Time to hit the weights..woman included

If you aren’t lifting weights you minus well just skip the gym all together.

Ok, that is actually a little harsher then is completely true, but in all seriousness, I cannot stress enough just how integral strength training is for your physical health. As much fun as it is to run endlessly on the hamster wheel (I mean treadmill…ha ha) there are so many benefits to stepping away from the cardio machines and over to the weights section in your gym.

While you may think that you can lose the weight with loads of cardio, which on face value I agree with you can make sense. Unfortunately that is just not the case. By incorporating strength training you will ideally build lean muscle mass which at rest (means you do not actually have to do any physical activity in order to encourage it) will burn more calories. Therefore you can lose weight throughout the day, like while enjoying a movie on the couch, simply because you focus attention within your workout on strength training.

So if you are looking to reduce your body fat, increase your lean muscle mass and burn calories when you aren’t even trying then strength training is for you. I am not suggesting you strap on the weight belt and lifting gloves and power lift for an afternoon with the men in the corner at the gym, but by introducing slow and controlled strength activities into your workout routine you will work smarter and not harder to meet your fitness goals.

For a one on one introduction into proper strength training techniques please follow the link to Elite Training LLC and learn how our trainer can help you.

www.EliteTrainingSports.com

Speed Class

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Pre season wrestling training

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Part 2: Why we don’t achieve our New Years Resolutions: Beginning Lead

 

Who is invested in you?

It is a rare person or athlete that can go out everyday and motivate themselves to true athletic or fitness success. There is only one athlete that I can think of that came close to being able to do it all by himself (and he didn’t even do it all be himself). That is wrestling legend Dan Gable. He was undefeated in both High School and College wrestling…except for his last match, he did lose his last match of his college career. However, he then he went onto win the 1972 Olympics without one of his 7 opponents even scoring a point on him. Not a single point was scored by some of the worlds best! Everything that you read about Gable was how motivated he was. He ran alone, weight trained alone and had a limited amount of steady committed wrestling partners. That being said, you should know that his High School and College coaches are in the Wrestling Hall of Fame. Neither of these coaches are in the Hall of Fame just because of Dan. Clearly, they are in there because of their total body of work over many years leading and coaching different types of athletes and personalities. My point being that even the most motivated athlete on the Earth had great coaching and trainers to lead him.

One of the reasons that so many people fail to attain their fitness goals is that they do not have anyone leading, coaching or training them. You have witnessed this your self at the gym. How many people have you seen doing the same work out every time they come to gym and there are not any noticeable changes to their body? Or the guy you see that is a ball of fire for the 1st month on the treadmill and keeps stacking up the plates on the bar for a month then never to be seen again? Now think back and remember your HS or college days when you had that coach that you really liked and they really motivated you. What kind of shape where you in then? What did you do for him or her?  Maybe you just had a friend that was really into going to the gym so you went with him and you just followed his LEAD! Having proper leadership is invaluable to your fitness or athletic success.

Being a busy adult with a life and responsibilities it is more important than ever to use your time wisely. You can’t afford to waste your time, energy or money. So seek out a good  coach or trainer to make the most of your time and money. Join a masters swim team, hire a personal trainer, join a running club or hire a triathlon coach. This will help you immensely on many different levels. Assuming you did your homework and have good references on the coach or trainer and you think that you have a well qualified person. Go for it. Once you pay your money, now you are locked into a set schedule that you will be committed to and therefore make it a routine. Now you just show up ready to workout as the trainer has your progressive plan ready to go. Ultimately, you are not only committed to your self but now you have to be there for someone else.

So, if you want to stick with and achieve those New Years Resolutions find a good coach or trainer.

New approach: Functional Training and Football

Functional Training is a training system that we have used for a long time at Elite Training with our athletes. We have used it with our clients/athletes that we train with great results! Training should mirror competition to make valuable improvements in your speed, strength and conditioning in your sport. The NFL is now just starting to use this system vs.  the old idea of “grip and rip it!” or “Bigger, Fast, Stronger”. The idea of JUST the bench press, squat and deadlift are falling to the way side for kettlebells, bands, flexibility and cross training as the core of your training plans in the off season. Please read the article that is linked  to the picture above and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I have.

