Before 50
A couple weeks ago when the sunshine finally came out in Colorado and we were teased with the beginnings of a real spring I started to daydream about the summer of ‘13 and all the things I wanted to do!
As a self professed adrenaline junkie I have discovered the amazing fun that can be had by getting out of your comfort zone and trying something new and challenging. I am also turning 49 this summer, and am thus, feeling a bit of an added incentive to get going and make up lost time in my quest to forge new and exciting adventures. Now since I have not won the lottery this will take a little creative energy to fit it all into a budget but since it is early in the game I am temporarily full of confidence!
My wonderful husband recently surprised me with his 49th year project and it incentivized me to come up with my own spin on it. He is doing 50 B4 50, or in other words is going to train to run a 50 mile ultra marathon before he turns 50 years old next March. Ambitious and impressive I agree, but I am not to be outdone. In true Dan and Jackie fashion, we are each doing it our way, together. He is training hard for one massive, impressive, balls to the walls adventure ultra marathon, I apparently don't have the attention span of a hummingbird, so I came up with my own list of 50 different bucket list adventures and I plan to complete each and every one before I turn 50, thank God I gave myself a head start, I have 15 months, he only has 10 months!
What's Next on My List:
Meet someone famous
Visit Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings
Attend Sunrise Easter Service at The Royal Gorge
Visit the Hot Springs at Ouray
Sit on the porch and watch the sunset over the mountains
Hike Paint Mines
Drive around with the top off my Jeep
Hike the Incline with my son
Explore 4 wheel drive trails in Colorado in our Jeep
Climb Montezuma’s Tower in Garden of the Gods
Read six books just for fun
Tour a gold mine in the Rocky Mountains and pan for gold
Camp in Moab Utah
Sleep out under the stars in Moab
Mountain Bike Moab, Utah with my sister
Do a sunrise mountain bike tour in Moab
Hang out by the campfire
White Water Rafting Down the Royal Gorge
Visit The Abbey Vineyard in Canyon City Colorado
Get published
Hike Seven Falls at night under the lights
Try Zumba Dancing
Take a Concealed Weapon Course
Go 4 Wheeling in Great Sand Dune National Park
Take my daughter to a drive in movie theater
Mountain Bike Gold Rush Canyon
Complete a second Farrell’s Challenge
Do a 2-minute plank
Do 50 sit-ups in 1 minute
Do 20 REAL pushups (on my toes)
Do 1 one-arm pushups (yes one arm)
Hike a another 14ner
Inspire someone
Take our friends to a Red Rocks Concert
Wrestle a gator at the aligator farm
Do Fitness on the Rocks
See a concert at Fiddlers Green
White water raft down Royal Gorge
Race a go cart race car
Attend Chicks with Picks Workshop
Ice climb in Ouray, Colorado
Have a rollar derby girl experience
Tour Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame
Tour the Olympic Training Village
4 wheel drive Lost Dollar Highway from Telluride to Ourey
Mountain bike to an arch in Arches National Park
Drive the Million Dollar Highway with Dan next fall Silverton and Ourey
Attend a mountain bike workshop for women
Mountain bike down Pikes Peak
Mountain bike Gold Miner Trail
Renew my spirit
Take a yoga class
Learn to make homeade pie crust
Snowmobile
Write a blog about all of these adventures
I added a couple extra just for good measure and to honor the spirt of this project, beside you never know what else will come along that I just have to try!
I am looking forward to my big year a head of me and all the trouble I can possibly get into along the way. So my friend, what's next on your list?
Sometimes You Just Need a Little Push: Push Through Your Fitness Plateau's
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Are you stuck? Have you hit a plateau in your weight loss goals or can you just not quite seem to trim a few more minutes off your mile? Maybe you hit a wall mentally and physically and you just can’t seem to break through, maybe you just need a little push.
Self Imposed Limits
Most of the limits we put on ourselves are self-imposed mental blocks that really have nothing to do with what our body or mind is really capable of, but that doesn’t make it any easier have a breakthrough and move on passed the plateau.
