Anything is Possible: Don't Believe Me, Believe Yourself!

Setting goals sound so easy to do, yet, they are so difficult to accomplish. The problem that most people encounter when setting goals is (1) they set unrealistic goals and (2) people get discouraged to easily when other people tell them they "can't do it".

[This blog will tackle the first problem and the blog following this one will tackle the second problem.]

Problem # 1: Setting unrealistic goals

"I want to lose 20lbs in 6 weeks"

The problem so many people make when they set goals in life is that they don't realistically take an inward look at themselves. In other words, so many people don't give an honest self assessment of themselves and, as a result, their goals reflect their false sense of what is possible for them. If I hear anyone say to me one more time that "anything is possible" I am going to look right at her and say "How would you know what is possible for me?". It is this mentality that sets people up to fail time and time again. People need to start making goals that will set them up to succeed and not to fail. Don't let others tell you what is possible. Instead, show yourself what is possible! For example,

Are you more likely to continue to work out if you see results or are you more likely to continue to work out if you don't? (The answer is obviously the former)

Now, if you "want to lose 20lbs in 4 weeks" and you only lose 8lbs, the fact that you lost 8lbs in 4 weeks now means nothing because your goal of losing 20lbs wasn't reached. But, HELLO, you just did an awesome job by losing 8lbs of fat in 4 weeks! You see, when you set unrealistic goals, even when you accomplish great things, you don't recognize what you just did as being great because you unrealistically thought you could do more. If you originally set your goal to lose 8lbs in 4 weeks and you accomplished that goal, then this would motivate you to accomplish further goals. So you see, it's not that "anything is possible", it's achieving your goals in the forefront to make you NOW think that "anything is possible" :). Don't let anyone tell you that anything is possible - show it to yourself that anything is possible!

In short, the next time you set your goals you should set long term goals and short terms goals. Your long term goals should be goals that take time to accomplish. How do you reach these long term goals? You reach them by achieving your short term goals. Your short term goals should be realistic goals that can be accomplished in a shorter amount of time. By achieving your short term goals, you will see that reaching your long term goal is possible as you can see from your success of your short term goals!

SO, you want to lose 20lbs? Great! just don't try and achieve this goal in 4 weeks - try to achieve it in 4 months. You might be thinking, "4 months is soooooo long". But my response is this: Is it really? Think about it - if you dedicated 4 months of your life to change the rest of your life, is 4 months really that long when you are going to look and feel better than ever for the rest of your life?! So the next time you think it takes to long of a time to achieve a goal, ask yourself, in the grand scheme of things, if it actually is.

The greatest thing about reaching your goals in fitness is that when succeed you never want to stop. All of sudden working out and being healthy doesn't become a chore or a goal anymore - it becomes a lifestyle that just continuously allows you to reap all of its wonderful benefits. Now, when you accomplish your long term goals and I tell you it will take 6 months to put on 15lbs of muscle your response will be, "6 months is nothing!"

Set realistic goals and GO GET IT - after all, don't take my word for it when I say "anything is possible", prove it to yourself!

-Afd

Practice What You Preach

My biggest pet peeve of all time is seeing my doctor smoking out side the hospital that he works at. Like, honestly, how can someone tell me that I shouldn't smoke because it will kill me, yet, he will blow smoke in my face as I leave the hospital. Or, better yet, and for the purpose of this post, how can a personal trainer or "fitness expert" tell YOU how to get into great shape, when he or she is in the exact opposite shape? PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH, because if you don't then why should anyone believe you? I by no means claim to be perfect, or claim to know everything. In fact, I am far from where I want to be with my fitness goals and can always learn more. However, everything I state in my blog is backed by two things: (1) I am an Athletic Trainer certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and (2) My experience that, personally, has gotten me in the best shape of my life.

My body fat percentage in this picture is around 10% and I am looking to get down to 5-6% body fat. With a solid nutrition plan, intense cardio, and effective ab exercise routines, you will be amazed at the abs you can obtain.

