Dre Fitness

May 31, 2014June 1, 2014

Six Powerful Perspectives for Fitness / Fat Loss

Have you fallen into the “weight loss trap?”

A common experience for people who have the number one goal as “weight loss” will view the success/failures of their efforts in a one dimensional way. Let us expand our views on Fitness, so that we can all experience the effect of fat loss.

Perspectives of Fitness — tools for the journey

Think about some ways you imagine fitness to improve lives in general. Mentally list off some ways that people experience the benefit of fitness.

We all benefit from fitness. I’ll get to the idea of fat loss as an effect later.

1. We all benefit from fitness no matter the body type

It’s true that everybody has a different body shape. Gains in fitness can be significant for all. Fitness is is simply worth pursuing.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a hero like this

Take a look at the picture above. The arms and shoulders are highly developed and probably only just a small part of our body image programming.

How many thousands of ways have we seen unreachable body types in media since youth? Images can be pervasive in ways I’m sure you’ve seen those before/after YouTube videos of models.

2. Fat loss related to stress management

The goal of fitness is to improve the working mechanisms in the body so that when we are at rest or in action– we tend to deal with stress better.

Stress is a key element which people experience — whether thin, slim, or carry rotund tendencies… being able to deal with stress is truly an overlooked element of fitness.

Juice from Marlene's market Tacoma, somebody's idea of stress management

Juice from Marlene’s market, somebody’s idea of stress management

You can look at stress as a stimulant in certain ways. After strong stimulus there must be recovery. How quickly do you recover?

3. Whats the deal with cardio

It’s a matter of red liquid that circulates in the arteries and veins of humans, carrying oxygen and carbon dioxide from the tissues of the body. Cardio is all about flow, rhythm, and persistence.

Cardio is for Kings and Queens and all of His people

4. Use your cardio, to grow your brain

Fitness benefits from methods of physical expression. Use challenging movement patterns to enhance the neural circuitry of the brain.

Rear food elevated split squat throwback

Rear foot elevated split squat

5. To advance in fitness, you may have to narrow focus (go faster)

If you are doing HIIT on the treadmill its a good idea to get faster or make a progression on your incline. Getting faster is a sure fire way to burn fat.

“It’s not about how fast you run, it’s about how you run fast”

6. Deliver the nutrients

Consume a vegetable strong, omega+3 focused diet for goals of nutrient density.

Again, just keep it simple.

Not everybody needs to lose weight, while every gain in fitness is valuable. Focus on putting the right things in.

Your fitness matters most for your own benefit

Gains in fitness are more valuable than weight loss as a metric for physical progress. Many fitness adaptations are not measured yet should be seen for the benefit it is.

On another spectrum, people with body fat percentage higher than 20% may benefit from weight loss overall.

Find your reason.

Power of the Mind

May 29, 2014May 29, 2014

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Five Clutch Strategies for Calorie Restriction

For weight loss, restricting calories is crucial

One of the first topics that people learn for weight loss is the idea of Calories In (food/drink intake) must be less than Calories Out (metabolic rate, exercise, etc). So this blog post will go over a few tips on how to manage your calories for weight loss.

1. The original ONE pound fat loss per week (Just subtract 500 calories daily)

As a male at my height/age, using this calculator, my basal metabolic rate is about 1,700 calories a day. This metabolic rate is assuming that I am laying in bed all day, that I would need 1,700 calories from food to maintain my current weight of 185 lbs. Assuming that I live a very active lifestyle, including a walks, hikes, workouts and more, then my maintenance calorie intake jumps up to about 2,500 calories a day to maintain.

Eat less, watch the pounds come off

So if I want to drop that one pound per week, then I just subtract 500 calories a day on my food intake.

Starting with 2,500 calories for an active person –> Drop calorie intake from food to about 2,000 calories. Over the week, this should create a 3,500 calorie deficit by the end of that week which should result in about a pound lost every seven days. This is a very sustainable, and moderate approach to fat loss.

Benefits: Easier to sustain, you learn about what is in your food, you look at labels and check calories

Cons: Some people want their results to come faster…

2. Intermittent fasting days (Certain days VERY low intake)

Here is another tool you may add to your arsenal of Fat loss Playbook & ultimate tools of success. Intermittent fasting has grown in popularity because quite frankly it seems to work pretty well.

How do you envision fasting to look like? Different approaches all around. Lemons are cool though.

