8 Week Tone Up Challenge Results

Posted on October 12, 2021January 9, 2022 by alwayshungrypt

At the end of August, I threw out a Challenge to my audience that I was hosting an 8 Week Tone Up Challenge designed to help people build muscle, trim fat, and gain strength, energy, and confidence in themselves.

Fast forward 8 weeks later and Ben B completed the challenge checking off each of those marks off his list.

Ben was on his own transformation journey with a primary focus on running, but looking to take on the added challenge of learning the ropes of his local gym and pushing his body to really see what it could do. Hoping to add strength and muscle tone to his frame that was seeing results from running, but lacking in development.

This online/remote training program included 3 workouts per week split into Upper Body Push; Upper Body Pull; and Lower Body workout splits with a goal of not only continuing to trim fat, but build muscle strength and tone in the back, chest, and arms. 8 weeks, 10 lbs., and “too many PR’s to count” later, Ben not only achieved his goals, but came out with knowledge and confidence in what he was doing, why he was doing it, and how it was beneficial to his life outside of the gym. When asked to describe the training, challenge, service, and a little about what he liked or disliked, Ben relayed:

The workouts were quite challenging, pushing me harder than I initially prepared for but the results speak for themselves that it was a successful challenge. It was tough to not have Eric there in person since this is an online training program, so I had to navigate a few new things for myself, but Eric was quick to reply to any questions even providing video breakdowns of ways to make exercises work for me. This was something that had me on the fence about online training, but the reliability, quality, and knowledge Eric has and was able to pass along swatted away any doubts and helped make the workouts even more effective. I would highly recommend Eric’s online training service to friends, family, colleagues, anyone looking for similar goals. He was able to customize the program to my level of experience and the equipment I have available – heck, I even went on vacation and Eric was able to create workouts with the gym at the hotel I was staying at for one of our final weeks to keep me going!

He asked me for feedback on what was lacking, but I had already decided to sign up to keep working with him, so I’m sorry to say there wasn’t much lacking!

The 10lbs. lost was great, but I’m ready to take it even further and am confident Eric will help me reach my goals!

Ben’s achievements were a result of the effort he put in, which I would describe as exemplary. Working out, performing cardio, and eating well can be difficult, but with a guided plan and coach in your corner who wants you to win, is a recipe for success when you’re ready to make that change!

I’m so confident in the results Ben achieved (-10 lbs. in 8 weeks + tone/strength gain everywhere), that I’m sure it’s replicable and after a few tweaks, can be achieved in even less time! And that’s why I’m opening the challenge again!

I’m looking for 4 men or women who are tired of not seeing results and are ready to start the last program they’ll ever need to kickstart their journey. Stop saying “next time” and start saying, “right now!” with my 12 lbs. in 6 weeks Shred Challenge!

Not only will you lose weight, get strong, build muscle tone, but I’m SOOOO confident in this program that I’m willing to slap a MONEY BACK GUARANTEE onto this challenge. That’s right – sign up for the 6-week program, put in the work, and if you’re not satisfied with the results, I will put the money right back in your pocket! The only thing you have to lose is a few inches off your waist!

It won’t be easy, and you will have to work, but if you do, this will be the last “I’ll start tomorrow” you’ll ever have to say to yourself.

If you’re ready to make the change, Sign Up Here and we can get you going within the next 48hrs!

Stay Happy, Stay Healthy, Stay Hungry!

Thank you,

Eric Hinrichsen

Always Hungry Personal Training | Columbus, OH

Harsh Truths About Your Fitness Goals

Posted on August 18, 2021August 18, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

In my stint as a personal trainer, one of my favorite things is consultation calls. It’s a chance for not only me to learn more about you the potential client, but also a chance for you to get to know me and make sure that what I have to offer feels comfortable to you. During these calls we dive into a little bit of your exercise history, any information about previous/current injuries or limitations, what you’ve tried in the past, and ultimately What is Your Goal? The best part of any conversation is hearing what it is that you are on the phone with me to solve. What problem you feel you have and how can I help solve it.

Though everyone says their goal in their own words, they tend to fall under 3 categories –

Toning up

Losing weight

Quick transformations

I decided to take some of the top goals I’ve heard and breakdown what they mean vs what it takes to actually achieve them. Let’s take a look at some harsh truths about your fitness goals, shall we?

Toning Up

“I don’t want to get bulky, I just want to get toned.”

“I want to get rid of this!” [points to arm/belly/leg]

What this person is looking for is the visible definition of their muscles being showcased in instances of wearing t-shirts/tank tops, shorts, crop tops, etc. They want to tighten up their body that might feel “flabby” in certain areas. There may be some excess fat in those areas that we would address through proper nutrition and they just want to feel strong and confident in their bodies.

