"Success doesn't come to chicken-shits." Neither does strength.

As some of you may have seen, I recently came across a quote that has quickly become my favorite. The quote said "Success doesn't come to chicken-shits." It made me laugh but I thought about it and it is so true. Have you ever been through hard times and challenges in your life? Of course you have. Some of us have faced more hard times than others and unfortunately, they will happen again. Divorce, death in the family, severe illness, financial challenges, the struggles of raising children and having a family, starting your own business, moving and owning a home, just to name a few. I personally have been through each and everyone of those. It is to be expected in life that we will face hard times. Many times that is out of our control. But how we deal with them is completely under our control. 

 As many of you also know, I spent over 10 years as a competitive bodybuilder and although that is where I acquired much of my training and nutrition knowledge, what I acquired most from that experience was mental toughness. I found that the discipline required to get up at 5 AM every morning to do my workouts and to stick to my diet for months at a time, during parties and during college when everyone else was eating pizza and drinking beer, made me very mentally strong and proved to me that when I set my mind to something, I could do it. I played hockey in college after only learning to play when I was thirteen years old. At that age, most hockey players have been skating and playing for close to ten years already! I still remember going to a summer camp where I was, by far, the worst kid there. Having usually been one of the better athletes in my other sports, this was new for me. And it really sucked. I was falling down during drills, wearing old shitty equipment. Other kids were literally laughing at me. Somehow, which I still find shocking, I came back each day. I refused to give up. My mind was strong enough to say "No way I am giving up and one day, I will be as good as all of these guys." I don't know where that came from, but I had to dig deep. I remember crying on the way home from the first day. But when my mom asked me if I wanted to go back tomorrow, I said yes. ( I will never forget the satisfaction when in college, some 7 years later, I played against one of the "cool kids" from that summer camp and I knocked him on his ass. Another cool side effect of strength.)

Training hard has that same effect. When you can get out of bed when it's still dark out, go to the gym relying solely on your own discipline to do so, push yourself with heavy weights and exercises that are very hard and cause you to dig deep, it helps you to understand how strong and disciplined you can really be. And this has a huge crossover to real life. There will be many times in life when things are tough and require you to dig deep. 

Some people think going to the gym at 6 am and doing heavy squats and presses is hard. That's not hard. You know what's hard? Raising a family is hard. Fighting cancer is hard. Losing a family member or friend is hard. Training is easy. I think of my father, who had to wake up at 4:30 in the morning several days a week to drive me to those hockey practices and then to drive me all the way home, then go and do a full day's work and all of the other responsibilities that come with being a father. What if he had decided that that was just too difficult and he would rather sleep? I think about what I watch my wife do when she takes care of our children. She has to wake up numerous times throughout the night, take care of them and then still get up at 6:30 am when they are ready to get up. My oldest daughter is almost 7 years old and I can't think of more than a handful of days in seven years that my wife has slept a full night. What if she thought it was just too tough to get up and take care of our kids at night? What if she said she was just too tired? Her mental and emotional strength to not only bear these children, but to take care of them each and everyday never ceases to amaze me. She has a strength far greater than mine. The lesson here is that to be successful in life, to have the life that you want and to be the person you want to be takes guts. It takes courage. It takes strength. The work ethic, discipline, and motivation it takes to achieve a strong body lead to a strong mind and ultimately to a strong life. This is why I love strength. And it doesn't come to chicken-shits. ;-)

Interested in learning more about how to get stronger and join the Iron Will team? email me info@ironwillstrengthstudio.com and we'll chat.

How what you eat can determine what kind of day you have..

For years athletes have always had some pretty bizarre pre-game rituals. They have lucky socks and underwear, weird playoff rituals like playoff beards and abstaining from sex and of course, their favorite pre-game meals. Now, while some of those rituals may have dubious origins and questionable effects on game day performance, the right pre-game meal certainly can make or break the player’s performance, very likely more than the athlete even realizes. Let me explain how this works and how you can put this idea to work for you.

