Let your muscles lift the weight, not your ego!! Most lifters have a tendency to excessively load the bar and end up using way too much momentum to move weight. While the intentions are good, losing position, raising the chest, flexing the spine, and doing total body convulsions to complete the lift do more harm than good. Hold solid joint position, drop the weight a bit, and train what you mean to train!

Sweet Potato Protein Muffins are a healthy, sweet, and portable breakfast or snack to give you energy and keep you full! We served them for our Easter brunch and they were a hit, even with ‘non-dessert eaters’. INGREDIENTS: 1 cup mashed sweet potato 1/3 cup nut butter (I used sunflower butter) 2 scoops vanilla protein powder 3 Tablespoons coconut flour 1/2 cup liquid egg whites 1/4 cup chocolate chips DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 375F. 2. Prepare a muffin tin with paper cups or silicone cups. 3. Combine all ingredients (mix by hand don't food process it or it will get too runny) 4. Divide mixture among 10-12 muffins. 5. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Next time you are fearful of trying something new or fearful of what people will think, just remember this 😀

Willpower is great, it keeps you motivated and ready to go, but willpower will only take you so far. Eventually that motivation slows down and the meaning of why you started becomes less important. Routines build structure, save time, and create a sense of pleasure and peace. The things you love to do are no longer randomly squeezed in your day and the things you hate become easier because they become a habit. Diane is the perfect example of this mindset and lifestyle shift. 2008 vs. 2018...

There seems to be a common theme among many people that all exercise is created equal. Simply “exercising” more is the goal. The burn and muscle soreness is over-glorified. Buckets of sweat after your workout means you did a great job. The more sets and reps you can do in a given amount of time, the better shape you will be in. The problem with this mindset and approach is that it doesn’t take into consideration the quality or type of exercise you are performing. If you could perform 3 sets of 5 on squats with correct form and see increases in glute development and strength or 10 sets of 20 squats with poor form and develop knee pain, which option would you choose? If you could workout 7 days per week, not pay attention to your nutrition and lose 0 pounds over a month or workout 3 days per week, track your nutrition and lose 6 pounds in a month, which option would you choose? Most people aren’t willing to invest in proper education with their fitness and health goals and thus end up spinning their wheels year after year. They do far too much of the wrong stuff and not enough of the right stuff. People look for the cheapest training option or coach, assume that all exercise and diets are the same and accomplish the same thing and then wonder why they don’t get results. Doesn’t it make more sense to invest in something that reduces the time and wasted effort it takes to get to your goal? Not all exercise is created equal. Not all trainers are created equal. Not all results are created equal. Yes, at the end of the day you have to put the work in, but wouldn’t it be more beneficial to put in work that actually progresses you towards your goal in the most optimal way?

Have you ever focused on catching yourself when you complain? Have you ever taken a step back and really thought about how many things you complain about in any given day? Give it a try this week. Make a mental note of when you are complaining about something or write it down. Then ask yourself if you can really do anything to change the situation. We create our own happiness and satisfaction in life. Perspective is everything. If all you do is focus on the negative aspects of your life, you will have a very negative and unhappy life. What may feel like the worst thing in the world for one person may present itself as the greatest opportunity for another person. Don't focus on and complain about things you can't control. What is the point? If it is something you can control then take the steps to make a change or forget about it. Focus on gratitude for everything you currently have and balance that with a strong vision of where you want to progress over time. Set your goals and a plan and then do everything in your power to get there and ignore the rest. Remember mindset is everything. Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

We talk a lot about what it takes to achieve fat loss, but rarely discussed is what it takes to achieve increases in muscle mass. Let’s face it, without weight training and muscle mass, attempts to diet down will leave you feeling soft and without much muscle definition and tone. This photo represents the end product of strict and consistent dieting for about 11 months to achieve the leanest physique possible for competition. It should be noted that this level of leanness is simply to perform as well as possible in the sport of bodybuilding. This is not something that anyone should attempt to maintain year round. Trying to do so will severely limit your ability to gain muscle mass and improve your physique over time. The majority of time spent to achieve this sort of look has actually been on over-eating or consuming enough to propel training progress forward. Since 2006 when I did my first competition I have methodically implemented periods of over-eating and progressing training in the off-season coupled with shorter periods of dieting down for competitions. Let’s put it this way, you don’t go from a skinny 140lb bean pole in high school to my current 220-230lb body-weight by constantly trying to diet and under-eat. Far too many people and competitors are way too concerned with maintaining a lean body-composition and certain weight that it drastically hinders their ability to add new muscle over the years. Competing too often and staying too lean is sure to stagnate strength and muscle development progress. Females especially can benefit from moving away from what the scales says to focusing more on what your body can do in the gym. -Neil Photo credit: @fitpicspro

