WEAKend Weight Gain...A Moment Behind The Muscle

An interesting study was just released! I even heard it on John Tesh radio.

Here's the summary...

Almost everyone loses weight on weekdays and gains weight (finds it LOL) on weekends. What separates the slim from the heavy has much more to do with how much they lose/release during the weekdays. In this study, researchers looked into the impact that the seven-days-a-week human cycle has on weight.

Here's a link to the full study: Click here

This study proves 3 key things:

1. Your weight each week matters more than each day (stop obsessing and start working).

2. Almost everybody eats more (and often bad) on weekends. This is why we at RHF call it the WEAKend.

3. People that release or even maintain their weight significantly eat better on weekdays (weight-gainers are the opposite).

  

This study also proves...

Just to be mindful of your weekly eating patterns. Track it for awhile. If you can track it you can improve it. Perfection isn't required for weight loss but daily action is. Focus on the fitness and follow it with a sensible food plan.

Solutions...Damage Control

Here are 4 easy ways that you can ensure that you are staying on point during the week (damage control from the WEAKend):

1. Up your water intake. Chances are you may be dehydrated anyways. Also feel free to drink coffee or tea to curb hunger (reasonable intake).  

2. Cut out a snack or meal each day. You can even opt for lower calorie snacks than you normally consume. Give your digestive system a break. Try a cleanse or intermittent fasting.

3. Limit, not eliminate a macronutrient (carbs, fat, protein). You want to keep your protein intake pretty steady. Many people will either cut down on their fat or carb intake with this damage control method. Cutting carb intake following higher carb/calorie days can keep you leaner, help manage hunger, and provide more stable energy. This can be as simple as limiting yourself to mostly veggies and a little bit of fruit. Get with someone to help you here or you can get turned around and confused.

4. Cutoff the calories. A cutoff time anywhere between 6-8pm works well for most people, but not for everybody. This is especially useful because many of us tend to eat later into the night (or the morning LOL) on the weekends when prancercising LOL or socializing with friends.

How can you apply this same type of philosophy (cycling strategy) to your workouts?

Problem: Not enough time during the week.

Solution: Be sure to train or stay active each day of the WEAKend. Since your frequency is down to 2 days a week and you tend to have more time on the weekend, a longer 35-45 minute workout is a better plan. Go metabolic! 

Problem: Not enough time during the WEAKend.

Solution: Train 3-5 times during the week. You will find a lot of success with 30 minute (even 20 minutes on your own) workouts with this training schedule. Read more.

If you find that you typically only have 10-20 minutes a day to train, then perform 5-8 shorter training sessions throughout the week. You can do it!

The Big Takeaway...

Eating or training, you will have a lot more success when you analyze your weekly performance rather than your daily performance. Shoot for balance in all you do. Action creates results! Wishful thinking will not cut it nor can you just "buy" fitness.

Burn To Earn...Tips For Any Season

Are you on track with your fitness goals?

You gotta burn to earn...flat out

Staying fit is often never easy.

Here are some tips to push through in any season:

1. Find your trigger. Many people overeat (and under-nourish). Experts say psychology plays a huge part in overeating. Our experiences growing up help shape our view of food. Income plays a huge role in access to food. Often times as we become more financially independent we often also tend to over-indulge which can lead to unwanted weight gain. If weight loss is a goal or you struggle with food think of some of the cues that cause you to overeat. This is the first step to controlling poor impulses.

2. Faith plays a role. The way you look is a direct reflection of your thoughts. Before you can start (or reset) any fitness plan, you need to believe in yourself and know you can be successful. Faith is fueled by clear goals that are attainable. Clear head. Full heart. You win.

3. Burn to earn! Complete daily action steps so you know you are getting your calorie burn in and on your way to your health and fitness goals. The work will teach you how to do it.

  

4. Dump the pigs. Not trying to be mean but, you can catch obesity according to recent research! If your buddies or co-workers gorge themselves on garbage, look for a healthier crew to hang out with most of the time. You can often tell how your life and career are going by looking at the 5 people you hang out with the most (you are the average of the 5 like it or not). Your inner circle is a direct reflection of who you are. Change those people if needed and it will change your life. I promise.

5. Seek out true motivation. Casually equals casualty. A half-ass effort leads only to half-ass results, so do what you have to do to ensure that you put in the work. You are not a charity case, nor a victim, and you don't always need a pep talk. Instead, think about how bad you want it! If you really have a problem in your life, you can find the energy to do something about it. It can and should start with fitness.

No drama. No victims. No excuses. No hype. Just effort. Earn it.

RHF Corporate Fitness...Gain A Healthy Competitive Advantage

 

A win-win for employer and employee... 

Increase morale, promote healthier lifestyles and boost efficiency...

Adopting a corporate fitness program is one of the best decisions a company can make. Healthy employees miss fewer work days, lower healthcare costs, work harder, increase productivity, boost efficiency, increase morale, and grow the bottom line. Corporate fitness programs are always a win-win for your company's bottom line & employee's health.

Gain a healthy competitive advantage.

For every $1 invested you can see a return as high as $7.40. You are part of the team devoted to the health of your company. You are expected to help make it efficiently lean, robust enough to survive temporary market setbacks, and flexible enough to handle rapid changes in today's volatile economy. You can help your company's employees become healthier, and as a result more productive.

We can make this happen through our convenient RHF Burn30 Bootcamp classes. In only 30 minutes a day we can offer a structured environment that produces amazing results. We offer exceptional rates for corporations (group minimums).

Maybe RHF Corporate Fitness is a fit for your company.

Maybe someone you know can benefit from RHF somehow.

Please pay it forward! We thank you!

Making Fitness Pay You at Work...

