Author Archives: Man Bicep
Do We Get Caught Up In The Details?
Often when I do health and fitness workshops, I get asked a lot of specific questions, like questions about what I consider to be very specific details of a healthy lifestyle.
Like what’s the best post workout snack?
I always answer these questions; however, I also state, “Really this shouldn’t be your first worry. Your main focus should be on getting your overall diet and exercise program into line.”
Many people get caught up in the details. It’s almost as if they want to make things more complicated so they don’t have to do them.
Or maybe it is just that they are searching for some secret and eating WHOLE NATURAL FOODS just doesn’t sound revolutionary enough.
But whatever it is, most people seem to want to MICROMANAGE their diet and exercise programs before they’ve even gotten the big stuff in line.
I’m sorry, but it just doesn’t work that way.
There is no use pouring over the details and worrying about what leafy green is better (kale or spinach) if you are still eating crap 80% of the time.
Get the basis of your diet (or exercise) program under control THEN worry about the details.
Eat whole natural foods.
Start MOVING.
It doesn’t have to be complicated! You don’t have to worry about all the details!
Focus on the big pieces and once those are in place then have FUN WITH THE DETAILS!
Here are some great articles to help you start fixing the BIG problems first:
- 10 BASIC Healthy Eating Guidelines
- Laying the foundation for a great exercise routine – Create a PROGRESSION!
- It all starts with the Mind-Body Connection
- My secrets to a healthy diet
Goal Setting and The 3 Words Project
Goal setting is essential to success.
But it’s boring.
And goals are easily forgotten in the heat of the moment.
So if goals are important, but easily forgotten, how do you make them something you can easily stay focused on day in and day out?
I thought this “3 words for 1 year” idea that I saw on Julia Ladewski’s blog was a great way to keep your goals easily in the forefront of your mind. (Here is her post and a post to the original 3 word project if you want to learn more.)
This 3 word project gives you an easy and quick reminder of what your goals are. It makes visualizing your goals on a weekly, daily basis easy and quick.
And I personal think it is super motivating.
What you do is basically pick 3 WORDS that represent your goals and will motivate you to keep working toward them even when the going gets rough. These 3 words can be a great VISUAL for you to even post somewhere. While no one wants to post long freaking sentences of SMART goals, posting a word or three really isn’t a big deal and is very easy to do (and a much prettier visual…not to mention quicker to read and refresh your memory and improve your mindset).
My three words are below.
I’ve picked words that will instantly remind me of my WHY, my reason for setting my goals in the first place. These words, for me, also instill the emotion I’m looking for when it comes to my goals. For example, the word pause makes me think to breathe deeply. It makes me think RELAX and that is a big part of the goal it is set to represent.
Anyway, give your goals some thought. What would your 3 words for this year be?
Pause – This word means a couple of different things to me this year, but they all boil down to RELAX. Pause and take a second to relax if stressed. Pause to take a second and step back and think. Paused to take a second to celebrate the small successes. Pause and enjoy life and don’t always get bogged down with moving right on to the next project. I like to keep going. I have trouble stopping at points…partly because I love what I do and partly just because I’m type A. But celebration, relaxation and shutting your brain off are super important components of not only a healthy lifestyle, but also of success. Take a second today and PAUSE!
Thought this was another great reminder!
Uncomfortable – It is strange to feel like I’m listing “uncomfortable” as a goal. But by using the word uncomfortable, I’m reminding myself that it is good to stretch my boundaries. That feeling “uncomfortable” is not only OK but GOOD. We’ve all see those motivational pictures and quotes stating that success happens outside your comfort zone, and it’s true. And while I find I’m good at tiptoeing around outside my comfort zone, I sometimes lack the will, the strength, to just throw myself in the deep end. So here is to throwing myself in the deep end and not fearing the unknown, the uncomfortable!
Love this quote.
STRONG – Strong is a super meaningful word to me. Each and every year I want to grow stronger, both physically and mentally. And while I don’t always want to get stronger in the same way, I do always want to be getting stronger, learning more, growing. And with that strength, I want to inspire others to find their strong. So to me strong means not only growing myself both inside and out of the gym, but also helping others to find their physical and mental strength – to become more empowered! This year is about remaining dedicated to becoming STRONGER.