Why we don’t achieve our New Years Resolutions Pt. 1

Sitting here looking at all of the FB statuses and it seems like everyone is getting started on their New Year Resolutions early and talking about what they will be changing in their lives for the up coming year. All I can think about is how many will stay committed? How many will achieve their goals? Then I think about why they don’t stick with their goals and” feel the exhailreation of victory!” Here is what I have come up with #1 they don’t have clearly stated goals, #2 No one is leading (or invested in them), #3 they don’t get in the right environment and #4 no one joins them.

In part 1 here I am going to talk about clearly stated goals and goal setting.

So, the other day I got to wrestling practice early and I decided to see where the individual wrestlers’ heads were and where they are as a team. Here is what I did as the kids came up from locker room and the athletes were getting ready, taping up their wrists, putting on their shoes and applying kensheild. I had them line up at the door and told them my goals for practice (I never want to be that coach that says do as I say not as I do). So I believe that if I am going to ask for their goals, I should state mine. So my goals for this workout were to drill their top 3 take downs, top 3 bottom moves, top 3 top moves, review the cradle ride series and be done by 5:15pm as it was a day before a match. The only way that you could get into practice was to tell me your goal for that days practice. It had to be clearly stated, achievable and something that could be quantifiable by the end of practice.(they didn’t know that part. I wanted to use this as a chance to teach the kids how to goal set) Now it was their turn…here is what I got a lot of, “to get better”, “to be the best that I can be”, ‘to win” (to win what?), “not to lose” (again not to lose what?) and get in better shape. These are pretty opened ended statements and because there is no way to tell if their goal was reached by the end of practice… so those guys were sent to the back of the line to try again. At the same time the good goals I got were, “to get 5 double leg take downs on John Smith”, “to have a 2 pound practice”,” to win my wrestle off over Dan Gable”, “I want to put Tom Brands on his back at least once today.”

The reason that the 2nd round of goals were acceptable and the wrestlers were allowed in the room, on time for practice is because they had clearly stated goals that we as coaches could use to motivate and help the kids achieve for that workout. Let me tell you something, we normally have an intense practice room but this was a totally different beast. The kids had purpose and focus. They were on a mission. They had something to achieve by the time we said practice was over. BTW we now try to do this at least once a week now.

Here are some tips for goal setting:

Clearly define your goals: Instead of saying I am going to do a 5k in 2012. (pretty opened ended)

Try this: I am going to run in the Main Street 5k on July 31st 2012 and I will finish in a time of 29 minutes or less. Pay your fee right away. Coughing up some of your hard earned dollars will help to keep you on track too.

Now you have stated a long term goal. Don’t under estimate truly buying into your goal. You really have to believe in it and be committed. It will be a long road and you will need to have faith when times get tough. Also, each time you go out to run, lift, condition or stretch you will be consumed by not only the 5k its self but time of 29 minutes or less. You will have a mission. This will drive you when you are tired, can’t get out of bed or miss a training due to life being crazy.

Furthermore, have at least 1 goal before you go out for a training session (short term goals or steps toward your long term goal). These little goals will keep you motivated along the way to your over all goal. Don’t get discourage if you fail to achieve your little goals. Life (and training) are about the journey. Enjoy the highs and lows and look at this way….you have a built in goal for tomorrow. You don’t have to stress about thinking up a new goal. You have to keep working toward that little goal. You have to get the one that got away yesterday.

Each goal needs to be very clearly defined with an identifiable result.

The next blog will be on being led, coached or trained and its importance.

Realistic Holiday Options

Realistic Holiday Options- how to make a holiday indulgences work for you
This is the most wonderfully fattening time of the year, but it does not have to be.
Let’s first get back to basics and work to incorporate small things into your .

Everything is fine in moderation…It is true. A glass of Egg Nog is okay to enjoy. Bringing home a gallon a day and sucking it up on the couch with a straw at night is not.

Try to incorporate extra exercise into your daily routine to off-set the extra calories. This can be as simple as looking for the furthest parking spot at the mall so you get a little more of a walk in. Maybe go out and rake the leaves yourself instead of sending the kids so you can be a little more active. And we have all heard that standing burns more calories than sitting so wrap those presents standing at the kitchen table rather then sitting in front of the TV.

