How to Mom and Lift Heavy Things

Just want to start off by saying, I am by no means a parent, nor close to one. I am still very much a child, and probably be at heart my whole life; even when I have little munchkins of my own running around.

I want to let everyone know, this blog is an opinion, if you disagree with me, then sure that's completely fine, if you agree with me, then great! I am simply an observer from the window, I don't know how it is on the inside when it comes to parenting.

Now, lets get down into it...

Couple months ago, I was reading an article about finding your niche in the fitness industry. When I took time to think about it, I always thought it would be athletes. I grew up playing every sport you could imagine, and naturally thought I'd be training pro athletes one day. Well that's not how my career shaped into; I personally think it turned out far better.

I finally came to a conclusion that my niche of training is women...Primarily mothers. If you have ever noticed my Instagram/Facebook account, all the photos and videos I post of clients are fit and bad ass Moms.

Especially, the ones who I've trained for over a year; they become super heroes! From heavy dead lifts, full pull ups, and push ups from the floor, many of my female clients are stronger than their husbands.

I have an army of strong and bad ass Moms kicking butt in the gym every day!

After years of training these super heroes, I think I have a better grasp of what it takes for a new mother to get back into shape and feel good about herself after having a little one.

Here is my personal list for new mothers, or mothers who left fitness on the last of the priority list.

1. Make it a priority! I know this sounds redundant, but ask yourself when was the last time you allowed 1 hour to yourself a day? Or better 2 hours a week?!?!

No matter how many children you have, you can allow 2 hours a week to yourself to sneak off to the gym.

Can't find a sitter? Step one, ask your husband, keep nagging him until he breaks and says yes to look after the kids when you go to the gym. If this doesn't work, find an ultimatum; no home cooked meals for a week, no clean laundry for a week, or just get creative! 

Go through your circle of friends and family, make a deal with them to watch your kids. I'm sure family and friends don't mind once in a while to take turns looking after your kids.

Remember the proverb "It takes a village to raise a child" play this card and ask for help!

2. Set an example. As your children grow up, seeing their mother as a strong and fit individual will benefit them in the long run. Wouldn't you want your daughters to see that women can be as strong as the boys? Wouldn't you want your boys to see that women are not beneath them when it comes to strength?

They will also learn that physical exercise is a part of a healthy lifestyle, and wouldn't think twice of sitting on the couch all weekend staring at the TV or iPad. 

3. Enjoy life. After you get into a gym routine, learn to enjoy life! Appreciate what your body is going through. Don't criticize every inch of your body, but instead focus on what parts of your body you love. The better appreciation you have with what you got, will go a long way for your mental state;it embodies a healthy love for yourself . 

After realizing my niche is mothers, I truly believe its better than training any pro athlete out there. I can change their lives for the better, not only for them, but the entire family. 

It's better to bring happiness to someone's life than trying to better an athlete for him or her to make more millions per year.

What do you think?

12 Pounds in 6 Weeks, Here's How I Did it!

Many of you might have known of my little experiment I've been working on lately.

I took the pledge to put on weight in shortest time possible, I chose 6 weeks.

I know, you all think I probably mowed down burgers from the drive through to reach my goal of gaining some lbs. But no, I ate clean and added 2 things to add on mass, and the best part is, I will share my experiment with you!

About 6 weeks ago I weighed in at 155lbs and 7.4% body fat, according to a bioimpedance scale. My daily diet consisted of:

5am: 2 Litres of water, 4 tablets of BCAAs, along with 1 cup of green tea

8am: 4 tablets of BCAAs

11am: Some sort of meat (chicken, beef, fish, etc) huge salad, along with some sort of fat (avocados, nuts, or spoonfuls of peanut butter)

3pm: 2 eggs, sauerkraut, kale chips, and fat ( avocados, nuts, or spoonfuls of peanut butter)

6pm: same as the 11am meal.

I don't eat until 11am as I follow a intermittent fasting protocol. (I might write about this in another blog)

Now the way I was eating here was perfect to maintain my 155lbs frame and my weight would fluctuate a couple pounds here or there only if one of my cheat meals over the weekend exceeded my daily calorie intake. 

Beers and burgers usually does it.... 

Now, you might be asking, what was my trick to gain 12lbs in 6 weeks? 2 things:

1. Peanut butter jelly sandwiches 

2. Chocolate milk.

1. Why PB and J? Reading a book called Mass Made Simple by Dan John, he recommended on workout days having a good old fashion PB and J sandwich after a heavy workout. He swore it was the best thing you could do to replenish/recover and put on some mass.

After my workouts for a snack I would add in one of these sandwiches. I used whole grain bread, natural peanut butter, and an organic strawberry jam, which had no artificial colours or sweeteners.

2. Chocolate milk? Reading an article from Precision Nutrition about one of their Olympic winter athletes sparked my interested. They described an off season regiment of bulking. The athlete would often gain 20-30lbs during the off season to focus on power and strength. The secret? Chocolate milk. Getting in 2 litres per day after workouts.