The Adaptable Body
Fitness and weight loss plateaus are frustrating and very common. Our bodies have an uncanny ability to adapt to what we are doing, that is usually when progress comes to a complete halt. What worked 6 months ago when you started working out suddenly doesn’t work. They key to maintaining forward progress is to continue to shake it up! Mix up your routines, vary your workouts, and use high intensity workouts at various sports and different levels of exertion to shock your body back into giving you the results you are working for.
Patterns Limit Results
We are all guilty of falling into patterns whether it is with our nutrition or our workouts and much of the time this hurts us more than it helps. It happens before you even realize it. You start a new fitness plan and when you start seeing results you want to replicate what you did to get them. It soon becomes easier to run the same route, lift weights in the same series of reps and in the same order or eat the same thing for breakfast over and over rather than risk not making progress but this repetition is soon our undoing. Our body adapts to the stress of the workout and soon results are harder to see.
Do You Just Need a Little Push?
If you are in a rut and have hit a fitness or nutrition plateau try these tricks and soon you’ll start to see positive results. Do you need a little push?
- Give yourself a cheat meal or cheat day once a week to satisfy your cravings and allow your body to reset itself. Don’t go crazy and undo a week’s worth of hard work but give yourself a little break. If you’ve had a burger and fries on your mind all week then treat yourself. You’ll find it reduces cravings and helps you get back on track sooner.
- Limit alcohol, a healthy clean nutrition plan can quickly come undone with just a couple beers or a margarita because alcohol is full of empty calories. Limit your consumption to one glass of red wine once a week and you’ll find yourself closer to your nutrition goals.
- Watch hidden sugar. We tend to think that as long as we are not eating a Snickers bar we are keeping sugar under control, however, sugar is the hidden additive that sabotages weight loss faster than a train full of Little Debbie’s! Learn to read the nutritional label on everything you put in your mouth. Count up the grams of sugar and limit the daily amount to less than 20 grams to really maximize your weight loss progress. Sugar is in everything from orange juice to ketchup and can quickly add up to significantly more than you thought. Be especially careful of so called healthy foods like granola bars or yogurt, which can be loaded with sugar.
- Limit your daily intake of fruits while trying to lose fat. Fresh fruit is good for you and it is full of good nutrients, but is also much higher in sugar than most people are aware. Try eating a half-cup of fruit only in the morning until you achieve your weight loss goal. Then you can incorporate a second serving of fruit mid-day.
- Stay hydrated, drink water to maintain proper levels of hydration and help curb a runaway appetite. Drink 8 glasses of water daily in addition to what you drink during your workout. Add a cup of water for every cup of coffee you drink. Most of us are dehydrated and don’t know. Many people confuse thirst for hunger and don’t realize that by the time you are thirsty you are already dehydrated.
Buddy System Works
Find a friend or workout buddy who will help you stay focused on your goals and keep you motivated. Be accountable to someone other than just yourself. Tell your friends and family what your weight loss and fitness goals are and ask them for their support. Enlist the help of your friends and family. Sometimes all we need is a little push in the right direction!
“Spring Into Shape!”
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Sports Nutrition Success Colorado Springs
Turning 49
A funny thing happened the other day. I turned 49!! How in the hell that happened, I am not sure. But here we are anyhow.
As I do most every year, I sat down and listed out the things that I am grateful for in my life and a health goal I would like to accomplish in the upcoming year. Those things have included many Ironman triathlons, marathons and adventure races.
ULTRA Marathon Man
This year however, the word “ULTRA” kept popping into my head. As in Ultra-Marathon. More specifically, a 50-mile race. I know it seems insane, but these are the wacky type of self-induced challenges that attract me and get me the WTH? looks from my wonderful wife of 25 years.
In fact, when I told her my big idea, she said that was great, go for it. She is all too familiar with my big plans on punishing myself.
50 B4 50 Goal
So why call my big adventure “50 B4 50”? Because I want to complete a 50 mile race before turning 50. Clever, huh?
