5 Minute Abs to Start Your Day!

As I have begun my transformation to get back into shape, I have been working hard to get rid of the layer of fat around my mid section. Like many men in their 30's and 40's, I would love to get back the six pack abs I had many years ago. I keep telling my wife the abs are in there, they are just hidden. My goal is to get them back where you can actually see them!

As we all know, building abs is not easy. In fact, abs are about the most difficult muscles to build to a point where they show. There are so many factors involved. From genetics, do diet, to workouts, abs respond to everything. When you want to build your arms, you work your triceps and biceps for a couple of weeks and you see big changes. But with the abs, it's different. The abs require much more of an investment. But, that investment does not have to be difficult. In fact, you can add a quick ab workout every single day, without changing your daily routine.

What I have done is started my day with 5 minutes of abs. When I wake up in the morning I get a quick workout in right in bed! That's right, I don't even need to get out of bed. Instead of looking at Facebook, I engage my ab muscles!

The best part about these exercises is that anyone can do them! Men and women can do them. You can do them with your spouse. These are simple yet effective ab exercises that will make a difference immediately!

The first exercise I do is 4 inch leg lifts. I lie flat on my back with my arms at my side. My thumbs should touch my thigh. I raise my heels four inches off the bed and I count to 15. I want to hold my heels up for 15 seconds. I repeat this exercise 3 times. Once it becomes easy, I add 5 more seconds. Some of you may be able to do this for 30 seconds right now! That's great! Find your limit and push through it. My goal is to get to 30 seconds each set. I rest for 5 seconds between sets.

The second exercise I do is called Knee Grabs. I lie flat on my back and lift my heels 4 inches of the bed. Then I bring my knees to my chest, working to raise my buttocks off the bed. This engages the lower ab muscles. I want to do this 5 times. Then I take a 5 second break and repeat. When I repeat I raise my head off the bed about 4 inches. This adds some engagement to the upper abs as well. I do 4 sets of this exercise the first day. I try to increase each set by one rep until I get to 12 reps.

The final exercise is called the prone plank. I am going to lie flat on my stomach. Then I am going to put my forearms on the bed under my shoulders. I will get up on my toes in sort of a modified pushup position. I will lift my mid section off the bed for 30 seconds and hold. You might only be able to go for 15 seconds. That's fine. Just try to increase by 2 seconds per day until you can raise up for 1 minute. Make sure you keep you back flat. I want to do three sets of this each day.

Once you get comfortable with the plank, you can add a mountain climber, where you lie in the plank position and bring one knee to your chest and back, then the other knee. You do 5 reps with each knee. This is a great exercise to begin to build your obliques.

There are hundreds of variations of these exercises you can do right in your bed. By starting your day engaging your abs, you will have the muscles fire and burn more throughout the day. Of course these exercises alone won't give you a six pack, but they will get you well on your way to strengthening your abs and building your core!

If you truly want to build six pack abs, start today. Don't wait until tomorrow or the next day. Start today and make a commitment!

www.shakeology.com/coachvint

coachvint@gmail.com

Weight Loss is 70% Nutrition

Several times over the last 15 years I have tried to get back into shape. I would go to the gym, bike, run, or do Insanity or some other workout program. What I found was that I would lose a few pounds initially, but I would quickly reach a plateau. I was never as successful as a I wanted to be.

The concept of losing weight is actually relatively simple. You consume a certain number of calories each day. As you go through your daily activities, you burn calories. When you exercise, you burn more calories. If you burn more calories than you consume, you give yourself a chance to lose weight.

Taking that a step further, the kind of calories you consume further enhances your weight loss. When you consume certain combinations of calories and nutrients you give yourself a better opportunity of losing weight.

Here are a few things that have helped me immensely in my weight loss journey, and these may help you as well. First, is cutting down on salt. When we have more salt than we need, our bodies sometimes will store excess water. This leads to bloating and can cause us to carry an extra couple of pounds of weight. When I cut down on salt I tend to have better weight loss results.

Second, is healthy start to each day. Starting with fruit and water is an excellent way to start your day. I try to eat only fruit before noon. Another great choice is to drink Shakeology. It provides super foods and nutrients in a single shake. As many of you know I am a coach for Team Beachbody, the developers of Shakeology. I would be remiss if I didn't include a plug. If you are interested in learning more about how Shakeology can benefit you, shoot me an email or comment below.

Third, is portion control. Instead of eating a 16 ounce steak, I now eat a 6 ounce steak. Instead of eating a 1/2 pound hamburger, I get a 1/3 pound burger. This helps to reduce the number of calories I eat while still allowing me to eat the foods I love.

