Invent

Weekly Reader Question # 8: Bust Through Your Fat Loss Plateau (Part 3)

“Molly, I am so frustrated.  I have lost a ton of weight over the last 14 months (80 lbs.) but now my body seems totally stuck. I still have some weight that I want to lose, and I am still working really hard and eating clean, but the scale is just NOT budging.  Should I just drop more calories? Try to work out more?  I am in the gym 6 days a week right now.  4 day body part split (legs, arms/abs, chest/shoulders, back), (3) 60 minute spin classes, (2) 90 minute kickboxing classes, and I usually do cardio on my own if I am not spinning or kickboxing.  Thanks in advance for your time.” – Sarah G.

 

In part 1 and part 2 of this post, I addressed the exercise and nutrition parts of what I believe is causing Sarah’s fat loss plateau.  Today I am going to discuss the lifestyle components that may help Sarah bust through her fat loss plateau.  Of course, Sarah didn’t provide me with a ton of information about her lifestyle, so these recommendations will be based on the issues that need to be addressed with the majority of my clients who are experiencing fat loss plateaus.  Enjoy!

 

Sleep 

Sleep is an absolutely crucial part of the fat loss equation (and something that I admittedly struggle with a lot).  My buddy Robb Wolf has said (paraphrased), “When it comes to maximum fat loss, adequate sleep can be even more important than exercise.”  WOW!  More important than exercise?!

Could that be right?  Absolutely!  After just a few nights of minimal sleep, your insulin sensitivity is decreased significantly, your cortisol levels will be negatively affected, not to mention you won’t have any energy, you’ll feel like crap, and it will be harder to stick to your nutrition plan!  Here are some tips for adequate sleep:

1. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.  Getting into a routine will help you fall asleep more quickly, stay asleep more easily, and you’ll wake up feeling more refreshed.

2. Try to fall asleep before midnight.  I have nothing to back this up (although I am sure there is information out there to do so). But I’ve heard it my whole life, and I know that I always feel a huge difference when I go to bed before midnight, even if the amount of sleep is the same.  So there’s my awesome anecdotal evidence.  Boom.  You might as well try it and see how you feel.  You’ve got nothing to lose (except maybe more fat!).

3. Shoot for 7-9 hours of sleep every night.  I know, I know…who can honestly get 9 hours?  Seems like a pipe dream, right?  That’s why it’s a GOAL.  Shoot for it.  And the amount of sleep that each of us needs differs greatly.  Some people feel great on 7, while the rest of us need a solid 9 to feel resfreshed.

4. Sleep in a completely pitch black room with NO light (I mean NONE).  This will greatly improve the quality of your sleep and you will feel more rested even if you can’t get *more* sleep.

 

Recovery

I have learned the most about the importance of recovery from my friend, mentor, and business partner Jim Laird.  He preaches recovery to me and to all of our clients all the time because he realizes what an impact it has on their training, and their overall health.

Remember, you don’t get stronger when you’re training, you get stronger when you RECOVER from your training.  Therefore, if you don’t recover, you don’t repair your body, you can’t train as hard the next time you train.  Or if you do continue to train hard without recovering fully, your body will break down at some point.  This could happen in the form of an injury, illness, or even an autoimmune disease.  Here are some of my favorite recovery modalities (we already discussed sleep!):

1. Nutrition: if you don’t have the raw materials that your body needs to function optimally and repair itself, then your body won’t repair itself.  Its that simple.  Eat enough high-quality, nutrient-dense foods like: grass-fed beef, wild-caught fish, vegetables, and fats, and add in some well-timed carbs like sweet potatoes and fruit for optimal recovery.  Learn more about how carbs fit into your diet for optimal fat loss here.

2. Soft tissue mobilization:  this can be done on yourself using a foam roller, lacrosse ball, stick, or theracane.  Or you could see a professional for treatment (massage, ART, etc.).  But either way, soft tissue mobilization is one of the best (and most enjoyable, in my opinion) ways to speed up recovery.

These are all amazing tools for soft tissue mobilization

3. Epsom salt bath: epsom salt baths not only feel incredible, but they can help relieve muscle soreness and speed up repair.  Epsom salt baths are also a great way to increase your magnesium levels.  Many of us are deficient in magnesium and it’s not absorbed easily through the digestive tract, so absorbing it through your skin via an epsom salt bath is perfect.

Learn about more recovery modalities here. 

 

Stress Management

This, believe it or not, is the GRANDADDY of them all.  As we all (should) realize by now, the body is a system.  I like to think of it like an assembly line, and I picture the hilarious I Love Lucy episode where when one part of the assembly line is disrupted, the whole thing turns into a big disaster.

 

If one part of the assmebly line is disrupted, it affects everything else.

 

Luckily, with the human body, things don’t typically go awry that quickly, but you get the idea.  If you’re like most Americans, and you don’t prioritize stress management, your body could be primarily in a state of “fight or flight” (i.e. sympathetic nervous system) all the time.  You see, your body doesn’t differentiate between different types of stress, so the reactions to different stressors are similar.  For example, when you’re late for a meeting and stuck in traffic, fighting with your spouse, or bouncing a check, your body reacts similarly to when you’re being held at gun point, or being chased by a predator.  Essentially, your body thinks you’re running from a lion trying not to get eaten ALL. DAY. LONG.

No wonder we are all exhausted.

Another important point to consider, is that we are the only animals who can create our own stress. We sit around all day worrying and stressing, often about things over which we have no control.  We allow ourselves to be overworked and underpaid, we say “yes” too often when we don’t want to, and we spread ourselves wayyyy too thin (yes, ladies… I am talking to YOU).  Check out this book for more information.

