The Weight of the Nation

In May 2012, HBO released a 4 part documentary series called The Weight of the Nation. 

Watch it!!!

If you don't have HBO, that's OK.  It's available for free on the internet at http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/.

When you're done watching it, watch it again.  Then go to the website and watch all of the companion videos and read the materials.  After that, talk to everyone you know, your spouse, your kids, your parents, your friends, your neighbors, and tell them to do the same.  Then, talk about it with them.  More than anything I've ever seen, this really puts into perspective the risks the entire nation is under from the obesity epidemic.

Eat Your Fruits

For many, fruits aren't their favorite things to eat, or at least they don't make them a priority.  Many people see fruit as a snack and maybe focus on the basics like apples or bananas, and of the same variety than you've had since you were a kid.  I'm here to tell you that fruit is an important part of my daily nutrition plan and it can do wonders for you as well.

I've always been a meat and bread kind of guy.  A steady diet of that over a few decades led me to the point where I needed to make a change.  As I started on my fitness journey and researched various nutrition plans, I determined that I needed to make fruits an integral part of my diet.  Fruit can get boring unless you know where to look and are willing to try new things.

The X2 Crew

As I've mentioned several times, I did P90x2 as a part of a large challenge group.  There were over 500 people in the group and dozens of us were posting daily progress, forming sub-challenges and encouraging and motivating each other to keep kicking butt.

Below is the video compilation from a number of the people who were a part of the X2 Crew.  If you don't blink, you'll catch my before and after pictures flash by.  I watched this video for the first time this morning before my workout which was my 30 day athletic performance assessment for Asylum and I was really pumped.  Take a look at what so many people were able to accomplish.  These videos are what drive me to do more, push harder, give it my all every day.  I hope it does the same for you.

Recipe - Fresh Fruit Compote

A few weeks ago, I made a terrrific "healthy" pancake which I will share here some time.  But, when you make a helathy pancake, you can't drench it in store bought syrup. I'm not a natural maple syrup fan and even the best of healthy pancakes still leaves a bit of something to be desired if you eat them straight.  So, I was thinking about what I could add to make it more tasty without adding junk to it.  I enjoy fruit preserves, I have enjoyed fruit syrup, and I love fresh fruit so I decided to make a fruit compote.

I went through the fruit in my refrigerator and decided on a peach and berry compote.  You can substitute just about any fruits you like to make the compote and it will be delicious.

Coach Mike - Checking In

How's everyone's week going? I'm in the home stretch of Asylum challenge and feeling great. I'm also starting to plan what is next.  I'm definitely going to be looking at hitting more weights and going heavy.  I could use some lean mass. Are you keeping up? Let me know. How's your nutrition? Remember we have to celebrate our successes. If you have a good story to share, send it to me and I can share it with the team.

How To Read a Nutrition Label

Every food product you purchase at the store has a nutrition label.  Many of the foods you get at restaurants also have accompanying nutrition information available online or at the restaurants.  As you are tracking your nutrition, you need to know exactly what you're putting into your body, and the best way to do that is to learn to read nutrition labels and evaluate them.  I'm going to cover the pieces that I focus on in depth and touch on what else is on there.

When I am tracking my nutrition, my main concerns are calories, carbohydrates, fat, protein, sugar, and sodium.  You also have to pay attention to serving size and servings per container.  I don't focus on cholesterol since I don't have issues with that, but it may be important to some.  I also don't track the vitamins and minerals.  I know I get enough with my Shakeology and multi-vitamins.

Salads - Beware!!!

I recently wrote an article reminding you to eat your veggies.  It's something that we all know and generally want to put into practice.  One of the easiest ways to get in your vegetables is with a salad.  What's easier than tossing a bunch of raw vegetables into a bowl, tossing in a small amount of dressing and going to town? 

But BEWARE!!!  A couple wrong turns can turn that healthy bowl of nutritious goodness into a diet-busting bomb of fat and sugar.  Go into your refrigerator and take a look at the label for your salad dressings.  The serving size is a mere 2 tablespoons, and realistically how many of you measure that out?  Then take a look at the ingredients.  A single 2 Tbsp serving of Kraft ranch salad dressing packs 148 calories and 15.6g of fat, 2.4g of which are saturated.  A typical Caesar dressing, again 2 tbsp (and again who only has 2 tbsp) is 100 calories and 4 g of sugar.  Even a healthier option such as Ken's Steakhouse Light Balsamic Vinaigrette has 60 calories per 2Tbsp serving with 5g of fat and 2 g of sugar.

Supplement Spotlight - Essential AmiN.O. Energy

I like to get the most out of each of my workouts.  I workout first thing in the morning so that means I'm working out on an empty tank.  When I started Asylum, I found that I was dragging a little in the back half and I wasn't able to give as much as I wanted to.  When I did Insanity, I started sipping Results & Recovery in the back half.  For Asylum, I wanted to try something different.  I wanted to add an intra-workout supplement.