Five Tips to Avoid Scar Tissue
I’ve been down this road before. When I started to train for my first Ironman, I developed a fair amount of what I like to call, “scar tissue”. Scar Tissue is lessons learned that are usually painful and cost you money. So to avoid the “scar tissue” this time around, I have set forth a list of “rules of engagement” before starting. They are:
- Respect the sport and understand how cruel it can be if you are ill prepared
- Get a mentor in the sport
- Pick a race I will be successful at. A DNF is not acceptable
- Train within my capabilities and remain injury-free
- Have a HELL of a lot of FUN (I know, it may not be your type of fun)
So why do it?
The self-satisfaction I get from doing these endurance-type events. It’s not an ego thing. It’s an “I did it”, feel good type of thing.
- See how far I push myself physically and mentally
- Try to be an inspiration to others to challenge themselves and get way out of their comfort zone.
The clock is ticking and I’m not getting any younger. I’ll keep you up to date.
Big Smile, Big Dreams, Big Journey Through Life
Shannon is the sort of bubbly, enthusiastic person that lights up a room. In fact, the word adorable is what comes to mind when you spend even a little amount of time with her. But behind that beautiful smile hides a woman who in spite of her young age has seen a lot of sadness and grief which led to a dark time of depression. Shannon is only 33 years old but in many ways she has lived a lifetime of challenges.
Shannon was very young when she had her first child, in fact, she had two children by the time she was 18, four by the time she was 22. She was experiencing the challenges of an unhappy marriage, trying to go to school with small children (she attended beauty school) worked full time, struggling with pregnancy weight gain and trying lots of fad diets and cardio and was just in general just trying to make it in this world and then things got really tough.
When she was 26 years old, she found herself with 4 small children, pregnant with her 5th child, her marriage in shambles and ultimately going through a divorce, when suddenly and unexpectedly her 44 year old mother died of an aneurysm. This lead to a downward spiral for her broken hearted father who died just 6 months later at 46 leaving behind two teenage sons.
Suddenly, Shannon had lost everyone and was left with 5 children, no husband, no parents and two teenage brothers who needed care. She took in her 16 year old brother while her 18 year old brother loved out on his own.
This is an example of extreme life stress, the kind that knocks you to your knees, but if you survive it, you are often left with a profound awareness that you are much stronger than you ever thought you were. Shannon was very young to be handling all of this on her own. She was already depressed, overweight, and seriously stressed. At her highest she says she weighed 210 pounds. She was also dealing with the added stress of postpartum depression when all of this family trauma happened in 2006.
Not even sure what to do, or how to do it, she became lost and was living life in a haze on autopilot when one day she took her five children to a playground to play at a local church playground close to home. A man came out while she was sitting there in a lifeless daze, and started talking to her. Eventually, he asked if she attended this church or lived close by. She answered, no, she did not attend, she was just there to let her children play, but she did live close. Next, the stranger kindly invited her to come to church the next day, he told her she just looked very sad and lonely. The next day she did attend that church, and as she sat there in the pew was struck by an overwhelming feeling that the pastor was talking directly to her as he started talking about grief, sadness and depression. Stunned by this strange feeling, she was further surprised when after church the pastor invited her to join a new 13 week grief program they were just starting that next week.
Shannon says at the time she felt like "I have to take my life back, I haven't done what I wanted to with my life."
She joined the grief program, continued to attend church, took care of her family and worked hard to pay her bills, but she also tried to incorporate exercise and fitness by joining a gym. She also started to run, more for her sanity than anything else, but it helped. In just a few weeks she realized she was feeling better and looking better. By the end of the year she was starting to make a comeback.
In February, one year after her mom died and 6 months after her dad passed away, her divorce recently final, she was visiting her grandmother and met a young man at a local gas station. They formed a fast friendship. Over the next few months she found herself feeling happy again, in fact, she fell in love and experienced real and honest joy. Realizing what was happening they started making plans for a future.