This is actually inspiring a whole other blog post as I type this, so I won’t flesh it out too much here or the post would take five hours to read, but here are the main points:

1. Learn to chill!  Whenever you feel yourself getting worked up about anything, especially if you cannot control it, stop and take 10 deep breaths.  When you are done you will be more relaxed and focused, and hopefully have more perspective on the situation.

2. Meditate!  Whether it’s prayer, deep breathing, or just laying down and listening to your favorite relaxing music, take 5 minutes a day, once or twice a day to clear your mind and relax.  It will be one of the most difficult, but important things you learn to do for yourself.

3. Remove unnecessary stressors from your life!  Do you HATE chairing that one committee at your children’s school and dread every meeting?  Then step the heck down!  Let someone else do it who gets enjoyment from it.

Do you have one friend who always calls and just unloads all of their negativity on you and leaves you feeling icky?  Have a talk with them about their behavior and let them know that you care for them and want the friendship to fill you both up, not suck you dry.  Who knows?  You may be just the boost they need to make a change!

Commit to taking care of yourself, so that you can fulfill your responsibilities more fully and with more passion.  You might do less overall, but you’ll do it well!

4. Be filled with gratitude!  The other day I worked from 9 am until 11 pm, I was incredibly cranky because our internet was slow at the gym, I was starving because I hadn’t eaten much that day, I felt work piling upon more work, and I felt like everyone wanted something from me.  I was about to lose it.  I packed up my stuff, got in my car and headed home.  On the way home, I started thinking about why I was so upset and I realized:

A) I worked all day because our gym is SLAMMED with new clients, effectively tripling my workload.

B) I was cranky about my internet being slow AT MY OWN DREAM GYM THAT I CO-OWN.  Boo freaking hoo.

 

Just a small *corner* of my gym. There is so much more. It’s awesome.

 

C) I was hungry at the moment, but my metabolism is healthy enough that I can go hours at a time without eating and not suffer adverse blood sugar reactions, plus I could have stopped at one one of the wonderful grocery stores within a 2 mile radius and gotten any type of food I desired with the money that was in my pocket.  Pretty damn blessed when you think about others who do not have food so readily available, or who have to worry about how they will pay for their next meal.

D) Everyone wanted something from me because people LIKE MY WORK and want to work with me.  They feel like I can help them and change their lives for the better.  Man that’s humbling.  I’m actually in tears as I write that statement.  I love my job.

It was that simple.  Thinking those thoughts was all it took to turn a stressful situation into an amazing situation.  I instantly started chuckling at myself, and just started feeling grateful for my life.  It really *IS* all about perspective isn’t it?

To read more about gratitude, check out this post.

 

 

OK, OK, OK… like I said, I could talk about this stuff all day.  And I think I will.  Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming blog post about stress management and health.

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series about busting through your fat loss plateau.  And a HUGE thanks to Sarah for putting herself out there and submitting a very common question.  If you enjoyed it, please share it with others so we can help as many people as possible.  And be sure to check out part 1 and part 2 in case you missed them!

 

 

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Weekly Reader Question # 6: How Sick Is Too Sick to Work Out?

“How do you gauge when you’re “too sick” to work out? Having the flu and that level of sick are no-brainers…but what about those days when you don’t feel good but you are still able to function reasonably well?” – You GO, Fitness Girl’s Page

 

I wanted to address this question since so many people find themselves ill this time of year! First and foremost, I am so glad that you realize that if you’re really sick, you need to stay home and rest.  It may sound like a no-brainer to you, but you’d be surprised at how many of our clients trudge in looking like death wanting to still try and work out.

 

Yes, people come in our gym looking worse than this, still wanting to work out!

 

Look people:  if you’re sick, it’s because your body is too run down to fight it off!!

My business partner Jim Laird always says, “If you don’t slow down… your body will slow you down.”

And he is exactly right.  Sometimes it’s just a short-term illness, sometimes it’s much worse like when Jim was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, or when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, PCOS, and Adrenal Dysfunction.  We were both pushing our bodies way too hard for too long, and it backfired big time.

But enough about that! 

 

Here are some guidelines to follow:

You should stay home and avoid the gym completely if:

  1. You have the flu, or flu-like symptoms.  Just.  Stay.  Home.
  2. You have a fever.  Your body is trying to fight off infection.  Don’t spread it!
  3. You have achy joints or muscles.  Rest your body.

  You can do a light workout if:

  1. Your symptoms are mild and constrained to your head (i.e. haven’t spread to your lungs/body).
  2. You’re just suffering from allergies (i.e. runny nose, itchy eyes, etc.)

  Notice I said light workout.  That means stretching, foam rolling, mobility work, light walking, etc.  This is not the time to run your body hard at all.  This is the time to take care of yourself and put money back in the tank! 

 

Check out these related articles below:

5 Tips to Avoid Getting Sick Over the Holidays

Are There Times to Push it and Times to Not

Art of the De-Load  

 

So remember, if you get sick, your body is asking for a break.  Give it the break it needs so you can recover more quickly and get back in the gym full-force when you’re better!

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5 Tips To Avoid Getting Sick Over the Holidays

With the holidays right around the corner (Holy Toledo! Christmas is in 11 days!)  everyone is hustling and bustling around trying to accomplish an inhuman amount of tasks in record time.  The last thing that any of us needs right now is to get sick.  Not only will it put a major cramp in our productivity, but it’s just no fun to be sick during the holidays!

 

You definitely don’t want to be asking your doctor this question during the holidays!

 

Lucky for you, I put together a quick list of things that you can do to help avoid getting sick this holiday season!

(Psssst…wanna know how I know what to do?  Because I didn’t take my own advice… and I just wound up sick this week. Boo!)

