Don't let the gym intimidate you

We are a few weeks into the new year, and maybe you are new to the whole gym atmosphere. You went through the signup process, took a tour and a gym staff member showed you how to use the machines and gave you some tips. Now it's time you do it all on your own. You get on the chest press machine and adjust the seat. Then after you sit, you don't think it feels right, so you adjust it again and again. Finally you set the weight, Remember, the gym staff member told you to start low with around 10 LBS, so that's what you set it for. This is when you notice that in the time it's taken you, that there are more people at the gym and they are lifting heavier than you. You knock out some reps and your big day at the gym that you planned an hour for has turned into a 10 minute workout.

This intimidation is not uncommon for a new gym go'er. When you are just starting at the gym or fitness in general, you feel that all eyes are on everything you do. When you do cardio, you feel that people are racing you, or judging you because you can't run for more than a quarter mile if even that. When lifting, you notice that people may be doing a lot more than you, and you think they are judging you based on your lack of strength. This couldn't be further from the truth though. You also have to remember that you are new to all this, you have to start somewhere. After a few visits you will get it down.

Honestly, those people that you think are judging you, or secretly watching you, are probably more concerned about their workout and most likely don't even notice you there, or just don't care what you are doing.

We have all been that new person at the gym. I remember when I first started at the gym doing 10 LBS on all the machines, I wouldn't even touch the free weights. I was so self conscious. I would get to the gym super early and workout on the elliptical and hope that no one would come into the gym before I got to the machines. I didn't want people to notice how weak I was. But that eventually passed. Later when I rejoined the gym, I felt a bit intimidated again. I was lifting free weights, but I didn't have the strength that I wanted. There were others lifting, but I just put in my earbuds and did my thing. I may not be the strongest at the gym, but I don't care.

A couple weeks ago I noticed a guy at the gym working the machines, I said good morning to him and went on my way. Within a few minutes, I could tell he was a new member. He was looking over at me while I was lifting and starting to look intimidated. When I went to the seated chest press machine, I jumped the weight up to 125 LBS, and busted out 15 reps and went over to do dumbbell bench. He looked dumbfounded at the machine I had just left and made an adjustment and started using it. Soon after he left. When I went to that machine again, it was set on 10 LBS, all the machines he was using was set at 10 LBS. I haven't seen him since. He was intimidated and left, I hope he comes back. Personally I would love to workout with him, because I think it would be good for him to know some members there and realize that no one is judging him.

Gym intimidation will always be around, but the best thing to do is go into the gym with a positive attitude and doing the best you can. Who knows, maybe you will even make some friends at the gym and you might even end up being the one intimidating others next year.

Review: Con-Crét Snake Fruit

Creatine is a staple in most lifters daily supplements. Quite frankly, I have tried quite a few, and I honestly have enjoyed most all of them that I have used. But by far my favorite is one that I have only recently started using. Con-Crét is a brand most in the fitness world have heard of. I even heard about it before I got into shape myself. The package is kind of appealing. I mean, it does look like a caution sign. But Con-Crét really separates itself from the rest besides the packaging. Most creatine supplements use creatine monohydrate, most that I have used contain this form of creatine. But Con-Crét uses creatine HCL.

I wont go into the difference and advantages over one form of creatine compared to the next for the simple fact that I don't have that kind of time, and I am not an expert on creatine. I put into my body what I feel gets me the best results and doesn't taste like crap.

With Con-Crét Snake Fruit, I felt absolute zero bloating, while still getting a pretty good pump. The pump could be better, but it also depends on what I'm doing. I also noticed being able to go much higher with my reps, or depending on what I was working, being able to go much heavier. My first leg day using Con-Crét I was able to go from 465 lbs leg presses up to 528 lbs let presses. I also noticed substantial strength and improvement in my deadlifts. Unlike the creatine I've used in the past, I didn't retain water on the days that I used Con-Crét either. This is normally a side effect that I notice quite a bit when using creatine monohydrate. Most of all though, the taste is out of this world. I am big on my liquid supplements tasting good or at least decent. Snake Fruit has a great taste, and it even tastes good when stacking it with Beta-Crét Pineapple.

This will be my creatine of choice moving forward. While I will still use other creatines, Con-Crét will be the first I reach for. Price wise it is a bit more expensive than Monohydrates, but if you are looking to try something different, I would give this a go. Plus you can often find it on a good sale over at bodybuilding.com

Don't use the Holidays as an Excuse

We are in the middle of the holiday season, with the biggest of the holidays just a couple days away. It's during this time of the year that people really let their lifestyles relax. People naturally want to pig out and make unhealthy choices during this time of year. We pack ourselves full of food for Thanksgiving, load up on sweets and food for Christmas and pretty much live sedentary lives the last 2 months of the year because we want to use the holidays as an excuse. Well Stop!

 

Using the holiday season as an excuse to not eat right and not workout is like saying you don't have time to eat right and exercise. It's just an excuse. It's ok to indulge a little during the holidays, but at the same time you need to be conscious of the decisions you are making. You don't need to eat so much that you have a food baby by the end of the day!

