Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Food versus Exercise


Which will provide the most benefit first: 
Changing how you eat or increasing the number of times you exercise?
HINT: It's NOT exercise!

Think about it... 
The average person eats MORE THAN 3 TIMES A DAY.
That's at least 21 chances you have to change the way your body feels each week.
You can ALSO get AMAZING results by simply strength training 3 TIMES A WEEK.

But 3 vs. 21.
Therefore what you are eating is FAR more important than what you are doing for exercise.


It doesn't have to be perfect.
YOU JUST HAVE TO START.



The problem is you are overanalyzing all the diets that worked for so and so instead of LEARNING TO FEEL what works for YOU. 
I have heard all the excuses in the book. 
I hate to cook. I'm not hungry. I'm single and cooking for one is a pain in the ass.

If you learn "which foods represent which macronutrients" the excuses disappear.

For the most part our  food choices can be broken down into 3 main categories
PROTEIN     |    FAT    |     CARBOHYDRATES

I want to you eating something from each category with each meal you consume. 
Make it a game... think PLUG AND PLAY. 

Whether that means you are doing some food preparation at home or you are eating on the run 
YOU MUST UNDERSTAND which foods represent which macronutrients in different situations. You can either be prepared or you can have faith in your ability to make the right educated decision if you yourself unprepared. 

These are the following sources of PROTEIN currently in my fridge, and ready to go.

Chicken sausage, whole eggs, tuna, grass fed beef, greek yogurt, egg whites, cottage cheese, + sun warrior protein powder.

Moving along to FAT
Avocados, dry roasted unsalted almonds, cashew butter, coconut oil, flax meal, olive oil.

Finally CARBOHYDRATES
broccoli, zucchini, sweet potatoes, kale, healthy 8 mix, plantain chips, grapefruit, bananas, wild frozen fruit, brown rice bread, quest bars, sweet potatoes, + white rice.

As you can see the MAJORITY are real whole foods.  I adhere to the 80/20 rule. I practice eating "real food" 80% of the time and save room for my favorite "cheats" 20% of the time.  
THIS IS SO AMAZINGLY DOABLE PEOPLE!!!

What are examples of meals and snacks YOU love that follow this macronutrient PLUG and PLAY rule?

What are your favorite 20% foods?

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

It's not WHAT you do, it's HOW you do it

I love the basics... because they work!
With the use of effective cues and techniques the basics can give you more results than you ever thought possible.

Mountain climbers are used in every bootcamp and DVD you have ever seen. This is because they are a great bodyweight conditioning drill that hit the core and upper body with little to no equipment. 

The problem with mountain climbers is the fact that most peoples' asses are bouncing up in the air, hips are swaying and the exercise becomes a shoulder blaster more than anything else.

Here are 2 easy ways Stacey Schaedler Strength has changed up the mountain climber to give you more bang for your buck.  Progression 2 promises to make your core nice and sore tomorrow ;)

Progression 1- All you really need are rags on a smooth surface/ plastic plates on a rug; valsides or a slideboard.  
                                                       (Note: perform one side at a time i.e. 15 left side followed by 15 right side.)

Progression 2- A variety of different bands work well here and can be attached beneath a bench, door frame or squat rack.
                                                    (Note: wrists and shoulders in a line. Contract straight leg glute to extend the hip as you                                                      flex opposite knee into chest. Perform one side for 15 reps and then 15 on the other side.)

Give these a shot and let me know how it goes! 




Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Squat Prep


I like squats because they work my entire body. However, sometimes when I do them, they just don't feel as good as I know they can.

Here are 4 exercises that I've sequenced (in a specific order) to make my squats feel better. They help me engage the right muscles, ultimately making me stronger and allowing me to get into the proper position!

(This can work for body weight squats, goblet squats, or barbell back squats.)

1. Release the glutes with this.


2. Release the calves and increase ankle mobility with this.
for those of you who love Tater and want to laugh watch THIS blooper video.


3. Increase thoracic mobility and warm-up the legs with these.


4. Tie it all together with your core and upper back with these!



HAPPY SQUATTING!
As always let me know if you have any questions :)


Saturday, March 8, 2014

Steer clear of the bullshit to get a better booty

These days there are all sorts of "squat challenges" and high repetition bodyweight programming promising to "tone and sculpt" DAT ASS.  Don't believe everything you hear! Many of these ads and challenges aren't based on FACTS. Not only are a great set of glutes easy on the eyes, did you know it can also increase performance and prevent low back pain?!
photo courtesy of Jay Sullivan

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