The Importance of Goals (Part 2): The Yellow Post-It

Hey y’all! This is part 2 of my series on GOALS. Last week we talked about the importance of setting goals. If you missed last week and want to catch up, just scroll down to the next post! I hope you took the challenge and you had some success with it! If not, it’s never too late to start!

So after you have set your goals and created a plan to reach them, what’s next? For me, it is posting reminders so that my goal is constantly on my mind. I learned this through a loved one’s experience.

He would hate me telling you this, but he used to have some road rage. Who doesn’t right? He wouldn’t cuss at them or give them any gestures, but he would get upset. This was something he wanted to work on. His goal: Stay calm and relaxed while driving. For his reminder, he used this tiny yellow post-it. The post-it didn’t have anything written on it, but he knew what it was for. He posted the note on his rear-view mirror so it was constantly in view while driving. He has slowly gotten better and realized cursing that person’s family, dog and ancestors isn’t necessary if they cut him off. To this day, the exact same note is posted on his rear-view mirror (it’s a faded white now).

Having constant reminders of your goals is extremely important. If you don’t remember your goals how do you expect to achieve them? These reminders do not have to be huge or even have anything to do with your goal. YOU choose YOUR reminder. Post it everywhere! Around your house, on the bathroom mirror, in your car, on your desk. Whatever works best for you!

If you took last week’s challenge than you have a goal in mind. Congrats, step one is complete! Now post your reminders everywhere! Constant reminders lead to constant application. You got this!

CHALLENGE: Post reminders of your goal everywhere!

The Importance of Goals (Part 1): The Red Fire Hydrants

Hey ya’ll! Hope everyone is having a great week! I have been thinking a lot about goals lately so I decided to take the next few Fridays to share with you my thoughts. Each week will be a different aspect of goal setting. Each post will end with a challenge. Take it or leave it. It’s up to you. If you take it, I can promise that something in you will change. Enjoy!

For those of you who don’t know, I have recently taken up running. I have always been one to get my conditioning or cardio in during my lifting sessions (cutting breaks, super setting, etc.), but one of my New Year’s resolutions was to start running. Running has always been a punishment to me. Growing up I heard “EVERYBODY ON THE LINE!” way too many times. It made me hate it. But I wanted a goal to work for so I made a goal to run this year.

On January 1^st, I made the goal. I even wrote it down on my wall, “Run more this year!”. I looked at that sign everyday as I left my house. It was a constant reminder to achieve my goal. I felt motivated, rejuvenated, ready to tackle this goal of running more! But ask me how many times I ran in January? ZERO TIMES. Even with my constant reminder, I didn’t even attempt my goal! Why you ask? Because my goal wasn’t even a goal, it was something I wanted to do; it was a wish.

“A goal without a plan is simply a wish”. One of my favorite quotes. If we set goals for ourselves and we don’t take the time to figure out a game plan to achieve them, it’s not a goal. It’s a wish. It is something we hope will happen, but we aren’t taking ownership in what we want to do. That is where society fails itself. Of the 20% of the US population that set goals, 70% of these people do not achieve them. The #1 cause: failure to plan.

Planning to reach a goal is the key to success. If you want to lose weight, how are you going to do it? If you want to bench press your body weight, how are you going to do that? If you want to get in shape, how will you and what will be your determining factors? After setting the goal, you have to ask yourself, “How?”.

In February, I made my goal specific and wrote, “I want to run a 5k” on my wall. I was driving the route that I was planning to run and noticed something weird. There were a TON of red fire hydrants along this certain stretch of road. I thought to myself, “that’s my plan! I’ll run to the fire hydrants. A different one each week”. I had my plan. I went home and physically wrote it down and posted it (very important step I will touch on later). The next day I started at the first fire hydrant and began my run. IT WAS HORRIBLE. I was breathing heavy, my legs hurt, I hated it. BUT, I knew how far I needed to go to achieve my goal. I had my eyes set on that next fire hydrant. Every step I got a little closer, never taking my eyes off of it until I finally got there. I made it! I accomplished the goal for the day! I was so proud of myself! I yelled with excitement! Yeah, it was not a long distance, but I had done it. I felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. I did that every other day for a month until I ran my first 5k (3.1 miles). The joy that I felt when I finished that race was amazing! It was an emotional thing. Running was no longer a punishment but something I was getting better at!

Goals are key to success in life. If you want to accomplish a goal, create a plan. If you create a plan and stick to it, there is no better feeling than the sense of accomplishment you will feel when you reach your goal.

CHALLENGE: Set one goal this week and create a plan to achieve it!

YOU CAN DO IT!!

Sleep: The New Performance-Enhancer

Hey Yall! Anyone that knows me knows that I love to sleep. When I was younger I did not have a bedtime because I would just go to sleep on my own. Now that I’m grown, I usually fall asleep within seconds of my head hitting the pillow. It’s one of my favorite things and probably the thing I’m best at (besides writing AMAZING blog posts, am I right?)