In August they moved in together, but in September she found out she was pregnant with her sixth baby. Shannon had always wanted to be a nurse and at the encouraging of her future husband she applied to nursing school. These were busy times. The baby came in May '08 but the weight came back also, and then she was accepted to nursing school.
The young couple had their baby, delayed their wedding for a year, and Shannon once again became the cardio queen trying to slim down again for her wedding dress and started the commute to Denver for school. Thanks to a crazy schedule, youth and her unhealthy dieting she did fit into her wedding dress in May '09 and was happy about that, but she knew it was not a healthy approach to life. The day after her honeymoon she started nursing clinical's.
Becoming a nurse was not an easy dream to follow, she was trying to juggle working full time in the salon, taking care of her six children and working through her nursing clinical's seven days a week in Denver. Somehow she got through this time and proudly graduated November 23, 2010 and faced her nursing exam the following January, on the anniversary of her mom's death. The hard work paid off and she passed her exam and started working the night shift immediately.
Unfortunately, within just a few months she found out her grandma had cancer and she passed very quickly in March '11. One week later Shannon found out she was pregnant with her seventh child.
Now, two years later, Shannan is an Emergency Room Trauma nurse and works the night shift and is working on her BSN taking online classes. She manages the busy house of seven children ranging from 16 months to 16 years of age and has decided the time has finally come when she needs to take care of herself.
As the self described "Life support for everyone I care about my entire life, I finally decided to stop making excuses and and focus on self care." reports Shannon. "I don't care if I am in school, working, don't get any sleep and have children, this time I made the choice that I was going to do it the right way. I needed structure so I signed up for Farrell's eXtreme Bodyshaping to help hold me accountable, and I visited Max Muscle Colorado Springs for nutrition help because I knew I needed a plan to be successful."
With a renewed sense of determination Shannon is on a quest to "become the person I've always wanted to be."
Shannon has decided that 2013 is the year she puts her needs up front. She is working hard, has not missed a single class at Farrell's, is losing inches and feeling stronger, has worked with the staff at Max Muscle to meet her nutrition and supplemental needs. She is actively carving out "Mommy Time and it is making a difference. She and her husband have decided seven children is enough and now it is Shannon's opportunity to reclaim her own fitness and have the fit, strong body she wants. She realizes she is a role model not only for her children but for her patients also and needs to be able to set a great example.
Shannon has some big goals and she is not afraid to dream big. She has a plan and she is getting better about asking for what she needs to achieve these goals. With a supportive husband and family and the kind of passion and drive she has, I am confident she will achieve anything she puts her mind too! Way to go Shannon!
We'd love to help you with your mommy makeover too! Click here to get started today and request your no obligation Free Body Composition Analysis Today!
"Dad, pushups don't solve everything!!"
That was the retort from my 11-year-old daughter the other day after she “bet” me one of her math questions was right.
I have to disagree. I think pushups have solved a lot in her little life thus far. In fact, I think they are the key to success. It all started when she started telling her mother and I that she couldn’t do things about 3 years ago. It wasn’t she couldn’t do them; she didn’t want to do them. There is a big difference. So as the understanding father I am, I told her to drop and give me 10. She looked at her mother and was met with a wry smile. Remarkably, the “I can’t do it” response stopped after several weeks and several hundred pushups.
Then the “like” word started popping up in conversation. Such as, “The movie was like so good”. Again, as the understanding father I am, I told her to drop and give me 10. And you know what, using the work “like” improperly stopped as well.
You may think I am a hardass to our daughter, but I don’t see it that way. I was raised with the decisions/consequences model. I was free to make my own decisions and would have to live with the consequences. It made me stop and think before doing (most times).
I am trying to pass that onto my daughter and the vehicle for learning is the almighty pushup.
Therefore, pushups DO solve everything.
Did I mention that she is now a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and can shame most boys when the testing requires pushups?
Ramblings from a proud father.
Success! Attitude is everything!
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.” Henry Ford.
