You may think this sounds like a ridiculous idea, but I think it sounds like a fun way to use your body & your time – because remember, you get only 1 life and only 1 shot at making memories, what you do each day will create the life you reflect on & the memories you hold when you’re old and gray someday.

So handstands & backbends went into my weekly program. But there is only so much you can do watching videos online. Which is what I did for a few months. As I’m sure many of you trying to learn how to have better run form or proper TRX pushup form do! I got my handstand back. Got cartwheels & flips into the pit at the trampoline park near our house. And then I got stuck. I wasn’t sure how to get better, or where to go next to progress myself. Sound familiar? I think everyone who’s ever tried to improve in some way has come to this point.

I knew I needed coaching if I was going to progress past the basic handstand. But apparently, gymnastics facilities are not too eager to have anyone over age 21 in their gym, even in a private lesson. I would know. I asked….and was denied at several facilities. And then, when I was driving into the warehouse park where ProKine is located, it hit me. The cheerleading school around the corner from us offers private tumbling lessons! No, it wasn’t beam, bar & vault work – but it was a start. Would they take me??

I called, explained what I was looking for and how I was relatively practiced already but needed coaching to move to the next level and would they please give me a shot. They would!! And so this is how I found myself surrounded by screaming little girls as I set down my hoodie & purse (no other tumblers had purses I noted…clearly children don’t need a purse to hold car keys and a wallet…note to self, don’t bring purse next time) & walked over to meet my coach.

I’m in private lessons so it’s just going to be just me & my coach working on skills. Which is so awesome. A private coach can help you because the whole workout is devoted to you & your issues. Whatever you stink at, they’ll laser in on and address immediately. They specialize in a certain field – in this case, tumbling – and they will give you all the little tips & cues needed to “get it” quicker than you’ll ever get it on your own.

It is exactly what Drew & I do in personal training, and it was really cool to be on the other side of the equation, for once!

The first thing I said to Drew when I got out of my lesson was, “it was awesome to get these cues for certain tricks that made an immediate difference in me ‘getting’ the skill! I would NEVER have gotten that from watching videos online!”

And this is why you hire a coach people. To address your limiters. Reach goals you desire greatly. Limit the risk for injury. And cut the time to goal accomplishment that you would have wasted trying to figure it out on your own.

Oh, and 1 more reason: To think big for you…to see a vision you weren’t sure was possible. I went into my lesson with a list of various handstands & front or back walkovers that would be my ‘long range goal.’ Here’s what I tweeted after my lesson tonight…

1st tumbling private lesson 2nite:thought walkovers would b extent of me.coach says handsprings & tucks r in my future. #biggoals #melikey—
Kate Galliett (@kgalliett) February 23, 2012

I *never* would have thought back handsprings or tumbling sequences that included back tucks would be possible for me. Those were the last skills I learned in gymnastics as a child before quitting the sport in favor of the traditional school sports – 16 YEARS AGO. I have no idea if or when I’ll get to those skills, but I am so excited & hopeful for this new endeavor, & am thrilled to be on the receiving end of some private coaching! If you have goals in mind, I’d strongly urge you to consider hiring a coach to help you get there. In business, sports & life – there are coaches available who know their stuff & can guide you to (and beyond!) the end result you have in mind. And if they’re a good coach, & you’re committed to the process, it will be worth more than the time & money you put into it!

(alternatively, “If You Ain’t Ebbin’, You Ain’t Flowin’”)

The fact is, much as you may like to be all things to all people, especially you type-A’ers, you simply can’t be maxed out in all areas of your fitness at the same time. Now, you may be thinking, “but I don’t want to be a million different types of “fit”.  I just want to be fast/lean/an Ironman/insert your fitness goal here. But consider this gang, if you’re injured, and trying to work around/through it, while also trying to be fast/lean/an Ironman…you’re trying to marry two ends of the fitness spectrum that don’t jive together well at all. If you want to be strong, like really strong, but also want to complete a marathon this year…again, two ends of the spectrum that don’t jive all that well. That doesn’t mean you can’t address and even achieve both goals in the same year, you would simply be wise to spread those goals out so that you can get your best results out of both, rather than mediocre results from doing both at the same time.

Look at the fitness/performance spectrum like this. Along the spectrum are various types of fitness – all the points along the spectrum are fine goals to work for, no one point is better than another. Some bleed over into others, or lend themselves to other fitness factors, and it is possible to achieve more than 1 point on the spectrum in a given year. But, there are aspects of  fitness/performance that are so far apart on the spectrum that you can’t achieve both goals at the same time, nor can you even come remotely close to having quality training sessions for both if you attempt both goals at the same time.

