Helpful Tips to Prevent Overindulging at Holiday Parties

With Thanksgiving behind us, which for some people, marks the start of fun holiday festivities that make it pretty easy to overindulge. This time of year you may feel yourself giving yourself a free pass to indulge more than usual, not expecting to lose weight, but hoping to maintain your weight with as little effort as possible. Here are a few tips that I can share which may help keep you on track without having to spend a lot of time thinking about it.

1.  Show up to the event feeling satisfied.  It may be tempting to save the calories for that holiday meal, but skipping meals backfires and it results in eating excess calories when you finally do eat that holiday meal. By eating your previous meals, there’s less room in your stomach for the extra junk you may consume. While eating your regular meals prior, make sure to include the veggies and fruits, which will not only prevent your stomach from growling, but it will help keep your blood-sugar levels stable without adding too many calories.

2.  Use the “every other rule” with alcohol.  Alcohol increases your hunger and it lowers your inhibitions. This combination means that it makes you want to eat more while caring less about doing it. Try swapping every other drink with a non-caloric beverage.

3.  Check out the entire spread before filling your plate.  Think about lean protein and vegetables and pick only your favorite foods instead of grabbing something of everything.

4.  Have dessert at home.  It’s much easier to turn down a party dessert knowing that you’ll be heading home to indulge on a dessert you love. That way you can come home and have it guilt-free rather than another choice…or two…you may regret in the morning.

Fruits & Vegetables

Hello everyone! We all know that eating more fuits and vegetables can make a significant difference in your physical and mental health, but are you struggling to get that daily recommended serving? Many of us struggle to get the recommended five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day. In fact, very few people—fitness professionals, included!—get anywhere near the recommended amount. Here are just a few ideas to help you work towards that.

- Wash and cut fresh vegetables after purchasing them. This makes it easier to grab-and-go during the week and reduces the risk they’ll be forgotten and go bad.

- Store fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruits and veggies in easy-to-see places in the refrigerator, pantry, shelves and countertops.

- Have a sweet tooth? Ditch the candy jar! Instead, keep a bowl of washed apples, oranges, bananas and other ready-to-eat fruits on the table.

- Add veggies like spinach, tomatoes, peppers and avocado to sandwiches.

- Do I have any pizza lovers out there? Add veggies to your pizza.

So start small if you have to. Set some realistic goals to begin with and work up to getting that five to nine servings a day. Try adding an extra serving or two today! Have a great day everyone! :)

-Mike

 

Thinking Negative to Grow Positive

When you go to the gym and workout are you just focusing on the movement with no regard to the eccentric movement or time under tension?  If so, then you need to start incorporating negatives into your routines. First things first. There are three phases when it comes to lifting.

1. Concentric: Muscle action occurs when the muscle contracts (shortens), such as when you raise the bar during a biceps curl.
2. Isometric: Muscle action is when a muscle is activated and develops force, but no movement at the joint occurs. Think about if you were to try to push something that won't move, like a building; you are generating force, although there is not joint movement because it is obviously impossible.
3. Eccentric: Muscle action (negative resistance training) occurs when the muscle lengthens in a controlled manner. Muscles can only shorten or lengthen in a controlled manner. Simply, gravity is trying to pull the weight back to where it started and the muscles must lengthen so the weight does not fall abruptly can potentially injure you.

Of these three phases, eccentric movement produces the most force and the muscle is about 40% stronger during the lowering phase. What's going on is micro-trauma occurs during the lengthening of the muscle while it is contracting to maintain control. This cellular damage, in turn, stimulates the release of local growth factors and revs up the anabolic machinery to build muscle. To ignore negatives doesn't make much sense, especially if you're training to get stronger.

I've recently started a new program which includes a lot of negative training and I can definetly feel a difference the next day. But be careful, use a spotter when you need it and don't rely solely on eccentric training, you may find yourself overtraining very easily. So if you've been ignoring negatives with your routines, switch things up and throw a few eccentric movements in to spark new growth and even help you bust through those plateaus.

- Mike

Monday's Thought

Hello everyone. I've been away for a while and hope everyone is still enjoying the journey they're on. Recently I've experienced an event that made me realize that life is too short and things can change in an instant. Everything is ok...but it really opened up my eyes. Storms will cross our paths and may leave some destruction, but by picking up the pieces this is where we gather our strength and become stronger.

There will be things or people that don't serve us for the better. We may think they do, but they don't. And as difficult of a decision it is to leave those things behind, it's for the better, because we all deserve to be happy. We sometimes put too much focus on what was, when we should be focusing on what can be. The future is a great place to live, which is where I'm planning to live, not in the past. I hope all of you will also. So when you feel like you've done everything you can and you can't go any further with whatever you're trying to accomplish, just take that step forward. That step forward into your future just might be the best step you ever take!

Learn to forgive. Call up a friend you have lost touch with and catch up. Let burdens go and focus your time on being happy. Tell that someone you've been holding back just how you feel. Put together that plan you've been putting off. Leave everything on the table and know you did your best and have no regrets. Life's too short to focus on negatives when there are so many positives that we just don't take the time to acknowledge. Have a great Monday everyone and here's to the future and all the great things waiting for all of us!

- Mike

Friday Fitness Challenge



Happy Friday everyone! Did you get your workout in yet? No need to worry, because I've got another Friday Fitness Challenge for you guys. Today's challenge is going to be focusing on the cardio side to get that heart pumping and the sweat a rollin'! A great way to go into the weekend. So grab your towel and water bottle and get ready to work up a little sweat! Like and Share with your friends as well. Have a great day everyone!

- 40 jumping jacks
- 30 second jump rope (If you don't have a jump rope grab two smaller towels and get them a little damp. Hold one in each hand and jump up and down while swinging the towels in a circle)
- 20 second knee highs (Run in place and bring your knees up to about waist level)
- 20 second butt kickers (Just how it sounds. Run in place but try kicking your butt with your heels)
- 20 mountain climbers
- 10 jump squats
Rest. Repeat 2 more times

- Mike

Incline Dumbbell Row

Good morning everyone! Looking to add a different exercise to your back routine? I've got a little exercise you can try. Remember, change things up to see results! I'll call it my "Tuesday Tip". It's called the Incline Dumbbell Row.

How it's performed:
Place two dumbbells next to an incline bench (or take a flat bench and prop one end up if your gym does not have an adjustable bench) and position yourself securely on the bench with your chest lying on the pad and your feet touching the ground for support (or up on the end like you see me doing in the picture). Reach down and grab a dumbbell with each hand with your palms facing in letting the dumbbells hang straight down so that your arms are fully extended. Slowly lift the dumbbells straight upward and flex your upper back muscles at the top of the exercise. Return the dumbbells back down to the starting position and repeat for the desired amount of reps. Be sure to keep your head up and shoulders back throughout this exercise in order to keep your back in a firm and stable position at all times.

So next time you train back and you're looking to throw in a new exercise, give the Incline Dumbbell Row a shot! Have an awesome day everyone! :)

- Mike

Self-Motivation Do you have it?

I'm in the process of a 6 week program that is pushing the limits of my fitness. There are times during my workouts where my mind is telling me to just take an extra break or go lighter on the next set. But then there is that discipline voice that tells me I can do it and I won't achieve my goal if I don't push through it. I want to achieve my goal. I have a goal set in my head and I know what I need to do to achieve it. We all need to find that motivation within ourselves to keep pushing us towards what we want. Nobody said it would be easy, but it will be worth it in the end. So when your mind is telling you you can't, what are you using for motivation to keep you going? Keep that thought/motivation in your head and you will achieve greatness! Have an awesome day everyone! :)

- Mike