The power of the mind is an amazing thing. We all have this inner voice talking to us, consciously and subconsciously, what it is saying can have a profound impact on our life.
Learning to listen actively is the first step. Try to create quite time to reflect and listen. Often we have so much activity and “noise” in our life that we can’t even slow down long enough to consciously listen to our own inner voice.
What does your voice say to you? This is a really powerful question and one that should not be taken lightly. Really listen. Is it saying, “you are a champion” “you can do it” or is it saying “you’ll never get what you want or you’re not good enough?”
Once you learn to listen and have clearly heard the message playing in your head you can do something about it. Once you listen, if you don’t like the message you are responsible for changing it. Think of it as a secret recording that only you can hear. If you don’t like the current message rerecord it to a message you do like.
When our youngest child started Takewondo years ago I didn’t really understand the power of visualization or that it was even possible for a small child to perform up to the high standards of a seventh degree black belt Olympian. In fact, I’d have said she was far too little (she was only 7) to have high expectations of her like that. Boy was I wrong.
I am guilty of totally underestimating what my child was capable of and it was very enlightening to see her prove me wrong.
Watching Grand Master Han Lee set the bar higher and higher I was impressed beyond words that once my baby decided she wanted Grand Master Lee’s respect and approval and that the only way she’d get it was by earning it, I saw her transform before my eyes. Suddenly she stood taller, she paid more attention, and she took care with her actions. Impressive. Very impressive.
What I watched over the next few years was a progression, a transformation of sorts. I watched my little girl manage her life from her backpack to her training journal, from her homework to her spelling, from her schedule, to her training times, she progressively monitored her own goal setting and progress toward those goals.
I had no idea the disciple she learned in Taekwondo would become one of her most powerful tool for learning to manage her own life.
I have friends with children much older than my child who can’t seem to find their shoes, much less get up for school on time, pack their own lunch, and make it to the bus on time. These kids need a parent to tell them literally everything they need to do throughout the day. No wonder we have young adults who don’t ever “launch” so to speak. They haven’t been taught how too!
One day in 6th grade (her first year of official middle school) I heard her say, “today at school we had an assembly and it was really cool mom. All the students who had straight A’s on their grades were honored. They called each person’s name and then that student got to walk up across the stage and shake the principals hand. They called it Honor Roll and it was really cool!” she enthusiastically announced.
I commented that that was really neat but stopped in my tracks when she calmly announced to me “next semester I want to be on Honor Roll too!”
I was excited she was showing this kind of motivation and interest in higher academics “That would be great!” I said with great gusto!
“Ya, and afterward all the kids on Honor Roll got to eat cake!” She announced!
Well, I guess if that’s what it takes than that’s what it takes! I thought!
Not thinking much about it after that point until a few months later she surprised me again when I received an email from her teachers and principal inviting me to the Honor Roll Reception honoring all members!
She had set a goal and then systematically worked to get there! Wow!
I learned a lot in the process.
1. One, don’t underestimate what your young children are capable of just because of their age. Learn to motivate them and then set that bar up there and believe in their ability to achieve it. If they want it badly enough they will amaze you at what they can do.
2. Two, martial arts are an excellent sport for young children, it teaches them how to defend themselves, but it also teaches them disciple, goal setting and perseverance, all priceless skills for young children.
3. Three don’t be afraid to let your child suffer the consequences of failing to be responsible for their own life. What I mean is that in today’s society parents get all caught up in “looking good” to other parents and teachers. They don’t want their child to get a bad grade because it makes them look like they aren’t doing a great job parenting.
Parents don’t want the child to get a detention because the child forgot their homework because it doesn’t look good so they bail the child out by delivering forgotten homework to school. Call me a hard ass or a radical mother, but I think you should set the expectations high, communicate the benefits or consequences clearly to the child and then let them make the choice. Then don’t cave in and bail them out if they don’t follow through properly. Let life get a little uncomfortable for your child. They will quickly learn if they don’t like the consequence then they’d better follow through.
