90% Compliance

“How have you been eating?”

The standard answer is usually, “Good.” But, is it really? Nutrition is responsible for at least 80% of your progress. And if you are not in 90% compliance with the following nutritional guidelines it is basically like gambling, you may win, but most likely you won’t.

Nutritional Guidelines:

1. Eat 5 meal per day

2. Eat protein at each meal

3. Eat a fruit or vegetable at each meal

4. Drink at least 80 ounces of water

5. Do not eat processed or sugary foods.

6. Only eat starches (whole grain bread, pasta, brown rice etc.) at breakfast and within 2 hours after a workout.

7. Drink a post-workout protein shake immediately after each workout.

8. Take a daily multi-vitamin and fish oil supplement

Here’s an example showing just how easy these guidelines are to follow.

Breakfast:

Protein = scrambled eggs

Fruit/Vegetable = banana

Starch = whole wheat toast

Multi-Vitamin

Mid-Morning Snack:

Protein = ½ cup almonds

Fruit/Vegetable = apple

Lunch:

Protein = grilled chicken breast

Fruit/Vegetable = mixed salad greens with assorted vegetables

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

Protein = peanut butter

Fruit/Vegetable = carrots or celery

Workout

Post-workout protein shake

Dinner:

Protein: grilled salmon

Fruit/Vegetable: steamed green beans

Starch: brown rice

Bedtime:

Fish oil supplement

If you workout in the morning then you would move the post-workout shake to the morning and then have a starch with either lunch or your mid-morning snack, depending on which falls into the 2 hour window after your workout.

So, does your day look like this? If you’re like most your lunch and dinner do, but that is all that you eat for the day. If this is you, you aren’t not in 90% compliance and gambling on your results. Your body needs food to provide the nutrients it needs and in order for you to lose body fat. Skipping meals is the same as if you were to eat a fast food drive thru value meal.

Josh

www.defined-fitness.com

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30 Days for only $89 - Call 724-698-7897 today to get started with on a trial membership. With your trial membership you will get a fitness evaluation, an individualized fitness program, 8 sessions with a professional fitness coach, unlimited access to our metabolic group fitness classes, and unlimited access to the facility for 30 days.

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Shake of the Week - Blueberry Blast

1 scoop PFC Bio-Whey Protein

1 handful blueberries

3-4 ice cubes

1 cup milk

Blend until mixed.

Improve Your Mobility, Reduce Your Pain

Do you have a joint that hurts or aches? Traditional treatment would focus on that area. However, the area that hurts may not be the problem. What this means is that when a clients low back hurts it may not be the lower back that is the problem. The problem may actually lie at the joint above and/or below the pain, in this case we would want to look at the hip and t-spine (upper back).

So why does this approach work? Well to answer that question we need to look at the anatomy of the body’s joints and their functions. Aside from allowing us to have movement, joints have two primary functions: mobility and stability.

Here is how they are designed to work in the body:

Foot Joints = Stable

Ankle = Mobile

Knee = Stable

Hip = Mobile

Pelvic/Lumbar = Stable

T-Spine = Mobile

Scapula = Stable

As you can see a Stable Joint is always followed by a Mobile Joint. But what happens when one of these joints is not functioning properly? We experience pain.

For example, a person experiencing low back pain will be stable in the hip, mobile at the pelvis and lumbar joint, and stable at the t-spine. They are having pain because their hips and t-spine have locked up and are not allowing the mobility they are designed for. So in order to get this mobility they are now using the pelvis and lumbar joints, which are designed to provide stability, and as a result they have pain.

In this case, you can strengthen the core and glutes as much as you want, but if you do not regain the hip and t-spine mobility you will still experience low back pain. This is seen often with golfers. They play 18 holes, their low backs hurt. So, they take 3 months off to focus on strengthening their core and glutes. Three months later their low back feels good. They then play 18 holes and the pain is back. Why? They didn’t take care of the problem. They focused on strengthening the core and glutes when the core and glutes were not the problem. The problem is the hip and t-spine. You can strengthen the core and glutes all you want, but until you take care of the hip and t-spine mobility problem you will still have pain.

The same can be seen with knee pain. The ankle and hips have become locked and lose their mobility. The knee now has to become mobile. By focusing on strengthening the knee and stretching the muscles attached to the knee you will do little to improve the knee pain, because the pain is the result of the loss of ankle and hip mobility. Regain the ankle and hip mobility and you will improve the knee pain.

So why does this happen? There are many reasons. Probably the biggest reason is due to sitting. We have developed what is known as the “Sitting Posture” where our shoulders are slumped and slouched forward, and pelvis is rotated under, which takes away the natural curve of our lumbar spine. Due to sitting so much throughout the day we have changed the posture of our bodies and they no longer function properly. This has put us at an increased risk of experiencing pain and injury.

