TIPS FOR SETTING GOALS

Now that Christmas is over and the New Year is quickly approaching, you know that you're going to want to be working off the christmas dinners and set new health and fitness goals to prepare your body for the summer months.  You must make goals to help you achieve the body and lifestyle you are wanting. Along the way you need to stay true to your goals and realize/accept that you will have pitfalls, but these pitfalls are normal, you just need to stay persistent, and you will succeed. 

• Set Realistic Goals  
• set micro goals along the way that will help you get to your long term goals
• micro goals should be small achievable goals that will eventually lead you to achieving your long term goal
• Set Realistic Time Frames 
• set a realistic time frame for short term goals that will help you get to your long term goals
• realistic time frame for a person who has never run before but wants to run a marathon would look like this
• 6 months run 5K, 12months run 10K, 18months run 1st 1/2 marathon, 2 years run 1st Marathon
• you want your time frame to be spread out so that the goals are achievable and will minimize the risk of injury
• Measurable
• make sure that your goals are objective and easily measurable
• this means that you must really dissect your goals to find out how you can measure them
• if you want to be healthier what does this entitle
• lower cholesterol
• lower blood pressure
• increased endurance
• increased strength
• increased flexibility
• bigger biceps
• less body fat
• what are you trying to achieve and how can you measure all the variables
• Journal
• you want to have a journal to record all progress, the peaks and valleys
• if your goal is weight loss, track your water, food, sleep and stress
• if your goal is strength track your weight room achievements and work outs
• your 3 reps max is a good way to see overall improvement in strength gains
• if your goal is running track your progress of runs; time, distance, how you felt
• Accountability
• get a friend involved with you to keep each other on track
• getting a close friend to join you in your journey to better health even if its just to tell them about your progress will help you stay on track 
• find a friend that will encourage and keep you motivated

If you follow the above steps and maintain your three D's (Discipline, Determination, Dedication) you will achieve your goals successfully. Be patient and realize that permanent change takes time and will have its ups and downs.

Top 5 On the Go Snacks

Planning ahead will help you stay ahead with your health and fitness goals especially when it comes to nutrition.  The night before, or the morning of, your busy day set aside a few minutes to prepare your snacks. This way you know that you will be getting the nutrients you need and not set yourself up for failure by heading to the snack table filled with confectionaries or heading to the corner store to grab a chocolate bar or bag of chips.

1. Organic Celery with Organic Nut Butter
2. Organic Apple with Organic Nut Butter (my favourite is when Honey Crisp is season)
3. Raw Nut/Seed Mix (my favourite is pumpkin seed, almond and walnut)
4. Hard Boiled Eggs
5. Organic Salt and Pepper Beef Jerky

You can also try to make your own beef jerky. See link below to learn the steps:

How to Make Your Own Beef Jerky

Overcome Plateau's By Only Changing Tempo's

You've been going at the same work out for a while, and it worked awesome at first. However, over the last couple of weeks you've noticed that your lifts haven't increased and your body has remained stagnant. A simple way to help you overcome this plateau effect is to change your tempo.  If you have been doing the standard 2.1.2.1 tempo for your lift, lower your weight and increase your TUT (time under tension).  Try a tempo of 5.1.2.1.  Tempo figures represent time and action of movement eccentric to concentric:

• The 1st number represents five seconds of the downward movement (eccentric).
• The 2nd number represents the pause at the bottom of the movement
• The 3rd number represents the upward movement (concentric). 
• The 4th number represents the pause at the top or resetting of the rep. 

A good rep range would be 6-10 reps with a set range of 3-5.  This is dependent on the length of work out and exercises you are doing.

Changing your tempo will make you feel like you have a whole new program. All you have done is introduce a different stimulus to your body by causing it to be under tension for longer. Perform the 5.1.2.1 tempo with what ever exercises you feel you have plateau'd on and perform for 3-4 weeks. It's a great way to have a change in program without having to learn new whole exercises.  Give it a try and when you go back to your normal routine, after 3-4 weeks, see if you are now able to lift a little heavier.

Note this tempo is not meant for power lifts such as olympic lifts (ie. clean, power clean, clean and jerk . This should be used for your isolation lifts and compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts, bent over rows, bench press etc.  

Contact a Health Professional before beginning any exercise. 

5 Easy Nutrition/Lifestyle Tips to Keep Off the Holiday Pounds

1. Moderate Your Alcohol Intake

We all know that consuming alcohol this year is especially satisfying, so it would be completely unrealistic to cut it out entirely with all those excellent holiday parties to attend, and having that special peppermint baileys coffee to keep you warm on these cold nights.  

The key here is to keep alcohol down by not allowing yourself to binge drink. Try to limit your intake to 1-2 glasses of wine or 1-2 beer or 2-3 ounces of spirits or liquors 1-2 days / week. This will make sure that you are not over consuming alcohol, which could easily raise blood sugar levels & insulin secretion, to help keep that muffin top away for the holidays.

2. Eat High Quality Protein and Fat 

If you do plan on drinking, be sure not to start the evening with a drink before you eat. Alcohol on an empty stomach will cause a rapid rise in blood sugar, causing you to feel hungry faster which will in turn make you want to eat more. There is a reason why restaurants want a drink at your table within the first 2 minutes of you being seated. They know that the more you drink, the more you eat,  and the more you eat and drink the more profits the restaurant makes. So not only can eating before you drink help keep the calorie count down, it could also keep a little more cash in your wallet.    

Try eating high quality protein, organic, grass fed if possible, and fat (note: organic butter, coconut oil, avocado and raw almonds are great choices) before you begin drinking. This will help stabilize your blood sugar more effectively when you begin to have your 1 or 2 drinks for the evening.  Eating before you drink wall also give you a feeling of satiety which will in turn prevent you from consuming extra unwanted calories.

3. Avoid Those Sugary Holiday Dessert and Dessert Drinks

Those delicious holiday desserts and dessert drinks are full of unwanted sugar and empty calories and your fat cells are just anticipating the chance to 'plumpin' right back up while you enjoy in those fat loving sugars.  

If you must have a dessert or a dessert coffee try sharing one with a friend, or just have a bite or two to satisfy your sweet tooth and be done with the rest. *See below for a great recipe on a delicious Christmas Pudding. 

4. Don't Over Eat

With all those delicious home-made dinners and nights out coming during the holiday season, it is easy to gorge till your belly is about to burst. Learning the art of eating till your satisfied will greatly help you from over eating. Satisfying your hunger means eating enough that if you wanted to go for a 5K jog or a moderate weight room work out, you could do so comfortably. If you have gotten to the point where you need to loosen that top button or have to wear your stretchy pants you have grossly over eaten. You are not a bear fattening up to go through a 4 month hibernation.  

Learning to eat till your satisfied will help you keep the calorie count down on a daily basis. 

5. Water, Water, Water

The majority of your fluid intake should be from plain water or herbal tea (nothing added). Making sure that most of your fluid during the day comes from these sources means you will keep your calorie count much lower as well as keep you well hydrated and give you a felling of satiety.  If you have ever been hungry and weren't able to satisfy your hunger no matter how much you ate, there is a good chance you are/were dehydrated.  The brains mechanism for thirst and hunger can be very similar, so attempt to drink a large glass of water (500mL) 15 minutes before you decide to go after that sweet desert or large meal, it might just save you a lot of calories.



*Check out this healthy delicious recipe to help quench that sweet tooth. 

Healthy Christmas Cake Recipe