I’m convinced that there are certain things people can physically do to increase their capacity for working out and living better. Over the course of college sports, mountain climbs, and of course turkey bowls I’ve developed a few things to do to drastically improve my workouts. One thing I’ve noticed is there is a side effect to working which is that I tend to eat better the rest of the day. My mind is in a different space when I’m regularly working out, and that transcends to all aspects in life. If I want to have a top tier workout (or athletic event) I’ve got to do certain things, and these things work all the time every time!
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^^ I brush my teeth at 7:30. No more food after dark! There is something to the finality of brushing teeth. Lots of people have retainers; so, put those babies in! Create a conscious and subconscious period on consuming anything other than water after 7:30. It will make a big difference in weight. Losing weight is healthy, fun, and builds confidence. If you look good you feel good. If you feel good you have confidence to perform well.
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^^ Night sleep is essential! Go to bed early rather than sleep in late. It’s not about the hours you log in, but the quality of those hours! Do everything you can do to get quality night sleep. Good sleep will change your life. It will affect virtually every aspect in your life. Your energy, your weight, your mental sharpness and clarity will all improve with proper sleep. Probably the most important thing is the sleep you get before 12:00. The key is sleeping deep (REM) and dreaming.
—Here are a couple things to try: Ear Plugs-hearing yourself breath is very soothing and will quickly put you to sleep. It will also prevent you from waking up keeping you in a REM state of sleep.
—A perfectly dark room or an eye cover can also help. Blinking lights from electronics or cars passing by shining in your window can often just barely knock you out of REM and you will not be as refreshed as you should and could be.
—Do you have a dog on your bed? That little buddy is probably costing you quality sleep. A restless spouse will also do the same. If you have a HUGE event coming up consider sleeping by yourself for a night or two prior to the event.
—Heat: What type of heating system do you have? Many people have heaters which turn on and off throughout the night. That change in temperature can cause you to wake up just slightly, which is all you need to knock you out of REM and cause you valuable dreams. I recommend putting extra blankets on your bed and keeping your room cool.
—Sleep Apnea: Go to your doctor to see if one would help you. Most, but not all who need a sleeping machine could lose weight with will also help.
—GO PEE! Do everything you can to pee before you hit the sack. If you feel something in the middle of the night then suck it up and pee. It’s better to get it over with and then fall back into quality sleep than suffer in ½ sleep.
—Get a good bed and pillow. You would be surprised what a really good pillow will do. Spend money on this. It will pay you back a million times over!
—Asea: Drink this stuff. It will repair your cells and your body will perform so much better in every aspect in life, even sleep! After 1 month you’ll be dreaming like a shaman on drugs.
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^^ Proper nutrition. Eat things with one ingredient. The more processed it is the worse it often is! Chicken breast has one ingredient. Whole wheat bread has several. (Multi-grains with full grains is good) That is an example. Fruit is awesome because a strawberry is just one thing. It hasn’t been processed, just picked.
It really doesn’t need to be said, but fast food of almost any kind should be an absolute NO! Don’t eat that crap. Stay away from soda as well. Many people work out crazy horse and can’t lose that extra tire around the midsection. Diet is the answer almost every time.
I prefer eating smaller amounts every 3 hours. That way your body can perpetually be breaking down quality food all the time. Your metabolism will increase. If you can’t get your workout in that day at least try this little trick and you won’t go backwards.
Finally, eat lots of protein before and after workouts and exercise. Your body will look for that to repair stressed muscles. Personally, I love shakes. Beach body has good shakes and recovery formula which is specifically designed to consume directly after a workout. Give your body what it needs. Why spend all the time and energy doing something if you don’t get max results?
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^^ Supplements really help! Your body needs fuel. The better fuel your body intakes the better the performance it will output. I always take vitamins and mineral supplements. The nutrients from the ground where our crops grow is getting stripped with mass production so you are probably not getting all the benefits a tomato, for example, has to offer you. Supplementation can be a great way to improve mental awareness, physical performance, and health.
Other than high quality vitamins and minerals I’ve got a couple go to supplements I love. My favorite 3 probably are Rhodiola Rosea, Asea, and Perfect Water. Each provides something a little different.
—Rhodiola will help with mental clarity, memory, endurance, stamina, alertness and a million other things. Sherpas have used it for years climbing mountains such as Everest. Here is a great article about Rhodiola: CLICK HERE Not all herbs and roots are processed the same way and in my opinion the Amway version is the best I’ve seen.