What are your 3 words? And what do they mean to you? Share yours and inspire others!!!
April – National Stress Awareness Month
So at the beginning of this month I got contacted by Vegas.com.
And I was like, “What the heck could they be contacting me for!?!”
Her email was about April being National Stress Awareness Month and it asked me what I did to “let loose” and be in a “Vegas State of Mind.”
It got me to thinking about stress, how it affects our health and the things we can do to fight it.
I honestly have come to believe that stress is a HUGE determining factor in how healthy we are.
EVERYTHING in our life comes down to stress – everything is both affected by it and influences how we perceive and deal with stress.
Stress is both a cause and a results of our daily actions and habits.
Stress is part of what I call the Five Pillars of Health:
- Diet
- Activity
- Sleep
- Vitamin D/Sunlight
- Stress
These five pillars are all interconnected to make us healthy or unhealthy. You aren’t really HEALTHY if you just focus on one.
Health is about balancing ALL of the pillars.
But while I often discuss how to be more active or create a healthy diet, I don’t often discuss how to deal with stress.
Stress is very unique. It isn’t something we can fully control yet it isn’t out of our control.
While stress may creep in without you realizing, you can STOP stress in its tracks.
You can choose to reverse your attitude, yes stress is all about attitude, and calm yourself down.
It isn’t always easy, but it is possible.
Below are some thing I do to relax and de-stress every day:
- 15 minutes of ME-TIME – Be it watching something I want on TV, going for a walk with Coconut or simply lying on the ground staring at the ceiling, I take 15 minutes to just not DO anything during the day. On a good day, I do this a few times. I just get up and leave the work behind for a bit so that I can take a chance to BREATHE! Everyone has 15 minutes. Take that time for yourself even if you simply use it to dance around your kitchen to some music!
- BREATHE – We can control our breathing and our breathing can be very linked to how stressed we feel. When you are anxious, your breathing changes from when you are relaxed. Slow down your breathing as if you were relaxed and you WILL relax. Focus on slow inhales, holding the air and then an extra slow exhale. Just a few slow breaths can relax your body and mind and allow you to refocus.
- Take a second to laugh – When I find my anxiety level rising, I try to step away from the situation a bit and make myself think of something else. Often I find it best to go do something, even for a second, that makes me smile or laugh. When we are in a stressful situation, we tend to get more and more overwhelmed as time goes on if we can’t remove ourselves and get a clear perspective. Just take a second and step away. Allow yourself to calm down and when you come back with a better ATTITUDE, you may find the situation doesn’t have to be stressful at all.
- Exercise – Be it a short walk around the block or an intense session at the gym, I do something to be active every day. Not only does the activity itself boost your mood, but getting away from life and giving yourself something new and immediate to focus on can help your stress level.
Also, to help myself unwind at points during the week, I take nice relaxing walks with Coconut and Ryan.
We don’t power walk. Just a nice comfortable pace where we can talk and enjoy the sunshine.
We unplug and leave behind technology so that all we can do is focus on being together and enjoying the time away from everything.
Hiking for us has always been a way to relax.
We can chat with no interruptions and talk through both things that are bothering us or stressing us out and things that we are excited for in the coming future. We can release the tension we may have been holding and share our excitement.
The fact that we can talk while unbothered by work or anything else, really helps us unwind. And being outside playing in the sunshine doesn’t hurt either (Vitamin D another pillar of health!).
Actually, I was amused when I got asked this question by the woman from Vegas.com. I was amused because “hiking/walking” is the first thing that comes to my mind when someone asks me what I do for stress release – AND outside of Vegas on a HIKE, 4 years ago, Ryan and I actually got engaged.
Random, but we did. On a hike in Red Rock Canyon.
Anyway, what do you do to unwind? Do you unplug from life a little each day or do you take long breaks once or twice a week?
What are your favorite ways to “let loose?”
Lamb, Spinach and Feta Meatballs
I never was a big meatballs and spaghetti type of girl, but when Ryan made these Lamb, Spinach and Feta Meatballs, I fell in love.
No spaghetti needed!
Lamb, Spinach and Feta Meatballs
Ingredients:
3/4 lbs Ground Lamb
1/4 cup finely chopped Spinach
1/4 cup crumbled Feta
Salt and Pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine lamb, spinach, feta and salt and pepper. Divide and roll into balls.
