I was training my client last week and we were watching this little kid trying to use one of the machines and you could tell that he was way too small for it. He couldn’t even sit properly in the machine and the handles were too big for his little hands. She said that kids that young shouldn’t have to go to the gym and worry about reps and sets to be active. Children should be outside playing with friends and siblings. It is sad that children these days have to pay for recreation and organized sports instead of just going outside. Growing up, my sister and I were always outside playing with each other and friends. We would play outside in every season. We were lucky enough to have the Greenbelt in our backyard. We would play in the forest, play with our dogs and just enjoy nature. It wasn’t structured or monitored, it was free, fun and natural.
Being active and healthy is natural, that’s the way God made us. He made us to be active and healthy. He put nutritious food all around us in the ocean and on earth; all the plants and animals for us to eat. He also made the lands and waters for us to enjoy and explore and be a part of. In the past most of the population were naturally active. They walked everywhere and swam to stay healthy, for transportations and for fun. In our generation we all are living the lives of kings and queens and we are getting lazy because of technology. People don’t want to go out and do something physical due to lack of energy, time, interest, or availability. The truth is, it doesn’t take much to be active and you don’t always have to go to the gym. A friend of mine hates the gym but he is very active. He runs, plays golf, soccer, snowboards, and plays other sports with his buddies. That’s an awesome way to stay fit and healthy. I encourage you to find what you are passionate about and pursue that passion. It can be organized like a sports or other recreation with friends or by yourself. It can be a leisure activity that you enjoy doing when you have free time like swimming or running. It can even be spontaneous and free like going to the park with your kids, wrestle or a good pillow fight! Just enjoy it and do it as much as possible because the more you do, the better off you are. When you enjoy it, you will want to do more and more. On top of it being fun, you will have reduced stress, increased stamina and muscle endurance. It will reduce your chances of life threatening illnesses and keep you looking and feeling young. If you feel that you are too busy in life because of your responsibilities, then there are still choices you can make and things you can do to be active; take the stairs, stand up more often, hold and walk with your baby, instead of a chair sit on a stability ball, or walk to shorter destinations. These are all things that you can do to improve your health and quality of life. Along with a conscious balanced diet, you can live an amazing and long lasting life. So wake up and be active everyday my friends, it’s one of the great gifts God gave us to enjoy!! Until next time…keep fit and have fun! (sorry I had to) God Bless Daniel Picture 1: Tiff and I wake boarding at the cottage Picture 2: Capri and Tiff Paddle Boarding Picture 3: Capri playing in the lake
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Have you noticed that most athletes have amazing physiques? In this blog I am going to look at performance over aesthetic and show you that the more focus on your performance as an athlete, the aesthetics follow along with it. These athletes can, not only throw an amazing pitch, tackle, fight, swim, clean and jerk, run, and jump, they look like a super hero doing it! Yes, they look great but the last thing on their minds is their physical appearance. They look lean, strong and healthy. They have a six pack, ripped arms and strong legs! This is all because they need to have an optimal body to excel in their specific sport. These athletes are so passionate about their sport; they completely immerse themselves in training and winning and have amazing discipline. They don’t do this because they have to, but rather because they WANT TO. They want to be the best at their sport and get the most out of it. If you’re going to do something, you should do it the best you can, otherwise you’re not receiving its full potential.