Having said that, there are specific core exercises that will develop your abdominal muscles for a more toned, chiseled look. After all, you probably are thinking "I know a ton of "skinny" people who don't have nice abs".

There are two reasons to why this is:

(1) although someone might be considered "skinny" that doesn't mean that that person doesn't have a thin layer of fat covering their abs. In fact, men tend to carry the majority of their fat in their abdominal region. Thus, even if you see a guy walking down the street and he appears to be "skinny" it is very possible that his body fat percentage is extremely low in the majority of his body, but, the part you can't see (his abs) are covered by the majority of fat that his body has.

(2) their abdominal muscles aren't developed due to lack of proper exercise.

This is why it is extremely important to have a sound nutrition plan, cardio plan, and core workout routine. When it comes to developing those deep grooves for ripped abs, it is extremely important to add variance and resistance too your ab work outs.

For example, as well as the best way to put it, would you ever perform bicep curls with out any weights? would you ever perform the bench press with out any weight? would you only do dumbbell bicep curls for your biceps? would you only do barbell bench press for chest? No, No, No and No! You see, just like we lift weights to develop the rest of our body, as well as change up what it is that we do with those weights, (for a more developed physique) it is the same reason why we want to use weights for developing our abs.

It is also extremely important to vary up your ab exercises - not because one ab exercise works some of your abs, while other ab exercises work the other abs - but because like anything else, the more your body has to adjust to different stresses, the more your body will need to adapt! How? By developing stronger, sexier abs.

Last thing to know when doing your abs - do your abs in a circuit with the least amount of rest as possible. For example, here is an ab circuit you can perform:

- Leg raises
- Kneeling cable crunches
- Heels to heaven
- Weighted crunches
- Ankle Huggers
- Planks

Perform the aforementioned exercises for 30 seconds each. If you are a beginner take a 10 second rest period in between each exercise and perform the circuit 1-2 times. If you are intermediate take 5-7 seconds in between each exercise and perform the circuit 2-3 times. If you are advanced take 0 rest in between each exercise and perform the circuit 3-5 times.

I recommend you perform these exercises no less than 3 times a week and as you progress, the more you can do. Don't forget to change up your routine. What I like to do is stick with an ab circuit for one week and then change up my ab exercises each week. By doing this, my body will never know what's coming and it will my force my body to protect its self with rock hard abs.

If you are looking for really unique and effective ab exercises, write me a comment and I will send you the BEST core exercises to develop those abs you always wanted.

-Afd

Note: Please contact me if you have any questions on how to perform any of the aforementioned core exercises mentioned in this post

The Evil Treadmill

Last post was dedicated to telling you exactly the nutritional steps that you need to take to lose those unwanted pounds. Just by changing your eating habits you will greatly improve how you feel, how you look, and your overall health. However, when it comes to transforming your mind and body, by only implementing some changes you will get just that - some results. But, don't you want complete results? Don't you want to have every aspect of your life feeling your best and looking your best? In order to do that, you need to implement a sound nutritional plan and an effective exercise program.

Now, as difficult as it is to implement a sound nutritional plan, it is even more difficult to implement an effective workout program and here's why:

People know that eating burger king is bad for you... people know that drinking soda is like drinking cancer... people know that tons of sugar is not good for the body... people know that if it's fried they shouldn't go near it, etc. etc. etc. Thus, what that means is that people know what's bad for them and chose to do it anyway. Nutrition is all about will power! However, when it comes to working out, it's not just that people don't do it, they don't know how too either. And that's why when you go online and you find 10 million different ways to get the same result you have no clue what to do and then, eventually, you get frustrated and give up!

To recap in brief:

Nutrition: People know what to do and don't do it

Exercise: People don't know what to do and don't do it

That's why this blog will offer tips to help give you a clear path on what you should be doing in the gym to lose weight. The truth is that when it comes to working out there are different ways to work out depending on what your fitness goals are. This blog will be dedicated to those who are trying to lose weight while getting toned, defined, lean muscle.

