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Have a goal for every workout: Fat Cells respond to progressive resistance by getting smaller!

What is the goal of this workout today?

We all come into the workout room with different needs, strengths, and expectations. To some, not having a specific goal for every workout is actually unfathomable.

My goal for this workout

Keep track of specific exercises that have been done in the past and perform in more progressively challenging ways. These techniques help you to burn more fat:

  • Perform the exercise faster on the concentric, and slower on the eccentric
  • Use more resistance than before
  • Greater amount of reps using the same weight
  • Decrease rest intervals without sacrificing heavy weight
  • Using heavy weights in a larger range of motion
  • Improving your form and technique with weights that you struggled with before
  • Combination of the above
Time constraints can be motivating, as is some healthy Orangetheory Fitness competition

Time constraints can be motivating, as is some healthy Orangetheory Fitness competition

I don’t often speak to these accomplishments even if it is noticeable it helps me stay motivated in fitness.

Examples of a good goal to have

Let’s talk about a treadmill goal to begin with. Of course we’re following a HIIT program and the ideal length for a treadmill workout is between 20-30 minutes.

You can try to improve your times in the following ways:

  1. Your one-mile time
  2. Your half-mile time
  3. Your quarter mile time
  4. Your tenth of a mile time
Kyle Anderson from Seattle on the right running hard

Kyle Anderson from Seattle on the right running hard

You can further improve fat loss by:

  1. Your .25 mile run at 3% incline
  2. Your .25 mile run at 5% incline
  3. Your .25 mile run at 7% incline

Then on a later workout once you have recovered, do your .25 mile run at 1% incline and you will likely be able to run faster than you did before at that particular incline!

Thus progress! Fat cells should get smaller due to this physical and neural progression in muscular contraction.

Once you have accomplished it, nobody can take that away from you!

It’s yours.

Now believe in it and go with it

Orangetheory Fitness Seattle Orangetheory Seattle Physical Fitness by Dre Weightloss Now
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Core values for Fitness, Health, and Training

In the absence or presence of any experience, your core values will always be there.

I believe it is the core value of a person who is able to push forward under pain and stress.

It is the core value of a person to realize the truth of failure and then ascend to even greater heights.

It is the core value of a person to commit to their goals and hold themselves accountable.

For strength trainers, the core value manifests physically

You feel more powerful as the body realizes greater potential. The changes can be found in the tendons, ligaments, muscular elements, mineralization of bone, endocrine efficiency improvements, and energy systems adaptation. There is little vanity in seeking to become a better version of yourself.

Workouts can be fun!!

“ya I’m feeling good ’bout myself”

Lessons learned from intense training should carryover to mental toughness

We push ourselves in the gym not because we are afraid of the outcome, but because we embrace it. Either move forward or start dying because I don’t want to live a life without meaning. Intensity later balanced by harmony and back to intensity.

Raw strength has been valuable in nearly all cultures throughout time. As you become capable of performing heavy work through multiple planes of motion, you gain strength both inner and outer.

The struggles of life are best faced with strong core values, because no matter the outcome you strive to rise above it.

 

Power of the Mind
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Top Five Quick tips for Carbs

Carbohydrates.

This is all around — carbs are everywhere.

You can find carbs at the store, at the restaurant, and at your friend’s house.

Low-carb diets are all the rage and many people attain fat loss. It is however, difficult to maintain after a couple months.

Equipping yourself with greater understanding of carbs has been known to make people delicious, interesting, and fit.

Carbs are a…

1. Great source of fast energy

When you need it, quick energy can be a vital power for life.

2. Carbs are best eaten for…

  • Breakfast
  • Within 0-two hours before physical activity
  • During physical activity
  • Right after physical activity

If you use it, you will burn it. Feel better, grow stronger simultaneously.

3. Post-workout carbs HIGHLY recommended for recovery

Do you want to feel better the next day after a hard workout?

You need carbs post-workout.

It boosts recovery, and gives you an opportunity to enjoy eating carbohydrate food — guilt free.

4. Complex carbs are more complete

Complex carbohydrates often come in foods that contain more nutrients. Molecules break down slower and the energy is released over a period of digestion.

This source of carbs gives you more leniency in energy consumption. In other words, even sedentary people lose weight through an educated selection of complex carbs.