When I started bodybuilding, I just wanted to look good and in the beginning, it was exciting to see my body grow and develop. After my initial goals were accomplished, I then had to look at what was next. At first, I could see my goals were too vague and had no measurable basis. So I started creating performance goals which I found more tangible and less subjective. I started creating weekly, monthly and yearly goals. I would starting with recording the amount I could currently squat, dead lift and bench press, then I would create my goals from there. One of my main goals was to max out all the machines in the gym, and I did. I once even challenged myself and my girlfriend to do 200 squats which we superset with back exercises! I really wanted to see if we could do it. It was very challenging and we both almost threw up, but we did it and now we have a great story to tell and another amazing accomplishment under our belts. I have found over the years that when having performance goals to accomplish, the aesthetics just came along with it as your body is forced to adapt to the new challenges. It’s all related; to be athletic you need to stay consistent in training and your nutrition. You will look your best all the time. You will look healthy and fit, you will be pain free and have energy and always feel great! You will be sick less and everyday physical activities will be easier to do. When these things become easier, you then start having new goals that are more challenging. Muscle is the building blocks of the body. It stabilizes your metabolism and homeostasis. It is what allows you to have a few more cheat meals and it is what keeps your body the same shape long term. It’s what makes it possible to do a chin up, power through that tackle, hit that ball and it is what gives you the strength to lift that weight. I challenge you to set performance goals, stick to them and watch your body change! I promise you will be amazed. Stay focused on performance and building the muscle and have fun in the sport or other activity that you love! Until next time… God Bless Daniel Extra Note: Progressive overload is manipulating the load so that it is more challenging and more effort is needed. By pushing more, your body uses more energy and breaks down more muscle fibres. Your body then rebuilds those fibres stronger and that’s how you build muscle. This is your ultimate goal, to hit the progressive overload stage. Keep you intensity high for strong muscle development. Think you can’t….You're right!
Think you can….You're right! I wanted this blog to follow my previous blog entitled “lead with the mind” because this principle is so important in your fitness journey and truly in you overall journey in life. As a trainer and a gym rat, I have had the pleasure of meeting many different personalities that come to the gym, from the most motivated to the gym loather. Some people walk in with excitement and ambition for their goals (sometimes a little too ambitious...lol). They have so much enthusiasm and drive that it becomes contagious. They buy all the products, ask all the questions and can’t wait to tell you about how their workout is going. They feel everyone just NEEDS to know what they lifted and what they eat. I love these people because they have the right attitude and the right state of mind. SUCCESS is the only thing they focus on and that’s why they achieve their goals. Then there is the complete opposite side of the spectrum. The type with failure written all over there face. They come into the gym with a negative attitude, which aligns them with failure before they even step in. I’m not talking about having a bad day or something else major happening in life because that is normal and happens to all of us. I mean someone who specifically hates the gym and doesn’t want to be there. They are usually in a rush and give themselves little to no time to have a decent workout. Everything is too hard so they do cardio and maybe light weights but essentially are just going through the motions. I hear them say… “I’ll never lose my tummy”, “this is so hard!”, “I’ll never change” ect. My only thought is, “You know what…YOU’RE RIGHT!!!”. With that attitude why even walk in? All you will do is validate the feelings and assumptions that you walked in with. You put in less than half the effort and expect to fail. I’m not trying to be rude or discouraging, I’m just being honest. It all starts with your mindset. Whatever you tell yourself and whatever thoughts are consuming your mind will be what happens to you. Your subconscious is very powerful and the certain beliefs you develop about yourself will significantly determine how you live your life. For a period of time when I was younger, I lived in an environment that was draining, negative and depressing. I tried to get out the feeling of being in a rut but I could not. My environment was affecting my subconscious and letting me except that negative reality and I realized I had to get out of the negative environment in order to move forward. Once my environment changed, my view of myself and my possibilities changed. One of the main reasons I love the gym and church is because of the extremely positive environment. The gym and church are the two most positive and uplifting environments you could be involved with. They are filled with people who are happy, loving, encouraging, supporting, and caring. People come here to be part of a community, a family of like-minded people that care for one another and share similar experiences and passions. I strongly encourage you to get connected to both. Now that you have an understanding of how powerful your mind is over your life, apply this concept for yourself. Think you can’t….Your right! Think you can….Your right! Think positive and be optimistic because if you stay consistent, push to your max daily and believe in your heart that you will reach your goals… YOU WILL!!! Cut out the negative self-talk, the “I cants” or “I will never”. For some of you this is your first time starting your fitness journey and it’s going to be challenging at times but believe me when I tell you that mastering your mental game will substantially affect your overall goals. With all the external factors that are barriers to overcome, let’s not have an internal barrier as well. Know that the hard work you are putting in through diet and exercise is working and be excited as you see your results, rejoice in the small things! Tell everyone about your life change and get that support from family and friends. The ones that really support you will keep you accountable and will encourage you every step of the way. Essentially, as they see your attitude and lifestyle change, you will inspire them! The more excited and passionate you are about your new healthy lifestyle, the more second nature it will become. With this new mindset it will no longer be a question of “will it happen, but rather when it happens” Take the steps to truly learn how to be a master of your mind Until next Time God Bless Daniel (Read my previous blog, “Lead with your mind”) Photo- Tiffany after 6 months, 32lbs and 47.5 inches LOST. She knew she could and she did!!! I feel this is one of the most important philosophies in the gym and in life. When I began my fitness transformation years back, it started with my mindset. I had a concrete vision on what I wanted to accomplish, how strong I was going to be and even what I was going to look like. I took that vision and worked with passion and determination to achieve it. It was my focus, my goal and my destiny! It was the first thing I thought about when I woke to when I laid to rest and I learned to loved how it consumed me. Even though it took years for any real change to occur, failing never crossed my mind. I knew it was going to happen and all I had to do was keep working and doing the right things. I had faith, that pure untainted faith that comes from deep within. To trust in what you’re doing is the right thing and knowing the appropriate outcome will occur.