 

5 Tips To Avoid Getting Sick Over the Holidays

 

1.  Wash your hands!  

We’ve all heard this one a million times, and that’s because it’s true!  Washing your hands is the number one way to avoid spreading germs this holiday season.  Personally, I am not a fan of the antibacterial hand sanitizers, but they work in a pinch.  I much prefer good, old-fashioned soap and warm water.  Either way, make sure you wash your hands often, and especially before you eat!

 

2. Get your sleep!  

Being run-down and exhausted comes with the territory this time of year.  Like I mentioned above, we are all trying to do a ridiculous amount of things over a 2-3 week period, and if you don’t slow down, your body will slow you down with illness!  Trust me… I know. =(  Shoot for a minimum of 7 hours a night, although 8-9 is better for most people.  And naps by the fire count, too!

 

3. Stay hydrated!  

Unfortunately this does not mean with wine and beer.  It means with pure water.  Being dehydrated can be a “tipping point” for getting sick, so make sure you stay hydrated.  Keep in mind there is a lot of debate over how much water is appropriate for an individual, so  let thirst be your guide, and drink accordingly.  If you have absolutely no clue how much water to drink, I have found about .5 oz per lb of body weight to be a good starting point.  You may want to drink more if you’re extremely active, sweat a lot, or you are in a hot climate, and you can probably get away with less if you’re relatively sedentary, eat a lot of water-rich foods, and/or you’re in a cool climate.

 

Gama may need a little more water and a little less wine!!!  (Kidding kidding… my sweet Gama doesn’t drink a drop.  She is just THAT CUTE!)

 

4. Take your vitamin D!  

Yes, that is D, not C. Vitamin D, which is actually an extremely powerful prohormone, has a dramatic effect on cell and gene function.  While there are conflicting studies regarding whether or not optimal Vitamin D levels actually help prevent colds/flu’s, in my experience, I’ve noticed a huge difference.  I used to be in my Doctor’s office 3-5 times a year with some kind of cold.  Over the last few years since I have optimized my Vitamin D levels, I’ve been sick approximately once a year.  I’ve also noticed that if I start feeling a little funky, mega-dosing Vitamin D, taking some zinc, and getting a lot of sleep will generally nip my funky feeling in the bud immediately.

Keep in mind that the government recommendation of 600 IU’s a day is just enough to prevent rickets, and is nowhere near optimal.  If you’re deficient you may need up to 10,000 IU’s a day for several weeks/months to get up to optimal levels (you’ll need less to maintain).  However, since Vitamin D toxicity is possible, check with your Doctor and get your levels tested.  5,000 IU’s a day is generally pretty safe assuming you don’t get much sun exposure.

 

5. Avoid sugar and refined carbs!  

OK, so let’s get real here.  Is this one even possible to do over the holidays?  Probably not.  But you know what you can do?  Consolidate the eating of sugar and refined carbs.  Yep, that’s right.  Limit them to just a few select days (maybe your holiday party at work, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve) or something of the sort.  Allow yourself to indulge in delicious treats on a couple of days, but make sure the days in between are filled with lots of grass-fed meats, fish, vegetables, and healthy fats.  Not only will your immune system thank you, but your waistline will too!  And as long as you’re diligently following the other 4 tips listed above, you should be good to go!

 

Follow the above tips and you should enjoy an awesome and healthy holiday season!

 

Just a sample of the chaos/stress Christmas can bring!

 

6. (BONUS TIP!!)  Don’t stress!  

I just thought of this one, but it’s so important.  The holidays can be a super stressful time for everyone.  We are often crammed in a house/room with our immediate and extended family for long periods of time with very little relief and everyone has expectations of how they’d like things to happen, and everyone has weird hangups from holidays past where so-and-so didn’t get them a nice gift, or Cousin Millie ruined the 6th night of Hanukkah by getting too drunk and yelling at everyone, or Grandma’s mad because you didn’t use HER family’s casserole recipe, or what-the-eff-other things people like to be upset about.  I am kinda at the point now where I go and have a good time and engage, and don’t set too many expectations for how the days will go, and if people start to stress me out and act all crazy I just remove myself and go chill and let the other people freak out about whether we put the shrimp cocktail out at 1:30 or 1:45. =)

Things go a lot more smoothly this way, and the less stress you’re under, the less likely you are to get sick.  So R-E-L-A-X and when you watch other people start to get whacked out over little things, just be glad the holidays only come around once a year. =)

P.P.S. Check out a blog post about my favorite way to monitor stress here! 

 

Do you have any tips to avoid getting sick during the holidays?  If so, share them below! 

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Best Week Ever and My BioForce HRV

Umm hi, welcome to the end of my BEST. WEEK. EVER.

I just got back from celebrating my best friend’s 30th birthday with her in LA.  The 5 days consisted of basically 5 things:

  1. Wine (and I am NOT much of a drinker… (O_0))
  2. Debauchery (facilitated by #1)
  3. Mexican and Thai food
  4. Laughing (see #1)
  5. Dancing (see also #1)

But seriously, it really was an amazing trip and I am so glad I made the trek.  This woman has been by my side through thick and thin for well over a decade and I felt honored to get to share her birthday with her.   And no worries…pictures are a-comin!

 

A sneak peek (and this was before the wine started flowing!)

 

All that being said, holy heck did this trip wreak havoc on me!  I traveled to LA on Wednesday on very little sleep, rode several hours in a car to San Luis Obispo/Pismo Beach on Thursday, Friday we visited several wineries and I was actually feeling fine until I got violently ill from some gluten free pizza that was apparently contaminated with gluten, then we had another car ride back to LA Saturday night (after a 5 mile hike) and I traveled back to Lexington for over 12 hours yesterday.  Needless to say, I need some rest.

However, there is no rest for the weary… or is it the wicked? I dunno.  Oh well.

All I know is that I am insanely pumped because my “Best Week Ever” isn’t over yet (I am counting my “week” as last Wednesday to this Tuesday.  It’s my blog and I can do what I want to!!)