—Asea: I could spend a long time talking about this because Asea is the most significant scientific discovery of our generation. A thumb nail of Asea is that it helps your cells repair themselves extremely efficiently. Asea is different in one regard to every other supplement on the market. In fact, the FDA created a new category just for Asea because there was nothing similar to it. Many supplements are “all natural” such as Rhodiola, or Antioxidants. The distinction from Asea is that it is “Native” to the body. Every human body has Redox Signaling Molecules in it. Without these molecules we would very quickly die. As we age our body produces less and less of these very important molecules. Asea is the first supplement which replenishes our body with these molecules. Here are some links: WEBINAR, OVERVIEW, ORDER
—Perfect Water: This is an Amway product. I’m not an Amway rep, but this product is very good. It is water infused with oxygen. Oxygen in your blood makes your brain think better and helps your body hydrate better. Perfect Water will make everyone who drinks it more flexible and therefore prevent injury better. It’s really good stuff. I highly recommend it.
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^ Breath baby breath! As I just stated oxygen in the body makes everything work better. Your ability to intake oxygen into your body will greatly affect how you live. Ever seen a football player put on an oxygen mask after a big play? If they flood their body with oxygen their muscles will recover much faster so they can get back on the field.
I often will take nose spray or put nasal strips on before or during athletic events. Menthol rub (Vicks) also works to open up the nostrils which allow air to flow into the body. If you can open up the nasal cavity you will certainly find that your ability to go harder longer with greater concentration will improve. Oxygen is no joke and your ability to get more of it the body will drastically improve your workouts. Rhodiola and Asea will also improve the ability of the body to get and utilize oxygen.
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^Pre-hydration is a lifesaver. Drink abnormal amounts of water starting at least a day prior to a workout or sporting event. It will make an enormous difference in how the body feels and how quickly the body wears down. When I say drink abnormal amounts of water I mean drink until your stomach is going to explode. You will flush out toxins and lots of other harmful things in the body. When the event comes you will be lighter on your feet and ready to perform. You will also notice your recovery time will be shortened because lactic acid will not build up in your muscles as much. Water, water, water. After the event, drink a recovery formula like a protein shake or chocolate milk.
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^Stretch like a madman! You’ve got to be loose. Muscles need to be free from lactic acid to perform at a high level. Spend a considerable amount of time getting muscles ready for the grind ahead. Jog, jump, and get a real sweat going BEFORE you stretch. If you’ve done the steps above you can push yourself hard in the warm-up. You should almost feel like the warm-up made you tired for your event. BUT, you have a trick up your sleeve! Your preparation will kick in and you will recover very quickly. When the event is ready to go your muscles will be lose and your body will be optimized and ready to perform. Trust the process!!!
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FOUR out of SEVEN Ratio: What does that mean? There are seven days in a week. You’re on an escalator moving down. You need to move up to improve on your health and fitness. You will have negative days and positive days. The trick is to have more good days than bad days. That way you will slowly improve. The more good days you have in relation to bad days the faster you will move up the escalator. The worse your bad days are the faster you will move down.
Micah’s rule of thumb: If you could think of the laziest day imaginable, eating the worst stuff imaginable, that would be a really negative day (bad day). Let’s call that a really “bad day”. One really “bad day” of eating junk and being a total couch potato = 2.5 days of working out. In other words you would need two and a half days of working out to make up for one “bad day” of eating junk and being totally lazy. So don’t have many really “bad days”. Keep your bad days lighter so you only need 1 hard day of work to cancel it out.
Bottom line: It’s a lifestyle not a diet! Don’t do something special for a period of time. Just live this way and you’ll live a long and healthy life!
I know this to be true, but like everyone I’m stricter with it at times and less at other times. I decided to live by this for a little over a month and here are the results:
*I lost 4 pounds all body fat! I was down to 13.85{e774add45fe465c0c94ee06d39257179131eccd06f5f64193408dbb7f315f44e} body fat which is less than 1{e774add45fe465c0c94ee06d39257179131eccd06f5f64193408dbb7f315f44e} away from a “fitness” level to an “athlete” level.
*Skin fold testing showed losses at all sites, but the most significant loss was at the abdominal site. (4mm lost)
* Circumference testing showed 2 inches lost around my waist, 2 inches lost around hmy hips and 2.5 inches gained around my chest!
For a full account of the process refer to: Izzy Fit
Go ahead and try these steps. See what happens to your performance. My guess? You’ll notice a 300{e774add45fe465c0c94ee06d39257179131eccd06f5f64193408dbb7f315f44e} improvement
~Micah