Josh

www.defined-fitness.com

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Ready to Transform Your Body? Fall is right around the corner! Don't settle for your "Fat" Jeans, start dropping jean sizes with our 6-WEEKS TO RESULTS PROGRAM!! Call today 724-698-7897 to get registered. All participants must be registered by August 16th and pay the $99 enrollment fee. Space is limited to the first 25 registrants.

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Nutrition 101, Class is in Session. Will you pass? Starting August 16th we will kickoff our 6-week Nutrition 101 Challenge. Each participant will be required to journal their nutrition and at the end of each week will be graded on the compliance to the nutrition guidelines. Weekly results will be posted in the club. At the half way point those who are not passing will receive a progress report and possibly a detention (2 minutes of burpees :) if scores are not improved. Nutrition 101 is free to all members of Defined Fitness. Register at the front desk the next time you're in.

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Backpack Drive - we are collecting backpacks filled with school supplies to donate to the Crisis Shelter. All backpacks must be brought into Defined Fitness by August 13th. For more information call 724-698-7897.

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Coming Soon! Defined Fitness Wexford - Grand Opening Celebration September 9th 6-8 pm. Food, drinks, fat loss presentation, special membership prices, raffle. See you there! For more information call 724-591-4675.

6 Ways to Get Fat!!

Are you looking to lose weight? Are you currently doing any of the following? If so, continue these behaviors and they will ensure that you won’t lose a pound.

1. Only Perform Steady-State Cardio. In order to gain as much fat as possible you must slow down your metabolism. So continue with your daily jog or walk as your primary choice of exercise. Walking and jogging will allow your body to adapt very quickly, thus reducing your metabolism to snail mode and allowing your body to burn less and less calories each day. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found that men and women who logged the same weekly mileage year after year – regardless of the amount – gained weight. So if you’re looking to put on some pounds be sure to continue with your daily morning jog.

2. Never Lift Heavy Weights. Lifting heavy weights will build muscle tissue, which will increase your metabolism and turn your body into a fat burning machine. So by all means stay away from those big weights and stick with the pretty pink 5-pound dumbbells.

3. Do Not Keep A Nutrition Journal. The simple act of writing down what you eat each day will help you lose weight. Journaling will make you more conscious of what you are eating and help to make you aware of your shortcomings. Also, if you journal your fitness coach will be able to give you advice and help design a nutrition program for you. So rip up that nutrition journal now and keep gaining fat. Who says you need to hold yourself accountable!

4. Skip Breakfast. Starting your day off with a meal will only increase your metabolism. If you want to gain fat make sure to skip breakfast and wait until lunch to eat. After all you haven’t eaten anything in the past 7 hours so what better way to keep your metabolism in a slump than to wait at least another 5 hours before you eat.

5. Only Eat One Large Meal Per Day. Eating frequently, such as every 3 hours, will keep your metabolism running high and burning fat all day long. So in your quest to gain as much fat as possible be sure to only eat one large meal per day. This way your body will be in starvation mode and everything you eat will be stored as fat.

6. Do Not Eat Protein With Each Meal. Protein is the building block of metabolism revving muscle and should be avoiding at all costs if you are trying to gain fat. On the other hand feel free to eat carbohydrates at will. Carbs will keep those fat promoting hormones flowing and make sure you at least add an inch or two to your waistline.

Obviously this blog is a little sarcastic, but sometimes looking at things from a different perspective helps. If you are looking to lose body fat and trim up and you are currently doing any of the above habits stop now and get on the road to fat loss success.

Josh

www.defined-fitness.com

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Ready to Transform Your Body? Fall is right around the corner! Don't settle for your "Fat" Jeans, start dropping jean sizes with our 6-WEEKS TO RESULTS PROGRAM!! Call today 724-698-7897 to get registered. All participants must be registered by August 16th and pay the $99 enrollment fee. Space is limited to the first 25 registrants.

=====

Nutrition 101, Class is in Session. Will you pass? Starting August 16th we will kickoff our 6-week Nutrition 101 Challenge. Each participant will be required to journal their nutrition and at the end of each week will be graded on the compliance to the nutrition guidelines. Weekly results will be posted in the club. At the half way point those who are not passing will receive a progress report and possibly a detention (2 minutes of burpees :) if scores are not improved. Nutrition 101 is free to all members of Defined Fitness. Register at the front desk the next time you're in.

====

Backpack Drive - we are collecting backpacks filled with school supplies to donate to the Crisis Shelter. All backpacks must be brought into Defined Fitness by August 13th. For more information call 724-698-7897.

====

Coming Soon! Defined Fitness Wexford - Grand Opening Celebration September 9th 6-8 pm. Food, drinks, fat loss presentation, special membership prices, raffle. See you there! For more information call 724-591-4675.