Biblical Wellness Coaching Contest!

If you've followed me for awhile you have seen the metamorphasis from just self-branding to the creation of my coaching platform, Biblical Wellness. 

Biblical Wellness is something that I wanted to create so that I may spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to more people and to impact their own lives through coaching in fitness & nutrition. 

I want to tell you about a promotion that you can enter to win!

Head over to my contest page and enter to win a month of free coaching ($200 value).  What you'll get:

• Accountability Coaching to keep you on track
• Fitness program customized for you
• Nutritional Program customized for you
• Unlimited text/Facebook Messenger (I have an Android, so this is preferred when interacting with iPhone's)
• Weekly video chat
• And more!

I'll be closing it down on April 8 and announcing the winner on April 9.  

This is online coaching, so what you get is entirely remote.   I provide much through Facebook Messenger and Google documents/calendar.  

Enter to win by April 8 and I'll email the winner directly.  God Bless!

What the "experts" say?

Fitness & nutrition are some of the most misunderstood topics.  I can be considered an expert at fitness and nutrition due to my experience and education, and in many ways I am.  In other ways, I would consider myself to be a novice.  This would definitely be based off of my experience in training. 

There are many who may be considered experts in fitness & nutrition, and like myself they are in many ways.  However you don't know what you don't know.  And there are many things that these experts get right, and many others that they don't.  One thing to consider is that each person is different, and in many ways we can focus on training and nutrition in the same way. 

Now, we have many people who enter the gym and do their own thing.  You have many who truly know what they're doing, and this is evident based upon the technique, exercise selection, and distribution of exercises, not to mention physique.  You have others who kind of know what they're doing, and fall into a lot of what I had said in the previous sentence, but their routine is identical day-to-day and week-to-week.  There's nothing exceptionally wrong with this approach, it's the comfort routine, but progress will stall after awhile. 

Finally, we have many who for whatever their own reasons choose to attempt to exercise and follow nutrition plans piece-mealed.  Now, some of these are sound, but unless you have a descent understanding of physiology and mechanics, it's not always the best approach.  Often, its wise to pursue some degree of expertise prior to beginning an exercise program and nutrition plan.  And to note, most physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician-assistants (all providers) are likely to have a limited understanding of nutrition and exercise....maybe an undergraduate course or two.  Some of them do, but you'll need to check their credentials and history. 

Overall, it's best that you consult an expert...especially in matters pertaining to fitness & nutrition.  For the overall "plan" you can easily look online (like me!) and get plans built custom for you to achieve your goals.  For the technical parts, it's more challenging.  If you do it remotely, you can always put your phone to good use and film yourself performing something or live-stream it.  Though with much of the technical (form) work, it's best to get private lessons, even if it's only a few. 

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Growth Hormone.  This is usually synonymous with doping or steroid use.  However, your body produces this naturally and it's really important for muscle growth and fat loss.

While you sleep, your body secretes this hormone.  During this time, 2 purposes are fulfilled and they are, healing/muscle growth (especially if you lift), and fat loss.  This secretion while you sleep is much greater than the secretion that you get in the middle of the day, but nevertheless, you can still impact it's magnitude through training.

When I talked about testosterone last week, it was the primary hormone that impacted muscle size and strength through the impact it has on the central nervous system.  Growth hormone, on the other hand, is much more directed towards the muscles themselves rather than the central nervous system.  It's really the trigger that starts a whole cascade of events in the body that leads to growth and fat loss.

Regarding your training, this is where higher repetitions are better.  Sets of 8-12 are ideal, with shorter rest periods.  Adding to that, larger exercises such as squats or deadlifts are better at triggering this release than smaller ones such as dumbbell curls or any abdominal exercise.  Now, you can piggy-back exercises (known as a super-set) of which you'd do a large exercise first and follow immediately by a smaller one to improve the overall effect of the lifts.

Growth hormone is important for overall health, muscle structure, and fat management.  Training to maximize it's impact is purposeful and deliberate, and something that you should strive for within your training regime.

For more help on the subject, contact me.  

Back to school again....

