Success Warrior: The Blog That Embraces ADHD

7th Day; 7 Words

 

It's showing signs of spring around here.

Leave your seven words in the comments.

Coach Corner - 25% Discount

The first and most obvious benefit of being a Team BeachBody Coach is the fact that you get 25% off of all your BeachBody purchases.  25% is huge and if you are going to be making several purchases or buying supplements each month, it's going to pay for itself and then some to be a coach, whether or not you intend to take an active role in the coaching or not. 

No one is required to do any coaching or business building as a "coach".  It's there if you want it but I know several people that have signed up under the coach option simply to get the 25% discount because the savings on their monthly purchases exceed the $15 membership fee.  It's a simple financial decision if you are going to be using BeachBody products.

That is initially why I joined up for coaching.  I save money each month on every purchase from BeachBody and my savings exceeds the membership fees.  If you like BeachBody products (and really, what's not to like here people?), then it's just plain silly not to upgrade your BeachBody account to "Coach".

Fuel for Fire - Sleep

One of the best things for your body is to get adequate sleep.

For some reason, my body is craving more so instead of forcing myself through it and then going to work tonight and working until 2am, I'm going to go crash and have a nap.

I'm not going to do a long post on this subject for two reasons:

1. Didn't you hear me, I'm going to go take a nap.
2. I think everyone is well aware of the fact that sleep is very, very good for the body (and mind and weight loss and stress and sex and . . .).

I will throw out a bonus for the ladies today though.

Good night.

 

***

I am an Independent BeachBody Coach for BeachBody.com, a company that offers fitness programs, supplements, and equipment that have absolutely changed my life. 

Have you heard of P90X?  That's BeachBody.  They also have Insanity, Turbo Jam, RevAbs, Brazil Butt Lift, and many more.  They have some of the best exercise programs on the market.  These aren't just DVDs but are complete programs to transform your body.  They also have the hugely popular, and what they call "the most important meal of the day", Shakeology.

They have equipment and supplements in addition to Shakeology and popular exercise programs.  Visit BeachBody.com and click on the "Shop" link to see everything they offer. 

There is also a business side to all this fitness that you can take advantage of.  Whether you're looking to just make a couple hundred extra dollars in fun money or are looking to take complete financial control of your life, BeachBody can help you get there.  If you have a desire to be more fit and would love to help other people do the same while making some money at it, visit BeachBody.com and click on the "Coach" link.  Team up with me and I'll help you reach your goals, in fitness and finance.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook.

Prisoner Lunges (Quads)

Running out of steam.

That's how I've felt the last couple of days.  I'm glad that next week is recovery week even though, as I've mentioned, there isn't a whole lot of recovery.  In fact, I've got a killer plyo workout planned.  We just do much less in terms of weights and actual days.  Monday will only be 3 minutes of exercise.  Tuesday will be a tough HIIT workout and Thursday will be the plyometric workout.  We'll take Wednesday and Friday off from all workouts (except that I'll probably still go for my runs and may even throw in some Kenpo X and Kenpo Cardio).  The idea is to take a break from the weight lifting and let the muscles heal up but not necessarily to stop doing everything.

Active recovery.

Or, in my case, VERY active recovery. 

Hey, long time readers know, that's how I roll.  =)

Today's exercise is for the legs.  We're still not adding any weights but I'm trying to throw in some different body parts for people.  We've hit triceps, chest, lower abs, obliques, and now it's time for some legs.  If you really want to change your body composition more quickly, you have to work your legs.  There are a lot of big muscles in the legs and by working them, you're going to raise your metabolism and if there's one thing we like to do, it's raise metabolism. 

Today is a fairly simple and straight forward exercise but don't underestimate it.  It's a great exercise and if you haven't worked your legs hard in a while, you're going to feel these for the next couple of days.

Try to keep your back straight for these and feel all the tension in your legs.  That's one of the good things about putting your hands behind your head.  It really helps people focus on keeping their backs straight.  You could do lunges with your hands dangling but there is a tendency to lean forward when they are done this way.  That isn't necessarily a bad thing as we'll see somewhere down the road but for this exercise, you should focus your eyes straight ahead and focus your mind on the top of your leg, feeling the contraction as you push yourself back to the start.