Finally, eat salad and vegetables. Eating salad and vegetables gives you a great source of nutrients, while helping you feel full on very few calories. Broccoli is a great vegetable as it gives you a very satisfied feeling with very few calories. Celery is another vegetable that makes a great snack. Celery takes more calories to burn than it provides.

The numbers tell the story. I started my most recent weight loss journey at 226 pounds. I am now at 198 pounds. I am doing the three things mentioned above, along with working out for 25 to 30 minutes, four days a week. When I only work out without diet changes, I lose some initial weight, but eventually peak. If I just diet, I tend to have a slow but steady weight loss that can be sustained as long as I diet.

When I exercise AND eat healthy, however, my weight loss results are much greater and tend to last longer. The best part is, is that it is really not that difficult. I have a shake in the morning with a couple pieces of fruit. At lunch I eat a salad and have a small portion of meat and vegetables. I eat my normal dinner, just a little less of it. When I snack I avoid too much chocolate and foods with high sugar content.

If you want to make great strides with your health and fitness, make sure you include some changes in your diet. These are not major changes. Small, simple adjustments can help you to lose more weight and gain more energy!

Have to or Get To?

Do you have to or do you get to? The answer to this question gives huge insight into your attitude with anything you are doing. Do you have to go to work, or do you get to go to work? Do you have to mow the lawn, or do you get to mow the lawn? Do you have to work out, or do you get to work out?

If you have to do something you probably aren't going to put as much into it as if you get to do it. When it comes to workout out, there are many days when I really want to just take the day off. But what good would that do? Taking a day off takes away from the good habits that have been built.

Many people make the decision to get into shape and lose weight. Most of them will not take action, or they will take action for a very short period of time. Or they will take action when it is convenient. They will be gung-ho to start working out. For three weeks or a month they will go to the gym and workout for 45 minutes or an hour. After a month or so, they decide they have something better to do, so they skip a workout. Then they skip a second, and a third, then two in a row. Pretty soon, they have lost their gains and become frustrated and quit.

If you have an attitude that you GET to workout, you will be more likely to go to your workouts. If your attitude is that you HAVE to workout, you will slop through it. Or, you will make the choice not to work out.

So how do you develop the GET to attitude? Understand it is a choice. It is not something that can be bought or rented. You have to build this within yourself by making choices. You have the power to choose your attitude. When you have had a long day and you are dead tired, that is when you need to fight to choose your attitude of GET to. With that said, there

1. Write down your goal- When you put your goal on paper you are more likely to follow through.
2. Look at your goal daily- The first thing you should do each day is look at your goal. The last thing you should do at night is to evaluate whether you got closer to your goal today.
3. Remember your goal- When you get tired and don't feel like you can work out today, look at your goal. Look at it and remember it's value to you.

Every person has the enormous power of choice when it comes to our attitude. What is your attitude today? Do you HAVE to, or do you GET to?

Take Action!

If you are like most people, you have set some goals for yourself. And too often, we stand by and let our goals get away from us. Instead of taking action, we over analyze and never move forward. Insted of taking action we make excuses. We make a list of reasons why we can't do what we really want to do. 

If you want to enjoy the life you dream about, then you have to take action! And you have to take action today! Not sure where to start? Write down your goal. Put it in writing and look at it each day. Then, take action. What do I do? Do something! Pick one thing you can do today to get one step closer to your goals!

Beachbody Coach

When I signed up for Shakeology and the 3 Day Refresh, Lindsey talked to me about the opportunity to be a Team Beachbody coach. As a Beachbody coach I would have the opportunity to supplement my income while helping others to lose weight and get into shape. I also would get a 25% discount on Team Beachbody products. It was a win-win...

Before I can sell or market a product, I have to use the product and believe in it. With the results I have enjoyed, and the results of others, I can say without a doubt that I am all-in on Shakeology and Team Beachbody. I love sharing my story with others and showing them that anything is possible. 

Since becoming a Teach Beachbody coach I have been able to help others to lose weight and get into better physical condition. It is a great feeling knowing that you can help others better their lives!

As a Team Beachbody coach I have three websites to provide people with information on Beachbody products. 

My Team Beachbody Website

My Shakeology Website

My Ultimate Reset Website

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a coach for Team Beachbody, let me know! It is a great way to supplement your income and work with great people, and you don't need to be a fitness guru! You just need to care about the fitness of others!

30 Day Results!

After 30 days the results were nothing short of amazing! I had lost 26 pounds! My jeans were too big. My shirts were too big. My shorts fit much looser!

One morning I was getting dressed and my wife made a comment that she could see my abs coming in. That was amazing! My wife had not said anything positive about my physique in years. And why should she have? I hadn't looked good!

If you had told me in July that I would be committed to eating right and working out, I would have said you were crazy! But each day I gained more motivation to continue to make progress!