4. Fourth, martial arts are an excellent sport to help develop you child’s level of fitness. Conditioning and training to earn a black belt take years, but the benefits are cumulative, they really add up. These kids are strong, toned and muscular. Their cores are rock solid because of all the kicking and punching they do. This will help them avoid injury, defend themselves and enjoy greater fitness and health than their nonactive friends.
5. Fifth, teach your children that if they don’t earn it they don’t get it. That’s how life works, so we might as well teach our children at an early age how to play the game!
Attitude is everything, and this lesson needs to start early in childhood. Believe in your children and they will learn to believe in themselves. I think this is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children as parents.
Fighters for Fighters: Mission Accomplished
Man Behind the Mission
Kurt Strout is a busy man who is passionate about helping support our military overseas in a unique way. (Kurt is on the right)
In 1990-1994 young Kurt was a Marine deployed overseas for almost 3 of the 4 years. He was a young man straight out of high school. He was a long way from home and he remembers vividly how much it meant to him and his fellow troops when someone from home would come visit the base and provide a little break.
Kurt remembers it didn't matter if the performance was a comedian, musician, or a fighter. Anyone from the states willing to come overseas and perform was a big deal and appreciated beyond words by the men and women in the service.
Flash forward to 2007, Kurt is now married, working, nonactive duty and has children of his own, and is training studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when he meets Nate Querry, first season star of Ultimate Fighter, put on by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Kurt and Nate become training partners and a brilliant idea was formed with this friendship.
Dream Becomes a Reality
The idea was a combination of passions. Kurt couldn't help but think it would be cool to put together a tour and bring UFC Fighters to deployed service men and women stationed in remote bases and let them train with the troops, meet and sign autographs, put on seminars and help bring a touch of home to these soldiers.
The dream soon became a reality, Kurt works alongside Armed Forces Entertainment (which is a branch of the Pentagon) to bring six to eight UFC Fighters to the Middle East two to three times per year. On any given tour, the fighters will go the multiple countries, see 5000 or more soldiers and tour for 17 grueling days. The trip from the US to Djibouti alone takes 33 hours. Days on the tour can start at 4:00 am and go until 10:00 pm between the travel and tour events!
First Fighters for Fighters Tour 2010
Kurt put the first tour together in the spring of 2010 and he brought professional fighters Mike Swick, Kyle Kingsbury, Ed Herman, Greg Thompson, Chris Leben and Eben Kaneshiro. They toured to Germany, Djibouti, Barain and UAE! The experience was very positive for everyone invovled and Kurt was determined to continue his work.
Kurt works many long hours between tours making contacts, coordinating travel arrangements, working with the Armed Forces Entertainment and finding local businesses to help sponsor these events with t-shirts and other swag that the fighters can distribute to the troops they meet.
In the weeks just preceeding a trip Kurt says he'll coordinate 400-500 emails and follow ups to wrap up details and ensure he has the local business support he needs.
One of Kurt's deepest passions is to try to visit remote smaller bases rather than the large more popular ones. I asked Kurt why he felt this was so important and he explained it to me in this way. "The USO and Armed Forces Entertainment work very hard to bring different celebrities and professional's to overseas bases and the bigger names all seem to go to the big bases, but the smaller really remote bases are forgotten about and these service men and women really have difficult working conditions to endure on a daily basis. It seems to me that these are the kinds of places we really need to be reaching out to."
Kurt's passion is clear and while this is obviously a labor of love it takes a huge committment from Kurt and his family. His children are now old enough to ask questions about where he is going and why. He admits some of these trips put the fighters and other travelers in volatile and dangerous situations and his family sometimes struggles with this, but for now this is just who he is and what he believes in.
How Can You Help?
How can you help? Kurt is always looking for business contributors willing to send swag over to the troops and help contribute to t-shirts that the fighters give away at seminars. If you are interested in helping out comment to this blog and I will be happy to forward the information to Kurt.
