6 Week “Spring into Spring” Challenge

6-Week “Spring into Spring” Challenge:

What is it?

Your New Year’s Resolution didn’t work out how you planned? Afraid you are not going to be “bikini ready” come Summer time? Maybe you have struggled with one fitness goal for a long time, be it diet or exercise related, that you want to kick start now and build new healthy habits? Then this is for you. Starting on Monday, March 18^th we will be working as a team to build new habits and get another step closer to where we wish to be in regards to our health.

Oh yeah, it’s FREE   

This is simply an organized effort to get us all motivated to do whatever it is that we have been putting off. It will simply cost you a little bit of time and effort.

Who is it for?

Pregnant and wanting to eat healthier for Baby, or needing to get more exercise in? Overweight and wanting to shed a few? Feeling fit, but you know that a cocktail every night isn’t good for you so you want to cleanse your system? Doing the same thing every day at the gym and wanting to add something new, like Yoga? Want to try cutting out certain foods to figure out why your energy levels are so low, or why your digestive system seems out of whack? Yeah, this is for all of that.

How does this work?

We are all wishing to accomplish something, and we are all here to support one another and hold one another accountable. We will use Facebook to stay connected to each other, share ideas, and ask questions. There will be weekly organized hikes and other outings in the Orange County area to get us all together physically as well. I will also post random health and fitness related articles that I find interesting and relevant.

We will use www.facebook.com/sanchezfitness to communicate with each other during this challenge. Please click the link above or search “Sanchez fitness” on Facebook and “like” it.

First, everyone will announce their SPECIFIC, measurable, personal challenge in detail, including their baseline and expectations. For Example,  I eat really clean and exercise about 5 days per week (resistance training mostly), but I need to do more cardio before I hike the Inca Trail in Peru this June. I currently do cardio once per week. I am challenging myself to a minimum of 5 hours of cardio per week for 6 weeks. All announcements need to be done on the Sanchez Fitness Facebook page by March 17^th!

You must post your progress weekly, if not more, or it will be assumed that you did not complete your challenge. Please feel free to have conversations on this page that are related to the challenge. If you have any questions, post them! If you feel like you know something that can benefit other challengers, post it! If you are going for a run and want to invite others to join you, post it! If you notice that someone hasn’t been posting, help them by reaching out to them!

Examples of Nutrition goals:

 

Eat all natural only

Eat whole foods only

Eat organic only

Eat local foods only

Eat more vegetables

Start juicing

Drink more water

Eat more often

Eliminate dairy

Eliminate Gluten

Eliminate Grain

Eliminate ALCOHOL

Eliminate Tobacco

Eliminate artificial sweeteners

Eliminate processed sugar

Eliminate preservatives

Eliminate late-night snacks

Examples of Exercise goals:

 

Start/do more general exercise

More cardio

More stretching

More resistance training

Lose weight

Gain muscle

 

Weight-loss goals:

 

Lose 5 lbs

Lose 10 lbs

Lose 15 lbs

Lose 20lbs (Over 200 lbs only)

Lose X% body fat

Why?

People are often overwhelmed with too many rules to follow when trying to accomplish their fitness goals. They feel too restricted by their diets, stressed because they don’t know enough about exercise, and frustration causes them to fall off the program entirely. The 6-week Spring into Spring challenge allows people to focus on one thing: one thing that they have been wanting to try, or one thing that they know they need. As you check in weekly, you will see all of the other challenges that your peers have chosen for themselves, and they will in turn be able to see how well you are doing with your challenge. Not only will we all be able to hold each other accountable, but we will also be able to use each other as motivation to stick to our personal challenge. You might even be motivated by someone else to take on an additional challenge! Remember, this is not a competition where one person wins all, but an opportunity for us to feed off one another’s energy as we better ourselves. So who’s in?

When?

March 18^th– April 27^th

Why You Didn’t Stick to Your Resolution This Year. Or Last Year…

It has been a little over 7 weeks since the New Year and gyms everywhere are already starting to get empty again. Have you noticed? Or were you yourself one of the sheep this year?

Why is it that most people cannot keep their fitness resolutions? Are their goals too aggressive? Did their priorities change? Did they get burnt out on spinach and egg whites? I have a theory that you may or may not agree with, but I have watched so many people make these mistakes and I can often tell when someone will give up early on a fitness goal. First, let’s go over “SMART” goal setting:

S= Specific. Make sure you know exactly what you want to accomplish. Don’t tell yourself “I want to get in shape”. Round is a shape, but most of us don’t find that flattering. If your goal is in fact aesthetic, then find a picture of yourself or someone else (similar body type!) who you want to strive to look like.