The best way to achieve this goal is through progressive weight/resistance training. These people are often a little shy of the idea of lifting weights based on lack of knowledge. When someone tells me they want to get toned, my first thought is, “let’s lift weights”. That tone that you’re looking for is the visible definition of a muscle. In order to showcase the muscle you have, you need to make it bigger. By making it bigger, and cutting fat (when necessary), you are able to display the muscle underneath. A workout plan that is well rounded to hit all of the major muscle groups coupled with individual isolation exercises to focus on specific areas can help you reach this goal. Workouts should include anywhere from 6-8 exercises performed for 3-4 sets and between 8-15 reps per set. One big secret to helping you achieve this goal is to SLOOOOOW down your movement. It should take you about 2-3 seconds to lift the weight and 2-3 seconds to lower it with control and through a full range of motion on each rep/set. Slowing down the movement causes the muscles to work longer, thus helping them grow quicker.

YOU WILL NOT GET BULKY BY LIFTING WEIGHTS UNLESS YOU WANT TO!

The people you see that you don’t want to look like are special cases. They train 4-7 days per week for 60-90+mins at a time with a lot of additional coaching, specific training focus, 100% dialed in nutrition, etc. It is their job to look like that. Your job is to look like the best version of you. Lift the dang weights.

…Also, most are probably on some sort of drugs.

Losing Weight

“I want to boost my metabolism to lose weight.”

“I want to start eating keto because that’s how I’ll lose weight!”

This person has read a good number of magazines, blogs, or news articles and is in the camp that there are specific reasons and ways in which you gain/lose weight that require special, specific, and drastic changes to see results.

Boosting your metabolism is literally done through the act of moving! If you’re not moving, your body isn’t burning calories and will naturally slow down, causing the energy you’re not burning off to be converted to fat stores. Moving your body and remaining active can keep your metabolism humming even when you’re not active to boost your calorie burn.

Keto is fine, for a while, but I don’t know anyone who’s done keto who didn’t eventually put the weight back on as soon as they stopped. Specialized diets work for the short term, but if you don’t address nutrition habits and lifestyle changes, chances are when you finish or quit the diet, you may end up putting the weight back on and then some.

Ultimately there is no perfect solution to nutrition and weight loss, but addressing food behaviors, choices, and making adjustments while eating in a caloric deficit. As little as 500 calories less per day over the course of time can lead to weight loss. 1 lb = 3,500 calories. Consistently eat 500 less calories per day over 7 days, there’s your 1^st pound gone!

It’s not easy. It’s not super fun.

But it IS 100% worth it.

Quick Transformations

“I NEED to lose 50lbs. in the next 2 months.”

“I’m going on vacation in 2 months and need to be beach ready!”

This person is looking for the quick fix and drastic change in a short amount of time. This is possible but drastic change in a short time frame requires hard core dedication. Strict diet + heavy training routine and little to no days off can help you work toward your goals, but this is the area where we need to discuss realistic expectations. In regards to fat loss, a healthy drop is ~1-2 lbs. per week. Beyond that we are getting into extreme calorie restriction which isn’t healthy or sustainable. Too often this person will either not be able to maintain or as soon as they’re done, go right back to where they were or worse at the beginning. The stress from a hardcore regimen like this can damage the body physically and mentally. There are good transformations, but it requires dedication and commitment.

Real change that lasts can take time if you’re not careful and don’t plan on how to maintain or continue once the transformation is complete. Take heed and make a plan and you should be good to go.

Honorable Mention:

“I want to look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club!”

…Me too dude… me too. 😊

There are a ton of different variations and types of goals that ignite people to pursue a personal trainer, fitness program, gym membership, etc. but these tend to be the most common themes I hear. If these sound like you and you have additional questions, do not hesitate to drop a comment or head to the Contact page and drop me a line. I’d love to speak with you further and help you pursue your fitness and health goal today!

4 Secrets to Fitness Success

Posted on June 14, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

Joining a gym or signing up with a trainer is a great start, but if you really want to take full advantage of your fitness journey, there are a few intangibles you need to address to ensure you’re getting the most out of this journey. Too often I hear stories of people “doing everything I can” to get in shape – regardless of their goal – only to hear one of these topics being left unattended, that I know could be the one thing holding them back from launching into success. It would be great to know that all you had to do was workout a few times a week for 30-60 minutes and reach your full potential, but like any project you’ve done before (school, work, home), you know there are always additional pieces that need to be addressed in order for it all to come together!

Only this time, the project is yourself!

So you’ve got your training program and you’re ready to go or already kicking butt, let’s talk about the 4 secrets to fitness success outside of the gym! I’m talking about Nutrition, Rest/Recovery, Hydration, and Consistency! These 4 pillars of fitness, wellness, and health are the driving factors that power any fitness journey from fat loss to muscle gain; athletic performance to just staying healthy for yourself and your family. Let’s dive a little deeper, shall we?