For example, if you’re working out of a decently large injury…it may not be the year that you work on cutting a minute off your per mile pace. Not to say that you can’t, every person is unique where they’re starting on the spectrum & what they’re capable of doing – the point is, the training methods & intensities for injury recovery/prevention are very different from those that you would do to get much faster in your running season. Trying to fix the injury AND get faster is a recipe for disaster. You end up never putting your best effort to either goal & you risk lengthening the amount of time it takes for you to heal from the injury, which further delays your aspirations of being a speedy demon in your races.

And this doesn’t just apply to injuries & performance goals. The adaptation required of the body to develop powerful strength to lift heavy things is different from the strength needed to have the muscles go and go for a multi-hour event. The work an athlete must do in their off-season is different from what they should be doing when in-season. Repeating the same kind of workout for general fitness or weight loss is a sure-fire way to overtrain, plateau, or die of boredom.

Every person’s fitness/performance training needs variations throughout the year. And not just swapping the leg extension machine for lunges in your workout.

Enter, the ‘ebb’ and the ‘flow’. In training, we call this periodization, & we (fitness pros, conditioning coaches, etc) can make the ebb & flow very technical & personalized to the individual reaching for fitness/performance goals. Olympic & professional athletes have extremely detailed training protocols. But it boils down to this: hit ‘x’ goal by ‘y’ date/event, marking checkpoints along the way that show the fitness for achieving ‘x’ goal is moving along in a consistent manner.

If you do it right, you’ll peak at the right time in your fitness/performance with whatever goal you were going for. The hard part is then letting that fitness/performance level go a bit so you can rest your body or work on a different goal. But you have to do it. Going along with repeated effort at repeated intensities doing repetitive movements = injury or burnout. 

I spent from Jan – end of August this year training for middle-distance running. My gym time focused around functional strength that developed endurance-strength for running half marathons. Endurance-strength is noted by the ability of the muscle & kinetic chain to hold up under repeated movements, greater than 1 hour. But when the season ended, as elated as I was with my performances, I could hear/feel my body telling me it needed to rest. My body was telling me it was ready to shift away from the endurance stuff for awhile, heal the tissue distress that running perpetually throws on you & try my hand at some true strength work.

So I took a week off to do nothing. No thing. The fastest I moved was a slow walk. I needed it. Not only to heal, but to build back the excitement to jump into the gym. Then I grabbed the strength standard test from a fellow micro-gym owner in California & on Day 1 of my new program, I tested my strength & skill level. And it was pitiful. (I grabbed someone elses’ strength & skill test because I didn’t want to test myself with my own test- knowing my own weaknesses, it would be easy to cop-out from what I “should” be able to do to meet my strength goals.) Sure, I had enough strength to run 13 miles, but I did not have the strength needed to deadlift my bodyweight at least 3x, nor did I have the strength to perform multiple bodyweight dips.

And there you have the fitness/performance spectrum. You can only focus on so much at 1 time, and some goals simply take you in too different of a direction to accomplish both at the same time. If I’d been deadlifting my bodyweight multiple times, I’d not have had the endurance in my muscles to complete the large volume of miles I needed to do each week. The goal would be to then address these other strength factors in the off-season, retain some of the progress I make from working on that strength, then shift back to endurance running stronger, more powerful, & better than last season.

But when you ebb & flow your training program like this – you must deal with the inevitable, “wow, I suck at this” thoughts that come up  early on as you struggle to get into the groove of the different movements…as you take note of just how weak you are compared to where you want to be. And this is where you need to be vigilant over your thoughts, reminding yourself that you, in fact, are not ‘weak’, you simply are not strong at this type of strength/performance. YET. You were quite strong at whatever phase of training or goal-accomplishment you just came out of, and that phase or goal was located down the spectrum a bit from what you are now reaching.

Workouts early on in a new phase of training can be disappointing if you’re not careful. You have got to manage your expectations accordingly or else you’ll end up in a tailspin of negativity. When I began my off-season strength program, I was unbelievably sore. I struggled through exercise movements I had not done in months. But guess what happened along the way to my off-season fitness goals? I developed coordination for the exercise movements, I built strength & power in my kinetic chain, I adapted, I got strong. I felt good. In case you’re keeping track, after 3 months of heavy lifting, I went from a max effort of 3 deadlifts @ 83% of my weight to 8 @ 100% of my weight. I achieved exponential growth in various other strength & skill tests. But that was only after I got through the initial mental challenge of “wow, I’m so not strong.” Reminding myself, “I am strong. I haven’t trained for these new goals, of course I’m not going to feel amazing with them yet. But I will be strong if I stay the course.”

