Just Do It

Just Do It

“The key to getting ahead is getting started.” Mark Twain

I am on Day 7 of my 21 Day Challenge of walking 30 minutes. One thing I have learned so far is that my mind wants to do it. Every morning, I wake up and tell myself ‘just do it.’ It’s only thirty minutes.

The physical side of me does not want to do it. Every morning, I wake up and tell myself ‘just sleep a few more minutes.’ I could have thirty more minutes of sleep before starting my work day.

The struggle is real between my higher self and lower self. I want to walk everyday, just like I promised myself. I even have co-workers who have chosen to do the challenge with me. When they send text messages about their workouts, it motivates me to do the same.

When I finally go downstairs, I constantly talk to myself. Encouraging myself. Telling myself I can do this. Reminding myself how many minutes I have completed and how many minutes I have left. The feeling of accomplishment once I have completed my thirty minutes. I still have to remind myself to ‘just do it.’

Getting started is the real struggle, but every morning, I still tell myself to ‘just do it.’ Once I get going, I have already done the hard part. I have gotten up earlier than I have been, gotten dressed, and gone downstairs to the treadmill. As long as I get started, I can ‘just do it.’

Until next time,

Stay healthy, my friends

Body By Groom

At 450 pounds, Jeff Groom could barely tie his shoes. His high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, edema and heart issues were all contributing to a dangerous outlook for his health. Without making some major changes, Jeff was facing a life of limitations and significantly less time with those he loved. And his health was not the only thing affected. The weight threw a shadow of hopelessness on every aspect of Jeff’s life, including his interactions with friends, colleagues and family.   

The decision to change one’s life is often the outcome of millions of setbacks, and then one ultimate shove. For Jeff, that shove came at the beginning of January. He began his journey when he finally faced the negative impacts on his life from an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Jeff knew he had to make a change, and could no longer endure the turmoil he was cultivating in his own life. He felt like he was slowly killing himself. One January morning, Jeff called a meeting among those he loved most, apologized for his mistakes and vowed to change his life, not only for himself but for them. 

“I had everything I could want but happiness,” Jeff says. And with that goal in mind he decided to get serious about losing weight. He had been working with Fadi Malouf, whom he had met through a friend, for about two years. When he decided to make a real change Jeff knew he would not only need Fadi’s expertise, but also his support. Jeff went through numerous trainers in the past and he knew he was not an easy client. This is why he needed someone who was more than just a trainer, someone who would push him, coach him and care for him like family.   

“I’ll pay you but I’ll fight you. I’m better at not doing what you tell me,” Jeff frankly told Fadi at the beginning. And Fadi accepted the challenge wholeheartedly. 

The first steps Jeff took in his journey were cutting out alcohol, cutting back his red meat consumption, increasing plants and lean protein in his diet, and working out. He began to enjoy lifting weights and becoming more active. Fadi pushed him in the gym and provided him with nutrition counseling to help Jeff fuel his body correctly. He also helped Jeff sort through the mental part of weight loss as his life coach.

With such a significant amount of weight to lose, Jeff decided to undergo bariatric surgery a couple months into his journey. This helped him immensely, but he still had a lot of work to do. 

“What people don’t often realize is that obesity is not the problem, it’s the solution to a deeper issue,” Fadi says, “Once I help clients identify the underlying issues and work through them, they can find the happiness they lost and care for themselves enough to lose the weight and be healthy long-term.”

Jeff recalls a difficult time at the beginning of his journey when he fell off the wagon and felt lost. He called Fadi in the middle of the night and told him he was struggling. Fadi dropped everything and went to be with Jeff and help him through his difficult time. Even though Fadi pushed him and they were usually sarcastic, this time Jeff needed the support of a friend. 

In 9 months Jeff has lost over 200 pounds. His outlook on life has completely changed. He found the happiness that was lost from his life before and for the first time in a long time, he is excited about the future. His friends and family have also noticed a change in his attitude. Jeff discovered when you care for yourself and foster self love, you in turn care for those around you more. 

For the future, Jeff is focusing on work and growing his business. In many ways he is promoting a healthier business, just like he did for himself- restructuring and not working with dishonest people. He is putting his family and company first. 

Jeff’s nutrition and fitness regimen now consist of portion control and working out when he can squeeze it in. Jeff attributes much of his success to working with Fadi. The program he followed was unique from what he experienced with dozens of trainers in the past. Jeff says he still eats things he enjoys, but it’s not about eating large amounts of food, but more about taste. Changing his overall relationship with food has led him to his success with weight loss.

Fadi could not be more proud of Jeff. Playing a role in someone completely changing their life has given him a huge sense of purpose.

“Personally, Jeff has been one of my most rewarding clients to work with. I’ve seen him transform entirely and he is so much happier now,” Fadi says. “I know we will be life-long friends.”

Jeff believes anyone who wants to lose weight and get healthier should give Fadi a shot. 

“The main thing about Fadi is he truly cares about the individual, not about the dollar amount. It’s a relationship and he really cares about people and their health.” 

Building Muscle with Static Contractions

Building Muscle with Static Contractions

Performing weight training exercises that involve static contractions is a great way to create the most muscle mass and strength through the smallest amount of movement and time. Static training involves taking a weight and holding it in a fixed position for several seconds. Today’s workout will focus on incorporating this technique.