Nutrition – You Can’t Outwork a Bad Diet

As much as it pains me to admit, all those cheesy affirmations about “abs are made in the kitchen” and “the best fat loss workout is 3 sets of 10 reps of not eating so much junk.” are true. All the working out in the world is fine, but if you’re not fueling your body with the right things, you’re going to have a hard time reaching your fullest potential. That being said, the aim is NOT perfection. If we aim for perfection and have a minor slip up, chances are that we’ll backslide further down. None of us are perfect as it stands, so to completely change and aim for 100% is just unrealistic. Instead, we need to adapt a “Progress > Perfection” mindset. Taking a minute to look at what you’re eating in a day, a few days, a week can really help open your eyes to the choices you make and better understand not only WHAT you eat, but also WHY you’re eating it. From there, we can start to make better choices. Regardless of your goals, a few rules of thumb include:

-Focusing on lean protein sources; complex carbs; and healthy fats

-Limiting consumption of highly processed foods, sugar, and alcohol

-Increasing the amount of fruits and veggies we take in

-Remembering that a bad meal isn’t the end of the world, but don’t miss more than 2.

Taking time to address your nutrition and make grocery lists that focus on options even slightly healthier than they currently are can be a major step in the right direction. Clean up your nutrition and not only should you see the changes, but you’ll feel them as well!

Rest/Recovery – “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

Though that’s true, it will be the “long sleep”, but that’s a horrible position to take in regards to your health. Everyone is different and functions on different levels of sleep, but the generally agreed level of sleep is 7-9 hours every night. If you’re a person who regularly gets the same amount of sleep each night, you can tell a major difference on the days when you get more or less than that median and it’s not typically for the better. Not only will less sleep make you feel prolongingly tired, but the additional time that you are awake and sleep deprived, the higher your chances of faulting on your nutrition, not having energy for your training sessions, and overall just not being your best self. Finding a good sleep routine including turning off electronics; lowering the room temperature; blocking out all light; etc. can help better your sleep behavior and increase your recovery time.

Beyond sleep, rest days from training are crucial for your body to be its best. If you’re training your body every day, you’re not giving yourself adequate time to repair and build into a stronger, healthier version. When we workout – in any capacity – you are creating tiny tears in the micro fibers of your muscle tissue (not a bad thing), but if you’re not allowing the body enough time to fully recover those tears and continually pushing yourself, not only could you be more susceptible to injury, but using fatigued muscles won’t provide for best efforts in the gym. Take your rest/recovery days seriously and you’ll see exponential leaps in your gym performance.

Taking it a step further, todays world is rife with stress. When our stress levels are up, we are in a heightened state mentally and physically. This can wreak havoc on our bodies in a variety of ways, but if we’re able to find outlets or work on how we handle stress to lessen the effect it has on us, the quicker our body can recover – from physical and mental stress.

Moral of this story – rest, recover, de-stress and see how much further you go after slowing yourself down.

Hydration – Now that’s some high quality H2O.

It can’t be stressed enough how important water is to your overall health. If our bodies are made mostly of water, what makes you think that you should cut back on how much you take in? The average person drastically undercuts themselves on how much water they drink daily. And contrary to belief, you don’t need to slug a gallon per day. Even hitting 100oz of water each day can drastically change your body physically and mentally.

Water keeps your muscles hydrated and healthy.

Water keeps your circulatory system clear and healthy.

Water keeps your waste system flowing and healthy.

Water keeps your skin clear and hair strong and healthy.

Water keeps you mentally fresh and healthy.

Water keeps your appetite at bay and healthy.

Water is the best.

It cools you down; it keeps food cravings away; it’s wonderful.

Drink more of it!

This does not include sodas, juices, energy drinks, alcohol, etc. just because “it has water in it!” The amount of every other bit of crap in all of those completely destroys any possible health aspect that water tries to help. Limit or eliminate those from your routine and focus on water (or sparkling water) and you’ll feel healthier in so many different ways. It’s the best supplement that everyone overlooks, don’t be one of that crowd.

Consistency – Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally…

It comes from what you do consistently. It doesn’t matter what your fitness goal is, if you can’t make it a priority to consistently work on it or show up every day, then you’re leaving a LOT of success on the table. Overnight successes or quick turn around stories often lead to rebounding back to the origin or worse because once the goal is reached, the habit disappears. If you want to reach your fitness or health goals, you have to be willing to do the work. You didn’t get to where you are right now – wherever that may be – overnight. It took weeks/months/years of consistent habits and behaviors (whether positive or negative behaviors) to lead to where you are. If you’re trying to lose 30 lbs, but you’re 50 years old; haven’t lifted a weight or eaten a healthy meal in 25+ years, you have to understand that it will take longer than 15 days to reach that goal. That is years of habits and behaviors that need to be unlearned or re-focused toward the new goal you’re working toward. You have to show up consistently and put in work on yourself every day in some capacity. This doesn’t mean working out every day – as noted earlier, rest is an incredibly important aspect to any fitness journey – but you can focus on mindset goals, habit changes, those pesky stress inducing problems, etc. Our health journey is more than physical and by consistently working on a little something every day, it may take months, years, decades even to reach where you want to go, but if you show up every damn day, I guarantee you’ll get there faster than if you yo-yo back and forth between bouts of crazy high and low activity. “The journey of 1,000 miles starts with a single step”. Take that step, then another, and another, and when you don’t feel like stepping, take another!