Tip 1: Cardio is overrated

Okay, fine, I don't actually mean that - However, what I do mean is that the cardio you are probably accustomed too is overrated. In other words, what I am trying to say is... GET OFF THE TREADMILL. If you are a healthy being who doesn't have any health restrictions I strongly recommend you go play a sport, do agility drills, perform plyometrics, do sprints outside, do body work out circuits, etc. The reason why I say that is because running on a treadmill only allows you to do just that - run on a treadmill (AKA stay in the same spot while your body does the same thing for the same intensity for the same direction). The reason why you aren't seeing results is because you keep doing the SAME thing. Your body gets used to working at one level of intensity with one type of body movement. By only training in that way, your body will get adapted to this and have no reason to change. That's why I recommend you do different types of activities with high intensities and different movements. Cardiovascular workouts are defined as workouts that get your heart rate to a specific target heart rate zone. Thus, whether that be on a treadmill or playing basketball, those are both forms of cardiovascular work outs. However, with basketball, not only will your intensity be higher, you will have more fun and your body will get a more complete work out! When you enjoy what you do the chances of you doing it again are that much greater!

In short, don't just run on the treadmill everyday - mix it up and keep raising the intensity and keep changing the motions of your body. The higher the intensity, the more calories you will burn. The more you change what you do, the more your body will need to adapt.

Tip 2: LIFT WEIGHTS

I'm sure I won't need to pull the legs of all the guys reading this to lift weights. However, I am sure there are many women (and some men too) that don't like the idea of lifting weights, because they are afraid by that dirty awful lie that states "if you lift weights you will get bulky".

Now, if you are training in ONE particular way and eating in ONE particular way, then yes, you will. But, if you train in a DIFFERENT, particular way you will get tone, lean muscles and not big bulky ones. (stick to full body exercises [squats, lunges, push ups, pull ups, etc.] with a rep. range of 8-15 per set - SEE NOTE AT END OF BLOG)

Here is the truth - MUSCLE BURNS FAT! the more muscle you have, the less need for fat to be on your body - thus, lifting weights will help speed up your metabolism and help burn the fat.

tip 3: KEEP THE REST PERIODS SHORT

During your work out it is very easy to lose focus - you talk with your friends, watch the big TV, stare at the person next to you, etc. However, the more time you waste the less fat you will burn and here is why: When you keep your rest periods short, and assuming you are working out hard, your heart rate is constantly at a high level. Therefore, when you keep the rest periods short in between your sets, you are in a more fat burning mode as you are continuously keeping your heart rate level up. This means the body is working at a higher level for the majority of your workout. On the contrary, if you take 5 minute breaks in between your sets, you are allowing your heart rate to come back to resting level and your fat burning work out will not be merely as effective. Thus, when trying to lose weight incorporate circuit work outs that will keep your rest periods at a minimum (30 seconds) and watch how week by week your fat percentage just gets lower and lower.

Tip 4: PATIENCE

Far to often people work out for 2 weeks and they think that they can just lose 10 lbs easily. When they set their goals unrealistically high they are automatically setting themselves up for failure. So, even when they are making great progress, because they set such a high standard for themselves in such a short time period, they get frustrated and end up giving up! So, stick with it, keep raising the intensity and I promise you you will see the results. Set realistic short term goals for yourself - If you do, then your long term goals will even surprise yourself!

-Afd

Note: there is to much to say in this blog on what exercises you should do, what load you should be using, how often you should be doing it, etc. A future blog will go in depth on how you should specifically train.

"Stop Telling Me What I Need To Know And Tell Me What I Need To Do!"

"STOP TELLING ME WHAT I NEED TO KNOW AND TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO DO!"

Okay, here goes...

It approximately takes a 3500 calorie deficit to lose one lb of fat, thus, if you intake 2000 calories a day and burn 2000 calories a day, and you have body fat percentage of 24% then your body fat % will stay at 24%.

The problem is this: A) people either under estimate or over estimate the amount of calories they intake and B) people either under estimate or over estimate how many calories they burn.

