Take Responsiblity for Your Own Health

        WHEW!! This has been a busy busy BUSY past few weeks; hosting fitness/weight-loss challenges, personal training, multiple side jobs, teaching fitness classes, wellness evaluations...etc hence my lack of new posts. But even with how busy I have been I still maintained 7-8% body fat and gained 6 lbs of muscle!! No more complaining about being too busy for a healthy lifestyle. If I can accomplish those results while working 12 hour days, so can you!

Bad lighting, but you get the idea...

          Herbalife has officially consumed my life recently and it has been SO REWARDING!! Between the products helping me maintain and exceed my own goals and ,the TRUE reward, the joy of helping others reach their goals. While co-coaching ~40 participants I have had the pleasure of watching them lose approximately 150 lbs of body fat! 150 POUNDS!! That's an entire person!!
     
Please feel free to contact me with questions, comments, concerns about your diet, exercise routine, Herbalife products, and those tips and tricks to lose the last few pounds :) Herbalife

 Today's WOD:

Warm up,
15-20 minutes or cardio

HIIT; 60sec exercises with 20sec rest in-between
Backward lunge with front kick
Walking push ups
Mountain climber
Sumo squat with knee raise
Flutter kick (laying on back)
Side leg raise (from wide squat stance)
Side arm push ups (each arm, lay on side and use high arm to raise the body, bend at your hip)
Scissor crunch (lay on back, legs raised, spread and close legs as you each in between for your crunch)
Wrapping ankle touch
Side plank raise, left
Side plank raise, right
Wall sit ( add a single leg pump to step it up a notch)
REPEAT TWICE :)

Cool Down:
15-20 minutes of cardio and STRETCH
ENJOY!!!


Do you have a few stubborn pounds you haven't been able to lose? What was your workout today? Are you eating healthy snacks or meals every 2-3 hours?



       

        So there's this CRAZY new fad going around and I think Everyone should try it out :D

Image borrowed from livestrong.com

        It's called Diet and Exercise!!! And you thought I had some new trick up my sleeve...WRONG. Haha! Clients and friends alike ask "what's the trick" or "what supplements are you taking", or "what do you think of this new pill?" If you start out with a question like that, you might not like my answer to much. Because those answers won't help you meet you goals. At this point in the game, the "tricks" and supplements I use help me maintain a body fat percentage under 10% but they won't necessarily kick start your own diet. Why, you ask? You have to break your cravings beforehand.
        Food is your friend and food is your enemy. Stop looking at food as something to satisfy a craving. Before you reach for that bag of chips, candy bar, chocolate, or pint of ice cream consider what would your body NEEDS. Ask yourself, "what's a better fuel source for my body to feed on so I don't have this craving?" As I mentioned in a previous post ( http://fitnessjunky815.blogspot.com/2012/12/craving-control.html ) you have to control your cravings before you can maintain a healthy diet. And you'll always crave what you eat.
        CHALLENGE: Take 7 days and cut the garbage out of your diet. One week of clean eating, no preservatives or artificial mumbo jumbo. After 7 days you are allowed one cheat day, but don't go crazy, only cheat on 1 meal. Then continue your clean eating for an additional 7 days.

I, Peter A. Horchem, PROMISE you will feel better, have more energy, and even lose a few pounds. Don't believe me? Give it a shot. All the excuses running through your head right now are the reasons you haven't seen results yet. GET AFTER IT!

Abdominal WOD... Don't forget, 30% Gym and 70% Diet Abs are made IN THE KITCHEN!
HIIT style, 60 seconds per exercise with 10-20 sec rest between, Complete 3 rounds

Warm Up:
10 minutes of stairs (1-2 min rest before you start WOD)
OR agility exercises

Main Set:

Plank
Wrapping ankle touch
Bicycle
Side crunch w/ side leg lift (left and right)
Russian Twist
Crunches
Back Scratcher
Mountain climbers
Burpees
Plank
(DON'T STOP, go run for 5-10 min between rounds)
Complete 3 full rounds

Cool Down;
STRETCH... I like Yoga :)

 These days, the most common question I get anymore is, "what do you eat to stay in shape?"

Snacking on healthy dried fruit and nuts combos between meals could save your diet!

        One of the most common mistakes with dieting is people eat to little and excess food intake starts to be stored as fat. Below, I have listed a basic meal plan that I have used for years as a bases of my everyday eating habits. Obviously I have expanded on it quite a bit so it isn't so boring but it's a good start :) The more often you eat, and it better be quality, the more likely you can lose unwanted fat by giving your body a METABOLIC BOOST with good proteins.
      

Eating an apple before you start your meal could save you from eating 200-500 calories !!

Your legs should be your Powerhouse! Men: If you can bench press more than you can squat...you're doing something wrong.

HIIT : Perform each exercise for 60 seconds with 20 seconds of rest. Complete 3 full Sets with 1-2 minute break between sets.
        (Not hard enough; add ankle weights)

Warm up:
2-3 mile jog and stretch

Wrapping Ankle Touch
Jump Lunge
Calf Raises
Burpees
Sumo (wide) Squat
Crag Walk
Plank
Jumping Jacks
Body (air) Squat
Mountain Climber
Walking Lunge

Cool down:
1-2 mile jog and STRETCH!



What workout did you do today?

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
Calvin Coolidge

        We all know the routine. Everyone and their mother is going to be at the gym, talking about a lifestyle change, and/or have some new diet....for the next month haha! So many people give up before they have even started.
        I want EVERYONE to do something. When you're on the verge of caving and giving up on a resolution walk into an empty room, close the door, and say aloud "I'm better than this, I deserve better, and no excuse or obstacle will hold me back from my goals." Now close your eyes and see yourself bringing those goals to fruition. Manifest your own future with focus and determination!

Image borrowed from www.mindbodygreen.com