As we get older and have so many things going on in life , we can feel overwhelmed and wish we could focus more of our time and energy on ourselves; going to the gym, yoga, sports, swimming, running, cooking meals/eating clean, getting rest etc. Life gets in the way and I understand sometimes personal fitness is not the most important thing at that point in time. That being said what I’m talking about today is mindset. Whatever you put your focus on you will achieve and as long as you always have fitness as part of your focus, you will always achieve it. It might take a little longer but be patient and don’t give up. We have to realize that fitness is a lifetime journey which evolves and never stops. Just because you miss a workout or you might indulge in something you know you shouldn’t, so what!! Tomorrow is another day and you have the rest of your life to make up for it. Having a positive and optimistic mindset is essential to achieving your goals. Think about it; how can you achieve any goal unless you believe you can in the first place (Read my blog about setting 90 day goals). Have faith and truly believe that you will transform into that new person that you envision. That person could be the old you, someone you admire, something you would like to perform for the first time or you could set your goals really high and want to look and be as strong as my superhero action figures….lol. Once you have your vision, commit to work as hard as you can towards it every day. This is the hard part because we all know that no two days are the same but that’s ok; just do what you can that day. If it’s that you didn’t eat the doughnut in the staff room and had an extra three glasses of water because you had a crazy meeting today, that’s progress and it’s amazing. It’s about being realistic and consistent, the more consistent you are trying to do the right things it then becomes a habit and then eventually a new lifestyle. Change your focus from all the negative self-talk. Stop focusing on the things you don’t like about your body and the obstacles you face. Often I find we tell ourselves that we hate a certain area of our body or we say we will never achieve this goal, so you never really try to change it. It’s like we gave up before even trying and therefore we validate our failure. Instead, pay a little more attention and put a little more focus that is positive on the area you hate. Tell yourself “I can’t wait to see how my arms are going to look”, “It’s going to be so amazing when I squat 2 plates (225lbs) for the first time!!” You start to envision what you will look like or see yourself doing that squat and the body will respond to your thoughts, trust me, your mind is a powerful tool! I truly believe this was the only way I am able to lift what I do. I would wake up in the morning with my lift on my mind. I would tell my friends, classmates, co-workers, and gym buddies. Everybody had to know what I was going to lift that day! I did this so it was my focus and I believed it was going to happen and when the lift came, I gave it everything I had and committed to the end. In conclusion, it all starts with the mind, so keep your mind strong and positive. Keep it holy and pure, focused on your accomplishments and happiness. When you have time to focus on you DO IT and when other things have to take priority, that’s ok. Have a positive and optimistic mindset, the body will respond to what you think and believe. The obstacles you may have to overcome to be able to achieve you goals, learn to love them and give them special attention. It’s all about mindset and I challenge you to start focusing on what you think about and replace your negative thoughts with positive ones! Buddha said it best, “The mind is everything. What you think, you become” Until next time God Bless Hi everyone! I’m going to start giving you two blogs a month now that I’m finished school and have all my time dedicated to my business and serving my community. This blog will continue with the trend of my last couple blogs, about “Family Fitness” and the “90 Day Challenge” and is all about how important it is for Ladies to life weights. This one will be short in terms of writing but the bonus is that there is a video to go along with it! I am so glad