 

Food is not the Enemy

When it comes to changing your lifestyle, it's easy to fall into the wrong way of thinking. Most of us that are switching our lifestyles are making huge changes in our diets. I know I sure did. The biggest mental issue to get over when this change starts, is how we look at food. Quite frankly this mental issue can stick around through your entire journey, even after you have done a complete transformation.

Think about it. You spend your time counting calories now. You start thinking if you consume less calories you will lose weight faster and get fit quicker. You begin to think of food as the enemy, you even become scared of food. Food is the single most important thing in your transformation! Food is what fuels your basic life functions. The human body needs 1200 calories a day to sustain healthy functions. To people that are scared of food, that seems like a lot. That 1200 goes really fast throughout the day. You walk around the office, walk down the stairs, workout, and so on. This 1200 burns up fast! This 1200 is the absolute minimum! You need more than that.

Most active woman can count on a good 1800 calories a day and be pretty well off calorie wise. But if you are a woman and are majorly active, well you are going to need to ramp that up a bit more. Take into account that during a 1 hour workout, you are probably burning anywhere between 500 - 800 calories depending on intensity. Now you have sunk back below that 1200, and your body wont fully recover. Food is your fuel, food will actually help promote weight loss with proper nutrition. Want to build muscle? Get some hot sexy abs? You have to eat.

But it's not just the calories. Sure you can get 1800 calories or so from just 1 meal of crap. It's the quality of calories. You need to consume good healthy foods. This means lean meats, vegetables, fruits, grains, healthy fats, complex carbs. Don't cheat yourself with garbage, because you will never get where you want to be. I can easily go into a restaurant and order a meal and get 3000 calories in that one meal. I know, I have done it before. And all those calories are normally absolute garbage. Be smart, eat for your goals, don't starve yourself. If your nutrition is in place, you will reach your goals. Your journey starts in the kitchen, and ends in the gym!

The Big Announcement!

Over this past weekend, I was able to finish off two really big things to bring into my personal training. Affective immediately, my clients can purchase BioFreeze and KTTape directly from me. Now supplies may take some time for me to build up some inventory, but this is a huge deal for me.

If you are not familiar with BioFreeze, well then where have you been? BioFreeze is one of the best pain relief gels that I have ever used. In fact, I've been using BioFreeze for years! I started using this amazing product back in 2010 when I was being treated for my back injury. Since then I haven't looked back or used anything else. BioFreeze is my miracle therapy for all my muscle and joint pain.

KTTape is something you may have actually seen if you watched the Olympic games. Otherwise known as Kinesio-Tape, this amazing sports support works wonders for everything. I started using it just to try it, and fell in love with it instantly. I have been using it for my foot pain, and I can't imagine going back to traditional taping. For more info on KTTape, View the video below.

Eat for the Future, not the Past

Ok, that might sound kind of strange, I admit. But when it comes to your daily eating, often times people eat incorrectly. Most people that are trying to drop weight eat very light all day, then after they workout they have a large meal. This is entirely wrong! Sometimes this is done as a reward to ones self. The thinking is "I worked really hard, I deserve this" The other thought is just replenishment of the body. Here is the deal. You should be eating based on what you will be doing, not for what you have already done. If I am going to workout in the AM, I am going to eat a larger breakfast because I am not going to be sedentary in the next few hours. I am going to be active and I need that energy from my meal. If I am working out at night, then I am going to eat a regular breakfast and lunch, and make my dinner larger to fuel for my workout. Again, I need this energy. Even though your metabolism is up after a workout, this does not mean it's going to burn a bunch of calories that you are just putting in it.

Now this pertains mostly to dropping fat, there are exceptions to every rule. But do you really want to workout at night, eat a ton of food and be inactive for 8 hours? I smell a good portion of weight gain right there. There is nothing wrong with eating after a workout, just be smart about it. Fuel your body before your workout, not afterwards.

Social Fitness

In today's society of social media, we tell the world everything we do. This is also the case when it comes to our workouts. You wake up in the morning and post to Facebook or Twitter "Going to the gym" or "Getting ready to do some P90X Plyo". Of course people get a bit annoyed at this, but what if I told you, that this action could make or break your fitness goals?

Think about it. You might not have a workout partner for the gym, or in fact you workout primarily from home. It is up to you to make sure you do your workouts and no one else. However, if you are posting every day when you do a workout, then you are holding yourself accountable. Accountablity is important during fitness after you have set your goals. Without accountability, you would workout maybe a week and then just stop. When you post online that you are going to workout, and you post this every day, people will notice when you don't post about it. These people that notice will write on your wall or tweet you and ask if you worked out, or say "What, no workout today?".

But checking in is also as effective if you use Foursquare or Facebook Places. Checking in to your gym or fitness center and publicizing this on your Facebook and Twitter timeline holds you to the same accountability. All this may seem annoying, but you would be surprised at how many people care and want to see you succeed. Just don't share when you are pooping, ok?