I was barefoot for this set of exercises but if you have any balance issues, it would be a good idea to wear some cross trainers so you have lateral support.  I switch around.  Some days I wear shoes, some times I wear my Five Fingers, and there are days when I just go barefoot.  A lot of it depends on all the exercises that I'm going to be doing and some has to do with weather.  It's cold enough right now that I wear shoes to work out.

You may have noticed at the beginning of the video that something had obviously happened before the camera was turned on.  Well, you're in luck.  The camera was rolling when that happened.  Here's take 1 of Prisoner Lunges.  Watch for the shark fin at the bottom of the frame when Tia zooms out.

Our cat's tail is longer than his body.  It's like one of those 15 foot tall CB antennas or maybe he thinks he's a bumper car and keeps his tail up trying to pull electric power from the roof.  Either way, his tail is long enough that even though the camera is up on a tripod, he managed to make into into the frame.

Tia thought it was a good idea to try again with the cat restrained. 

That's what we get for not taking more control over the environment.

"Quiet on the set!"

"Cat on the set?"

"No, quiet on the set.  Kwy-et."

"No, right there.  Cat on the set."

"What the hell?"

***

I am an Independent BeachBody Coach for BeachBody.com, a company that offers fitness programs, supplements, and equipment that have absolutely changed my life. 

Have you heard of P90X?  That's BeachBody.  They also have Insanity, Turbo Jam, RevAbs, Brazil Butt Lift, and many more.  They have some of the best exercise programs on the market.  These aren't just DVDs but are complete programs to transform your body.  They also have the hugely popular, and what they call "the most important meal of the day", Shakeology.

They have equipment and supplements in addition to Shakeology and popular exercise programs.  Visit BeachBody.com and click on the "Shop" link to see everything they offer. 

There is also a business side to all this fitness that you can take advantage of.  Whether you're looking to just make a couple hundred extra dollars in fun money or are looking to take complete financial control of your life, BeachBody can help you get there.  If you have a desire to be more fit and would love to help other people do the same while making some money at it, visit BeachBody.com and click on the "Coach" link.  Team up with me and I'll help you reach your goals, in fitness and finance.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook.

Kayak (Obliques)

EditorMum mentioned something this week that made me think of today's exercise.  If you look around, you'll just pick things up from other activities and sports that you might be able to incorporate into your own sports.  I've done this with karate in a big way.  I watch things, study how people move, and then see how it would work in my own style of self defense.  Weight lifting has played a huge role in what I teach for martial arts.  Figuring out which muscles are being used in different motions has helped me prune out or alter motions that seemed dependent on smaller muscles when there was a way to incorporate larger muscle groups.  If you're going to hit someone, you might as well hit them hard.

Anyway, a few years back I was walking through the casino.  There are TV screens all over the place in this casino and most of them are on sports channels.  On one of the screens, there was some kind of kayaking competition.  Kayakers move their kayaks up and down stream around these hanging gates while going for the best time in doing so.  It was interesting to watch for a few minutes and the thing that I took away from it is that they must have abs of steel.

People might see lots of arm motion but there's no doubt that the muscles that take a kayak upstream are the abs.  Crunching and twisting against the force of the paddle in the water.  To really push the kayak hard up stream or swing it around to change directions, they just must have obliques that are envy-garnering.

I thought about it all day and then when I had a chance, I thought I'd do a little experiment.  Some of my students think that I stay up late dreaming up some of the exercises that I have come up with.  There is some truth to that because sometimes I get some inspiration in that place between awake and asleep but many times, I come up with these things while I'm fully awake.

I sat down in my invisible kayak, looking like Wonder Woman in her jet except without the bullet proof bracelets, and started paddling with my nonexistent paddle.  Nothing.  I shouldn't say "nothing" but very little.  Unlike the kayakers, there's no water resistance to fight against.  All I had was gravity to work with.  After a bit of work, here's what I came up with for my karate students.  Included are some variations that I came up with later when I started teaching fitness classes:

Now, I know that I'm not the original creator of this movement.  In fact, Tony Horton does something similar to the medicine ball version in P90X, except without the medicine ball.  I just thought the back story was interesting, considering what Mum and I were talking about last week.  Most exercises I get from looking at what other people are doing, specifically in exercise but it is possible to look at what people are doing in sports and try to recreate it in your living room or adapt it to your sport.

