TMT: 2013

Thursday, December 19, 2013

3 QUICK TIPS FOR GETTING / STAYING SHREDDED

Here are 3 quick tips for getting/staying shredded:

Steady State cardio has been found to be more beneficial

at burning fat while doing fasted cardio.

This is counter to what you may have thought.

Perform HIIT Cardio later in the day when energy levels are higher.

Taking your BCAA pre exercise has been found to be more beneficial than intra or post workout.

Make sure to take BCAA in the AM before Steady State cardio.

You may be wondering if ingesting aminos negates the fasted element. Not to worry.

I take Amino-X and Hyper Shred first thing in the morning before fasted cardio pre contest.

If I'm not in prep mode, I still try to get a cup of black coffee in me before my aminos.

The caffeine helps metabolize fat into the bloodstream as well as increasing power output and lessening perceived pain. Caffeine is good. Just don't overdo it.

My favorite BCAA supplement is hands down AMINO-X by BSN!

Tastes amazing! I like putting it in my water jug for flavor even if it wasn't a great way to stay in an anabolic (muscle building) state.

Carbs are tolerate best post exercise as they will be used to refill your body's stores of glycogen that have been depleted (hopefully) during your workout.

FRUCTOSE post exercise goes to your liver.

Most livers only hold about 100g and then any remaining in your blood stream gets converted to triglycerides (FAT).

GLUCOSE goes to your muscles.

Bananas have more glucose than apples but they have 1/2 the fructose.

So if you have ever been curious why bananas are so popular post workout, this should shed some light on it.

Thomas Murphy, CSCS, Pn1

GET YOUR CUSTOMIZED WORKOUT AND NUTRITION PLAN BY CLICKING BELOW.
I WRITE NEW PROGRAMS UP EVERY WEEKEND.

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Monday, December 9, 2013

•RESET BUTTON - How to Push it and MAKE IT STICK

Every so often we get caught letting our guard down.

Sometimes it takes a hit to get those hands back up.

Sometimes you can catch yourself and get back on track right away.

Sometimes you're laid flat out. Unable to breathe.

Catch your breathe. Get some Rest.

Now Get Up.

Dust off,

Assess your injuries.

RESET!

Wash yourself clean

I'll meet you in the WAR ROOM.

It's time to put a plan together.

It's about to go DOWN! I need to make sure your Ready?

Where is your War Room?

Your Dining Room Table and a Cup of Coffee?

The Library and an Adderall?

The Solitude of Church?

A Long Drive?

30 Minutes on the Stairmaster?

FIND YOUR MOTIVATION

download music - iTunes

watch motivational videos - YouTUBE / Movie Theatre / Seminars

meet inspiring people - Facebook / Instagram

try to surround yourself with motivating people - BRANCH OUT

Are you going to be motivated by drunk people at the bar? Maybe? Maybe there is a hot ass chick there who will make you want to push harder to get her. You might have a better chance of meeting her at the gym.

GO SOMEWHERE NEW - Pick a new sport every weekend

DO SOMETHING YOUR AFRAID OF

TAKE A RISK

GET LOST

Once you find what your MOTIVATION, get back on the track you were on and use your new tools to make that path easier.

If you path is totally F'd - sometimes you need to get out.

I understand that as well. Thats why a proper assessment goes really deep.

I used to joke about it, but my job as a personal trainer for over 12 years felt many times like the job of a psychiatrist. I would hear EVERYTHING.

Sometimes that would be funny, sad, insightful, or scary.

I learned ways to help in a continually growing set of scenarios.

PICK YOUR GOAL DATE

CALCULATE NUTRITION PROGRAM

Go to the kitchen - THROW AWAY ANY FOOD NOT ON YOUR LIST

(Or donate to ------ )

GO TO THE GROCERY STORE

GO TO TARGET - Buy Tupperware Containers / Food Scale

COOK

CREATE WORKOUT PLAN

GO TO THE GYM

REST

CREATE SCHEDULE

GO OVER YOUR GOALS

GYM

EAT

GYM

EAT

REST

REWRITE YOUR GOALS

Mentally? Do you need to wait until MONDAY? The Beginning of the MONTH?

After NEW YEAR?

We are all procrastinators and procrastinators miss opportunities.

I want you to learn to take advantage of opportunities.

Snatch ALL OF THEM UP!!!!

And keep grabbing and keep grabbing until you are having good things come at you LEFT and RIGHT!

