Bryan Parady's Blog, page 7

Don’t Be Afraid to Change

So I’ve been in the fitness world awhile now.  I’ve done a lot, I’ve learned a lot, and I’ve come a long way.  But I’m not where I want to be.  I love fitness in that there is never any true end, because there is always more your body and mind is capable of.

I’m wanting to take my fitness to the next level, but to do that I can’t continue to do what I’ve done.  It’s worked up to this point, but now it’s time for a change.  So? Bring it.

Today I’m changing up my workouts, focusing on more sets, more weight, and less reps.  I’ve always done microcycles (which I highly recommend), but after some research and advice from other fitness gurus, this seems like the right move for my next goals.

Also my calorie intake must increase.  This is the hardest part about fitness…..food.  At this point my eating is so routine, I rarely ever think about eating crap. I’ve done it so long it’s second nature, now I am am shooting for another 1,000 calories per day.  (that’s pushing me close to the 5,000 mark).

I’m pumped, I’m excited.  I can’t wait to see where the next phase takes me.

If you hit a wall, which will happen with fitness, don’t be afraid to change things up, to get out of the routine your are comfortable in.  You’ve got to constantly be learning, and staying sharp.

Would love to connect with you.  Feel free to comment your own story, or if you need any help with your own workout plans or diet, would love to talk to you.  directorb.blog@gmail.com

My Transformation

A lot of people have been asking for my before and after pictures. Here ya go.  I used to be a twig!  I don’t think I weighed 115 soaking wet.

You’ve Earned the Pain

So as I’ve talked about in a few of my last posts.  I read an amazing book that I recommend to anyone.  It’s written by Jesse Itzler and talks about how he had a navy seal live with him for a month and train him.  You can buy it on Amazon: Living With A Seal

And no I’m not being endorsed for recommending it.  There is a great concept discussed in there.  It talks about enjoying the pain and soreness you feel because you’ve earned it.  That was definitely a new concept for me.  Enjoy the pain?  What?

But when you think about it, what is the pain?  It’s a result of us getting outside our comfort zone and doing something that is hard, something that hurts.  And when we do that we achieve results.  We accomplish what we set out to do.

So yes embrace the pain because it’s the feeling of success, it’s the feeling of change and of growth.

This can apply not only in the fitness world but in life.  We can’t ever grow and change unless we go through some hard things and experience the pain.  But it’s always worth it in the end.  So embrace the pain….you’ve earned it.

What Do You Do With Pain?

So you’ve got some muscle pain.  Maybe it’s been ongoing, maybe this week it just started.  How do you continue working out while not injuring yourself further?  It’s a fine line.  Your muscles when pushed sometimes get strained a little too much.  It happens.  If you spend any kind of considerable time in the gym or pounding the payment, soreness will come.

I was having a conversation with a guy at the gym today about this very thing.  We are both dealing with pain that isn’t typical muscle soreness, and we were both working out anyway.

I think it’s very important to stay in the gym even if you are in pain.  Now I’m not saying to push that muscle or body group, go easy on it, but still do some light workouts on it, and make sure you workout other muscle groups.

It’s really easy to just stop working out and claim that your body needs rest, and then completely get out of the routine. Don’t fall into this trap.  Do some research on the pain, but work through it, gently yes, but still work through it, push through it. Your body can withstand a lot.

Carbs vs. Protein

So what do you need.  Protein or Carbs?  Somehow the concept that carbs are all bad has gained a lot of popularity but this simply isn’t the case.

Carbs from good sources are actually very good for you and offer a great source of energy for your body to turn into muscle and fuel.  The problem is what kind of carbs.  No don’t go eating a big mac and think your getting your carbs and protein all your getting is clogged arteries.

Good sources of carbs come from brown rice, whole wheat pastas, whole wheat breads, sweet potatoes, corn, whole oats.  All these things are an excellent source for clean carbs that fuel your body.

But between the two of them, protein and carbs, our bodies need both.  Be very wary of any diet that says to cut out any kind of natural food completely.

Your Approach To Fitness

What is your approach to fitness? It’s a good question to ask.  Because the way in which you think about it and come to terms with it affects the change that it brings. If you just think about the negatives of being healthy you will have a negative approach to it.  For instance I hear a lot of people when they are trying to eat clean talk so much about the foods they miss.

So how can you turn your mentality around?  How do you focus on positive when your body is yelling at you?  You change your thinking.

