motivational videos

I always talk to my clients about attitude and their mindset. Its about giving it your best....your absolute best......nothing less...don't quit......give it you best and keep going! Its that extra that will take you over the top, its doing what you would do and THEN SOME! It is the THEN SOME that will separate you from others. Check out some of my favorite videos below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSM1mvMypWU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPnudujlBZI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tjYoKCBYag

From anger to iron

Everyone is going to have one of those "bad" days..........but don't let that drag your workout down too. The best thing to do when your pissed off or upset is to workout. Channel your anger and all of that energy you have into your workout and you would be amazed how great of a workout you will have and how good you will feel afterwards! I sometimes feel you almost need to have a little bit of an edge to get a great workout. So quit stressing and hit the gym!

Breakfast is served!

You wake up, still tired despite sleeping longer than you should have so you rush to make it out the door on time grabbing nothing but your cup of coffee. This scenario is what takes place for most people out there. Coffee is not a breakfast item....period! Breakfast is THE most important meal of the day......yes we have all heard this but its true! No matter if your trying to gain muscle or lose weight breakfast is going to play a very important role in your nutrition. You must make eating breakfast part of your daily life.

When you ask most people if they ate breakfast these are the responses

• I don't like breakfast

**SOLUTION-Find something you like that is healthy and start eating it.

• I don't have time

**SOLUTION-You are not making a gourmet buffet here, you can spare 2-5 minutes for breakfast some how.....just make it happen!

• Eating in the morning makes me sick

**SOLUTION-This is most likely because you are used to not eating. Take it slow and gradually introduce eating a solid meal to your body.

• I had a cup of coffee and doughnut

** SOLUTION-Don't eat the doughnut! Coffee I will be ok with...just have it with an actual breakfast item.

All of these are just lame excuses! Eat your breakfast.....make it happen!

So why eat breakfast?

For those who want to lose weight- People think by skipping breakfast they will be saving calories but in fact you will just make those up by snacking and eating later in the day. By eating breakfast you jump start your metabolism early on and you will eat fewer calories throughout the rest of day.

For those looking to gain muscle- Breakfast is the first chance to get some calories and lean protein into your system. Skipping breakfast means losing out on muscle building nutrition.

Breakfast ideas

• Eggs and whole wheat toast
• Oatmeal
• High fiber cereal- 3 to 5 grams of fiber a serving will be just fine
• Peanut butter on a whole grain English muffin
• Yogurt
• Smoothies- use fresh fruit, yogurt, skim milk or juice and your favorite protein supplement
• McDonalds Egg McMuffin with canadian bacon- if you must go this route least you will get protein and solid quality bacon. This is one of McDonalds few menu items I would ever recommend.

Remember- If you are going to eat carbs the morning is ideal because you will start off with energy and you will give yourself the whole day to burn it off.

Training in the Sierra's- workout like the pro's

Workout by Art Correa, B.S. Kinesiology, NASM

This is a workout from a friend of mine who owns The Bod-E2 Shop in Fresno, California. He uses this workout with one of his pro athletes, 2010 starting linebacker for the Detroit Lions, Zack Follett. This workout has made the headlines of Yahoo news, Detroit news and will be featured in ESPN the magazine. Art has Zack do this workout in the Sierra mountains with the elevation reaching 8000 ft. Since most of you do not live near a mountain range I have made some changes to the workout. Art uses stones, logs and tree trucks but you can use dumbbells and barbells instead. To see highlights of this workout check out the following link.

http://detnews.com/article/20100712/SPORTS0101/7120391/Watch-Lions-linebacker-Zack-Follett-s-wild-training-video

Warm-up

1/4 mile jog

Dynamic warm-up

-High knees

-Skips

-Frankenstein's

** Walking lift your left leg straight out to the front and extend your right arm out straight, alternate legs and opposite arms

-Side lunges

-Knee hugs

**Step and tuck your knee into your chest pulling it in with your arms

-Kareokas

-Butt kicks

**Try to really kick your butt, this helps with the hamstrings

Workout ( strength training )

Circuit A

Bent over rows w/ dumbbells 3x15 reps

SUPER SET

Squat toss w/ med ball 3x 8 reps

** Squat down holding the med ball, explode up and toss the med ball forward. Pick up the ball and repeat.

Circuit B

Hammer curls w/ dumbbells 3X 12 reps

SUPER SET

Plyometric push-ups 3x 8

** Get into the bottom of a push-up and explode off the ground aiming to get as much height as possible.

Circuit C

Plyometric box jumps- 3x12 reps

SUPER SET

Oblique side tosses w/ med ball 3 x8 reps

SUPER SET

Walking lunges w/ barbell ( or incline walking lunges if outside ) 3x 8 reps

Circuit D

Snatch w/ kettlebell or barbell ( only use if you have great form) 3 x8 reps

SUPER SET

Rear delt flys w/ dumbbell 3x12 reps

** You can replace the snatch with push presses for the shoulders

Circuit E

Jump squats 3x15 reps

SUPER SET

Front raises with dumbbells 3x12 reps

Up-hill sprints x 10

*** If your not near a hill use an incline on the treadmill and do 10 all out 50 meter sprints

Gaining muscle- Techniques to get it done!