M= Measurable. Are you trying to improve your running pace by 1 minute per mile? Or are you trying to  get your body fat % under 20%? You must first know where you are starting, then make sure to measure how you are doing as you go along. This can be done once per week, or even once per month depending on the type of goal and how aggressive the goal is.

A= Attainable. “I want to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated” isn’t something that most of us will ever accomplish, but losing 2 dress sizes is very doable! If you have a bigger goal, try breaking it up in to smaller, monthly goals.

R= Realistic. You really have to be honest with yourself here. You may want to be at 5% body fat, but do you know what that takes? Are you willing to do the work and make all of the sacrifices necessary to get your body fat down to that level? Why 5%? If you only get to 8% will you be disappointed? Then maybe your first goal should be 10%…

T= Time-bound. When do you want to accomplish this goal? Remember, this helps your goal become measurable, but make sure the time frame you give yourself is attainable!

So why not just leave you with this? Because when it comes to fitness goals, I think that there are a couple of holes in the SMART acronym. In order for you to be able to stick to most fitness goals, you need to change SMART to “SMARTLY”. Now I am not sure if that is even a real word, but hear me out:

L= Life-long. What is it that you REALLY want out of your goal? Is it to look better for your sister’s wedding? To look good in your vacation pictures? If you want to stick to your short term goals, you’d better have some long term goals to follow up with. I will use myself as an example here: I am a married man, and it is important that I live for a long time so that my wife never has to live alone. Because if this I eat better. I try to only eat whole foods (organic when I can), I make sure my weight and body fat % never get above a certain point, and I have cut unnatural things like aspartame completely out of my diet. These things that I do for my Life-Long Goals make my short term goals easier to attain, because I am never far off from where I want to be for MY vacation pictures! 🙂 I also spend more time doing various yoga poses and stretches, as well as certain “core” strengthening exercises, because I not only want to be there for my wife- I want to be able to walk next to her as opposed to having her push me around in a wheelchair.

Y= You. This isn’t anybody else’s goal. Getting healthier because your wife told you to, or getting in shape so your husband finds you more attractive is fine, but what is YOUR incentive? Why is this important to YOU? If there is nothing in it for you, you are far less likely to stick to your program. It is your body. Your health. Your life. Your health is one of the very few things in life that nobody else can control. The way that you will live the rest of your life is (almost) completely up to you. Take advantage of that. Be a little selfish. Think about what you want. Then make it happen…

Need help setting your personal goals? Please email me at: Johnsanchez0@gmail.com

Iliana’s Journey

As some of you know, I am involved with a company called 12 Week Fitness Challenge. One thing that I am really excited about is 12WFC’s “Iliana’s Journey”.

Iliana has struggled with her weight for years. She has gone up and down, but has never been able to reach her goal. I am happy to say that starting December 5th, something is about to change! Myself, Scott Perry, and Parker Green are all trainers for 12WFC. We are going to help guide Iliana as she begins her weight loss journey for the last time! Forget about the Biggest Loser, where contestants live on a ranch, have meals prepared, and workout with trainers for 6 hours/ day! This is real. Iliana has to go to work every day. No vacations here! She has to prepare her own meals on top of her already busy schedule. She isn’t doing this for money. She is someone you can relate to.

We have asked Iliana to do 2 things. One, to not change her lifestyle until December 5th. Two, to blog everyday and document her journey.

Please follow along as she starts this new journey to a healthier lifestyle! She may motivate you to start your New Year’s Resolution early!

Click here to support Iliana!

I’m No Fool. How About You?

Jim Elliott, an evangelical Christian and missionary once wrote, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
This really spoke to me and I have been wanting to share it with you all.  What’s funny about it is that the more I thought about it, the more I was able to apply it to different things in my life. This is a fitness blog however, so I will try to stay on subject 🙂

What are some things that we cannot keep?
1.) Money. We are all eventually going to pass on from this life. Some of us believe that this is only the beginning, and some believe that this is it. Either way we all agree that once our time on earth is done, our money will be of no use to us personally. So why do we let making money become such a priority in our lives? Of course we have to eat, sleep with some sort of shelter, get from one place to another, and be able to communicate with each other. But how much money do we really need?
2.) Time. Time is limited. You can’t buy time. You can’t create time. Time is passing all the time and there is absolutely nothing that we can do about it. BUT, we do have complete control of how we use our (spare) time.

Now, what are things that we cannot afford to lose? Let’s start with our health! There are different aspects of our health that are very, very important:
1.) Stress
2.) Food choices
3.) Exercise

Stress: What causes stress in your life? Is it work? Money? Not having a purpose? Feeling down about your health or your appearance? Low sex drive?
What helps you deal with stress? Hobbies? Exercise? Better self-image? Working less? Having more money? Getting your libido back?
HMMM, it sure does sound like all 3 of these things are interrelated! Don’t you think?