Company wellness programs are shifting incentives for employees from simply signing up to rewards (or punishments) for measurable results...

Here is the scoop:

  

1. Productivity saves you money! Companies are offering (25% of them) financial  rewards for producing positive blood work, good blood pressure readings, and healthy BMI's to name a few. Qualifying is tougher, but the rewards can be sweet. 20% of them are offering higher than $500 in monetary incentives.

2. A for effort. Even if you miss goals, you can see cost savings for enrolling. For those that fail to enroll/participate can see bigger hikes in health premiums.

3. Change the game. If you think the benchmarks may be out of range for you, you can set new ones with the help of your doctor. Take the new adjustments to your benefits department and by law they have to work out an alternative or give you a waiver.

4. Offsite reimbursements are available. If you choose to go offsite, you may be able to get a substantial reimbursement from your company. I have seen em' as high as $500! Just show proof of payment to tap in.

Productivity Offsets Costs...

Consider the costs to go to a traditional gym...

You know that big box gym with people wandering around aimlessly?

You know the low budget, $19 a month gym that is over-crowded and jammed full of equipment peeps don't know how to use or can't get on because some meathead is hogging it? Newsflash! The only equipment you need is you really. You are the machine.

  

Anyways...I call this fractionalizing fitness..

Traditional gyms cannot service all their members at once obviously (just like the banks) so it has inherent flaws. One inherent flaw is that they hope all the members never show up at once LOL. Seems backwards to me. We at RHF pride ourselves on attendance.

Studies vary but up to 80% of traditional gym users may go less than twice a month.

If we took that and averaged it out to 50 times a yr @ let's say $100/m; a nice health club with many amenities (if these numbers are close to accurate) YOU WILL PAY $25 EVERY TIME YOU GO...

Heck, it is cheaper just to pay the walkin rate!

You are also roughly 20% more likely to renew a traditional gym membership if they have you on contract.

DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE IF YOU ARE NOT GOING ANYWAYS???

If you want a personal trainer plan on spending $400-$900 a month extra...

DVD rentals?

Cafe charges?

Who knows what else...

The traditional gym system is BUILT on you not showing up (much like a bank limiting your access to YOUR money).

Think about it...

Makes sense to find a studio if you are serious about your progress.

The Big Takeaway...

Productivity offsets all costs, especially in a smaller, focused environment. Quality over quantity.

Works with nutritional supplements too...find the good ones.

Count reps not dollars.

Tips To Help Make Fitness A Focus...

Be Inspired.

Use the success of others to keep you going in fitness and in life.

  

Fuel Your Body.

You are what and when you eat. Your body is a temple NOT an amusement park.

  

Achieve Peak Performance.
Daily action is required to keep your body in balance. Mix exercise with activities you love.

  

Find The Right Fit.

Look good and feel good. Dress the part. Enough said.

  

Fitness gives you more than you can give it.

Tap in.

Discover passions.

Achieve success.

The Odds Are Forever In Your Favor...

You have done it before. You will do it again...

Success is really about the small things in the process. Those "ah-ha" moments, the epiphanies...

  

Yah, urgency is important, but let's not assume you can control everything life throws at yah. Bend without breaking because sometimes life throws you crap on a sandwich. Swallow it down with a glass of gratitude to keep things in perspective.

  

Do I need to tell you the odds? The fact that you are alive makes you lucky enough to stay in the game...The odds are in your favor if you acknowledge that the odds may be long and you set goals TO OVERCOME THEM. This is your key to success.

  

That urgency you itch to grasp? You create that urgency and then you need to rise up to meet it. This is where life is lived. It is the sweet stuff life is made of. If you go in half-heartedly, you go home empty handed for sure.

  

In both fitness and in life I aim to help give you the edge you need and deserve. We are more than muscle. Will you overcome life's odds?

The odds are forever in your favor. You are a winner. Tap in.

It is your turn.

Will you rise up?

Make The Jump...

No matter what type of high intensity training you do; metabolic training, biking, or high impact conditioning (to name a few) you will face THE WALL at some point.

  

You will know when you hit the wall by how your legs feel. Heck, even your mind and soul will tell you to quit. Never listen.

  

I have spent my entire life challenging myself physically (as well as emotionally, mentally, and spiritually), and yes phases can absolutely be mazes. What I have learned is that these walls, these perceived physical walls where we consider yelling "I Quit" are in fact fake. 

  

Many people are able to come up with ways to jump the wall (work through it really), letting their minds take them into a new thought plane where the "perceived pain" fails at holding them back.

  

Now days, cutting edge training conditions the body to experience deep discomfort and to embrace the so-called "pain." Yes, we actually have "pain workouts." Smart people use this experience to motivate them, to push the mission forward. You have a mission right?

The Wall is mental, emotional, and spiritual as well...

You have to jump over (get through) THE WALL with physical strength and endurance, but you also jump mental, emotional, and spiritual walls (these are often their own walls).

The Secret...

Never fall prey to powerlessness. Whether your wall is physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual you beat the wall by pushing harder and applying the necessary tools to help you. Self-knowledge will help you find the weak spots, the hidden doors, the access points to tackle these walls. After knowledge starts the execution (applied knowledge).

Develop your true potential (that's what RHF is about) by learning to push your limits. If you are confined by work, ailments, resources, or even skills hang in there, keep working hard, and never QUIT.

We all hit THE WALLS in life.

Winners break through. Winners make the jump.

We all gotta make the jump.

Make your jump.

Embrace the discomfort of a tough 30 minute workout as the price of admission to a fit life. Chase your dreams using fitness as a main tool. Enjoy the fruits of your efforts.

Sweat.

Burn.

Ouch.

Done.