Skill sets

I wanted to take a moment and highlight some important skill sets that I believe will help you maximize your results in the gym.


1. Consistency: This is the most important element of an exercise/nutrition game plan. Consistent action produces consistent results, whether it's positive action or negative action. If you consistently exercise at least 4-6xs a week and consume nutrient dense food properly portioned you will see consistent and positive results. If you are consistently skipping workouts, drinking alcohol, eating fatty and sugar latent food, and do not rest and recover from the stress of every day, you will consistently continue not seeing the results you strive for, and in the end you will CONSISTENTLY feel less than optimal about yourself, your body, and the stress of the every day.



2. Prep and Prepare: Whether you are traveling or at your desk for nine hours a day, if you are not armed with high protein, low fat snacks to level out your blood sugar and cure those hunger pangs you will inevitably CHOOSE to put something in your mouth to curb hunger rather than to nourish your body. Take responsibility daily for what you CHOOSE to put into your mouth. I work 12-14 hours a day. I work out 2xs a day now with all of the training for these races. I train at least 6-8 clients daily. Each day I have prepped 6 Tupperware filled with lean meat, veggies, cut up meat, almonds, Larabars, nut butter, and sweet potatoes. Yes, it does take about 30-45 minutes in the morning or the night before to prep; however I am taking responsibility for what I put into my mouth. Here are a few suggestions for snacks to have easily assessable:

1. Larabars: http://www.larabar.com/

2. Nut mix from whole foods that contains: almonds, walnuts, dried cranberries - I portion these out in small snack bags and place 1/4 cup of the mixture in each bag.

3. 1/2 baked sweet potato, 4 oz of cubed chicken breast

4. SOMETHING TO NOSH ON: I fill a tupperware with the following - grapes, carrots, cucumbers, small bell peppers, strawberries.

5. Whole wheat wrap with turkey breast, avocado, veggies: cut in half and this can be 2 snacks.

6. Almond butter with apple. Cut the apple up in pieces and only use 1 tbsp of almond butter to spread on each slice.

7. 1 tbsp of hummus with veggies.

8. 4 turkey meatballs

* I suggest carrying a cooler around that will hold your Tupperware containers, a bottle of water, and 2 ice packs. I do this every day and it really does help with staying on track and filling my body with the goodness of whole foods.

* IF YOU DO NOT EAT BEFORE OR AFTER A WORKOUT YOU WILL NOT BE MAXIMIZING YOUR WORK IN THE GYM. IF YOU DO NOT EAT CONSISTENTLY YOU WILL NOT LOSE WEIGHT. IF YOU DO NOT EAT CLEAN, PROPERLY PORTIONED FOOD YOU WILL NOT SEE RESULTS.*




3. Do not let your weekends sabotage your effort through the week: We all need to have fun for sure on the weekends; however most of our weekends will actually make us slide back a few more steps than desired. Here's my suggestion: Choose one meal to splurge on Saturday and Sunday. Continue to snack on healthy alternatives. Exercise at least one day on the weekend. If you choose to drink both days then choose wisely. The clearer the liqour is the least impact you will produce. Also, alcohol causes a ripple effect on your nutrition. When you feel not so good after a night of cocktails you will most likely eat not so clean! Think about it! Is it worth it?

Another point to be reminded of is dining out. Restaurants are tasty but can be detrimental to our work in the gym. When you are dining out, whether it's with friends or for business, consider filling your plate half with lean meat and half with dry greens and veggies. Do not hesitate to ask the server for an ingredient list and watch out for hidden fats such as butter, oil, cheese, and salt.



4. Stress, rest, and recovery: Bottom line, not only is our poor nutrition contributing to the obesity epidemic in our society, the high amount of stress we all have and produce is also going to kill us! Stress will impact your waist line ten-fold, as well as sleep deprivation. Lack of recovery will also cause minor aches and pains to linger and progress. Without at least 7-9 hours of sleep and 1 to 2 days off from physical activity your body possibly will respond negatively. Weight gain, acute injuries, thyroid issues, heart disease, high blood pressure, muscle weakness, and infertility are just a few side effects that stress can have on our bodies.



5. PAY LESS ATTENTION TO WHAT THE SCALE SAYS AND MORE TO THE FIT OF YOUR CLOTHES, THE BEAT OF YOUR HEART, AND THE STRENGTH OF YOUR MUSCLES.

This week I have heard several clients talk about the frustration of the scale! If I could do away with the scales I would. Why? Here's why:

a. They do not specify how much of your weight is body fat and how much of it is muscle. For adequate results, body fat composition is best to use to measure results.

b. They do not specify how much water your body is holding due to: salt/sugar intake, that time of the month, a heavy weight workout, etc.

c. They do not specify how much your bones and organs weigh.

d. They do not specify how many inches you have lost, only lbs!

e. They cause emotional stress which in turns causes us physical stress = weight gain.


In my opinion it takes 6 weeks of 4-6 workouts a week and a nutrition plan that is 80% clean in order to see results from your health and fitness plan. Again, this is consistent exercise and clean nutrition for 6 weeks. Even then that's only 6 weeks, only 42 days. HOW LONG HAVE YOU NOT EXERCISED AND ATE CLEAN? Think about it..........


Yes, I know you want results right away but quite frankly this is not how it works. You first have to stop backward movement, then create forward momentum, then move forward. This takes time and it's an individual process that will need constant tweaking and changing up. I know that when you do not see results you want to quit. DO NOT! Stick with it. Learn about this process of weight loss and healthy eating. Research. Put forth the effort and time required to see body change.



Here are a few suggestions to help measure your results:

1. The fit of your clothes: Pay attention to this. Are your jeans fitting a bit loser? How about your bra? Shirts?

2. Energy levels: Are you feeling more energetic and less fatigued through out the day?

3. Circumference measurement: You may not have loss lbs but have you loss inches?

4. Lifestyle changes: Are you now more apt to exercise rather than go to happy hour? Are you getting up early most days to exercise? Are you trading in the afternoon coffee for a bottle water and a piece of fruit?

5. Cardiovascular endurance? Muscle strength? Are you seeing results in these 2 departments since the day you started?


For those who have been looking for a core/flexibility program for skiing, running, cycling, etc check out the video below. Perform the first video and only progress according to the directions. http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16625#1 I have done this video and the sequences and have seen dramatic results in my flexibility.