Patrick Performance

This is the first monday of the new year, when most people really wait until to start their New Year’s Resolutions. Actually people are waiting longer and longer to jump o the fitness thing–like February. A month recovery from the holiday is the “Wait till the first monday or new year’s” I guess.

What’s your plan? Do you have a goal? What’s the problem?

Nutrition, ah yes, a big one. Eat Better. Okay…

What does that mean…eat 3 Wendy’s singles per day instead of 3 doubles? That is better, technically. How are you going to fix your problems without really defining what you want? You need to lose X lbs by X date and do it by eating X,Y,Z every day.

Time is the biggest barrier for most people, so if you’re like me, 5 minute recipes are really the only thing that should exist. I don’t mind cooking something nice every once in a while, but it’s mostly a wham-bam-meal type of approach. But that doesn’t mean sacrifice quality.

One thing that is easy to do is keep some chicken prepared on hand, sometimes some rice cooked up too. These are pretty mindless to cook and usually store well 2-3 days at a time. Beyond that it starts to taste like a donkey burger.

Greek Salad
4-6 oz chicken
Handful of spinach greens and romaine
2 Tbsp feta cheese
Lite dressing to taste then shake like hell!

Mexican Chicken
4-6 oz chicken
1/2 cup rice
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
(a small amount of paprika goes well in this too)
Mix & Eat

Yogurt Parfait
Low carb or Dannon Plain Yogurt
1 scoop vanilla protein (don’t skimp on good tasting brands here, it can ruin it! Try Beverly.
1/2 to 2/3 cup blueberries or mixed berries (frozen good too)
1 tsp slivered almonds (optional, but I like a little crunch–a little granola works well too)
Mix & eat

Health & Good Eating are not mutually exclusive.
–
Ryan
e: patrickperformance@gmail.com

Changing nutrition habits is a difficult transition to make. The idea of steamed vegetables and lean meats is something that most people think of when they think healthy.

And the bland, boring, ‘bodybuilder’ type meals can be healthy. But they can also limit the nutrients you can get from a small selection of acceptable foods. Luckily, there are schools of thought with a much more precocious view of nutrition. Tasty food and healthy food do not have to be mutually exclusive.

Taking someone from 3 Wendy’s Triple’s a day to poo-poo on a plate is not likely. They might stick to it for a day. Even if the heavens gave you the optimal diet for someone in a word doc–perferct portions, meal timing, perfect amounts of nutrients for this person to maximize fat loss and promote health–it may turn out to be the worst diet ever.

There’s an issue of practicality, and a diet needs to be sustainable long term for it to be a good diet. Diet is not about temporarily changing eating habits to hit a certain goal and revert back. You need to engage in habits that will last for a lifetime. ‘Diet’ as it’s popularly used isn’t realistic. If people are perpetually dieting, at some point they should not mathematically exist.

We are creatures of habit though, and the thought of healthy food seems to turn a lot of people off because they feel limited. Most people will eat the same foods consistently. There are healthy recipes out there: 5 minute recipes, breakfast, nighttime, snacks, you name it.

Besides a small period of trial and error, most people would do well with just a handful of recipes they like to eat over and over. Having 3-5 choices for each meal or snack that are quick and tasty will be a savior when it comes to compliance to the diet.

When people have too many choices it becomes overwhelming to choose a diet, when you can walk into a fast food joint and they already know what you want.

Just get out there and get your hands into trying some new healthy recipes. Move away from boxed, nutritionally void food to healthy, quick options.

–
Ryan
e: patrickperformance@gmail.com
www.patrick-performance.com

Be sure to visit the new website if you are in the Fort Collins area

Low volume heavy training works well for muscle building.

High volume training works well for muscle building.

1 method doesn’t work well forever for muscle building, but consistency is key. I’ve seen both methods work well for multiple people.

Aerobics work for fat loss, but they are very inefficient in terms of time and ROI.