However, if you have been trying to lose the fat for a while, then chances are you under estimating the amount of calories your in taking and over estimating the amount of calories you are burning.

SOO, HERES WHAT TO DO:

Tip 1: Like mom always said, eat your fruits and veggies! Also, get a good source of lean protien (salmon, chcken breast, tuna, etc) and healthy fats (nuts, avocados, natural peanut butter)

Tip 2: Cut out high fructose corn syrup! Cut out Trans fats (fried food)! Limit your saturated fats (Creamy foods, icecream, etc)! Cut out processed sugars (cake, Tropicana juices, Candy bars, etc)! And if you can't understand more than 2 of the things on the ingredient list then that means you probably shouldn't be putting it into your body. Think about it, why would you want to willingly put something into your body without knowing what it is? The problem is that people trust these food companies so much that when they read "2 servings of fiber in this cereal" in HUGE LETTERING and they just assume that that cereal is good for them. What they don't highlight is that it's also filled with high fructose corn syrup, modified corn starch, corn flour, BHT (preservative) and 9g of sugar per 1/2 a cup (most people eat about 2 cups of cereal per serving, which means that in this case you would be consuming 36g of sugar a serving). All of these ingredients are consistently making you gain excess fat and leading you right down the road to a diabetic lifestyle.

(BTW the cereal i was describing was Special K "low fat" Granola... Are you beginning to listen yet?)

Tip 3: EAT a healthy Breakfast (ex: small egg white veggie omelet, a piece of fruit, and a glass of water) Why? Because if you don't eat breakfast, and you wait until lunch time to eat, you are going to be starving. Because your body hasn't received any fuel for an extended period of time (If you go to bed at 11 and don't eat until 1 pm the next day, then that means you haven't had anything to eat in 14 hours!!!) you are going to feel very hungry and OVER STUFF yourself. Thus, not only will you over eat in that one meal, but, because you are super duper hungry it will be so much more tempting for you to eat whatever it is that you are craving - resulting in you eating that much unhealthier!

Tip 4: Instead of eating 2-3 large meals a day, try to have 4-6 small meals (ex of small meal: plain, non-fat yogurt with banana and blueberries). The reason why this is a good idea to help lose weight is because of two reasons. (1) when you eat more smaller meals a day, you wont feel the need to stuff yourself. So, just because you are having more meals a day, you will be eating allot less calories. (2) When you stuff yourself, your body can only process so much at one time. Thus, when you have one HUGE meal at noon your body begins to process some of that food and then by the time you get to your next meal at 5, your body is still trying to process the excessive amount of food from your last meal. When this happens, the food that you are now consuming will get stored into your body as fat because the body can't keep up with the amount of food that you are in taking. However, on the contrary, if you eat many small meals a day, your body is able to process the food quicker and more efficiently - resulting into your body's metabolism speeding up because your body ( internally) is always working, always processing, always burning the fat!

Tip 5: When you are making food at home use SMALLER plates. If you use a smaller plate, then by virtue of the decrease in the size of the plate, you will automatically decrease the amount of food you can put on the plate!

Tip 6: CHEAT! Yes, i said it! You see, if you are doing all the things that i said above - Eat less, eat healthier, eat more often, cut out the processed sugars, etc. then I GUARANTEE YOU that you will lose the unwanted fat. Thus, for the sake of your sanity, and as a reward to your self, once a week, take one of your meals and have WHATEVER YOU WANT! The reason why this is important, if you truly want to lose the fat, is because, like anything else in the health and fitness industry, everything starts with the mind. If you aren't mentally prepared to change, then you have no chance to physically change. So, go ahead, reward yourself for your hard work! You deserve it!

-Afd

Note: The next article will discuss how to use exercise (in conjunction with nutrition) to not only help lose the fat, but get a body that you didn't think was possible! Changing your eating habits is BY FAR the most important thing to lose the fat and live a healthier lifestyle, however, exercise will help you burn more calories and in return will help you lose the weight faster, safer, and more efficiently.