There is no end all; be all plan that will get you to your goals instantly – if there was, you’d bet your ass I would have tried it. But know that when you start your journey and you address more than just your workout routine – dialing in your nutrition; planning rest days and recovery protocols; keeping hydrated; and creating habits that consistently get you showing up every day – you’ll be on the right path to success on your fitness journey, no matter the goal.

Now stop reading and go kick some ass!

Resistance Training 101

Posted on April 28, 2021April 28, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

We all start somewhere and stepping foot on a gym floor can be one of the most nerve-wracking things in the world if you don’t have a plan. One of the first things I learned that helped me and a few of my clients when we started was keeping our plan SIMPLE. Welcome to Resistance Training 101 – Beginners Guide to Fitness.

There are a ton of pieces of equipment (barbells, dumbbells, cables, machines, etc) on a commercial gym floor (Planet Fitness; Esporta Fitness; etc.) but when you take a bird’s eye view, you’ll notice every exercise is a variation

of just 7 movements that our body does:

Push (chest, shoulders, triceps)
Pull (back, biceps)
Squat (quadriceps)
Hinge (glutes, hamstrings)
Lunge (full leg)
Rotation (core/abs)
Gait (walking, total body)

When starting out, the first thing you need to learn is HOW YOUR BODY MOVES through each of these 7 movements and begin building from there. It doesn’t matter what your goal is, if you’ve never stepped foot in a gym, the first

thing you should do is learn how your body moves. Not only will this help you push yourself and make strides quicker than those around you, but it will help your mind and muscles develop a connection to learn how to safely move, which will help avoid injury as you increase the resistance/load (weight).

PULL

When coming up with your plan, my suggestion would be to pick 1 exercise that falls under each category to be your workout that you repeat 2-3 times per week for 2–4 weeks to properly develop HOW to do it and how your body moves.

Making it even simpler, begin by using machines or your own bodyweight as they are the most stable and can help you learn the basic movement pattern of the exercise. One rule to keep in mind is you want to start with the most stable exercise possible and machines, being the most stable, literally only have 1 way they work, which helps you develop the proper form for the exercise.

Once you’ve completed the 2-4 week entry period, then take a step back and decide how you want to attack your goals. You will be able to decide if you want to train 2, 3, or 4+ days per week and then build your program or plan from there.

One of the most popular goals I’ve come across is combining Burning fat + Getting toned (building muscle). I say this not only from what I’ve discussed with my clients, but because this is similar to goals that I have gone after and achieved personally. To do this, I/we have seen best results by doing 3–4 sets of each chosen exercise at about 10–15 repetitions per set (resting 45–60 seconds between sets).

**Not sure what weight to use (if more than Bodyweight)?

When you choose a number of reps you’re shooting for, the weight should be heavy enough to hit that number of reps with difficulty, but not so heavy that you can’t safely get there; or light enough that you finish and think, “hmm… could have done 10 more…”**

If I were starting out, a sample workout I might try (and similar to those I have applied to clients on their first few days) would look like this:

A. Chest press machine (3 sets; 12 reps)

B. Seated close grip row (cable maybe?) (3 sets; 15 reps)

C. Leg Press machine (3 sets; 15 reps)

D. Dumbbell deadlift (3 sets; 12 reps)

E. Bodyweight stationary forward lunge (3 sets; 8–10 reps each leg

F. Russian twist (3 sets; 20 reps each side)

G. Dumbbell farmer carry (3 sets; 30–50yds)

Do your best to maintain focus on controlling the weight and as you get better, increase the weight and plug in new exercises that still work toward your goals and vary it up.

Consistency and patience will lead to the best results.

Once you’ve got the basics down, if you’re looking for that edge, there are TONS of free programs or helpful hints and tips you can find and all the exercises in my sample workout can be found with a quick Google/YouTube search.

Fitness is for everyone; and everyone started somewhere – you got this and remember that wanting to walk this journey means you are working toward a happier, healthier you – physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc.

Still not sure what to do or need that extra bit of accountability?