We have all read that you should make healthy choices when snacking at parties or loading up your plate at a big holiday meal, but as often as you hear it and you try to psych yourself up to make good choices, all is usually lost when the cheeses, cookies, adult beverages and holiday atmosphere greets you at the door. So I suggest you go in with realistic goals and then you won’t be disappointed with yourself the next day because of your overindulgence. Allow yourself a cup of cheer, a bit of dessert, a taste of an appetizer and heck dip a veggie in some dip.

None of the tips are huge lifestyle changes, but offer simple little steps to offer an offset of the indulgences you should enjoy this holiday season with your friends and family.

When is it time to find a Personal Trainer?

So you have probably gone back and forth with this for a while now but just have not been able to commit. You want a personal trainer and you think you need a personal trainer….but do you really?
Have you been going back and forth to the gym for several months without any real ability to commit to a schedule? Just so you know, it isn’t really a schedule if is not consistent for more than a month.
Do you spend more time during your workout looking around at what everyone else is wearing and doing and not truly concentrating on your workout?
Do you leave your workout not only thinking you could have done more, but wishing you had put more effort into your workout?
Can you remember the last time you left your workout actually feeling like you just had a great workout? Do you remember what that great burn even feels like?
My guess is that you have been on a bit of a break from the gym and your workout completely with all the busy-ness of the holidays. So are you going to go back to your bad habits of 2011 in 2012 or is this the year you get back to taking care of yourself in the New Year but in a serious way. A commitment without excuses….you know the excuses. ‘At least I am working out, I could be home but I am here so that counts’. That type of workout (a term which I use loosely) probably does more harm than good. I say more harm because that type of justification caries over into behaviors like eating and lounging. You have the extra cookie, candy, appetizer, meal out with the second, or third, glass of wine. This is where it does more harm than good. What is going on during your visit to the gym is not actually a workout but rather takes just slightly more effort than a vigorous shopping trip. What ends up happening is you are eating and drinking additional calories because you have convinced yourself your gym trips are burning off the indulgences, but in all actuality your workout is doing little more than allowing you to maintain your current weight. Add in the extras from the holidays and your pants will be tight by New Year’s Eve. If any of this is describing you and your ‘workout’ habits or justifications….then a trainer is for you. 

Wrestling for all abilities!

V8 V-Fusion Vegetable & Fruit Smoothie

New must try product!

V8 V-Fusion Vegetable & Fruit Smoothie

When I was home last week my dad introduced me to a great
new product. It is strawberry banana flavored smoothie made by V8. At first I
thought it was just strawberry and bananas. As I started to read the label I
was surprised to see there are actually vegetables in the mix too. One 8 fl.
Oz. serving is one full serving of fruit and one full serving of vegetables
(1/2 cup of each). The USDA recommends a daily intake of 2-1/2 cups of
vegetables and 2 cups of fruit for a 2000 calorie diet. There is NO added sugar
and NO high fructose corn syrup, and yet the sweet refreshing taste completely
covered the taste of the vegetables. The drink is low in saturated fat and
cholesterol and certified by the American Heart Association.

The product is great for people who do not normally eat
vegetables because they do not like them. It is also great for people who are
just looking for a healthy snack! It could often be hard to get your children
to eat vegetables. I would recommend this as a substitute so they don’t miss out
on the vitamins and nutrients found in vegetables. There are NO artificial
colors, flavors, or preservatives. I have been rifling through these things. I
have drank around ten bottles in the past week and a half. I just can’t get
enough of them. There are 4.5 servings in each bottle and a bottle cost could
range $2-$4 depending on where you go. I haven’t tried the other flavors yet,
but I intend to and I hope you all do the same!

Fruits and Vegetables Included: Strawberries, Bananas,
Pears, Apples, Beet, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes

Nutrition Facts:

Calories- 130

No fat

No Cholesterol

Sodium- 90mg

Potassium- 400mg

Total Carb- 32g

Sugar
22g

Dietary
Fiber 2g

Protein- 1g

Vitamin A – 50% daily value for a 2000 calorie diet

Calcium- 2%

Vitamin E- 10%

Vitamin C- 100%

Iron- 4%

Anthony is the Head Trainer at Elite Training LLC. and has a degree in Nutrition from West Chester University. Each week he will have a new Nutrition topic. If you would like Anthony to write on a topic you can send your suggestion to Wayne@EliteTrainingSports.com