that our society has recognised the need for women to be fit and healthy. Not the old thinking that women have to be “thin” or “skinny” because that just promotes young girls to starve themselves, do too much cardio and become malnourished. Society has now shifted to the right way of thinking, which is, women need to be fit and lift weights just like men. This teaches a healthy lifestyle and encourages women to have functional goals that are more attainable, helps mobility and boost your self-confidence. The main reason I got into strength training/body building was to see how strong I could become and control the way my body worked. I wanted to look and feel like a super hero (The Hulk to be specific) and that has always been my “strive for greatness”. Now that I am going to compete in my first powerlifting competition, I will be able to test my potential and see just how strong I am. I feel everyone including women, should be focused on building muscle and gaining strength. With this is a focus of building muscle mass all of us will see a huge positive change in performance and aesthetics. You will notice you dance a little better, swim a little stronger and run a little faster. With the idea that all woman need to be lifting weights and gaining muscle mass I have listed some reasons as to why I feel “Ladies need to Lift” 1. Being strong is the new skinny! When I’m at the gym and I see a girl picking up more than 50lbs or squatting more than a plate, I become their #1 fan! Being strong really shows a lot of hard work. It’s easy to starve yourself to get into that little dress but “do you even lift girl?” 2. The more you lift, the more you can eat. This is my favourite part because I love food! Muscle requires more calories than fat. Muscle is living and grows therefore is “hungrier” than fat. The more muscle you build means the more you have to feed it. But feed it “the good healthy stuff” please. 3. Muscle makes everyday activities easier. The more fit you are and the more muscle mass and strength you have then daily errands are easier and things feel lighter. Then you can show off to your family and bring in all the groceries in one trip! 4. Muscle pays off in the long run because it stays. The worst part about just dieting to loose fat is that it always comes back unless you build muscle to change your homeostasis. When you build muscle it changes your body and increase your metabolism which burns more body fat while at rest. Once you build that muscle it will stay and continue to work for you long after you are done at the gym. 5. Muscle shapes your body and fat takes up space. Ladies if you want that hour glass shape, those nice arms, shoulders and back, or nice toned legs and tush….LIFT SOME WEIGHTS! The more you build your muscles you will notice your body will become tight and toned. There is a common myth, which states that woman who lift weights will get big and bulky which is a myth for a reason. You will NOT get big and bulky unless you eat way too much or use steroids. Lifting weights will reduce your body fat and you will see your body get tighter and more toned. 6. Muscle will protect you against injuries. In life accidents happen and I can’t tell you how many times my injuries have been reduced or minimized because I have a large muscle mass. I have heard this same story from many clients and fellow gym rats. Lifting will strengthen weak areas so that you can play sports or participate in activities that you may never have thought possible. 7. Lastly, strength training also strengthens your bones to help prevent osteoporosis. Slips and falls are a major factor to life threatening injuries, depression, and the need for long term care facilities. The best way to deal with this is prevention, start lifting now. Those are just a few reasons why Ladies need to lift and I hope you have learned how important it is to incorporate weight lifting into your gym routine. My video goes into detail and includes testimonials from some of my clients stating why they lift weights. Check it out on YouTube by searching “Ladies need to lift” God Bless Dan Pictures: Tiffany squating 205lbs, her personal best. She started with just the bar 5 months ago and now squats more than her body weight. Hello everyone!
