My Challenge to You!

As we enter this holiday season it's important to realize how much weight is gained by the average American.  Out of surveys given, American's claim to gain on average 5lbs during the holiday season!  That's quite a few pounds especially for those already carrying extra pounds they would like to lose.  This holiday weight gain is also what causes New Year's resolutions to fizzle so quickly.  Think of it this way, if you had 10 pounds to lose prior to the holidays, add 5 pounds during the holidays, you'd end up with 50% more weight to lose after the holidays!  So this is where my challenge to you comes into play!

This holiday season let's set up a series of goals to get us to the New Year with less body fat than more!  I, myself, have even dedicated and set up a plan to lose 4% body fat by the New Year.  If I can set up a plan to lose almost half of my total body fat by then, you can lose the weight as well!  Here are the points that you will need to plan and write out:

1. Set up fitness goals.  You'll have to set up a goal for November and a separate 1 for December.  Ie.  November I will attend 5 Adrenaline boot camps/week.  December I will attend 6 Adrenaline Boot camps and do 30min mod-intense cardio 2/wk.  
2. make a meal plan.  Again you should have a meal plan set up for November and another one for December.  If you are not sure how to design a meal plan, seek guidance from a professional.
3. Structure the times you cheat.  Soon we'll be starting Christmas parties, Thanksgiving left-overs, social gatherings, etc etc.  Have a plan walking in and stick to it!
4. Don't think, DO.  This sounds like a no brainer however everyone starts with good intentions but only those willing to do what others won't will get what other don't.
5. Write everything down!  Seriously!  From your goals to your food intake, write it down.  Here's a stat for you... Research recently conducted shows that people who wrote down their goals, shared this information with a friend, and sent weekly updates to that friend were on average 33% more successful in accomplishing their stated goals than those who merely formulated goals.  Boom!

So join me in going against the average and making a better, more happy you before we even hit the New Year!

Scott Graham
Adrenaline Fitness

Try Some Protein Pancakes...Yum!

Got a Magic Bullet or something equivalent?  Try this recipe for some nutritious and delicious pancakes!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup old fashion oats
3 large egg whites
1/2 cup non-fat cottage cheese

Topping:  1/2 cup frozen berries microwaved.

How to prepare:

Using magic bullet or equivalent, mill the oats to a fine powder.  In a separate container, blend egg whites and cottage cheese until fluffy.  Mix ingredients together and pour onto the griddle.  Cooks just like regular pancakes!

Nutrition facts w/fruit topping:

Fat: 2.5g
Pro: 26g
Carbs: 41g
Total Cals: 288

Nutrition facts w/o fruit topping

Fat: 2.5g
Pro: 26g
Carbs: 33g
Total Cals: 254

The Proper way to Cheat

      So you instituted a meal plan but struggle in and out with sticking to it.  Constant slips from this developed plan is called “cheating”.  So how can we turn something that has caused so many slips and setbacks to our goals into a positive thing?  Simple, with a little structure and some guidelines we can all have our chance to cheat and feel good about it.   Now don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean we can continue to have “cheat weekends” or grab candies from the dish at the office every time we pass it.  Cheating demands clear and precise rules, and they are as followed:

1.       Limit yourself to 1-2 meal/snack that you “cheat” on.  Avoid cheat days or weekends, limit to a chosen meal of that particular week.

2.       Limit the time allowed to cheat.  Typically I’ll allow myself 30 minutes to cheat and eat whatever I want.  Outside this time frame no more cheating, this is how setbacks occur.

 

3.       Pre-plan your cheat meal.  Determine at the start of the week which meal or time period you will institute your cheat meal.  Once determined stick to this time and don’t cheat outside of it.

4.       Don’t limit yourself during your cheat time.  This is crucial in preventing you from cheating outside of this allotted time.  If you want to eat cake, then is the time to do it.

5.       Cheating classifies all food and drink.  Going out for drinks with friends counts, so plan accordingly.  Going out for drinks one night and having your cheat meal the next is no bueno and doesn’t help your cause.

6.       Keep it “black and white”.  The more your meal plan and your arranged cheat time are structured and organized the less chance you have from slipping.  Stay away from the grey areas (ie.  Talking yourself into meals outside of the plan) because you’ll always talk yourself into slipping further.

 

Having a cheat meal every week following these rules will help keep structure to your nutrition plan, prevent from slipping, and keep you sane.  It will add consistency and prolong the length of time you can stay on the routine.  Even the most disciplined of “dieters” use this cheat method.  Take for example those who train for fitness or body competitions who need to be very lean.  To help those participants to stay on track and focused, they too will have a set cheat meal in their routine.

To get help in setting up a nutrition routine email Scott with Adrenaline Fitness

  

Success comes from Inside

    Ever wonder why one workout was better than another?  Could it be that you did Burpees, had your best friend with you, worked out with your favorite trainer,slept a full night’s sleep, ate regularly before, or was just a fluke?  Any of these could actually be part of the answer but not the underlying one.  The reason one workout rocked more than another is your mental readiness.            

