I wanted to do a little bit of a different post seeing as it’s Christmas, just something to celebrate last year with. This is a potpourri of a bunch of my Facebook Fitness Page statuses from last year! The best ones, both quotes I’ve written myself, as well as quotes I’ve posted from other people! I put a lot of of thought, time and attention into what I wrote and posted on my Facebook page last year so I thought to do a blog post as a summary of sorts and in memory of last year. Prepare yourselves though as this is going to be a random post, on a myriad of different topics!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you! Enjoy yourselves, eat, drink and be merry! Life is too short to be anything but happy!
On not maxing out on lifts ALL the time…
“Something I learned – and something I instill with my athletes – is that missed lifts are a part of training, but they are not a consistent part of training. You’ll learn far more by completing lifts than by missing lifts.” -Wil Fleming
On cheesy motivational “fitspiration” images:
If you want to change, stop talking, start acting! Stop idolising these ridiculous cheesy motivational images. They won’t make you lean or fit or strong or feeling good about yourself for more than a split second. Taking action will.
On staying away from dogmatic mindsets…
I am a big fan of metabolic flexibility = teaching your body to use and work well with whatever fuel you give it. I hope more literature will come out on it in the future. I’m a firm believer that you can teach your body to be as adaptable as it needs to be, both training-wise and diet-wise and to thrive on whatever you feed it and how you work it. A lot of people coddle themselves a bit too much. They are scared of hunger, scared of hard work, scared of muscle soreness, scared of becoming “catabolic” and their muscles melting away, scared of ruining their metabolism. So they get stuck with these dogmatic mindsets and these “rules” begin to keep them stuck in their rut. Their fears hold them back. You don’t have to do something a certain way or eat a certain way or train a certain way just because someone else is doing it or because some “guru” said to. Don’t be spoon-fed by the fitness industry. It’s not “wrong” to train fasted. It’s not bad to eat all your carbs before bed. You don’t need eat 7 meals a day or eat every few hours and it’s actually okay to allow yourself to be hungry sometimes. Of course it’s important to use common sense, but keep an open mind and remember that there is no perfect formula, whether it’s fitness or nutrition. Sometimes you just gotta try things for yourself. Become your own experiment.
On exercising the brain as well as the body…
Training with intensity exercises your brain as well as your body! After a session of intense exercise the brain releases serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that plays a role in not only improving your mood (that’s why you feel good after a tough session), but also cognition!
A painful truth…
“Most people can’t handle the truth. The truth is that you may not have what it takes, you may not be committed enough, you may not have the discipline, you may not put in enough effort, you might not work hard enough, you do not believe in yourself, you’re full of excuses, you get distracted too easy. To wrap it up in one statement: you really don’t fucking care enough. That’s it! It’s really that simple. It’s easier to be a critic than the one who can stay the course training hard day in and day out for years. Very few reach a high level or strength or muscle mass without years of consistent training (and this is still not a 100% guarantee). In short, there is no substitute for consistent hard work. Don’t believe me? Then ask around to every jacked or strong person you know.” – Dave Tate
On the importance of breathing properly…
Did you know that a lot of people breathe wrong and that bad breathing patterns can cause postural problems and shoulder, neck and back trouble? When you inhale you should be breathing deep into your diaphragm (your belly), rather than your chest. When you take constant shallow breaths (breathing only into your chest) you force a lot of muscles in the upper back and chest to work extra often and harder than they should. This is what can cause shoulder and back pain or exacerbate postural problems. You can retrain your breathing by practicing techniques to restore diaphragmatic (or belly) breathing. I have personally found that the hatha breathing techniques in Bikram yoga have helped me be more conscious of proper deep belly breathing. There are other diaphragmatic breathing exercises you can do as well. Once you begin to teach your body to take the stress out of your chest during breathing and make better use of your diaphragm, you’ll begin to feel less strain, aches and stress in your upper body muscles. Deep belly breathing also provides much more oxygen for your body and bloodstream.
