How Exercise Affects Mental Health

It’s no secret that exercise has a range of health benefits, including reducing the risk of conditions like heart disease and stroke.

But what many people don’t know is that exercise can also be great for your mental health.

In fact, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that regular exercise can improve mood, reduce anxiety and stress, and even help with depression.

So if you’re looking for an all-around healthy lifestyle, it’s important to make sure you include regular exercise as part of it.

And who knows – you may find that the positive effects on your mental health are just as important as the physical ones!

Now let’s delve a bit deeper into the topic, shall we?

Physiological Benefits

People tend to think of exercise as a way to lose weight or build muscle, but it actually has a number of physiological benefits that affect not only the body but the mind as well.

Exercise increases the production of endorphins, which are hormones that have a mood-elevating effect.

In addition, it helps to improve sleep quality and reduce stress levels, thereby improving your mental health drastically.

Furthermore, regular exercise has been shown to increase cognitive function and protect against age-related decline.

All in all, on a biological level, exercise helps the body produce hormones that inevitably upgrade the brain!

So, listen up…

If you’re feeling down, or like age is taking its toll on your body and mind, remember that a little exercise, done regularly, may be just what you need to boost your mood and overall wellbeing!

Psychological Benefits

Besides the obvious physiological benefits that manifest on a biological level, the effects of exercise have a direct impact on your psyche.

In our opinion, there are 3 main, important effects – Self-esteem, resilience, and the mind-body connection.

Let’s have a look!

Improved Self-Esteem

Perhaps one of the most important psychological benefits of exercising and being in good shape is the drastically improved self-esteem.

So you see, there is a reason that so many people enjoy working out.

When you are in good shape, and you have been working out regularly, you just feel better about yourself.

You feel more confident, and you feel like you can take on the world (especially when you have your pump on.)

This is a great feeling, and it is one that you should strive to experience.

There is nothing like the confidence and self-esteem you can get from peak performance and supreme physical aesthetics!

Mental Resilience

Fitness training can help you be more physically tough, that’s a given.

When you do a lot of fitness training, your body gets tougher and can handle more loads and more pain.

The same thing happens with your mind.

When it is used to doing hard things, it becomes stronger and can handle more stress.

Certainly, training isn’t all there is to mental resilience and facing challenges, but it does help!

If you are just getting into training, do expect to feel this very soon!

Mind-Body Connection

Nowadays, most people are disconnected from their bodies. We lead busy lives and are constantly on the go.

We eat unhealthy foods, don’t get enough exercise, and don’t take the time to connect with our bodies.

Perhaps, one of the best ways to boost your mind-body connection is through training.

When you engage in regular physical activity, your body and brain start working together in a more coordinated way, to ultimately overcome the load they are going through.

This improved communication can lead to better overall health and well-being, as well as enhanced cognitive function.

In case you feel like you’re neglecting your body… Get your butt to the gym!

Final Thoughts

Well, it seems that not only is exercise great for our physical health and wellbeing, but it might also be really good for our mental health as well.

This should come as no surprise to those of us who have experienced the intra and post-workout high.

All in all, if you are looking for an easy way to boost mental health, don’t hesitate to include regular training in your schedule!

What’s your take on training and mental health? How did training change you, psychologically? Comment below!

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Meal Prepping: A 4-Week Challenge

Meal prepping is one of the best things you can do for yourself.

Although you might think of meal prep as a concept that only bodybuilders are obsessed with, you’d be incorrect.

Busy mothers, broke students, and athletes all utilize the idea of cooking their food in bulk.

It helps you stay on track with a diet, saves you both time and money, and also teaches you a new skill.

How Does It Save Time?

You’re probably thinking that preparing food for the whole week must take 10 hours, or at least much more time than you’d usually spend cooking.

Nope.

The biggest thing that saves you time when meal prepping is not doing the same menial tasks repeatedly.

You don’t need to heat up the oven or stove ten times, just like you don’t need to wash a different knife every time you cut some vegetables.

Since everything is prepared in bulk, you’ll only need a few knives and utensils, and you most definitely won’t need to heat the stove up for every different meal you prepare.

How Does It Save Money?

Eating out isn’t necessarily destroying your budget, but eating out too often probably is. Many of us tend to eat out when we’re too lazy to prepare a real meal or just don’t have the time needed to prepare anything half decent.