I was listening to an interview on the radio with a professional football player who seems to have beaten father time. At the age of 36 (OLD in football terms) he is still performing at a very high level. The interviewer asked him, “How are you doing it? You’re getting up there in age but you are still a big-time player.” He gave the usual answers of correct nutrition, exercise, conditioning, massage, dry needling but his last tip intrigued me. “The key to my success is sleep. Sleep is like a legal steroid. I make sure to get 8 hours every night.”

Now I always have heard that 7-8 hours of sleep is important, but I have never heard it referred to as a steroid or performance enhancer. So I did some digging to find out how sleep can become a legal, performance enhancing additive. Here is what I found:

In an article posted by the Harvard School of Public Health, it was found that individuals who slept for less than 7 hours were 15% more likely to be obese compared to individuals who slept 7-8 hours. Interestingly enough, individuals who slept for 9 or more hours also had an increased risk of obesity. But you guys know that numbers aren’t good enough for me. I want to know why!!

Under or over-sleeping has a big impact on how our body systems regulate themselves.  Sleep deprivation causes the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin to be increased. In simple words, this tricks the body into thinking its hungry and causes you to overeat.  Among other things, under sleeping causes decreased body temperature, decreased physical activity and an increase in depression and type 2 diabetes risk.

If those things aren’t enough to put you asleep (see what I did there?) I don’t know what is. Sleep is key to a successful healthy lifestyle. The goal is 7-8 hours. Now, you are probably reading this and saying, “7-8 hours? Yeah right. I wish that was possible.” Oh, but it is! Set the goal today to work towards 8 hours of sleep. I can guarantee you’ll thank me; and so will your co-workers. Happy sleeping!

A Gym For Everybody

Hey ya’ll! Ross here. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately and wanted to share something with you. I am constantly thinking of ways to set the MVP Annex apart from other gyms or fitness facilities. The problem is that every gym is doing this same thing. The fitness world is always looking for “the next big thing”. The next fad diet, the next fad workout, the next fad stretching routine or the next fad cardio workout. THE NEXT, THE NEXT, THE NEXT.

The thought I had was this: not everyone wants, or needs, the next big thing. Some people are just looking to get in shape and don’t care about the newest CrossFit workout. Some people are looking to get in better shape and should not participate in the newest workout.

All too often, the fitness industry is geared to people that are already fit. Not the ones who are wanting to get fit but don’t know where to start. Because of this, I have tried to make myself as well rounded as possible.

When I say that The MVP Annex is a “gym for everybody” I mean it! We are a fitness center for people wanting to get fit, stay fit or get more fit. Our system works for everyone. Literally. We are a weight loss gym for those looking to lose weight. We are a movement gym for those looking to move better or have more success with their current program and trainer. We are a performance gym for athletes wanting to take their game to the next level. We are the butt kick gym for those who know they need to get their butt in shape but need some motivation. WE ARE A GYM FOR EVERYBODY.

Our system is simple. Get you moving better while getting you in shape. As people get in better shape or get stronger their bodies need to learn how to move with less restriction. That’s what we do. I analyze your movements and build workouts that achieve your goals while bettering your movement. Move better. Move more. It’s simple.

I want to help as many people as I can because I have seen the results myself. That’s why The MVP Annex is: A GYM FOR EVERYBODY.

Help! I've Fallen Off the Wagon!

Hey yall! We are a little over a month into the new year and I hope everyone is sticking with your new year’s resolutions! However, sometimes that's just really hard. If you’re anything like me, you are starting to fall off the wagon! But rest assured, I am here to help!

The number one new year’s resolution is weight loss. Everyone does really well for the first few weeks but then the passion to achieve your goal starts to wear off, you become busy and you revert back to what is easy and comfortable. You fall off the wagon. Instead of leaving you behind, I’m going to stop the wagon and help you get back up, because it is possible!!

I want to give you some tips on how to stand up, dust yourself off and hop back on that wagon.

 Don’t Get Down on Yourself! 

               These falls happen! Life is full of ups and downs. I will tell you right now, it is not going to get easier. That is hard to hear, but you can do it! The first rule of weight loss is to stay positive. Find the little successes and use those as fuel moving forward! Pat yourself on the back when you reach your daily steps goal or when you make a healthy decision. YOU CAN DO THIS!!

2.       Find Your Excuses!

                My dad always said, “Excuses are like belly buttons. Everyone has them but they’re not good for anything.” “I’m too tired”, “I’m hungry”, “Just one bad meal won’t hurt”. We’ve all heard these or even used them. Find the excuses that you use and catch yourself using them. When you identify your excuses it is a lot easier to avoid them!