Just keep throwing those lines out until they start biting and when they do, you buy better lines and get bigger fish.

Fix one thing at a time.

As you see an OPPORTUNITY to make something better, DO IT!

FIND YOUR SUPPORT TEAM WRITE DOWN THEIR NAMES

These are people on the same mission as you.

Try not to alienate those not on this one. They may be joining you on a future ride :)

Warning - This may create jealousy of those who would like more of your attention.

Try to achieve balance. Living healthy doesn't mean you can't be around those that aren't. It just means you must be stronger when around these people.

Learn to take pride that you are an inspiration to others

who most often will admit they just needed a good role model.

Some people don't have the same environment or network.

Be that person who encourages those who are just started all the way to those who just need that final push to make it all the way.

I myself spend countless years of my life trying to do it all by myself.

Once I found the humbleness to ask for help a few times (and receive it)

it becomes easier to open up until you are able to help others.

Then its all a chain reaction of the blossoming of something great.

HUGE AND AMAZING THINGS CAN BE CREATED when the collective efforts are focused on a common goal.

FIND YOUR COMMON GOAL and FIND YOUR ALLIES

BLOG

PICTURES / MOTIVATIONAL POST

PROGRAMS / SHORT CLIENT VIDS

DIET /INSTAGRAM /

WORKOUT VIDEO/REVIEW/

Thomas Murphy, CSCS, Pn1

GET YOUR CUSTOMIZED WORKOUT AND NUTRITION PLAN BY CLICKING BELOW.
I WRITE NEW PROGRAMS UP EVERY WEEKEND.

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I AM ALSO AVAILABLE FOR COMPETITION COACHING ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
For more information email me at ThomasMurphy27@gmail.com

Saturday, December 7, 2013

REVIEW - CROSSFIT

I finally took the plunge and decided to try the Kool Aide !

A friend of mine saw a groupon for 10 sessions and was nice enough to pick up an extra 10 for me.

I've been thinking about competing in some of their events at the recommendation of a buddy of mine who convinced me that this was no longer a fad and I would do well.

Being a program designer myself I have always been against Crossfit since it goes against what I've learned in my courses. But then I got to hearing about some of the prize money and sponsorships being offered to their athletes!!! I guess I could put aside my differences! Lol

When I got to the "box" I signed the waiver and went right into the introductory workout with 2 other newcomers including my friend.

Our instructor was one of the co-owners of the gym, I think the wife of the duo.

She explained how to get into proper form for the squat, Deadlift, overhead squat, push press and a few stretches.

Then we did a few exercises such as box jumps, kettle bell swings, and double under on the jumpropes.

The only exercise I couldn't get was the successive double unders. I've always been able to get one in

Friday, November 29, 2013

REVIEW - ORANGE THEORY

Today, a friend and I decided to go to Orange Theory and do one of their FREE TRIAL sessions.

It ended up being a great way to start Thanksgiving morning! Good idea Tara! ;)

They ask you to arrive 30 min earlier than the 9 am class start time and fill out a guest form.

With your height, weight and age, they input you into the Polar Cardio GX system which was the main reason I wanted to go.

Your Name, Heart Rate, Calories burned, % of Heart Rate Max (Organized into 4 color coded zones) are all displayed on 3 big screen monitors on the workout floor.

THIS is the technology I wanted to check out for my own classes!

They had it broken down into 2 groups. GROUP 1 on a row of treadmills,

and GROUP 2 using the other equipment in the room.

I started on the 20 min cardio Group 1, doing interval routines. They had one trainer on a loudspeaker headset giving directions.

After 20 min, you switch to the other group.

GROUP 2 started with a warmup on a set of Water Rowers in the back of the room. After about 5 minutes we walked over into a section of the gym with TRX bands, Benches, Bosu Balls, and Light Free Weights.

This part of the class was broken down into 3 WORKOUT "BLOCKS."

Each block had 3-4 exercises that were shown on a TV screen in the room.

BLOCK #1 for example looked like this:

Bosu Pushovers x 5

Bench Hops x 20

Bench Dips x 10

Lower Ab Knee -Ins x 20

I think we were supposed to complete as many rounds as possible in 6 min before switching to BLOCK #2. This part wasn't really clear but I was on a mission to burn 1000 calories and there was 1 person in the class beating me so far! ;)

Having your name on the screen like you're at the bowling alley with your Heart Rate Zone prominently displayed for everyone to see really motivated me to kick it up a little bit.

