Losing weight is a battle you must fight to win!

Weight loss is the most common goal a trainer will hear from a client, family member, friend or just about from anyone. All the time people will tell me that they have been working so hard for so long and yet they have nothing to show for it. Getting rid of fat and dropping the weight you want is tough and it is not easy! If you have the goal of losing weight you need to start and end with the mindset that it will be a battle and you fight to win! It will take consistent energy, focus and dedication to get the results you want. Before you get down on not reaching your weight loss goals ask yourself if you are indeed doing everything you should be doing with the list below.

NUTRITION

• Eat more protein-Most likely you do not eat enough protein. Add a whey protein mixed with water or almond milk as a snack or quick breakfast. Focus on getting a protein source with each meal. Remember protein will fill you up and build lean muscle.

•  Eat more veggies-Odds are very high veggies are lacking in your eating plan. Simple ways to get more are to have a greens smoothie, add them to your eggs or have them as daytime snacks.

•  Prioritize nutrition as numero uno!-Put the same effort into your nutrition as you do your workouts and everything else that is important to you. Nutrition is the most important factor in your rate of success with weight loss.

• Limit your carbs- Keep it simple and limit your carbs to post workout and if anything in the morning. Make sure if you stay low carb that you increase your good fat intake. 

•  Drink more water!
•  Eat breakfast- Set the tone for the day and get off on the right foot. Aim for quality protein and veggies. Protein shake, eggs, almond butter and sprouted bread or greek yogurt and berries. No excuses!
• Limit alcohol-Have that drink or two during the week but if you don't limit your alcohol you are going to have no chance.

EXERCISE

• Intensity is key! Too often I see a lack of intensity in peoples workouts. 

•  Lift weights 2-3x a week-Strength training is soooo important. Muscle equals metabolism! The more lean muscle you have the more you will burn at rest!  Progress your routine and don'y get stuck lifting the same 10lb dumbbells for your whole life.

• Get 5-6 days of exercise in- When you just start you might need to build up to it, but eventually you need to be doing 5-6 days to get true results!

• Interval based cardio rules!  

There you go now go dominate! Start today with no more excuses and only massive action!!! Also, don't forget to take care of your body with plenty of Recovery in the forms of sleep, massage, foam rolling and 1-2 days off.

4 compound sets for new muscle!

1. For the legs-

A1)Goblet squat with dumbbell or kettlebell-12 reps
A2)Alternating reverse lunges with dumbbells or kettlebells-12 reps each leg
Rest 90sec. Repeat 3 total rounds.


2.  For the back-

A1) Pullups-10 reps
A2) One arm dumbbell row-hold each for 2 second count at the top, 10 reps
90sec rest. Repeat for 3 total rounds


3. For the chest-

A1) Incline barbell chest press-10 reps
A2) Decline dumbbell chest press-10 reps
90sec rest. Repeat for 3 total rounds


4. For the triceps-

A1) Barbell close grip press- 6 reps ( heavy )
A2) Decline EZ curl bar tricep extensions-12 reps
90sec rest. Repeat for 3 total rounds

5 Quick fire ways to change your workouts

1. Change the angles- Instead of doing flat presses do incline, if you do rows with your palms facing neutral, start doing them with your palms down. If you always lunge straight forward, start lunging slightly to the right.

2. Use different tools- If you do nothing but machines stop and start using dumbbells and kettlebells. If you use only bands start using free weights. Whatever you often see but never use start adding it in and see what happens.

3. Switch the order- If you always save core work for the end of the workout try and do it first for once. Maybe instead of squatting then doing lunges, do the opposite. Look at your workouts and I bet you notice you tend to do the same things in the same order.

4. Slow down-Try and lift with slow tempos. Generally between 2-10 seconds.

5. Lift fast- Be explosive! Of course don't sacrifice form!

10 Fat Loss Strategies!

Start doing these things to help you drop body fat and improve overall body composition!

1. Take the stairs! No escalators. Get extra work in all day

2. Perform deadlift and squat variations

3. Carry something heavy

4. End your strength workouts with 2-3 minutes of metabolic work. Examples could be rope work, med ball slams, burpees, jump rope, sled pulls etc.

5. Avoid frutose syrup like the plague- it makes you fat and makes you age

6. Have INTENSE workouts

7. Go to Starbucks for green tea not mocha carmel grande's

8. Eat even more vegetables!

9. Rest 1-2 days a week, trust me you won't get fat by taking days off

10. If you really want to drop body fat, then drop steady state cardio

Thursday Random Thoughts...

* Muscle and fat are two completely different things. Muscle cant turn to fat and fat cant turn to muscle. You can get more of one thing while the other decreases but they actually don't morph from one to the other. This might seem obvious but I have heard way to many trainees think this can happen. Remember too that muscle is more dense and takes up less space.

* If you don't limit your alcohol consumption you simply will not get the results you want. I see too many clients not reaching their goals because they simply have too hard of a time cutting down the drinks.