                Think back to that last good workout you had, you were ready for it for a certain reason; might have been someone or something that triggered it but inside you were positive and mentally prepared to rock that workout.  Now who’s to say you can’t have a workout that kicks “booty”  every time?  All it takes is some mental readiness.  So how do you get to this state?  Hey, I’m  glad you asked.  Here are a few pointers:

1.       Evaluate why you are there.  Are you there to look good in skinny jeans or just be able to climb 2 flights of stairs without stopping half way, whatever it is you need to realize each and every time what you want to accomplish.
2.       Know that your sacrifice will pay off.  To everyone time is of the essence.  Be excited that what you are doing there is benefiting you 10 times over.
3.       Be willing to give each session your all.  Before stepping into the fitness facility leave everything else at the door and prepare to dominate.  A little self talk can go along way to pump yourself up.  Use famous motivational quotes or just something a friend said to inspire you.  “Go The Distance,” a classic quote from field of dreams but so appropriate.
4.       Music plays a large role.  Semi-Charm kind of life by Third eye blind gets me excited and hyper everytime.  So does Eye of The Tiger, each time I hear these songs I can’t stop moving until they are out of my head.  What are your songs?
5.       Believe in yourself!  Hands down the most important.  Often people set themselves up for failure by using words like “can’t, “don’t”, won’t”.  Contractions are the enemy, stop using them and realize your full potential.  “I can do it; I will do it!”

Let’s make this next workout ROCK!  Use these tips to walk in prepared both physically and mentally.  Better workouts make better results!

      Get Charged!

The correlation of strength and weight loss

When it comes to strength training there are some false perceptions out there…  “I can’t lift heavier weight because I’ll get bulky,” or how about this one… “I’m just going to lift light weight for more repetitions to tone up.”  Sorry to say if you believe and are following the methods of these quotes then you are most likely off track to your goals.   I know, that just blew your mind!  It’s cool though I’ll explain.

                “I can’t lift heavier weight because I’ll get bulkly.”  This is a messed up statement on so many accounts, especially if you are female and not a steroid user.  First off, it takes a tremendous amount of testosterone in the body to even give an opportunity to produce bulky muscles, far more than any woman could produce naturally.  Second it takes a high calorie intake to produce bulky muscles, typically above 3500 calories/day.  Finally a normal “bulking” strength training routine is 5-6 days/wk for 90min.

                “Im just going to lift light weight for more repetitions to tone up.”  Performing a few extra repetitions on a weight training exercise is not significant enough to burn extra fat and may in effect burn less fat. If intensity is compromised, less fat may be burned when light weight is used with high repetitions.  With strength training the idea is to boost your metabolism and growth hormone in your body to burn more fat; lighter weight does NOT achieve this result.

                Now let’s discuss why you should push aside those light weights and step up to those heavier dumbells or kettlebells.  The obvious answer is heavier weight increases the intensity of your workout and therefore increases your caloric burn.  Above this, heavier weight can stimulate higher metabolism and release of growth hormone (helps burn fat) in the body.  Think of it this way…higher weight increases strength, strength increases intensity, intensity increases metabolism, metabolism regulates body fat….BAM, again just blew your mind!

                Next time you’re in boot Camp, grab the next kettlebells up.  Even if you can’t complete the timed circuit or reps given, know you did your body justice and doing better benefit for yourself and your goals.

Intensity + Consistency = RESULTS

                If you are involved in boot camps you’ve heard this 100s of times but has it truly soaked in and understood it?  Well let me be the gust that blows your mind!  So in this equation there are two different actions that lead to a single outcome, however this outcome is what everyone searches for and might have tried numerous actions to unsuccessfully obtain this outcome.  That’s where I’ll back up these two actions to lead to this self satisfying outcome. 

                Let’s talk about intensity.  Of course everyone has a different perspective of intensity but in the end the greater the intensity, the more likely the results you seek will be reached.  Here at Adrenaline we like to push HIIT, which is High Intensity Interval Training.  Example of this is walking/jogging for 1 minute and 95-100% all out sprint for 1 minute, rotating back and forth for 10-20min.  Now there are different ways to increase your intensity such as increased speed, incline, rpm, and resistance; however you choose, remember if you aren’t increasing the intensity above the level you are currently at you will see no change in the results you have been at.

                Now with all that said of intensity, if you aren’t consistent with it then just toss it out the window and let the neighbor dog pee on it.  Consistency over time is the only way to be successful with a health/fitness outcome.  Yes, you can go out and do any fad diet that will allow you to lose muscle and water weight only to gain it back and more in a few weeks, but let me save you the time and the extra weight you’ll have to lose later and explain to you that the sure fire way to lose the weight and keep it off is developing a meal/exercise plan that can be sustained indefinitely.  Without long term consistency you will fail(period).

                So how do you apply this equation?  Very simple!  Intensity is applied in the short term; you focus on this at every workout.  Remind yourself before walking into your workout that you need to step it up and push yourself harder than last week.  Consistency is applied both short and long term.  Long term needs to focus in on how many workouts a week for how many weeks.  Short term needs to make sure you get up when the alarm clock goes off or not schedule a pedicure when you should be working out.  WRITE ALL THIS DOWN.  You’re multiple times more successful at an outcome when you write your action plan down! 

                If you feel stuck and can use a little guidance, that’s what we are here for!  Hit us up by emailing us.