Thats right, a new year in upon us. I have been talking to a lot of you about what improvements you are going to make this year to insure it is better then last and more often then not the word diet has come up. I want to clearify this word diet. It seems like it has gotten a very bad reputation! People start diets because they want to lose weight or because they want to feel better, but what if I told you a diet is not something you start. It is something you are already doing! According to www.merriam-webster.com the word diet simply means " habitual nourishment" or " a food or drink regularly prepared or consumed" Well aren't you doing that already? Dont you habitually choose what foods you are going to put in your mouth, whether it is out of convience or necessity? Don't you regularly provide and consume yourself with food and drink. I know you do because if you didn't you wouldn't be reading this!
I want to challenge you this year to not think of diet as a crazy, get fit quick, temporary thing. Your diet is anything you put in your mouth everyday. The issue is do you have a good diet that helps you stay at a healthy weight, provide you with the energy that you need to sustain your daily activity, and gives you the nutrients that you need to live a long life? If not then only you can change that. Over the next website posts we are going to talk about how you can change your food choices to make a healthy and strong you!!!

Step 2: Prioritize these acheivements: Put a number beside each showing how many years it will take you. Want a new house in 3 years? Put a "3".

Step 3: Narrow down your choices. Which ones do you REALLY want the most? Aim for 3 this year, 3 more within 3 years, and 3 more within the 5-10 year range.

Step 4: Write down a "WHY" statement for each of these goals. Make sure the reason is big - huge!

Step 5: This is important. As humans, we move away from pain faster than we move towards pleasure. Make NOT achieving these goals painful. Write down why it will hurt you to not to achieve these goals.

Step 6: Plan out the steps you need to take in the easily foreseeable future, understanding that opportunities will present themselves when you need them to. This works because there are opportunities EVERYWHERE. When we are open to them, we start to see them.

Step 7: Take action today. Never leave the site of setting a goal without taking a step immediately towards making that goal happen. Is there a phone call you need to make? Do it. Is there an obstacle you need to eradicate? Do it. You get the idea, right?

I am available to each of you for goal setting sessions! Come see me to start your steps towards success for this exciting New Year!!!

With the Sectionals of CrossFit coming up in 12 weeks I started to wonder what is the number one thing that can help athletes improve thier overall fitness levels. Is it more squats? More deadlifts? More running? What I found out might suprise you! A hidden secret to better overall fitness may be getting more sleep! There are tons of articles on the web about the importance of sleep and recovery. Here is a portion of one of those articles

"Lifting Weights Doesn't Actually Make You Stronger
In your excited rush to get stronger, you might forget that it's not the actual weight lifting that makes you stronger. The weight lifting (or running, swimming, etc.) wears your muscles down. Then, your body has to build them back up stronger than before. So if you keep pushing yourself without adequate rest, especially sleep, you'll just be driving yourself into the ground. You might even be overtraining, which is something you really want to avoid.

Exercise & Sleep, or, Yin and Yang
It takes sleep to build your body back up more powerful than before. Your body heals the micro-trauma that you did to the muscle cells. If you have ever been sore and achy and then had a good 8-10 hours of sleep, you'll know exactly what I mean. There's nothing better than sleeping for recovery and growth."

And if you are trying to lose weight here is some well said advice...

"Sleep & Weight Loss
Even if you're trying to lose weight, sleep can help you in this area also. There's a strong correlation between sleep deprivation and being overweight and obese. Granted, correlation doesn't equal causation. But it's still worth noting that many of the people not getting enough sleep are putting on the pounds.

Not getting adequate sleep for growth causes issues with your body's hormones, especially leptin, which is responsible for regulating metabolism and appetite. When that gets out of balance, you will probably end up eating more and the extra food will turn straight into body fat."

You can find the whole article at
http://www.shapefit.com/exercise/sleep-exercise-recovery.html

With the CrossFit Games right around the corner CrossFitting, Eating right, and getting at least 8 hours of sleep each night will  definitely aid you in your quest to be the World's Fittest Man or Woman! And if you're just trying to look better naked the same formula applies to you!!