Tying it all together…

I cannot speak for anybody else, so I will give you my personal take on this. The reason that this quote spoke to me is because I have always had that thought in my mind, but not in those words.

I don’t care if I die with $1 Million in my bank account or $0.01 in my bank account. So why work like a dog my entire life if that’s not what I want to do?
I cannot create time. So why spend all of my time working a job that I hate to make more money than I need, which causes me stress that I try to get rid of by spending my hard-earned money? What a vicious cycle this is, and I see people doing this every day. So I looked at what is important to me. Owning a home?? Nope. Driving a Mercedes? Nah. All I want to do is enjoy the small amount of time that I get to spend on this earth. How do I plan on doing that?

1.) Live for a long time- So I eat healthy, natural, whole foods that are free of preservatives and other harsh chemicals. I also exercise and stretch to keep my body strong and feeling good.

2.) Experience- I want to experience new people and places, so instead of spending money on owning  a house (which sounds stressful), or going out to fancy dinners, or buying wine, jewelry, etc,  I save money for traveling.

3.) Keep low stress levels- I avoid stress like the plague. If I catch myself doing too much work when I don’t NEED to, I cut back to a more manageable level. I also avoid interacting with people that cause me stress. I have even had clients that stress me out so much that I had to get rid of THEM!! Negative stress isn’t worth the money if my bills are already paid…

4.) Hobbies- I think that it is important to have something to look forward to. Maybe losing yourself in a book is your thing. That’s what my wife looks forward to at the end of her day; getting caught up in a fictional story helps her to focus on something besides work so that she can wind down. I started taking Jiu-Jitsu lessons a couple of months ago just to do something fun for my cardio. I am having a blast and have found something new to challenge myself with.

So do yourself a favor. As scary as it may seem: take an honest look at your life. Trim the fat. Get rid of any stress that is avoidable. Have you been putting off a goal or project? Do it! Make yourself happy, because today only happens once. I guess all I am trying to say is this: we only get to do this life thing one time. Make the most of it.

 

Which One Would You Choose?

A friend of mine recently posted on Facebook, “Choose one, the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. And tell me why…”

This was an easy one for me to answer, because I talk to my clients about this all of the time. Here was my response:

“The pain of discipline is short-lived and is without regret, but the pain of regret can last forever”

The next time you find yourself making a decision about what to eat, think about how that food is going to make you feel afterward. Better yet, ask yourself if that meal will help get you to your goal, or will it hold you back? It is amazing what we will do to sabotage our own efforts, wants, needs, and goals for something that is so insignificant you will never remember it. What did you eat at your business meeting 2 months ago? What was your late night snack last Tuesday? Do you now wish that you would have gone with a healthier choice?

What has been holding you back from achieving your fitness goals? Business goals? Personal goals? Write it down. Seriously! Go grab a pen and write down what it is that you need to change. If you don’t, you will start feeling the pain of regret set in the next time you think about your goal and how you blatantly put it off. Now act on your goal. Do just one thing that you know you have been putting off or not putting enough effort into. I promise you that the feeling you will get after some time is put in will far outweigh the pain of discipline!

 

The Dreaded “Plateau”

I get a lot of questions surrounding this topic. What is a plateau? How do I avoid plateaus? I hit a plateau; how do I get through it?

Put simply, a plateau is a speed bump in your progress that feels like a dead-end. Whether you are trying to build muscle or lose fat, this can be very frustrating. In my opinion, “plateau” is also a word that is WAY overused! People think that they hit plateaus all the time, but this is not necessarily the case. Just because the number on the scale isn’t moving, doesn’t mean that you hit a plateau (are not getting results).

That brings me to the first problem: over-diagnosis. I don’t know about you, but my weight fluctuates by multiple pounds every day. If I consume too much salt or don’t drink enough water to flush out extra salt, my weight goes up. Women: you know what this is like. Every 4 weeks you have a few days where the last thing you want to see is a scale! Right?! People, this is normal! So why weigh yourself every day if your weight can fluctuate so easily? Doing this is just asking for disappointment. Keep the weigh-ins to 1x per week, MAXIMUM! Also, weigh yourself in the morning before breakfast, ideally after a bowel movement. Also very important- don’t weigh yourself after a “not normal” day (heavy drinking, ate way more than normal, didn’t eat enough, ran a marathon, etc…) Doing this is just asking for an inaccurate reading on the scale that can result in several outcomes:

1. Weigh in lighter than you are, which means you will not show favorable results the following week.
2. Weigh in heavier than you are, which means you will ask your husband if you look fat, then get mad at ANY answer that he comes up with

Method of measurement:

Is the scale the only thing you are doing to check your progress? This is very common and is a HUGE mistake! Results should never be measured by only one form measurement. Circumference measurements as well as monthly picture can be a great way to check progress. Most people now know that muscle weighs more than fat, right? The idea of being happy that you lost or gained a certain amount of weight doesn’t make much sense if you are not sure that you are gaining muscle, or losing fat.

