Don’t make your eating plan hard when its simple

How many carbs do I eat? Should I have steak with every meal? Should I not eat after 8pm? What percentage should be protein?

These are the kinds of nonsense questions I see, hear and read all day long. I could tell you what foods you need to eat (and I will tell you some that will help in your weight loss and muscle building endeavors) but this is not that post. In this simple post I will tell you the simple answer and what not to do.

What shouldn’t I eat?

Simple answer, anything processed. If you want to have real results in life then your answer is going to be you need to eat real foods. Real foods are those that are not at all or at the very least minimally processed. Organic grass fed meat and beef, organic fruits and veggies. These are the foods that will provide you with health that will in turn give you what you need to reach your goals and feel good about it.

To reach your goals to be lean and strong follow this simple advice. Eat less, exercise more and eat more fruits and veggies. That’s it. For breakfast avoid carb and sugar heavy foods like cereal and reach for the eggs and fruit. For snacks munch on nuts and berries. For lunch and dinner eat a small portion of protein (we discussed in previous posts that more protein is not better), which you can measure by make sure it is no larger then the size of your closed fist. Have a large serving of veggies with this and you should meet your goals and food requirements.

Food requirements look like this 5-10oz of protein from meat, beans and legumes, 1-3 servings of fruits and 3-5 servings of veggies. And please, please, if you are drinking anything other then water, stop. Water is what your body is made to drink, nothing else will meet your hydration needs better then water. Soda, soft drinks of any kind that are sweetened are all immediately stored as fat in the body, no value.

So what should I eat?

If after what I have told you, in very simple terms, about what to eat is not clear enough this should answer your question. Any reasonable person knows what is good and healthy. If you are eating a bag of chips, a large soda and a hamburger from McDonalds I don’t care who you are, you know that is an unhealthy meal that will not help you meet your goals. Remember, every day is a new day. Missing a day will not ruin your goals but if you continue each day with a defeated attitude because you messed up on a meal or a day then you have already lost.

Oh and remember, don’t forget to cheat one day out of every week. Eat everything, as much as you like of cakes, cookies, burgers, French fries. No one can live their whole life as a saint. Plus, studies actually indicate that a spike in calories shocks the system to help keep metabolism alive and well, your safe on that day.

Mind over matter for fast gains

Numerous studies have been completed verifying a mind-body connection in regards to every physical activity. This is not hard to imagine since our physical body is controlled by the movements our brain decides. The biggest thing to take away from these studies is how it will affect your training.

Lift more through visualization

Have you ever visualized something you were about to do and completed that task smoother then if you simply winged it? Thats because your mind has focused on the task and completed it as a top priority without any distraction. Pro athletes use visualization all the time to enhance their play. Visuallizing a hit ,or a play, or a complete game is not uncommon.

The best way to utilize this is to take 15-30 seconds before beginning an exercise session or specific activity and visualize what it is you are about to do. This 15-30 seconds has been shown as optimal to make the connection for your task. Anything longer may be helpful but does not create a significant increase from the initial visualization. For instance, if you are going to do 20 squats but have only been able to do 15 before, visualize your body squatting, the movement, the powerful explosive up thrust. Doing this for 15-30 seconds has been shown to prime the brain and therefore the muscles for the task it is about to complete. By doing this you will see gains in whatever exercise or activity you are engaging in.

Power of positive thinking

If you walk in to any book store you will find a million books on positive thinking. The secret or any number of books like it will tell you to think of what you want and it will come true. While these books are hard pressed for real evidence it is factual when it comes to things your physical body can accomplish. When you are exhausted, be it from a run, a swim meet, a game, an exercise circuit, you feel as though you are wiped out, you couldn't possibly do any more. This is not true. Most people never reach their full potential or reach a platuea that can not be broken.

Hiring trainers is a perfect example of how a person can be pushed to the next level. Trainers push you harder then you would yourself. Naturally, your body does not want to do a lot of hard, stressful work but your brain tells it to. This same affect can be produced by yourself. Again, using the example of squats, you will actively need to tell your brain and therefore your body what you are going to accomplish. If you are attempting to reach 20 squats, then do it. When you hit 18 and your legs are burning with lactic acid, this is when you need to tell your brain that  you WILL COMPLETE 2 MORE REPS! Don't be surprised when you actually hit 20, just tell your body to do one more.

Tricking your body into doing the work is a method that has shown results. Hit your goal and then just like a personal trainer would do, tell your body that you are doing 5 more reps. Even if you know you are going to do this your body will be thrown off and this is exactly how gains are made, by challenging muscles. Give these body-mind connection tricks a try and see if they get you All the Way Fit. Enjoy.

Side to side push up can build muscle and target weaknesses

We have talked about many push up variations here. One of the best for beginners is the side to side push up. There are a few versions of this push up.

Start in the push up position with arms slightly wider then shoulder width apart. Begin to lower yourself to the ground but lean to your left side so that your left pectoral comes close to touching your left hand. Push yourself back up and complete a similar movement but toward your opposite hand. Attempt to be able to do 20 reps to each side. Once you have mastered these variations consider raising a leg or adding a weighted vest to increase tension and difficulty.

A variation on this is to slide from one hand to the other once you have lowered yourself. The individual in the below video shows a perfect example of how to complete these two variations.

This movement sounds easy and not much of a change however you will notice the result right away. If this is your first time trying this you will feel the burn in your pectoral by the third rep. This is because you are putting almost all your weight onto one side of your body and this is causing that pectoral to lift the load. This is good because it is not a complete unilateral movement so your body has stability but at the same time it is working one side harder then the other. This will correct any weaknesses while building additional strength.

Bet you didn't even know alligators could do a push up

Push ups have a thousand variations, here is another for your work out arsenal. This variation will really test your upper body and core strength while building more of the same.

The alligator is a tough push-up move to master but once you can complete this regularly you will be stronger then most.

1. Start in a regular push up position.
2. Move your left hand forward. Your left shoulder will naturally curve in towards the center of your body causing a slight curve like the walk of an alligator, hence the name. Whether you curve your body or simply move your hand foward does not matter. Curving the body will put more tension on the hand closer to your chest making it slightly more difficult. Both moves are effective.
3. Complete the push up by slowly lowering your body and returning to a push up position
4. repeat with the other hand. Each push-up counts as one rep.

If you need a simpler version start by moving one hand straight forward, completing the push up and then moving the other hand farther ahead.The slight arch curve you see in this video from our friends at Mountain Athlete makes it a tab more difficult and the return stretch is a nice addition to keep the hips loose.

Try to complete 30-40 reps. Doing this many reps will equal 15-20 push ups to each side. Because of the alligator curve, with one hand in front of the other, it will place more tension on the shoulder and pectoral closer to your abdomen. It will be help to reduce any weakness one side of the body has as it is almost a unilateral movement.

Once you can complete 30-40 reps with ease its time to invest in a weighted vest. The one seen to the left is quite comfortable and provides a great challenge once you have mastered a lot of the body weight exercises. It will take your workouts, weight loss, strength and muscle gains to a whole new level.

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