I wanted a product that could give me a boost of energy.  I wanted a product that could help me focus.  I wanted a product from a reputable company.  I wanted a product with good reviews across multiple sites.  I researched, looked at my options, and settled on Essential AmiN.O. Energy by Optimum Nutrition.  I picked mine up at GNC, but it's available from multiple places online.  I got the Blue Raspberry flavor and I really like it.

Asylum in a Hotel Room

I travel for business nearly every week.  So, no matter what workout program I'm doing, at some point I'm going to need to do it in a hotel.  I've done Power 90, P90x, Insanity, P90x2, Brazilian Butt Lift, Rockin' Body, and now Asylum in a hotel room.

Coach Mike - Checking In

How's everyone's week going? I'm more than half way through my 30 day Asylum challenge and feeling better with each workout. I'm giving all I can with each workouts and tinkering with my nutrition to balance fat loss without weight loss. I'm also trying to hit some extra yoga classes to keep my lose and focused. What has been working to keep you going? Let me know. Is your eating plan working or do you need some more guidance? Remember, if you have a good story to share, send it to me and I can share it with the team.

Patience, Grasshopper

One of the hardest things to do when you're starting a new lifestyle of health and fitness is to wait to get results. We are constantly bombarded with the ideas to lose fat and look younger and be healthier in every diet ad, every fitness infomercial, every magazine cover, virtually everywhere you look.  You've seen the magazine covers, probably every time you've gone to the grocery store, to get a flat stomach in 3 weeks.  You've seen the Beachbody commercials where people have lost several inches and 30+ pounds in 60 or 90 days.  While it is certainly possible to achieve the promised results, it's not easy to do in the time frame specified, and that is where patience comes in.

TurboFire Greatest HIITs Review

A few months ago, I won the TurboFire Greatest HIITs workout in a twitter contest. I didn't think it would be something that I would enjoy, but let me tell you, it's 20 minutes of fun. Trainer Chalene Johnson or TurboJam, Chalene Extreme, and TurboFire fame really brings it hard, but makes the workouts seem like a good time.

I built up the same kind of sweat that I do with Insanity, but the breaks were more frequent and definitely welcome. My heart rate got up to about 85% of my max (well into the 160s) in each of the last 3 rounds and my heart rate monitor said I burned 290 calories - in 20 minutes - , so not too bad as an alternative to watching TV.

Eat Your Veggies

Often, vegetables aren't really high on people's lists of favorite things to eat.  Many people have that memory of their mother telling them to eat their veggies or there won't be any dessert.  You may even have that memory of sneaking your broccoli  to the dog.

As a carnivore myself, I've always loved meat.  Second on my list has historically been bread or potatoes.  I suppose a steady diet of that over a few decades led me to the point where I needed to make a change.  As I started on my fitness journey and read what has worked for others, I determined that I needed to make veggies a larger part of my diet.  To force my hand, I've even resolved to eat vegetarian one day a week.  If forces me to try new things because I get bored of eating the same things over and over.

Recipe - Spicy Kale Chips

I've been hearing alot about kale chips, so I wanted to make them . They are a crunchy, yet soft snack full of healthy fats and vitamins that is a great alternative to potato chips. Kale is a cruciferous vegetables in the cabbage family and is closely related to broccoli, cauliflower, and collard greens. You may have ben hearing alot about it lately, I know I have. It is full of beta-carotene, vitamin C, and lutein. One of the compounds in kale has also been shown to be effective at slowing changes to DNA and the spread of cancer.

Coach Mike - Checking In

How's everyone's week going? I'm in the 2nd week off my Asylum challenge and going strong. I'm pushing myself with my workouts and my nutrition. I'm using a weighted vest when I can. I'm trying to limit my breaks. I know the mental leads the physical and I want to use that in my workouts. I'm trying to limit my fat in my meals. I want to get closer to looking like the poeple in the infomercials. What are you doing to get the most out of your workouts? Let me know. What about your nutrition? I want to help. If you have a good story to share, send it to me and I can share it with the team.

Do Your Resting

Sorry about the title.  It might not even be a phrase in English but I was going with a theme this week.  Anyway, to get the most out of your workouts, you need to rest.  Rest gives your body a chance to heal.  Hopefully, each day you are beating up your body a little bit.  Your weight training broke down your muscles.  Your cardio training broke down your muscles.  Your yoga broke down your muscles.  The only way for your muscles to heal is to rest them.  Your training isn't what makes you stronger, your body repairing your muscles is.  You need rest between sets and intervals.  You need between workouts.  You need rest at night.  You need to take a regular break in your regimen too; or at least take it easy.