And when I began my endurance program a few weeks ago, I was stupid-slow on my runs. My lungs and heart rate did not respond like they did back in my peak in August. And for a fleeting moment, I thought “oh this is bad,” then I focused only on completing the workout, and putting one foot in front of the other as I re-built my cardio base. I vowed not to put any attention to where I should be, my only focus was on “complete this workout Kate, & you’re one step closer to not sucking at distance running anymore.”

Ebb & flow folks, ebb & flow.

For those not aware, ProKine Performance is the performance strength & conditioning company I co-own with my man, Drew Whitehead. We’re getting ready to open our new facility in St. Charles, IL – thus my less frequent posting lately – & are going to have some seriously awesome group training classes for every person & fitness level!

I’m overseeing our TRX programming – the segment of our offerings that will be based entirely around the TRX Suspension Training System. If you have never seen the TRX, it’s a suspension training system that allows you to train the body in 360 degrees of movement. It allows you to stand up to train, suspending yourself from handles or foot cradles as you work the muscles through mobilization, stability & strength concepts, because “everything changes once you’re standing up”. You don’t sit or lay down for most of your lifestyle & athletic pursuits – why do the majority of your training that way?

Whether you’re in your off-season or you don’t have a “season”, these TRX programs may be exactly what you need to be doing. If you have questions, or want to get your assessment done with me or Drew to find out which of ProKine’s training programs are right for you, you can contact me through the contact info on the poster below.

You can’t flip a channel on TV these days without stumbling into some sort of weight loss show or talk show devoted to weight loss or the latest fitness tips. And if you’re not watching TV, you’re smacked in the face online & in magazines for questionable weight loss supplements & fad diets. We’ve reached a fever pitch with this stuff, and yet the US population is only getting fatter.

And according to this article, many people don’t even know they’re overweight. Huh? How do you not know?

Because what’s common has become normal – and just because something is common does NOT mean that it is, or should be, normal.

It’s common to be 10lbs overweight (on the low end) – it’s shockingly common to be 30,40, even 80lbs overweight.

It’s common to be on several Rx medications – most likely including statins & some kind of type-II diabetes medication.

It’s common to not include exercise regularly (4-5x/wk) in your life.

But just because you, or someone you know, has something in common with those statements, it does not mean that is normal or acceptable. Forget dropping body fat and gaining muscle because it will give you a hot, sexy body – there are serious health risks, like death, associated with every one of those statements above. It’s sort of a bummer that the consequences aren’t immediate as they would be if you burned your hand on the stove. If there was instantaneous ballooning of the body, a la the original (and best) Willy Wonka movie, when the kids eat the forbidden candy & blow up into a beach ball…more people would think twice about pulling into the drive-thru. Unfortunately, a person often has to wait decades to die early from the choices they made about their health.

If that sounds blunt, it is. It is utterly ridiculous the lack of attention many Americans are paying to their health – and how marketers and tv producers know this and are capitalizing on it.

I just saw an episode of MTV’s show, “I Used to be Fat” where the boy is a total failure in his program, and even admits he failed so he could spend time with his idiot girlfriend, and while he did lose 30lbs, he was still 60lbs overweight. 60! And he says, “at least I’m healthier that I was before.” (And in case you forgot how I feel about the words “at least”) That is NOT OK. The fact that it’s depicted on TV means someone out there is relating to that kid, and thinking, “yep, I’m out of the danger zone now, I dropped a bit of weight, I’m healthier than I was before.” ‘Healthier than you were before’? Maybe. But is that kid healthy? No effing way.

As a fitness pro, I’ve had my fill of weight loss shows setting unrealistic expectations (ahem, Biggest Loser weight losses of 6lbs in a week are a disappointment on that show), sham products that claim to take your fat but only take your money, & mixed messages on docuseries showcasing obese people – yes, accept them as a person, but condoning living a life full of major health risks?…no way. That would be like those shows about addiction showcasing the human side of the addict but saying they’re doing fine making all those risky decisions a drug addict makes – it’s absurd when you look at it that way.

A part of me feels bad for people who may not know where to begin to get fit & healthy because there are so many mixed messages out there, but the other part of me thinks, ‘it’s not hard – there are commonsense things that every person needs to do every day to be healthy, just like brushing their teeth.’