Intermittent fasting works best for people who regularly strength train at least a few times per week. On an “off” day or recovery day, a person will cut their calories below 500 and then go back to normal calories on the next day.

Going back to my example from above. If I consume only 500 calories (in) and I still have 2,500 calories (going out), then I’m left with a 2,000 DEFICIT at the end of the day, which is potentially more than half a pound of fat.

Benefits: You can create a massive calorie deficit on certain days of the week that you know you won’t be tempted by bad foods or social occasions. You can speed up the weight loss process significantly.You plan these days appropriately and limit access to temptations.

Cons: It’s possible to have lower energy that day, to have more cravings, or even to lose lean muscle. It’s challenging for most people. May become nutrient deficient over time. If you live a stressful life, this may not be the best approach for you.

Overall, intermittent fasting, IMO, seems to be improved by consuming extremely nutrient dense foods. An example would be salmon+chard for dinner, or a fresh carrot/beet/ginger/lemon/kale juice in the morning. Even green tea will support more fat burning during these days.

If you choose this route, it’s crucial to have a diet high in fresh foods so that you don’t become nutrient deficient. If your nutrient status is not optimal, it will become harder to lose additional fat.

3. Carb Cycling (Carbohydrate cycles)

Carb cycling is a method for utilizing the benefit of a low carb diet without the stress of a low carb diet.

I said ONE high-carb day

The principle of carb cycling is that you plan your week for three low carb days, three moderate carb days, and one high carb days.

Monday: Moderate carbs so about 100-200 grams carbohydrates in the day, Should have some exercise on this day

Tuesday: Low carb, so this one would be LESS than 50 grams per day

Wednesday: Low Carb, again LESS than 50 grams carbs per day

Thursday: Moderate carb, this day should have strength or cardio

Friday: High carb, this day should have High Intensity Interval Training, 200+ grams carbs –> bonus points if eaten within 1 to 2 hours pre or post workout

Saturday: Moderate carb 100-200 grams

Sunday: Low carb, Less than 50 grams a day

Benefits: By cycling the carbs, you naturally will consume less calories on your lower carb days. That is one crucial part of the strategy. Another key benefit is that you can get serious fat burn on your low carb days, while having awesome, energized workouts on your high carb days since you are appropriately fueling your body when it needs it the most.

More benefits: Carb cycling can help you restrict your carbs, which over time will improve your sensitivity to insulin and therefore have a more “carb-friendly” body. Fact of the matter: The leaner you are (lower body fat), the easier it is for your body to handle carbohydrates properly. The greater body fat that you have, the more you should restrict carbs (especially sugars) so that you can reset your system.

Cons: Not much negative to this approach.

Tips: Carbs should be as nutrient dense as possible, including vegetables, legumes, fruits, and pretty much anything that is high in fiber.

4. The Opportunity Cost approach (Must eat THIS at least once a day)

Everytime you eat a food, there is an opportunity cost. The food you consume literally takes up space and is essentially taking the place of whatever other foods you could have eaten.

For example, a primary reason why diet soda is so harmful for the body is that it takes up space inside the gut (while causing an inflammatory response–but that’s for a whole different article), and so you have less room for actual nutritious foods.

So my tip here for restricting calories is not even about restricting calories. This tip is about prioritizing the most valuable foods.

Goal: Consume one pound of fresh green veggies per day.

By eating this fresh veggie goal, you will limit the amount of bad food that you could possibly fit into your body.

If you were to have one single, fat loss, and health goal, perhaps it should be to consume a pound of fresh veggies per day. By making the effort (and actually caring about yourself), you will fill up your gut with some of the healthiest, nutrient dense (and thus best fat-burning) food on the planet.

Eat this often, get lean fast… let’s not complicate things.

Once you have eaten your pound of fresh vegetables, then you can go ahead and eat the other foods you would like to eat. If this is not-so-healthy food, then so be it. But I’ll wager to say that once you eat these fresh veggies — on a daily basis — your bad habits will tend to fall out of habit as you start to see the waistline melt away.

There is always an opportunity cost. By eating fresh veggies, there is LESS opportunity for bad foods. Simple as that.

5. Decrease your eating window (Less hours in the day for you to eat)

Instead of a normal day starting at 8AM, eating, snacking, lunching, snacking, dinner, dessert, and snacking till 10 PM, try to decrease the total hours in a row that you are eating.

