Living Room Workout

 

image from Philadelphia Magazine

Hey Everyone! For those of you who went on the Red Rock hike Thank you so much for coming! Looking Forward to doing it again. While I was on the hike I asked some people if anyone had any questions about nutrition or fitness… And fitness won!

So I wanted to share a full-body workout plan that you can do 2x a week and in your own living room. It will burn Fat, increase muscle tone and help you with your endurance. Most of these exercises don’t require dumbbells but you can always add weight to increase the intensity. You want to use a weight that by the end of the last 2 reps its challenging to finish.
Start by doing 1-2 mobility,visual or vestibular drill

Warm-up
20 sec jumping jacks
20 sec High Knees
20 sec sit-throughs
10 push-ups

FIRST HALF
Military press with Dumbbells 8-10 REPS (when holding the dumbbells palms face forward)

REST for 45 sec

Biceps Curls with Dumbbells 8-10 REPS

REST for 45 sec

Push-ups (as many as you can do)

REST for 60 sec

REPEAT Set 2 more times
SECOND HALF

Jump Squats 8-12 reps

REST 45 sec-1 min

Suitcase deadlift with Kettlebell or Dumbbell 8-10 reps Tempo : squat down for 3 sec and come up for 1 sec

REST 45-60 sec

Wall Squat 60-120 sec * To increase intensity you can hold hands above head or hold a KettleBell or Dumbbell while in squat

REST 60-120 sec

REPEAT 1-2 more times

**BONUS ABS WORKOUT**

Sit-ups 20-30 reps

REST 20 sec

Hip Raises 15-20 reps

REST 20 sec

Plank 60 sec

REPEAT 3 times

Finish by drinking a nice cold 24 0z glass of OJ with a pinch of salt

How to Avoid Additives that Wreak Havoc in Your Body

3 Questions about additives in foods and how to avoid them.

Eva's interview with Peter for her 5th grade science project on additives in food.

Eva’s interview with Peter for her 5th grade science project on additives in food.

This past week one I was paid a visit by a young lady whose 5th grade science experiment was based on preservatives and additives in foods and what they do to our bodies.  She came in very prepared for her interview with me.   Confidently, she asked me question after question writing my responses word for word in her notebook.  In fact, she had good questions.  Her interview inspired me to write a bit on this topic, because her reaction (and her mother’s reaction) was of genuine shock when they heard what I had to say about preservatives. So he
Question 1:  What are preservatives and what do they do to the foods they’re in?
To understand how preservatives preserve food we must first have a basic understanding of what mold, a preservative’s mortal enemy, actually is.  Mold is a fungus.  It’s a micro-organism which travels in the form of spores through our atmosphere.  Mold decomposes dead organic plant material like wood, leaves, and plants. Mold needs a few things to grow.  A food source, oxygen, water, and a temperature somewhere between 40 and 100 degrees.
Preservatives like polysorbates, nitrites, and sulfites are used to combat mold by making the enzymes mold uses to break down food ineffective. Others come in contact with the mold and have an antimicrobial effect entering the cells of the fungus and wreaking havoc essentially killing it.
Question #2:  What do preservatives to our bodies?Remember, our gut has a variety of bacteria and enzymes in it to break down our food sources.  Foods with a whole lot of preservatives causes stress on our digestive track.  If the food is more difficult to break down and go through enzymatic processes then our absorption of the nutrients in the food is negatively affected.
This can also cause an imbalance in our gut flora resulting in the overgrowth of some bacteria in our gut which then can lead to many other illnesses over time.
Preservatives aren’t the only enemies lurking around in our foods.  Other additives like carrageenan and gums are used as thickening agents to make foods and drinks have a creamer texture making them more palatable. These additives can have highly allergenic reactions in our guts causing all kinds of stress and the stress hormone cascades that go along with it.
Our gut is referred to as the “second brain” quite often in the world of physiology.  It has the largest amount of neurons than any other system in our body, second only to the brain.  Our digestive track has a big job to do in breaking down foods and utilizing the nutrients from them. So think twice when putting something in it that may stress it out!
Question 3:  Then what are some good “on the go” options?
This was a tough question.  At first my answers were “fresh fruit, quality cheese, milk and coffee…”  These were not the answers she was looking for.  What she really wanted to know was where could she go to pick up healthy food on the go.  Unfortunately there aren’t a whole lot of places you can grab quick meals on the go because you don’t really know what they have in their foods or what oils their using to cook the food with, etc.  If you are planning on looking for a healthy restaurant of any kind to grab food on the go there’s something you have to keep in mind.  Depending on the restaurant, their objective is to serve thousands of customers per month, and therefor the have to stock a lot of food.  Business varies week to week, month to month, so in order to save money they use foods with the longest shelf life possible.  It only makes sense from a business standpoint, or at least a numbers standpoint, for restaurants to use foods with preservatives in them.  Keeping that in mind it’s hard to trust that you’re going to be able to buy truly healthy food on the go.  In my opinion you can count on the fact that any restaurant is going to sacrifice health for profit margin.
So what can you do?
1.  Keep it simple.
Fresh fruit, cheese, milk, orange juice, carrots, hard boiled or deviled eggs, maybe a little beef jerky from time to time.  These are the things you can grab on the go that are healthy.  The key is to make sure each time you eat you have sugar (carb), protein, and fat (primarily saturated).  Having all of these nutrients in the meal help to keep your metabolism running properly and your blood-sugar level.
2.  Prepare your meals.
Learning to cook a few basic things that you really like can help tremendously.  I feel like society has brain-washed us to believe we don’t have enough time in the week to take care of ourselves.  Cooking for ourselves is seemingly becoming a thing of the past.  Start by trying to few recipes that are quick, easy and something you’d be willing to pack.  You’ll be amazed at how much time you’ll save and work you’ll be able to get done the next day having all your food prepared!
3.  If you are out at a restaurant there are a few things you can do in order to try to get the healthiest meal preparation as possible.
     –  Ask them to cook your food with butter or coconut oil.  Butter is usually the easier request to fulfill.  If they are using vegetable oil or a spray oil ask them to wipe the grip before cooking your meat on it.  These kinds of oils wreak havoc in our body by damaging our immune system and coating our cells, making it difficult for them to respire.
     – Meat, fruit, veggies, starches like potatoes are ok.
     – Keep away from bread and pastas
     – Make sure the meal has all 3 kinds of nutrients in it; sugar, protein, fat.
If you want more information please visit our website www.fitlifefusion.com and contact us for a free consult.