You Have The Same Abs As Ryan Reynolds - YES, YOU!

Alright Ladies and Gents... here it is - The most important thing to know for obtaining sexy, toned, six pack abs:

Doing ab exercises is, by far, the least important aspect to seeing your abdominals.

I can do every effective Ab exercise to get my abs looking like Ryan Reynolds (your welcome Nat), however, the reason why Ryan Reynolds has a six pack that most guys are jealous of is not because he has a better six pack than you, it's because he has significantly less fat than you for him to proudly show off his six pack. Ryan Reynolds has a sick six pack not because he does 1000 crunches a day - He has a six pack because he eats right and trains right by incorporating a sound aerobic and anaerobic work out plan. By having a well balanced plan, he is able to build muscle and keep his body fat percentage low enough to see his sculpted abs.

You see, EVERYONE has a jaw dropping six pack waiting to be unleashed, however, the reason why most people wouldn't believe me is because the majority of people appear to not have one. But listen, and listen carefully - The only reason why we can't see most people's six packs are not because they don't have one, it's just because its hiding behind layers of fat.

So How do you show off your six pack?

LOSE THE FAT. But Alex, How do I lose the fat? THE TWO GREATEST AB TECHNIQUES EVER INVENTED...

1. Nutrition
2. Cardio

Yes, I said it - the greatest ab exercises aren't even ab exercises.

If you can't see your abdominals you need to put together an effective nutrition plan with a well thought out exercise program. By reducing the amount of calories, along with in taking nutrient dense foods, and working out in a effective manor that will catalyst fat loss and rev up your metabolism, then, and only then, will you begin to see those Ryan Reynold abs.

Give me a person with great nutrition and an intense aerobic regimen, and you take the person who does 1000 sit ups a day, and I will bet you every dollar to my name that my guy or gal wins by a land slot!

I guess this is a good time to say that ab exercises do have important value, and I don't want you to think that you shouldn't do effective ab exercises to sculpt your abdominal muscles. Nor am I telling you that Ryan Reynolds doesn't do ab work. However, the point that I am trying to make is that if you have too high of a body fat percentage, then doing the best ab exercises in the world 7 days a week will never give you the ability to show them off.

-AFD

What Every Guy Wants to Know: "How to Put on Lean, Sculpted, Muscle Mass"

To put on lean muscle mass: Intensity! Progression! Change!

The reason why our bodies have the ability to gain muscle is not because our bodies know that we have to press, squat, and lift - it's because our bodies are trying to protect ourselves from the stress that the load is putting on our muscles. In response to the stress (overtime) our muscles need to grow to be able to adequately protect ourselves from heavier weights, more sets, more reps, etc. What does this all mean? When we lift weights, our muscles break down, we nourish them, then they grow back bigger to be able to protect our bodies in the future. Now this is why intensity, progression, and change is the key to getting bigger, leaner muscles. Once our muscles have grown due to the previous stress that you put on them, we now need to add more stress than we did before - if we don't, then OUR MUSCLES WILL HAVE NO REASON TO GROW ANYMORE. Just because our minds like the way a ripped body looks, that doesn't mean our bodies gives a s*** :) - That is why we need our mind to force our body to do so!

Intensity: Every time you go to the gym you need to have the mind set of a warrior - you vs. the gym. The only way to beat the gym is through your intensity!!! Push yourself and make sure you just OWNED that session. If your mind isn't 120% focused and filled with intensity to be able to push yourself harder and harder every time you are in the gym, you are wasting your time. So, if you are one of those people that go to the gym and spend half of your time socializing with others, then, well, that's all dandy, just don't complain that you aren't seeing results! Stay focused, and let that inner warrior come out.