• Get moving every single day. The saying is true, ‘if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.’ The body doesn’t keep what it doesn’t use.
• Push heavy things around a few times/week. Every cell in the body reacts positively to the strain of resistance exercise.
• Eat real food. There’s no need to count calories if you’re eating real food since it’s impossible to over-eat spinach or salmon or other real foods. Try it. You’ll see.
• Drink water throughout the day. Your body is majority water. How do you think it will work if you deny it that which it is?
• Sleep. You really canNOT ‘get by’ on 5hrs, 8hrs is the goal for all adults, some will need slightly more, a few need slightly less. Not sleeping guarantees you’ll get fat by screwing up your leptin signaling, among other things. Every single study out there proves it.

Sure, there’s more fun details you can get into, like probiotics, types of strength training & when to eat certain foods – but if you’re not getting these basics, you shouldn’t even worry about the rest of it.

Unfortunately, there are some of you out there who actually do all this, and still nothing happens. If you’re being honest about the work you’re putting in (walking the dog every day doesn’t count as a workout, sorry) that’s when it’s time to consult with someone specialized in this field of health & wellness. Just like you’d seek out a cancer specialist if you found a lump, seek out someone who specializes in optimal health if you’re doing that entire list up there  & nothing is happening to your health, fitness or weight.

Personally, I’ve used a naturopath for 4 years now because he knows more about the inner workings of the body than I do. So where my knowledge ends, his picks up, and together we have gotten my health to a state I feel good about. Naturopaths, chiropractors, functional medicine docs, & fitness pros – these are the most common specialists in the field of wellness – and a good one will help you change your life.  And if the person you’re consulting with about YOUR wellness wouldn’t be able to treat you with their shirt off, then they aren’t living what they’re preaching, so find someone else. Wellness professionals should look like they’re fit, healthy & at the top of their wellness game. 

And lastly, it’s time to own your health & accept the fact that you’re going to have to do some research and get your learn on if you want to know what is truly the best thing for your health. Media & marketers have made lies seem like truths, have set incorrect expectations & have distorted what is ‘healthy’ to such a degree that you need to be proactive and be open to continually learning about health. It’s not just a class in high school anymore, if you want to be truly healthy, you’re going to need to get some adult-education. And you’re going to need to do that list of healthy stuff up above.

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“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got.”

Since May of 2010, endurance running has been my focus. Iceland 1/2 Marathon (Aug 2010), Urbanathlon (Oct 2010), Cary 1/2 Marathon (Mar 2011), Soldier Field 10 (May 2011), and Batavia 1/2 Marathon on Aug 28 2011. Each race has seen me improve my time, taking 15 mins off my 1/2 marathon time, &  I’ve even gotten confident enough with my running to join a local track team – which I LOVE!

But it’s been a long time focusing on the same thing. I’d run 4 days a week, and tried to lift 3 days a week, but as I got more into track workouts (which almost kill you every week) & more focused on my long runs, I simply couldn’t make that 3rd day of lifting happen. It was for the best anyways since the 3rd day really wouldn’t be that effective since I was sore from the ‘in-season’ running stuff.

Off-season? Lifting 3 days a week is extremely beneficial for making performance & strength gains, and for kicking up fat loss (a recent meta-analysis found that people who did a 3x/wk strength training program lost more fat than those who strength trained 1x/wk). But in-season for cardio-based sports, 2x/wk strength training is more appropriate so the body can be strong for the key cardio workouts.

My body & my brain were both saying, ‘it’s time for a change.’ Besides, I’m not much for 5K’s and that’s about all there is come fall/winter in Chicagoland. So what would I like to do now? Get stronger. Change my physique. Get more flexible. Be able to do more powerful things. 

You can only be so strong & powerful when you’re an endurance athlete. You could school a non-endurance athlete at number of reps performed, or time under tension, but in terms of actual strength – an endurance athlete will not win that game. It’s not their goal! They shouldn’t be the strongest they possibly can be because then it would be impossible for them to be as good at endurance. They are two different energy systems and require different approaches for training (both cardio & strength training).

While I’ll always be an endurance athlete at heart, even the best endurance athletes should cycle their training so they improve different aspects of their performance. There was a great quote on Twitter today…very timely:

You're not really serious about sport performance until you start training to improve your limiters.—
Joe Friel (@jfriel) September 13, 2011

Absolutely. You can’t always train what your good at, or always train the same thing. That’s not how fitness & performance works – you’ve got to cycle through various performance goals in order to become a better athlete & more fit. For a runner like myself, off-season is a great time to focus on strength, mobility, & power. When trained properly, those gains made in the off-season will set the framework for even more gains when it comes time to improve endurance again for the running season.

