Happy Thanksgiving To You and Your Family!
I wanted to take this chance to tell you how thankful I am for you.
Thank you for your support, loyalty and your trust over the years.
I hope you had a great breakfast to start your day right- Fat Loss Tip #10.
Fat Loss Tip #11- Shock Your Body. There is a common theme going on in the exercise world right now called “Muscle Confusion.” The idea is to challenge your body each and every session with a different combination of movements, so you avoid plateaus. Although, “Muscle Confusion” is a common term used today, it has been practiced by body builders for decades to bring about change in one’s physique.
My boot camp programs are also designed to shock your body each session. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are total body workouts. Tuesdays and Thursdays are core-cardio recovery days. Each total body session we perform 7 functional movement patterns: a push, pull, squat, lunge, rotation, bend & lift movements and a cardio/agility exercise. Although we typically perform the 7 basic movement patterns each sessions, I do the same program about every 6 months given the endless exercises that can be done for each movement pattern.
Here is an example of pulling movements that you can do for the pull pattern: pull-ups-close grip, reverse grip, wide grip, towel, jumping, partner, pulldowns- reverse grip, neutral grip, wide grip, bent over rows with dumbbells, barbell, pulley, sandbag, TRX- Rows with multiple hand position, one arm row, and one arm rows with rotation. There are thousands more I can list just for pulling, but you would be very bored.
The take home message is there are a variety of exercises that can be done and should be done to shock the body.
If you have been doing the same exercise program for a while (more than a week) and wondering why you are bored and not achieving your results, you must change things up.
How about shocking your body with a change in your nutrition also? There are more & more nutrition related programs talking about this concept. For years, many have advocated a cheat day- you eat anything you want on that given day. There are programs that advocate fasting once a week and others that have scheduled days for eating according to their plan, followed by cheat days.
I have not followed any of the above programs to know if they work or not, but I do believe that it is very important to mix things up. I generally do a vegetarian day once a week, two detox’s per year and a short fast sometime during the year to mix things up.
Many people eat the same foods every day and have for years. This is potentially problematic because eating the same foods often leads to food allergies (headaches, gas, bloating, constipation, asthma, sinus issues, heartburn, pain, etc.), food intolerances (digestive complaints) and nutrient deficiencies.
There is a concept called food rotation that allows you to reduce the likelihood of allergies, food intolerances and maximize your nutrients. I will give you an example with animal proteins:
- Day 1- Poultry (Chicken, Turkey, Eggs, Game Hen, etc.)
- Day 2- Fish (Salmon, Tuna, etc.)
- Day 3- Beef
- Day 4- Lamb
I will touch on this more in future emails, but for now avoid eating chicken every day as your protein source (when people go “healthy” for some reason they tend to eat chicken every day). There are many other great protein sources out there and each has its own benefits. Ideally, the food rotation principle should apply to other foods as well: beans, fruits, veggies, oils, nuts & seeds.
Lastly, I believe it is okay for most people to shock the body once in a while and eat foods that are considered toxic (those with disease states or on pharmaceuticals may not fare well). Healthy bodies are fairly resilient.
I also think the occasional over-consumption of calories is also fine given we have been doing it for millions of years. Back in the old days our ancestors often went without food for days and on the good days, when food was abundant, calorie consumption was higher.
Tonight is one of those good days when we our thankful we have food. Enjoy yourself, overindulge if you feel the desire, but tomorrow be good to your body.
I will have some toxic pumpkin pie myself tonight (toxic because of the sugar associated with the pie), but tomorrow, I am back on the plan.
Have a fun rest of your Thanksgiving.
Please share what you are thankful for below this article.
Your friend & coach,
Brien
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I work with those who desire weight & fat loss, pain reduction and stress management through comprehensive exercise, nutrition & lifestyle strategies. My dream is to coach those who seek my help live their passions with happiness & love.
Thank you for allowing me to help you.
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Brien Shamp BS CSCS CMT CHEK NLC II
Personal Trainer, Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach
www.BrienShamp.com
www.Shamp’sBootCamps.com
www.10 DayDetox.com
www.21DayDetox.com
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