Place the balls on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with olive oil.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Serve with a side salad and some garlic cream sauce.
A Full-Body Suspension Trainer Workout
The other day on Redefining Strength I wrote a post about 10 Great Suspension Trainer Exercises. Below is a full-body metabolic workout using some of those moves.
It just takes 30 minutes and will work your entire body! (Of course I recommend a good dynamic warm up with some foam rolling before hand (and after!) so maybe about 35-40 minutes…)
Full-Body Suspension Trainer Workout
WARM UP
Stretch and Foam Roll:
Calves/Shins
Quads
Hamstrings
Adductors
Glutes/Hips
Back/Lats
Chest/Shoulders
WORKOUT
Set a timer for 30 minutes and complete as many rounds of the circuit below as possible. Rest only as needed between exercises and rounds. Pick a variation of each exercise (and a rep number) that you can do without going to failure on any of the exercises. You want to be able to move from one exercise to another quickly. The point of this workout is constant movement.
CIRCUIT:
10-15 reps per side Balance Lunge
10-15 reps Inverted Row
10-15 reps Push Ups
10-15 reps per side Mt. Climbers
COOL DOWN
Stretch and Foam Roll:
Calves/Shins
Quads
Hamstrings
Adductors
Glutes/Hips
Back/Lats
Chest/Shoulders
How many rounds did you get in the 30 minutes? Record your number and try to beat it next week!
Note: Not sure how to do one of the moves above, check out these 10 Suspension Trainer Exercises for descriptions and pictures of each move!
Are Crunches Ever Useful?
I very rarely use crunches in my workouts. And when I do include an ab exercise, I find the most full-body move I can.
When I pick out moves for my workouts, I’m looking for moves that give me the most bang for my buck. I’m generally looking for moves that work numerous muscles at once in a functional way to make them stronger.
Therefore, crunches generally don’t make the cut since they don’t work a number of muscle groups all at once in a functional way.
HOWEVER, there are times I find crunches useful and FUN.
For instance, I’ve found crunches can be a fun active rest exercise. Like when I do sprint and crawling workouts. Both of those exercises are super intense, full body moves. So as an active rest piece, I add in a crunch.
It makes the circuit even more fun and allows my legs and arms to rest while I continue to move and work.
Same goes for other cardio workouts. I will choose an upper, lower and then core exercise and generally the core exercise is some crunch variation to give both my upper and lower body a little extra rest.
So as active, fun rest, I find crunches very useful.
Here are a few of my favorite crunch variations. They are a bit more full body and give the legs and upper body a chance to relax while not being “easy.”
1. Super Crunches – Lie on your back with your legs out straight. Crunch your upper body up as you draw your knees in. Come up so that you are sitting on your butt. Reach your hands to outside one knee. Then lie back down. Then crunch up and reach through your knees. Lie back down. Then crunch up and reach outside the other knee. Those 3 crunches equal one rep.
2. Cherry Bombs – Sit on your butt and draw your knees into your chest. Wrap your arms around your shins and lift your feet off the ground. Then open your arms and straighten your legs out wide and let your upper body go back toward the ground. You should almost look like a big X on the ground with arms and legs out and open. Then come back to seated and draw your knees back in. Your feet should stay off the ground the entire time.
3. Bicycles – Lie on your back with your legs out straight in front of you and your hands behind your head. Lift your legs up off the ground. Beginners may need to keep their feet up higher while more advanced exercisers will be able to keep their feet only an inch or two off the ground. Bring your right knee into your chest, keeping the left leg off the ground. As you bring the right knee in, crunch the upper body up and bring the left elbow up and across to touch your right knee. Then straighten you right knee out and bring your left knee in as you rotate your left elbow to the ground and your right elbow to your left knee. Keep rotating and alternating touches until all reps are complete.
4. Russian Twists – Balance on your butt with your knees bent and feet off the ground. Hinge back a little with your upper body, maintaining a nice tall posture. Hold a med ball in both hands. Rotate your upper body and arms from side to side, touching the ball to the ground by each hip. Keep your feet off the ground the entire time and move as quickly as possible.