For instance: I’m going to grow my muscles to be stronger. In doing so, I’ll increase my glycogen stores within my muscles. These are little storage sites within the muscle that hold glycogen, a form of energy released during workouts. The more glycogen you can store, the more you are benefited during a run since you’ll have more stored energy than someone who doesn’t have big glycogen stores. This also means that I would need to take in LESS calories on my run than an athlete without big glycogen stores – an important factor for every runner whose ever had to suck down multiple gels on a run!

So here’s what I’m going to be doing for the next 8 weeks at least – I’ll re-evaluate at 8 weeks & see where I need to head next. And yep, I’m still eating Paleo & making it work for me!

Lift heavy things: 4x/ week….Following a true strength program doing Olympic lifts, pullups, pushups & other heavy-lifting exercises

- I’ve never done O-lifts so this is an awesome challenge in and of itself! Week 1, I fitness tested myself & I was NOT good at some key elements of strength. Hello limiters!….I could kick anyone’s a** at # of TRX Suspended Lunges done without stopping, but being able to deadlift my bodyweight? Hardly. And that is really cool to see because what I’d trained for, I was good at, and what I’m going to be training for, there’s a lot of room for growth in!

- From this I will gain: increased % of muscle tissue & the strength of the tissue, increased glycogen stores within the muscles, increased metabolic rate & my physique should change as I develop muscles that are currently not as developed

- Track workout: 1x/wk….4-5 miles of whatever the coach prescribes

- This is the time when I can simply follow directions and do the work. I don’t have to design the program, I don’t have to be the motivator (although I do try to stay positive throughout the workout…no one’s holding a gun to my head telling me to run so why not stay positive about it!) To really stretch yourself, it will eventually get VERY uncomfortable & working out with my track team allows me to focus on my work, on keeping up with the faster people & the camaraderie is extremely helpful when all you need is someone giving you a shot of encouragement as you bust your butt.

- From this I will (continue gaining): increased muscle fiber strength, increased aerobic capacity (work ability), increased muscle mitochondria (the main energy production center in muscle), increased insulin sensitivity, & increased natural growth hormone production

- Long run: 1x/wk….6-1o miles through Oct 15th when I run the Urbanathlon, which is 9.75 miles of running + obstacle courses

- This will help ensure I maintain some level of endurance so I can complete the Urbanathlon. In addition, the low, slow cardio work hits a different energy system than the lifting & sprinting does.

- Gymnastics moves: 2x/wk @ end of strength workout….yep, gymnastics – no vault or beam, but we have bars, rings & mats in the gym

- I lovedlovedloved gymnastics as a child. And NO ONE offers adult gymnastics classes – hello? any gymnastics training center owners out there I’m talking to you! – & gymnastics moves are an awesome ‘skill’ that is completely different from your typical fitness routine. There’s a segment of the fitness pro population doing gymnastics & I’m excited to be adding it into my program too!

- I’ll be working on:
Rings skills – L holds, muscle-ups (that one will be down the road tho!), dips.
Floor skills – back bends, back walkovers, handstand variations, forward & backward rolls.
Bars skills – kipping, kipping pullups & whatever other fun things I can do.

So, there you have it. This is what I’m going to be doing to make sure I grow my limiters, get better as an athlete & get some things out my body that I have never gotten before! Make fitness fun folks, you’ve only got 1 body – you may as well do what you can with it!

It’s part of what helps a kid become well-rounded, allowing them to be exposed to many experiences where they can assess their strengths & talents. As we age, that willingness to explore new experiences drops off in some people. There’s only one culprit to be blamed for this. Fear.

Sure, you can say, you’re ‘too busy’ to try out new things. That’s an excuse. ‘I just don’t want to.’ Blah. If you aren’t at least willing to try it once, it comes back to one  thing – fear. Fear keeps most people from finding out if they are good at other things. Being uncoordinated, slow or weak feels terrible at first. So as humans with emotions & ego all wrapped in to the mix – if you know a situation could potentially bruise your ego & bring out real emotion in you about not being ‘good enough’, you’ll likely avoid that situation entirely.

But doing so may make you miss a truly breakthrough moment! Sticking to what you know is ‘safe.’ Staying safe means you know what you’re going to get, but you won’t get anything more than that. Think of it in the context of working out: You always do your basic weights & cardio routine, you see the TRX/track team workout/yoga booty ballet class, and its intriguing to you, but you’re hesitant about trying it. Why are you hesitant? If it’s boring to you & doesn’t light your fire, you can easily walk away. That’s not a big enough detractor to keep someone from trying something; you do that with food all the time – try a new food, either like it or loathe it and now you know either way. No, that’s not it – it’s fear – the fear of looking like an idiot…of being the ‘worst’ one there…of failing.

