Everyone has trouble around the holidays with their fitness goals. The most common day that people steer off the path is Thanksgiving. People stuff their face until they're unbearably full. I'm not say this is wrong. It's part of the tradition, but here are some tips to make sure your not SO off the path that it's not visible ;)
EAT LESS BEFORE THE DINNER: We all know that you're gonna STUFF your face when dinner comes around. So, I would suggest that you eat as little as possible before the dinner. What I'm going to do is drink some Shakeology (with only water & ice) and lots of low calorie vegetables. This way you're not eating a lot of calories before dinner, so you can eat all the food you want when the food comes out. Also, vegetables have micronutrients that you need to stay healthy. If you're not going to eat a lot of vegetables at your dinner, then eat them before.
WORKOUT EARLY: Since you're not eating through the majority of your day, you'll need to workout as early as possible. As the day goes on, little by little, you will get more calorie deprived and become sluggish. To ensure that you get your awesome workout, get it done earlier.
EAT A LOT OF PROTEIN: I say eat a lot of protein because getting carbs and fats in your Thanksgiving dinner is NOT hard. Most of the foods you will be eating is going to have a lot of fat and carbs (ex. pie, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, and etc.), but protein on the other hand is harder to find, so make sure you eat A LOT of turkey. Turkey is really low in fat and carbs and high in protein. You still want to get around your designated macros.
DON'T KILL YOURSELF: The last tip I'll give you is to not kill yourself. Holidays only come once a year, and it's a great time to get together with family. Have fun! Make sure you do these things that I've told you, so you won't get too off track, and just get back on the horse tomorrow. You might gain a pound or two, but if you're living a healthy lifestyle then you'll lose that weight pretty soon.
People everywhere want to know the "secrets" of building muscle. Well.... there are no secrets, but there are a few fundamentals that your need to consider to getting your "perfect" SWOLE body. Before I get into this I need to say that you NEED to be doing some type of resistance training. Whether it's lifting weights or bodyweight training to build muscle. So go out and get a membership to a gym, or if you want to order a fitness program (I recommend P90X or Body Beast for people that want to build muscle. It's worked for me, and it can for you) I want you to CONTACT ME.
PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD: Progressive overload in laymen's terms is getting stronger in the gym. If your doing a bench press 8 times with 135 lbs. a year ago, you SHOULD NOT being doing the same weight today. You should be constantly trying to push the envelope and fight to get more reps/weight.
USE HYPERTROPHY SET PARAMETERS: There are 3 main set parameters:
Strength: strength set parameters are usually 1-5 reps. This is VERY high intensity, but will be so quick that it won't break down your muscles. This rep range mainly works on your neuromuscular strength (strengthening your nervous system)
Hypertrophy: hypertrophy set parameters are usually 6-12 reps. The intensity is still high, and the set will be long enough to ensure muscle breakdown (Time Under Tension). The perfect recipe for building muscle :D
Endurance: Endurance set parameters are usually 12-anthing reps. This is the other side of the spectrum. The intensity is too low to stimulate a hypertrophy response.
VOLUME & REST: Volume and rest is crucial to building muscle. You want high volume (meaning lots of sets) to break down your muscles. With that being said with this high volume you want your rest time (in between sets) should be low.
CALORIC SURPLUS: "You need to eat BIG, to get BIG!". You hear this all the time, but it's true. To help your muscles recover you need to be in a caloric surplus which entails about 200-500 calories over your maintenance calories (you can find your maintenance calories visit here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/). Your muscles actually don't grow in the gym, your muscles grow when you're recovering. So to insure proper recovery, you need to be in a caloric surplus. It doesn't matter what you eat, you just NEED to EAT!
TRACK YOUR MACROS: Tracking your macros is basically the same thing as tracking calories but more specific. Your macros (macronutrients) consist of protein, fat, and carbohydrates. A good macronutrient split is 40/40/20 (40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat). So find your caloric surplus
Well, these are the 5 main fundamentals that I've researched and had personal experience in. Use these basic tips to increase your muscle size. Remember this takes time. Don't expect a dramatic change in a short period of time. I would devote AT LEAST 1 year of training before you see any significant results. Enjoy the journey and get SWOLE!