Speaking of karate, you better believe that the obliques are critical in the martial arts. 

They are also good for all of us that don't always heed the "don't lift and twist at the same time" advice.  Sometimes life just requires lifting and twisting at the same time.  That doesn't mean that you have to throw your back out just because your putting the Christmas decorations away.  In fact, in class, in a stretched out and controlled environment, we do lifting and twisting *on purpose*.  Gasp! 

Sure, you want to be safe.  But, what's safer?  To never, ever, never lift and twist (until that one time that you forget or that's an emergency) or to train yourself to lift and twist with tight hams, glutes, and abs so that your back is getting a huge amount of support from muscles that are far larger and stronger? 

Life isn't static.  Stuff happens.  Things need to be done.  Do we restrict what we do and hope that we don't get injured or do we prepare our bodies to deal as best as we can with what life is going to throw at us?

Try some version of these kayakers and see what you think.  Remember to lean back so that there is constant tension on your abs.  Lift your feet off the ground if you are able to.  Choose a hand motion and a weight (even if it's none) that you find do-able, yet challenging. 

You can go for a certain amount of reps when doing these but I prefer to go for time.  It's completely up to you.  You can also pick your own pace.  If I'm feeling really good, I'll paddle like a madman for the last 10 seconds.  You can also start with your feet up and then put them down if you running out of steam before getting to your goal time.  If you need more help, you can sit up a little bit more.  The closer you get to sitting straight up, the easier the motion gets.

Try out the kayak and let me know what you think.

***

I am an Independent BeachBody Coach for BeachBody.com, a company that offers fitness programs, supplements, and equipment that have absolutely changed my life. 

Have you heard of P90X?  That's BeachBody.  They also have Insanity, Turbo Jam, RevAbs, Brazil Butt Lift, and many more.  They have some of the best exercise programs on the market.  These aren't just DVDs but are complete programs to transform your body.  They also have the hugely popular, and what they call "the most important meal of the day", Shakeology.

They have equipment and supplements in addition to Shakeology and popular exercise programs.  Visit BeachBody.com and click on the "Shop" link to see everything they offer. 

There is also a business side to all this fitness that you can take advantage of.  Whether you're looking to just make a couple hundred extra dollars in fun money or are looking to take complete financial control of your life, BeachBody can help you get there.  If you have a desire to be more fit and would love to help other people do the same while making some money at it, visit BeachBody.com and click on the "Coach" link.  Team up with me and I'll help you reach your goals, in fitness and finance.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook.

Knees to Feet Jumps - Chair Version (Lower Abs)

I've received quite a few comments, online and irl, about the Knees to Feet Jumps and the fact that for many people they are impossible.  I threw them out to shake things up a bit.  Many of the exercises that I'm going to be demonstrating over the year are pretty basic and many people will have seen them.  I thought it would be fun to throw something out there that was a bit different and it really is a good ab workout.

The trouble is that so many people can't do them.

So, I sat down and gave it some thought because just about every exercise can be modified in some way.  I explained what I was thinking about in the original post but I thought it would be a good idea to go back and demonstrate the move.  Using one of these two variations, most people should be able to pull it off.

Remember that if you use chairs, they should be sturdy chairs and be on a non-slip surface.  The pressure from your hands should be straight down but if the pressure starts to vector out, you could shoot the chairs across a slippery surface and fall back to the ground on your knees (ouch) or on your face (double-ouch).

Here's the variations:

The other thing to remember about these is that the more quickly you can bring your knees in front of your body, the more you're going to activate those abs.  You should be trying to simulate, as best you can, the real move.  You can start out slow and get the motion down and then build up in speed as you feel more comfortable with the move.

It can take some practice to get into the groove.  The initial awkwardness of a new move can make a move more difficult than it really is.  Practice will take that away so that you can focus solely on the move and working the lower abs.

When you are ready to try this for realsies, you'll probably have to get rid of the chairs so that you can swing your arms from behind you and then up to help generate the upward thrust to get you off the ground.  In the meantime, these variations can give you some practice and the ability to learn the move without getting hurt.

Try them out and tell me what you think.

Tonight, we are having friends over and other than total calories, I'm pretty much going off my diet for tonight.  I might even go over my normal on calories too since our guests have said they are bringing something special over for desert.  Not sure what it's going to be but I'm pretty sure that I'm going to have to try it.