5. Alternating Leg V-Up (or full v-up or oblique v-up…) – Lie flat on your back with your legs out straight in front of you. Beginners will rest the leg not being raised up on the ground while advanced exercisers will keep both feet off the ground at all times. Lift one leg up toward the ceiling. Crunch the upper body up and reach the opposite arm up toward the toes of the raised leg. Then lower that leg and lower your upper body down. Raise the other leg and the opposite arm to touch it as you crunch up. Keep alternating sides.
Here are two great workouts using crunches as active rest:
Also, I think that lower body crunches can be useful especially as progressions of the pelvic tilt.
Most people jump right into double straight leg lowers and just accept the fact that they have low back pain when doing the move. Or maybe they put their hands behind their low back to help.
But they never really regress the move and focus on strengthening their abs so that they can truly do the move without pain.
The pelvic tilt isn’t really a crunch but many of the lower ab crunches that we do require that you can do the pelvic tilt. (The pelvic tilt is a must-do move for EVERYONE. It strengthens your abs to alleviate low back pain and make you stronger so you can lift more!)
To do the Pelvic Tilt, lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. You should almost be able to reach your hands down by your sides and touch your heels with your finger tips. Feel the space between your low back and the ground as you lie there. Then draw your belly button in toward your spine and press that space away. You should feel your low back against the ground. Hold there, making sure to not hold your breath.
Once the basic hold becomes easy, you will want to do a bent knee march then a bent knee two leg lift and then finally straight leg lifts. Advance the pelvic tilt slowly. Make sure that as you progress, your low back stays firmly connected with the ground. If you can’t keep your low back against the ground, you aren’t ready for the progression. (These progressions of the pelvic tilt are all lower ab crunch variations!)
These lower ab crunches as a progression of the pelvic tilt are super useful to strengthen your core and learn how to engage your abs. I mainly use them as activation moves before a workout or on a recovery day.
So those are the times I find crunches useful – as active rest and ab activation progressions.
When do you like to use crunches in your workouts? Do you use them as active rest or ab activation exercises?
Building Self-Confidence
The other day I had a great conversation with a few clients about self-confidence.
One of my clients made a comment that self-confidence comes from seeing or achieving success.
And my response was, “Yes, but you have to have self-confidence in order to succeed.”
She nodded her agreement.
But that then left us with the question of, “How do you become more self-confident to achieve success if success builds confidence and you aren’t yet confident?”
My answer, “You lie to yourself.”
Reducing Aches and Pains
I’ve discussed this before, but reducing aches and pains is a process. Simply taking time off isn’t enough and often doesn’t even heal the problem.
To reduce aches and pains, you need to do the following things:
- Massage or Self-Myofascial Release (foam rolling)
- Stretching
- Activation
- Ice and/or Heat
While rest is important, often chronic aches and pains are caused by the muscles of our body being out of alignment. If we never loosen the tight muscles and activate the weak muscles, then we are going to continue to have problems no matter how much we rest.
All components of our body must be working together for us to move properly. If one part of our body isn’t working properly and efficiently, then other parts will have to compensate. And when other parts take on a load they aren’t supposed to handle, they break down. This overload and faulty movements lead to INJURY.
So those minor aches and pains could accumulate if you don’t do something to correct them!
Throw Back Thursday – What dreams have you forgotten?
Every so often, I like to look back over what I’ve accomplished.
It reminds me of how far I’ve come and inspires me to keep going.
And every so often when I look back, I remember goals and dreams that I may have had to let go by the wayside.
Goals and dreams that I actually still want to accomplish, but have for some reason had to put on hold.
Goals and dreams that if I ever want to accomplish I, at some point, need to buckle down and just do them because they aren’t going to accomplish themselves!
What are your staple healthy foods?
I’ve mentioned before that you need to make a grocery list BEFORE you go to the store.
But each and every week you shouldn’t have to be reinventing your list from scratch.
Actually, the basis of your list should probably stay the same because you should have certain staple foods you buy each and every week.
Because even though some variety keeps your healthy eating routine interesting, too much variation can prevent you from getting into a habit.
And habits are what help you stick with your program and get results.
So while you may want to have a variety of recipes, you want them to include the same staple foods.
These are my 15 Staple Foods. My list includes:
Man Bicep 