It’s never a bad idea to hire a coach or trainer. One of my specialties is helping new people learn their way around the jungle gym of their fitness facility and learning how amazing the human body can be. If you’re tired of waiting around and ready to make the change, head to the Online Client Application and fill it out and let’s talk today! Get all the structure and accountability you need from an in-person trainer, with the flex to train any time, any where in the world at a fraction of the cost, with the best in the world! (me! 😊)

Eric Hinrichsen

Always Hungry Personal Training | Columbus, OH

Fat Burners

Posted on April 24, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

One of the most popular goals for anyone entering training, working out, nutrition, etc, is to lose weight. With that, supplement companies have been falling all over themselves to create products that they claim to be THE ONE to help you shed that fat once and for all. The supplement market is flooded with pills, powders, and shakes that promise to melt away the stubborn fat you can’t seem to nix, but in truth, they are all snake oil.

As someone who battled with his weight and eventually went through his own weight loss transformation before becoming a personal trainer, I would be lying if I said I have never used a fat loss supplement in the hopes that it could help me knock off those extra lbs.

But I will honestly tell you also, that none of them worked.

Looking at an ingredients list for fat loss supplements can be as daunting as looking at a box of cereal, full of words and things you can’t pronounce and probably shouldn’t allow yourself to ingest, but almost every bottle you pick up will most likely boil down to 2 main components.

Some sort of Caffeine + a Diuretic

Caffeine

Probably one of the highest consumed ingredients in America (behind just sugar), caffeine has been in the spotlight for a long time thanks to the benefits of increasing our energy levels and helping us get through those midday slumps. It’s in coffee, energy drinks, pre-workouts, and is a large component of pre-workout supplements. Because it increases our energy levels, part of that process is increasing our heart rate our bodies natural functions. With our body moving more, it slightly increases the thermodynamic effect of our body – the ability to burn energy. That energy being burnt, it is claimed, is the fat cells we store. By causing our body to move more – even if just internally – the idea is that it’s burning fat for that energy. This can be seen as ingredients such as: Purcaf, Caffeine Proprietary Blend, Caffeine Anhydrous, or Green Tea Extract*

*Green Tea Extract is essentially caffeine specifically sourced from green tea – thought to be a naturally occurring energy source (similar to coffee beans).

Diuretics

The other thing to be aware of is the use of diuretics. Most fat loss supplements include ingredients that cause the body to shed water. Many people who start taking these supplements and see a steep drop in weight at the beginning are really just seeing that their body is flushing out water that has been retained. This may be helpful if you’re competing in some sort of physique/bodybuilding competition, but if you’re an average Joe like myself, you want water in your body to help it function optimally. Diuretics are hard on your kidneys and since our bodies are made up largely of water – cutting it out can have other detrimental consequences.

I’m not here to tell you not to try whatever you can to lose the weight if you feel it’s necessary, but I want to try and give a testimonial, that they may provide some sort of aid, beyond the caffeine boosting energy and diuretic components dropping water, these supplements rarely work to the effect that they claim.

True fat loss comes from focusing on the hard things you don’t want to do – cleaning up your nutrition; exercising regularly; prioritizing rest and recovery; and managing stress.

Take care of those things and the fat should melt away the way no supplement can.

Do the un-fun things now and enjoy the fruits of your labor later.

Trust the process and reach your goals!

What’s your favorite fat loss myth you’ve heard? Let’s start a thread below.

6 Steps to Writing a Training Program

Posted on April 5, 2021April 5, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

Life is complicated enough. Your training program shouldn’t be another stressor on the list. It should take no longer than 15-20 minutes to outline your training program and another 5-10 minutes to write the specific workouts that will fill it. In under 30 minutes you can write a plan to get you from where you are to a totally new you. And if you can’t find 30 minutes in your day, then that’s a whole other topic for a whole other post that we need to talk about.

If you need help in coming up with ideas for exercises and blueprints for your training plan, drop a comment with what your goal is, and let’s connect to create a plan that leads you to the top of your mountain.

Keeping it simple, here are the 6 steps to writing a training plan.

Choose your goal

What should be the easiest step in the process, but can often leave people feeling anxious and more frustrated than any other step… identify what goal you’re going to work on. The reason this stresses people out is overthinking. Too often do I hear things like, “well I want to work on my [belly, arms, legs, etc]”; “I just want to get toned”; “I want to get healthy”. Which are all great, but extremely vague goals. Like I said, I’m not asking you to make it extremely detailed or granular, but you should be more specific than that. Here’s a quick list of the most common goals I’ve seen pop up in consultations and conversations:

“I want to lose weight – 15-20 lbs.”

“I want to build muscle.”

“I want to compete in [event name].”

“I want to fix an injury.”

“I want to build my stamina.”

“I want to get toned all over.”*

*If you choose this goal, what ‘getting toned’ means is that you want to build strength in your muscles to the point that you can see them visibly from the surface. This would basically be a sub-category of “I want to build muscle.” Your focus is creating strength and size in your muscles so that they are visible. To make a muscle visible, you must build it.*

Choose your rep range

Now that you’ve identified the goal, here comes the easy parts. A quick google search of your goal and the term “rep range” can help you identify what range of repetitions you should be applying to the exercises you will perform in your training sessions. For reference, here’s my list for the top goals seen in the gym:

-Fat Loss: 12-18 reps per set

-Muscle Building/Toning: 8-12 reps per set

-Strength and Power: 2-8 reps per set

I personally like to start at the lower end of the rep range for my goal for my first 2-4 exercises of a session as it’s when I’m most energized and “fresh” to move heavier weight. Then as my session progresses, I increase the reps because I know I won’t have as much strength, so I’ll be able to still perform more work, at a lesser weight. This also comes into play for the next 2 steps.