Strength is the number one fitness quality you should focus on; if it improves so does everything else–even endurance.

How? Running economy. Each stride becomes a smaller % of your maximum strength and “costs” less metabolically. Also, delayed recruitment of type II fibers. Check out this review

Most people really don’t drink enough water. You need to.

Intensity will usually trump good programming. But that doesn’t mean you should pull something out of your ass.

My mom is in her early 40’s, consistently looks 4-6 weeks out from a figure show. She does this by eating healthy foods and exercising under guidance of professionals (a good friend actually). She can still enjoy ice cream and her other guilty pleasures. She’s in better shape now than some most of my peers. You’re not too old to do it, you’re too young not to enjoy your best shape ever.

If you want to eat healthy and great, Gourmet Nutrition is a resource you cannot do without! Greek burgers, chicken fried rice, the list goes on…

This is my last post of the year. I wish everyone a Happy New Year!

–
Ryan
e: patrickperformance@gmail.com

Check out our new website for clients in the Fort Collins area. It won’t be as active as the blog, but you can find some information about our services and how to contact us.
Visit www.patrick-performance.com for more information.

The new year is almost here and pretty soon everyone will be setting their goals New Year’s Resolutions. NYR’s are basically half-hearted goals muttered that most people forget about or never really achieve.

Real goals have a few components to them if they are actually going to be achieved.

1. They are written down, preferably where you can see them
2. They are definitive.
If you want to make more money in I could hand you a dollar. Congrats. If you want to lose weight, I can hand you a bucket to spit in and you’ll lose weight. Once you establish how much or what you want to achieve over the year, you can “chunk” it in to smaller portions to track progress.

Say to lose 30 pounds by June 1.
That’s 6 months, 5 lbs per month.
1.25 lbs per week.
Are you hitting that goal?

If you want to increase your income by 10% and you made $50,000 last year, how will you do it? That’s $5,000 over 12 months.
About $417 per month.
About $104 per week.
IF you work 40 hours in a week, you need to find a way to make 2.60 more per hour. What can you do to make that much more?

Obviously, you may do something of value for the company and get a larger raise or a promotion later in the year. But according to your goals, this is the pace you need to make making more money or losing more fat.

3. They have a deadline.
Subtly, I added in deadlines to the above scenarios. One was over the course of a year (still a deadline, however arbitrary) and the other was by June 1. Having a deadline give you a timeline of how things should be accomplished.

If you know your 5 year goals (I have mine written down) you can see much more clearly what it will take to get from A to B. Most people overestimate what they can do in a year, but underestimate what they can do in 5 years. Where you see yourself in the future will dictate what you need to be doing now to realize that dream. I recommend 6 month and 1 year goals. 6 months is a nice amount of time that you shouldn’t loaf, whereas 1 year goals can induce the procrastinator in all of us.

Prepare now for 2009. Don’t wait for it to get here to tell someone halfheartedly at a New Year’s Eve party what your resolutions are. Having clear goals you can easily say usually surprises the s*** out of people too!

–
Ryan
e: patrickperformance@gmail.com

Christmas Eve–madness for those that celebrate and the last real shopping day of the year–so get your stuff in!

When you have clearly defined goals, it’s easy to see if your actions fall in line with those goals or not. Exercise is obviously a huge goal, and habit, of mine. You gotta lead from the front right?

Today, much to my dismay I’m up a little earlier than usual and I’m going to go kill it at the gym with a kettlebell. It won’t be long, but it will be enough to institute a little damage control when I eat an embarrassingly large amount of food today and the Godiva Chocolate Covered Almonds on my counter top.

Clearly defined goals set the precedent for your actions to follow, and some estimate 90% of accomplishment is getting your goals out of your head and on to paper.

2009 is gonna be GREAT. Check this out for more.

Do work son.

I’m off to the gym…Happy Holidays

–
Ryan Patrick
e: patrickperformance@gmail.com

My brother is 5. I enjoy my holidays because I get to come home and spend time with him. He’s crazy, but where else does Thomas the Train and Spongebob become part of the daily routine.

I always seem to forget his tendency to order fruit with his food when we go out (yes even over French fries). Just about every meal he eats has fruit and the other night, much to my delight, he chose blueberries over a personal vice, chocolate covered pretzels.

So he is just a genetic anomaly? Perhaps. In fact, superpowers may not be all that super these days anyway:

Be that as it may, it likely comes down to what he has been conditioned to. We are creatures of habit and these are the habits that have been ingrained in him. Things absolutely change. But most often, people stick to routine.

A major objection to a STRICT diet plan is the boredom of food–but in fact most people eat the same foods on a regular basis without much variety anyway. If I’m eating out, there’s a good chance it’s a double meat naked burrito form Q’doba. In retrospect…that sounds kinda foul when you write it.

Perhaps this is why drastic changes are so difficult to make. Small changes over time can amount to email to him and leave your questions or request information about our services.

One of my favorite things about the holidays is getting to see all my family. But amidst all of the holiday treats, grandma’s favorite recipe, and the sheer gluttony comes the talk of how to lose weight.

Usually I just let my family sit around and talk about their latest thing and how it’s working or what they are thinking about starting after the holidays are over. I wait patiently in the corner and keep to myself, smirking about the poo poo knowledge the pass around–all the while I’m wondering what their source is.

You’d think I might not want to help people, but sometimes people don’t want to hear what I’ve gotta say. Ask any ex-girlfriend, I’m notorious for getting on a soapbox and ranting (and now I appear to see why I have ex’s and not A girlfriend for you to ask…).

So getting to the real point of the story, I got confronted with some direct questions this year and I had fun with them. You see I think that people miss the big picture. Most of us eat crap all the time and don’t exercise enough. I’ll blog about what works best but it’s obvious so many people just need something.

My aunt asked me about dieting this year. I, the dull 23 year old, gave this answer: reduce your carbs a little, increase your protein a little, and watch your portion sizes.

The follow up: “So what kinds of carbs”
Me: “Fruits and vegetables you can’t go wrong with”
The Homerun: “But not bananas, right? They’re too high in sugar”

Yes, bananas have more fructose than most of the fruits and are a little bit higher in sugar. But we’re talking about a generation that eats highly processed fatty meats, drinks high fructose corn syrup as it’s preferred beverage, and is otherwise pretty inactive. So my response was something along this:

I personally can’t think of a single time that I just had to sit down and say, “You know, Joe, your banana intake is the problem with your weight. If you could just, maybe, cut out a few bananas everyday I think we could get this whole mess under control. Your problem is too many bananas. Period”

Lesson: Think of the big things you can change to make a difference.

For a 160 lb person, the pricetag for losing fat is (less time for heavier people, more time if your lighter). What are you willing to pay?

Low Impact Aerobics: 184 calories/30 minutes = 9.5 Hours

Cycling (6 minute mile): 400 calories/hr = 8.75 Hours

Cycling (4.6 minute mile): 640 calories/hr = 5.5 Hours

Cross Country Skiing (Moderate): 704 calories/hr = 4.97 Hours

Hiking (20 lb load): 640 calories/hr = 5.5 Hours

Jogging (12 minute mile): 592 calories/hr = 5.9 hours (About 30 miles)

Jogging (10 minute mile): 736 calories/hr = 4.8 hours (Still About 30 miles)

Racquetball: 656 calories/hr = 5.3 Hours

Running (7.5 minute mile): 976 calories/hr = 3.6 Hours (About 28.8 miles)

Running (6.7 minute mile): 1,056 calories/hr = 3.3 Hours (29.5 miles-ish)

Running (6 minute mile): 1,120 calories/hr = 3.125 Hours (31.25 miles)

Weight Training (60 sec rest periods) = 608 calories/hr = 5.8 Hours

Fat Loss seems crazy impossible when you first sit and try to break it down. Yet we know people see better results from less than what is listed.

If you really want to boost your metabolism you need to engage in some of the higher intensity activities–but if you’re starting out how are you going to run a sub 7.5 minute mile without getting injured or for maintain that speed for any longer than a sprint across the street?

It’s highly unlikely which is why I prefer the metabolic resistance training–everyone can do it, the intensity can be high and still be tweaked based on the exercises used. Plus, you’ll get a fat burning metabolism.

Essentially what we can do with resistance training is create serious metabolic entropy. This can create an inefficient metabolism (think of an SUV that is a gas guzzler…with the gas begin fat) that rips fat off.

It’s a win-win and I know your time is too valuable to waste on hours and hours of exercise.

–
Ryan Patrick is an energetic up and comer in the fitness industry with a knack for helping clients lose fat fast. Currently, he owns and operates a fitness coaching business, Patrick Performance Training, in Fort Collins, CO. He has worked with several high school athletes and a SWAT team to improve their performance and keep them injury free.

A former athlete and competitive bodybuilder he looks to combine real world knowledge with research to deliver fast results. Send an email to us at this link and leave your questions or request information about our services.

I love December for a number of reasons. It doesn’t get much better than the holidays, your birthday and an unreasonable amount of unhealthy and delicious food. But it’s not very conducive to getting a better body.

I love food as much as the next guy. I seriously contend that I still a chubby kid at heart. It’s easy to fall on the downhill slide during the holidays–poor eating habits, no time for exercise, and it goes on and on.

January used to be the big month for us in the fitness industry. The New Year’s Resolutions come out and every one is fired up. But actually, February is staring to get bigger–people are holding off longer. And to this day most resolutions last about as long as this cartoon. I mean really, can you remember your 2008 resolutions?

So holidays are starting earlier: I think I saw some holiday candy/food/etc out since Halloween candy in late September and extending more into February! This effectively gives you 6 months to get in good enough shape to last you the other 6 months. Not likely, right? And the title of this post is a bit of a misnomer–there is some serious dietary corruption all the time!

The holidays are great and we should all enjoy them. But it’s not a free pass for an extended period. I know some people who have gotten into their BEST SHAPE EVER over the holidays while everyone else put on a few pounds.

There’s no silver bullet for preventing this, but you can stay committed to an exercise program and eat quality food most of the time. Eating a small healthy meal before going out will do wonders for calorie control later. Besides, don’t you want a head start on your New Year’s Resolution to get in shape? Everyone likes an advantage. The best thing you can do this season is be aware of your habits and make small changes to recognize them.

Small changes over a entire holiday season will have some pretty profound effects…

–
Ryan
e: patrickperformance@gmail.com

The past few posts have regarded the whole idea of metabolic resistance training, you can check out some of the posts here or here.

That being said some clarification is necessary. While metabolic resistance training uses resistance exercsies to create a metabolic effect, it is not truly strength training and not truly aerobic training.

Alwyn Cosgrove made a great post about this a few months ago Just a little caveat that he was the one who got me thinking about this whole concept and give it where credit is due.

There are a number of ways you can create a metabolic effect, but one of the most important things with regard to this is progression.

You may start out using supersets of 10-15 reps with little rest in between. But this program will not work forever, or even long at all.

Well how do you progress this model to create a better metabolic effect?

1. You can increase load–harder work, more effort, more metabolic disruption especially when moving to another exercise

2. Harder Exercises–going from a leg press to a squat, bilateral to unilateral, compound exercises (squat +press w/ DBs), drop isolation exercises for compound exercises

3. Decrease rest

4. Add exercises–trisets, giant sets, complexes

5. Add velocity — move the concentric portion of the lift explosively, if using bodyweight make it plyometric in nature

Remember, all we’re doing is using resistance training to create a metabolic effect. This is not cardio/endurance training and it’s not strength training. It’s purely aimed at metabolic stimulation.

–
Ryan
e: patrickperformance@gmail.com