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For those who don't know, P90X stands for Power 90 Extreme, and it was created by Tony Horton and produced by Beachbody. Tony Horton is a well known fitness instructor that has developed many fitness programs such as P90X, Power 90, P90X+, P90X2, 10 Minute Trainer, P90X One-On-One, and etc.
Here's a quick clip of a part of the P90X infomercial:
What do you get with P90X?
You get a 12 DVD set of workouts:
Chest & Back
Plyo X
Shoulders & Arms
Yoga X
Legs & Back
Kenpo X
Chest, Shoulders, and Tris
Back & Biceps
Core Synergistics
Cardio X
X Stretch
Ab Ripper X
It also comes with a complete calender that shows what workout you're going to do on each phase (which is a month of workouts you do and after that they change the workouts) and a calender that you can cross off days as you go through the 90 days. Also in the package you get a nutrition guide that will show you a meal plan and a portion control plan (you can choose which one you want). It also comes with a fitness guide that shows information about the program like what "Muscle Confusion" is, what the workouts are, the fit test, and etc.
P90X actually was made for people that have a certain fitness level. With that being said there are people that lose 100+ pounds doing P90X. Actually there is one transformation from a guy from Tennessee named Richard Neal that lost around 242 pounds doing P90X. P90X preaches heavily on modifications, so IMO it's made for everyone.
Classic, Lean, and Doubles
There are 3 different types of schedules that you get with P90X. There a Classic, Lean, and Doubles.The Classic is the most recommended one. When you think of P90X you think of the Classic schedule. In the Classic schedule you have 3 different resistance days a week with cardio and yoga. It's made for people that want to gain some mass and get into shape. The Lean schedule has you replace one resistance day with a cardio workout. Doubles is where you add a Cardio X workout in the morning on the resistance days. This is for athletes that want to get in shape before the season starts or just for a person that has a large work capacity and wants quicker results.
WTF is "Muscle Confusion"???
Beachbody do a lot of research for their programs. The science they put into the P90X program was what they called "Muscle Confusion". I know you're probably thinking "is that some gimmick?". It's actually not. A lot of athletes use "Muscle Confusion" to be faster, stronger, more durable on the field, but they don't call it "Muscle Confusion". They call it Periodization Training. Which that basically means is that you're changing your routine just before your body adapts. Usually when you go to the gym and you do the same exercise over and over; you can get this plateau where you start to stop getting results (strength gains, weight lost/gain). Periodization Training makes you keep on getting results by frequently changing the stimulus (weight) and the movement so you not only get more muscular but be more athletic.
Diet
The diet goes in 3 phases just like the workouts. Each phase is 4 weeks. They have a meal plan (where they tell you what to eat) and a portion plan (where you can eat healthy but you can choose your foods). The first phase entails little carbs (that includes fruit) and LOTS of protein (moderate vegetables, and low dairy). As you progress through the program you carb intake is going to increase while protein decreases. This is not a starvation diet. You'll be able to set your calorie intake according to your body weight.
Who is this for?
I covered this topic a little earlier in this blog. P90X was really meant for people that have a certain level of fitness, but when they released it they found that extremely obese and elderly people were doing their program to lose weight or get healthy. The reason for this is that P90X is strongly rooted in modifications. I would say though if you're morbidly obese starting P90X you would have to be creative with exercises, but unless you're working on the same muscle as in the DVD then it will work for you. Also, this program would be good for professional athletes. Did you know that some of the players on the Philadelphia Eagles are doing P90X? P90X is hard enough where people that are playing professional sports can benefit. Since there is modifications for people that can't do something; there can be ways you can intensify exercise (weighted vest)
My Opinion
Ok I've been rambling on for too long, but before you go I'm going to share my own opinion if this program is good or not. I think that this program is excellent in the way of how much thought was required to make this program. The biggest criticism is that they don't change the workouts too much in between phases. For your first round you'll be fine, but if you're planning on doing multiple rounds it might get a little repetitive. My suggestion is that you play your favorite music during the workouts, so it doesn't get boring.
If you want to get fit, healthy, and FEEL better with any Beachbody Program (P90X, Insanity, and ect.) then visit my site www.beachbodycoach.com/SENSEIMITRI
What is your "Why"? This is a big question that people inevitably have to answer when they first embark on a fitness journey. I decided to do this topic after watching this video where Tony Horton explains his purpose of fitness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9NjFnDNXP0 (shout out to Coach Todd from NCFitClub) Developing a purpose is good, but I will explain how developing a bad purpose is going to result in lack of motivation and eventually quitting.