Damaging muscles are the key to building them. To build new muscle you must stress the existing muscle in a new way. When muscles are stressed then become damaged and then must be rebuilt. With adequate diet and rest your body will rebuild the muscle with an increase in size!

Try some of these techniques to shock your muscles into new growth:

1) Super-sets- Nothing has been around longer than this! You can really up the intensity on the muscle with this technique. Some examples include:

• Lat pulldown/Row


• Bench press/Fly


• Deadlift/Lunge


• Close grip press/ Dips

2) Negatives- If you like submitting yourself to pain than please try these! Negatives focus on the eccentric phase of the lift which has been shown to cause more damage to the muscle and lead to more growth. This is tough...and is best to do with a partner. You can do negatives two different ways. One way is to have a spotter help you with the weight on the way up and the other way is to lift the weight yourself. I like to do the negative and then have my spotter help lift the weight up. You can use more weight on negatives but just limit the negative to under 10 seconds.....any more you should increase the weight because it is too light.

3) Off set rep scheme- This is a personal favorite that I have come up with and use often myself. First pick two exercises for one muscle group. Then what you will do is do heavier weight on one exericse for low reps and then medium to lighter weight on the other exercise for higher reps. For example:

Standing barbell bicep curls- 6 reps

SUPER SET WITH

Seated dumbbell hammer curls-12 reps

Control it!- Tips for managing those food cravings

Lets face it we all have food cravings at some point in our day or week no matter who we are. Your sitting at work or running errands and it hits you like a freight train.....mmmmm those chips, cookies, or those french fries and it is hard to fight and control. Believe it or not women tend to have more cravings due to their flux of hormonal changes throughout the day.

Here are some reasons people have cravings:

• Stress


• Emotional triggers


• Low blood sugar


• Hormonal changes etc

The way to beat the cravings is to accept them and not give in every time. Below are some ways that you can help you fight the crave.

1) Eat on a consistent basis- If you eat more often you will control your blood sugar and appetite. Some good choices are:

• Jerky


• Fruit


• Protein bar/shake


• Yogurt ( Greek style is best )

2 ) Drink water- It will fill you up and kill cravings

3) Try putting it off- When the craving hits try to wait it out and have it at a later time. Maybe give yourself a goal then if you hit the goal you will treat yourself and then give in. By waiting you might also kick the craving all together which is even better!

4) Moderation- If you do treat yourself then make sure it is in moderation. Go ahead and have the slice of pizza but don't have 5 slices. A great tip is to take whatever you are eating and put it in a small bowl, cup or plastic bag while you are eating. This technique will help you eat in control and let you eat some crackers instead of the whole box.

5) Find better versions- If you crave chocolate then try to eat dark chocolate. If you want crackers and dip make it whole grain crackers and a good dip like hummus. Swap ice cream for frozen yogurt.

6) Log your food- This way you can see if there is certain time or reason that you tend to crave something and you can find a way to change this.

7) Be strong! Fight it with mental toughness. Think of the hard work you put in the gym and realize that you will be throwing that all away with that one craving. Don't let the craving control you.....you be the one in control!

Lift for you.....not to impress

Do your workouts for YOU.....not for the girl in the gym...not for the huge guy doing the 500 lb bench press....do it for yourself and only YOU. How many times have you been asked to spot someone on bench press. You look at the weights and figure there is no way the guy can do what he has on the bar. He tells you he wants to hit 10 reps and you laugh inside. After 3 reps the guy is dead and has no chance so you end up having to bicep curl the rest of the reps. Well that guy.........yeah don't be him! Don't try and look big and lift things you cant or shouldn't be. If you workout right and do what is best for YOU then you will pass up those other losers in the gym anyways.

Top 5 -Tricep exercises

Here are some of my favorite triceps exercises in order:

1. Close-grip triceps press- This is the king of the triceps exercises in my opinion because you can load the triceps with the most weight therefore hitting more muscle fibers. The key is to make sure that you keep your elbows tight to your sides while lowering and pressing up with the bar. Make sure to focus on the drive coming from your triceps. I would use anywhere from a 6-10 inch wide grip on the bar depending on what you like best. If you go too narrow you might find it hurts your wrists.

2. Dips- Another classic that not many people think of being the "one of the best." Make sure you go all the way down until your biceps touch your forearms. If you need to add weight use a weighted belt. Try and focus on keeping your body position straight ahead and don't lean down since this will shift more focus on the chest.

3) Decline close-grip presses- These are done just like the regular close-grip presses except they are on a decline bench. Decline presses have been shown to hit up to 10% more muscle fibers....this is good!