Once again Bret Contreras knocks it out of the park!!! ・・・ “Here are 10 mistakes that many women make in their pursuit of fitness goals. Please be aware that there are numerous badass women lifters out there who do everything just right. But these ladies don't represent the majority, and the purpose of this post is to inform the masses to help them better reach their goals. The majority of men make numerous mistakes in their training as well, but the mistakes tend to be different. I created a different list for men, which I'll post next week. And just to address my qualifications...I'm pretty sure I work with more women than anyone in the world if you tally up my personal training clients, online programming clients, Glute Squad members, Strong by Bret members, seminar attendees, etc. So I see this stuff on a daily basis and have been for 20 years as a trainer. In general, women tend to perform too many sets overall, and too many of these sets are characterized by low levels of effort. Many do too much total exercise overall (weights, yoga, cardio, spin, plyos, etc.), which significantly hampers their progress. Some women focus more on acute sensations such as sweating, feeling the burn, getting a pump, or being sore the next day, than on strength gains and long term progress . Many need to double their rest times and quit turning their weight training sessions into circuits. Many don’t plan out their training and fail to deload or fluctuate their training stress. Some employ too much variety and randomness and would benefit from greater structure and rigidity. Many women would benefit from taking complete rest days and focusing their attention on setting PRs and achieving progressive overload. Last, women should concern themselves more with the perfect program for them rather than the program their idol is supposedly performing.

It’s easy to sit back and WANT to achieve great results, but nothing ever happens until you take action backed up with commitment. That first action step coupled with accountability and commitment can light a fire under your ass which makes results like this possible in 6 and a half weeks. “I haven’t felt this proud and in control of my self in a very long time! The day after we started together I put these jeans on and felt nothing short of disgust....last night we went out for supper for a fundraiser put those same SIZE 3 eeekk jeans on and voila, pride! Even my tush looks ‘higher’ again eeekkk!!”

Role modelling is one of the best ways to motivate others. No one responds favourably to nagging and prodding. If you want to teach your friends and family how to live a healthier lifestyle, LIVE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE. Inconsistency is suspicious. If you are inconsistent with your actions no one will ever take you seriously. If you are consistent those around you will take notice and reflect what you project. Think before you act. There is always someone watching.

What good is staying on track with your goals Mon-Fri if you just go and self-sabotage yourself on weekends? So many of us have programmed our minds to grind through the week just to make it to the weekend so we can let loose. I have news for you. What you do and the calories you consume on the weekend still count! If you eat in a calorie deficit throughout the week, but then blow it on the weekend essentially you are back to square one in regards to fat loss. Look at it this way. Let’s say 2000 calories/day puts you in enough of a deficit to lose 1 pound of body-fat per week and 2500 calories is your maintenance level. You hit 2000 calories per day perfectly on the mark Monday to Thursday, but then on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday you consume 3250-3500 calories/day due to eating out (excess fat) you didn’t account for and drinks. You have then erased the calorie deficit you began to create throughout the week and put yourself back at square one by bringing your weekly calorie intake up back around maintenance. Fat loss doesn’t work on a weekday schedule like your job might. If you truly want to lose body-fat it requires the maintenance of a calorie deficit over extended periods of time....weekends included.

By now, you've probably heard about smoothie bowls. Smoothie bowls are the perfect healthy breakfast or quick-and-easy afternoon snack, and they're packed with nutrients that will keep you energized all day long. Aside from being delicious, whipping up a smoothie bowl is an opportunity to get creative. Whether you pack yours with green veggies like spinach or opt for a sweeter bowl with berries and dark chocolate, the possibilities are truly endless! It’s also a great way to get veggies and fruit into picky eaters. This one is a combination of avocado, vanilla protein powder, coconut milk, spinach, cashew butter, xanthan gum (thickening agent), collagen and 1/2 banana, topped with 1/2 banana, chia and coconut.