5. What are the BEST carbs?

The BEST carbs are nutrient-dense. Lots of bang for the buck.

–Fruit: Energy and live-giving nutrients

–Vegetables: Disease protection, lean tissue, protecting cells.

–Quinoa, brown rice, lentils etc.: Some foods are not good for certain individuals (such as Gluten). So discover the best foods for your body.

BONUS: Getting creative with Carbs

Fruit can be the guilt free carb source for delicious taste.

Healthnut with hands on the cookie jar.

Unleash the artist by painting a sunset of fresh fruits into a sweet salad delight.

Health and vigor upon you, my fruit eating friend.

See more Lose Weight Eating Healthy

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Empty Stomachs are Hazardous to Weight Loss

Leaving the house on an empty stomach can ruin a day of dieting.

A regular customer visited the store today with the full intention of heading to the gym afterward. But he didn’t eat breakfeast…

There he was, before 11AM, minutes prior to our opening hours, feeling hungry. The Popeye’s restaurant next door produces a fried, oily smell that travels from Walmart to Les Schuab.

So he went over to Popeye’s and stuffed himself with fried chicken gizzards.

To successfully lose weight, you must eat.

There are some foods that even if you tried to gain weight, you would be unable. Leafy green vegetables are notorious for boosting health, preventing disease, and filling you up without hardly any calories at all.

In our urban jungle, you cannot trust the food sources. Restaurants are the guiltiest perpetrators since they rely on taste and not health.

Eat breakfeast in the morning, have fruit for snack before you leave the house. Do what you have to do, but DO NOT let yourself get on an empty stomach — that is when the worst decisions are made.

Weightloss Now
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3 Simple Ideas for your Slim Waist

Weight loss should be easy!

In fact, weight loss is easy as good choices become habitual.

Fitness is habitual

You’re a busy person, with places to go and people to see. You’ve tried to slim down before, but each time you grew frustrated with the effort costs and lack of results. Pause, for a moment, and focus not on weight loss — but on these 3 Simple Ideas that can improve your life and slim your waist.

Idea #1: Eat Carbs+Protein with Breakfeast, everyday.

Have you ever said, “I don’t have time for breakfeast” or worse, just have a donut and coffee?

Breakfeast accomplishes two things:

  • Refuel you after a long night of sleep
  • Provide energy for the first half of your day

Together, both of the above sends signals to your body allowing you to eat a higher dose of carbohydrates and protein that can actually help you lose weight!

Example breakfeast: Oatmeal (carbs) + Whey (protein). OR… Yogurt (protein) + Berries (carbs).

Idea #2: The (EllisonFitness) Grapefruit Diet

Grapefruit, you make me healthy

Versions of the Grapefruit diet have been floating around since the 1930’s. These previous diets mostly consist of very low caloric intake, but I do NOT believe in starving yourself.

Grapefruits are considered a SuperFood based on high vitamins, phytonutrients, bioflavonoids, and enzymes that boost digestion and metabolism. Grapefruits are also in Season.

How: Prepare slices of grapefruit in the morning, and consume 1/3 grapefruit Before each meal.

Since grapefruit prepares you for digestion and contains dietary fiber, you may be compelled to eat less food in your meals because you will be easier satisfied. This, of course, is in addition to all of the metabolism boosting health effects of Grapefruit.

Eat on!

Idea #3: Walk, Talk, and Enjoy it a Lot. Or Take a Hike!

Fall in Ravenna Park, Seattle

Enjoy the seasons, wear warm clothes, and go for a stroll in the park with friends. This type of exercise not only burns calories, but also puts you in a more balanced mood — allowing for better weight loss progress. We know that a positive social support system is Essential for healthy weight loss.

Feel free to run up the paths, explore new areas of the city. Or better yet, go hiking! Since Hiking requires long endurance, your body can better utilize Body Fat as a source of energy — more than jogging! This means you burn more fat, and keep more lean muscle!

Any additional walking will make slimming down just that much easier!

Simple tips, not miracles.

Weight loss is a process that happens over time. It requires a combination of Healthy Food, Physical Activity, and a Positive Social Support System. Add more activities that include these three pillars of health, and you will be closer to the slim waist of your dreams!

Nutrition, Immunity, and Digestion