Tag Archives: activity

Join The Conversation on DIETING

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JTC

Join The Conversation!

I want to know how you diet.

I have tried many diets on my own and experimented with my calories and macros to see what works for me, and I believe I found what works!  I, personally, can eat about 2300 to 2500 calories a day and still lose fat as long as I am slightly active.  I eat a high amount of protein in my diet with fat as a byproduct and I strategically place my carbs at the beginning of my day and after workouts.

When I border on eating too many calories or when I decide to take a cheat day, I simply add more cardio to burn the calories that I added.

Please let me know in the comment section down below what you do!  I want to hear everyone’s view on diet and exercise, and how you have found what works best for you!

Thanks,

Christian!

Are You Confident Or Insecure? Rep It Out!

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“I try my best to leave my ego outside,” is what one of the most jacked, aesthetic guys at New Leaf Fitness said the other day.  It’s a common idea, but not one that a lot of average people would expect to hear from a daily gym-goer, meat head, or serious bodybuilder.

“Oh really?!  Keep my ego outside of the gym…There’s no way you have ever done that,” is what I’d expect some of my own critics to say to me.  However, he really did say that and so would I.  The truth is that working out is a great way to please your ego and make you more self-confident, but what happens when you are bloated with self-esteem issues and pride?

Do you:

A) Always attempt lifting a weight that is far too much for you?

B) Constantly check yourself out in the mirror?

C) Only give your mirror muscles a work-out?

D) HAVE to lift as much as the other guy at your gym who has probably been lifting for years?

E) Constantly think about supplementing your “gains” with steroids or pro-hormones?

If YOU said yes to any of the above questions, then you may need to take my friend’s advice and leave your ego outside.  Luckily for you, a big part of lifting weights is building character values such as discipline and humility. Here is a short list of things I compiled during today’s workout that may help YOU succeed at your gym-going endeavors.  Not only that, but these tips may help you succeed at life in general:

  • Practice humbling yourself when speaking to other people.

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Keep a smile on your face and try not to talk about yourself too much!  If you make it about them you’re happy to listen to them, then you are well on your way to getting that ego of yours on lock down. This carries on into the gym, where you’ll notice that you are happy to listen to more experienced lifters who want to give you advice.  You may even become more apt to initiate the conversation.  You may wind up asking them how to improve your form or how you should go about seeing better results.  Over time, a well developed sense of humility can only make others more likely to help you on your fitness and life endeavors.

  • Make sure that your mentors are humble.

You want to be humble!  You want to listen to the advice older, more experienced people have for you.  You also know that if you hang out with losers, you’re more likely to be a loser.  Be careful about who you surround yourself with and who you take advice from.  This is a bit more challenging, but be a little selective when looking for advice.  Respect everyone and at times respectfully disagree, but make sure you don’t allow someone to give you serious self-esteem issues.

  • Try working out solo!

A lot of people don’t like to work out alone, and oftentimes there are plenty of good reasons for that.  Maybe you like to lift heavy and need a spotter.  Maybe you need the extra boost of support from a friend to get into the gym.  However, if your spotter and you work out in a way where you get seriously too competitive then it may be time to fly solo.  I’m not saying competition is always a bad thing. However, if you are so competitive with your gym buddy that you’re constantly worried that he/she can curl more than you then it may be damaging your self esteem and causing you to lift too much too soon.  Try working out by yourself with good amounts of TUT(time under tension) and progressive overload.

  • Wear baggy clothes that don’t show your muscles.

A sweatshirt, maybe?

A sweatshirt, maybe?

It’s not always a bad thing to inspect yourself and make sure that you are making some serious gains. However, if you’re checking yourself out for 75 minutes and lifting for 60 then it may be time to take action.  Some sweats would be a great option as that’s appropriate gym gear!  You know what I mean…as long as you don’t cut the sleeves off! 😉

All of this was just my advice and my personal opinion.  Keep in mind that working out is awesome, and it’s good for you.  I hope that you see a lot of impressive gains and that you have genuine self-confidence, discipline, and humility.