Also, since you’ll be bulk buying the ingredients needed for the meal prep, you can find great deals and stock up on the food that’s at a discount at that time.

How Does It Help Your Diet?

It’s easy to misjudge the number of calories or macronutrients you consume daily. It isn’t rare that people are off by 50%, both North and South of the actual number of calories and macros they eat.

This is where meal prepping comes in handy because your meals will be pre-weighted, and you’ll know exactly what you’re consuming.

Even if you eat something that’s not already prepared, it’s much easier to calculate it in when all of your other meals are taken care of.

Preparing your meals also means consuming less processed foods, contributing to your overall health.

The Challenge

So, now that I have your attention let’s get to the challenge.

The challenge will be split into 4 weeks, where you’ll get a certain goal for each day along the way.

Each week will get progressively more challenging, culminating in the fourth week, where you’ll need to meal prep for all three meals of every single day of that week.

Week 1

During your first week, you’ll only need to prepare breakfasts that will last you five days.

If this seems too easy, don’t worry, we’ll ramp up the difficulty in the following weeks.

Days 1 & 2 – Make A Meal Plan and Go Shopping

Failing to plan is planning to fail, so that’s why we’re starting with the foundation of meal prepping.

You can’t bulk prepare meals if you’re just freestyling as you go.

Well, technically, you can, but good luck with that.

Your goals for the first two days are to write down a meal plan and see what ingredients you’ll need, then go and stock up!

If you don’t have any breakfast ideas, you can check the end of this challenge for an idea.

You can either stick to only one breakfast or prepare five different ones. It’s all on you.

Day 3 – Cook!

Once you have got everything down in the first two days, it’s time to get cooking!

Use your kitchen scale to accurately measure your meals and food containers to keep everything nice and fresh in your fridge.

You should prepare five breakfasts that will last you till the end of the week.

Day 4 – Reflect

The goal of today is to reflect on the process so far and think of ways you can make your meal prep more effective.

Do you need two days to cook all of your food? Are the portion sizes good for you? What foods don’t taste good after sitting in the fridge?

Day 5 – Rest or Plan Meals

You can use this day as a rest day from meal prepping, but you can also use it to plan meals for the next week if you don’t want to wait for tomorrow.

Your next challenge will be preparing breakfast and dinner for the whole week!

Day 6 – Grocery and Planning Time!

Ah yes, that time of the week again.

If you didn’t use yesterday to plan your meals, you could do so now.

Afterward, get to the grocery store and stock up on the stuff you’ll need for the next week!

This week’s meal prep will probably take much longer than the first one, so be ready.

Day 7 – Cook

Breakfasts and dinners are usually less demanding than lunch for most people, and that’s why that is your challenge for this week. So, prepare the two meals for the next 7 days and good luck!

Week 2

This week will be all about breakfast and dinner.

Since you have already prepared all the food you’ll need for this week, you can just sit back for the first four days and enjoy.

Day 1 to 4 – Reflect and Rest

Again, what could’ve you done better? Do you like the food you’re preparing? How is everything going so far?

Enjoy the fruits (and other food) of your labor and get ready for the preparation for next week.

Day 5 – Meal Plan

Although you could theoretically both plan your meals and grocery shop today, I advise you not to do so.

The reason is that the next challenge is to prepare 7 days’ worth of lunch and dinner.

Think this one through entirely and revise the plan a few times since this will be the most meal prep you’ve done so far.

Day 6 – Grocery Shopping

It’s time to get back into action.

Review your meal plan one last time and grab everything you need for tomorrow.

Day 7 – Cook, Cook, and Cook!

You’re on your third meal prep of the challenge—only one more to go.

This one will probably consume more time than the last two, but it will be well worth it since all of the biggest meals of the day will be taken care of!

Week 3

You’ll be preparing all three meals at the end of this week, but first, enjoy the lunch and dinner you have already prepared.

Day 1 to 4 – Reflect and Rest

How do you like meal preparation so far? Is it worth the hassle? Do you feel a noticeable difference with not having to cook every day?

Day 5 – Meal Plan

Once again, be meticulous about this meal plan since you’ll need a lot of groceries.

You can reuse the old recipes and meal ideas you used, or you can try new ones out.

Day 6 – Grocery Shopping

Come on, you can do it!

It may hurt the wallet to buy so much stuff at once, but trust me, it will be worth it in the long run.

Day 7 – Cook, Cook, and Cook!