Your Future-Self Will Thank You

Hey!
I just wanted to commend everyone on their hard work I’ve been seeing at the gym. I love seeing people who are consistently food journaling and really focusing on their nutrition. Keep up the hard work!

For those of you that have been following the Ray Peat Diet, good job! A lot of questions might pop up when you are first starting this diet so please feel free to pepper us with questions. The more you educate yourself about your metabolism and how your body functions the faster you will heal from an unhealthy metabolic place to a well functioning one. The results of having a healthy metabolism are:

  1. increased energy,
  2. balanced hormone levels,
  3. living pain-free,
  4. healthy digestion, and
  5. being able to lose weight and actually have it STAY off!

Please take a few minutes and meditate on these questions:

  • How do I want to feel emotionally and look physically years from now (imagine how you would feel accomplishing your goal)?
  • Am I eating in a way that supports a healthy lifestyle?
  • Am I open to learning new ways for getting out of pain and living a healthy life?
Fitness at any age. Taken from National Post Sports.

Fitness at any age. Taken from National Post Sports.

Here’s something that I would like you to try, as it has definitely been helping me. Think about 1 small unhealthy habit you may struggle with and replace it with a healthy one.
For example:

  • Instead of eating 5 Oreos eat 3
  • Instead of drinking that 2nd soda replace it with a glass of orange juice.
  • Instead of sitting and watching the commercials on TV do some jumping jacks or push-ups.

Whatever it is that you choose make it small, and don’t expect perfection. Changing habits can be frustrating but it doesn’t have to be. Start out small and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment when you make good choices. Again, do something today that your future self will thank you for

Enter our Monthly Giveaway!

Every month we’re giving away cool stuff to keep you healthy on our Facebook page!  facebook.com/thefitlabs

All you need to do is visit our facebook page and click on the tab labeled “Enter to win”.  “Like”, enter your email address, and SHARE A LOT to increase your chances to win.  At the end of the month we’ll choose the person with the most shares/comments/likes in the contest.

Enter The Fit Labs monthly giveaway contest on our facebook page!