Pick 1-2 Main compound movements

A compound movement is an exercise in which more than 1 joint action is being performed. Compare these 2 exercises: A) The Bent Over Dumbbell Row – in which you are bending the arm at the shoulder and elbow to lift a weight from the ground, toward your body. That’s at least 2 joints being used (shoulder and elbow) vs. B) Dumbbell Biceps Curls – where you hold a dumbbell and lift it to your shoulder by bending your elbow. Here you are lifting TO your shoulder, but the only joint MOVING is the elbow.

Compound movements use the most energy and can generally move the heaviest load/weight. These should be the primary focus of your training sessions regardless of goal and be the starting point of each session.

I like 1-2 compound movements minimum for a workout that can include:

-Squat

-Chest Press

-Deadlift

-Pull Up

And any variation of these.

Or you can go a little crazy and combine exercises into a big ol’ multi-joint full body movement such as:

-Turkish Get-ups

-Squat to Overhead Press

-Dumbbell Curl and Press

-Jumping Lunges

Etc.

Pick 3-5 Accessory movements

After you’ve finished your compound movements, choose from the nearly endless list of additional exercises (which may still be compound) that are known as “accessory” movements. These will be in the higher rep ranges and should be chosen to compliment the compound movements from earlier. For example: If I were to start with Squats, I would add a single leg squat variation such as Bulgarian Split Squats and maybe the always fun Hip Thrusts. These both build muscles of the lower body and will help in different ways to benefit my squats the next time I come back to them.

Create a Dynamic warm-up

By now you’ve created your workout session that should have probably between 3-8 exercises on it. Knowing what you’re going to do can help you create a dynamic warm-up to start the session that will help you get the body ready for the work ahead. If your program is split into specific body parts, you can warm-up those areas with specific dynamic movements that wake up the joints and muscles with light/no weight so they can prepare for the work they will do during the training session. This should be about 5-15 minutes and increase the heart rate, but only enough to “wake up” the body. This should not be strenuous or energy sapping. A dynamic warm-up will help prevent injury, prepare the body, and help get the mind set on the session ahead.

Schedule It and Show the heck up!

Finally, probably the second hardest part of the whole sequence – planning and showing up! Though it’s not difficult to do, the mental aspect seems to overwhelm. There’s a saying that you wouldn’t skip a meeting with your boss, so don’t skip a meeting with yourself. There are so many ways to set an alarm/reminder/appointment/etc. in this world that there is literally no excuse for planning the time for you to work on you. Put it on your calendar and show the heck up! Not only will you thank yourself in the moment, but even more so after the workout and program are finished, and you see the results of all your hard work!

Creating a training program doesn’t have to be difficult if you don’t allow it to be. Follow these 6 simple steps to writing a training program and stop making excuses and start kicking butts.

Success Beyond the Scale

Posted on March 30, 2021March 30, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

According to legend, it’s physically impossible to discuss fitness or nutrition with someone – anyone – without mentioning the scale!

Okay, so that may NOT be true, but be honest, it comes up in MOST health conversations and it’s a piece of hardware that plagues us all. It brings us some of our highest highs and our lowest lows. Somehow this small piece of equipment has evolved into one of the most controversial topics of health in the world… and all you do is stand on it.

Because it is so widely recognized as the staple piece of equipment for measuring change or progress in a fitness/nutrition/health program, it has been given more power than it ever intended to receive or should be allowed to have. Too often and easily, we misplace stock of our progress in the number that a scale spits back at us – some to the point of letting it become their main focal point of self-worth, which is very unhealthy.

The scale must be taken down a peg or two and we must remember what it truly is. The scale is simply a tool in our belt of measuring progress. It is not an evaluation of who we are or what we are about or the efforts we put into our body. It is literally a measure of your weight – right now, at this very moment. Which means it is meant to change and fluctuate over the course of weeks, days, or even hours! There are so many factors that impact how much we weigh at a given time, including:

-Time of day

-Hydration

-Hunger

-Stress

-Amount of sleep

-Daily activity

-Hormone levels

-Did you just poop or are you backed up? (yes…this can really cause fluctuation)

And so many other possible factors that could throw off your weight. Any number of these could cause it to go up or down at any moment.

These are reasons why it’s crucial to remember that the number on the scale is simply another tool in our belt as we move forward on our health journeys – regardless of the target you’re shooting at.