Perhaps start your eating at 8AM, and then stop your eating at 6PM so that your eating window is only 10 hours instead of 14 hours. In one sense, yes I am asking you to pack more of your food in shorter amount of time. However, I’m wagering that you will be less likely to eat as much food in a shorter overall eating window.

You’ll be excited about this when your eating window is only 8 hours long

Perhaps you wish to start your eating window in the afternoon and only have an eight hour eating window. (If you do so, I suggest in the morning to take a greens superfood powder).

Pros: Has some supported evidence that this strategy (shorter daily eating windows) will promote more weight loss even if calories are equivalent

Cons: You may be hungry in the evening… but if you haven’t learned how to enjoy being hungry then maybe you’re not ready for weight loss.

Bringing it all together for serious weight loss and fat loss

If you are just starting off, you’re better off sticking with one approach a time and seeing how your body responds to it.

If this ain’t your first rodeo, try combining multiple approaches in order to fine tune and tailor it to your own lifestyle. Ultimately it’s about how your body responds as well as how sustainable it is for you to adjust your lifestyle appropriately.

Good luck in fat loss, take it one day at a time, and plan for success!

Learn how to take care of yourself, and you will discover how to make it work for you.

Nutrition, Immunity, and Digestion Weightloss Now

March 31, 2014

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Why I love Training

Training is about progression

Training is not always about raw strength.

For example, even though my Squat strength has not skyrocketed in my previous years of training, technique has improved, range of motion increased, I recover faster, and the practice of squatting has become a catalyst for other healthy behaviors within the body and in my life.

Training supports clarity and rest

Sometimes I have so many thoughts in my head it’s challenging to write about a specific subject for the blog, but after exercise I feel the gears in my head running smoothly like a calm mechanical serenity of sorts.

Can you imagine what it is like to transform stress into something else? I can’t say that exercise always brings happiness, even though it can help you ask yourself the questions that ultimately lead to a happier state. In what ways will I guide myself into a healthier being? If I could do one thing right now to improve my well-being, even if it was something tiny, would would it be?

(a: write a blog post)

Training is anti-aging

I feel that we have a destiny in this world and beyond that — I have to think that age plays an important role in the stages of our learning. Since proper training is always progressive in some way (remember it doesn’t have to be linear), you should also realize that aging is not linear either.

What does that mean — Aging is not linear?

The reality is that the signs of youth, vigor, strength, beauty, etc. are more due to internal factors rather than external. To explain further, the health of the cells in your body is dynamic and strongly affected by periods of stress, disease, poor sleeping patterns, caffeine, alcohol, substance abuse, lack of nutrients, loss of nutrients, dehydration, exposure to everyday chemicals, exposure to toxins, exposure to radiation, chronic inflammation, auto-immune disorders, and even more.

Training is a beautiful stimulus.

Not only will training release a cascade of beneficial body-recomposition hormones, it will also affect the way you view the world. How we perceive our own realities will determine the decisions we make about eating for well-being (as opposed to weight loss), it will help us take care of ourselves and love ourselves.

Training can manifest the most profound mental and physical transformations you’ve ever experienced

The world is always changing. There are some things that we have no control over — however we should strive to gain self-mastery in the areas that are most important to our lives (that is– which you value the most).

A holistic approach

Self-mastery from training is exhibited through perfect technique and form (because you realize that the actual weight matters less than the muscular activation), self-mastery is by resting when you need rest, eating nutrient dense foods, and self-mastery is surrendering yourself to the perseverance of defeating each limiting belief you carry — one by one.

I believe in you.

Power of the Mind

February 19, 2014March 31, 2014

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Has group exercise been the key to fitness for all of human history?

Those who train together are stronger than the sum of each individual

Think about it — For all of human history, community physical training has always been superior for culture and social progression of a peoples. Think about ancient Greece, or consider the warriors from 300. It’s no secret that our armed forces train physical capacity together. Why not — as a community — join together for fitness.

Yea we train together — so what?

We are fighting our own war

We are all consumers, these messages are not lost on us

Even though there are so many smart people in Seattle, they are also constantly subjected to foods which never existed for 99% of humanity. There are so many to choose from — sugary and sweet or succulent and fatty. Not to mention big brands and even local superstars promoting Skittles to the tribe.