Instead of saying to yourself “I wish I could get a cheeseburger…or I wish I could drink a coke”, focus on the positives of why you are not eating those things.  For example, “I could have a coke, which would increase my obesity, and contribute to diabetes, and bone breakdown.”   or “I could eat that cheeseburger, but would be paving the way to a unhealthy arteries and possibly heart failure.”

I’m not trying to be morbid by any means but we have to retrain our brain on how we think about food.  We aren’t missing out on anything, we are building our body up to what it truly needs to be.  It’s only been the last 60 years or so that fast food and tons of soda have even existed, so for the thousands of years before that guess what, people didn’t eat processed food.

Tell yourself, “I’m making a smart decision on food, that is going to build my health, fuel my muscles, and give me a chance to be around for a long time for my family, my children, and grandchildren.

Retrain the mind. You are NOT missing out.  You are ahead of the game.

You Are Only At 40%

I’m reading an amazing book, called living with a seal.  It has really pushed me to get outside my comfort zone in the gym. And to realize how it’s easy to get comfortable in your gym routine.

There’s a great concept in the book and it talks about how when we think we are done we are only 40% done. That’s really made me evaluate whether I’m working out hard enough.

In the last 3 days, I’ve done 6 days worth of workouts, my body aches, but I am embracing it and realizing that I’m actually fine, despite some extra pain.  Our bodies can handle so much more than we think they can, but they need to be pushed.

You’ve got to continue to push, continue to eat clean, and figure out new ways to work yourself out harder.

If you have any questions on workouts or diets, feel free to email me at: directorb.blog@gmail.com

 

Switching It Up

So I just finished my 2nd week of double lifting.  It’s pushing me for sure.  What I’ve been doing is doubling up my workouts.  Before the last 2 weeks I’ve done one muscle group each day.  With a couple of rest days in the week.  I still do my microcycles in 4 week cycles.  So in week 1: 12-15 reps, week 2: 9-11, week 3: 6-8, and week 4:3-5, increasing weight each week.  Then starting over at the end of 4 weeks, but instead of one muscle group a day, I am now doing every muscle group twice a day, for instance, back and arms are 1 day and I do that 2 days.

It’s very tiring and I am in the gym a lot longer as I am doing a lot more exercises every day.  But I love it.  I think I am definitely hooked. Yes there’s been soreness, and I’ve had some pretty bad knee pain that I’ve been fighting through (fish oil and glucosamine have really helped with that), but despite the pain, I’ve loved it.

If you have been lifting awhile, and are really trying to push yourself I highly recommend trying this.  It’s literally doubling  your weekly workouts so be ready, and be warned that it will be painful.  But I think you’ll like it.

Hope everyone’s Monday is off to a great start!  Let me know what new things you’ve been working on, and if you have any questions feel free to comment below or email me @ directorb.blog@gmail.com

How Do You Change?

How do we bring about change in our lives?  Not just in our fitness world, but in general?  We can make lists, state the pros and cons.  We can read books about it, check out blogs, watch youtube videos.  We can purchase the step by step plans that will help us, buy the idiots guide, the “for dummies” book.

But in the end none of those really matter. It’s about taking the jump and doing. You aren’t going to be able to plan for everything, you’re not going to be able to have all the answers before hand. You are not going to be able to bullet point every option, every turn, every circumstance.

Instead you have to take that leap of faith and start doing.  Now I’m not saying don’t do research, but do it as you step out.  Don’t just research because you will stay there forever and never make a move.  Go for it.  Make the plunge and just start.  Whether it’s the move you’ve been questioning, the job you have been thinking about going for, the girl/guy you’ve wanted to go after, go for it.

 

When Your Workout Doesn’t Work

If you are seeing the same results why do you think the same workout in the gym will get your further?  A gym routine is a great thing. We get in a good workout and we think we are good.  30 minutes of lifting or running, and 30 minutes of walking around and talking it up at the gym.

Let’s face it gym can easily become a place we go to socialize and don’t really push ourselves anymore.  That’s why it’s so important to work hard and really change up your workouts.  When you are at the gym you are there to push yourself to the limit, not anything else.  If you are just easily going through your workouts, not really struggling and not really getting out of breath by the end of your sets, you’re not building.

If you are doing 3 sets of 10, you should be barely able to finish by the time you hit your seventh rep.  You should be struggling.  The saying, ‘no pain no gain’ is absolutely true.

Don’t get comfy in the gym. Have a routine,but change it up and continue to press and strain.  The gym should never become easy, a certain workout should never be “easy”, if it is you need to ramp it up.