Progression: Every time you enter the gym, you need to BEAT your last session. whether it be one more set, one more rep, heavier weight, more intensity, more focus, etc. Remember your muscles wont grow if you don't give them reason too. Thus, if you aren't consistently applying more stress to the body, your body will have no reason to change. This doesn't mean that you should be adding 10 lbs to your bench every session, it just means that over time you should be progressing as much as you can. If you aren't able to progress over an adequate time period, then you might be over training, not getting proper nutrition, or not getting enough sleep. However, if you are going into each work out with the right path and right mind frame then progression is the key to putting on lean muscle mass!

Change: Have you ever noticed when you start working out you see a significant change the first few weeks and then all of a sudden the results stop coming? The reason why this is, is that people workout the SAME WAY ALL THE TIME. I have one question - why? Remember, the body wont change unless you give it reason too. Thus, if I only do bench press for 6 months straight, my body (if it could talk) would literally say "IDIOT - I ALREADY KNOW HOW TO DO THIS, DO SOMETHING ELSE". This is why changing up your routine is vital for the progression that you want to see! You see, our bodies are made up of different muscle fibers which allow for our muscles to grow. Because our muscles are made up of different fibers, different exercises (and variations of those exercises) hit different muscle fibers. Therefore, if I only do flat barbell bench press for my chest, only one type of fiber is getting used. However, if I am doing Incline Dumbbell Bench press, Low cable cross overs, and diamond push ups, i will be hitting a wider ranger of muscle fibers for my chest. The more muscle fibers being stressed, the more the body will grow! So the next time you are in the gym, mix it up! If you do, You will drastically increase the chances of seeing more results than you have ever seen before!

INTENSITY! PROGRESSION! CHANGE!

-AFD

One Size Fits All

Hands down, Take the cake, The creme De la creme, The King/Queen of all fitness myths:

"One size fits all"

Lets see if this reminds you of your situation.

You go the gym.. you're working out and you can't help but notice that there is someone who you just wish you looked like. You are trying hard to concentrate on your workout, but no matter what you do, you just keep looking over at that man or woman wondering what he or she is doing to look like that - Does this sound familiar?

Or if that doesn't remind you of yourself, maybe this will - how many times have you asked someone what you should be doing to get a certain result, and they give you a definitive one way method to make all your fitness dreams come true? okay okay... forgive the corny rhetorical question, but, you'll see where I am going with this.

If you learn nothing else from me, know this: (1) just because it worked for someone else, that doesn't mean it will automatically work for you, and just because it didn't work for someone else, that doesn't mean it won't work for you.

Using myself as an example, I was trying to gain muscle, so I would look up articles from Professional Body Builders (who were jacked up on steroids and god knows what else) to find out how to put on muscle. And they would give valuable information on how to just put on "endless" amounts of muscle. One month went by... no change. 3 months went by... no change. 6 months went by... no change. What is going on here? I am doing EXACTLY what they told me to do, yet, I literally saw no change in my body. Were they lying to me? No, they just weren't actually speaking to me. These guys are giving valuable information for other body builders to put on more muscle, whether they know it or not. What they are not doing is giving ordinary people, like you and me, information for us to put on more muscle. In other words, You cant expect to lift the same way as a professional body builder, and expect the same results - Just because it works for them, doesn't mean it works for us! For their information to be valuable to US, we need to get to the level they are on, then and only then will their information MAYBE pertain to us.

One Size does NOT fit all - and so the next time someone says "you need to train like this" and it doesn't work for you, ask yourself if the information that is being told to you actually applies to you.

This leads me the first piece of advice of my blogging career: When you are looking for someone to give you advice on your fitness goals, the BEST place to start is by asking someone who just accomplished similar goals to that of yourself. For example, if you are a 140Lb guy looking to pack on some muscle, don't go running to the the guy who who weighs 260Lb and is benching 400+ for advice. Instead, go running to the guy who was in your position a month and 1/2 ago and gained 5lbs of muscle. Why? because when do you think the last time that the guy who weighed 260 was in your position? Either a VERY long time ago, or NEVER at all - so how the F*** would he know what you should do?

So, the next time The Hulk in the gym tells you this is what you need to do to get JACKED - just remember that ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL... unless its a hat :)!

-AFD