Monday, December 24, 2007

Did you know there are 3 common mistakes most people make that sabotage their results?

What is the point of working out if you don’t maximize your results?

Here are the 3 biggest mistakes made over and over again (along with quick tips on how to fix those mistakes!)

Mistake #1

Training only your favorite body parts

If you only train your favorite body parts - you are doing your body a grave disservice. In addition to creating an unbalanced and out of proportion physique, it leads to overtraining, stubborn injuries and most importantly a slower metabolism.

Tip

When you workout in all facets of conditioning your body is running at peak levels. Your metabolism is stoked and running hot because you are requiring it to function in many planes of
movement, working various muscles all over the body and essentially requiring it to work harder than it would if you only trained 2 of your favorite body parts over and over.

Mistake #2

No Workout Variety

If you always complete the same exercises and routine over
and over, your body gets used to it. It doesn’t have the need
to build new muscle. It becomes complacent.

Your body is only going to build enough muscle and get strong
enough to complete the exercise as required. If you do the same
8 exercises over and over again you will never make any progress.
Even if you add weight and make the exercises harder your
progress is still limited because your body only has to produce
enough strength to lift that extra 5 pounds.

Tip

Now if you want to consistently be progressing and challenging your body then you should be adjusting your workouts frequently. An example would be to change your workouts up every 3 weeks. You can still work the same muscle groups, but choose different exercises that target those muscles.

If you don’t believe me try a forward lunge for 4 consecutive workouts and then switch to a lateral lunge for the next 4 workouts and see if you notice a difference between the two exercises. They are essentially working the same muscles, but differently and your muscles will most definitely recognize that.

Mistake #3

Damaging Post-Workout Nutrition

This is the biggest mistake that can be easily corrected! You only get results from exercise AFTER you are done with your workout! And if you don’t consume some type of post workout drink, your will suffer in your recovery and your progress will be slower.

The research is abundant with studies showing an intake of carbohydrates and protein together within 1 hour after working out greatly enhances recovery, increases protein synthesis and replenishes glycogen. The key is to digest quick digesting nutrients so that the recovery process can begin immediately.

Tip

The best way to do this is by consuming a high quality post-workout drink with the proper carbohydrate to protein ratio. If you are choosing just a high protein drink without enough carbs, you are consuming the wrong drink.

Prograde Workout is the perfect blend of carbs/proteins and it’s fast absorbing so it will feed your muscles the necessary nutrients you need to start the recovery process and prepare you for your next workout.

By implementing these simple tips, you will be well on your way to getting better results.

-VF

Friday, December 21, 2007

A better way to stretch for movement

Did you know stretching has a progression, just like strength training? You start with static, progress to active and eventally doing dynamic.

Today I would like to talk about the value of dynamic stretching.

Dynamic Stretching are useful in developing neuro-muscular coordination for movements such as leg lifts, dance movements, kicks, and development of speed and power.

Human movement occurs in three planes of motion - front, side and rotation. When you think of our daily function, we all move in these three given planes, whether you are a construction worker, a CEO of a company or a stay home mom. Therefore, we must train our bodies to function in these planes.

Learn how to dynamically stretch effectively and improve movement. You can get a great workout as well;)

-VF

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Travel Tips: How to Stay Fit for Holiday Travel (Guess Blog)

Today's blog is courtesy of Holly Rigsby


What is your plan to stay fit while you travel this holiday season?
What's that? ....You haven't had time to think about it? ....You've barely begun to think about what outfits to pack, let alone a fitness plan?

Well just as you would not leave the house without a map or directions to reach your destination - why would your traveling without a fitness plan be any different?
While on the road here are 5 Travel Tips to make the Most of your Holiday Trip

1. Pack Travel Snacks
Pack some good snacks to take along for the ride. Think protein/produce and portable. Snacks like apple and almonds, pistachios and dried apricots, beef jerky and raisins will all do well to take care of munchies and keep you satisfied.

2. Avoid Fast Food
It never fails, while on our way to our destination spot, we either find ourselves at the Starbucks or McDonald’s in the airport or on the highway, taking in far too many calories before we even get to where we are going. You can get this junk food anytime. Save your calories for the holiday meals and treats you really want too have. Avoid these on-the-go temptations by making a point to eat something before you leave or eat some of those travel snacks you packed to help curb your appetite.