The end is near!

You can see the mountain top, you’re almost there.

Prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next 7 days.

Week 4

You made it to the promised land, all of your meals for this week are prepared, and your only job is just to eat.

How magnificent is that?

Day 1 to 7– Reflect and Rest

Unless you want to make meal prep a part of your life, your job here is done.

How was the whole experience? Do you feel like you actually saved time and money in the process? Have you fallen in love with the act of cooking?

Meal Ideas

There are endless options for things you can prepare, but here are some of the meals I love to make!

The amount of food needed for the lunch makes up 1 portion.

Breakfast – Yogurt Parfait

What you’ll need:

– A cup

– Yogurt

– Berry mix

– Granola or nuts

How to prepare:

– Pour 1/3 of a cup of yogurt into the cup

– Add 1/3 of a cup of berries

– Pour the remaining 1/3 of the cup of yogurt

– Top off with some granola or nuts

– Mix it up

Lunch – Rice and Chicken with Cheese

This meal will give you around 80 grams of protein! *

What you’ll need:

– Chicken breast (350 grams, raw)

– Rice – whatever kind you prefer (30-50 grams, raw)

– Mushroom (80 grams, raw)

– Cottage cheese (100 grams)

– Olive oil

How to prepare:

– Cook the mushrooms in olive oil

– Add the rice when the mushrooms get close to being cooked

– Add water and let it cook until the rice is ready

– Cook the chicken and season it to your liking

– When everything is done, add cottage cheese to everything and store it in your container

*The amount of food mentioned makes up 1 portion.

Dinner – Tuna Salad

What you’ll need:

– Canned tuna

– Greek yogurt

– Red Onion

– Parsley

– Celery

– Salt and other seasonings

How to prepare:

– Drain the tuna

– Cut the vegetables into small chunks

– Add Greek yogurt

– Mix it all up

These surprising facts about sleep will blow your mind! 5 Surprising Facts About Sleep

Sleep: we all do it, and we all love it. But there’s a lot about sleep that we don’t know.
From its effects on our health to the role it plays in our dreams, sleep is a fascinating subject.

Here are five surprising facts about sleep that will leave you wondering why you didn’t learn this
stuff in school.

1. A Third Of Our Lives Goes To Sleep!

Most people are aware that they don’t sleep as much as they should.
What they may not realize, though, is that poor sleep habits can cost them a lot of time,
regardless of whether they’re over or undersleeping. Optimizing your sleeping habits is import
ant for two reasons. First, it can help you to wake up feeling rested and refreshed, meaning that doing certain things will take you less time. Oppositely, when you don’t get enough sleep, your body feels fatigued and your mind is foggy. This can lead to excessive daytime napping, which can eat into your productivity and cost you time.

In the best case scenario, you’d sleep about 6 to 8 hours, meaning that 25 to 30% of your life, you will spend asleep!

2. Sleep Is Essential For Good Health.

When we think of recovery, we often think of massages, good nutrition, and meditation. However, our bodies recover in many ways and one of the most important is during sleep. Sleep is essential for good health because that’s the state during which the body is in its deepest recovery. When we are asleep, our bodies repair damaged cells, replenish energy stores, and release hormones that help to promote growth and development. In addition, sleep helps to improve mood, memory, and cognitive function.
As you can see, there are many reasons why sleep is essential for good health, and the best
part is… We don’t entirely understand sleep, yet!

3. Sleep Has Different Stages.

Getting a good night’s sleep is essential for both physical and mental health, but many people don’t realize that sleep is not a single, continuous state.
In fact, sleep is made up of different stages that cycle throughout the night. The first stage of sleep is called N1, or non-REM sleep. This stage is light sleep from which a person can be easily awakened.

N2 is the second stage of sleep (also non-rem), and it is characterized by deeper relaxation and occasional bursts of brain activity called sleep spindles.

The third stage of sleep, known as N3 or slow wave sleep, is thought to be the deepest and most restorative stage of sleep. During this stage, the brain produces slow Delta waves and is less responsive to external stimuli.
Finally, REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is the dreaming stage of sleep during which our eyes
rapidly move back and forth. This stage is critical for learning and memory consolidation, emotional processing and healthy brain development.