Tomorrow Joel Jamieson is coming to visit J&M Strength and Conditioning (my gym with my business partner and training mentor Jim Laird).  Read on to find out why talking about me being SUPER STRESSED is a perfect segue to Joel being in town:

 

 

 

I was first introduced to Joel Jaimeson at the Midwest Performance Enhancement Seminar in 2011 where he was discussing his BioForce HRV system.  HRV stands for Heart Rate Variability.  According to Joel’s site www.8weeksout.com, “rather than just measuring heart rate, HRV measures the rhythmic pattern of the heart beat and from this rhythm, it’s able to determine how much stress the body is under and how well you’ve recovered from your previous training.”

This technology was developed in Russia in the 1960’s as part of their training for their cosmonauts, and Joel developed the BioForce HRV system to make this technology portable, easy-to-use, and most importantly, affordable.

The really cool thing about HRV is that it doesn’t just measure the stress your body is under from training.  HRV technology is actually designed to measure the total amount of stress your body is under, period.  You see, from a physiological sense, your body really doesn’t know the different between running from a bear, having a huge fight with your husband, or performing a max effort deadlift.  Stress is stress.  And while some stress is good, too much stress is very bad.  Not only will it hinder your physique and performance goals, but there can be major health consequences related to being chronically overstressed as well.

In short, too much stress can make you fat, sick, and miserable. And this system can help you manage that. 

 

Even with all of the variability, my HRV trend is holding pretty steady, which is a perfectly fine goal right now!

 

Since I have a bit of a history of pushing myself to the absolute limit, my business partner Jim Laird encouraged me to buy the BioForce HRV so I could monitor my stress levels and my training.  I’ve been using my BioForce HRV system for 4 months now and I absolutely love it.

If you’ve been following my blog for any amount of time, you know I have been under a ton of stress lately, and I’ve even written a blog about having a baaaaaaad case of the Eff-its.

 

The HRV has been wonderful for me for several reasons:

  1. It has allowed me to distinguish between times I may be feeling a little lazy, and times I may actually need to take extra rest.
  2. On days I am feeling a bit lazy, seeing a “green” reading gives me the permission (and motivation) to really go in and get in a great training session.
  3. It serves as an accountability tool for me in terms of making sure that I take care of myself (sleep, nutrition, stress management, etc.).
  4. It allows me to figure out what types of training sessions really take it out of me, and on the flip side, it allows me to figure out what types of recovery modalities I respond well to.

I really look forward to utilizing my BioForce HRV system when I start training for powerlifting again.  I am confident it will play a huge role in allowing me to progress and keeping me healthy at the same time!  But that’s enough about why I love my BioForce HRV.  I’ll let Joel explain more here.

Disclaimer: If you purchase a BioForce HRV through this link, you are supporting www.MollyGalbraith.com, and I may benefit financially.  Purchases like these help keep my site up and running and allow me to devote more time to giving away free, high quality nutrition and training information.  Thanks for your support.

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Eff-It! Part 2! How To Properly Deal With the Eff-Its.

 

Hola my friends!  So earlier this week I wrote a blog post about having a terrible, horrible, no-good, very-bad case of the “Eff-its.”  You can check it out here. 

 You know the “Eff-its…”  When you don’t feel like doing anything you’re “supposed” to do.

 It can happen in any area of your life, but it happens to me most consistently in the nutrition/training arena.  In fact, I was hoping to have this post, Part 2, done by Wednesday of this week… but I didn’t.  Know why?  Because of the Eff-its.  You know what else?  I had a cherry Popsicle for breakfast Tuesday morning.  And by breakfast I mean it was my first meal of the day.  At 3:40 pm.  And it was delicious.

 

Occasionally, this is a perfectly acceptable breakfast choice. OCCASIONALLY.

 

So yeah, I have been personally battling the “Eff-its” for a couple of weeks now.  I’ve had the “holy trinity” of stress in my life: family, work, and personal stuff, and it’s been enough to just about push me over the edge.

 

So what did I do about it?

 

Well, at the beginning of last week I decided that I would simply eat what I wanted, when I wanted, and I would go to the gym if I felt like it, and do what I wanted when I got there.  This was a pretty “safe” decision for me, because even when I am doing ‘what I want’ I still follow a decent lifestyle.  I would say my food was about 50:50 junk:good food last week, and if anything, I under-ate a bit (which is unusual for me!).  And while I didn’t lift at all last week, I did manage to do my foam rolling, breathing, and some cardio several days last week. So all in all, it wasn’t a horrible week.  In fact, it doesn’t seem like I did much damage to my physique at all, if any.

 

Progress pic to send to my Coach after a week of the Eff-its.

 

Progress pic to send to my Coach after 2 weeks of the Eff-its.

 

As you can see, it doesn’t look like my time off did much damage to my physique, and when I get back on track, I’ll be more motivated than ever to follow my program!

 

So what should YOU do when you have the “Eff-its?”  Is it OK to do whatever you want and not care about your nutrition, and skip the gym?

 

In part 1 of this blog post I discussed several reasons we tend to get the “Eff-its” in the first place, and in my opinion, they require different remedies/fixes.  Check them out below for tips on how to deal with the “Eff-its” in the least stressful, and yet most productive, way (they are listed in descending order of my personal preference).

 

 

If you:  are over-trained/under-recovered

Then you should:

  1. Take some time off. A week is usually sufficient in this case to get you back to normal.  Just make sure you are eating enough and getting as much sleep as possible to ensure you start feeling better ASAP.  The best part is, after a week off, you are usually chomping at the bit to get back!
  2. DELOAD!  If you are preparing for something specific and you can’t possibly take an entire week off from training, then try taking a deload week.  I explain all about deload weeks here.