Nutrition and body chemistry is a very tricky thing. As many of you who are following The PROGRAM workout and nutritional protocol know, often times what works is the exact opposite of what you have been taught or what you would expect. And even when we think we have it figured out, differences in individual biochemistries may throw us for a loop. So, while the same general blueprint of how to eat may work for the majority of people, there will always be variations from person to person. This can be as subtle as one person responding very positively to salt and the other having a negative reaction, or it can be as dramatic as the person who goes into anaphylactic shock after eating a certain kind of nut or shellfish.

For every person, there will be certain foods and nutrients that have a very powerful effect on them, either positive or negative. Simply put, certain meals (combinations of foods) can make you feel great while other combinations can make you feel terrible. Obviously, it would be very beneficial to know which meals make us feel great and which make us feel bad, and that way we can be sure to emphasize the good and stay away from the bad. There will also be many foods that have more of a neutral effect, meaning they don’t make us feel particularly good or bad. Identifying the meals that make us feel great is extremely helpful because once you know that, you can literally ensure that you feel good for any important events in your life. Think about it. Have you ever had a big presentation to give or a special occasion that you really hoped that you would feel good for? You know the feeling… You may have a big job interview tomorrow and you just hope that you wake up and feel that great “in the zone” feeling, that feeling where your mind and body seem in harmony, you are in a great mood and clear-headed, firing on all cylinders. Now contrast that to the days that you wake up “on the wrong side of the bed.” You know those days right? Where your energy just sucks and you can’t get in a good mood for anything? No energy, no motivation and your brain simply feels foggy. It really sucks to wake up on the day of something big and feel that way. For that matter, it sucks to wake up and feel that way on any day. The good news is that the majority of the time, that mood and sense of energy and well-being is food-related and that means it is much more under our control than we may have thought. It is not just luck or the position of the moon. It is our body chemistry and that is primarily controlled by what we put in our bodies. Cool right?

Now, while it is virtually impossible to predict how every individual will react to every different food and nutrient, there is one way that is very simple and effective in determining what our best “pre-game meal” should be. By paying close attention to how we ‘feel’ after our meals and taking a moment to notice and actually record it somehow, we will learn what foods and meals we react well too and we can develop a food and meal plan that consists entirely of food that make us feel great. Your body is your best teacher, but you need to know how to listen. Here’s what to do. For the next few days, every time you eat a meal or snack, pay attention to how you feel immediately after and about 30-45 minutes after. Pay attention to your energy level, your attitude (do you feel positive and up or kind of depressed and down?), your mental focus (do you feel clarity or do you feel foggy?) and make a quick note of any effects that are notable, either particularly good or particularly bad. (Even better, just make notes after every meal and snack and you will learn much more quickly. It takes a little more time but it is worth it.) The notes don’t have to be anything elaborate, they can just be jotted down in your Iphone Notes (that’s what I do) or in a little notebook. After a few days, review them and you will start to see patterns. Then literally make a list of “power meals” that make you feel great and note which foods they are and begin to eat more of those and less of the foods and meals that drain your energy.

Going forward, you will be able to ensure that every day is a great energy day, simply but managing your body chemistry and deciding what fuel to put in it. This has been literally life-changing for me, as before I discovered this I spent many days wondering why I “woke up on the wrong side of the bed” or why I seemed so down and depressed on certain days and so energetic and positive on others. I couldn’t really identify why I could feel so different from one day to the next, particularly when the obvious factors where pretty consistent (sleep, stress, relationship status, alcohol intake, etc.). If all of that stuff is under control, because obviously all of that can have a major impact on how you feel each day, you can be sure that the thing that primarily affects your energy and mood is your food intake. It will feel great to know that you can now take complete control of your life and manage your moods with this simple technique.   

Have an awesome day! 

"Helping ordinary people do extraordinary things."

www.getontheprogram.com

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Interested in learning more about how to get stronger and join the Iron Will team? email me info@ironwillstrengthstudio.com and we'll chat.