4. Some People Dream In Black & White.

Some people dream in black and white. Most of the time. Dreams are strange things, anyway a jumble of images, feelings, and memories that seem to make no sense at all. But dreaming in black and white is even stranger. It’s like watching an old movie, or looking at a photograph from a long time ago. Everything is in shades of gray, without any color at all. People who dream in black and white say that it’s just as vivid as dreaming in color. They can see all the details, and it feels just as real as any other dream. But there’s something about it that feels different, too. It’s like looking at the world through a different lens. Maybe it’s because black and white dreams are more like memories than regular dreams. Or maybe it’s because they’re so rare. Either way, dreaming in black and white is a fascinating phenomenon!

5. You Can Control Your Dreams.

Dreams. Everybody has them. Every night, we journey into the land of slumber, and our mind conjures up all sorts of strange and wonderful things. But what if you could learn to control your dreams? Lucid dreaming is a technique that allows you to do just that. With practice, you can learn to become aware that you are dreaming, and then take control of the dreamscape.

Want to fly like Superman? No problem.

Feel like having a chat with specific people from your past, present, or future? Easy peasy.

Lucid dreaming takes time to learn but it is a skill that can be mastered by anyone with a bit of
patience and practice. So why not give it a try? Who knows what sort of adventures await you in the land of dreams?

Final Thoughts

Sleep is a crucial part of our lives, and yet it remains shrouded in mystery.
We’re still learning new things about sleep all the time, and we hope you found these five facts
as fascinating as we did.

What do you think is the most surprising thing about sleep? Let us know in the comments!

Rethinking Drinking

I know. I know. I am such a square and am raining on your Independence Day Parade but before you go Joey Chestnut on the keg at the cookout and play with illegal explosive devices, keep a few things in mind.

DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE! EVER!

Alcohol is one of those substances that can have both positive and negative effects on the body, with the latter manifesting much more often.

Yes, getting drunk can make you feel good for a couple of hours, but there are many things going on in the backend, which you simply can’t feel until it’s too late.

In this article, we’re going to give you insight on drinking, how much is too much, what the word “moderation” means, and even, when drinking in moderation can also be bad.

Why Do We Get Drunk?

When consuming alcoholic beverages, your liver starts breaking it down, utilizing a flurry of powerful enzymes.

Enzymes are basically molecules that speed up the rate of the chemical reactions occuring in your body.

The state we refer to as “drunkenness” occurs when you consume alcohol faster than you can break it down.

Now, the body can break down one standard drink per hour and in most cases, people go way above that.

However, given that getting drunk is one of the purposes of drinking alcohol in the first place, an important question comes to mind…

How Much Is Too Much?

Whether we’re talking about alcohol, water, food, or anything else that you put in the body, moderation should be one of your main rules of thumb.

Specifically for alcohol, the dietary guidelines for Americans define drinking in moderation, as having 1 drink and 2 drinks per day, for females and males, respectively.

It is important to note here that a “drink” is usually defined as a 350 ml beer, not a big whiskey!

Certainly, consuming harsh alcohol on a daily basis will manifest alcohol’s side effects much quicker than a beer or two.

When Is Moderation Bad?

If you are generally healthy, and have good nutritional, sleeping and training habits, having alcohol in moderation will have little to no side effects.

However, in certain cases, even low alcohol consumption may have certain side effects.

Try and avoid alcohol, if you:

• Are about to participate in physical activities
• Take medication that interacts with alcohol
• Have a health condition that may worsen with alcohol consumption
• Find it difficult to control your alcohol intake after you start drinking
• Are trying to have kids (alcohol may worsen the function of your reproductive system)

Can Alcohol Do You Good?

Though binge drinking is a common practice amongst many age groups, the fact of the matter is that certain alcoholic drinks can actually have some positive effects on the body.

Of course, this is in the context of moderation, on top of healthy overall habits.

Here are the top 2 healthiest alcoholic drinks and their possible positive effects on the body:

1) Red wine

Home-made red wine has certain antioxidants, along with polyphenols, which can promote heart/overall health & protect your cells from damage.

Red wine has been scientifically proven to improve the health of your heart, brain and even bones!

Do you fancy a drink more often? Get yourself a glass of red wine! It also goes well with a steak, so you can’t really go wrong here (unless you have too much).

2) Beer

As you can see, this 2-points list consists of alcoholic beverages that have a low alcohol percentage (~14% for red wine and ~4.5% for beer).

This low alcohol content is a part of the reason why these drinks can have positive effects on your body.

