Happy National Running Day!

Today is National Running Day, and although my right knee and ankle are a bit banged up I managed to squeeze 6 functional miles out. This week has been particularly light as far as appointments for me, so I've been getting in office time and though I really want to develop some Bosu workouts the weather has been lovely and I've got the fever for sure. Yesterday I was running errands in between training sessions and I had a few hours before I had to train my next client. I decided to take advantage of the new summer heat and stopped over at Diversey Park where the driving range is. I hooked up my TRX on the monkey bars in the empty playground and with a drawn-up high-metabolic full-body and core workout, I crushed it! The damp woodchip/dirt surface added an element, as did the monkey bars. Then I washed up briefly, hydrated, and headed back for a shower and to train my next client...which coincidentally was a planned total TRX workout.

Back to today though - A good friend happened upon some Cubs tickets and I had just finished my last session. It was and still is currently one of the loveliest days of the year so far. (I'm on my back porch right now!) However, I ended up deciding to give the tix to my friend and his girlfriend. I'm not much of a Cubs fan and I really wanted to get a run in for National Running Day and see how my joints felt in case I decided to put myself back in this Saturday's Half Marathon. The game had just about started and my buddy called me and asked him to meet him closer to Wrigley. No problem. I put the tix and my valuables in a ziploc bag and packed it in a mesh Under Armour duffel with a tank top, a water bottle, and a small towel. I laced up my Livestrongs and got to runnin! Ran about 3 miles exacty to where he was, gave him the tix, and on the run home stopped at CVS and got a few necessities. Functional fitness and I can report I was definitely not 100%, but it felt great to participate!

So when I just plugged the Nike+ I got this video...500 miles logged on Nike + today! I've come a long way, but there's so much further to go...endless challenges and programs...fitness is awesome...running is amazing...life is good...love is great. Thanks for reading everyone, and have a wonderful day! Run!

Eat Well. Be Good.

Below is a correspondence from my email. I responded and thought it would make a good blog. Many of you have extremely hectic schedules and need help! Hopefully these are some good suggestions, and please feel free to comment and/or email or call me with any specific questions you may have, and I'm happy to help!

Thank you Mike. I appreciate the email. I am just getting going with insanity, and I am very impressed. I played D1 soccer, and have always been very active. I really like the intensity of insanity, and think working hard and smart gets the best results. However, eating right can play a very important role, and with my travel schedule, it can be a challenge to stay on track. Any pointers you have are much appreciated. Thank you. 

XXXXX,

Sorry I haven’t gotten back to you sooner. Anyway, you’re exactly right and in fact, nutrition is essential not only to supplement and fuel your fitness but for overall health and longevity as well. Here are some “on the go” tips I can give you:

1.       Plan and Schedule – Just like you plan consultations with clients, you should plan and schedule your meals and snacks appropriately for a balanced diet and to keep your metabolism and mental focus up during your busy day. A great thing to do is to use outlook (or whatever scheduling system you use) to not only schedule your travel and client times, but also pencil in your meals. This will help you greatly.

2.       Tracking – …that said about scheduling, it’s not a bad idea to use an online resource to track your eating so that you can be better informed about your calories, set goals, and even see your macronutrient breakdown. Check out www.dailyburn.com and set up a free profile. I use others as well such as livestrong.com/myplate but I like Daily Burn. There’s also a free iphone app for on-the-go tracking and it has many features. You can use the online in conjunction with the app.

3.       Make Time – One comment that is common is people say, “I didn’t leave my desk for 10 hours,” or “I didn’t eat all day—I had no time.” May sound familiar? Here’s my rebuttal: do what you have to do and you’ll perform and feel better in whatever you are doing. Think about this – you don’t pee in your pants, do you? Keep healthy, portable, and non-perishable snacks such as protein bars, nuts, dried fruit, natural jerky, etc. so when you need a bathroom break you can slam a quick, healthy 2-300 calories. Try to eat something every 3 hours or so, balancing out your fat, carbs, and protein. (You will learn more when you track)

4.       Be Good - When eating out during your business week, avoid alcohol and just make better choices. Think about your profession – you work hard to make solid, optimal decisions, don’t you? Treat your nutrition the same way and be about your business. Tell them to hold the bread and make substitutions like a garden salad for French fries or opt for the chicken breast or salmon filet over steak or a burger. Lean and clean.