Fueling the Young Athlete

Fueling the Young Athlete

-Carbs are essential, but it’s important to have them at the right time.

          The most important time to load up on carbohydrates is immediately after a hard workout. This will replenish the glycogen (stored energy) in the muscles that were just worked.  For example, many teams and athletes eat a high carbohydrate (usually pasta) meal the night before a big game, which is good but a more important time to eat that high carbohydrate meal would have been immediately following their last practice or game. Immediately after intense exercise the muscles are “wide open” to store carbohydrates for future use. If the athlete waits more than 1-2 hours post exercise to consume his/her carbohydrates, he will have missed the valuable “window” of opportunity to load up his fatigued muscles. Carbohydrates taken in later than that window are much less effective at loading the muscles.

TAKEAWAY- Ingest a high carbohydrate meal immediately following all intense games, practices and workout sessions. A good meal would consist of bread, fruit, pasta and juice. Keep fats relatively low during this meal (ie: if having pizza, limit sausage and pepperoni, stick with toppings of just cheese and if desired, some veggies.)

-Sugar is not always the enemy- There is a time and place for it.

          Immediately following a hard training session or game, as mentioned above, is the ideal “window” to load carbohydrates and replenish stored energy (glycogen) in the muscles. Sugar is a very fast acting carbohydrate that can help accomplish this goal quickly. With that in mind, immediately following a game or workout is the best time to take in sugar, like juice or even some homemade cookies (see recipe here: Homemade Oatmeal Cookies). Knowing that young athletes often have a taste for sweets, it is not necessary to forgo them completely, but simply to eat them when they will actually be beneficial to their performance, which is during that post-workout window.

TAKEAWAY- Sugar in the young athlete’s diet should be limited, but is allowed and actually recommended during the post workout (post game) window. This can be in the form of juice, Gatorade, fruit or homemade cookies.)

-Hydration is key. Game day water could arguably be the most important factor in performance and endurance that day.

• Even a slightly dehydrated athlete will see their performance and endurance significantly impaired. One of the easiest things to do to increase performance is to ensure that the athlete takes in 16-20 fl oz. of water 2-3 hours before exercise and an additional 8-10 fl oz. of water 10-15 min before exercise. It doesn’t have to be any more complicated than that but it is VERY important.

“All men are created equal, but some men work harder in preseason.”- Emmitt Smith

-Protein is important to include in a growing athlete’s diet, but it is not important in the pre-workout meal.

·        Healthy proteins like eggs, turkey, chicken, etc. are important to fuel a growing body but a pre-game meal of chicken breast and salad is a big mistake. Keep the protein meals for all meals other than the pre-game and post-game meals. Keep those meals predominantly carbohydrate based (potatoes, breads, fruits, etc.)

Scott Baumann

Strength and performance coach

Ironwillstrengthstudio@gmail.com

www.ironwillstrength.blogspot.com

www.ironwillstrengthstudio.com

Common Concerns on The PROGRAM nutrition protocol

Common concerns-

 Let me take a minute to address some of the common concerns with The PROGRAM nutritional protocol and similar diet plans. One of the most common common and obvious concerns is the high intake of fat in this plan. This is an understandable concern since we have all been brainwashed for years about the supposed hazards of fat. Fortunately for us, there is more and more research every day coming out that dispels this myth. Here is a link to several articles on that topic. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/07/27/saturated-fat-cholesterol.aspx