I won't be going over my maintenance level of calories but there's a good chance that I won't be in the 500-700 calorie deficit range like I usually am. 

It's going to be a nice break though and as I've said before, I highly recommend taking breaks every once in a while.  Whether it's a built-in weekly cheat day or you just let loose when certain events arise, it's a good idea to give your mind and body a break.  Higher carb or calorie days can help keep your metabolism running hotter and that's always a good thing.  Mine is going to be higher carb than I usually eat, with a little more than 40% of today's calories coming from carbs.  My average carb intake over the last two months has been 22%.

College has got both Tia and I a bit stressed right now and if we can somehow stop thinking about college and focus on enjoying the night with friends, it will be a very welcome break.  If . . .

***

I am an Independent BeachBody Coach for BeachBody.com, a company that offers fitness programs, supplements, and equipment that have absolutely changed my life. 

Have you heard of P90X?  That's BeachBody.  They also have Insanity, Turbo Jam, RevAbs, Brazil Butt Lift, and many more.  They have some of the best exercise programs on the market.  These aren't just DVDs but are complete programs to transform your body.  They also have the hugely popular, and what they call "the most important meal of the day", Shakeology.

They have equipment and supplements in addition to Shakeology and popular exercise programs.  Visit BeachBody.com and click on the "Shop" link to see everything they offer. 

There is also a business side to all this fitness that you can take advantage of.  Whether you're looking to just make a couple hundred extra dollars in fun money or are looking to take complete financial control of your life, BeachBody can help you get there.  If you have a desire to be more fit and would love to help other people do the same while making some money at it, visit BeachBody.com and click on the "Coach" link.  Team up with me and I'll help you reach your goals, in fitness and finance.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook.

Fitness Journal - Day #59

Can you believe that it's been 59 days?  It's amazing how fast it all moves along.

I lost 2 pounds last week.  That's 5 in two weeks.  How cool is that? 

I had to move in a notch on my belts.  That's always a good feeling.  There aren't any more notches to move in on the belt that I wear to work so if this trend continues, I'll have to punch a hole or buy a new belt.  Really, that's not something that a person can complain about. 

Last week, Tia was talking again about how loose her pants were getting.  I was wearing a pair of jeans that I got for my birthday in November.  I thought I'd see how loose mine were so I gave them a gentle tug.  Good thing it was just her and I in the kitchen because they slipped right down.  Hello!  In fact, on that pair of jeans, I'd probably have to take the belt in another notch but the cloth is bunching up to create a bigger me than there really is.  If I keep going, I'll have to buy new jeans.  Again, nothing that anyone can complain about.

Here's what my goal graph looks like this week:

After the 200 pound stagnation scare of 2010, things seem to be progressing rather nicely at this point.  Down two weeks in a row.  That hasn't happened since I started keeping track.  At best, the week after I lost, I stayed the same for a week or two.  At worst, I gained some of it back.  This time, I've lost weight for two weeks in a row and I'm really looking forward to seeing how this week plays out.

Have you heard of Set Point Theory?

The gist of the theory is that the body tends to stay at a certain weight and resists attempts to either gain or lose weight.  There are different beliefs on what the cause of this tendency and some people who just don't believe in it.

For me personally, I think that there might be something to it but I also think that a lot of it is based on belief.  I have weighed about 200 pounds for . . . I dunno, a long time.  I have gone up and down a bit but when I'm being even halfway decent about diet and exercise, my body just settles into that 200 pound range.  I was (and still am for now) a bit disturbed about the first few weeks of my goal graph where I was bouncing around that 200 pound mark.  I figured this was going to be the same as always.  I don't know if I'm wrong yet but things are looking promising.

I think that given a healthy lifestyle, a person's weight is probably pretty much determined but I think that lifestyle can throw that off.  A continued assault of sugar, refined carbs, chemicals, and American Idle, can certainly throw a person's body out of whack.  Does the body remember what the original set point is or does it create a new one?  I don't know.  Can you reset it back?  I think about these things. 

What do you think?  (Survey)

***

I am an Independent BeachBody Coach for BeachBody.com, a company that offers fitness programs, supplements, and equipment that have absolutely changed my life. 