1. Aesthetics= BAD
"Man, all I want is to get RIPPED!" Aesthetics is the most popular and most used purpose for people to begin a healthy lifestyle. There a lot of problems with this type of view. First, if you have any type of mediocre genetics then this is going to be a tough one for you. It take a WHILE to get to a physique that you desire. It takes hard work and diligence. To get to the so-called "ripped" you have to get down to at LEAST get to single digits in percentage of body fat.
Everyone wants to get ripped fast with little to no work. This mindset is set to failure. People will quickly learn that getting into shape is not an easy task to do. You have to make a major lifestyle change and only then you can see minor changes.
Also, the media construes our view of the reality of attractiveness. These modeling companies get the best of the best to be on the cover for their magazines. So, first these people tend to have better genetics (not saying that you can get a good physique if you have normal genetics). Then on top of that they add PhotoShop to make these people look better than perfect. So, in getting these result like a fitness model is a little extreme.
Sports Performance
This one is a little tricky in my opinion. I would say that it's a better "why" than aesthetics, but it still can be disappointing if you're not progressing as quick as you thought. I suffered from this a while back. I wanted to be the strongest, fastest, most agile, have the most endurance, and etc. I wanted get there really bad, and I wanted to get there FAST. Any quick "fixes" to fitness is just a gimmick. There are so many factors into creating fitness results (genetics, work ethic, diet, nutrition, if the exercise works for you, and etc.), and with this heavy emphasis on sports performance it took me away from the REAL reason I workout... for health.
Health
Choosing Health as your "Why" is the best way to step into fitness in my opinion because you don't have to wait to do 90 days of P90X or 60 days of Insanity to achieve your "why". If you exercise today you will be healthier than if you didn't. If you exercise today you will be less vulnerable to illness and injury. If you exercise today your last few years won't be a living HELL lol. Also, when you exercise you feel better IMMEDIATELY!
During intense exercise you're body releases these feel good hormones/neurotransmitters into your brain called serotonin, nor-epinephrine, and dopamine to give you this euphoric feeling (your body's way of telling you that exercise is good). There is also a mixture of chemicals and proteins inside your brain called Brain-derived Neurotropic Factor (aka BDNF) that shake and vibrate during intense exercise to create neurogenesis (creation of new neurons) and aid/repair old deteriorating nuerons.
Yes, I know this all sounds scientific, but I will go into bigger detail later on what these chemicals/neurotransmitters are. For now I hope you enjoy my blog and stay tuned! :)
If you want to get fit, healthy, and FEEL better with any Beachbody Program (P90X, Insanity, and ect.) then visit my site www.beachbodycoach.com/SENSEIMITRI
Hello, I'm Eric Mitri a recent high school graduate, and going to college to study exercise science and psychology. I am currently a Beachbody Coach, and helping people get fit through Beachbody programs (you like the shirt I'm wearing?? lol). After college I want to be a health professional/strength and conditioning coach that preaches holistic health. Which entails three components: physical, physiological, and psychological health. All of these are very important to your overall health. I will dive into some details now why they are important, but don't worry if you subscribe to me you will hear a lot more information about these topics.
The most easy to describe is physical health. Physical health is how much you can bench press, how many pushups you can do, and how fast/long you can run. It basically mean how good can your body move or move a extrinsic stimulus (aka weight). We will dive into more depth on how to become stronger physically by neuro-muscular, bodybuilding, core, and endurance training.
The second component to health is Physiological health is all about the inside. How well your digestive system works? How well can you recover from your previous workout? I have to be honest. My knowledge about physiological health is not my strong suit lol, but I plan on learning as much as I can, so I can pass the knowledge to you.
The third and the most overlooked component to health is Psychological. Psychological health is a very important to your overall health. How well does your brain function? Psychological health can manifest in many different ways like in stress, depression, psychological disorders, and even it's a component in your strength.
All of these components of health is very important in developing a healthy and strong body. I can't wait to express all my knowledge to you and hopefully you guys can get some benefit from it.