Building Some Muscle

Insanity was a great cardio workout and was helping to shape and sculpt, but I needed something more. I needed to incorporate some free weights into my workout. My wife told me she was happy I was eating right, but my arms looked a skinny and soft. They didn't look like they had when we met six months earlier. That hurt.

When someone points out the obvious, you have two choices. You can be a victim, or you can do something about it. I decided to do something about it. I would start my workout with the Insanity warm-up, then work out with free weights. Then, I would finish with Insanity.

I don't know about you, but I hate being sore. I new that I had not lifted weights in years, so I decided to start light. I basically workout my upper body with dumbbells, and my lower body and cardio with Insanity. I started very, very light the first week, gradually increasing the weight each week.

Despite lifting light, I was sore. Not overly sore, but sore none the less. Here is the important thing to remember: If you aren't sore, you aren't doing it right! The soreness went away after a few days and was replaced by a burn! I love that burn. That is the burn that fat is becoming muscle, and muscle is growing.

Embrace the Burn

After a week of Shakeology, it was time to add a workout into the mix. I made a commitment that I would workout 30 minutes a day, five days a week, without exception or excuse.

Insanity is the REAL DEAL! And it is hard! I had not workout out in close to five years. I was completely out of shape. Insanity starts off with a fitness test. I was workout out alone and was just about embarrassed at my level of fitness. Day 2 was pretty discouraging. I had to take frequent breaks and had to hit the pause button several times. I barely made it through the workout.

The next day I was sore! But I had made a commitment, so I was going to push through. Insanity comes with a workout chart and workout calendar. Each workout builds on the last, so it makes sense. I made it through the first week and felt better about myself. Between Shakeology and some better nutritional choices, I felt tremendous! The best part is... I was DOWN ANOTHER 3 POUNDS! Yes, I put it in ALL CAPS!

The Beginning of the Journey

After the 3 Day Refresh I was going to begin my regiment of drinking Shakology each morning. I don't have time to make a fancy shake, so I simply mix it in a blender with 8 ounces of water. I really didn't know what to expect, but I was skeptical. At the end of the first week I realized something. I had not bought a single snack during the week. Normally, I would buy at least one or two snacks each day. I would get hungry and buy a snickers bar or crackers. I would sometimes have 3 or 4 snacks in a day. With Shakeology I simply did not have cravings.

At the end of the first week I noticed I had a little more energy than I had the week before. I felt a boost in my energy. I decided to get on the scale and see if I had lost any weight. I was down 2.5 pounds! And, I had not started working out! The following Monday I would be starting Insanity, and I was excited to get started! For the first time in years I was motivated to workout.

Three Day Refresh

On a Thursday my order arrived. I was excited to get started, and decided to start that Friday. I opened the box and found several resources and instructions on how to use the three day refresh. There was also a recipe book with some simple, healthy meal options to supplement the three day refresh. 

I really didn't know what to expect as I got started, but the hardest part about the 3 Day Refresh was following the regiment. It is very simply and clearly laid out, but it is a drastic change from how I was eating. While the 3 Day Refresh was difficult, the results were amazing. I lost 5 pounds in just 3 days, but more importantly, I developed healthy eating habits that I still use today.

If you are thinking about losing weight but don't know where to start, then I would highly recommend checking out the 3 Day Refresh. 

Welcome!

Welcome to my newest blog! I want to share with you the details of my weight loss and fitness journey. Late last August I made a commitment to lose weight and live a more healthy lifestyle. In July I went to the doctor and found out I had very high blood pressure. We are talking 150/110. I was severely overweight and needed to lose 35 pounds. He also prescribed high blood pressure medication.

30 days later I went back for a follow up visit and my doctor repeated the mantra. I had to lose some weight. It was vital that I improved my diet and began to exercise. It was about this time that our friend, Lindsey Gaines, introduced me to Shakeology by Team Beachbody. I knew about Team Beachbody as they had produced the Insanity and P90X videos. I did not know anything about Shakeology.

In a nutshell, Shakeology is a meal replacement shake that provides several nutritional benefits. Lindsay talked to me about how Shakeology helped her to lose some weight while giving her increased energy. She had recently signed up to be a Team Beachbody Coach, and she was selling Shakeology. What was really cool was how Lindsey talked about the team of coaches she worked with. They would provide tremendous support and guidance.

Despite her best efforts, I was pessimistic at best. I didn't really buy into or believe the hype. I had tried dozens of other shakes and none of them delivered what they promised. But after tossing it around for a few days, I decided to go all in. I ordered a 30 day supply of Shakeology and a 3 Day Refresh Challenge Pack. The three day refresh would help to clean out my system and help me to develop some positive eating habits. The only thing I had to do was wait... patiently... for my order to arrive...