Reading further, the reasoning behind this madness was, drinking calories is a lot easier than eating them, and its easier on the digestive system.

So, what I did I do? Week one: 1 cup of chocolate milk in combination with my PB and J sandwich after workouts. Week two: 2 cups, week three: 3 cups, week 4... I think you got the idea. By week six its 6 cups of chocolate milk after workouts.

My diet started to look like this:

5am: 2 Litres of water, 4 tablets of BCAAs, along with 1 cup of green tea

8am: 4 tablets of BCAAs

11am: Some sort of meat (chicken, beef, fish, etc) huge salad, along with some sort of fat (avocados, nuts, or spoonfuls of peanut butter) with PB and J sandwich and chocolate milk (1-6 cups, depending on the week)

3pm: 2 eggs, sauerkraut, kale chips, and fat ( avocados, nuts, or spoonfuls of peanut butter)

6pm: same as the 11am meal, excluding the PB and J and chocolate milk.

Now I weigh in at 167lbs and depending how the scale wanted to spit out my body fat, it ranged from 8.4% to 9.6%..

I personally think this experiment went well. If you have any questions please let me know, as now I am a beast and can hardly make it through a door with my broad shoulders and swole biceps.

Self Confidence and Fat Loss

"I feel fat."

Is one of the most common phrases thought of and spoken of, on an every day basis when trying to get fit. There is a huge pyschological barrier in every day life when we look at ourselves and constantly twist and rupture our very own spirit and well being.

Why?

Probably from images like these we see every day....

and don't forget the guys too....

There is no amount of workouts, meals of chicken breast and broccoli you could have in a week, that would make you feel good about yourself while looking at the images above. We begin to teach ourselves that we are not good enough to the standard....Apparently the standard is celebrities.... The ones who get paid to look good on camera.... Seems silly to me.. 

It would be equivalent to comparing yourself trying to cook on Chopped the TV show beside 3 executive chefs and lose the first round because you stood there over 3 ingredients of kumquats, cactus pears and duck breast, not knowing what to do with it. Seems like a high standard huh? Apparently our minds don't see that when comparing our body in the mirror.

These celebrities only job is to look great on camera. From exercising 4 hours a day and eating 5000+ calories to become the next super hero or limiting your calories to 1200 per day while at the same time dehydrating two days prior to a photo shoot, these are some of the things they need to go through in order to look acceptable to the public.

Below are some before and after shots for photo shoots that have been photo shopped for covers.

Do you notice anything in this Beyonce photo?

Apparently things like skin folds while curving your body is not acceptable... I don't know about you, but when I sit down at a table I feel like my abs are non existent and feel like I ate a dozen doughnuts.....

 

So what could you do? I'd suggest the next time you look at yourself in the mirror, rather than saying

"my arms are too fat"

"my legs are too big"

Look at one part of your body and tell yourself it looks great, and why. Tell yourself everyday one thing of your body you love. Love yourself and don't worry about anything else.

Post Workout Pizza Recipe (yes, pizza!)

If you know me at all, you probably understand my love with pizza, or anything with a gooey melted cheese spread all over something.

I must admit I went through a phase of trying to create a healthy version of pizza (to the best of my abilities) I could. Believe me I did all the hard work of going through all the unhealthy versions first, to make sure my clients wouldn't have to....You're welcome.

One thing did stick around as a key ingredient that I loved. Pesto. There is something about pesto that gives it a better kick than the regular tomato sauce base.

I was going to share my recipe, but there is a similar version from Precision Nutrition Gourmet cook book I found and has all the maronutrients laid out for us.

Below are the ingredients and instructions for your own Pesto Chicken Pizza

Ingredients

6oz of chicken breast
1/4 tsp salt
2 pinches pepper
olive oil spray
whole wheat tortilla
3 tbsp pesto
1/4 cup small broccoli florets
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup asparagus
1/2 cup aged cheddar

Serving Size

1 serving

Prep Time

10 min prep time
10 min cooking time

Instructions

Cut chicken into strips, then season with salt and pepper. Then either sautee or grill chicken and set aside. Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit. Lightly coat baking sheet with spray and place the tortilla on the tray. Spread the pesto base evenly, leaving an inch around the tortilla for a crust. Place all vegetables on the tortilla then spread the cheese evenly, and bake for 10 min or when the crust browns.

Enjoy!

Success Story: Sarah

Sarah is one badass Mom. She cycles, deadlifts, and crushes any kettlebell exercise out there.

Sarah's journey started when she realized that postpartum recovery was necessary after she completed her first 10km and her performance didn't meet up to her expectations. She felt "like someone had beaten me on the insides" and had to look further than just "kiegals" that many doctors recommend after pregnancy.

Since doctors are not movement orientated physios, this is as good as it was going to get... Until her very good friend Arleigh refereed her on to me along with a couple other coaches at a gym I was at previously.

