Attainable Growth Fitness Blog
Weight Management, Part 1: “If You Do What You Always Did, You’ll Get What You Always Got”
I think a series on weight management is in store for today and the next few blog posts. Today’s topic revolves around a simple, effective, yet often forgotten quote; “If you do what you always did, you’ll get what you always got.” Obviously, a statement that can be applied across multiple areas of life, but I’m talking about your food choices. Consider what you ate in the last month. Hell, think back to what you’ve eaten for the past several months. Has it changed much? It’s a frustrating and uphill battle for most, but I can tell you one trend…
Read MoreMetabolism Basics
I’m partial to Paul Chek because he’s a no-frills no-bs holistic health practitioner who has worked with world class athletes and everyone in between. I like this 3 minute video of him speaking about spot reduction (hint: it doesn’t work, people), as well as covering the TRUE method behind optimizing your metabolism. Pay close attention to what he talks about regarding the ability of the body to break down foods and whether or not it has the resources available to actually ALLOW the body to BREAK DOWN those same foods (right around the 1:25 marker). Pay PARTICULARLY close attention to…
Read MoreDo Your Feet Look Like This? (Part II)
I’ll come straight with the business today folks. Last time, we talked about ways we can help loosen up muscular adhesions and “shut down” tissues through some soft tissue therapy modalities, as well as ways you can static and dynamically stretch out the inhibiting tissues. We set up the platform for corrective movement to occur last time, so for today, we’re going to talk about activation and integration work that will help you get a much stronger and more stable foot. Without further ado, we’ll go on with the activation work. 3) Activation: Big Toe Pushdowns I found this video…
Read MoreHow are your Feet?
HOW ARE YOUR FEET? I’ll be honest, I have terrible feet. Call it genetics, call it poor biomechanical adaptation during my youth, but I have some jacked up feet. To break it down, I have what they call a pez cavus foot (higher than normal arch), combined with a forefoot equinas, which means my forefoot drops lower than my rear foot. Basically, my foot looks something like this: So, that being the case, I’ve had to really work a lot harder than most individuals on soft tissue work, dynamic mobility, and strengthening the muscles that run through the foot, working…
Read MoreCardio vs. Weights part II – The Efficacy of Research in Program Design
I came across an older but still extremely valid article the other day. Alwyn Cosgrove, owner of Results Fitness, had a great article a while back discussing research and program design. There was a quote that stood out in particular: “First – we see what works in the gym – in reality. Then we talk to fellow gym owners and coaches as to what they see working in their facilities and share what we see. We adjust certain things and see if it works better or not. Then we look at the research to explain the why. So – it’s our own…
Read MoreCardio vs. Weights…who wins?
Cardio vs. Weights…Two Fitness Leaders Weighing In Anyone who has been reading my blog for some period of time knows its no secret: when it comes to fat loss, Resistance training is superior to Cardio. I’ve touched upon this subject before comparing cardio with interval training here and here, but it’s always a topic that is worth rehashing again, simply because many people don’t get it. What kind of people don’t get it? The ones who are spending far too much time on cardio equipment trying to “zap” that last 10 lbs of jiggle under your butt. Is an hour a day of…
Read MoreDoes Alcohol make you Gain Weight?
Hey all! Hope the day is going well. We touched last time upon alcohol and calories. Today, I wanted to go into a little more detail with that, as research shows that at least almost 60% of American adults consumed alcohol in the last month (https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-facts-and-statistics). We all have been told that alcohol has carbohydrates in it, and if you drink too much then you start to pack on that unsightly beer belly. But is there scientific research that supports this? The interesting thing is this: there is a substantial amount of research out there that has NOT been able to consistently…
Read MoreStill Not Losing Weight? Consider this… (part 3)
Hey all, today we’ll wrap up our “Still Not Losing Weight” series. Here are parts 1 and 2 (provide link) to get caught up. 8 ) Don’t Just Set a Goal, Set an Emotional Attachment To Your Goal! These next 3 are probably the most important of all. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen trainers ask their clients what they’re goals are, but not hear them talk anything about what that goal MEANS to them, or WHY its important. Are you trying to lose weight because…. – You felt the best about yourself when you were in…
Read MoreStill Not Losing Weight? Consider this… (part II)
Annnnnd were back again folks with part deux of our adventure on discovering why you might not like what you see in the mirror. So without further ado, we continue with #s 6-7. 6) Stop Jogging, Start Sprinting! I’ve covered this topic in depth here and here. To put it simply, steady state cardio is absolutely excellent for strengthening the heart’s function itself (higher cardiac output through improved stroke volume (when progressed over time)) improving blood circulation throughout the body via angiogenesis (the making of new capillaries), blood vessel distensibility (ability to expand and contract), and too many other mechanisms to mention. What…
Read MoreShoulders hurt or injured? No problem.
Let’s face it: shoulders get injured, and it sucks. Fortunately, in most cases, there is so much you can do to improve how they feel and perform. I’ve had my fair share of problems keeping my shoulders healthy over the years. Chronic dislocations while playing football in high school and 4 years of rugby in college, 3 shoulders operations (2 for the labrum/subscapularis, 1 for the AC joint), and less than stellar program design addressing weaker areas throughout high school and early college, I’ve started to show early signs of an arthritic shoulder (yikes!). So what does this mean? Am I…
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