Have you heard of P90X?  That's BeachBody.  They also have Insanity, Turbo Jam, RevAbs, Brazil Butt Lift, and many more.  They have some of the best exercise programs on the market.  These aren't just DVDs but are complete programs to transform your body.  They also have the hugely popular, and what they call "the most important meal of the day", Shakeology.

They have equipment and supplements in addition to Shakeology and popular exercise programs.  Visit BeachBody.com and click on the "Shop" link to see everything they offer. 

There is also a business side to all this fitness that you can take advantage of.  Whether you're looking to just make a couple hundred extra dollars in fun money or are looking to take complete financial control of your life, BeachBody can help you get there.  If you have a desire to be more fit and would love to help other people do the same while making some money at it, visit BeachBody.com and click on the "Coach" link.  Team up with me and I'll help you reach your goals, in fitness and finance.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook.

7th Day; 7 Words

How to hit someone nine times, quickly:

 

 

Leave your seven words in the comments.

Coach Corner - Questions?

 

I'm going to lock this post at the top of my blog for now.  Scroll down for the most recent posts.

I've noticed that a lot of people come to my blog with questions about P90X and Beachbody.  I have also noticed that the initial pages that they land on, while many times are entertaining, don't necessarily provide the answers to their questions.

I would like to state again that if you have a particular question about P90X, BeachBody, Shakeology, or the Team BeachBody Coaching Business, feel free to leave a comment or email me (link in the right sidebar) and I will do my best to answer your question.  I usually have an answer to people within 24 hours.

One question that I get asked often in email is: What's the most inexpensive way to get Shakeology?  So, I have created a separate blog post where I can refer people to get the answer.  I will still answer person-specific questions by email or phone if you have them.  My email and phone number are on my BeachBody page.

 

Fuel for Fire - Detox Some More

Today is going to have to be a quick one because I have a full day ahead of me.  I just wanted to touch quickly on a couple of topics about detox or maybe I should call it untox.  In the coming months, I'm going to spending quite a bit of time on what you should be putting into your body but today I want to cover a couple of things that shouldn't be put into your body in large quantities.

The first is sugar.  Supposedly, sugar reduces your body's immune system.  I just read an interesting article that stated that this old "fact" might not be true and that being overweight might be the actual culprit in lessening your immune functions.  Of course, a lot of sugar could lead to being overweight too so we still come back to the fact that sugar should be a minimal part of a diet.

Another common substance that may cause problems for people is the grain family.  Some people are just plain allergic to some grains (especially wheat) and if you eat refined grains, you may have similar responses in the body as sugar.  It may also reduce your body's ability to fight off bad bacteria, viruses, and infections. 

Here's something that is very important to note about avoiding grains.  Corn is a grain.  Corn is subsidized by the US government to make cheap food so corn (and all its derivatives) is in just about everything in the center aisles of the grocery store. 

An important part of any detox program (and really, we should be living a detox *lifestyle* not just the occasional "program") would be the reduction of the "tox" in the first place.  If you put less in, there will be less to take out.  Now, there are still going to be toxins in the environment so it's going to be a good idea to add activities and supplements to your life that help minimize the effects of merely being alive in today's world.  Reducing sugar and grain intake while living in today's culture can be a big step for some people but it's something that everyone can do to help take control of their own health.

***

I am an Independent BeachBody Coach for BeachBody.com, a company that offers fitness programs, supplements, and equipment that have absolutely changed my life. 

Have you heard of P90X?  That's BeachBody.  They also have Insanity, Turbo Jam, RevAbs, Brazil Butt Lift, and many more.  They have some of the best exercise programs on the market.  These aren't just DVDs but are complete programs to transform your body.  They also have the hugely popular, and what they call "the most important meal of the day", Shakeology.

They have equipment and supplements in addition to Shakeology and popular exercise programs.  Visit BeachBody.com and click on the "Shop" link to see everything they offer. 

There is also a business side to all this fitness that you can take advantage of.  Whether you're looking to just make a couple hundred extra dollars in fun money or are looking to take complete financial control of your life, BeachBody can help you get there.  If you have a desire to be more fit and would love to help other people do the same while making some money at it, visit BeachBody.com and click on the "Coach" link.  Team up with me and I'll help you reach your goals, in fitness and finance.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook.