Week 12: Mid-Term Review

Congratulations!! After this week, you’re halfway through your company challenge program…seems like a good time for a Mid-Term Review.

Throughout the challenge program, we’ve presented you with numerous topics related to the areas of Nutrition, Conditioning, Restoration, and Accountability. At this point in the program, we’d like to review all of the topics we’ve covered. To facilitate things, we’ll present these topics in a Q&A format and will reference the originating Knowledge Metric.

Of course, at the conclusion of this Mid-Term Review, we’ll Test Your Wellness Knowledge with our 4-question quiz (because we know you like those quizzes!)

Knowledge Metric 1: The Sport of Everyday Life!

What type of training provides a way to prepare for The Sport of Everyday Life?

The BLOCK Training program from ALLTRAIN LLC!!! We realize we're not the resilient youth we once were, but that does not mean we cannot perform those tasks as we once did. We simply need to take a strategic approach to training, where safe and sustainable programming is adhered to on a consistent basis. Our comprehensive program will provide you with new found strength, power, functionality, and energy system development for you to participate in "The Sport of Everyday Life" with zest and confidence, and without the constant worry of injury or pain.

Knowledge Metric 2: You Can't Escape the Truth(s)

What are the 15 food truths you just can’t escape?

1. You didn’t get this way eating broccoli.

2. The potato isn’t the problem.

3. If you can’t fish it, grow it, or butcher it, don’t eat it.

4. Savory, salty, and sweet are scarce in nature (So make them scarce in your diet).

5. The formula for eating healthy is simple.

6. Food is fuel.

7. Fast food is no excuse for fat food.

8. You’ve got to eat clean to be lean.

9. Hunger isn’t the same as desire.

10. Special occasions only occur occasionally.

11. “Full” is a four-letter word. (So shut your mouth.)

12. It doesn’t cost more to eat healthy. (So there goes that excuse.)

13. You have time to cook.

14. There is no super food to save you.

15. It’s not all about you.

Knowledge Metric 3: Not All Exercise is Created Equal

What is the best way to approach exercise?

Our bodies are essentially meant to push, pull, squat, lunge, flex, extend, twist as well as counter external forces. And ideally, we want to be able to do these things in a pain-free, supple manner. We need to approach training with a well thought out progressive plan. And we also need to accept the fact that excessive amounts of intense exercise and even excessive amounts of low-mid intensity aerobic exercise can quickly become counterproductive to the point of injury.

Always remember to warm up and cool down!!! Simply put, apply a proper warm up routine: myofascial release techniques when needed, heart rate elevation, dynamic mobility movements, muscle activation as well as necessary corrective movements before you begin the “meat and potatoes” of your workout…and don’t forget your restorative stretching to finish up things. If you don’t get to the “meat and potatoes,” at least you’ve accomplished a very beneficial, calisthenics based daily routine.

Knowledge Metric 4: Rest, Relax, Reflect...Restore!

What is Restoration and why is it critical

The principle of Restoration is perhaps the least understood and most neglected component of wellness. Yet Restoration is crucial to attaining and maintaining a healthier, leaner, higher performing body, as well as an increased state of “happiness”. Who knew?

Restoration can be achieved via proper sleep (both good quality and adequate quantity), post-workout stretching, yoga, myofascial release, massage therapy, and specific stress reducing tactics.

So many of today’s population are over stimulated. They check their smart phones countless times, connect on social media all day long, shuffle kids from one activity to another, live their lives through reality TV shows, professional athletes, musicians etc.

Simply stated: we’ve gotten away from purpose and humility…we reflect very little, and we’re allowing stress and anxiety to run rampant. We need to slow down. Do we really have to be super fly on the fly? Where are we really rushing to anyway?

Restore through Rest, Relaxation, and Reflection…

Knowledge Metric 5: Water and a Workout

Why is water such an important part of wellness

With nearly two-thirds of the human body consisting of water, hydration is essential when it comes to general health, performance and body composition. Specifically, our friend, H2O:

• helps keep skin healthy,

• is important for digestion and excretion,

• can control calorie intake by providing a “feeling full” effect, and

• assists in virtually every task in the body.

Without proper hydration:

• exercise performance may be compromised,

• the risk of muscle pull or injury during a workout increase,

• painful muscle cramps may sneak up on you, and

• cognitive ability can be impaired.

Knowledge Metric 6: Why Are You Here?

How does Accountability play a role in wellness?

“Accountability” – our fourth principle of wellness.

If you look up the definition of Accountability, you’ll find words like: “the obligation to report,” or “to be responsible or answerable to something or someone.” In a sense, all these are true when it comes to your Wellness Accountability. But what method works best for you? What will keep you on track for your company wellness challenge and beyond? What will it take to help you achieve your wellness goals? When it comes to wellness, there are typically three forms of accountability: Group, Friends and Family, and Self.

Accountability, whether to a group, your friends and family and/or to yourself is what helps motivates you to continue and to succeed. In this or any wellness challenge, your motives make the difference. If you’re in it for the monetary or prize incentives rather than for yourself and a sincere desire to make a change in your well-being, then you’re in it for the wrong reasons, and in the end, you won’t win at wellness.

In other words, figure out what form of Accountability motivates you. Group? Personal? Friends and Family? A Combination? Whatever or whomever your motivation is…put yourself in a position of being monitored and held accountable. The added pressure of knowing others have expectations for you can be a great motivator to stay on course!!

Knowledge Metric 7: Measure - It Matters

How do you estimate proper serving sizes?

Follow these simple tips:

Lean proteins could make up about 25% of your plate (or a Palm Size serving)

Starches (such as potatoes and rice) could make up 25% of your plate (or a Palm Size serving)

Veggies could make up the remaining 50% of your plate (or a Hand Size serving)

Fruits (if you’re adding them to your meal as a dessert) could be a Palm Size Serving

Healthy Fat (such as Olive Oil or slivered Almonds) should be “sprinkled”

Knowledge Metric 8: Should Exercise Be Your Sport?

No Really, should exercise be your sport?

Be smart and recognize that your anatomy and physiology were at their peak in your late teens and twenties. Also understand that maximizing your movement patterns, maintaining good health, and achieving a lean body should be your primary goals. A strategic, safe and sustainable training program (as opposed to an extreme and/or high-volume exercise regimens) is how to achieve those goals.

Now…for those of you who do have the running bug…if a 5k, 10k, Half or Full Marathon is on your bucket list…or the group competition classes are what motivate you to exercise, we’re not saying that you have to give up on your dreams.

We’re simply saying that it’s important to “accept and adjust.” You need to accept the fact that after a certain age, your body has limitations. Do NOT ignore the warning signs (e.g., the slight pain in a joint after a lifting class, the ache in your hip after a run, etc.). And you must adjust… adjust your training schedule to include more “rest” days and adjust (increase) the time you devote to warm-up, mobility and stretching with every workout.

Remember, the objective is to feel better for the long-term and not be the athlete with the two knee braces, an ankle brace and a limp in your pimp😉.

Knowledge Metric 9: Can't We Just Exercise Those Pounds Away?

Isn’t losing weight just about exercising?

Exercise is pivotal: it often boosts energy levels, increases fitness, provides a sense of accomplishment, can boost metabolism, and can have a profound effect on daily performance levels if programmed correctly.

But, if physical transformation via fat loss is your primary goal, then it’s your diligence “at the dinner table” (aka: the food you consume each day) that will make the most dramatic positive changes in your body composition (along with "properly" programmed performance training).

What if those same folks who were so eager to hit the cardio hamster wheels, applied that same level of conviction to making positive changes in what they ate? What if they shredded their cupboards of junk and processed foods? And what if they conquered each meal with a mentality that food is our “fuel” not our “reward?”

Well, chances are they’d achieve their fat loss goals and then some.

We know battling the temptation of savory, salty, and sweet, 24 hours a day/seven days a week is a huge challenge in this day of “push a button” and it’s at your fingertip’s world. But the reward is definitely worth the effort; dramatic changes in the way you eat can have a significant impact on fat loss, and rather quickly for that matter.

Trying to burn off hundreds if not thousands of excess consumed calories through countless hours of exercise is simply not realistic (and, as we’ve mentioned repeatedly…it’s counterproductive for it will often lead to overuse injuries). Addressing fat loss at the dinner table by consuming the appropriate quantity of calories as well as quality of food, is an absolute must!

Knowledge Metric 10: You Didn’t Get this Way Eating Broccoli

How did we get this way?

How many times have we heard it? “The reason I’m overweight is because I eat the right things, I just eat too much of them.” How ridiculous is this? We think we’re overweight because we eat too much Broccoli or other healthy foods. These misconceptions of our actual eating habits are many times the problem…and consequently become the primary culprit of our weight gain.

We rationalize rather than accept responsibility for what and how much (aka: how many calories) we are really putting in our bodies.

We now know that we’re not overeating on healthy foods alone. It’s virtually impossible, as we’ve reviewed. We know we all eat healthy foods some of the time, however, many times we’re taking these healthy foods and morphing them into a much higher calorie version of their natural self. And on top of this, we’re sneaking in countless other high calorie foods into our life as well.

If we want to see a significant change in our body fat composition, we must consider a plain and simple approach to PLAIN Nutrition. Take an honest and consistent path to consuming foods that can be fished, grown and butchered (aka: Mouthful of Truth #3) – sticking to what’s natural – and significantly reduce the amount of processed foods we consume. Mother Nature does not offer great rewards in body fat loss for eating healthy “some” of the time.

Knowledge Metric 11: Reacquaint Yourself with TCA

Who is the TCA?

TCAs are busy people with careers, marriages, families, and community responsibilities. And most often their twenties and early thirties are behind them.

In terms of exercise, TCAs can’t (nor should they) pick up where they left off in high school by starting a hard-core fitness or sports regiment.

When it comes to nutrition, TCAs are most often faced with a daily battle of drive-thru, processed and convenient versus well prepared, clean, and healthy. Well-educated TCAs recognize they do have nutritious options…it’s their ability and desire to choose those options that helps them win the war on fat and weight gain. In other words, TCAs recognize the options that exist:

If you choose to dedicate your time to unhealthy practices, the quantity of your years may be limited, and certainly, the quality of your years will be limited.

VERSUS

If you choose to dedicate your time to healthy practices, you will likely reap the benefits in terms of both quantity and quality of life for years to come.

Pep Talk

So here we are, 11 weeks since the start of our journey. Are you obtaining the goals and objectives you’ve set? Are you slipping back to poor habits? Or did you never really get out of the starting gate? If you are experiencing success, congratulations and keep up the renewed lifestyle!

But if you’re struggling don’t give up. You have 10 weeks ahead of you to turn this thing around. Go back to week 1, reset your goals, and be prepared to learn and be enlightened with more wellness knowledge over the next 10 weeks.

Week 12 Quiz:

1) Lean proteins could: a) make up about 25% of your plate (or a Palm Size serving) b) make up 50% of your plate (or a full hand size) c) should only be consumed once a day d) none of the above

2) What are the three key areas of your life that the Today’s Corporate Athlete program targets for improvement? a) body composition, general health, and prepares you for a marathon b) general health, performance, and prepares you for a figure competition c) body composition, performance, and general health d) none of the above

3) Restoration can be achieved through: a) proper sleep b) massage therapy c) hours of exercise d) a & b

4) What one is not a food truth? a) Special Occasions only occur occasionally. b) The potato isn’t the problem. c) You have time to cook d) Eat large quantities of cake

Once you've taken the quiz, click here to see how you did.