On daughters and developing their love of life and good self esteem…
“Encourage your daughter to run because it makes her feel less stressed. Encourage your daughter to climb mountains because there is nowhere better to explore your spirituality than the peak of the universe. Encourage your daughter to surf, or rock climb, or mountain bike because it scares her and that’s a good thing sometimes. Help your daughter love soccer or rowing or hockey because sports make her a better leader and a more confident woman. Explain that no matter how old you get, you’ll never stop needing good teamwork. Never make her play a sport she isn’t absolutely in love with. Prove to your daughter that women don’t need men to move their furniture. Teach your daughter how to cook kale. Teach your daughter how to bake chocolate cake made with six sticks of butter. Pass on your love of being outside. Tell your daughter that with her legs she can run a marathon if she wants to, and her ribcage is nothing but a carrying case for strong lungs. She can scream and she can sing and she can lift up the world, if she wants. Remind your daughter that the best thing she can do with her body is to use it to mobilize her beautiful soul.” –Sarah Koppelkam
Dispelling a myth: Eating before bed won’t make you fat…
Eating right before going to bed will not make you fat. Neither will eating carbs before bed make you fat! This is an old dieting myth with absolutely no scientific research to back it up. Enzymes don’t wear watches. It makes no difference what time you eat; weight loss and weight gain is about how many calories you consume vs. how many calories you expend. If you create a large metabolic demand during the day by exercising a lot, the calories you consume will go to replenishing your metabolic needs, regardless of the time you eat. Your eating schedule should be based around what works best for you and your lifestyle. I eat most of my carbs and calories before bed, as this is the most convenient for me.
On Training Your Weaknesses…
If something is extra challenging for you, it could very well be that you are weak in that area and should do more of it. For example, if you find flexibility work painful and difficult, you are probably not very flexible and need to stretch more. If you find squatting or other strength training exercises extremely tough and you are struggling with them, it could be that you need to focus on them more. If you have no stamina when you are training and tire very quickly, or find yourself taking longer rest periods between exercises than your program calls for, you may want to add some higher rep sets with lesser rest between sets, to improve your work capacity, or some conditioning to help improve your stamina. If you find yourself quitting easily, before you have finished everything that your program calls for, you might want to work on improving your mental toughness and self-discipline. Whatever it is you are struggling with, work on those things. Ignoring them won’t make them go away. If you don’t leave your comfort zone in your training, you won’t improve.
Remember: “If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.”
On Warming up Properly…
When you warm up, make sure you include activation work to “switch on” whichever muscles you are going to be targeting during your session before you start your work sets. This will help prime your body for these movements. One good way to activate your muscles to use lighter variations of the movements you’ll be doing in the warm up. You can also use body weight or light weight unilateral variations. For example, if you are going to be doing squats or deadlifts, you’ll want to get your glutes and hamstrings firing. Add some single leg glute bridges, duck walks, single leg deadlifts, KB swings, good mornings etc. If you’re doing overhead work, throw in some band and broomstick shoulder dislocators, band pull-aparts, single dumbbell overhead press to get both sides equally activated. All of your activation work should be done with body weight or light weight. But make sure you do deliberate, slow, controlled movements, and really focus on feeling, squeezing and activating the right muscles. By doing this before you start your actual weight session, you’ll be developing good movement habits, which will carry over to using better technique once you begin to add weight to them. This will not only mean less risk of injury, but it will also lead to bigger improvements in strength.
On having fun with your training…
If you are not having fun with your training, you seriously need to re-examine your priorities and expectations. If you are spending countless hours doing exercises or an activity that is making your life more stressful or is keeping you frustrated over your “lack of progress” and constantly anxious, then you are missing out. Training should be exciting. The excitement for me is in the challenge. It’s in reaching my goals, it’s in being around other awesomely fit, like-minded people. If you find yourself constantly dreading your sessions every day, you should probably re-examine your training program.
And another one I wrote…
What are your training goals? Do you enjoy your training routine? Do you train just to look good? To get strong? To be better at a sport? The problem with training and dieting only to look good lies in the fact that the entire purpose is on reaching a goal regardless of whether or not you enjoy getting there. It takes a much greater degree of discipline to be consistent if you don’t genuinely love what you do. Some people do better with goals other than only focusing on a number on a scale/bodyfat percentages or measurements to keep them motivated. Find the type of exercise that makes you happy AND gives you results. You’ll be more likely to stick to a training routine if you truly enjoy what you are doing.
On the irony of people who stress about “being healthy”…
The idea of someone overly stressing about trying to be healthy is a bit ironic. Because stress is NOT healthy. It can cause health problems and can trigger all sorts of hormonal issues. If you find yourself overly stressing about your exercise regime and your diet to the point that you are unable to relax and enjoy life, you might want to rethink your methods. Find something that is sustainable, enjoyable and manageable in the long-term and that doesn’t cause you unnecessary stress, otherwise you could end up adding to your health problems.