In a nutshell, it has been proven that saturated fat intake is not related to heart disease and cholesterol problems and in fact, it is more likely that the traditional low-fat diet has led to the majority of heart disease in this country. When following a low-fat diet, the result is usually high carbohydrate diet which has been shown to have a more adverse affect on heart health. In addition, trans fats (http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/trans-fat/art-20046114) have always been and continue to be a problem and they are found in margarine and in most processed foods and baked goods. Fortunately for those of us On The PROGRAM we limit the intake of those products so we should have a diet that is free of trans fats. Again, I am no doctor, but I can relay the information out there and try to make sense of it for you. Another common concern on this diet is occasional episodes of low blood sugar. This typically happens when the client is not eating enough fat throughout the day or in a particular meal. If you experience symptoms of low blood sugar, you should take a look at the meal prior to the incident and most likely you will find it was either a lean protein and a vegetable, without a substantial amount if fat or it was a simple carbohydrate meal (which should never happen in The PROGRAM) which left you in a reactive hypoglycemic state (http://www.fitnessandfatlossguru.blogspot.com/2013/02/reactive-hypoglycemia.html?m=1). Either way,  episodes of low blood sugar should not be an issue on THe PROGRAM if you are following the recommendations. This includes the recommendation to avoid or at least limit alcohol intake. Alcohol intake is strongly related to hypoglycemic episodes (low blood sugar). Again, the most common cause of a low blood sugar episode is not having enough fat with your meals.

Finally, because of our many long-standing beliefs about nutrition, there is concern that this diet may not be healthy. I would strongly disagree with that notion and again, look to the research. A diet high in healthy (non-trans) fats, high in vegetables, moderate in fruit, moderate in high-quality protein and very low in refined carbohydrates can only be good. There is a ton of research to support this notion. Additionally, for anyone who is still concerned about their health, I would ask them to pay close attention to their moods, their energy levels and the way that they look and feel. It is reasonable to assume that if you have good energy, are feeling great mental clarity, losing body fat and have good energy that this is a good way of eating for you. If you do not feel that way, then perhaps this is not a good program for you. But in all honesty, I have yet to meet someone who does not feel better, look better and have more energy on this program.

Some popular reader questions and the answers.

"Is it okay to run for 30 minutes after weight workout? Or is it counter-productive?"

 Great question and, like usual, a relatively complicated answer to a relatively simple question. Here goes-First we need to know what the goal of the cardio is. If the goal of cardio is conditioning and "wind", like in the case of an athlete or someone who is training to be faster, to last an entire basketball game, to complete a stairclimb or 5K, that is a different story than someone who is doing cardio to lose weight or lose fat. The second factor is if that someone is following The PROGRAM Nutrition Protocol. Let's assume that someone is on The PROGRAM. Cardio for conditioning and sport needs to be of high intensity (ie: sprinting, boxing, jump rope) and can be performed just about anytime, including post-workout. If the goal is weight loss and body fat loss, then the cardio should be done in a low glucose, low insulin state, like first thing in the am before food and done in a relatively low intensity fashion (ie: incline walk, slow jog).

I've been getting some cramps at night in my feet and calves. What's that all about? 

Cramping is usually a combo of dehydration and mineral/vitamin deficiency or imbalance. So, we need to stay hydrated (hence the importance of the Week 1 Success Challenge of 2 glasses of H2O first thing) and we need to eat a variety of foods (especially greens and fruits) to get all of our nutrients and take a whole-food based multivitamin/multimineral. Remember, fruits are ok as this is NOT a no carb diet. It is a reduced or restricted carb diet, so many of your snacks and meals can have a small piece of fruit or berries, etc. Here is a list of some common vitamin/mineral deficiencies associated with reduced carb diets and sources to get those vitamins and minerals.

Thiamin - The best source is pork - a 3.5 ounce serving provides a day's supply of thiamin. Other excellent low-carb sources are nutritional yeast, tuna, lamb, and sunflower seeds. Other good sources include asparagus, soy beans and other legumes, and some nuts. Also, a wide variety of foods contain smaller amounts - this is true for most nutrients.

Folate - Basically, "green stuff" - spinach, collards, lettuce, other greens, broccoli, asparagus, avocado, cabbage, and artichokes.

Vitamin C - Many non-starchy vegetables and low-sugar fruits have high amounts of Vitamin C, including broccoli, red Bell peppers, Brussels sprouts, strawberries, cauliflower, kale and other greens, cantaloupe, and raspberries.