Just like wine, beer has its antioxidants, which are slightly different, due to the fact that beer is derived from barley and hops, instead of grapes.

Nevertheless, antioxidants are always good and in the case of beer, they are especially good for the kidneys.

Got trouble taking a pee? Drink a peer! Oops… Beer*

Conclusion

Alcohol consumption is often linked to binge drinking and a very prominent state of drunkenness.

And while getting piss drunk regularly will inevitably lead to certain side effects, the fact of the matter is that alcohol, in moderation can actually be good for you!

If you are a generally healthy individual, you don’t really have to cut out alcohol altogether.

Just make sure to consume the right alcohol, in the right amounts and always, have it lay on top of some quality, nutritious food!

Have a happy 4th of July. God Bless America. Please be safe both about driving and with the explosives!

Circular Strength: What is it and why should you do it?

Circular Strength is the category of fitness that includes swinging implements like hammers, macebells, clubbells, indian clubs and even kettlebells.

I can hear all the hardstyle guys forming up ranks and calling Pavel to come challenge me to a Secret Service Snatch Test to prove my insolence.

Yes, I said kettlebells belong in the smooth, rhythmic confines of circular strength.

This argument proves my point though. You can lift anything with a hard style. Highland games throws are very hard style versions of circular strength moves.

Benefit One: Strength Endurance

The question is what is best not what you can do. Explosive moves should only be done in small bursts. So, screw those crossfitters that want to do 20 reps of cleans.

Kettlebells are lifted easiest with a swing. They are too light to get Oly benefits. Yes, for some a 32kg bell is a max effort but once you get some practice, it will be a rep max focus.

Consider circular strength to be a more strength endurance focus instead of strength focus. You are not going to do one rep of any swing, circle, cast or mill.

Benefit Two: Range of Motion

Take any Indian Club workout. You are going to let your arms and shoulders move, stretch and reach to places you would never with a dumbbell.

Benefit Three: Coordination

It builds a comfort in your body to loosen up enough to move efficiently while still maintaining the force output to move the weight, change direction, and balance yourself.

Why am I adding it to my clients programs?

For that reason primarily. Sure it isn’t gonna help pack on the muscle mass or burn enough calories to cut inches from your gut.

• It will loosen up that stress knot in your shoulders and neck.
• It will open up your shoulders and activate your spinal stabilizers.
• It will activate your rotator cuff and strengthen those weaknesses.
• It will work your hands and wrists in ways dumbbells don’t.

If you are interested in learning how to use clubs, maces, or kettlebells, fill out the new client questionnaire and we will get something scheduled.

If you are a Dad whose looking to add some muscle and lose some fat, I have a new program starting up soon that is just for guys like you and me. Click here and ask about the Dadbod Resto-mod program.

What is the best way to design a workout program?

So many guys are lost in the gym because they don’t know what the basics of a great training program are. Here are my 5 questions to ask yourself.

I see so many guys floundering in the gym because they make up the exercises that they are going to do right before they step up to the dumbbell rack. If you ask them why they don’t have a program, the answer is I don’t know how to set one up.

First of all, you should hire a trainer. I would be happy to put a program together for you or get you set up on a program on TrainHeroic. But if you are wanting to get your own training plan together. Here are a few things I ask clients when putting their programs together:

1. What are you training for? This should be obvious but the number of people who read a blog about some cool new training technique (for those of you in my demographic, read in a muscle mag.) and know you need to put it into your workout would amaze you. Conditioning work won’t help you put on mass. Heavy low rep work will make you strong not big. Doing hypertrophy work won’t get you a new bench press max.
2. What has your training looked like for the past month? There’s an old adage that the best training program is the one you are not on. Now I know I used to use that as an excuse to throw in some cool new technique that I just read about in the muscle magazine (don’t judge me) but that isn’t what it means. You adapt to your training because you get stimulated by it. Once your body gets used to it, it stops responding by growing. Your next training cycle should be different than what you are doing now so it can stimulate the next cycle of growth.
3. What is the biggest thing holding you back in your training? You can’t run from a weakness. You have to face it, overcome it, and move on. This is what I call a Prep phase. It gets you ready for the next training cycle. When I coach powerlifters, we often start with a Prep phase to develop their rotator cuff muscles. Why? Because they are a weak link in the kinetic chain and will hold us back if they don’t get stronger. Focus your next phase on what you need to do to get ready for your next training phase.
4. What part of year are you coming into? I like to base my clients training on the time of year. So many times, you can’t be focused on your training because of social obligations, school obligations or family life. Scheduling a cutting cycle between Halloween and New Year’s means facing some of the most tempting foods during the peak time for social gatherings. Mass building during the summer when people want to spend the most time with their shirts off? Pick a training cycle and goal that coincides with your life outside the gym and you will get better results.
5. What cool new thing did you want to try? Not the smartest idea if you are 8 weeks precontest but if you are in the off-season or are just wanting to train hard without worrying about the long term, this is exactly what you should do. For many it is trying kettlebells, strongman or Olympic lifting. For other’s it might be the program the Rock posted to IG. Either way, this could be the opportunity to try something new.