The opposite of failure is success. And in experiences, it’s rarely all one or the other. There’s a lot of grey when it comes to experiences. When you’re a kid, if you mis-pronounce words, I suppose you could define that as a ‘failure to speak properly.’ But no kid just says ‘forget it, I quit’ when they hear themselves mess up. Kids just take in the corrective coaching from their parents & store that info for the next time they start talking. You don’t see any kids taking a vow of silence because they said ‘basgetti” instead of “spaghetti” (one I’ve heard messed up a few times by kids I know). So back to failure or success - was it a failure when the kid tried to say one word, and an incorrect word came out? Or was it a stepping stone toward success?

If you can get over yourself long enough to try something new – you’ll be in the midst of trying out that new experience & maybe it comes surprisingly easily to you, and you’ll wonder what all the fuss you created was about. Or, it will be a challenge, just as you thought. And there will be a moment when you can choose to get angry & quit, because those feelings of fear & inadequacy bubble up in you as you realize your skill level is not what you want it to be. Quitting lets you come up with any list of excuses about why you ‘don’t need to do that.’ That’s option 1. Option 2 looks like this: You can get angry, want to quit, then decide to push harder than ever to learn the skill set, give it your all, & go back for more again and again until you dominate that skill set like you always hoped you could (but were too afraid to admit).

By the time you read this, I will have tried 3 new things this week that I have never done before. So far, I’m 1 and 1 – one new thing I tried, I was good at right off the bat and fell instantly in love with it, even though there is still plenty of room for me to improve. The second thing, I was not good at right off the bat, and it made me mad, but I pushed through trusting that if I keep going,  I will get better.

The 3rd thing, I’m leaving right now to go do – and whether I’m good or bad, I don’t care because I know I’ll have a blast…that reference to yoga booty ballet up there? yeah, my college roommate talked me into trying a class with her. Good or bad at it, it’s going to be a great experience and it’s experiences that fill up our lives with rich memories. So get over your fear & go try something new. If this endurance athlete can be willing to try something totally unrelated to endurance athletics, I know you can get out of your comfort zone too. So get over yourself, and go shake your booty at something new today.

I recently talked to Biggest Loser Season 9 winner, Michael Ventrella, who, despite getting some prize money from his recent win of the weight loss show, found that he was going to give a whole lot to others as the show’s winner. He’s been using the fame that comes with losing 264 lbs on TV to give his time, his energy, & his voice for causes close to his heart. And one of those causes may surprise you!

In a world where we can have a competition with prize money for people who have had access to food (way too much food in some cases) & now want to shed the pounds that come with that, we also have 1 in 6 people in this country who doesn’t have enough food to eat regularly. And Michael wants everyone to get involved in the mission to stamp out hunger in America. I recently connected with him after he’d finished his morning workout (he does 2 per day) to talk health, hunger, and doing real fitness in the real world.

Kate: Thanks for connecting with me today! How was your workout?

Michael: It was good! I usually do 2 hours of cardio in the morning and 90 mins of anaerobic weight lifting in the evening.

K: Wow! That’s a big workout load! How do you stay motivated for that?

M: Getting the title “Biggest Loser” really wasn’t my destination – and people don’t realize that. They think, “ok, you lost weight on tv, so you’re done now and just going to go back to normal life,” but that’s not the point of the show! The point is to get the contestants to change their life – not just meet some end goal. It’s a journey, there is no destination.

K: So what is real life like for you post-finale? Is it glamorous?

M: I don’t think it was ever glamorous!…exposing my fat on the show for the whole country to see! People come up to me and tell me they “need” to be on the show, and I think, ‘really? you “need” to be on a show where you’ll be humiliated by showing off your fat and insecurities? no, you don’t “need” that.’ I’m thankful for having gotten the opportunity to work with amazing trainers, focus solely on myself as I started this journey, but if I could have gone back and begun this journey without being embarrassed, without showing my fat to the world, I would have, trust me!

K: In an interview after your win, you said, “I want a burger & fries, but what I need is a salad with grilled chicken.” How do you get through the ‘wanting’ to follow through on the ‘needing’?’