Vitamin E - Sunflower and other seeds, nuts (especially peanuts and almonds), peppers, broccoli, olives, pumpkin, and, yes, greens.

Iron - Organ meats (e.g. liver), wild fish, clams, beef, spinach, soy beans, pumpkin seeds, and chard.

Magnesium - Fish, spinach (and other greens - I'm not kidding when I say greens are nutritional powerhouses), flax seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, other nuts and seeds, soybeans and other legumes, squashes and their seeds (including pumpkin) and (yippee!) chocolate.

Moral of the story: Eat a variety of foods; load up on greens, fish, and broccoli; include nuts and seeds.

What about these "Quest" protein/meal replacement bars? Are they good? Can I eat them on The PROGRAM?

 Great question.  First off, based off of the label, these look pretty good, as good as a processed food bar can look. Good ingredients, with the exception of Isomalto-Oligosaccharides (Prebiotic Fiber). Why do I say that is the exception? Because I don't know what the hell that is or how to pronounce it. A good rule of thumb is that if you don't recognize the name or can't pronounce it, probably not a good thing to put in your body. So, assuming that is not going to kill us, I'd put the Quest bar as an "ok", but not recommended. Good to keep in your bag or at your desk in a "once in a while" situation, but nothing to eat regularly. The best way to eat is to think this way- The goal is to eat nothing processed. That means, if it is available in nature, 1000 years ago, eat it. If not, don't eat it. I don't think we could find a Quest bar in the woods. Now remember, before you think I'm a big downer, my goal for all of you is for you to be f*cking awesome and incredible, not ok. So, if you want to be f*cking awesome and incredible, don't eat that crap. Eat real food. If you are ok with being ok, then that's a different story but I know I want to create the best "you" possible. Now go get after it and have an incredibly awesome day.

Why most people lose muscle while on a diet- Some common mistakes...

Why most people lose muscle while on a diet- Some common mistakes...

Like most things in our society today, I see the weight loss/fat loss people falling into one of three camps. The first camp are the "I have to starve and suffer to lose weight and get lean" folks. They go for hours or days without eating, and may do this sporatically for months at a time. I am sure you know one of these folks and you may actually be one of these folks. They continue to starve themselves and suffer for a few months until they realize two things. First, "I can't do this anymore!" kicks in and they bail and binge. Time to start over in another month or two, worse off than where they were before. These people have also been called "yo yo dieters". The second reason they stop is that they realize they may be lighter on the scale (a little) from all of this suffering, but they don't really look any better, in fact, they often look worse! They have gotten a little smaller but not much, and definitely don't look any leaner, in fact they are flabbier. "Wtf??"
The second group is very similar to the first group, as they feel they must suffer to get lean but they choose to suffer not with diet but with cardio. Daily cardio sessions, for up to hours at a time done for weeks on end only to show minimal, if any, results. They too end up softer, flabbier and not really much leaner and certainly not more energetic. So instead of being lean, strong and full of vitality and energy, they are a little smaller, flabbier, tired and probably pretty achy and sick of exercise.
The third group are the folks who have been reading Muscle and Fitness and Shape magazine for 10 years and are afraid to go 2 hours without protein for fear that they may lose all of their hard earned muscle. (This was me for about 20 years.) They will eat even when they are not hungry to make sure they are in "positive nitrogen balance" because if they are not, the catabolic devil will creep up and eat all of their muscle!
All three of these groups of folks have a few things in common. One, they have a common goal of getting lean and losing fat. Two, they have a misguided, yet completely understandable, approach to getting lean. It is no wonder they are all so confused as their is so much information out there, good and bad, that it is almost impossible to know what to believe. Here is the real deal:
The secret to not losing (maintaining) muscle on a diet is heavy resistance training. Yes, that is the secret. Heavy resistance training gives the body a reason to hang on to muscle (and even build some in the process). If we are not performing heavy resistance training and giving the muscle a reason to stay, once we get into a calorie- reduced state our body chooses to eat up muscle rather than fat. Fat is actually more beneficial for the body to have in a calorie- reduced state. Think about it. If the body perceives that we are starving and may have to go a while without food, would it be better to have 10 lbs of stored  fat available as food down the road or to have nice arms and shoulders? Lol that's a no brainer! Our bodies main goal is survival, not having a nice ass or six pack abs.
If we diet (go into a calorie-reduced state) without heavy resistance training, we will lose muscle and keep the fat. That is what happens with Groups 1 and 2 above. When we starve or cardio-off the calories, without resistance training we lose muscle instead of fat and get smaller and flabbier. If we train hard and heavy, with more focus on weights and less focus on cardio, we can eat less and go for a few hours without protein (Group 3 I am talking to you now) and still maintain our muscle mass and get leaner!
Interested in learning more about how to get stronger and join the Iron Will team? email me info@ironwillstrengthstudio.com and we'll chat.
Hook up with me here: Online training, nutrition and inner circle membership support- www.theprogram.trainerize.com