3. If you MUST Eat Out...
Or your family does not cook so you find yourself out often, plan ahead and pick one or two of those stops (depending on how often they occur) to have something festive to eat. Make a point to order more supportive meals the rest of the time. Keep in mind that a typical restaurant entree is about 1500 calories – that does not include bread, appetizer or dessert. Aim for grilled chicken or salmon and a big side of fresh steamed veggies.

4. Plan your Splurges
If you know you will be enjoying a holiday feast at dinner, avoid overindulging during breakfast or lunch. Instead make your other meals that day light and more supportive.

Worst Case Scenario....If you have no control over the foods being served around you (family dinners) - there is always something that is halfway good too eat - if anything fill up on the protein and veggies, just have smaller servings of the other dishes. You can even tell yourself you are saving room for dessert. Then when you have some - just watch your portion size.

5. Stay Active
Look for opportunities to be active - even if it is a jaunt in the mall. If you can steal away 5 or 10 minutes - do a mini body weight workout in the bedroom (hotel room). The best travel exercises are squats, lunges, push ups, planks, jumping jacks, etc. You don't need a full 30 minutes to do a couple sets of any exercise.

Finally, know that 3-4 days of being not so good does not erase all the hard work you have done up to this point. You would have to
~ Not move at all
~ Eat an ungodly amount of excess food to gain excess weight

If you eat a not so supportive meal, listen to and pay attention to how you feel and you will naturally want to cut back or fill your body with better choices instead.

I wish you safe journeys and good times with friends and family~

"Thank you Holly. You really are an Angel for me. I have got great results so far. I am really pleased with the way my body is shaping up !!!! I need to buy new jeans now!" ~Eliane Terrien...Just 3 weeks into her Fit Yummy Mummy Transformation.

You can be too...Sign Up Now and you will, not only need new Jeans...you'll Look and Feel Great in 2008!

===

-VF

Friday, December 14, 2007

A Video that will move you...

The following video was shared with me by a friend of mine Ryan Lee. As you will see for yourself, despite our difficulties and challenges we face in life, there will always be ways to contribute greatness and inspire ourselves and others.

WARNING: This video may cantain contents that will get you choked up!!



-VF

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Want a bunch of FREE gifts?

Question: What Do You Get When 250 of The World's Leading Experts Decide To Work Together To Help Hundreds Of Thousands Of People From All Around The World Achieve Their Health And Fitness Goals... For FREE?

The 12 Days Of Fitness, The BIGGEST and BEST Health and Fitness Gift-Giving EVER!

My friends Pat Rigsby and Dax Moy have put together the Ultimate Gift for Christmas. And the best part is you have nothing to buy.

So, don't delay, do it today and Give yourself the Free Gifts of Fitness;-)

-VF

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

My Father and Fitness...

Here is my fathers story on his Journey with Fitness I wrote earlier this year for Fathers day. Enjoy.

I would like to share an inspiring story of my father. My father Gordon in 1986 at the age of 58 was feeling tired and decided to see the doctor. The doctor performed an angiogram and noticed some blockage and immediately he had heart surgery. He recovered well after the surgery and was advised by his doctor that he needed to start an exercise program and change his eating habits.

My father had never exercised before and his diet consisted of meatloaf, pork chops, you name it. I can remember growing up as a kid he use to love to bar-b-que alot of red meat (steaks), so our diet wasn't the greatest. The doctors advice was pretty foreign to him if you could imagine. Well, he decided to follow the doctors orders and started an exercise program which was simply walking around the block of our neighborhood increasing his distance a little at a time working his way up to walking 4 miles a day. His diet consisted eating more vegetables, fruits and lean protein such as fish and chicken. He lost weight and maintained this lifestlye for some years.

In 1999 my father at the age of 72 had his second by pass heart surgery. His continued healthy lifestyle over the years is what helped him last this long. My mother and I waited at Mercy hospital during his surgery. We waited and waited. His surgery lasted 12 hours. When the surgeon came to talk to us he looked exhausted. He told us that it was a very challenging surgery and that this would probably be his last heart surgery because his veins had deterioated so much.