Take stock of your success beyond the scale and celebrate each victory you reach on our journey to a happier and healthier you.

Increased Energy Levels

Combining regular exercise in any form, with nutritious whole foods, and managed sleep/stress levels come together to boost your energy to levels you could only dream of. Your body wants to move and by moving, it creates energy. That’s why activity when you’re doing it, may be tiring, but the release of hormones, the blood pumping in your muscles and breath firing in your lungs takes us to a higher level of energy beyond the exercise and carries through to our daily life activities.

Fit of Our Clothes

When I was embarking on my own transformation journey and started seeing results, one of the best, but most frustrating results was that my clothes fit better… then loose… then too loose. It wasn’t a bad problem to have for my self-esteem, but my wallet wasn’t super happy about it (but I’ll take that trade off). My sister would even give me grief because I was wearing “skinny” jeans and they were PRETTY tight, I will admit. But as I told her then – I wear them not just because I like the look, but because I couldn’t wear these before! I’ve gotten questionable looks from my friends I play hockey with when we won our league championship and the prize was a t-shirt and I asked for a Medium… because I knew it fit a little snugger, but I wanted it because it wasn’t a Large or X-Large which I had to wear for about half my life. We all know what it’s like trying to find clothes that fit – both up and down – but there’s something about slipping on a t-shirt that A) used to be too loose and now you fill it out with those big strong muscles; B) you have to change out of because it’s now a parachute; or C) was one you’ve been avoiding because last time it was JUUUUUST a little tight but you try it and it fits PERFECTLY!

Injury Pre/Re-Hab and Prevention

We are flimsy skeletons of bones connected by thin tissues that are protected by meat and skin and we live in a crazy world that is trying to hurt us all the time. Injury is a step away almost always. Regular exercise and nutrition can not only help prevent injuries that may potentially occur, but it can also help correct imbalances or problems you’re experiencing to eliminate pain all together. How many people do you know in the office or family or friend circles that occasionally complain about lower back pain and you know are more sedentary people? Chances are you’ve seen those people try and try to stretch the pain away or talk about chiropractors, pills, massages, heating pads, etc… everything in the world to mitigate the pain… except exercise, nutrition, lifestyle changes. What people don’t realize is that most general lower back pain can be resolved by strengthening the area directly – purposefully working those muscles to get stronger – rather than stretching it. I have seen this happen with a number of clients – one of whom had been seeing a chiropractor weekly for 3 months prior to working with me, and within our first month, has yet to go back to them (it’s been over a year we’ve worked together). Fixing an injury or even preventing one you can see coming is a huge victory that often gets overlooked though it should be given much more spotlight.

Relieving Reliance of Medications

Maybe the most highly overlooked success of following a proper fitness/nutrition/health program is its ability to relieve us of reliance on many medications. Type-2 Diabetes, Blood Pressure Meds, High Cholesterol, Anti-Depressants, etc. Working on your health can have immense benefits to relieving of you of reliance on these medications as you physically get your body in a healthy position, internally you’re healing problems of hormone imbalances and toxicity levels that plague our society today.

The scale is a useful tool in measuring progress, but it has been given too much power. Don’t let it rule over your journey to happy, healthy, fruitful life by holding your focus to it’s number and remember to celebrate all of your victories along the way – especially the non-scale victories such as increased energy; better fitting clothes; injury prevention; and relief of medications; along with a whole host of others.

I shared a little story about better fitting clothes, if you’re comfortable – please share a little anecdote of your success beyond the scale below in the comments and let’s hype the hell out of each other!

Build Your Ideal Body

Posted on March 24, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

Building the body of your dreams is not rocket science, but there are no true short cuts to the top. It takes hard work and discipline to reach your goals, but everyone is equipped with the ability to do it if they choose. The nice thing is that it all boils down to 3 main things: Training, Nutrition, and (probably most important) Mindset. Let’s take a look at the elements that you should focus on in order to reach the body of your dreams!

TRAINING

Sure, you can simply walk into a gym or buy a couple pieces of equipment and swing them around and if you’ve not done that before, you’ll see some sort of result for a bit. But they won’t be toward anything and it doesn’t make sense and you’ll lose interest and stop pretty quickly. Set yourself up for success by

first and foremost developing a specific plan. Within that plan, you should jot down your targeted goal that you’re working toward. Having a plan and goal in sight will help keep you moving forward, taking away the guesswork of “what am I gonna do today?” The plan doesn’t need to be too crazy, but having a specific start and end date will help keep you on track and keep some sanity knowing there is a scheduled time frame to focus on. Though everyone’s goals are different and yours will change along your journey, the best programs and plans tend to follow an ideology of exercising at least 3-4 times per week and is centered around weight/resistance training. Regardless of toning up, building muscle, losing weight, training for competition, or just looking to prolong your health and activity levels, those 2 staples should be involved in all of your training programs for optimal results. Once you’ve come up with the plan, it’s easy to find the dedication to show up. Taking out the guesswork of what you’re going to do is a huge hack to solving the issue of being dedicated. When you know what you’re going to do, the time frame you’re going to work toward your goal, and the structure is in your hand, all you have to do now is show up and get it done. The final thing to remember – and to me, probably the most important aspect to your training – is to make it fun! Training is difficult and makes you tired, but it also boosts your energy, makes you stronger, healthier, better, more confident, etc. and there are so many different ways to work out, try a few and find what works for you. Lifting heavy things and putting them down is fun to me; for you it might be a boot camp class. Making it fun is going to make it 10x easier to show up than if you go in every day with a negative attitude.

