@FitnessHeroics.

Are you stuck in a rut?

September 8, 2016 by @FitnessHeroics.

It happens to the best of us, we fall hard into a training rut. What causes this ? Many things can be a huge factor. Your job, relationships, even stress from life can bring you down. Wouldn’t it be nice if we can keep the motivation that you get some days for others that seem impossible to get through? Falling into a rut can seem impossible to get out of, however you have to keep climbing until you get out of it.

You never “lose” this motivation, it’s just dispersed elsewhere for the time being. You have all the power to get it back it might just take some digging. Lucky for you I have a few tricks to get you back to that motivated state of being !

#1- What is the cause of your lack of motivation? If you can learn to pinpoint what is really going on, you might even find that it has nothing to do with training and you are just putting that on the back burner. What are your goals? What are you trying to achieve? Many people want everything NOW and when the going gets rough they just give up!
** Quick trick ** Imagine yourself reaching the goal you want. How does that feel? That should be motivation enough to push you through the rough days !

#2-Be honest with yourself. What are your goals? Are they realistic for the time frame you are in? Make your goals clear and to the point. Don’t allow yourself to negotiate and set a timeline for you to achieve it!
** Sign up for an event that your goals pertain to. It sets a deadline for you to accomplish it **

#3-Thoughts become action. If you believe it you can achieve it. Know that anything is possible. Not only can you do it, you deserve to do it, and do it well. As the famous American industrialist Henry Ford said: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
** Make a vision board. Put all your goals on there, start with small ones and then big future goals. Look at it every day and keep pushing until you reach them! **

#4- No matter how small the step, it’s still a step ! You need to value the journey. Take time to look at what you did accomplish and what you are moving toward. Don’t allow yourself to compare to the future because you are not there yet. Don’t dwell in the past either, take today for what it’s worth !
** Do a transformation photo collage ! You can see where you were to the present moment. Many people will be shocked at the changes ! **

#5- What is the most common reason to quit? Willpower and the mind! Yes your mind is a muscle. Use it for good and you will have all the power in the world to accomplish what you want. However, you also need to respect and trust the process. It’s a journey. Your mind and body are linked in a constant state of communication. How you move, speak, stand, and sit has a direct link to your emotions. Think about what state of mind you need to be in to succeed in achieving your goal. Do you need to stand up straight, smile,and have open body language? You might be surprised at what else you can achieve simply by changing your thought processes.
** Conduct yourself with positive energy. Be the person in the room people gravitate towards because you have that energy people feed off of ! **

Next time you hit a rut, stay positive and be prepared for the negative feelings it brings. Learn how to cope with them and overcome the emotions it brings. Be positive and be fearless!

No Class Saturday!

September 8, 2016 by @FitnessHeroics.

No Open gym or 9 am CrossFit class !

The World Wide WOD will be hosted at Fitness Heroics this Saturday at 9 am.

Didn’t sign up?? You have 2 more days !

Visit www.thegaragegames.com

Learn to LOVE the kettlbell swing !

September 6, 2016 by @FitnessHeroics.

Do you enjoy kettlebell swings? Many people have a love hate relationship with them unless you learn how to approach them with confidence and strength. Swinging a kettlebell for many is easy in the sense that you don’t need to worry about it crushing you like a back squat would, now that weight you respect.

First thing first, change your attitude about your swings. Tell yourself you love to swing before you reach down to grab the bell. Get excited about it. Lie to yourself until it becomes the truth. Or you will dread it every time you see them in a WOD.

Use your feet as a connection point to the ground. Rocking to your toes causes you to lose your core. When your feet are connected you create some degree of tactile certainty and create balance. What drives the weight? Your hips !!! The hips, knees and abdominals are all supposed to engage at the exact same time.The hips need to be highly active, and the intention behind this drill is to develop speed and crispness. Therefore, your hips arrive first.

Your BIG toe has an important part in the kettlebell swing.
The big toe plays a major role in any movement requiring balance. And since the swing moves your center of gravity front to back versus up and down like in most lifts, balance is critical. When I engage my big toe and press it into the ground during swings without shifting my weight forward, my stability and balance go up.The sense of control increases, and this inevitably translates into my ability to produce power. Try it out !