On “Paleo” Sweets…
If you can’t eat “Paleo” without having to eat paleo-ized desserts every single day, you aren’t doing “Paleo” right. Do you think the cavemen baked paleo cookies and muffins every night? I highly doubt it. If you still want your sweet, sugar fix every day, and you’ve just changed them to “paleo” desserts to make you feel better about yourself and your sweet tooth, you’re not really doing much to help yourself or your food choices. There’s nothing wrong with eating sugar and sweets occasionally, but don’t kid yourself into thinking you are going to start losing fat and beating that “sugar addiction”, now that your desserts have the paleo “tick of approval”. If you want to eat paleo desserts and feel that they are healthier for you, that is perfectly fine, but just keep it real and be honest with yourself about why you are eating them and understand that it’s not a magic cure. Don’t let it become a crutch.
On “leg days”…
No one has collapsed and died from training their legs 2 or 3 times a week, even 4 times. Your legs and glutes are big muscles and they can handle a lot of weight. So many women ask me how they can “firm up” their legs and butts, but then when I tell them they need to do some serious squating, deadlifting, lunging etc., with WEIGHT, they don’t like the sound of it. No, you won’t firm your legs up with pilates, with swiss ball work or by lying on the floor doing “toning” exercises. Get a barbell, put some weight on it, and get to work. A huge percentage of men could also benefit from doing more leg work. To be honest, almost everybody could benefit from DOING MORE SQUATS.
On being honest about your priorities…
It often baffles me when people complain that buying healthy food and/or paying for a gym membership is too expensive and yet they can afford to drink alcohol every night and/or smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, or they can afford to spend their money on expensive clothes and lots of different gadgets. It’s not that the healthy food or a gym membership is too expensive for them; it’s just that they have different priorities. Whatever you prioritize in your life you will spend your time and money on. Don’t make excuses if your health, weight or fitness is not where you want it to be. Be honest with yourself about your priorities and remember that at the end of the day, you are the only one who is responsible for your wellbeing. Change something in your life to make room for taking care of your health if you are not happy with where it is headed. Don’t blame it on lack of time or lack of money.
On my yoga practice and the “law of detachment”…
Any of you who practice yoga might relate to this. I’ve been focusing more on applying the law of detachment in my own life. When you are detached, you aren’t worried about an outcome. You stop trying to force results or force yourself or your opinions on other people. You just let circumstances and people be as they are. I am trying to apply it in all areas of my life. It helps me stress less and I feel so much more relaxed and calm.
On supplements…
Supplements can be useful and they have their place. But just remember, they are the icing on the cake! NOT the magic cure. Nail your diet and training first, and then you can think about adding supplements as needed.
Jim Wendler, laying down the law…
It doesn’t matter what we’re talking about: your job, your life, lifting weights, martial arts, raising your kids, whatever. This applies!! “Get rid of all the meaningless crap in your life and your training. Get rid of the things that bleed your energy in the weight room and in life. What’s better for you? The Prowler or a stroll on the treadmill? What do you think is going to make you better? Don’t fall for the crap that people are peddling on message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn’t matter. Start doing and believing in the stuff that works, and do it today and forever. You want science and studies? Fuck you. I’ve got scars and blood and vomit. This is a call to arms for some of you. It is for me, too. Stop all the things that make you a pussy and steal your energy. Get your life back.” – Jim Wendler
On “Muscle turning to Fat” once you stop training…
I keep hearing people ask me: “If or when I stop training will all my muscles turn into fat?” The simple answer: NO! Muscle and fat are two completely different types of tissue. They can’t “morph” into something else. The thing that often happens, however is that when people decide to stop lifting weights, they lose their newfound muscle (use it or lose it!!), and lack of motivation to train also often means lack of motivation to eat well. In which case, bad eating combined with the fact that their metabolism is slower from reduced exercise and less muscle mass, gives the impression that the person’s muscle is being somehow magically turned into fat. The reality? Muscle is being lost and fat is being gained.
Finishing off with an awesome one by Henry Rollings: “The Iron”…
“The Iron is the best antidepressant I have ever found. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body have been awakened to their true potential, it’s impossible to turn back. The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.” -Henry Rollins
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Wishing you all the best!