These are a few things that go into setting up a program. I know it isn’t a numbered plan for a program but I don’t have the answer to those questions for you.

Quick Formula for you guys wanting to build mass: 4 sets of each exercise, 6-10 reps per set, 4-6 exercises per bodypart and hit each bodypart twice a week. Chest and back, shoulders and arms, legs, rest and repeat.

If you don’t want to tinker yourself, set up an appointment on my website, http://www.highpowercoach.com

Your friend in strength,

Rich Kahle

P.S. I have a discount code for you on Lumen.me, Enter RICH10 and get 10% off. Let me know when you order and I will get you set up with free coaching for your first month.

Clubbell Workout #1

This is just a basic workout with no complexes. Each exercise was performed at an urgent but not constant pace.

Kettlebells are great for flow and easy to hold. Clubbells are like holding your kettle bottoms up with two fingers in the dark-easy to swing and hard to hold still.

Warm up with 15 of each exercise on each side:

• Two Hand Swing
• Two Hand Side Swing
• Two Hand Swing to Hike
• One Hand Swing
• One Hand Side Swing

Slow exercises are done with the emphasis on control and constant tension. The focus for improvement is in precision and constant tension versus improving weight, speed, or reps. All exercises are done for 5 perfect reps before adding one. 3 sets on each side.

• Two Hand Front Press
• Two Hand Side Angle Press
• Two Hand Pullover to Ready
• Two Hand 180
• Two Hand Pullover to Staff

Dynamic exercises are done with that natural tempo that clubs have. The idea isn’t to be sharp and jerky but to find the zen of the swing. All of these exercises were done for 3 sets of 10.

• Side swing to squat
• Pullover to Staff Squat
• Barbarian Squat
• Alternating Warrior Lunge
• Good Morning to Front Press

Chaotic Cogitation

Bounce over to my other blog for my random musings. The Rich Kahle Project is a combination of personal therapy, expansion of my digital footprint, and a lifestyle blog for a 40-something average guy.

5 Exercises You Wouldn’t Do If The Gym Was Open: How To Survive The Great Gainz Famine of 2020

With Covid-19 having impacted the whole world in ways that were unanticipated, society has been wobbling like a drunk staggering out of a bar.  Meatheads were no different.  Gyms were open with no plans of closing on Tuesday.  Wednesday night they closed and have yet to reopen.  Fitness stores look like the toilet paper aisle at Wally World–bare and empty.  No gym.  No weights.  No Gainz.

Then They Were Gone…

Gyms were one of the first businesses to close their doors.  It makes sense that a virus that is spread by close human contact would make gyms a hotzone for transmission.  So, they locked up the Glorious House of Gains and cast us out of Valhalla.

Many had a few dumbbells and barbells stashed for just this occasion. Those that didn’t scrambled to find weights like crazy people hoarding toilet paper and like our dirty bottomed compatriots, the shelves were bare as Mother Hubbard’s Cupboards.

I guess we’re doomed to see our muscles whither away doing endless outdoor cardio and Richard Simmons tapes for eternity.

Just kidding. I got your back.  

Here’s My Top Five Things To Do Without  A Gym:

1. Work On Your Core.

Burpees.  Just kidding.  It’s this thing. I do very focused reps.  Super strict technique with a focus on holding a vacuum through the whole rep.  They suck worse than burpees.

2. Work on your grip strength.  

I used to have a crushing grip that was strong enough to deadlift over 400 pounds on a Rolling Thunder deadlift handle. Now, not so much.  I still use my Ivanko-clone supergripper but I can’t max it out.  I don’t know where my old Captains of Crush Gripper disappeared to but I found these on Amazon and bought them to get my hands back in shape.  I got the full set and will outline my training program in another post.  Here’s the link to the beginner’s set.