M: One thing I really learned was to take care of my mind to get the physical part going. When I was on the ranch, I had lots of time to do some soul-searching. I found that my mind was so important to everything I do – I made a goal board that has all of the things I NEED – a healthy body, a healthy life, a nutritious meal, peace of mind. I’ve worked my mind over to be able to see that what I NEED is also what I WANT. Not the other way around.

K: Mindset! Love it! That’s a big focus for this blog reading audience! In reality, everyone NEEDS to sort out their mental game, but sometimes they take a while to get around to that – but even when they do get their mental game ’on’ life is busy! When you were at the ranch, you had all day to workout…and that definitely isn’t real life! So what’s the best thing you’ve figured out to make real fitness happen in real life?

M: At the ranch, it was all about me achieving a weight goal each week. And in real life, I still make that workout time about me. It’s ‘my’ time. No one can impede on my workout time, I use that time to think about what’s most important to me, to keep focused on my goals without any distractions intruding. It’s got to be about you – doing it for someone else will only get you so far – eventually, there has to be something in it for you that will keep you motivated.

K: You know,people watch BL and see these huge numbers of weight loss. Can you tell us how a person can keep a realistic mindset of what real weight loss is actually like?

M: You want BL-type results? Quit your job, don’t bother with your kids or spouse – because that’s what it will take! On the ranch, from the second you wake up till right before your head hits the pillow, with no distractions at all, you workout. That’s just not realistic to daily life! So when you get a loss of a pound or two a week – you should be thrilled! That’s a lot of work! It takes a lot of energy to workout and manage your life! It’s definitely worth it, but it certainly is a lot of energy you have to have to make it happen! Never use someone else as a unit of measure – you’ll fail every time. I would be on a treadmill and see other contestants going faster and at higher inclines, but I’m not them! What’s good for me is good for me – I really had to make peace with that. If you become your only competitor, you’ll win that battle in the end!

K: It doesn’t seem like people have done that lately – we have 8 in 1o in this country that are obese or overweight. Why should any of those people get committed to the Pound for Pound Challenge with Biggest Loser and the local Food Banks?

M: You know, here’s your moment to be a part of something. While working on you, you can help someone else. Some people do better when they are doing for someone else – many people have self-sacrificed themselves into obesity, here is your chance to make a committment to someone else and get something good for you too. You end up getting TWO results for your 1 effort: someone gets a meal to feed their hunger, and you get the motivation of a weight loss instilled in you.

K: I love it. That’s so true! Take what may have gotten you to the point over “overweight” & use it to take yourself the other direction. Pledge a weight loss amount, achieve it, feel better from weighing less, and a family gets food they didn’t have before, all thanks to you. Super!! Well this has been great Michael, I’ll let you get going, one last thing…what’s for lunch??

M: (laughs) Oh, I’m making one of my recipes from the book I’ll be publishing later this year! It’s a ground turkey fajita burger! It’s ground turkey with the fajita veggies inside the burger, and I’ll either use lettuce leaves or a flatbread as the bun. The “Michael” I am today is the Michael I will always be – so ground turkey, home cooked meals, food journaling, my bodybugg will all always be a part of what I do. It’s got to be. The tools that work have got to remain a part of who I am.

K: Mmm, I love ground turkey. Seriously, once you figure out what is healthy and what works, you’ve got to guarantee yourself it will be a part of you always! When you have the details on the book, let me know! Thanks for taking the time to talk today!

Michael is doing health & wellness for himself – and you need to as well. But I understand that sometimes, it takes a bit more motivation to make that happen than just saying “ok, let’s do it.” Get yourself connected so you can get yourself motivated. Pledge a weight loss (or pledge to maintain a healthy weight) to the Pound for Pound Challenge. Ensure that a family that currently is short on food gets enough. Hold yourself accountable to a healthy/healthier weight and lifestyle. Why wouldn’t you want to? Click on the link below to get more info on the Pound for Pound Challenge & make your pledge today!

If you are an athlete, and know what TRX is, you better know that its a valuable tool for helping you perform better – regardless of your sport. If you’re not an athlete, but want the best workout you can get, you need to be looking for a TRX instructor near you.

*I have been certified in TRX  teaching for 3 years to athletes & exercisers in the Chicagoland area, and just began teaching athletes via skype/internet across the country. While training with a Fitness Pro is ideal, there are lots of you who have TRX in your home now, and one thing my clients consistently tell me is that the details they learn from me make their TRX home-training that much more effective. So here are some of those tips for you to start using today!