Spring is finally here and I see all the families outside playing catch, running at the park, going for bike rides and other activities. It makes me smile to see that some families still take time to play and participate in physical activity. These are foundational principles I grew up with and helped me to continue to be physically active as an adult. My mother always enrolled me in various sports and made sure my sister and I played outside during all four seasons. TV time was limited and video games were not even an option. I thank my mother for instilling this principal in me, as it has taught me how to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. Not only do I see the value in having a healthy lifestyle but I also see how it has had a profound impact on my self-confidence as it taught me the true meaning of teamwork and to believe and push myself, initially in sports but now, I can carry this in to all areas of my life and many relationships. I played many different sports growing up but my focus was on soccer, football, track and field, martial arts, wrestling and weight training. Out of all the sports I played and invested time into, weight training was the one that stole my heart. I am very fortunate to have started at a young age and continue to this day. When you start any sport or hobby at a young you tend to catch on much faster than an adult would because your brain is developing at a faster rate. You begin to gain fine motor skills at age three and the skill is developed and refined until age five. This time in a child’s life is an ideal time to introduce them to basic motor movements. “The preschool years are known as the ‘Golden Age’ of motor development. It is during these years (3‐to 5‐years of age) that important skills like running, jumping, throwing, and catching are developed. Through play and physical activity, kids learn and practice skills that become building blocks for more complicated movements “ (Child health and exercise medicine program). I have seen an increase in the amount of parents who bring their children to the gym to train together. My father brought me to my first commercial gym as a teen and I never wanted to leave! Going to the gym at a young age is a great way to develop you ideal physique. By being intentional about your physique and aware of your fitness level before and during puberty you are more likely to be a healthier and fit adult who leads an active lifestyle. This is important because during puberty, your body changes drastically and this is when your permanent homeostasis develops and your adult body develops. If you are fit, have good muscle density and low body fat during early childhood development in through puberty, you will have a much higher chance of sustaining and developing your fitness level and training results. Your body will be used to being strong and efficient and will continue to develop at a rapid rate as you continue to lead an active and healthy lifestyle. I have touched on how important fitness for children as they develop in the early years and through puberty but let me go back to the first and most important word in this blog…FAMILY. I have found that everything in life is better when you do it with someone else! For me I can especially see this when training at the gym and living a healthy lifestyle. I have been a fitness junkie my whole life and now that I have a girlfriend and family it has taken me to another level of seeing the importance of instilling this in their lives and being a leader who acts on his word. As a family, we have done a lot of research in to the different ‘super foods’ and ‘power foods’ that will improve our health and longevity and also spend a lot of time cooking together which has become a great educational tool for all members of the family. Not only do we have a major focus on eating clean and cooking together but we also TRAIN HARD. We hit the gym together as a couple 2-3 times a week and individually our goal is to go 6 times a week. We motivate, keep each other accountable, and are truly motivated by sharing our successes with each other. Like I said in my last blog (90 Day Challenge), Tiffany has been and continues to be a major factor for my motivation and success. I love training Tiff and educating her on different principles in regards to health and fitness. She is thirsty for the knowledge and her most recent goal is to strive for autonomy while we are at the gym. When times are hard, we are there for each other for guidance, love and support and when we feel we cannot complete or succeed, we are there to push each other and ensure failure is not an option. There is nothing wrong with doing things alone and we all can, but doing them as a family is something special. We were made to be social and loving human beings, so let’s use the gift of family and start being fit with our brother, sister, mom, dad, spouse, child! Get out there and be a #fitfam Until next time! God Bless Daniel Works Cited Child health and exercise medicine program. "Preschooler focus physical activity and motor skill development." July 2011: 2. Picture 1- Teaching Capri to ride a bike! "Focus Capri" Picture 2- Capri mastered the Fireman Pole at the park (with a little help) Picture 3- Tiffany and Capri off for a bike ride Hello everyone!