 

 

If you:   have been on a super strict regimen (nutrition and/or training) for a long period of time 

Then you should:

  1. Examine your goals to determine if you need a break.  If you are on this program short-term, and the end is in sight (within a few weeks), you may be able to push through and be just fine.  If you are on this program short-term, but you still have a long way to go (4+ weeks), you may need a little break (2-5 days) to breathe and recharge before you dive back in to following such a hardcore program.
  2. Program regular breaks. If this is a long-term program that you’re on, you probably need to program in regular breaks for yourself for your psychological and physiological well-being. Often times this can ward off the “Eff-its” before they rear their ugly head.

Regularly scheduled breaks can actually prevent the Eff-its!

 

If you: have monumental amounts of stress in your life

Then you should:

  1. Take some time off.  If you determine that the monumental amounts of stress are a short-term issue, then take the time off and don’t sweat it.  If it’s a long-term issue, you need to do something about it and…
  2. Find a way to de-stress. There will probably never be a point in your life when you don’t have stress.  So if every time you get stressed, you want to say “Eff-it” to your nutrition and training program, you probably won’t be very happy with your results.  Find things outside of food and excessive exercise that de-stresses you.  Take a walk, read a book, take a bubble bath… whatever.  Just try and relax and possibly try to figure out how to remove some of the stress from your life.  Sources of stress can be: toxic friends or family members, horrible bosses, self-imposed expectations, always saying “yes” to everything…the list goes on and on. (Also see: Tip #2 in the “being very busy” section).

 

 

If you: have a special occasion coming up (wedding, vacation, birthday, etc.)

Then you should:

  1. Eff-It.  Enjoy yourself and do what you want.  My fabulous friend Neghar wrote an amazing blog post called Life is a Special Occasion, and it’s fabulous.  Life is too short not to enjoy yourself on vacation, on your birthday, and on other special occasions.  If you follow a sounds nutrition plan 80-90% of the time, indulging on special occasions won’t hurt you a bit.
  2. Plan ahead.  This is one of the BEST ways to have the “Eff-its.”  You plan for them!  That way it can give you something to look forward to and gives you incentive to make sure that you make good choices during the week.  Plenty of my clients choose a couple of times per week that they are going to indulge and they make the most of it.  Whether it’s a tailgating party, date night with their spouse, or a delicious home cooked meal, they know ahead of time that they aren’t going to worry about anything that day, and it feels great!

 

 

If you: are just plain busy

Then you should:

  1. Figure out if this “busy” is short-term or long-term.  If it’s short-term, take the time off, and make sure that a week doesn’t turn into a month.  Because it will.  Very quickly. In order to do this, actually pencil in your grocery shopping, cooking, and training into your schedule for the following week and treat it like any other appointment because it’s that important not to spiral off course for too long.  Your “time off” should leave you feeling renewed and refreshed and excited about being back on a plan.  Not leave you feeling horrible, and guilty, and wondering how you’ll ever get back on track.
  2. Map out goals and an appropriate schedule.  If you are going to be very busy for a long time, (i.e. grad school, new job, new baby, etc.) it’s vital that you sit down and map out exactly what you have time for, and plan your goals and your schedule accordingly.  I think I remember reading something John Berardi said about his nutrition and training when he was getting his PhD.  His goal?  To maintain his current strength and physique level.  Basically, his goal was not to get worse.  And you know what?  Sometimes, that’s a perfectly wonderful (and even lofty) goal.  If you can only get in the gym 1-2 days a week, that might just have to be your goal, and there is nothing wrong with that.  You are setting yourself up for success instead of failure, and that’s awesome.

 

So… what do you think? Did I hit the nail on the head?  Or miss the mark?   Do you get the Eff-its for any other reason?  What strategies do you use to deal with them?  Let me know below!

 

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Eff It!!! Part 1

Ahhh the “eff-its…”

I have to think we all get a case of these sometimes.  You know, the days, weeks, or months where you are so sick and tired of giving a damn about what you’re “supposed” to eat or what you’re “scheduled” to do in the gym this week.  It’s enough to make you want to:

a)      Scream

b)      Cry

c)       Punch something

d)      Quit

e)      All of the above

 

You ever been there?  Yeah… I thought so.

 

The last few weeks/weekends for me had been a steady dose of (b) prompting me to want to (d).

I knew it was bad when I got home from the gym on Monday night (where I had totally ditched my training routine in favor of a lengthy warm-up and a little cardio) and I decided that cheese popcorn and dark chocolate sounded like the perfect post workout meal.  So that’s what I had.

Knowing that my stress levels were through the roof I decided to treat myself with a little TLC.  So right then and there I decided that I was just going to say, “Eff it!” this week and eat what I wanted and do whatever I wanted training-wise.  And if that meant ice cream for breakfast and remote control curls for my training, then so be it.

 

Breakfast of Champions during a week of the Eff-its.

 

(Side note: To give you an idea of my stress levels, my heart rate while standing in my bathroom getting ready two weekends ago was 112.  Not kidding.  As my friend Joel Jamieson promptly reminded me, “Chill out.  That shit <stress> will kill you.”)

 

So what should you do when you’re getting a case of the “Eff-its?”  Should you persevere and stay on plan?  Go off plan and feel guilty as heck about it? Say, “screw it” and do whatever makes you happy, at the risk of losing progress that you’ve made?  In my opinion, the answer, as it is with most questions related to nutrition and training:

 

It depends.

 

Before you can decide the best course of action, you must look at WHY you have a case of the “Eff-its.”  Here is a brief explanation of a few reasons why you might have come down with a case of the “Eff-its.”

1. You are over-trained/under-recovered –

This one is pretty self-explanatory.  You have been working out too long and too hard without a break, and/or you have not been taking good enough care of yourself with recovery modalities to train at the level you’re training.  Getting sick or feeling run down in general also falls into this category. 