- Always pre-start your exercise in the “B” position. Whatever move you’re about to do will have two end points – one where your arms or legs are fully lengthened, and one where they are bent or flexed – said another way, it will have a point where you are pulled close to the straps and a point where you are farther away from them. Whatever position you would be returning to after doing the move…THAT is your “B” position. You must start there so that you know your feet/arms/body are positioned correctly to allow for full range of motion of the movement.

Example: TRX Standing Row – The move requires you to lean back from the handles, straightening the arms out, then bend the elbows driving them behind you to “row” yourself back to the start position. Just like a Seated Row machine, but standing up, and using gravity as resistance. The “B” position is the one when your hands are near your armpits, elbows fully bent, shoulder blades squeezed together. Start there, ensuring your body positioning is correct, & you have full tension on the straps, no slack in them. Then lean back to begin your exercise.

- For standing exercises, your body needs to be as straight as a surfboard – it may be hard to feel this correctly in the beginning. For most people, the correct position will feel like you’re sticking your butt out too far. The reason is because many people already have too much of an arch in their low back due to tight muscles in the lower back. Thus “straight” to them actually is slightly curved or arched in the low back, which we do NOT want when doing TRX.

To position yourself correctly for standing exercises: If you have a mirror, super! If not, follow these steps – engage the core by drawing the belly into the spine, bend forward ever-so-slightly from the waist, tuck butt under by tilting the pelvis (think Elvis hip thrusts). Keep hip bones directly under shoulders. When done correctly, to many individuals, this will feel like they are almost pitching forward in this standing position. Once moving in the exercise, the tendency is to start using momentum from the hips to complete the move – to fight this urge, ensure your chest is leading the way, NOT your pelvis.

- The angle makes a difference – a HUGE difference. That’s what is so awesome about TRX! My mother could use it & so could my elite triathletes! So if standing facing straps or facing away, or if laying down with heels in cradles, look at the angle your body is making with the anchor point. If you’re standing almost upright – it will be an easier exercise. If you’re leaning at a deep angle, the exercise will be much harder. Also, depending on where you place your handles/cradles in relation to your anchor point, will determine the difficulty of the exercises. If you’re laying down with feet in cradles, exercises where the straps are directly under the anchor point are easy, straps angling ‘behind’ the anchor point will be even easier, straps angling ‘ahead’ of the anchor point will be harder.

Example: When laying with heels in cradles for TRX Hip Press – Bent Knee….if you lay with your feet directly under your anchor point & it’s too difficult for you to execute correctly, move your body so that your feet are now on the other side of your anchor point & your hips are what is centered with your anchor point. You’ll have lessened the load on your posterior kinetic chain & thus make the exercise easier.

TRX Atomic Pushups (full ones, not modified) are not the beginning of your progression point. They are not even the middle. They are only for after you’re able to successfully stay straight as a surfboard while you do suspended pushups, no belly dips, no caved torsos, no tiny bent elbows – a successful TRX suspended pushup has perfectly straight torso at all times, elbows that bend to 90 degrees, and a head that is out in front of the hands, not in line with them. If you can’t do this, you’re not ready for TRX Atomic Pushups (full ones).

Want to modify it so you can eventually d0 the real-deal ones? Method 1. Practice your regular pushups. The right way. No cheating. Method 2. Put feet in cradles, knees bent to floor, hands in ready position for pushups-from-knees. Lower into a proper pushup, elbows to 90, chest out, back in line with shoulders, no arching of low back. Exhale as you push the ground away pressing back to pushup position. Lift knees off the ground while extending them into hand plank position. Hold for a count of 2 then return to knees and start next pushup.

The TRX Suspension Training System is a fabulous tool for integrating strength work in 360 degrees of motion, all planes of movement, and in angles you will not get to with basic free weights/machines/cables. But it is truly maximized once you learn the details of the movements. Anyone can swing around on some cables, but the best workout results come from getting the details right.

If you’d like to discuss a TRX training program, or coaching for integrating TRX properly into your own workout, you can reach me here.

Here’s a summary of my site this year, and key things people are reading here at FFRL…get a refresher on all the optimal health things YOU need to be doing by starting with these top posts then searching around for other posts you may have missed.  

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads WOW!

Crunchy numbers

In 2010, there were 116 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 228 posts. The busiest day of the year was February 1st with 159 views.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for pollyanna syndrome, fit for real life, modified food starch gluten, and agave nectar studies.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

The credentials September 2009

About the Site August 2009

“Nobody ever regrets it” January 2010

Hey Yoplait, what you’ve got is Greek to me April 2010

Modified Food Starch|Gluten Intolerance or not, eat at your own risk April 2010

Key Posts in 2010 That Deserve a Second Look