Do these guys train physical fitness together? YA DANG RIGHT! #LOUDER

Fact: The 2nd leading cause of preventable death in America is being overweight

Take it seriously folks

I don’t even care about the beauty of the outside when I am more concerned about the beauty on the inside. And when I say inside, sure I care to be a friend to your personality, though mostly I want to promote healthy organ systems, natural enzyme processes, healthy inflammatory response, joint lubrication, bone density, healthy muscle tone, efficient cardiac rhythm and more…

Exercise is Anti-Aging

For my early years in natural health, I was skeptical about this term ‘anti-aging’ even though now I have a better appreciation for what it really means. We are less important the amount of years we have existed than the actual biological age of our cells.

People may age slower for a variety of reasons. I will list a few:

Genetics
Nutrients (pre-natal)
Nutrients (childhood through adolescence)
Nutrients (every day of your dang life)
Exercise
Less exposure to toxins and chemicals
Less stress or superior capacity to handle stress (healthy coping strategies)
Not smoking, drinking, or doing drugs
Consistently sleeping well
Orangetheory Fitness (had to add cause’ it’s totally true!)

That WaterRower is just so darn smooth and EFFECTIVE

Of course I could go on and on about anti-aging to improve longevity and quality of life (not to mention relationships). HOWEVER, this is a public article about fitness — specifically group fitness so let me stay on topic friends.

The Anti-Aging effects of Exercise

Exercise will keep you young, they say. Physical fitness improves your quality of life, I’ve heard. Working out is a sensible option for people who would be otherwise sedentary, I’m telling you now.

The TRUTH about anti-aging, and we’ll get to that, is about what is going on inside your body. So what is really going on?

1. Hormones

Growing up, I often heard the word hormones thrown around to make sense of a person’s behavior. Mostly when we think about hormones, we think about the sex hormones — probably because the experiences can be quite powerful and make people think without their brains, so I’ve heard.

Actually, the hormonal state of our bodies relates to cycles, rhythms, vibrations, and of course cellular catalysts. We need different hormones at different times. In the morning, we have a boost of testosterone. Hopefully we can avoid the stress cortisol throughout the day. After an intense workout, we release human growth hormone which heals the inside of the body. After a yummy dinner, we release leptin the hunger-satisfying hormone. Before bed, we release melatonin so that we can get a good night of rest.

This is the coveted anabolic window when your body will MAXIMIZE any nutrient or nutrient combination whatsoever that you feed yourself. Additionally, metabolism is boosted for 24-48+ hours after a weight lifting session due to energy needs for recovery.

How do we go about creating these hormones, and promoting healthy cycles within the body’s interactions?

I’ll have to make a future post that goes into more details about this. The KEY point: HIGH INTENSITY EXERCISE forces the release of a cocktail of anti-aging hormones which benefit you for hours on end.

2. Connecting the self to a sense of positive community

Being lonely sucks. Being lonely is also a choice. Get out there and enjoy a dang good work-out with people who care about you, or at least care enough about themselves that they are willing to do hard work!

Regardless of personality type, making time to be a part of a positive community is one of the best investments you can make. And get this — it will even decrease your stress hormone, cortisol, since the body physiologically responds well to this need being met. I’ll leave you with this from OrangetheoryFitness.com

Get Going and Get Results

It’s all about energy. Not only do you need energy to get the results you want, but the workout will continue energizing your body and mind long after you go home. Highly qualified and motivational Personal Trainers increase the safety and effectiveness of your workout. Only the best Personal Trainers can go Orange. Get all the benefits of group personal training in order to get the best results from your sweat.

Orangetheory Seattle

February 17, 2014February 19, 2014

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Orangetheory Breaks Ground on Capitol Hill, Seattle

The Orangetheory is an Experience in Fitness

I first heard about Orangetheory through someone I admire and respect. We were at the beautiful Columbia Gorge Discovery Center attending a wedding for a mutual family friend when he spilled the beans about this awesome workout that was coming to town.

This is where I first heard about Orangetheory Fitness

He said to me, “Go online and check about this workout, see if it is something that you could get behind 100% and believe in as a trainer.” For those who don’t know, previously I was an instructor for Les Mills GRIT Strength + Plyo and I had to discontinue teaching the class due to what I believe — professionally — that GRIT was highly effective for conditioning but it was far from a balanced program. In other words, you would get the fat loss with that class format, even though you would need to supplement outside the workout the balance the large amounts of pushing exercises (presses, etc) and the very small amount of pulling exercises (rows, etc).