Those are just a few, and if there is anything in particular you are having trouble with, please let me know, and I’m happy to help if I can. Best of luck…Dig Deep!

Mike

Hang In There!

So first I won't waste time mentioning my long drought of blogs. No excuses...anyway, today I'd like to discuss a recurring theme, especially as we move into summer once again. A few of my female clients who are looking to lose weight have consulted with me regarding their progress. "I feel my clothes fitting better, but I'm not seeing any difference on the scale," is pretty close to what I am hearing from a few people. I've personally witnessed this among my clients--endurance improvements, strength gains, more athletic ability, etc. What is definitely happening is a change in body composition. The percentage of body fat goes down but the weight stays the same meaning only one thing--thermogenic homeostasis remains due to addition of calories, but muscle is replacing fat, essentially. In order to truly lose weight (or mass), you need to burn more calories than you are taking in. Simple thermogenics. What happens is with the added exercise, people tend to be hungrier and eat more and/or treat themselves more. The result is a wash in calories burned/consumed although the performance results may keep coming. "But I eat really well..." Unless you are tracking, you don't really know the story. Here's what I challenge you to do - visit http://www.dailyburn.com/ and set up a free profile. Then join my group - "Team 900" and begin taking advantage of the tools available, namely the nutrition tracking. There is a huge database of foods and you can even create recipes and favorites to make your life easier. Download and iphone app for real-time tracking if you want. I also use other sites for this, but for daily burn I am able to assist you in tracking. Once we know and can analyze your current activities as accurately as possible, we will be able to tweak and make some dietary adjustments that will no doubt be helpful. Also, check out http://www.shakeologylife.com/ for info on a whole-food meal replacement that I use every day for optimum nutrition and weight management. Whatever you do, don't stop striving to be healthier--hang in there, and great things will happen! Please contact me if you feel you need additional support, and I will help you personally! Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

That Feelin'

I have to admit, I've not been consistent on the blogs lately, but today marks the anniversary run that kicked it off for me last year--the Ravenswood 5k. It's a neighborhood run, but it was my first event, and this morning as we've prepped (my wife Jasmine is running her first event today), I am excited as I realize how far I've come. Last year at this time I had a newly established fitness level and was supporting others and giving advice on home fitness. Now I have over 7 events under my belt including two half-marathons and a modest but decent 4:10:00 Chicago Marathon time. Add to that that I have almost worked a year as a personal trainer and am 15 days from my first promotion. I've learned so much, but I have so much to learn. And though my hectic schedule discourages a regular workout program, I am helping others achieve their goals by designing relevant programs and providing nutritional and lifestyle coaching for them. I am excited by my clients' excitement, and have truly found myself. So this morning as I cross the finish, I will be thinking of all of them as well as those who love and support me. What a great day to be healthy! Thanks for reading everyone, and have a lovely day

Been A While...

It certainly has been a while since I've posted a blog! Also, it may have been a while since many of us have ventured outdoors, no? Yesterday was a beautiful Chicago day, and as it turns out, the perfect day to kick-off run season officially with the Shamrock Shuffle 8K. I felt awesome although I would've felt better to shave another minute off my 32:57 time. To discuss running further, it is often the exercise of choice for the spring and summer. Many people decide to run to get in shape. There is generally little to no extra equipment cost, however if you do have money you can afford moisture wicking apparel, accessories, and even may register for some events. But don't lose focus here. Like any other sport, you should train for mobility, function, strength, and endurance to be more effective. If you are running and/or plan to join a softball or other team sport  to stay in shape, you are doing yourself and perhaps even your team a disservice. For one, you won't be performing at a competitive level, and secondly and more importantly, if you lack the proper mechanics, range of motion, stability, etc, you could find yourself sidelined sooner than you think. So consider cross-training with a personal trainer in a gym, at home, or invest in a complete home fitness program to follow in order to be at peak health and performance.

Don't forget that nutrition is the MOST important aspect of your health and performance, and here in Chicago it is often overlooked. The same principle applies here--if you are working out/training to be able to eat higher calories or to burn the calories you drank over the weekend, you are missing the boat. Not only is that irresponsible, it is simply not rational, and you will find yourself fatigued and discouraged and--oh yeah--you will most likely put fat pounds on anyway. If you are ready to train for health or to prepare for athletics or just look and feel better on the beach this summer, than give me a call and we can discuss a solution. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!