Sunday, July 3, 2011

Setting Specific Goals = Success

Came across this story that is AMAZING
go to this link!
This is what the article writer learned from it. And I had to agree also. So here you go, read below.
Set specific goals - don’t “try to get in shape.”  Determine specifically what “in shape” means to you.  Quantify it, put a timestamp on it, and then start taking direct steps in that directions.
DECIDE IF YOU REALLY WANT IT – People come to me all the time and say they want to “get abs” or “pack on muscle” but immediately start to backtrack once I tell them what to do.  “But I can’t give that up” or “but what if I did this instead?”  Remember: if what you were doing was working, you’d already want to be where you want to be.  If you want incredible results, you’re going to need to make incredible sacrifices.  If you’re satisfied with 80% of the way there, there’s nothing wrong with that…just don’t expect to get into the 99th percentile with anything less than 99% of your potential effort.
Make it a challenge - I’m not telling you to put up 500 bucks to force yourself into exercise…but I’m not telling you that it’s a bad idea either.  Rather than being angry and associating exercise with a negative feeling (which makes it easier to skip), focus on realigning your attitude.  Saint created a negative association with not exercising (losing $500), and as he started exercising he added a positive correlation to it (feeling better and looking better).  This shift in his thinking built up momentum and carried him forward.
Your diet is the most important thing – Don’t try to outrun your fork; hours of cardio can only get you so far when it comes to getting into elite shape.  Instead, focusing on CLEANING UP YOUR DIET and you will have far greater success more quickly.  More real foods, less fake foods, grains, and other carbs, and maximize vegetables.  It doesn’t need to be difficult.  
Strength train – Had Saint never started lifting weights, he might have made it down to 10% body fat but certainly wouldn’t have the muscle mass that he does now.  Fortunately, he put his time and effort into getting stronger and faster, which helped him keep the muscle he already had while also adding new muscle; it also allowed him to only shred the fat and keep the good stuff.  I’m not telling you to join a gym, but I am telling you to start doing some form of strength training because it’s so damn important.  Although I haven’t set foot in a gym in five months, I’ve been able to pack on eight to ten pounds of muscle in that time by following the body weight routines outside. You don’t need a gym, but you do need a plan that pushes you to get stronger.
“But I’m a woman and I don’t want to get too bulky!” Unless you’re on steroids or eating 5000 calories a day, you will NOT get bulky…not only that, but heavy strength training is the only way to get that “toned” look you’re after.  I’ll be featuring a female success story soon that is full of strength training with barbells and heavy weights…and awesome results (with that look you’re after).  Trust me on this one.
Track your results – And I don’t just mean stepping on a scale.  Take measurements.  Take photos.  buy a body fat caliper and test yourself every few weeks.  You’ll be able to tell through comparison if what you’re doing is working.  If you’re not getting the results you’d like, then you’ll have to make changes – Saint decided to go full Paleo and strength training after deciding his measurements, photos, and body fat weren’t where they should be.  The more you can track, the better chance you’ll have to succeed.
Who’s on your support team? Who do you turn to when you’re having a bad day?  Who do you share your successes and struggles with?  It’s okay if you exercise alone – there’s a whole community of people waiting to welcome you with open arms and help.  You don’t need to go it alone.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Naughty Carbs, Stop Keeping Me From My Goals

Are grains making us fat? 
Carbs are personally my weakness, I tend to go overboard. 
This video explains the reason why my habits were stopping me from reaching my past goals.
(not talking about good carbohydrates like veggies, fruit, and sweet potatoes)
This 3 minute video breaks it down to you how your cells react to fats and carbohydrates.
I'm looking into trying the Paleo "Diet" to see if all this brown rice and beans are
really the culprit of hiding my 6 pack ;) ha
Look it up yourself if your interested we can try it out together 

watch this too. ------->

Friday, July 1, 2011

Lazy Days Go Away Come Again Another Day





We've all had days where we just didn't want to do ANYTHING.
It’s raining out, you didn’t get enough sleep, it’s cold, you’re hungry, you had a crappy day at work, your wife cheated on you, your boyfriend dumped you, your dog ate your homework, whatever.  It’s these moments when we just want to curl up on the couch, play video games, and feel sorry for ourselves. 
However – and I know this isn’t a surprise to you – these are the moments when its MOST IMPORTANT to stay on target
 to stay consistent, to keep training, and to keep pushing.  If you let yourself off the hook every time you have a bad day, you’ll train yourself to believe it’s okay to give up any time you meet resistance.
For me, on days like these, I'm prepared whenever I'm lacking that fire under my butt.
I look up inspiring quotes, talk to a fitness buddy...
Find whatever you need for motivation and remember to seek it out on your laziest days.
And remember all of you guys have ME! Shoot me an email and let me know about whatever is going on. I want to hear from you guys
I'll talk you through it, and heck, hopefully if I am having one of those days...you can help even ME through :)

Enjoy your 4th of July weekend everyone!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Guinea Pigs and Thinking BIG



Okay 2 things really quick.
As many of you know I have made the transition from Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo
and I'm offering personal training ALL summer to ANYONE for FREE.
So if you live in the area, whether you have met me personally or not, just shoot me a message and you can set something up whenever we both have a free half hour any day during the week
Then we can go over each of your individual goals and you decide if maybe you just want to do a few workouts with me a week...or up to 6 times a week
Being hardcore never hurt anyone ;)
We'll be hitting Bishops, around the Cal Poly track or even the beach. You pick the place Ill design your workout.