Do Your Weight Training

Most guys want to build muscle, to be ripped.  Most women want to be toned, but not at all bulky.  That being said, men generally like to sling around barbells and dumbbells.  Women, on the other hand tend to shy away from them.  Men like to do curls and heavy bench presses so they can look like the Incredible Hulk.  Women like to hit the elliptical or use 1 lb dumbbells so they don't end up like looking like a dude.  I know it's a generalization but there's alot of truth to it.  Whether you're a fan of weight training or afraid of what it will do to you, you need to add weight training to your fitness regimen.  And more importantly, you need to understand why you're weight training and put the right plan in place.

Do Your Cardio

Cardio isn't for everyone.  Some people love it, but many don't.  Until fairly recently, I was definitely is the latter category.  Cardio can fall into many variations, but basically it is any activity that raises your heart rate and keeps it up for an extended amount of time.  Some of the more common forms of cardio are jogging, swimming, jumping rope, aerobics classes, and even power walking.  If you're doing a program like TurboFire of Insanity, you know what cardio is all about.  If you're doing something like P90x, you are doing some cardio but it's limited to Kenpo and to a lesser degree Plyometrics.  I eventually decided that if I wanted to get fitter and wanted to lose weight, I would have to learn to like cardio, and that's when I chose Insanity.

Do Your Yoga

In P90x, one of the most common questions I get is, "What can I do instead of the Yoga?".  Believe me I understand.  I would say that I completed the yoga about 3 times in my first time through P90x and there were a number of times where I didn't even attempt it.  First of all, it's long.  90 minutes is a long chunk of time to fit into your day, especially if you normally budget an hour.  Second of all, it's hard.  The first 45 minutes is a series of vinyasas that seems to go on forever and really works your shoulders, arms, core, flexibility, and every other inch of your body.  Then after you're worn out, you have to try a bunch of balance poses, and then pretty hard ab work, and THEN you get to stretch.

Coach Mike - Checking In

How's everyone's week going?  This week kicked off my Asylum challenge.  I've talked before about the benefit of a challenge group, and this challenge is no exception for me.  Seeing the other people's performance is really pushing me to do more than I might do otherwise.  For example, I've been adding a weighted vest during most of the workouts.  You wouldn't think that adding 10 extra pounds on your body would make much of a difference, but it ups the intensity big time.  Are you pushing yourself to your limits in your workouts?  Let me know.  Are you struggling to give it your all?  I want to help.  If you have a good story to share, send it to me and I can share it with the team.

Celebrating Success

You've worked hard.  You ate clean every day and hit your nutritional targets.  You gave your all every workout and never missed a day.  You're down to your goal weight.  You have abs of steel and the glutes of a statue.  You had to buy a whole new wardrobe because all of your old clothes were too big.  Congratulations you are an infomercial-worthy success story.  Have a piece of vegan cheesecake and some sparkling water to celebrate.

Is that not you???

For the other 99.9% of us out there, when you have success, however small, you need to celebrate that as well.  Did you lose a couple pounds?  Celebrate.  Did you finally get to 15 reps on each move in Ab Ripper X?  Celebrate.  Did you make it through the Insanity warm-up without having to stop?  Celebrate.  Can you fit into those pants? Celebrate.

Accountability

Accountable -adj

1. responsible to someone or for some action; answerable

When you begin a workout program such as P90x, and you're doing at home, alone, you're accountable to yourself to push play every day.  You're accountable to yourself to do your best every day.  You're accountable to yourself to work through the nutrition plan.  For some people, that's enough.  When I first started working out, for me, it was enough.  I got what I thought were pretty good results, but I was pretty overweight.

When I started P90x, I just wanted to do it.  I pushed play every day, except for some Yoga, but I ate what I want.  After 90 days of work, I really didn't have anything to show for it.  I justified the fact that the scale didn't move to increased muscle.  It probably wasn't.  When I started Insanity, I joined a group of folks on the Team Beachbody Message Boards who all started at the same time.  I became accountable to the group.  I wanted to earn my spot.  I shared my workouts with them.  We shared nutrition tips.  We shared tips on getting through the workouts, especially the hard moves.  Over time, about 75% of the initial group dropped off.  But for those that finished we got great results.

Bringing It

Making fitness a way of life is a challenge. It's not just throwing in a DVD or going to the gym when it's convenient. It's committing to a program, scheduling it, and sticking to it. It's working on constantly dialing in your diet and nutrition to give your body the fuel that it needs to get through your workouts along with the rest of your "real" life.

As I've progressed through my fitness and coaching journey, what I've found most important is the concept of bringing it. When I first went through P90x, I wasn't that sore. I was attributing it to my recovery drink. As I look back now, I'm still taking the same recovery drink, but I'm sore.  I wasn't committed and I wasn't trying hard enough. In my first time month of my first time through Insanity, I took alot of breaks, and they always fell during squat jacks. I told myself that I needed to slow my heart rate down.  I just didn't want it bad enough.