The Orangetheory Fitness concept is trendy — NOT gimmicky

Growing up, my mother was always into new ways to support her physical and mental health. As I learned later on in life, through my own professional experiences, I realized that not only was she experiencing the benefit of natural health, she was also ahead of the trends.

Fact: HIIT is the number one fitness trend of 2014

Due to the widespread exposure of HIIT, there is less need for me to explain the benefits, but in a nutshell:

HIIT is a more effective training method for young, older, and athletic (wide population benefit)
HIIT promotes a healthier body composition than steady state cardio (more lean muscle, superior bone density, less body fat)
HIIT is more effective for the time spent. 20-30 minutes is the ideal time for a HIIT session (Orangetheory spends about 26 minutes on treadmill intervals using heart rate monitors to move seamlessly through the heart rate zones)
HIIT maximizes beneficial post-exercise hormonal release and modulation. In other words, high intensity workouts create an environment within the body which has a health-promoting, anti-aging, and recovery effect. Some of these hormones are human growth hormone, IGF-1, adiponectin (fat burning hormone), testosterone (good for men and women), and more.
HIIT fights against Metabolic Syndrome. For people who are unaware, metabolic syndrome is defined as a combination of factors throughout multiple organ systems that relate to one’s risk for cardiovascular disease and preventable death. Metabolic syndrome typically involves an unhealthy inflammatory response to everyday life — you are more at risk for nearly all sickness when you have increased markers of metabolic syndrome. You will retain more stress and body fat if you are sedentary and eat poorly — which relates directly to metabolic syndrome. Exercises is step 1 to counter-acting that.

This is an EXCITING time in the world of fitness because researchers are able to measure the effects of high intensity interval training on many different types of populations, ages, and fitness ranges. The research is becoming overwhelming to support the fact that HIIT solves the problems of the typical person.

You get more results in less time

You heal, strengthen, reinforce, reinvigorate your body through HIIT.

Needless to say, I am behind the workout 100%

For the majority of the healthy population of adults in Seattle, Orangetheory will produce very desirable results both physically and mentally. Your success will lead to positive feelings about the self and your body will reflect the care that you have in yourself. I am so passionate about fitness — when I get off track, exercise and nutrition will always be there to bring me back up.

We started this project last summer, I joined in September of 2013. Before I took the job, I scoured the internet for as much information as possible about Orangetheory and people involved with it. I read every review I could find online, I watched all of the videos, and in October I was blessed to be flown to Phoenix to try out four different workouts with expert OTF Fitness Coaches.

Let me just say that getting in the Orange zone is a challenging ordeal for me personally as I am a highly proficient runner and the beauty of the workout is that no matter what, it is near impossible to plateau. The better shape you get, the more effort you will need to put into it to get to the coveted Orange zone. You will realize that with increased performance comes a significant drop in body fat. The heart rate monitored technology is highly motivating as a runner.

What’s next for Orangetheory Seattle?

Our location in north Capitol Hill at 519 Broadway E is wedged between other company’s which offer fitness facilities and/or services. As I get to know more and more of you in the community (and thank you for welcoming my humble self), I recognize the importance of acknowledging that there is some fair competition out there.

With the fitness industry, there are a couple crucial elements.

1. Relationships

Will you share my inspiration — will you let my inspiration flow through you, giving you energy, power, strength and the endurance to proceed towards your goals? I believe in relationships, being caring and respectful of our people, is the number one way to create win-win opportunities.

2. Fitness center / facility / workout

People want good equipment, a clean facility, expert professionals, a welcoming atmosphere, and the best 1 hour Workout in the Country (that’s Orangetheory of course). In time we will prove ourselves and become established as a highly desirable fitness studio. I believe this because I will contribute myself wholly — to provide a service that supports people holistically, even though we specialize in the best group workout period. In later posts, I will go into common questions about OTF vs. other group workouts.

For now, I’ll leave you with this thought…

There is no more perfect moment than now, because now is truly all that we will ever have. I hope you make the most of it, whether through the healing and transformative action of fitness or by making that sliver of time necessary to consume some sort of cruciferous vegetable. I say this with no shame, YOU are worth it.

Stay tuned and take care all

Orangetheory Seattle