BLOCK #2

had us doing side raises standing on BOSU x 6 each side and a few other exercises including Lunge/bicep curls.

BLOCK #3 incorporated the rower machines some more and also had us doing TRX exercises.

The end of class had everyone doing some quick stretches while given a talk about how EPOC (excess post oxygen consumption) is better than regular cardio. They used a different term though I don't remember. Then the instructor talks about the results on the screen a little bit, explaining that 20 min of combined time in orange and red is good and your on your way, getting your results emailed to you right away.

THE GOOD

It was definitely fun and for the most part felt structured and uniform.

It made for a different type of workout and it was good to see all activity levels able to do the same class. We had very fit people mixed in with borderline elderly and obese people. Everyone went through the same routine.

Lighting, music and atmosphere led to a good experience. It was cool.

THE BAD

It seems as if they have confined themselves to the equipment that comes standard in every franchise. As a program designer myself, I would like to see some ropes, jacobs ladders, slam balls, kettlebells and other equipment as well.

If the instructor stuck with just saying what Heart Rate ZONE color we should be in, rather than confusing us with percentages of base speed on the treadmill, I think this part of the class would go much smoother.

A clearer sound system would help as well.

OVERALL

Fun class! At $16 a class, I think its a little expensive but with a regular membership I think someone could get good results by attending 3-4 classes a week with a proper diet.

Definitely safer than crossfit and the Polar system is a must for my next gym!

Next week - CROSSFIT

Check out my last review here - SPIN

Thomas Murphy, CSCS, Pn1

GET YOUR CUSTOMIZED WORKOUT AND NUTRITION PLAN BY CLICKING BELOW.
I WRITE NEW PROGRAMS UP EVERY WEEKEND.

Monday, November 25, 2013

REVIEW - SPIN CLASS ?!?!

Ok, today I got talked into taking my first spin class EVER!

ME??? Doing SPIN???

It's funny because I once TAUGHT one at Kennesaw State University when my boss really needed a sub and offered $35, but I've never attended one.

I completely winged it BTW! Hahaha

I had them pretending to go up hills and stuff and really called out each person and pushed them pretty hard. I think they hated me, but as a trainer, that makes me smile and sleep good at night :D

Today was completely different. I got a taste of a real stationary bike routine which does take some thought and creativity. I was at L.A. Fitness finishing up my second workout of the day, Chest and Biceps after doing 30 min of cardio in the morning. I ran into an old friend of mine, ex actually haahahah (We're still good friends) and she got me at the perfect time. I needed to do some more cardio and I figured I could just go in for half the class and then dip out early.

She convinced me it was sooo fun and had great music. I was thinking there were some hot girls in there and this would force me to push a little and burn some fat! LOL

THE GOOD / THE BAD

First

THE BAD

Right off the bat, the seat was more uncomfortable than I imagined! How could I possibly last an hour of that?! Damn!
Supporting my bodyweight having to lean in the forward position was killing my arms more than anything else.
All I could think about was how I was lifting legs tomorrow and I didn't want to wear myself out.

THEN I DECIDED TO MAN UP!!!!

THE GOOD

The class atmosphere really made for a fun time. I lucked out and got the back row but I'm sure being front and center makes for a harder workout as all eyes are on you!
The music was good! Upbeat and motivating. Positive vibe. Not as hard core as what I listen to on my headphones, but this was an hour class, not HIIT where I need to crank it!!!
Beautiful women seem to love spin, so that helps! (Same reason I tried Yoga ;)
The instructor was fun and really pushed herself hard which motivates everyone else as well. She also did a good job of incorporating a few muscle groups other than just legs by doing pushups onto the handlebars (in beat with the music) and arm raises (which burned me out completely to be honest).
I ended up finishing the entire hour simply because I didn't want to be a quitter!

Overall it was a good change of pace for steady state cardio and a fun thing to do with some of my female friends but I think I'll be sticking with training myself for the most part.

I do like the class setting but I like a harder workout and I know there are more effective uses of my time when I goal is burning fat while preserving muscle.

Next up....Orange Theory....and then next week Crossfit! ;) I know I know....lol

Thomas Murphy, CSCS, Pn1

GET YOUR CUSTOMIZED WORKOUT AND NUTRITION PLAN BY CLICKING BELOW.
I WRITE NEW PROGRAMS UP EVERY WEEKEND.