* When you squat try and think about spreading the legs wide as you go down. Not only will this improve squat quality but also help you activate the glutes better.


* Stop doing push-ups on your knees. If you cant do the full version then switch to doing them with your hands on an incline bench or elevated surface. Push-ups are not only great for your chest, triceps and shoulders but are also a big test of core stability. If your goal is to do full push-ups from the ground then do something that will carry over into reaching that goal and get away from doing them from your knees.

* Start using tempo and use it more often. People change their exercises, reps, sets and rest periods but rarely do people change tempo. Add slower counts, explosive reps, or pauses at the end of movements to change up your routines.

*Getting in the best shape possible is a choice and ultimately you and only you are the one that should be held responsible for reaching that goal. Don't share blame for failure, rather look in the mirror and realize you control what happens. Go Dominate!

Guest Blog Post-Logicial Training

Today's post comes from a colleague and friend Amanda Jean Fledderjoh​ann. 

Logical Training

“I just need a month or two to get in shape, then I’ll hire a trainer.”

Since becoming a personal trainer 2 years ago, I have heard this from potential clients, family members, and friends, and I don’t think it makes a lot of sense. You go to a trainer to get into shape. If you are equipped to lose the weight or rehabilitate after injury or disease without the assistance of a qualified personal trainer, you probably don’t need one. Why would you consider paying someone to tell you what you already know?

Before I go to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned I’m tempted to brush vigorously. The thought that these professional hygienists will be seeing bits of breakfast food stuck in my molars and smell my coffee breath is embarrassing. But from what I’ve been told, dentists will get my teeth cleaned no matter when I last brushed and they don’t seem to mind just how gross mouths can be. If flossing and brushing alone sufficed then we wouldn’t need to get our teethed cleaned by the dentist anyway. We know professions will get better results.

Similarly, people don’t go to the doctor when their illness has passed. They make an appointment when they are weak. The concept of getting better before seeking help isn’t logical.

Is it pride that keeps us from getting help? Are we unwilling to admit we don’t know what we’re doing? Or do we honestly believe we know how to exercise effectively and safely? We just haven’t done it yet. Maybe we’re afraid of something. Afraid of not being able to do a proper squat or not being strong enough to dead lift 100 lbs or of looking silly doing a lateral lunge.  

When I was in high school I took piano lessons from a gracious and talented teacher. I wanted to please this woman so badly that when a song wasn’t up to performance standards I would hesitate to play it for her in our lessons. She would urge me to play with the simple phrase “Show me how bad it is.” With this statement she freed me to make mistakes, so I could learn from them and move forward.

That’s what training should be. You come to a trainer with your weakness, and together you work towards improvement.

3 Workout Formats To Try!

Sometimes working out can become boring because you find yourself doing the same thing over and over and your routine gets old. Below is three different ways to format your workouts to get better results. I personally like using the same format for 2-3 weeks before changing things up. These formats are ideal for anyone looking to drop body fat and keep lean muscle. If your goal is pure hypertrophy then these formats are not for you.

** Keep it mind core can be added to the end of each of these if the format does not call for it.

FORMAT 1- ULC

Guidlines

* 0-90sec rest between sets depending on your fitness level

* 3-4 sets of each tri-set

* Pick 3-4 different tri-sets which means 9 to 12 exercises

* Keep reps between 8-12, the conditioning exercises can be done for reps or time

The format would look like this-

A1) UPPER BODY

A2) LOWER BODY
A3) CONDITIONING EXERCISE

A1) UPPER BODY

A2) LOWER BODY

A3) CONDITIONING

A1) UPPER BODY

A2) LOWER BODY

A3) CONDITIONING

Some examples of conditioning exercises are jumping rope, med ball slams, rope work, burpees, lateral shuffle, Heisman hops, high knees just to name a few.

FORMAT 2-CONTRAST TRAINING

Guidelines

* 0-90sec rest between sets depending on your fitness level

* 3-4 sets of each super-set

* Pick 8 exercises

* One exercise will be done with higher reps and lighter weight, the other exercise will be lower reps and heavier weights. Low reps should be 6-8, high reps 15-20

The format would look like this-

A1) UPPER BODY- heavy, low reps

A2) LOWER BODY-light, high reps

B1) LOWER BODY-heavy, low reps

B2) UPPER BODY-light, high reps

C1) UPPER BODY- heavy, low reps

C2) LOWER BODY-light, high reps

D1) LOWER BODY-heavy, low reps

D2) UPPER BODY-light, high reps

FORMAT 3- 50/50 TRAINING

Guidelines

* 0-90sec rest between sets depending on your fitness level

* 3-4 sets of each quad set

* Pick 8 exercises

* Keep reps between 8-12, the conditioning exercises can be done for reps or time

The format would look like this

A1) UPPER BODY

A2) LOWER BODY

A3) UPPER BODY

A4) LOWER BODY

B1) CONDITIONING

B2) CORE

B3) CONDITIONING

B4) CORE