Enter The Fit Labs monthly giveaway contest on our facebook page!

Peter’s Fit Labs Vlog: Kids’ Athletic Development and Bad Coaches

The way coaches are training youth athletes makes it nearly impossible for kids to reach their full potential. Their intentions are normally good and learning to push yourself to your limits is a good quality to have at a higher level, but the kids get overworked! Kids are pushed too hard at practice and the exercises they are doing are designed to get them tired instead of improve specific skills.

Watch Peter’s video and learn why what we do here in The Labs can change everything for your son or daughter.

Click here to learn more about The Fit Labs Kids Athletic Development Program!

What is Holding Your Child Back From Their True Potential.

badcoach

What do you really want from your kids athletic program?

For over 15 years I have trained kids to get better at their sport, learn muay thai, develop athletic skills such as speed, strength, agility, balance and coordination.   I’ve also worked with kids on developmental issues that kept them from playing the sports they love with their peers.   The largest obstacle in my way as their coach is…

OTHER COACHES!

The way coaches are training youth athletes makes it nearly impossible for kids to reach their full potential.   Their intentions are normally good, but the kids get overworked.   Kids are pushed too hard at practice and the exercises they are doing are designed to get them tired instead of improve specific skills.

To give you an example, I met with one of my ten year old athletes not long ago.   He’s a young stud on the soccer field who broke his foot last year and making progress on his foot speed isn’t as simple as it was prior to the injury.   On this particular day his legs were so sore he hobbled into the gym asking me if he could just train his upper body.   Now, I understand when you work hard you can get pretty sore, and that’s fine if the exercises and drills the athlete has done are building specific skills he or she needs to become the best player on the field, but being so sore you can hardly walk is only a sign of one thing… being over trained.

So I asked him what he did.   He said he was at running practice for soccer and he was “doing a lot of these”.   He proceeded to demonstrate some skier-type motions with his feet together hopping side to side with hands up and behind his head.   After making him do that until his calves began to burn, his coach would have him react to a whistle with a full sprint across the field.

This is the kind of stuff that drives me absolutely, off the wall, CRAZY!   I just want to approach these coaches and say, “Hey!   You’re an awesome soccer coach.   TEACH HIM HOW TO PLAY SOCCER, DAMN IT!”

Youth athletes are trained to “Work hard!   And then work even harder!”   They’re trained as if the best quality a kid can have on the playing field is mental toughness or maybe perseverance.   Of course, it’s a necessary part of the game and this mentality isn’t something new.   It’s been around for a while, even when you played high school sports.   Yet this is exactly what will keep a young athlete from ever finding his or her true potential.

In The Fit Labs we teach every athlete young and old (and we consider life a sport so everyone is an athlete in our eyes) about one core principle the human body always follows no matter what:   the S.A.I.D. Principle.

Specific
Adaptation to
Imposed
Demand

This means your body is ALWAYS learning EXACTLY what it’s doing.   If you are performing high quality repetitions of whatever it is you are trying to get better at then you will get better at exactly that, but if you are doing something incorrectly, you will get better at performing that movement incorrectly.

To bring this into perspective in relation to my 10 year old athlete, his coach had him do what he believed to be a useful agility drill combined with a sprint.   Now just think a bit about the game of soccer.   You don’t have to be a seasoned soccer player or even a soccer fan to know that at no point in the game of soccer does a player of any position put his feet together and hop side to side down the field with his hands interlocked behind his head.   Maybe this might be closer to something an angry coach might do on the side line when his team is losing, but again, doesn’t even relate to something one of the players would be doing.

Instead, the only thing this “agility drill” did was make him tired before he performed the truly important part which was running.   His form was affected due to the fatigue set in by the agility drill and not only was his form off, but his run was slower than it would have been if he hadn’t performed a useless exercise before hand.   So the end result was my ten year old soccer player spent a good portion of his soccer practice practicing to run less efficiently and slower!

And when the kids seem slower than what they are normally capable of, what do you think team coaches do?   They make them do it over and over and over again, getter better at getting WORSE.   Anyone who has played team sports or has a son or daughter in a sport has experienced this.

This is the sad reality of what is happening to so many kids who are trying to be the best young athletes they can be.   Young athletes who may want to play at a higher level one day in college or professionally are stumped in their development because the focus is on just working hard and putting your time in, but the quality of the repetitions is neglected.