Warm Up: 5 minutes of cardio

Focus: Chest, Arms, Legs, Core

Time: 45 minutes

Set

4 repetitions 

Incline Chest Press

  • Equipment Bench; free weights
  • Reps: 30 seconds of reps; 30 seconds holding (for a total of two minutes)
  • Weight: Start with a manageable weight for the first set; increase weight by 5-10 lbs. after each set
  • Tips & Tricks: Hold the static contraction in the open position, where elbows are in line with the shoulders

Squats

  • Equipment:  Dumbbell
  • Time: 30 seconds of reps; 30 seconds holding (for a total of two minutes)
  • Weight: 15 lbs
  • Tips & Tricks: Hold the dumbbell to your chest as you squat down to a seated position and rise up; hold the static contraction in the seated position, with knees over ankles

Lateral Pulldown  

  • Equipment Seated Pulley Machine
  • Reps: 30 seconds of reps; 30 seconds holding (for a total of two minutes)
  • Weight: Start with a manageable weight for the first set; increase weight by 5-10 lbs. after each set
  • Tips & Tricks: Hold the static contraction and focus on isolating your lateral back muscles as you pull down

One Arm Row with Double Hold

  • Equipment:  Dumbbells
  • Time: 30 seconds of reps; 30 seconds holding (for a total of two minutes)
  • Weight: Start with a manageable weight for the first set; increase weight by 5-10 lbs. after each set
  • Tips & Tricks: Position yourself in a split squat with one leg bent and row with the opposite arm; on the static contraction, place feet together and hold the contraction with both arms at the same time

Cable Flies

  • Equipment: Pulley Machine
  • Reps: 30 seconds of reps; 30 seconds holding (for a total of two minutes)
  • Weight: Start at 30 lbs. or more; increase weight by 5-10 lbs. after each set
  • Tips & Tricks: Focus on the chest muscles and keeping the arms straight as you slowly pull them apart and together; hold the static contraction with your hands about two feet apart

 

 

 

 

 

Pyramid Workout: Chest & Back

Pyramid Workout: Chest & Back

Pyramid Workout: Chest & Back

A pyramid style workout focuses on only 1-2 exercises with a large volume of repetitions and heavy weights. These workouts are reserved for the days where you can spend a little extra time in the gym. And that time is worth it! Pyramid workouts are incredibly effective for isolating muscle groups.

With each exercise below, you will start with 10 reps and then decrease to nine reps, followed by eight, seven, six, all the way to one. Once you get to one rep, you’ll increase all the way back to ten, stacking the reps on top of one another. This totals over 470 reps per each exercise!

As you decrease your reps, you’ll increase your weight. You should be at the heaviest weight, truly challenging yourself on reps 1-4.

  • Focus: Chest, Back, Core and Shoulders
  • Time: 1 hour
  • Warm Up: Five minutes of cardio

Here are the two exercises to focus on for the chest and back:

Lateral Pulldown

  • Equipment: Seated Pulley Machine
  • Reps: Pyramid (10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)
  • Weight: Females: up to 50 lbs.; Males: up to 70 lbs.
  • Tips & Tricks: Keep the arms and back straight; focus on isolating your lateral back muscles as you pull down

Vertical Chest Press

  • Equipment: Bench; Dumbbells
  • Reps: Pyramid (10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)
  • Weight: Females: up to 35 lbs.; Males: up to 50 lbs.
  • Tips & Tricks: Isolate the inner pectoral muscles as you pull your arms to center
A little cardio with my workout

A little cardio with my workout

We’re back with an arms and chest workout. We’ve discussed the importance of increasing your heart rate during workouts. It’s also important to have variety in your cardio, in order to “surprise” your body. This workout features some cool techniques you can use to get your heart rate up and start sweating!

Check out what’s in store below.

Focus: Chest, Back, Arms, and Abs

Time: 45 minutes

Warm Up: Five minutes of cardio

Set 1

3 Sets

Shoulder Rotation, Mountain Climbers, Walkout Push Ups, Lotus

Shoulder Rotation

  • Equipment: Dumbbells
  • Reps: 25 per set
  • Weight: Start with a manageable weight for the first rep; increase weight by 5-10 lbs. after each set
  • Tips & Tricks: Keep your back straight; bring arms parallel to the ground before raising the weights parallel to the head.

Mountain Climbers

  • Reps: 50 per set
  • Tips & Tricks: Start in plank position; keep arms in line with the chest as you rapidly bring your knees forward one at a time

Walkout Pushups

  • Equipment: Mat
  • Reps: 15 per set
  • Tips & Tricks: Walk hands down the mat until you are in a plank position, keep hands aligned with chest and bring chest to touch the mat before walking the hands back up, supporting your weight the entire time

Lotus*

  • Equipment: Mat
  • Reps: 20 per set
  • Tips & Tricks: Focus on contracting the back muscles and lifting the head as you lift up.

*The lotus position is very similar to the Superman posture, except the arms are stretched behind instead of out front.

CARDIO 1: After the three sets are completed; sprint for two minutes on the treadmill

Set 2

5 Sets

Vertical Chest Press, Abs

Vertical Chest Press (Heavy)

  • Equipment: Bench
  • Reps: 5 per set
  • Weight: Start with slightly heavier weight, increase the weight by 5 lbs after each set
  • Tips & Tricks: Isolate the inner pectoral muscles as you pull your arms to center

Ab Roll Ups

  • Equipment: Incline Bench
  • Reps: 30 per set
  • Tips & Tricks: Extend arms above head and grab on to the bench as you pull both knees to your chest and straighten; be careful not to rest legs on the ground in between roll ups

CARDIO: After the five sets are completed; set the treadmill to a 1.5 speed and side shuffle for two minutes, one minute per side.

Let’s hope this workout leaves you breaking a sweat! Good luck with getting your cardio on. Book an appointment with Body By Fadi today and discover what all the program has to offer.

 

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