90-Day Challenge Winner: Kristen

Kristen is the type of person that trainers enjoy because she works hard and is willing to learn and try different training methods. This 90-Day challenge was perfect for her and together we came up with a plan to help her achieve all her goals. She quickly realized that like life, training can ebb and flow but with a little patience, focus and persistence you can succeed.

Kristen’s Interview:

Give us the cliff note version of who you are.

My name is Kristen. I am 33 years, married to a firefighter and blessed with two healthy girls.  For the past eleven years I have worked as an elementary school teacher and next school year will be starting my career as an administrator. I love being active and getting in a good-hard workout (especially at Rise Above).

You chose some challenging goals to accomplish during the 90 days.  What were they?

1. 3 pull ups (although Doug said 3, I was set on doing 2)
2. Push-ups with 40 pounds of the dreaded chains. My goal was to work towards the Rise Above Women’s record.
3. Then on about day 80 I had Doug show me how to do a pistol squat and decided for myself that I would add that to my list and try for one clean pistol squat on each leg.

Why did you choose those goals in particular?

I couldn’t do a single pull up. I thought the push-ups with the chains looked fun and cool at the same time. The pistol seemed impossible and the process of learning and practicing was just funny and made me laugh. Overall, I just like a good challenge that I can set my mind on and focus.

How did you accomplish them?

Really, it was a combo of Doug’s torture, weight loss, lots of practice, and just plain diligence.

What were the most challenging aspects of your training?

As for training, every part of my training with Doug is challenging, so that’s sort of a trick question! I had a mental block about doing a pull-up so I put a pull-up bar in my hallway at home and that helped me get over the intimidation.  Towards the end it was challenging because I knew I was getting close, but wasn’t sure how close.

Were you confident throughout the 90 days or were their moments when you thought you may not achieve your goals?

Right away I was thinking that these goals are way too high, so I started out not confident but hopeful. I trust Doug, so I knew that with persistence I would get there, and I am good at being persistent.  Overall, I had moments of doubtfulness and moments of confidence, and all of the other moments I was just focused on the goal and how much time I had left!

What advice would you give others who have jobs, kids and/or busy lives and find it hard to find time for themselves to train and be healthy?

I am a busy, working mom of two and I have four bits of advice:

1. Plan it into your day! It doesn’t need to be long; a 20-minute run is perfect. I feel that I gain more time after I workout because I have more energy to give to my family and kids.

2. I draw 7 boxes on my kitchen chalkboard at the beginning of the week. I work all week to check those boxes one at a time each time I workout. Just this little check system keeps me motivated and focused. It feels great to check a box right after a hard workout!

3. Learn how to use kettlebells, (I suggest learning from Doug). Then get one or two at home paired with a stopwatch, and you are set!!

4. Nothing tastes as sweet as being fit feels. This one took me a long time to realize, but I promise, it’s true!

Now that the challenge is over, do you have other goals you would like to accomplish?

I want to keep improving on my pull-ups and push-ups (with chains), and I want to work towards getting on the Rise Above Record Board!

Let’s say you are taking a much needed vacation for one week.  If you had to choose one piece of training equipment what would it be?

A kettlebell of course (and my running shoes)! The challenge would be deciding which one to bring.

Tags: goal setting

Ask Me Anything: Muscle Cannabalism?

Hey Doug, I was wondering what “Muscle Cannibalism” is and what I should do to avoid it.  Thanks.

If you want to avoid “muscle cannibalism” then avoid trekking in the Sierras with a group of people, get lost, sleep in a cave and then run out of food while waiting to be rescued.  I think what you are referring to is Muscle “Catabolism” which is simply that breakdown of muscle tissue.

I’m going to keep this simple; you cannot avoid muscle catabolism because you need a little bit of it for muscle anabolism (the growing of muscle).  Every time you train you will have some muscle catabolism going on and then upon proper recovery with nutrition and rest an anabolic state will occur and hopefully that process balances or slightly exceeds the catabolic process so you can maintain and/or increase your muscle mass.

The two athletic populations that are most concerned about the negative effects of catabolism are bodybuilders and endurance athletes. The primary goal of bodybuilding is to put on as much muscle mass as possible so that is why they eat a ton, take supplements and sleep as much as they can to keep catabolism to a minimum.  Endurance athletes push their bodies to the limit in terms of exercise volume.  They go for hours running, climbing, and riding.  The amount of energy needed to maintain these tasks is huge so naturally when they run out of nutrients they consume, the proteins in the muscles are used and muscle breakdown occurs.  This is why you see riders looking emaciated at the end of the Tour de France than when they started.  Yes, they lost body fat too but there is some good muscle breakdown going on.

So if you are not a bodybuilder or an endurance athlete and you eat correctly, stay hydrated and get plenty of sleep, you should not have to worry about anything unless you go hiking in the Sierras in the winter, like I mentioned.

Thanks for the question

Tags: anabolics, Nutrition

Underground Strength & Fitness: Keynote 1

One of my favorite Strength and Conditioning Coaches is Kira Robert Clarke; a very knowledgeable, motivating and humorous strength coach from Australia. His videos represent his philosophy regarding strength and conditioning; where the training should be educational, challenging, liberating and fun.

I share Kira’s coaching ideology where “You work to EMPOWER your clients … not to make them more DEPENDENT on you! That’s what a true professional in the fitness industry is all about!”

I could not have said it better myself. I have posted the first video of his Keynote Series on Underground Strength and Fitness. If you have a little time, check it out below; the pop culture references alone are worth the price of admission.

Also check out his site The Pound Online

Tags: Conditioning, Strength, underground