4) Seated upright rope triceps extensions- Sit on a upright bench that has a back support. Put the cable pulley machine down low and attach a rope. Have someone hand you the rope and extend it up over head and then twist at the top before lowering. This really hits the inner tricep known as the long head. Most guys don't get work to this area so you should try this!


5) Decline dumbbell triceps extensions- You will get a great stretch of the triceps. Lie on a decline bench and grab dumbbells with your palms facing each other. Keeping your upper arm still, lower your forearms until they hit your biceps and then drive them up.

Gym Etiquette 101- Pay attention!

I have been noticing some people at the gym lately who just don't have a clue when it comes to proper gym etiquette, so I decided to blog about it!

#1) Music- lift away to your music I dont care, just dont have it so loud that the whole gym has to hear it as well.

#2) Sweat- You will sweat when you workout but please have the courtesy to wipe off your equipment when your done. There is nothing worse than getting ready to lie down on a bench and see a big puddle of sweat.....horrible!

#3) Clothing-Dont be the one wearing flip flops....you will just look lost and dumb. No jeans, no dress shoes, and definetly no shortie shorts guys unless our a female.

#4) Phones- If you are really waiting for an important call or text then keep your phone on the side but dont sit on equipment and blab away........focus on your workout and not your phone!

#5) Awareness- Pay attention to your surroundings in the gym! Dont walk in front of people trying to watch their form in the mirror, dont bump into anyone, just keep your head up and watch where you are walking. If I am trying to do walking lunges dont stand right in front of me like you dont care either. People need space!

#6) Equipment stealers- If someone is on something always ask if you can jump in first, dont just move someones dumbbells or towel and make yourself at home without checking who is using it.

#7) Spotting- It is ok to ask for a spot but just make sure you return the favor if needed

#8) Talkers- Dont talk to someone trying to workout........wait to they are done with their set. Most people like to focus and take their workouts seriously..... and in no way is your annoying chatter going to help the cause.

H4 Favorite # 6- Vanilla pumpkin pie shake

I got this recipe from Brian St.Pierre, a well known strength coach. if your sick of your current post workout shake, give this a try. Pumpkin is loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber.

This recipe tastes like vanilla pumpkin pie, its very good.

Vanilla Pumpkin Pie

6oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 scoop vanilla whey protein
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tbsp chopped walnuts
1 tbsp milled flax
cinnamon to taste
nutmeg to taste
ice cubes

H4 Favorites-#4 Bison

Bison meat has gained some popularity over the last couple years and it is for good reason. Bison AKA buffalo is one of the leanest meats out there. It is even lower in calories than grilled chicken! Bison is a good source of many nutrients, including, zinc, iron, niacin, phosphorous, Vitamin B6 and selenium. In addition, each 3 ounce serving contains a good deal of protein—about 24 grams. You can use bison as a substitute for any meat dish. Try bison meatloaf, burgers or even ground bison with your pasta.

H4 favorites # 3- Newman's Own Hi-Protein pretzels

The Newman's Own brand is known for its organic and healthy foods. One of their best products is their Hi-Protein pretzels. Not only are they made with wheat flour but they also contain 5 grams of protein per serving! Dip them in peanut butter and you have a great high protein snack! Look for the product in Whole Foods stores.

Here is the link to the company website and below is the nutritional info.

Serving Size: about 22 pretzels (30g), Calories per Serving: 120, Calories from fat: 15, Total Fat: 1.5g (saturated fat: 0gm), Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 230mg, Total Carbohydrates: 22g (dietary fiber: 4g, sugars: 1g), Protein: 5g

http://www.newmansownorganics.com/

Tuna salad done right!

Tuna is such a great source of protein but sometimes eating it plain just gets old and boring. Traditional tuna salad calls for that gross product know as mayo, I am not a fan. If you want a healthier version try the recipe below.

Healthy tuna salad

• 1/2 an apple peeled



• Honey mustard-3 big spoon fulls



• Balsamic vinegar-1 spoon full



• Your favorite tuna



• Pepper to taste

Finely dice up an apple and put it in a bowl. Mix together the honey mustard and balsamic and add pepper to your taste. Add in the apple and tuna and mix together. Eat it up or spread in onto whole grain bread. To be honest you might want to mix and match the mustard to vinegar amounts to your liking. Enjoy! I am guessing you will not go back to the white mess again!

H4 favorites-#2 Chobani yogurt

Chobani is a staple in my diet. It tastes good and has so many benefits in which you can see below.

• No preservatives


• No artificial flavors


• No synthetic growth hormones


• Includes 5 live & active cultures, including 3 probiotics


• Made with real fruit


• Twice the protein of regular yogurts ( this is very good!!!)


• A good source of bone-building calcium


• All natural

H4 Favorites-#1

Mix 1 nutrition drinks are really good! They are 100% natural and they use nothing but the best ingredients. They have 5 different flavors, berry and mango are my favorites. You can find them at Whole Foods, most Jewel-Osco stores and online. Check it out! http://www.mix1life.com/home.aspx