The other day, someone posted online a color-coded picture of the human body divided into the major muscle groups with exercises for each and asked: What do you think about these exercises? Would you add or remove any? While I had a few thoughts on the list (but we’ll save that for another time), it sent me back to when I was first learning about muscles and my approach to creating a workout was: Work them ALL! Meaning: make sure each muscle group gets the same amount of exercises… same sets… same reps — because that’s what balancing the body is all about (or so I thought). Little did I know, certain muscles (such as the glutes) deserve MUCH more attention while others are so chronically overworked they don’t need extra pounding during a workout. Anyway, this reminded me of my start in fitness (in roughly 2006) and how if I could give my younger self advice on how to eat and exercise to get better, faster results, here are 9 nuggets of advice what I would tell him: 9 Fitness Tips to My 16-Year-Old Self:#1: Notice what foods your body reacts negatively to(even so called “healthy foods” in hindsight were slowing me down, boosting inflammation and draining me of energy)
#2: Get 6–8 hours of sleep consistently (and have a regular sleep schedule instead of fluctuating wildly on the weekends). #3: Buy adjustable dumbbells/ resistance bands sooner (water-filled gallon milk jugs, duck taping colored dumbbells together and bodyweight exercises only take you so far) #4: Don’t underestimate the importance of good form when lifting (it may have saved me from slipping a disc when picking up a 165lb on a barbell) #5: Learn the abdominal brace sooner (this single technique by Dr. Stuart McGill allowed me to create a ton of stability at the spine and safely do exercises like deadlifts) #6: Ditch sit-ups and crunches (Knowing what I know about spinal health, I would have stopped doing them cold turkey and focused on planks and other core exercises.) #7: Go at least few days each week without eating until 11am (the importance of breakfast was hammered into us as athletes, however, knowing what I now know about intermittent fasting and the regenerate impact on the body — I would have done more of it). #8: Don’t push yourself to eat healthy foods, instead find ways to prepare them (or combine them) so you enjoy them. #9: Keep training with someone stronger than you, it’s one of the simplest ways to stay consistent and to keep your standards high. For more fitness and motivation tips to get serious about fitness again — and to gain a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of lasting transformation check out the link below: www.elitelifecoaching.net
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So being Irish and all, I couldn’t resist sharing a little story: Whether you are sporting a green outfit or you forgot to (like yours truly) and are now in fear of getting pinched – the topic of luck is an interesting one.
There’s a story about a farmer who had two horses for plowing his fields. One night a thunderstorm spooks the horses and they hop the fence and run away. The next day the neighborhood gathers around and says: “Oh what bad luck.” And the farmer says: “Maybe” The next day, the two horses return with three wild horses. Once again the neighborhood gathers around and says: “Oh my, now you have 5 horses. What good luck!” The farmer replies: “Maybe” The next day the farmer’s son is training one of the horses and is bucked off and breaks his leg. The neighborhood gathers around and says: “That terrible horse. What bad luck!” And the farmer says… “Maybe” The next day, an army comes into town and rounds up all the children to fight in a nearby battle – except one: the farmer’s son. The neighborhood once again says: “Your son was spared, what good luck.” And the farmer says… I share this story because people are very quick to label something or call it good luck (or bad luck). But what if it wasn’t so simple? What if it was up to us to find the advantage in bad luck? For instance, in high school I never would have thought that slipping a disc in my lower back while lifting would be good luck. However, it allowed me to come back stronger than ever and gave me a greater appreciation for core strength (and the importance of good form) – something that would become invaluable working with back pain clients later on. As legendary investor Ray Dalio once said: “I have found it helpful to think of my life as if it were a game in which each problem I face is a puzzle I need to solve. By solving the puzzle, I get a gem in the form of a principle that helps me avoid the same sort of problem in the future.” Another example - years ago, two steel companies both faced the challenge of competitors’ cheap imported steel. When asked about the problem, the first CEO said: “Our first, second, and third problems are imports.” The other CEO saw the situation in a very different light and called the challenge of imports as a stroke of green fortune, a blessing: “Aren’t we lucky, steel is heavy, and they have to ship it all the way across the ocean giving us a huge advantage.” Same situation. Different meaning. Maybe your challenge is a blessing in disguise. And maybe that’s how you find good luck more often. Happy St. Patty’s Day, Kelan Ern Fitness Coach P.S. Be on the lookout for April’s Mind-Body Breakthrough Newsletter – where I’ll share one of my all-time favorite superfood recipes… the psychology of ‘athletes high’… and ways to link up more positive emotions to workouts. And maybe a few other surprises. Get onboard at: www.elitelifecoaching.net Came across a powerful story from one of the greatest basketball coaches of all-time: John Wooden. (Who has won more NCAA championships than any basketball coach in history) In his book, Wooden on Leadership, he talks about how in his first 13 years of coaching for UCLA, his team practiced in the poorly ventilated, cramped quarters of the Men’s Gym. It was usually packed with other student-athletes while practice was going on — making it a distracting and challenging coaching environment. On top of that, the seating area was so restricted that it was deemed a fire hazard and “home” games had to be played at local schools. Plus, the Men’s Gym wasn’t exactly eye-candy for new recruits. Wooden believed that it would be nearly impossible to accomplish his goals working under those conditions. And by planting this little “seed” it made him believe UCLA would never win a national title with those facilities. But then something interesting happened during his 1961–1962 season. UCLA not only made it to the NCAA tournament but marched all the way to the Final Four. With seconds on the clock, Cincinnati made the game winning shot to beat UCLA 72–70. While many would be disappointed at such a close game — not Wooden. A light went off and a subconscious wall came crashing down. He realized that a national championship was just within their reach: I came to recognize that issues I couldn’t control — the Men’s Gym and what it forced upon us — had interfered with those things I could control, such as ceaselessly and creatively searching for ways to improve and reach the next level of competition. - John Wooden The belief that poor practice facilities held them back was shattered once and for all. I now knew what I should have understood long before, namely, UCLA could go all the way to the top despite the Men’s Gym. It was up to me to figure out how to do it. Then Wooden began an intensive review of all his journals… practice records… statistics… everything he was doing — and then attacked the following season with a fierce resolve that he could improve (which ultimately led to his first national championship). So what stories have you been telling yourself for why you can’t reach your fitness goals? Here are some I’ve heard over the years: No access to a gym. No equipment for working out. Bad genetics. Too old. I’ve never been athletic I don’t have time to work out. I don’t feel like working out. I’m not motivated to work out. I hate working out (this is an insidious one. You may have heard the expression, ‘seeing is believing’ but ‘saying is believing’ is just as strong. If you say ‘I hate working out’ over and over again like a song that gets stuck in your head, you will convince yourself that it’s true. And you will stop looking for ways to actually enjoy it). I don’t eat vegetables (or as some meat lovers say: I don’t eat rabbit food). What’s the story you’ve been telling yourself, that’s taken your focus off of what you can control (like what you’re going to eat your next meal… the workout you’ll do today… the walk you’ll do today…) and onto what you can’t control? For more ways to get your mind focused on what really matters in fitness - plus, a 21-page report on the science of losing belly fat - check out the link below:
www.elitelifecoaching.net |
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