I apologize for the late entry this month, I was finishing my last year of school and it was my birthday, which made for a busy month! I am a year older and feel younger than ever! I am finished school and have a new view on life. I can now see God purpose for my life and I am going for it, straight on, with full force. My birthday was on the 19th and do you know who else had their birthday on the EXACT same day? It’s my beautiful, smart, funny, vibrant and loving girlfriend….Tiffany. I would like to dedicate this blog to her because she has been my inspiration and supporting drive over the last 6 months. She has helped me realize my calling and truly sees my potential. She also sees the inner strength, passion and drive in herself. She has lost over 25 inches and almost 20lbs! Tiffany has started her fitness journey and is super excited by the results in her first 90 days!!!! I will let her share her story on Instagram (@jjratcliff) as she continues to work hard and has truly learned to love fitness. I have created a fellow gym rat and could not be happier! I love her passion and drive and I am so proud of her. Like most life changes, it isn’t so easy at first and I can honestly say by setting short and long-term goals, you are able to maximise your success. This works for beginner’s right up to experts and professionals. The 90-day challenge is a great way to get some reasonable and tangible results showing your efforts are paying off. Three months gives your body time to adapt to the lifestyle changes and you can begin to form new habits. You also give yourself time for mistakes and setbacks, as we are human and they happen, thus it makes sense to factor them in to best prepare yourself for success. Fitness, like most challenging things is very mental and psychological. Thinking a year or more down the road can be overwhelming and intimidating, even thinking about sticking to a program or regime for six months can feel like a lot, especially for first timers. This overwhelming feeling can lead to failure and is the main reason most people quit. 90 days is that “ideal” time period that most people can commit to and through that period they will see results to feel accomplished and motivated to continue! So give yourself a 90 day challenge to; gain, lose, get stronger, trim inches, get faster, jump higher, swim strong or run further….whatever it is, just keep challenging yourself and pushing yourself to your fullest potential. At the end of it, you can say you did your best and gave it your all! If you are interested in starting a 90-day challenge, email me and I would be happy to help you set it up. Daniel_ashmeade@hotmail.ca God bless Picture below is my girlfriend, Tiffany and I this past weekend This month I’m going to blog about nutrition. I may not be a licensed nutritionist…..yet, but I have a great deal of knowledge that I have gained over the years with regards to food. As we all know nutrition counts for 80%-90% of your results, the term “you are what you eat” is very true but I would like to add to that statement…
If God made it, eat it! People often ask me what I eat on a daily basis or what “diet” I am currently on but the reality is I have only been on a “diet” once where I followed a specific meal plan and this was because of my participation in a bodybuilding competition. I want to make it clear that I am not speaking to those individuals who are training for a show or who have other very specific goals, I am speaking to everyone else. All of us are human and do not want to be restricted when it comes to eating and feel they have to eat the SAME thing every day. There is hope and a much simpler way of thinking which is my new quote If God made it, eat it! If it flew in the sky, walked on the ground, swam in the water or grew from the earth, tree or bush….eat it!! All natural food is good for you and will give you nourishment which your body needs. Stay away from things in boxes, bags or cans. Keep things real and clean. Besides the If God made it, eat it rule, here are some other principles that will help with weight management. 1. Calories in vs calories out. It’s simple math when it comes to calories, if you eat more calories than you burn you will gain, if you eat less calories than you burn you will lose. By keeping your intake of food the same and consistent on a weekly basis and continue to burn calories, you will have a constant calorie deficiency. Two other notes to be mindful of are: Do not starve yourself as your body needs proper nutrition to work efficiently. You should check the Canada Food Guide for pointers. You should also find out how many calories your body needs based on age, sex and activity level. 2. Try to keep your nutrition consistent as much as possible. I know I said before that most people don’t enjoy eating the same thing every day, but our bodies appreciate it. This is because our body knows what nutrients it’s getting and will be more efficient in processing. By keeping your food items consistent each week, it will be easier for your body to digest and get in a good rhythm to burn calories. 3. Sauces and gravies on the side. If you do plan to eat out at a restaurant, keep it to a minimum and always ask for your dressings, sauces and gravies on the side. This will help reduce the extra calories greatly. The second reason for this is that you can dip and get the perfect amount of flavour with every bite. Well everyone, that’s it for this week. I wanted to give a simple and basic guideline for you to follow and don’t forget, “If God made it, eat it! I will talk about “macros” in a later blogs but as my mom always said “you need to crawl before you walk”, so keep working at making changes slowly and we will work together to improve our lives. Thanks again for reading and don’t forget to follow me on IG @daniel_ashmeade or @jjratcliff to see my basic meals and progression. God Bless Picture 1- Apple Slices, Apple Sauce, Blueberries, Goji Berries (Super Food), Cinnamon Picture 2- Baked Chicken, Garden Salad, Bock Choi and other veggies sautéed on the stove in olive oil “Always Rising”