Twenty-one years since his first operation he has been doing good untill a couple of months ago, walking became difficult and painful. He started to worry if he would be able to continue walking which he enjoys so much. So I designed a strength training, flexibility and joint mobility program which has helped him immensely. I should have had him doing this a long time ago. (Bad son;-)

Well, my father will be 80 next year in July. He is an inspiration to me and his family. I hope you'll find your father, or that someone you can model and be inspired too;-)

"What you do DAILY, you become PERMANENTLY!"

-VF

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

August Rush and Your Fitness

My son Brandon and I went to see a great movie called August Rush.
Although it got low reviews, you can't believe everything you read
unless its from me;-) A definite must see. It's about a young boy
who finds his parents through music.

There is one word that describes the boys determination to find his
parents and that is ACTION. You see, as the late great Albert Einstein
profoundly put it...

"Nothing Happens Until Something Moves."

Here is an acronym for the word ACTION...

Aspire
Consistency
Trial and error
Impervious
Open
No negatives

What does the movie and fitness have in common?

Aspire
-in the movie the boy aspires to reunite with his parents. You need
to aspire to the fact that you CAN lose fat, you CAN build muscle,
you CAN make changes in your health and fitness.

Consistency
-in the movie the boy was consistent with his belief that he would
find his parents even though he was told he wouldn't. You need to
be consistent with your program day in and day out. Make that
appointment with yourself or trainer and keep it.

Trial and error
-in the movie the boy made some bad decisions and learned from
them and moved forward. If your fitness program is no longer
working you need to figure out why and what changes are you
going to make to continue progress. What's not measured does
not get managed.

Impervious

-in the movie the boy stayed on course toward his goal of again
finding his parents. You need to maintain lase-like focus and not
be distracted towards your fitness goals. We all have set backs
and that is ok. I use the analogy of when you would get a flat tire,
you change it and you keep going.

Open
-in the movie the boy was opened to new ideas on how he may
be more effective in finding his parents. You need to take a similar
approach and be open to new and better training methods.

No negatives

-in the movie the boy was never negative on himself nor around
others. Your thoughts become words, your words become action,
your action becomes your destiny.

You can learn so much from others experience if you just take the
time to watch and listen:-)

-VF

Monday, December 10, 2007

A not so easy, unique, effective way of accomplishing your fitness goal!

If you haven't heard of Adam Waters, you should. Here is a guy who decided to not only tell a few friends, or a couple of family members about his pursuit in changing his body and fitness goals. He decided to go big, BIG TIME! He came up with the idea of telling alot of people. He posted it on Youtube! Talk about having the kahuna's to do such a thing. Now he had a reason to be accountable or face the consequence of emabarrassment in front of millions. It goes back to an earlier post I shared with you to help you reach your fitness goals. Here is a video of Adam Waters amazing physique transformation.



Now, you don't have to go that extreme, but my point is you have to create a strong enough reason for yourself not only start, but follow through with your fitness goals. Obviously Adam Waters had to make changes in his eating and physical habits. He had to change his lifestyle to accomplish his goal. They were incrementally small changes that over time got him results.

Adam Waters followed a fat loss plan that in my opinion is one of the best indepth fat loss programs out there. He followed a burn the fat lifestyle program. It is an ebook by Tom Venuto who is one of the best fat loss experts. You have to have a plan to achieve anything in life. Remember, a mediocre plan applied consistantly is better than the best plan in the world applied haphazardly.

-VF

Friday, December 7, 2007

Fat Blasting Holiday Workout - Fit Yummy Mummy Style

My business coach Pat Rigsby, yes I have a business coach to help me build my business just as you would hire me to help you reach your fitness goals and improve your health. Pat's wife Holly just posted a great workout video. Holly's niche market are women (mommys) who just had, or have baby's and want to lose that baby fat. However, anyone can do the workout in the video. She has a young son so she definitely walks the talk.





You can learn more on how Holly can help you HERE

-VF

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Five Unusual Ways to Motivate Yourself (Guest Blog)

Yanik Silver is mentor of mine not on fitness, but on informational marketing on the internet. I'd like to share a post from his blog that you can apply to help you reach and attain your fitness goals.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re stuck in a rut or simply not hitting your goals fast enough here are 5 unusual and slightly unorthodox things I do to motivate myself.

