The Grocery Essentials: Part I
I find it pretty astounding when I see people grocery shopping and being so indecisive. Did they just decided that they are low on food so why not go to the grocery store and see what they have? This morning I saw one woman look at yogurt for 4 minutes and 32 seconds (yes I really timed) before buying 3 cups of Yoplait fat free yogurt. What was going through her mind? Maybe something like, “Well, I heard on ‘Doctor Oz’ that I should get Greek yogurt because it is better for digestion…But last time I tried it, I didn’t like that there was so much real fruit in it, that is gross. Not to mention there is so much sugar in there (looking at the fruit versions). I will go with this low carb Yoplait stuff with Splenda in it instead!” All of this, while she had, no joke, ice cream, a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (although an epically great cereal) and bagels in her cart.
You need to go into the grocery store with a plan the likes of attacking the Death Star. Have a list of what you NEED, not what you want.
Anyways, that being said, here are what I consider to be the grocery essentials.
1. Lean Beef: I am a HUGE fan of the 96% lean burgers. Quick, convenient, and most importantly high in protein, low in calories, and taste awesome!
2. 50% Salted Almonds: A great on the go snack and essential for Greek Yogurt concoctions.
3. Egg Whites: The first ingredient in every omelet. Also great for many protein bars recipes.
4. Frozen fruit Vegetables: Unless you are going to be using those fruits/vegetables within three or four days of purchasing them, you would be much better off buying frozen. I have written about it before, “The best tasting frozen vegetables are spinach, green beans, and broccoli. Frozen fruits and vegetables are almost always fresher than those found in the produce section because they’re flash frozen the day they were harvested.”
Here is a video from way back where we make some protein smoothies with some frozen fruit:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8898469779304423273
Mainstream Media: Stop Giving People Excuses
Here comes another gem from CBS Morning News and their, “CBS News Medical Correspondent.” A recent study came out recommending that middle age women should be exercising for one hour each day to keep from gaining weight. That is 60 minutes or 1/17th of your day if you get 7 hours of sleep each night. THAT IS LESS THAN 6% of your time spent awake!
So, of course the doctor is going to say that, “yes, you should exercise for 60 minutes each day…” NOPE… Not going to happen.
She explains that women should be eating better instead of exercising more. Sure, I can agree with eating better, but why not still encourage women to move more! Not just for weight loss, but to stay healthy. What about osteoporosis? Keeping a healthy heart rate and blood pressure in check? What about just for the sake of their mental health? I don’t know about you but I am in a much better mood after I train for an hour. And how about just keeping a baseline of strength so you can pick up bags of groceries or your kids.
One hour of activity can be doing a Yoga DVD for 30 minutes in the morning, then walking your dog for 30 minutes at night! Come on health professionals!
All we are doing is giving people MORE EXCUSES!!!
Eat to Live, Don’t Live to Eat/You Can Only Take a Client as Far As You Have Gone
This past week was easily one of the best I have ever had. First off, I get to work at one of the premier strength and conditioning facilities in the WORLD, Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning. If my batteries are ever drained, they get recharged every single week at our staff meetings. This past week Mike had Todd Durkin come in and talk to the staff because he was in town for the Perform Better Seminar. To be honest, he didn’t even talk to us about training. Instead he talked about how we can/should go about bettering ourselves and our business.
If you listened to this past week’s episode of The FitCast (Episode 171), you heard me talk about some of the things that Todd had to say, but that was just scratching the surface. The second Todd had the floor the energy in the room raised immensely (and this was AFTER he trained had for an hour in the weight room!). I don’t think I have been more wide-eyed since I first met Mike back in 2006.
Anyways, to the point of this post, I am going to make it very clear. Some of the things Todd said hit home hard. Sometimes we can hear the right answer 1,000 times, but it is number 1,001 that makes the biggest impact and convinces us it is the right one because of the person who is delivering it. That is what happened with Todd. He dropped a bunch of quotes and sayings that I immediately wrote down for future reference. Here is the one that hit home:
“Eat to Live, Don’t Live to Eat”
I should say it was that quote followed by this one:
“You Can Only Take a Client as Far As You Have Gone”
Think about that. Does that mean a coach or training with 20% body fat can’t get their client below that? No, I don’t think so. I am not in the same shape as my man Jason Statham (I really want to meet that guy…), but I have gotten some amazing results with all of my clients. I took it more as, “How do you expect your clients to get results that you can’t achieve yourself?” I mean, YOU are the expert right?
Another reason why I am excited to post these finished Destination Abs pictures in the near future…
I am sure there are more quotes and thoughts from the talk coming soon, so stay posted!
It’s All About Progressions: Core
Beginners make a lot of mistakes when they first start lifting and it isn’t their fault. They see a workout in FLEX or SHAPE magazine and just go at it. Then their form is poor, they are complaining of soreness, and they don’t see results. Why? Because they don’t use progressions. Why start with reverse lunges or body-weight squats when you could be doing back squats with German volume training that promises 100 lb increase in your 1RM in 3 months? Same think with push ups to benching. I don’t let any of my untrained athletes and clients bench until they have shown proficiency in the push up. I mean they should be able to do 15 body weight push ups before I put them under the bar. Dumbbells are another case, but hopefully you are picking up what I am dropping you.
The Plank
This post I want to focus on the plank, the most basic core stability exercises. I have a hierarchy of goals the athlete/client needs to meet before moving on to further progressions:
Phase 1
- 30 second front plank/15 second side plank (Per Side)
- Ability to do Pallof Presses properly in the tall kneeling position (weight will vary, I just want them to be able to stay tall and squeeze their glutes)
Phase 2
- 60 second Plank/30 second side plank (Per Side)
- Ability to do half-kneeling and standing Pallof Presses properly
- 12 kneeling rollouts on an exercise ball or TRX.
- Half Kneeling Cable Chops/Lifts
Phase 3
- 30 Second Feet elevated (FE) Plank (on 12″ box)/15 second FE Side Plank (per side)
- Ability to do 1 Legged Pallof Press
- Crawling Planks
- Rollout on Ab Wheel
- Landmines/Extreme Core Trainer
- Standing Cable Lifts
Phase 4
- Feet supported Side Plank
- Standing TRX Rollout
- Landmine/Extreme Core Trainer with Handles
- Band Resisted Rollouts
Phase 5
- Use your imagination
This is just what I go by and it can change based on other variables. But for the most part this is what you should go by for your own training and your clients.