 

2. You have been on a super strict regimen (nutrition and/or training) for a long period of time –

This one is also pretty self-explanatory.  I have said before that willpower is like a muscle, and the more we use it, the stronger it gets.  While this is true in my experience, it also seems that for the average person, willpower will literally “run out” after exerting it at a certain level for a certain amount of time.  I would imagine that everyone has a different amount of willpower they can exert before it runs out, but either way, it does seem to be finite.  And keep in mind, the strictness of your regimen and the amount of time you can keep it up have an inverse relationship.  The stricter you are, the less time you have before it runs out.

 

3. You have monumental amounts of stress in your life –

Unfortunately it seems that almost every single person I know could accurately “check this box” at any given time.  We are all up to our eyeballs in stress 24/7.  The question is, how do you deal with that stress?  By piling MORE stress on top of it (excessive exercise, excessive drinking, excessive over-achieving?)  or do you actually try and DEAL with it using recovery modalities (i.e. light walking, meditating, massage, time with loved ones?)

 

4. You have a special occasion coming up (wedding, vacation, birthday, etc) –

This is another reason that if you’re LOOKING for it, it will always be there.  Case in point:

You: “It’s Administrative Assistant’s day!  Yay!  I can have that cheesecake I’ve been denying myself!”

Your Friend: “But you’re not an administrative assistant… and you don’t HAVE an administrative assistant either…”

You: “Andddd your point…?  My Mom was an administrative assistant for like 2 years right when she got out of college.  I am celebrating and eating this cheesecake in honor of her.  Duh.”

Ummm… yeah.  Just keep in mind that there are REAL reasons to celebrate, and uh, excuses to ‘celebrate.’  Know the difference.

 

Happy Ferris Wheel Day! Not kidding. That’s really a thing. No seriously. Look it up.

 

5. You’re just busy –

Again, this is a box we could probably all accurately check at any given time in our lives.  Since our “inbox will never be empty” (see what I did there?  It’s called a metaphor.  I’m like, really deep and smart.) we must figure out how to not let our busy lives destroy our health and our physiques in the process.

 

Can you relate to any or all of the scenarios above?  Did I miss anything?  Stay tuned for Part 2 where I discuss exactly what you should do when each of these scenarios pop up and make you wanna say, “Eff-it!”

 

 

 

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There Are Times to “Push It” and Times to… Not?

As you all can probably tell from my some of my training sessions and some of my YouTube videos… I am NOT afraid of hard work.  I am NOT afraid to push myself to the limit and bust my ass to reach my goals.  In fact, check out some of my crazier videos here:

 


275 lb Squat

 


155 lbs Deadlift for 54 reps in 2 minutes

 


165 lb Bench Press

 


Bret Contreras’ Sexy Challenge

 


315 lb Hip Thrusts for 12 reps

 

Are you Bankrupt? 

Like I said above, I am obviously not afraid of hard work, but the point of  my post is not to show how hardcore I am.  In fact, quite the opposite.  The point of this post is to explain that you CANNOT push yourself hard every day.  In fact, pushing it hard on a regular basis without replensishing yourself can actually prevent you from reaching your goals and leave you “bankrupt.”  Literally.  You see, I like to think of my body like a bank account… stay with me here… I am not crazy (well, OK maybe I am… but not about this!)  You see, if you continually take more out of your bank account than you put back in, you will be bankrupt, right?  And we all know that once you’ve gone bankrupt, it’s way harder to get back on your feet again.  Same thing with your body.  If you continually push yourself past your limits without doing what you need to do to rest and recover, you’ll end up in the same boat.

 

Putting Money in Your Account

Here are some things that “put money in your account:”

Sleep

Good nutrition

Recovery work (foam rolling, contrast showers, epsom salt baths, etc)

Massage work

Acupuncture

Proper supplementation

Meditation

Healthy social interaction with friends/loves ones

Light recovery workouts

Walking

Etc, etc, etc.

 

Taking Money Out

Below are some of the thing that “take money out of your account:”

Lack of sleep

Work stress

Financial stress

Family stress

Excessive exercise and/or the wrong types of exercise

Super intense exercise (especially CNS-intensive exercise)

Poor nutrition

Unhealthy social interaction (fighting, drama)

Negative self-talk

Etc, etc, etc.

 

As you can see, it’s not just exercise and nutrition that put money in or take money out… in fact, it can be mostly what you do outside the gym that counts.  My business partner Jim Laird put a sign on our door as you walk out of the gym that says, “The Real Work Begins Now.”  And it’s true… we may only see our clients 2-3 times a week for 50 minutes.  It’s what they do the rest of the time that will really affect their long-term results.

In case anyone was wondering, yes, this post was inpsired by my Facebook status from Saturday afternoon as I soaked up a little sun and relaxed.  Here is what it said:

“Didn’t really feel like getting in a hardcore workout today… So I just did some breathing drills, my PRI (pelvic/hip rehab), a little rolling, and a few sets of pulldowns. Just because you don’t have much time or don’t feel like getting your butt kicked, doesn’t mean you can’t still do a few things that will bring you closer to your goals. Every little bit helps and it’s often neglecting the small things that can keep you from reaching your goals and/or keep you injured/in pain.

Listen to your body… There are times to push it and times to reign it in and rest. Today is one of those days for me!”

 

An example of my pelvic/hip rehab exercises… not exactly exciting, but super beneficial!

 

See?  I do listen to my own advice (most of the time! ;-D)  The times when I don’t want to take my own advice..? Well, that’s what my Coaches are for!

What are your favorite ways to relax, recharge, and “put money in your account?”