NUTRITION

This is probably the hardest aspect of working toward your ideal body but following these guides can make it a lot easier and more manageable. It doesn’t matter what your goals here either, these elements will help you reach whatever goal you’re aiming for. Regarding nutrition in accordance with training, there’s no debate that protein centric nutrition is key. High quality protein helps fuel the body and the muscles to keep working and re-build after a workout session. They also help mitigate holding onto fat cells which throw off our goals. Beyond protein, nutrition should be focused on whole food sources – not just labelled organic, but whole/organic sources as much as possible. There’s an unwritten rule that if you want to be healthy, only shop the perimeter of the grocery store. That’s where all the fresh produce, meat, and other foods can be found. The middle aisles are all the processed foods full of added sugars, fats, and garbage you don’t need. To that, avoiding added sugars and alcohol can help catapult you toward your goals in whatever direction it may be. Sugar causes inflammation and affects your immune system and hormone responses throwing off your hunger and ability to heal/grow. Plus, booze is basically poison with no benefit whatsoever except adding extra calories. If you have difficulty feeling full, try increasing your vegetable intake as they’re nutrient dense, take up more space, and can help you feel fuller for longer periods of time than sugary snacks and carbs.

It can be hard to keep all of this in mind, so the easier the food is to prep and manage, the easier it will be to adhere to. Like your training, keeping a simple plan can help you stay focused on your goals and make a typically difficult aspect of our health much more manageable. And if you fall off the wagon, remember that without its driver, it’s going to stop right next to you. Forgive yourself for indulging a sweet tooth or craving and make sure to hop back on at the next meal instead of throwing in the towel. One setback won’t end all your progress until that one becomes more. And if you’re worried that you’re not actually hungry, remember that staying hydrated with roughly 100oz of water a day can help stave off cravings and make you feel full longer. Plus, with a body made mostly of water, staying hydrated has a TON of other benefits.

MINDSET

Yes, having a training plan and approach to nutrition are incredibly important and going to be the building blocks of your journey to the top of the mountain, but the things you do to keep your mind on task are probably the most important aspects of this climb. Having climbed my own mountain, these things have helped me more than having a plan or easy to prep meals ever could and they should not be taken lightly! As I mentioned earlier, if you’re going to stick to a plan, one of the best things to do is to make it fun. You must remind yourself that exercise and nutrition are different than what you’re used to, and it is hard, but you’re rewarding your body for being so magical, not punishing it. The time before this journey was the punishment – now we’re nurturing and rewarding. Things that can help you feel rewarded are to keep a daily journal of the tasks you have set ahead of you. I like to list the top 6-10 items for the day that will move me forward including blocking time for my workouts or stretching. Journaling can help you let off steam as much as keep your eye on the prize of what you’re working toward. On top of that, it can help with envisioning the success you’re working toward. Seeing yourself in that future state can help keep focus and dedication going when the motivation is fleeting. Beyond those longer term plans, don’t ever forget to appreciate the small victories. Setting aside time every day or every week to look back and appreciate the small victories and steps forward remind us of how far we’ve come and help us avoid the pit of thinking we have so much further to keep going. Not only will these things help keep you focused and dedicated to your training and nutritio

n, but they are really beneficial ways to help mitigate stresses in life that try to pop up and derail you from your goals. Having a routine; keeping your eye on the prize; focusing on small victories and prioritizing your schedule can help keep stresses at bay or allow you identify if it’s a real stress or just an inconvenience that can be dealt with later. The final piece of the mindset puzzle is to make sure you prioritize sleep. We think we function well on 6hrs or less, but study after study proves otherwise. Do what you can to get 7-9 hours regularly per night to optimize your mental health that will set you up for great physical health. The body needs rest to recover and calm down from life. This is the time when your body repairs itself and when you cut down on the amount of rest, we tend to also let other habits slide that can throw us off from our fitness and nutrition goals we’ve been working toward.

Like I said, it’s not easy to work toward your best self, but making a plan, making it easy, and keeping a positive mindset and focus on your goals can help set you up to succeed better than you ever could have imagined.

What area do you feel like you would like to focus on and what’s one thing you could do RIGHT NOW to work on it? Drop a comment below and let’s start working toward our best dang selves!