It's that time of year, and many in other states have already done so, but it's back to school.  Where we live, the public school system begins this upcoming Monday, and the University on Tuesday.  This is that time where the students are "hungover" from their summers, the teachers/instructors/professors are anxious to get back into the swing of things and earn that paycheck.

It's the time of year to where schedules that were once open are now closed and full of activities, meetings, etc. for all of the parties involved.  It's also when nutrition and fitness become an afterthought.
Do not forget, that if you're a parent of a student or a teacher of one that your fitness and nutrition is important.  Just because you put it out there for another doesn't mean that it's the right decision.  Make sure that you take care of yourself so that you may take care of others.

If you don't have time to hit the gym, there are other options available.  Go for a walk, get together with other teachers, parents, or whomever and do a home workout.  Plan your meals and prepare them in advance if possible.  Whatever the best scenario, go ahead and work through it.

Think of this time of year being for a new you, and not the New Year.  This is the moment to seize the change, not the New Year.  Go ahead and make it so.  

Cleverness

a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease. 

Sun Tzu- The Art of War

A clever fighter is a talented fighter, one who was born for the fight.  This fight may be anything, in the context of the text it was the warrior against an enemy, but in modern times it may still be this but it can also be applied to what you do for training.  

Each of us bears our own strengths and weaknesses.  In our strengths we may be thought of as "clever" and in our weaknesses, much less so.  The winning in our strength comes from being able to do it with ease.  

Strategically and tactically, what we do must become natural to us.  If you want to become stronger, you must have the technique to the point to where you no longer think about it.  If you want to become faster, your stride must become greater and your breathing more rhythmical so that you may become faster. 

Cleverness is the ability to be smarter than what you are fighting against.  Most of us, in training, are against inanimate objects and therefore our plan may dictate the terms of our cleverness.  Do not let things get in your way.  Become clever, and greater than your foe, and you'll keep winning. 

Carbs: Best friend & Worst enemy

Carbohydrates, or carbs, are the nutrition world's best friend and worst enemy.  For weight management, they are one of the major role players, with the other primarily being fats.  However, with low carb diets in abundance out there, it's probably worth noting what the value of the carbohydrate is.

Carbohydrates are basically sugar.  Not sugar in the sense of what you'd add to tea or something, even though that is accurate, but any thing with the molecular structure similar to what you see in this image.  Basically, they're broken down into single molecule sugars (monosaccharides), double sugars (disaccharides), and longer sugar chains (polysaccharides).  Depending on the molecule, will determine which of these that they are.

Most sugars that are introduced to the body in any form eventually are broken down into glucose, which is a monosaccharide.  Depending on the size of the molecule, the time to break it down is an important factor in weight management.  So starchy foods, such as breads, oatmeal, potatoes, etc., take longer to digest than things like candy, cookies, etc., because of
the molecular structure.

Eventually, the sugars make it into your blood stream where they can then be routed into the muscle and other cells for energy production.  They are a faster used form of energy over fats, and can be replenished quickly.  So, for intense exercise, carbs are good.  If you are not accustomed to exercise or at the least, intense exercise, then carbs may be used in slight, but then be stored in your fat cells for use later.  So, this is why carbs sometimes make you fat.

When you're carb depleted, say on a low carb diet, your body will use it's internal carb stores (glycogen, a cellular storage form of carbohydrate) first.  Afterwards, and the longer duration of the diet, your body is forced to use fat stores as energy because you've depleted it's carb stores.  Therefore, when you are on a low-no carb diet, you lose weight, but in the form of fat.  Usually these kinds of diets are best suited for those who engage in minimal exercise, figure athletes, and those who have an abundance of body fat on a non-training day.

I wanted to share the basic run down of carbohydrates with you because of it's villanous nature.  Next week, I'll be discussing fats and how they're important for your overall health and well-being.  

Securing yourself against defeat

Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy. 
-Sun Tzu, The Art of War

In lifting, cardio, fighting, whatever....we have the power to conquer the exercises at hand.  Sour security to conquer is in us, by training hard and consistently.  The effort required of us in training allows for us to win out, not to be defeated by the task at hand.  