Now some quick things I got from a wonderful new book that I'm reading called "The Magic of Thinking Big" by David Schwartz Ph.D.
It sure has lite a fire under my a$$ for the week.... and Im only on chapter 3
Here's a few key points I jotted down while reading.

Remind yourself regularly that you are better than you think you are. And believe it with all your heart.
Believe Big, think little goals and expect little achievement.
Refuse to talk about your health, its a bad habit. (And quite boring)
Never underestimate yours or overestimate others intelligence. Remind yourself everyday "My attitudes are more important than my intelligence."
Don't be a wishful thinker, we don't succeed through simply luck.
Action cures fear. Hesitation only magnifies fear.
Boost your confidence by recalling pleasant experiences, do this in moments whenever your bored or alone.
Doing whats right keeps your confidence satisfied.
To think confidently, act confidently.
Always sit up front.
Make eye contact.
Walk 25 percent faster.
Speak Up.
Smile Big.

Remember Monday is a brand new week, forget about the last and lets rock these next 7 days out!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

12 Minute Ab Challenge

Attention everyone I found my role model for the rest of the year.



Say hello to Zuzana. This Russian is obviously in immaculate shape and has some SWEEET work outs.
Her and her husband come up with carefully peiced, new short exercises everyday, and puts them up on the Internet for people all over the world to follow them. Literally.
Australia, Europe, Mexico, Canada people all over have been tuning in and getting their butts kicked.
I can't believe more people don't know about this site!
They're all really intense but usually only around 12 to 20 minutes.
She puts up videos as well as writes each exercise below and how long to do each.
I dare anyone to try this new exercise and not be hooked to high intensity, low time workouts.
Totally beats the hour long workouts of long endurance cardio or simple weights that make you exhausted for the rest of the day.

I tried this 12 minute challenge for my core.
Got in, got out, and was energized for the rest of the day.
Then the next morning I even woke up sore.
Awesome? Yes.
These are hard for both men and women alike, well actually its as hard as you want to make it depending on how fast you can manage to go.
Don't be intimidated!
All you need is a timer (most phones have one already installed).
This workout flies by, you'll be done before you know it
Let me know what you think :)
http://www.bodyrock.tv/2011/05/31/amazing-abs-workout/

Friday, June 17, 2011

How to Cheat on Your Diet

1. Follow the 90/10 rule
It's understandable that you won't be able to follow your weight loss diet 100% perfect all the time and allowing yourself to cheat sometimes helps keep you on your diet longer making you lose more weight so...
  • Only Try to be perfect 90% of the time and...
  • Only cheat 10% of the time so for example...
  • If your eating 5 meals a day to lose weight then that means you're eating about 35 meals a week and if you cheat 10% of the time
  • Then 3-to-4 of the meals you eat during the week can be cheat meals 
2. Don't overeat just because it's your cheat day (or cheat meal)
For example...
If you're supposed to eat 1,500 calories a day to lose weight - Don't eat 2,000-to-3,000 calories on your cheat day because if you overeat - you'll gain weight no matter if you're eating weight loss foods or bad foods for weight loss so remember this: A cheat day is just a day where you can eat whatever you want but NOT as much as you want but
One day of overeating once every 2-to-3 weeks won't ruin your weight loss goals

3. Eat mostly bad high protein foods
If you're going to have a cheat day or cheat meal and eat bad foods for weight loss... try to eat mostly bad high protein foods instead of lots of simple sugar loaded bad carbs because simple carbs will only make you crave for more weight-gaining simple carbs plus simple carbs are stored more easily as fat and...
Although the saturated & transaturated fats in the bad high protein foods are unhealthy for you... The bad high protein foods will still suppress your appetite and bad high protein foods will still increase your metabolism 
Here's an example of a good cheat meal vs. a bad cheat meal using fast food places as an example...
  • Good cheat meal
    Chicken from KFC with a small sized soda = lots of high protein from chicken with little sugar from soda.
  • Bad cheat meal
    Burger, small fries, & small soda from McDonalds' = lots of bad simple carbs from burger bun, fries, and soda with little protein from burger.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Three Weeks To Conquer Three Bad Habits

Setting one goal a week again. Conquering it and then going on to the next bad habit the following week.
Starting today, time to get back into kick butt shape again!
Working out normally finally ever since my foot is all better. Now just needing to kick these bad habits.
(If I don't write them down and share them, the probability of actually following through will be less)
What do you want to add or cut out this week?
Writing down on a calendar is helpful. Everytime you successfully made it through the day make a big X on that day. Congrats!
Remember the key to success with these is focusing at only one thing per week and really killing those bad habits!
Here is my three week goal :)
Week One- No Eating After Dinner
Week Two- No Junk Food
Week Three- No Eating Out

Piece o cake.