Unusual Motivator #1 - Go Public

I like the pressure the happens when you tell people, who’s opinion you care about, what you want to get done. For instance, maybe your sister’s opinion of you really matters to you. You’d feel incredibly stupid if you told her something and then you let her down. Perfect. That’s exactly who you want to share your next idea with and make them hold you to the completion. But don’t tell someone who is a negative person - they’ll only try to talk you out of anything you’ve got planned or rain on your parade.

Unusual Motivator #2 - Make a bet - Or even better make an embarrassing bet

Every notice how you’ll do more to win a silly bet than you would in other situations? You bet!
Why not make a silly and possibly embarrassing bet (back to #1) with a friend of yours for something you want to get done. Maybe it’s taking off 10 lbs. Both of you agree that you’ll lose 10 lbs within 6 weeks or the person who doesn’t needs to strut around town in the lime-green, thong bathing suit Borat wore (pics below). Get creative and make sure you really don’t want to be the loser of the bet.

Unusual Motivator #3 - Create a Big Enough Reason Why

If you have a big enough reason to get something done there’s almost no way you can fail. It’s the people with the biggest reasons (or the most reasons) who seem to pull through anytime the deck is stacked against them. My friend, Frank McKinney, recently completed the grueling Badwater Ultra Marathon. It’s a 135-mile run in Death Valley where the temperature frequently tops 100 degrees. Frank does it to raise funds for his Caring House Foundation Project and that’s his ‘why’. For my family and other immigrant families the biggest reason why was simply because there wasn’t really another alternative. My Father came over from Russia with $256 in his pocket for me, my Mom and her Mom. He barely spoke English but he still managed to build a nice 7-figure business. What’s your reason why and it’s got to be bigger than simply “I want to be rich”?

Unusual Motivator #4 - Make a must-hit deadline

I like this one a lot. The rule is the more unbreakable the deadline - the greater the chance you’ll get your task done. Ever notice how the day before you leave for your vacation you miraculously get everything completed? That’s right - you’ve got a deadline (and a reason why). I’ve seen this work time and time again. Set your deadline. Sometimes it takes a big leap of faith but events, people, situations conspire will conspire to make sure you get your deadline met once you really make it a permanent deadline.

Quick example is when I sold my very first information product to doctors. I ran an ad and got 10 leads and 1 doc bought on the deadline from the sales letter (lesson in itself about deadlines for customers). So after peeling myself off the ceiling from being so excited someone actually bought - I realized I had no product ready. I wrote the doctor back and told him we would not charge his card since we were “republishing” the material and it would be ready in 30 days. Boom! A deadline! You can bet I worked my butt off til 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning many of those 30 days after my regular job to get this manual out there and done.

Unusual Motivator #5 - Document it and profit from it

Here’s one you might not hear anywhere else. One of my favorite motivators for getting off my butt is knowing I can document a certain process and others might be interested in it. That can take many different forms - anything from you having to have blogging material to actually turning what you do into some sort of information marketing product for sale.

==============

Val here talking to you...you may look at that last motivator and question how it applies to your fitness? Well, just by documenting how many times you have gone to the gym, your workouts, a food journal, will shed some light weather or not your working your program. Put an X on the days your compliant and put an O for the days your not. You want more X's of course. Also your body and health will profit from it!

-VF

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

It ain't about hard you hit, it's about how hard you can hit...

I am a sucker for movies that are inspiring and that moves me. Rocky was one of my favorites growing up as a kid, and when they came out with Rocky Balboa, I was like...enough already. I must admit, I enjoyed it.




"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place. And I don't care how tough you are. It will beat you to your knees and keep you permanently there if you let it"
"You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life, but it ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done"
"Now if you know what you are worth, go out and get what you are worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits and not pointing fingers, saying you ain't where you want to be because of him or her or anybody. Cowards do that, and that ain't you. You're better than that"

--Rocky Balboa

Don't ever give up! Stay the course and be mentally tough and you will succeed with your fitness goals!

-VF