With proper progression, time and dedication Sarah has become an elite athlete in my opinion. She has trained with me for 3 years or more(I lost count), and has crushed any goal put in front of her. From 10km runs, cycling, triathlons and even her recent victory of a 205lbs deadlift.

In case you missed it on Facebook, here it is again.

Impressive right? She is a great role model for all women and mothers out there that think they can't lift anything heavier than their own children.

In my opinion the clients I train that put their 100% effort day in day out in the gym and on top of that raise a family are real celebrities that need recognition.

So I'd like to think Sarah is officially a super hero based on everything she does! She is our very own Super Girl!

The Rules of Fat Loss

Troubling loosing fat off your body? Then you're probably doing it wrong. Many of us try to chase too many goals at the same time and then are pulled in all sorts of different directions, and never get any where.

Out in the land of fitness, there are so many protocols on how to build muscle, loose fat, eat healthy, increase performance, but it's information overload. Why can't there be a simple to follow solution?

Well there is, I remember reading an article written by Alywin Cosgrove called "The Hierarchy of Fat Loss." He provides a clear explanation what to do when it comes to effective fat loss and supports it with research. So, get your notebooks out, because you're about to get schooled!

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Everything I will write from this point is based on the article mentioned above along with my own input. Below are 3 things you need for successful fat loss.

1. Nutrition. 

There are many people that constantly claim "I eat pretty good" but are same ones who wish they could loose 10lbs. Seems like this equation doesn't add up......

Make sure your diet is in check before anything else. I personally believe, and its been shown from years of training clients, that all the exercise in the world won't self correct a bad diet.

2. Proper training protocol. 

Want to get better at power lifting? Use a program for power lifting. Want to do better at a 10km run? Use a program for a 10km run. Want to loose fat? Maybe follow the pattern and use a fat loss program.

What does that mean? If you have goals of running half marathons and cycling long distances, increasing your max deadlift and fat loss all at the same time, most likely you will do poorly in all categories if trying to achieve all at once. Why not focus on one? Commit to a fat loss program for 8 weeks and you will see the result.

When I write fat loss programs for clients I make sure to explain that you need a few things in order. You need to have a minimum of 4 hours of training per week that consists of two hours of strength training and 2 hours of metabolic training.

Anything after you can add in aerobic exercise such as cycling, running, etc.

3. Consistency

Week one, you have all your meals prepared, made all your workouts, and you're doing great. Week two, you missed two workouts, went out for lunch couple times, and you're all over the place. Third week you go away for a trip and completely fall off the rails, and you end up discouraged and back back where you started.

You need to bulletproof yourself to keep consistent, this is the key.

Now lets look at all the research on fat loss to further support my points above. Below we have 2 cases.

1. A circuit training protocol was used with 12 sets of exercises for 31 minutes. Researchers concluded that the subjects' metabolism was raised for 38 hours. 38 hours! That means your burning calories a day and a half after your workout.!

2. 3 groups were chosen. Group 1 followed a diet only, group 2 had the diet and aerobic exercise and group 3 was diet and a fat loss weight training program. The results of each group goes as follows:

1 - lost 14.6lbs average in 12 weeks
2 - lost 1 pound more than group 1 in 12 weeks
3 - lost 21.1lbs of fat in 12 weeks.

What does this mean? When fat loss is your main goal a proper fat loss program combined with good nutrition is the recipe for success.

If you are further interested about fat loss training the Cosgrove's have many books on this topic. I personally use the "New Rules of Lifting" series which goes over in depth different training styles and techniques, along with nutritional help. I use this exact one below for creating programs for all my clients. Click below if you'd like to purchase it.

Transformation Challenge Update (It's almost sold out!)

Hello Everyone!

Since last Thursday when I posted about the 8 Week Transformation Challenge, I was pleased to see how much traction I received in regards to signing up and interest.

Since then, almost all spots have been filled up! The silver and gold packages are completely gone and the only ones left is the bronze package.

Again, I've posted on Facebook yesterday that there are limited spots to the Bronze package, so I'd suggest if you are having second thoughts I'd jump right into this before its too late!

I believe many people jumped on the other packages because of the one on one time with me to go over any nutritional needs. 

But, the Bronze Package still allows you to participate and stay accountable and achieve success. 

You'll have access to the program that has four workouts. Two strength and two metabolic conditioning days. These workouts will be uploaded to your Trainerize account (if you are not a current client we will go over this) and you can track your progress throughout the 8 week journey.

You will have access to the weekly emails with the "10 Healthy Habits" that you will follow precisely to achieve your fat loss/muscle building goals. This also allows you to access me for information via email if you have any questions, concerns or thoughts.

You will have access to the gym to do the workouts on your own if you are a current client. You can just email me which days and times work best for you. 

If you ask me this is a sweet deal and you will learn a lot of useful tips and habits to carry over when the challenge is over.

And remember after August 17th the price of the Bronze Package goes up, so sign up quickly!

Email me for more info! rwmatuszewski@gmail.com