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Transformation 5.0

Transformation 5.0

Reflect, Align, and Buck Trends

Posted on June 20, 2014

Reflection

Take time to reflect.

If you are just starting out on your fitness journey, more frequent reflection helps.  If you are a fitness veteran, periodic reflection is sufficient.

The big takeaway:  schedule your reflection on the calendar.

During some of my most haphazard, unsatisfying fitness stretches, I stopped reflecting.  I began living on autopilot.  Day-by-day on autopilot, I drifted further away from my overarching goals.

Exactly what does reflection mean?  Let’s break it down into 3 steps: Continue Reading

Transformation 5.0

Embrace Fear, Set a Goal, and Start Now

Posted on June 19, 2014

PinkyandBrain

Set a goal.

Set a goal that lights your world on fire and makes you want to be better.

Set a goal that is inspires a healthy dose of fear and nerves, because you know you want it badly, and you know it’s the right time for it.

That is the single best thing you can do for yourself.  Right.  This.  Second.

If you conduct a study of everyone that I’ve ever worked with, you’ll find the following to be true:

  1. There are many different exercise approaches in practice.  Yes, there are common fundamentals, but there is also disparity in workout quantity (2-6 workouts/week), type, and intensity.
  2. There are many different nutritional approaches in practice.  Again, there are common fundamentals, but I’ve worked with vegans, vegetarians, pescetarians, and meat lovers alike.  There is disparity in meal number (2-6 meals/day), frequency, timing, and type.

Above all you’ll find this to be true:  strength of current goal is the single biggest determining factor of ensuing progress and success. Continue Reading

Transformation 5.0

Fat Fear, Balanced Eating, and Unlearning

Posted on June 18, 2014

TimeFatCover

“Often vilified and once bastardized, fat has gotten quite the bum rap over the last century. It is an injustice that dietary fat shares such a crucial word with the fat on your body…Thankfully you have an opportunity to end the days of fat avoidance. It’s time to bury the hatchet. It’s time to make friends with fat.”

That’s a quote from Relentless Nutrition, written in early 2013.  It followed up on (at that time) about 3.5 full years of well-rounded eating, fat inclusion, and positive health results from hundreds of individuals.

“For decades, it has been the most vilified nutrient in the American diet. But new science reveals fat isn’t what’s hurting our health.”

That’s a quote from Time Magazine a week ago. Continue Reading

Transformation 5.0

Vitamin D, Heat, and Hormesis

Posted on June 17, 2014

Day21PostWorkout

A new post-workout equation: Vitamin D + heat = ?

Pictured above is the post-workout scene at the apartment building, as well as the new laboratory for testing this proposed equation.  I’ll use the laboratory after each and every strength workout, spending 30-minutes in the sun and summer heat.

Now what’s the equation all about?

For starters you’re likely familiar with Vitamin D, aka the sunshine vitamin.  Bone, skin, heart, and immune health are all conditions for which Vitamin D is administered.  Relevant to the Transformation at hand, I’m most concerned with its muscle promoting properties.  This study supports a link.  So does this one.  And this one.

But why heat?  What does that have to do with anything? Continue Reading

Transformation 5.0

Sleep, Sleep, and More Sleep

Posted on June 14, 2014

SleepatWork

How much do you value your sleep?

Whatever your answer, my response is probably not enough.

Back in the Relentless Transformation Stone Age (5 years ago), sleep wasn’t on the priority radar.  Sure, sleep was important.  Sure, sleep was recommended.  But those statements came with no oomph, no zest.  99% of the time and effort was spent revolutionizing exercise and nutrition.

Today, sleep is smack on the priority radar.  The oomph and the zest have arrived, and a proportionate amount of time is being spent on it. Continue Reading

Transformation 5.0

Secrets, Trap Bars, and Urgency

Posted on June 13, 2014

Secret

Do you have a secret?

If you’re currently crushing your own mini-transformation program, the answer is yes.  You know something that those around you don’t.

Only you know your vision for yourself – your look, feel, and perform endgame.

Unlike normal secrets, you can’t just open the Seinfeld vault and blurt it out.  To tell your secret, first you must work for it.  One day at a time, one bite at a time, one repetition at a time.  One drop of sweat at a time, one stress reliever at a time, one hour of sleep at a time.  Step by step, you bring your secret into existence. Continue Reading

Transformation 5.0

Social Walking, Progress, and Robb Wolf

Posted on June 12, 2014

CatWalk

When I was a teenager, my best friend and I had an unusual habit: walking.  It was unusual because not many teenagers were doing it.  In fact, I’m not quite sure why we did it.  Maybe it was because his mom was an avid power walker.  Maybe it was simply time to catch up about the latest in sports and punk rock.

Our neighborhood was a figure-8 loop of almost 2 miles, and it had some nice scenery to boot.  There was nothing quite like going out on a nice summer day, soaking in the sun, and smelling the fresh cut grass.  We would say things like “man, I could walk forever”.

Fast forward to the present day.  I met up with a good friend yesterday and we… yes – you guessed it – took a walk.  It was time to catch up about the latest in sports and fitness (interesting swap with punk rock).  It involved a nice spring day, soaking in the sun, but unfortunately a little less fresh cut grass than the suburbs.  It took us around Philadelphia and the Schuylkill River trail, with a pit stop at Rival Bros coffee.

Conceptually you know that walking is good.  The reports on its benefits are endless.  But how often do you actually do it? Continue Reading