Plateau as a Scapegoat:

Do you measure and log your daily food intake? Are you consistent day in and day out with your workouts? Are you pushing yourself as hard as you used to with your workouts? Are you still refraining from alcohol when you hang out with friends? If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you have not hit a plateau, YOU ARE JUST SLACKING!!! Be honest with yourself. Plateaus are not common and can usually be explained. If something is missing from your program, replace it. If you are not as dedicated to a part of your program, get back on it!

How to get through a plateau:

Ok, so you hit a plateau. You are having a hard time losing more fat: this is why it is so important to log your food. It is easy to go back through your notes to see what can be changed. Check to see what, if anything, has changed. If you notice that something is in your diet that wasn’t there before, get rid of it and see what happens. You can also start eliminating one type of food at a time until you notice a change in how you are feeling and notice that the fat has started coming off again. This will occasionally happen with dairy, as well as wheat gluten, even soy!

You are having a hard time gaining muscle: when is the last time you switched up your rep ranges, weights used, tempo, rest periods? Are you only doing isolation exercises or are you incorporating compound movements? Are you measuring and logging your food? If not, how do you know you are getting enough fuel to your muscles to allow them to grow? Are you getting enough sleep? Enough rest days?

Here is the bottom line: the possibility of hitting a plateau means that you are trying to achieve a goal. Hitting fitness goals can be tough, especially if it is a big goal. Be honest with yourself. If you know that you are not doing everything that you can, ask yourself why. Maybe it is time to re-commit to your program. Maintenance is easy, and you have that to look forward to. For now, though, show yourself what you are capable of. Prove to yourself what you know is possible. Be consistent. Be disciplined. Hit your goal because you know you deserve it.

Losing My Stage Virginity…

Last weekend I did something that I never would have seen myself do. Not in a million years!

For the last few months I have been working out hard. Really hard. I have been spending WAY too much time critiquing myself in the mirror, obsessing about any and all imperfections. I may not be able to stop my hair from falling out, but can I get my calves to grow? Fill out my shoulders? Tighten up my abs? That I CAN do.

I have been shaving my legs and getting spray tans- all the while laughing at myself. I am a simple person from a simple town. What am I doing??

After months of preparation, Saturday was show time. I was smooth, tanned, and ready to step on stage at my very 1st fitness competition!

I had a blast! I did not place, but I was very happy with the way that I looked. I am happy that I competed and I hope that I can continue to do things like this (things that motivate my clients to achieve their goals as well).

If you want to see some pictures of me and the guys that kicked my butt, go to www.musclecontest.com

Too Tough Sticking to Your Goal? Try AA!

One of the biggest reasons people hire a personal trainer in Orange County is for accountability. Yes, your trainer should be there to educate you, push you, and to motivate you when it gets tough to stay on track, but the accountability that they provide is of up-most importance for a reason. It makes you do something that you might not normally do. Remember the entry about waking up before work to go to the gym? I bet if you had a trainer waiting for you at the gym it would be easier to wake up! Nobody wants to lose their hard earned money…

But what if you don’t have extra money to spend on personal training? How can you get that accountability without the cost of a personal trainer? Have you already tried having a workout buddy, but they are too flaky? Do what I do.

Tell everyone about your goals!

Why? Because whether they want you to succeed, or are hoping that you don’t, they WILL keep asking you:

“How is the weight loss goal coming along?”

“How much weight have you lost?”

“You look great! Are you still trying to get in shape?”

These people are your new “Army of Accountability.”

If you can get used to the attention that you WILL get- especially if it is obvious that you are getting closer to your goal- you will have constant reminders that you are on a mission. Lets be honest- nothing is a worse blow to your ego than a large group of people watching you quit. Who wants to be known as a quitter? Not me! So please allow me to lead by example:

I am entering a “Men’s Physique” competition in about 5 weeks. GNC Muscle Contest on March 26th in Culver City, Ca. This is something that I was somewhat “iffy” about, so I started telling everybody that I see on a daily basis because I didn’t want to be able to back out. I even went as far as  to contact Raquel Beezley, Miss California USA 2008, to ask for advice on my stage presence.  Now I have an Army of Accountability! I will keep you all posted on how I do in the contest…

So get out there and share your goals with your family, friends, co-workers, and your colleagues at the gym (THEY will remember), but don’t stop there. Show them all how dedicated you are. Earn the right to tell them how well you are doing. Reach your goal so that instead of asking you how its going, they will be asking you for advice! You will reach your goal, and along the way, you might just inspire others to do the same…

So tell me, what is your goal?