3. Use Those Elastic Bands For A Workout

I just ordered these bands for working my back and shoulders from Amazon.

But you can get a total body workout from a basic set of bands that you can pick up at the local supercenter.  I know it doesn’t feel like real iron in your hands but your muscles don’t know the difference.  As long as they are working against resistance, you can make them grow.  Plus, the fact that the force curves are differnet and the muscle recruitment is not the same is a stimulant for growth by itself!

4. Make an Indian Club (I used this video.)

5. Use Your Bodyweight For A Workout

Here’s a few of my favorite YouTube channels to follow for some butt kicking workouts.

• Funk Roberts designed my Metabolic Conditioning Cert from those guys at NESTA.  Check out this MetCon workout out.
• Strength Side has been my go to for mobility and body control workouts.  His style is very similar to yoga in the controlled, slow moves he uses.  This was yesterday’s choice for hip mobility.
• Mark Lauren has a lot of programs through his app which requires a subscription (Totally worth it.) but here’s a workout for you.
• OR you could…

Sign Up For The High Power Program

The High Power Program is a daily workout team that brings you a daily workout plus coaching mini-exercises for nutrition, mindset, and fitness tips.

In my years as a personal trainer, I have evolved my knowledge base to meet my client needs.  I have added certifications in nutrition, mindset, sleep, stress management and life coaching in addition to certs in almost every form of exercise common today.

The problem is delivering that info to my clients.  Business would be dictating Fitness.  I don’t want that.  That does not serve you.

Personal Training, Nutrition Coaching, Life Coaching, and Chef service bundled into one package would run into thousands of dollars a month.  

How do I bring you the most information, provide support in you need, and hold you accountable while respecting the myself and the investment in that broad and deep knowledge base?  The HIGH POWER PROGRAM is how.   

Each day you will get:

• a workout for the day, plus 
• a nutrition tip or recipe,​ plus
• a sleep, stress management, or productivity tip and
• a mindset and motivation message or exercise 

Get On The Team Now!

If you need me, I’ll be around.

Explore what HIGHPOWERCOACH.COM has to offer! 

Is Hiring A Personal Trainer Worth The Money?

TOP 6 REASONS TO PAY FOR A PERSONAL TRAINER  

Working with a trainer has as many benefits as there are types of clients but here are the top six reasons hiring a trainer can help you:

1. Keep you accountable to your goals. Once you have hired a personal trainer, you don’t have to do it alone. Just knowing someone is waiting for you can be the motivation you need to workout. Plus, once you have invested in your program, you will want to get the most out of your money, so you will have to put in the work.
2. Keep you from getting hurt. Learning the correct way to do an exercise is invaluable. Many times people will see an exercise in a book or in an Instagram video and try to put it into their workout. Without proper instruction, most people don’t get their form right. That doesn’t just mean they aren’t getting the benefit they want but they are putting themselves at risk for injury. Having an expert’s eye on you will ensure you are working out in the safest, most effective way you can.
3. Bring variety your workouts. An experienced trainer has a cache of training methods, programs and plans that they can use with you. While some constancy of training is necessary to get you the results you want, you will be more motivated and interested if you are not simply repeating the same cookie cutter program over and over.
4. Personalize your program around your needs. Any person over the age of 30 has noticed their body isn’t 16 anymore. Any person over the age of 30 has a life that is often complicated by jobs, kids, and a million other things. Your trainer can design and adapt your training program to meet your life and body.
5. Help you set inspiring and attainable goals. So many people come into the gym with the latest before and after pictures in their mind. A coach can help you set goals and outline a plan of action to get you there. Along the way, your coach will keep you focused on the goal and help you adjust your plan to keep you on track for success.
6. Know when to push you and when to reign you in.  A personal trainer will know you better than you know yourself. Sometimes that means calling for those extra reps you might not have done on your own. Other times it will be telling you to take an extra day off for rest or trim a few extra reps or sets off your workout because it just isn’t there.

Whether you want to make fitness your way of life or just fit fitness into your way of life, you will find great benefit working with a personal trainer.

If you are looking for a personal trainer near me in the search bar, consider taking a look at highpowercoach.com and what Coach Kahle has to offer. Take that first step toward building muscle, getting stronger, being healthy and losing that fat!