Usually, when I attempt a max effort lift or a run to achieve a specific time is when I discover whether or not I was adequately prepared and strategic with my training.  Recently it was a run that I attempted, and won out on, that tested me and my training.  


I used to run a lot, but in recent years I've been slack because it just hasn't been fun until very recently.  Since May, I've been doing a lot more running, largely due to the dad bod and the 232lbs I was up to.  Now I'm back down into the 2-teens and only recently I ran a sub-eight minute mile.  Barely, but still made it.  

Spending so much time lifting, I forgot how it was to conquer a cardio goal.  It was awesome. However, it was also very, very hard.  I could've easily not have made it, due to the wind, heat, whatever.  But I came in at 7:59 for a mile, the 2nd following it was above 10 minutes.  

To push myself to that point was wonderful, but hard.  I trained and trained, without knowing if I'd be successful or not, but won out in the end.  I secured myself from defeat, but wasn't certain about defeating the run.  

Train hard, train smart, train consistently and you'll be ready for any "enemy" that comes your way.  

How to read the label?

For this video, I go into how to read the food label.  This is the first in a series that I'll be working on regarding nutrition and how to live better.  

Breaking the resistance without fighting

 supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting
- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Many of my previous posts involved weightlifting or some other type of exercise related to it.  Today's I'd like to go into a little more about the other stuff that I do, kickboxing.  I have classes that I teach that I strategize with "fitness first."  Considering that it's at a general fitness center (wellness center), this concept makes sense.  The next strategy is for those within to learn how to defend themselves.

Defense also requires that you do not fear your attacker.  Often, it's the mere presence of an attacker that may make the difference in how the fight is fought.  It not only is physical warfare, but psychological too.  If you have lost psychologically, then you will have lost physically.

Unless you're in an elite level, fighting for millions of dollars, you really don't know what you're up against should you ever come to blows with someone.  The reason is that you haven't watched any film of your opponent, or strategize against them.  In life and death, the only strategy is overwhelming force.  Without it, you may lose.  With it, you may project an image of strength, confidence, and determination.   You may still lose, but you put up a fight.

The best fights are the ones we don't fight.  The ones that our mere presence changes it all.  The most well trained fighters and warriors in the world know this.  They avoid the fight, but if the fight is brought to them they unleash a terror that is unlike any other.  This is the way of the warrior.  

Need some training?

I'm sure that in the last several weeks, those of you who have paid attention have noticed that I've shared one of my client's stories, a walk through of my online training approach, and my philosophy of training.  

Well, all roads lead me to this point of which I'd like to offer my online personal training to you for $75 per month.  This is much less expensive then I should offer it, but since those of you who read this are giving me some of your attention, I wanted to offer it at that rate.  I could easily offer it at $200 per month or more based off of my qualifications and experience, but that doesn't serve you well. 

With the online training, you get the nutritional coaching, fitness programming, a weekly call/video chat check in, and daily reminders.  

As a bonus, if you also refer anyone who decides to train with me, then you'll get a 10% discount (up to 50%).  

All payments are accepted via PayPal. 

Please send me an email at martinlhiii83@gmail.com to get started. 

Labeling your understanding

For the next several weeks, I'll be going through the nutrition label.  There's a lot there that is important and it's something that we all think we understand but we really don't.

The example here is something provided by the FDA as part of their labeling program.  When you look at an actual label it isn't color coded with all of these side labels on them.  But what do they mean?  That's what I'll go through for you.

Understanding the food label is important because without knowledge of it, how do you eat better?  When we go to the Dr. and he/she tells us to eat better, to lose weight, or anything along those lines, what do we do about it?  This is the first step bettering yourself.  With the knowledge of how to read this, you'll be able to make better decisions about buying and about consuming.

Next week, I'll begin with covering the serving information.  

Recipe for success

In this video I walk through an example of a workout, from the "drawing" phase to the "action phase."

Being acquainted with the evils of war.

 It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on. 
- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

If you've followed my blog for awhile then you know my perpetual war on the "dad bod."  There are many reasons behind this war and it's many battles, but I assure you, I'm very acquainted with my enemy.  With this war, I'm also familiar with how to fight it, complete with the successes and losses.  