A Day in the Life
In describing a recent trip Kurt said they spend their time doing meet and greets, where the fighters get to visit one-on-one with the service men and women, get photo's, do autographs and conduct working seminars on various aspects of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). For example, they recently got to visit a Patriot Missile Battery site (PMB site) where the troops have very rough working conditions working 24 hour shifts on and 24 hours off for a year, out in the middle of the desert.
They barely have working Internet on site, temperatures can reach 120 degress, they have no ammenities, no fast food and no real housing. These service men and women really need visits from home so we try to incorporate places like this on our tours rather than just visit all the big bases.
One of the favorite trips Kurt made was just this past April when the visited a Manaas Base and Krygizstan. This particular base is designed to help aclimate, decompress, and transition troops and they met an EOD Unit (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) of 22 servicemen on their way home. The fighters met them and spent a couple hours drinking beers and hanging out with them. Their commanding officer caught me later and told me that this was the first time in 6 months he'd seen these guys smile because they'd seen a lot of action and lost 20% of their unit in just a few months.
"when I heard this I was shocked by it, we all have our ego's, but in my regular life if my business went away today life would still go on" shared Kurt. "making these trips means my life has value on a different level." I didn't realize it at the time, but the guys from that unit really needed some extra help and to think we made a difference was cool.
Planning events like this presents a complicated logistical challenge, one of the hardest being able to find fighters who can go. Trips last 16-18 days and these are professional athletes we are taking. They train year round but the conditions on these trips are exhausting and certainly not conducive to fitting into a discipled training and nutrition schedule. For example, the food we eat on the trips has 4 times as much sodium as these guys train on, most of the food is fried and fresh produce is scarce. Also, fatigue is a problem, those on the trip will experience 12-18 hour days and serious jet lag contributing to the logistical problems.
The Fighters Sacrifice
As we sat and visited about these trips I asked Kurt if there was anything else important to know and he wanted me to explain that when these fighters agree to accompany him on a trip they are making a serious commitment in time and money. He explained to me that fighters try to schedule 3-4 fights annually and then spend weeks training and preparing. One fight can mean between $30,000 - $40,000 dollars to these fighters and when they go on a trip with Kurt they are effectively giving up one fight per year or up to 1/3 of their annual income! I was impressed with the generosity and dedication Kurt and the fighters displayed but when I realized the time and financial commitment involved I realized this is not just a publicity tour or something they recognize as "a good thing to do", no these men do this because it is important for them to give back to our military men and women and share their time and talent in a unique way. I hope the troops realize the commitment involved in a visit!
Knowing what to eat and when to eat it isn't as simple as it sounds. The majority of us are making 7 nutritional mistakes that keep us from achieving our body composition goals. Make a few simple adjustments to your diet and see results immediately!
Mistake #1 Skipping breakfast
Your mom said it for years and we’ll say it again. Breakfast is a very important meal, in fact, one could argue that it is the most important meal of the entire day. Why? Because your body has been sleeping for the past 6-9 hours and needs to be refueled so that it can go metabolic. This means it needs fuel for the day so it can speed up your metabolism and get you going for the day!
Start your day with an egg on toast, yogurt with a little fruit, or rolled oats with protein powder and you'll turbo charge your metabolism and kick your day off the right way!
Mistake #2 Using Sugar for a pick me up
In this modern age we are all guilty of this and it is one of the reasons we are fighting the current obesity epidemic. Refined sugar spikes our insulin and starts a chain reaction in our bodies that fuels the insulin spike, makes us feel good and gives us that much craved sugar rush. The problem with this is that after the rush is the crash and repeatedly spiking our levels wrecks havoc on our system. The goal should be to level out our insulin by eating a steady supply (every 2-3 hours) of low glycemic foods which take longer for our bodies to process and reduce the dramatic ups and downs the of the sugar high.
Pass on the sugar high roller coaster and replace it with a steady supply of healthy nutrition and you'll feel less fatigue, guarnateed!