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9 Things I Have Changed My Mind About – Part 4

In the first three installments of this series found here,  here, and here, I discussed how it can be difficult to admit you’ve been wrong, especially when others count on you for rock-solid advice.  I also discuss how it’s important to stay open to new information to prevent your knowledge base from becoming stale and dogmatic.  Of course this is easier said than done, but forcing yourself to read and study information, ideas, and arguments that go against your current beliefs is healthy and it’s the sign of someone who is truly willing to learn.

In the final installment of this series, I will discuss how important recovery is and I will also de-bunk the myth that you have to get your butt handed to you every session or you’re not making progress.  I hope you enjoy!

 What I used to think: I don’t need much time to recover!  I am going to lift 6 days a week and do cardio every day too!  I can rest one day a week and that will be more than enough.

I am a busy woman and can't be in the gym 6 days a week!

Umm… yeah.  I literally used to lift 5-6 days a week every week.  Did I get better?  Well sure I did!  I was a “newbie” and I was 20 years old.  It doesn’t take much to get better when you are basically brand-new to weightlifting.  And having youth on your side doesn’t hurt either.  I am sure the idea of lifting 5-6 days a week doesn’t sound all that odd to some of you.  There are plenty of bodybuilders and other athletes who train hard with weights 5-6 days a week… but often times bodybuilders are doing body part splits and while they may destroy each body part every time they train, hypertrophy training for 1-2 body parts isn’t usually as CNS-intensive as training for pure strength (which is what I do now).  And the athletes who train hard 5-6 days a week have likely been training that way for a long time and their bodies have adapted to the workload.  Plus, many of them have the luxury of focusing purely on getting better at their sport.  It’s their job and they can put a lot of time and focus into it.  I don’t have that luxury.  I have 2 small businesses and a household to run, a boyfriend, family and friends to spend time with, clients to coach, and much more.  I need to get the most out of the least amount of work, and I need time off to recover and regenerate.

 

What I think now:  Most people will get their best gains lifting heavy 2-4 days a week, doing 1-2 sessions of interval cardio, and doing light activity 3-4 days a week (walking, yoga, etc).

If you’re an Average Joe who just wants to look and feel better, training 2-3 days a week is probably perfect for you.  You can do an upper/lower split, a push/pull/legs split, or a full body routine, and you should get great results.  This is what the majority of my training clients do (full body 2-3 days a week).  We add in some Prowler pushes, Med Ball slams or Battling Ropes 1-2 days a week, and then they might go for a bike ride or walk their dogs on the other days.  This gets them amazing results, while allowing for full recovery, and also allows them to have a life outside the gym.  If you are a bit more serious about lifting and you’re training for pure strength, 3-4 days a week of heavy weight lifting is probably perfect for you.  You can do a program like 5/3/1, Westside for Skinny Bastards, or even a true Westside template.  They are all perfect for making great strength gains while giving your body time to recover.  Sure you can go in on the other days and do “extra workouts” or drag the sled or do your mobility work and foam rolling… but I would keep the heavy stuff to 3-4 days a week, max.  Remember, you are only as good as your recovery.

 

Eating food like this will aid in recovery!

The good news is, you can enhance your body’s ability to recover!  A couple of ways to do this are as follows:  eating lots of unprocessed, wholesome food, getting 7-9 hours of sleep a night and going to bed before midnight if possible, getting 20 minutes of sunshine most days of the week, and taking 5-10 minutes a day to relax and clear your mind while taking deep, diaphragmatic breaths.  You can also speed things up with Epsom salt baths, contrast showers, massages/ART, foam rolling, and anything else that gets as much blood flowing to your muscles as possible.  Doing these things will go a long way in speeding up your body’s ability to recover, which means you will have no problem being in top form for your next workout!

 

What I used to think:  You absolutely must get your butt handed to you during every session or it doesn’t “count.”  You must be sweating buckets and out of breath and you must be sore for days after the workout or it wasn’t hard enough.

When I first started working out I made the same mistake than many people make (and many people still do make) and I was always seeking that feeling of exhaustion, that burn, that shortness of breath that you get during a tough session.  I always wanted to feel sore the next day too.  If I didn’t feel those things, I thought it wasn’t a “good workout.”  Now I realize that you can absolutely have a wonderfully productive session that doesn’t make you any of those things, and vice versa.  You can have a session that makes you all of those things that isn’t productive at all.  Whenever clients tell me that they want to be sore, I promptly tell that that I can punch them in the face and make them sore… but it doesn’t make them any better.  That seems to get the point across well.  =)

Of course there is nothing wrong with pushing yourself to exhaustion on occasion, or wanting to do an exercise or a set of exercises until you “feel the burn…”  Just don’t get caught up in thinking that you must be doing those things all the time to get a productive workout.  In fact, I will let you in on a little secret.  Since I have been training for pure strength, I very seldom sweat during my workouts.  Yep, it’s true!  Most of the time when I am lifting, I DO NOT SWEAT.  I am not one to sweat much anyway… but the way my program is set up, I have a decent amount of time between sets of exercises (1-4 minutes) so that I can lift the maximum amount of weight, and that much rest time results in me not breaking a sweat (unless I add in conditioning at the end, and even then I don’t really sweat much).  If I used how sweaty or how beat up I felt at the end of my workouts as an indicator of how productive they are, I would be under the impression that my current workouts suck.  However, since I am hitting a PR (personal record) almost every time I step foot in the gym right now, I would venture to say that my workouts are perfect for my current goal (increased strength).  Below is a video of one of my recent PR’s!

What I think now:  As my partner Jim Laird and I always say, “Anyone can make you tired.  Not anyone can make you better.”  I also like the quote, “More is not necessarily better.  Better is better.”