Even with the knowledge that I have pertaining to exercise and nutrition, sometimes it's hard to wage the battles necessary to win the war.  So for those of you who remain in a constant struggle with your weight understand this, I do and many other fitness professionals do too.  The major difference is in the knowledge that we have.  I know how to teach an individual how to do something, I can hold you accountable for your actions, and I can reach out to the network that I have created to help you achieve your goals. 

Those are what I bring to the table as a fitness professional.  On the other hand, holding myself accountable is something much more difficult.  Having the knowledge is an asset, as I don't have to go look for things to guide me, what I generally need more than anything is someone to give me shit when I do or don't do something I'm supposed to.

Regarding Sun Tzu's quote from his text, I fight the war on an ongoing basis, and thus I know better than many how to fight it.  I empathize with my clients going through the same fight, as opposed to someone who has never had to undertake the fight.  I value my empathy and use it to help guide my coaching.  The war is ongoing and I'm still learning how to fight it better.  

Kendall's Journey, part 3

In this video, Kendall shares why she began training with me. 

How to see the fat melt off!

In this video, I go into Kendall's dietary schedule for you and some coaching.  This is much more advanced than the average person as she's already at a pretty low body fat percentage.  The video will give you an idea of how I go about dietary coaching.  Enjoy!

No benefit to prolonged warfare....

There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare
- Sun Tzu

Strength training is boring.  The act of becoming stronger takes time, energy, and determination but nevertheless is still boring.  On the other hand, this boring can be super effective at getting you strong.  However at some point, you will not receive any benefits to the program as your body will have outlasted it's adaptability (for now).  

For the most part, strength training is a war.  It's a war against your body.  It's a war against gravity and usually a heavy-ass thing being pulled down by it's forces.  Strength gains can be fast or can be slow, not unlike gaining ground in actual warfare.  Sometimes you reach an area of which you gain nor lose ground, sort of like "digging in the trenches."

Over time, this "digging" leads to a retreat.  It's not to say that you are over-trained, just overreached for a period.  This can ultimately diminish your return and no benefit takes place.  Failure to change the plan or to rest can result in no more gains and just wasting your time.  

Often it's the cycling of different programs and plans that will lead to the largest gains and the fewest failures.  Sometimes it's the exact same lifts as a prior plan, but it's the organizational change that makes the difference.  In all fairness, the main lifts such as the deadlift, the squat, the bench press, the overhead press, and hell, even the pull-up are all the best things out there.  If you can do well in all of these, you're strong in general.  

Strength gains are made by manipulating the sets/reps/weight, and consistently pursuing greater and greater workloads.  They're gained by being patient and hanging on just long enough for it to become ineffective.  Too long and it's a failure and no benefit.  The war is then lost.  

Kendall's Journey part 2

Kendall describing what brought her to need some more training and guidance.  

Preparation for success!

A continuation of how I approach nutritional coaching.  This time it is how do I figure out your calories and macro-nutrients (Carbs, Protein, Fats) and how do you organize a week long meal preparation for success.  

Attack him where he is unprepared

Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected. 
- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

When you think about working out and many of the gains that you'll receive, either through strength, growth, or weight lost, we need to keep our bodies in a state of confusion and unpreparedness.  The more efficient you are in something, the less effective it will be to achieve the desired result, especially when it comes to body modification, less so strength changes.  

Go to any gym and you'll see people mindlessly doing the same thing over and over again.  It's not difficult to see why, it's what they know.  It also minimizes the soreness and pain that come with change.  Change isn't easy, but it's necessary to improve.  

The changes don't need to be large to be effective.  If you're lifting 20lbs weights for 10 reps, do 12, or go up to 25.  If you're running a 10 min mile, do a 9:55 min mile.  None of these changes are large, but they can have a profound impact especially when you do it over and over again.  

Your body is a constantly changing machine.  With each day/week/month/year there is something different about it as you put food in, movement out, and bear all of the emotional burdens that come with life.  Your body can be prepared for anything and will adapt to do so.  Hit it when it's not ready.  

Kendall's Journey

My client & friend Kendall shares her journey from where she began to when she decided she needed something more.