The kids who don’t seem to be affected by this are usually saved by their good genetics which are able to resist the negative effects of what would be detrimental training techniques.   These are the kids who were always the faster, stronger, “gifted” ones who seemed to be better than everyone else without even trying.   But what about the average child who loves the sport, wants to compete and spend every moment in practice sharpening their skills, getting better, growing stronger and faster?   They should have their fair shot at the big leagues if they want.

This is what inspired us to open a kids athletic program.   If there’s one thing in the world of youth sports that really bothers me, it’s watching these young athletes get stripped of their opportunities to play at a higher level or even just be the athletes they could have and should have been by coaches who just don’t realize their lack of attention to detail in the quality of reps their athletes are performing is just the thing that will stump the athletes’ progress.

So what do we do in the lab? We focus on exactly what your child needs to improve on and break it all down step by step. We focus on training the NERVOUS SYSTEM and it is broken down into 3 parts:

1.  Visual System  (much more that just 20/20)
70% or more of everything that we do is in some way dependent on our visual system.  It ranks up at #1 in importance in the neurological hierarchy and training your eyes can have lightning fast results in speed, strength, and improving movement patterns.  This type of trianing is commonly overlooked and may be what is holding your child back fro being the athlete they are meant to be.  Eye training includes, near-far recognition, lateral tracking, hand-eye coordination, foot-eye coordination, convergence and more.

2.  Vestibular System (balance and coordination)
Imbedded in the skull behind the ear canal is your vestibular system.  It is the organ responsible for telling your body what is level and works very closely in conjunction with your visual system to keep your body aware of where it is in space.  This can be sharpened and help your tremendously increase your child’s balance, coordination and reaction time.

3.  Proprioceptive System (body mapping)
This system is your brain’s 3D map of your body.  Through the peripheral nerves in throughout your body it is providing all kinds of information like movement reception, touch/feel, hot/cold, chemical reactions within the body and combines this information with the information it is receiving from your eyes (visual system) and “inner ear” (vestibular system).  This is where we focus on efficiency of movement and training kids proper form for things like  jumping, running, linear speed, lateral movement, etc.

We focus on integrating these systems and this is exactly what will give your child what we like to call “The Unfair Advantage”!  So don’t let your kids get jerked around by coaches who try to teach them things that are outside of expertise.  Seek a real professional who understands body mechanics and sensory integration!  Click the link below for more information about The Fit Labs Kids Athletic Development Program!

For pricing, scheduling and more information on The Fit Labs Youth Athletic Program CLICK HERE!

They’re Lying to You! Vlog: Motivation (part2)

vlog motivation part2

This is part 2 of the Vlog Peter did on Motivation and 2 BIG reasons why people don’t achieve their fitness goals.  Peter discusses how the brain is fed and what most people think is healthy dieting is actually getting in the way of energy production!

(Click on the picture to see the video!)

2 Big Reasons Why People Don’t Achieve Their Fitness Goals (Part 1)

Click here here to WATCH!

What if you were able to achieve your all of your fitness goals?  What if you could see the warning signs your body gives you that lead you down the path to failure?   If you knew what was really going on inside your brain when you attempt to make big changes in your diet and lifestyle you would be able to recognize when your body wants to quit and instead of giving in you would be able to overcome those stresses!

Watch the Video for part 1 of 2 of this Vlog in which Peter discusses the 2 big reasons why people fail.

Cure Diabetes… with SUGAR???

i love sugar

I wanted to share this quick story with you that most people at first don’t like to hear, but always ask me to repeat.

“Wait…. what did he do to get that result?” they’ll ask.

So here goes…

One of our clients has been dealing with what doctors love to call being “prediabetic” which is some new, catchy medical term that is being used everywhere to scare the hell out of people, in my opinion.  People with high blood sugar levels
The doctor told him he needed to lose weight and eat like most of you consider to be healthy now a days; No sugar, more protein, tons of veggies, little to no fruit, lots of fiber…. oh and here, take these pills, these pills and this shake.

At the beginning he’d lost a few pounds and his blood sugar levels began to drop as he exercised 3-5 days per week and eat how the doctor prescribed.  Then it happened…
The PLATEAU!  The weight began to creep back up, the blood sugar levels began to climb, and so the frustration set in.