Are you squeezing? Yes I am really asking you about squeezing your glutes so hard that you start to cramp! Now that your glutes are firing up, activate your abs ! In the swing, think about pulling your lower abs up as your glutes lock into position. It might take a little time. The entire abdominal wall locks into place, hello 6 pack abs !

Remember your neck is a part of your spine, and keeps your spine straight. Do not let the head move independently from the rest of the spine, regardless of position.Now Pack the shoulders down as your arms rise up directs hip and leg energy to the kettlebell.

Are you ready to swing? Too many athletes are timid when it comes to swinging the kettlebell. You can’t be shy to grab on and go ! Swing as hard as you can. If you can get yourself to redline on every rep, in every set, the swing will be iconic in your development. You will max out conditioning, fat loss, speed training, explosiveness, and power.

Lose fat AND build muscle ? What is the science ?

September 1, 2016 by @FitnessHeroics.

Can you loose fat and build muscle at the same time? That’s a question that is debated a lot in the fitness industry. First off you need to know your goal. Do you want to build muscle ? Are you happy with your current body composition? I don’t feel you can build muscle and lose fat at the same time. Now this is only my opinion based on the research I have done and what I have seen with my own body composition.
Here’s the science behind it. If you gain some muscle mass within a certain time period, your metabolism will speed up. You’ll burn more calories at a faster rate and you may actually end up shedding some fat because you gained a little muscle. But what really changed ? It was your body composition and distribution of fat/ fat loss.
So what is your goal? If you want to build muscle, you NEED to be in a calorie surplus. These are the variables you can control as much as possible to create the best environment for gaining muscle:
• Eat MORE than you burn
• Proper macronutrient split
• Minimal cardio
• Heavier weight-lifting sessions (8-12 reps for hypertrophy is most common), longer rest periods
• Larger separation of body part splits to focus more on each muscle group

If you want to lose weight, you need to be in a caloric deficit. These are the variables you can control as much as possible to create the best environment for burning fat:
• Eat less than you bun
• Macronutrient split specific to fat loss
• More frequent cardio for longer durations (preferably a mix of HIIT with steady state for at least 30 minutes a day, 5x a week)
• Faster-paced weight-lifting sessions, higher rep ranges, shorter rest periods, keeping HR high throughout
• Can combine more muscle groups and even incorporate total body workouts
You cannot both gain muscle and lose fat at the same time and get the results you want. If you think you can do everything all at once because you want to build muscle and shed fat it just won’t happen that way. To maximize your time, your expenses, your energy, your efforts and all other resources you are putting into changing your body composition, you need to focus on one or the other. Either gaining muscle or losing fat for a certain period of time in order to truly get great quality, long-term, measurable results.
Reference: Nicole Wilkins

Labor Day Hours

August 31, 2016 by @FitnessHeroics.

Monday Sept. 5th is a modified schedule!

Open gym at 8 am

CrossFit class 9 am

Classes resume regular schedule on Tuesday!

Enjoy your Labor Day!

Microwave Society !

August 30, 2016 by @FitnessHeroics.

We live in a society where we are handed everything. Many time we don’t need to work very hard to get what we want and life is just at the click of a button. So many people ( me included) want it NOW and later is just too far away. What happened with patience and hard work to get there ??

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither are your gains ! SO many people I coach, give up before they see the changes they are about to make. You need to understand that life has ups, downs, and breaking points that need to be maneuvered around. This is so common in the “dieting” world. Why didn’t your “diet” work? Well you probably didn’t give it enough time. Did you gain weight overnight ? Chances are no, it was compiled over years of not eating correctly and NOW you deciding to take action.

If you are training for something, the same mentality needs to go into this. You didn’t get stronger over night. You needed to train hard day in and day out to get the results you are looking for and even then you might fall short. What are you habits? Lifestyle ? Training atmosphere like?

When learning what you can do to better your health, fitness and life, you should put forth 100% effort to obtain those goals. I am also guilty of wanting it NOW vs. waiting for it to happen over time.

The same thing goes when you are choose your program. First question to ask: Can you follow it day in and day out ? Make sure you choose a diet and training program that you can execute on your schedule. No plan will work if you don’t have the time to put into it. The best diet and training program is the one that works for you. Once you find that diet and training program, keep at it, nothing in life worth having comes easy!

If you want long lasting results, you need to be consistent over a measurable amount of time. Thinking that you can have a “quick” fix to anything health and fitness related is not going to end up well in the long run !

@FitnessHeroics.

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