What type of cardio is best to lose weight?

"What type of cardio is best to lose weight?"

This is a very common question and one that I get almost daily. The answer may surprise you. Are you ready? Here is is: Exercise is actually not a very effective way to lose weight. Now this may sound crazy, coming from someone who specializes in exercise but it's true. Exercise is great for many things but it has proven relatively ineffective for weight-loss. Let me explain..
While many people think that cardio is the key to weight loss and more importantly, fat loss; research and anecdotal evidence shows it just doesn't work very well. For example, over the years I have done seminars for hundreds of runners. One of the things I ask every group is why they started running. Most say "to lose weight" and yet most of them admit that they haven't lost much, if any and in fact , many report actually gaining weight!

There are a few reasons for this. First off, it is almost impossible to out-cardio your mouth. It takes 3 minutes to eat 300 calories and about 60 minutes to burn those calories. You will lose that contest every time. (Side note- although your favorite cardio machine may tell you you are burning 300 calories in 30 minutes or something crazy like that, you are not. The machines notoriously over-estimate your calorie burn. Think about it.. If you were really burning so many calories, why are you not losing more weight?)

The second point is that traditional cardio increases the appetite and more often than not, you will end up consuming more than you burned. Not good for weight loss. Resistance training, while the best tool for building muscle and sculpting and reshaping the body, it is historically not very effective for weight loss either. So what does work for weight loss or fat loss? It is very simple and something bodybuilders have been doing for years. (And by the way there is no group of athletes that loses bodyfat more consistently or more effectively than bodybuilders, who routinely achieve bodyfat levels of below 7%.) A low or reduced carbohydrate diet is the most effective way to lose weight.

Combined with a solid and consistent resistance training program and a "little" cardio (20 min, 3x per week), a low carb diet will give you the lean and toned physique that most people are looking for. While it is tempting to believe that you can eat crap and burn it off with cardio, you can't. Lots of people try this approach, and those are the sad individuals who you see virtually chained to the cardio machines at the gym for hours and hours, yet they are still overweight. They will stay that way forever until they accept the reality that eating properly is the only way.

In addition to my Ebook, The PROGRAM- Nutrition Protocol for fat loss and muscle gain, this is a great Low Carb Cookbook. 

** Special footnote: Once you have grasped the concept of low carb, moderate fat and moderate protein eating as outlined in my Ebook The PROGRAM, you can add Metabolic Acceleration Conditioning to your routine. This type of interval cardio actually does burn tons of calories and increases the metabolism in a way that is completely different than traditional cardio. Contact me here to learn more about this type of training.
 Hook up with me here: Online training, nutrition (Ebook- "The PROGRAM- Nutrition protocol for fat loss and muscle gain.") and inner circle membership and support- www.theprogram.trainerize.com