Have a great day!  Please subscribe to my blog via email, wordpress, or twitter for updates of my new posts.

Keep lifting folks.

Make Sure You Do Some Cardio

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To all of you serious weight lifters and dieters out there, it may be a great idea to add in some cardio! Just remember that cardio is important.

Cardio is just as important as the weight lifting and the dieting.  Maybe you are wanting to be strong to the point that you started weight lifting, but endurance built from cardio will help you increase repetitions and sets during your workouts.  For the dieters, cardio is important because:  If you fail at your diet on any particular day, you can simply amp up the cardio and burn off those extra calories.

Take a look at any distance runner and conditioned athlete.  Just take a look at any of them.  They had to do a lot of cardio to get to where they’re at.  They had do a lot of conditioning and it may have taken a lot of running or swimming.

Also, as far as the running or swimming goes, you can choose to do whatever cardiovascular exercise you want.  I would just recommend that you do cardio three to five times a week.  It can be running, or swimming, or even walking.  There are a lot of different cardiovascular exercises.

Remember, the cardio is good for your overall cardiovascular health.  This means that in the ‘long run’ it’s good for your entire health.  By doing cardio, your blood flow will be better which in turn is better for your major organs.  It will help you lose weight, and you’ll be a well-balanced athlete.

Thanks for reading and please subscribe!

Three Reasons You Do Not Need To Quit Drinking

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It’s the digital age and there has never been an easier time to get informative articles about the dangers of tobacco, alcohol, and drug use.  There’s also a lot of misinformation though, and some of you may not need to give up your afternoon sip of wine or your daily beer.  Some of you social drinkers may not need to quit drinking, as it may just be a few every weekend.

Let’s allow the facts and information about abusing alcohol speak for themselves, but in this article we are going to go over three reasons why you DO NOT need to give up your vice, I mean pass time(haha!), of alcohol consumption.

  • Studies Show That Moderate Drinking Actually Reduces Mortality Rates.

According to a collection of studies gathered by The University of Harvard, drinking moderate amounts of alcohol was actually shown to decrease mortality rates.  Here is a quote from the website I linked above:

“More than 100 prospective studies show an inverse association between moderate drinking and risk of heart attack, ischemic (clot-caused) stroke, peripheral vascular disease, sudden cardiac death, and death from all cardiovascular causes. (1) The effect is fairly consistent, corresponding to a 25 percent to 40 percent reduction in risk.”

It’s also worth mentioning that those who drank a substantial amount of alcohol were actually at an increased risk of mortality. What needs to be noted here is that alcohol, if consumed in moderation, has a few notable health benefits.

alcohol-bar-party-cocktail-large

  • Alcohol Can Reduce Stress Levels

According to this article on CNN, there are many ways alcohol is unhelpful when coping with a stressful day or situation.  However, the article was also admitting that it does have a calming effect and many of you reading this know from experience.  The key thing to remember is, again, moderation. Dependency is when alcohol seems to become a problem and causes more stress to you and your body than what it actually relieves.

This Is Probably Too Many

  • History Shows It Isn’t Going Anywhere, And Maybe There’s A Good Reason For That

It’s known that prohibition in the early 1900’s did not work, and it only led to people “bootlegging” which is actually the inspiration for Nascar.  Thank you, alcohol, for inspiring Nascar and fast left turns!  I’m sure the biggest reason it wasn’t successful is because people were dependent on it and craved liquor, and it was also considered a remedy for a lot of different illnesses at that point in time with the limited knowledge we had of medicines.

Also, just for fun, I wanted to add this quote I found on a well-sourced Ask Men article:

“Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy,” – Benjamin Franklin

There you go!  See, if Benjamin Franklin loved it then you should also.  I’m kidding, but along with my other two points I’d like to once again stress that alcohol is fine for most people as long as it is drank in moderation.

The key word here = Moderation.

Ben Franklin Enjoying A Mug!

Have a great day and thanks for reading.  Please subscribe to my wordpress or twitter, or submit your email!