One day in the gym he approached me and told me what was going on.  I gave him some information on how diabetes used to be treated BEFORE the pharmaceutical campanies came to power in the medical world and boom!!  Within 24 hours of taking a bit of my advice he had experienced a 40 point drop in fasting blood sugar levels and woke up 4 LBS lighter.

… and he did so by eating SUGAR.

“Wait. What did you say!?”  This is normally the point in the story where I realize people weren’t listening and request I repeat how he did it.

I want you to understand this as much as possible.  My father just called last week and told me his doctor diagnosed him prediabetic which in turn inspired me to chose this topic to write about this week.

Diabetes – “The Wasting Disease”

In the late 1800’s, early 1900s we called diabetes the “wasting disease”.  One day a doctor discovered, interestingly enough, that their sick patient’s urine tasted sweet. (Yeah, I know what your thinking, but let’s get past this for a moment and stick to what this discovery led to.)  In testing the urine, the doc realized this person was excreting glucose because his body wasn’t able to utilize it well.

Back then doctors attempted to replace the sugar that was lost in these patients’ urine by feeding them sweet fruit, glutenous breads and even plain white sugar and they had good results.  This I’m sure would surprise most people today because we know diabetes to be a high sugar problem, right?  Too much sugar leads to spikes in our blood sugar levels which leads to tolerance to our own insulin and in the end our body can’t store the sugar and we become diabetic… That’s it, right?

Well then how did those doctor’s way back when get good results from feeding their patients who were dealing with diabetes more sugar?  Pharmaceutical companies have made this a very confusing topic for us in recent years.  Sugar has become demonized, proteins scrutinized, and veggies and fish oils glorified.

Here’s something you probably never heard of.  In 1963 the discovery of the “glucose-fatty acid cycle” was made and since then more and more evidence has linked dietary fat with diabetes.  What we found was fat (primarily unsaturated fats like fish oils, seeds, nuts, seed oils, vegetable oils, etc) inhibit glucose oxidation.  Glucose is what our bodies create when it breaks down carbohydrates and it is what our body uses as its primary source of energy.  This forces our cells to have to turn to things like fat cells and lactic acid as fuel to burn to create energy.

Now that may sound like a good thing, but it’s not.  Fat and lactic acid as sources of fuel, suck!  This is why when people go pure Paleo or Atkins they’re energy is never consistent, their moods swing and their sleep gets all off.

You should sleep 8-9 hours per night uninterrupted somewhere around the hours 10pm-6am. (you know, when it’s dark outside)
You should be calm, curious and mild tempered.
You should not feel like you could take a nap somewhere in the middle of the day.
You should have a sex drive.
You should not deal with pain issues on a daily basis like migraines or sciatica.

If you are not all these things, YOU HAVE A FUEL ISSUE!

Glucose must to be the primary source of energy, especially for brain function.  This is one of the main reasons why people “yo-yo” so often.  It’s super stressful to try to lose weight, get in better shape and maintain that state when you’re body is begging you every waking moment from within to eat the things you love, but are trying to avoid.

Dieting isn’t the easiest thing in the world, yet everyone out there wants you to believe it is.  Other trainers would like you to believe that just because they are are lean and muscular they have it figured out.  Just eat like they do and you’ll be healthy and lean.  Sorry, it just doesn’t work that way.  You can’t just pick up a meal plan and cure yourself of diabetes or expect to magically transform into someone in muscle magazine.  It’s tricky, individual and you need the right information.  Types of foods and amounts can vary for each individual.

So what can you do?

CLICK HERE FOR A FREE CONSULT in person, over the phone, or via Skype.  Whether you are dealing with diabetes, trying to lose a few pounds, or even if you have tried and failed multiple times in the past we offer life long, guaranteed results here at The Fit Labs.  We genuinely care about your well being.  It’s too easy for other fitness companies to set you on a path for fast weight loss results to inevitably have you yo-yo back to where you were (or worse) just to get you back into the gym to buy more training.

Let us show you the path the life long health and happiness.  How nice would it be to know what you’re doing to look good, feel good and eat healthy is the right thing to do?

Bonus article: “How to Chose a Personal Trainer”  Click here to request this free download!

Peter’s Thailand Photo Gallery

Sityodtong ninja pose

Click HERE to visit Peter’s photo gallery of his last trip to Thailand!