Mistake #3 Eating out for lunch
Besides causing problems with our wallets this one causes problems with our mid sections. Too often we rush out the door for work skipping breakfast and grabbing a donut or sugary latte mid morning. By the time our body starts to crash from this sugar rush it is noon and we rush out for the nearest fast food location doubling down on our problems with oversized portions of greasy calorie and sodium laden fast food. Portion control is the main culprit here with many restaurants easily giving twice the desired portion size and using terms like “super size” to lure us in! Besides that, if an average fast food lunch on the go costs you $7.50 a day that could save you $1950 a year.
Pack a healthy lunch and watch your pocketbook grow and your waistline disappear!
Mistake #4 Latte, smatte, save your calories for real nutrition
Sugary drinks loaded with caffeine add to the worries with double shot, cream, frapa, latte, syrupy concoctions unceremoniously adding 700-1000 calories to your day with virtually zero nutritional value. Skip this step and automatically trim a pound of fat from your middle a week! Besides that, at an average sale of $4.50, that will put an extra $31.50 or $1638.00 annually!
Try drinking a tall glass of water with a slice of lemon for a fresh alternative!
Mistake #5 Not eating a protein with a carbohydrate
If you eat a carbohydrate alone it will provide satisfaction and make you feel full for about 60 minutes. If you eat a protein instead you would feel full for roughly 120 minutes but when you combine a protein and a complex carbohydrate together it provides nutritional satisfaction for nearly four hours making it easier to stay within appropriate caloric intake guidelines.
Mistake #6 No recovery protein drink
Not having a protein drink within 15-20 minutes of your workout will quickly undo most of the hard work you just put in at the gym. You have to think of recovery as a part of your fitness routine. Simply drink a quality whey protein drink that is easily digested within 15-20 minutes of your workout. This easy step is one of the easiest tweaks to your diet that you can do to maximize results!
Try Max Pro or Triple Whey for a great tasting, quality protein that will give you between 26-30 grams of protein that is easily digestable after your next workout. It will make a huge difference.
Mistake #7 Too many carbohydrates and not enough protein
Our American diets are notorisously unbalanced with far too many processed carbohydrates and not nearly enough quality lean protein. Protein cannot be stored but excess carbohydrates are easlily stored as fat. Switch up these two and you will be able to build lean muscle and burn excess fat faster.
By adding a protein drink or two to your day you can easily increase your daily protein amounts by 50-60 grams.
If you have simply had enough of the old and are ready to insist on a new and improved, healthier you, let this be the year you get help from the professionals who can help you make it happen.
Let this be the year you see the experts at Max Muscle Sports Nutrition Colorado Springs and let them put together a Custom Nutrition Plan created for your unique goals and challenges. Our Certified Fitness Coaches will create the nutrition plan around your goals, preferences. They will recommend the perfect combination of supplements to help you maximize your results and they will offer continued support and motivation to you along your journey to fitness.
Don’t have a gym? Still at the couch potato stage? Don’t worry, we have connections all over town with different gyms and trainers. We can point you in the right direction. You decide on the workout you enjoy, we’ll design the nutrition plan that works, and recommend the supplements to maximize your results. Put it all together and you’ll get results.
Fitness doesn’t happen overnight, it doesn’t happen with a magic pill, and it isn’t a diet. Fitness is a lifestyle that is sustainable, a belief in a better way that we are motivated to do because we believe in it and it makes us feel better. It is a choice and it becomes a way of life.
If you are tired of starting diets over and over? Then don’t. These diets do not work and can be detrimental to your health in the long run. Don’t start over, just make the change today and make it your lifestyle.
Do you need a challenge to keep you going strong and stay motivated? Sign up for one of the many local 5 K races or charity walks they are easy to train for and closs enough to free to fit in any budget. Not sure you can stay motivated on your own? Ask a friend to be your workout buddy, but instead of hitting the gym for a sufferfest grab your old dusty bike and hit the Sante Fe Trail and enjoy the Colorado mountain sunshine.
Max Muscle Sports Nutrition Colorado Springs has the experts to help and we are here to be your one stop source of sports nutrition information and quality products. Come see us today. It's time you put your health and fitness success first!