“Always Rising” is a term that is very special to me and in a way I consider it the foundation to how I live my life. The idea came to me when I was 16 and was thinking about getting my first tattoo. As I contemplated what I wanted my tattoo to be, I knew it needed to have meaning behind it. So I thought to myself “what am I striving for?” This is a big life concept for a 16 year old but I have an amazing mother to thank for pushing me in all areas of life. (Special shout out to the woman who raised me, supported, pushed, and encouraged me to be the man I am today, thanks Mom). I was always pushed to strive to be the best for myself and in everything I did. It was not necessarily the concept of “be the best overall”, but more about being your personal best and trying your hardest to reach your full potential. Essentially your best is always perfect because it’s all you can give. So with “Always Rising” being the life slogan I chose, I decided to have a dragon flying upwards signifying the “always rising to be better” concept. It is a constant reminder to always strive for my best no matter what life brings my way. “Ashmeade Always Rising” was added to the tattoo, to finish it off. I only have one life to live, so I push myself to do everything to the fullest and therefore receive ultimate fulfilment. My life currently consists of school, family, friends, the gym, work and most of all my Christian faith. I give all my heart into each of these areas of life because I know in doing so I will find fulfilment and untimely will be blessed. Over the last couple years, I have had amazing life opportunities and I truly thank God for them and His blessings in my life. I see how living my life to the fullest is honouring to God and biblically sounds which ultimately shows my appreciation for His blessings and guidance in my life. I’m not preaching that you have to be perfect in everything you do because that’s impossible but rather I am pushing you to try your best in everything you do. I see this concept as “if you do things half way, you get half the results but if you do everything 100%, you will get 100% results”. I really see this concept applying to your efforts at the gym. Always push yourself and challenge your body. Be safe in what you do but give 100% to achieve maximum results. Figure out your goals for the day/week/month/year and work your hardest towards them! Trust me it will always pay off! There are truly no short cuts in training. Half the work = half the results 100% work = 100% results Until next time God bless My Journey from Weiner to Winner
This is my first blog and I am very excited to tell you my stories. I will be sending blogs out monthly which will touch on different subjects that I feel are important to share. I gave you some history on how and why got into body building but now I will share why I decided to take it to the next level which lead me to entering and winning my first Body Building Competition in 2010. When I started training, just like every other guy, I wanted to be big but I was training wrong. I had no direction and no solid goals. I would go to the gym every morning and work on my chest and biceps because I thought that was most important, especially for the ladies (my main motivation!!). Years went by and I realized that I was doing it all wrong and not getting the results I wanted or the look that I was going for. Remember how I said I wanted to look like a super hero (specifically the Hulk). I never had a real person that I idolized because they were never proportionate. They had big arms but no chest or an awesome back but no legs. So I decided to make a change and during my training journey I realized what I wanted to focus on was symmetry! I wanted my body to look sculpted and perfect. So I started to research and ask questions and found some main tips to ensure that success. I want to share them with you now. 1. Like a tree, train from your legs up! The trees strongest part is its trunk and for us it’s our legs. Our legs are our biggest muscle and hold all that wonderful testosterone needed to enhance muscle growth. You will never get big doing bicep curls! 2. Do your compound exercises first then isolation after. By doing compound exercise you are also building your smaller secondary muscles which will have to get stronger and bigger either way to support larger muscle groups. When you train you smaller muscles first, you are limiting potential of growth for you larger muscle groups. 3. Every muscle deserves its day! This of course depends on the frequency that you are able to train on a weekly basis. But if you are able to train 5-6 days a week, give every muscle the same attention to ensure a balance. This will prevent muscle imbalance which can cause injury and make you look a little silly. Trust me people notice the ones who train chest 3x a week and forget they have legs. 4. Focus on your weak points. We all have areas that for some reason don’t grow as well as everything else, don’t ignore them instead give them extra attention! For me it’s my calves so on my off days I will just train calves or add them in with other training days. Remember it’s about balance; we want EVERYTHING to look great not just arms and chest. 5. Record your workouts. Unless you are Jay Z you will not remember all the different workouts, reps, variations, muscle groups that you are doing on an ongoing basis. You are supposed to be switching things up and following various programs so it’s easy to forget what you did last week. Writing it down help to see progression, where you are having trouble and when it’s time to switch things up. 6. Have a S.M.A.R.T goal. You have probably heard this before and it’s true. A goal without a timeline is just a dream. We need an end result or destination that we are striving for to get focused and motivated. For many years I was just “getting big”! Then when I decided to do my show it gave me the motivation to train properly and have better discipline. These are just a few tips for you to start, there are many more tips (for example: nutrition is KEY along with rest and the right mind set). I will discuss those in other blogs. I can’t give all my goodies now; I want you to come back. I hope this has helped and I look forward to hearing from you. Please check my site and ask questions or add suggestions for further blogs. Thank you and God bless. |
AuthorDan has been a personal trainer since 2008. Archives
July 2017
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