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We all know our diets play a HUGE role in how we perform. If you follow anything, you should consume quality lean meats, veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds with occasional starchy veggies. You should limit your intake of sugars and many processed foods. This is mostly common sense that we know and should practice. However, even if you are eating healthy whole foods, you still may fall victim to another nutritional roadblock which is not eating enough. While eating poorly is always the primary issue that needs correcting, not eating enough can cause athletes to lose muscle mass, lack energy and place them in a state of high stress.

Have you hit a plateau? Are you constantly stressed, tired and feel like your running in circles? If so, ready, follow and change your diet to see improved results.

#1- Stress is a problem we all face. Stress from life, work, relationships and then you add in exercise/ training. The stress we face can become chronic in nature which puts your body in a highly stressed state often without the chance to recover. This creates high cortisol levels that creates negative health conditions on our bodies.

#2- Stress and muscle mass are not friends. If you are not eating enough, your body is stressed. If your life is crazy hectic, your body is stressed. When you are in a high state of stress, your body will turn to muscle instead of fat for fuel. WHY? Survival. Your body will eliminate what it doesn’t need to survive. Your body needs fat so it will spare muscle. The complete opposite of what you want to see happen.if you’re consistently under-eating, you could start to experience a loss of muscle mass. This will only be compounded if you’re not eating enough AND you’re working out. Why? Because your body needs carbohydrates and fats to use as energy in a workout. But if the body doesn’t have an adequate source of those nutrients, it will look to get the energy elsewhere, usually from the existing fat stores in your body, or by burning your muscle mass for energy.

#3- Eat less, weight less? Nope sorry to break it to you but many people who think eating less is beneficial ( myself included) are fallen into the “skinny” diet trap. If you’re not supplying the body with fuel from proper nutrition, it will hold on to your stored fat and start burning muscle tissue for energy. Increased stress caused by a lack of eating enough calories can lead to a rise in cortisol levels. This increases the storage of visceral fat cells in areas like your stomach.

#4- Hypertrophy work “should” make a difference. You know all the accessory movements to your lifts? They should be increasing your lean muscle mass ONLY if you are properly fueling your body for the increased work on those muscles. If you want to build muscle, you need to lift heavy weights. If you want to be able to lift weights that progressively get heavier, you need to be eating more so that your muscles have the strength and energy to move that weight.

#5- Lack of energy and constant fatigue. This is a HUGE sign that your body needs more. More food, more sleep, more recovery. To increase the amount of food you eat without stuffing your face in a few monster meals, look to eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day, spaced evenly apart. Doing so will help to regulate your blood glucose levels, not to mention providing you a gradual energy release.

The case in point here is to EAT MORE not less. Fuel your body. Fuel your workouts and start taking care of the hard earned muscle your body is working for !

 

 

The World Wide WOD will be hosted at Fitness Heroics on September 16, 2016. We are officially about 1 month away and our goal is to make this a successful event for all of you!

ALL LEVELS: Beginners, Scaled, Rx, and Masters

WHY is this event worth your time? The money we get for doing this event gets put BACK into the gym !!!

*** NEW EQUIPMENT ***

Don’t delay and get signed up today by clicking the link below. All of the WOD’s are posted, take a look, as a coach if you don’t know what to sign up for and get ready for a fun day of fitness !

World Wide WOD – Global Aftermath 16 – September 10th

 

What is your mental game like ? Having the right attitude in training can make or break your training day. What if your mindset was the key to improving your nutrition, how often you workout, and even recovery. Some mental techniques include meditation, visualization, counselling, and hypnosis, all of which help the athlete learn to mentally push through the plateaus and overcome common breaking points in training.

There are 2 mindsets in training: Fixed and Growth. After reading through them you will identify with one of the two.

The fixed mindset is characterized by the belief that characteristics and qualities are set in stone and can’t be changed or improved.

The growth mindset believes that qualities are cultivated by effort: they can be changed, so human potential is limitless.

How can this affect your training? Well if you are in the fixed mindset you are placing your own limits on your potential. A fixed mindset athlete will avoid the challenge and just accept that they cannot improve. Being in a fixed mindset athlete means that failure is absolute. If a lift is missed or a task can’t be performed, this athlete accepts it and chooses not to challenge it.

To be honest, we have all be there at one time. I know I can say that sometimes there are movements I would rather say:” No I just can’t do it” and I want to leave it like that. However, who is stopping who’s potential? I am. On the other hand, when a challenge arises for a growth mindset athlete, they view challenges as opportunities to get better.

A fixed mindset athlete is most frustrated when effort is needed. Effort means that the task doesn’t come naturally to them, which is an affront to their natural capabilities. Fixed mindset athletes like tasks they can complete right away and with ease. Transition this to a growth mindset and think this is a way to strive for mastery. You can’t get better without challenges and struggles. Just because it’s “hard” doesn’t mean you should blow it off, use it as an opportunity to get better through struggles.

When you see someone succeed in fitness, what do you think of? Many people with fixed mindsets will think they can’t do better so why even try? Looking at individuals who are BETTER should increase the motivational factor.

Your mindset is YOUR choice. You have the ability to do great things if you are not in the way of your own success. Don’t derail your progress by sitting on the sideline. Know you can maximize your growth by putting your mindset in the right place.

Whether you are an elite athlete or striving for a fitness goal, one of the best things you can do is stay on top of your own motivational fire. Believing you can is half the battle and you need to keep a few great thoughts in the back of your mind when you are thinking that you need some extra support !!

-Set goals. Make them achievable within the next 3 months. You don’t want to have a HUGE goal that you are looking to accomplish because that becomes super overwhelming in the beginning. Set yourself up for success by making small attainable goals along the way !

-Turn off the media and DO work. Think of all the time you waste in your day looking at Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat? You can easily turn those things off and find something to do with your time that is productive and helpful for your goals. All those things are just empty space fillers which won’t get you where you want to be anytime fast.

-Don’t be in your own way. Whether you can or can’t it’s your choice. Don’t be the one thing standing in your way to greatness. We all do it, we doubt our ability to achieve things. You can accomplish more if you try and believe in yourself that you can do it!

-Be your own cheerleader. Tell yourself good job for the things you accomplished today. Look back at where you were to where you are now and be excited to keep moving forward. Little successes are still positive movers forward!

-Take care of your body. Overtraining can be a huge motivational killer: when you’re overtrained you’re tired, sore, sleepless, grumpy, even depressed. Worst of all, your results come to a standstill. Take time to listen to what your body needs and it will repay you in PR’s .

At the end of the day, you are in control of your destiny. You have the power to make small achievable goals that leads to larger ones in the future !

It’s that time again!! Bring a friend with you this Saturday August 13th

Everyone can WOD … show them all the fun you have at Fitness Heroics !