In my humble opinion, it’s more important to focus on the quality of your workouts instead of the intensity.  There is no point into going into the gym and doing set after set of jump squats and mountain climbers if your form is crap.  You’re much better off going in and working up to a heavy triple on squats and going home.  You will get more out of the heavy squat workout than the other workout and you will also live to fight another day.  Performing crappy jump squats and mountain climbers when fatigued is a recipe for injury.

Epsom Salt baths are one of my favorite ways to recover after a tough workout!

 You also want to pay attention to how your body is feeling.  If you are exhausted and stressed, the last thing you need is to get your butt handed to you at the gym.  Sure, working out can be great stress relief, but don’t use it as your only source of stress management.  Your body can only handle so much stress at once and since it doesn’t know the difference between an intense gym session and fighting with your spouse or getting audited by the IRS…you must adjust your workouts to account for your energy and stress levels.  If you’re having a tough day, go to the gym, foam roll, do your mobility work, and maybe do a couple sets of KB swings and go home.  Don’t force yourself to spend 90 minutes in the gym.  Get in, get out, and go home and rest and relax.

It’s not always easy to be kind to our bodies and let them rest when they need it, but I guarantee, if you don’t let your body rest when it needs to, eventually it will force you to rest by getting sick or injured… and nobody wants that.  Now don’t think I am getting all soft on you!  Hard workouts are awesome!  I am all about kicking the butt of someone who is prepared for it and someone who understands the importance of the less-strenuous workouts that prepare them for that butt-kicking.  You just need to find a balance between sitting in a room saying, “Om….” and obliterating yourself in the gym 7 days a week.  Trust me, your body will thank you for it.

 

So there you have it.  The final installment of 9 Things I Have Changed My Mind About.  Hopefully you enjoyed this post, and hopefully you enjoyed the whole series.  I can promise you there will be plenty more in the near future that I am wrong about…so have no doubt that articles like this will pop up again soon!  Please share this article and let me know your thoughts below!

 

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The Art of the De-Load and Listening to Your Body

What is a De-Load?

Over the last month or so, during almost every workout I’ve done, I have hit PR’s (personal records) with my lifting meaning I am lifting a weight I have never lifted before, or lifting a weight for more repetitions than I have ever lifted it for.  This is pretty exciting stuff if you’re a weight training nerd like me!  As exciting as that was, my body was starting to feel a little beat up from all the heavy lifting, so last week I decided to de-load (and it was actually planned in my training to take a de-load week last week so it worked out perfectly).   So what is a de-load exactly?  It can actually mean many different things including, but not limited to the following:

1. 4-7 days completely out of the gym.
2. 4-7 days of only foam rolling, mobility, and light cardio.
3. 4-7 days of doing similar workouts but with decreased volume and load (i.e. if I had been doing 4 sets of 4 reps on squats with 205, then I would do 2 sets of 4 squats with 155).
4. Any combination of the above.

Many people have their own idea of what a de-load means and in my opinion, as long as you are giving your body a break, and an opportunity to truly recover, if it works for you…go for it!

 

Foam rolling is a great tool to help you recover more quickly!

 

Why Should I De-Load?

De-loading regularly allows your body to properly recover and allows you to make progress long-term.  It’s just not possible to go hard and heavy day in and day out and make consistent progress.  As some point, you must give your body a break and allow it to repair itself.

Of course, if your nutrition, sleep, stress management, and supplements are all spot-on 100% of the time, then you might be able to get away with fewer or shorter de-loads.  But seriously… how often does that happen?  How often are we 100% on point with all of the things we need to do outside of the gym, that help us train hard IN the gym?  I know I rarely am and it’s my job!!

You see, the body can only handle so much stress at one time before something gives and your body forces you to slow down either by getting sick or hurt.  De-loading occasionally reduces the amount of stress your body is under and gives it an opportunity to rest and recover.  Think of it like recharging your batteries.  You need “juice” in your batteries in order to function, so occasionally they need to re-charge.  Your body needs regular breaks, whether it’s from a calorie deficit, several weeks of heavy weight training, or a super intense cardio regimen, you must occasionally pull back on the reins a bit to give your body a chance to rest and to continue making long-term progress.

 

If you push yourself hard on a regular basis like my good friend Nia, you need to de-load occasionally.

 

How Often Should You De-Load?

There are definitely differing thoughts and opinions about how often a person should de-load (or if they should do it at all).  Some people like taking planned de-loads; for example every 4, 6, 8, or 10 weeks or more (although personally I think 10 weeks is probably too long to wait if you are really pushing yourself in the gym) while others like go by how they feel or their performance in the gym.  The following are common indicators that it’s time for a de-load:

  1. Experiencing more muscle soreness than normal and/or taking longer for the soreness to subside than normal.
  2. Lack of motivation to lift/train.
  3. Major change in appetite (usually a decrease).
  4. Decrease in leanness despite not changing nutrition program/exercise regimen.
  5. Decrease in overall strength/performance in the gym or in other workouts (keep in mind that 1 bad workout doesn’t mean it’s time for a de-load but several workouts in a row where you are forced to decrease the weight you are using or decrease the number of reps you can do, then it’s probably time).
  6. Bouts of mild depression, fatigue, and or malaise.

Don’t wait until you feel awful to take a de-load. It will only take you longer to recover.

 

While the above list contains many common indicators that it’s time for a de-load, it’s not exhaustive.  And in my opinion, unless you know your body really well, it’s probably best to plan a de-load every 5-8 weeks and not rely on “feeling” or waiting until you are completely destroyed to give yourself a break.  In my experience, if you give yourself a break while you still have a little left in the tank, you will recover much more quickly.  If you wait until it’s too late, it can take several weeks, or longer, until you are full recovered.

 

REMEMBER: You are only as good as your ability to recover! 

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed my post and learned a little something.  I know people have different opinions on de-loading and I would love to read yours below in the comments section!  Thanks for reading!

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