3.       Set Short-Term Goals!

                              It is a lot easier to wrap your mind around losing one pound this week than it is losing 50 pounds this year. Manageable, short term goals are key to having success. If you can take your long term goals and break them down into monthly, weekly, even daily goals, you will find it is A LOT easier to reach your goals.

4.       Review and Regroup!

               This is the “dust yourself off” stage. When you’re ready to hop back on the wagon, take a look back on your previous weight loss journey and identify what worked and what didn’t. After you identify the good and bad, regroup! Get everything together and go for it again!

The most important thing to remember in your weight loss journey is that YOU CAN DO IT! One of my favorite quotes is “doubt your doubts, before you doubt your faith.” You can change that to “doubt your doubts before you doubt yourself”. Whatever your doubt or fear is, forget it! YOU CAN DO IT!! You've got this! Now get get it!

TRX Training: What the heck does that mean?

Let me start out today’s blog post with a little background on me. I love lifting weights. There is just something about picking up a really heavy object and moving it. It’s fun! In fact, you can find me at  Planet Fitness in College Station lifting every morning at 6 am. But I was introduced to a new form of training last year and I’ve been in love with it ever since.

The TRX suspension trainer is a simple piece of equipment that has endless possibilities. Essentially, it is two adjustable straps anchored together at one point. The trainer was developed by a Navy SEAL during a deployment and has transformed into one of the fastest growing workout tools in the world.  What can you do with it you ask? Everything. I don’t mean to be sarcastic; but, you can LITERALLY do everything with it. Let me explain:

The TRX suspension trainer is designed to, “develop strength, balance, flexibility and core stability, simultaneously.” See what I mean? It literally does everything. When I first heard about the TRX I was a bit skeptical. As a guy that loves lifting weights, I have always scoffed at body weight exercise--thinking they don’t get me as strong. When we started developing the MVP Annex, my boss wanted to get two TRX trainers to be our primary equipment. I decided that if I was going to train people using the TRX I needed to train myself on it first. So I did just that. I sat down, researched some exercises and went to work. After the first workout I hated it. Not because it was a bad piece of equipment, but because it killed me! I was 10 times more tired after one 45 minute workout on the TRX than I ever have been lifting in the gym!  I was instantly sore after the workout and I was able to fatigue my muscles in no time.

The TRX suspension trainer, “leverages gravity and the user’s body weight.” What does that mean? It means that in every exercise you are working against two types of resistances: gravity and yourself. When you have your limbs in the straps performing an exercise, gravity is pushing down against you. So not only are you having to lift your body weight but you are having to lift your body weight AGAINST gravity. TOUGH!

All exercises are based off of one position: The plank. From this position, there are two different movements: the pull and the hinge. These movement patterns take you to 4 movements that have endless exercises possibilities: rotate, push, squat and lunge. You can see the outline of these movements below.

The TRX suspension trainer is a must have for all gyms. I love training clients on it and my clients love it, as well. Send me an email, shoot me a text, or stop by to find out more! See you at the Annex!!

What is your "core"?

This is a question I get a lot. One of the top responses when a trainer asks what someone wants to focus on is, “my core”. Most the time, the trainee does not know what all constitutes “my core”. Some people just want a 6 pack and get confused when their trainer starts to do back and shoulder exercises with them. Well let me be the first to tell you, just because you have a hot looking 6 pack that everyone likes to see at the beach, does not mean you have a strong core.

Think of it this way. Imagine that you have this great pen. I’m not talking about a simple Bic. I’m talking about a great grip, shiny pen. The kind of pen baseball players use to sign million dollar contacts. However, when you pick up the pen to write, it doesn’t work or it falls apart. This is what it’s like to have a great 6 pack but not have a functional core.

Your “core” is made up of several different muscles. Besides the abdominal muscles you can see (the 6 pack), the core consists of several deep muscles:   the transverse abdominals, multifidus, pelvic floor, diaphragm and others. These muscles help to make your core the stabilizing machine it was meant to be.

So what’s the point? Why have a strong core? Your core is meant to stabilize the rest of the body. Some people want train it the same way we train our quads or biceps, but that is not its function. Its function is to stabilize, not act as a prime mover. By training it incorrectly and as a group, you lose its motor control and function. Without those, your core strength, endurance, and flexibility will suffer. Research has shown that athletes with stronger core stability are at a lower risk of injury.

So how do you have core stability and properly train your core? You must focus on your core as a whole, while remembering its proper function; stabilizing and protecting your spine and surrounding musculature. The Functional Movement Screen that we use identifies weakness in core stability and provides a road map of how to erase the deficits. At the MVP Annex, we specialize in identifying core stability issues and in correcting them. Whether you are training for a competition or having back pain, we can help! Come see me!

For more information on this topic, here is an article that I really liked. It talks more about some of the things we do at MVP and how you can gain core stability. Good luck!

What is your core?