How Successful People Think (vs. How Unsuccessful People Think)

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This is a video I found while browsing youtube earlier and I think that it could be incredibly motivating for you. The moral of the story that this guy is projecting is right in line with what I am trying to convey to you through this blog. I hope it is of some service to you and that you have a great day. Enjoy the video.

How I Got My Crohn’s Disease In Remission

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I’ve had crohn’s disease since I was 15, and it’s been a journey that I could describe as a roller coaster.  I’ve had my ups and downs.  For a few months I’d be in remission and then for a month I’d be really sick.  Things went this way from the time I was diagnosed shortly after my 16th birthday until I was about 18.

When I turned 18, my doctor decided to try a drug called infliximab, or Remicade, and it seems to be a wonder drug.  I’d go in to the outpatient nursing clinic at the hospital and get this drug through an IV ever eight weeks.  I still get it every eight weeks.

However, last year I started flaring up a lot even though I was on the Remicade and another drug called Imuran.  I finally decided that the cause for my illness was diet and stress, as I had read a lot on the disease and my body would get too sick for the medicine to do any good.

Finally, I began experimenting with diet and exercise.  To my surprise, exercise alone seems to be enough to keep me in remission as long as I am getting my Remicade every eight weeks.  That’s without even taking the Imuran, so no need to take pills every day.  Right now, just having to go to the hospital every eight weeks for a few hours, I’m a lot happier than when I started with my consistent flare-ups.  I know from previous experience that if I also focused on my diet I’d personally have no need for the Remicade either, since my case of this disease seems to be so dependent on diet, exercise and stress.

I’m not saying that this will work for anyone with Crohn’s disease, but I am saying that it works for me.  I hope that no matter if you are healthy or have a type of illness that you do the research and try to get your body on track through exercise and diet. Try to do this under the guidance of your physician or specialist, and make sure you get to know your body.  This has helped for me, and now I am in a much better place as far as my health goes than ever before.

Thanks for reading!

Taking A Week Off Can Help You Appreciate Working Out

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Taking a week off can really help you appreciate working out. I know that I’ve been anxious to get back in the gym all week but I’ve been stopping myself, in fear that I won’t get the full effect of a week’s worth of rest. That may not even be the case, but just the thought is sort of like a placebo that may make me hit the weights twice as hard next week.

I decided to take a week off because I had been going hard at it for three months and I was catching a cold and my joints were hurting. Now I am starting to get better and I feel like that’s all I needed.

It could be extremely beneficial for you. If you’ve been working out for months at a time, it certainly won’t hurt you to get a little rest, as long as you dedicate yourself to going back. Try to become gracious of the time you get to spend getting your body in shape when you go back. Thanks for reading!

Screw Humble Brags!

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You know those people that have to be better than you, and if they aren’t they’ll cut you down? Don’t listen to them!

If there’s one thing your passionate about and you love doing, then feel free to talk about it and maybe brag about it occasionally. I’m not saying you should be one of those douchey people that talks about themselves all the time, but if you want to talk about your achievements once in a while go ahead. If you like to talk about weightlifting, go ahead.

At the end of the day, if someone tries to say “I’d rather not talk about weightlifting because I’m humble” or something like that to you, they’re just bragging about how they don’t brag. Don’t listen to them; they’re the type of people with low self esteem who just want to bring you down so they can bring themselves up.

Again, don’t talk about yourself too much, but feel free to be proud of what you’ve done if you earned it. Remember, that if someone humble brags to you and acts like they’re higher and mightier than you, that they probably aren’t worth your time.

If you liked this post, I also went over naysayers in a different post titled Don’t Ignore Naysayers, Laugh At Them

Thanks for reading!

Rest Can Be Just As Important As Lifting!

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Rest can be just as important as lifting! As long as you spend exercising to tear muscle fibers and beat yourself up, you should rest and allow yourself to heal.

I mentioned earlier that taking a week off of preworkout is important. Also, keep in mind, that taking a week off of exercise may be equally beneficial. You don’t want to go overboard and stop exercising, but if you keep your rest and your expenditure of energy in balance you will see much greater results.

Thanks for reading.