Tough Mudder/Super Spartan/Marathon Training

As you all know I have begun training for multiple endurance events in the next few months and years. My first is the Tough Mudder in VT on May 8th, 2011. The next is the Super Spartan Race in VT. on August 6th, 2011. My next challenge is the Walt Disney Marathon on January 8th, 2012 where I hope to qualify for the 2013 Boston Marathon with a 7:00 min per mile pace. Next is the LA Marathon in March 2012. All of this leading up to running the 2013 Boston Marathon. I am going to keep track of my training progress on this blog. I hope you will all following me on my fitness Journey.
                                                                                                                                                                      
2011
May 8th, 2011- Tough Mudder MT. Snow Vermont    
August 6th, 2011- Super Spartan Race Killington Vermont

2012
January 8th, 2012- Walt Disney World Marathon Orlando Florida
March 2012- LA Marathon Los Angeles California

2013
April 2013- 2013 Boston Marathon
                                                                                                                                                                      

2011

March 6th -  3 mile run - Complete

March 8th - 4 mile run (test run for 3 miles (target time 21 min) and 4 miles (target time under 28 min ) - Complete- (31 min)

March 13th - 4 mile run (target time 28 min) -

March 20th - 3 mile run (target time 21 min) -

March 27th - 6 mile run (target time 42 min) -

April 3rd - 4 mile run (target time 28 min) -

April 10th - 8 mile run ( target time 56 min) -

April 17th - 5 mile run (target time 35 min) -

April 24th - 10 mile run (target time 1:10 min) -

May 1st - 5 mile run ( target time 35 min) -

May 8th - Tough Mudder- MT. Snow Vermont (no run today- target is to dig deep and finish)

May 15th - 5 mile run (target time 35 min) -

May 22nd - 10 mile run ( target time 1:10min) -

May 29th - 5 mile run (target time 35 min) -

June 5th - 12 mile run (target time 1:24 min) -

June 12th - 5 mile run (target time 35 min) -

June 19th - 13.1 mile run (half marathon run) (target time 1hr 31min) -

June 26th - 5 mile run ( target time 35 min) -

July 3rd - 16 mile run ( target time 1hr 50min) -

July 10th - 6 mile run (target time 42 min) -

July 17th - 18 mile run ( target time 2hr 06min) -

July 24th - 6 mile run ( target time 42 min) -

July 31st - 20 mile run (target time 2hr 20min) -

August 6th - Super Spartan Race - Mt. Killington Vermont (no run today target is to finish)

August 14th - 6 mile run ( target time 42 min) -

August 21st- 20 mile run (target time (2hr 20 min) -

August 28th - 6 mile run ( target time 42 min) -


September 4th - 22 mile run ( target time 2hr 34 min) -

September 11th - 6 mile run ( target time 42 min) -

September 18th - 22 mile run (target time 2hr 34 min) -

September 25th - 6 mile run ( target time 42 min) -

October 2nd - 13.1 mile run ( target time 2hrs 48 min) -

October 9th - 6 mile run ( target time 42 min) -

October 15th - Hartford Marathon Hartford CT. - ( target time 3hrs 3 min) qulify for Boston Marathon
October 23rd - 6 mile run ( target time 42 min) -

October 30th - 22 mile run ( target time 2hrs 34 min) -

November 6th - 6 mile run (target time 42 min) -

November 13th- 26.4 mile run (test marathon run for time ) ( target time 3hrs 3 min) -

November 20th - 6 mile run ( target time 42min) -

November 27th - 16 mile run ( target time 1hr 50 min) -

December 4th - 6 mile run ( target time 42 min) -

December 11th - 24 mile run (target run 2hrs 48min) -

December 18th - 6 mile run (target time 42 min) -

December 24th - 20 mile run (target time 2:20 min) -

2012
January 8th - Walt Disney World Marathon ( qualify for 2013 Boston Marathon) (target time 3hrs 3min)

   

2011/2012 fitness goals

       In life it is always important to set goals. whether it is fitness goals or just in life it is important for your success. I personally have many goals that I want to reach in life. I am going to share with you all my fitness goals that I hope to reach within the next 2 years starting with this year.

2011 

INSANITY ASYLUM

when INSANITY ASYLUM comes out I hope to complete this workout and get into the best shape of my life

Tough Mudder (May 8th 2011 MT. Snow VT.)

 On May 8th 2011, I will be competing in my first Tough Mudder event in VT. it is called the hardest endurance competition in the world. I can not wait to dig deep and bring it at this event and be able to say I finished the Tough Mudder.

Super Spartan Race (August 6th 2011 MT. Killington VT.)

 This summer I will be running my first Super Spartan race in VT. This race will be similar to Tough Mudder but will include different challenges. This is just another obstacle I will overcome this year.
 

P90X MC2

later this year P90X MC2 will be coming out and again will be another challenge that I want to tackle and succeed in.

2012

Walt Disney World Marathon (Jan. 8th 2012) Qualifier for Boston Marathon in 2013

 In January I will travel to Orlando Florida to run the 2012 Walt Disney World Marathon. I will be running this to qualify for the 2013 Boston Marathon. This will be a fun race because the entire run is through the Disney world theme parks.

LA Marathon (March 2012)

I want to be able to run in a marathon due to the fact that I will not be able to run the Boston Marathon till 2013 I will be running the 2012 LA Marathon in March 2012. This is one thing that I have always wanted to do and is one of the biggest challenges that I will face.

Tough Mudder 2012 (Vermont and California)
 Once again I will compete in the Tough Mudder competition. I am hoping to make this a yearly thing that I do. Along with the Vermont Tough Muddder I am hoping to also compete in the one in California.

Super Spartan Race
 Again I will also run the Super Spartan again in Vermont hoping to make it a yearly thing like Tough Mudder. I will also love to be able to travel to Southern California and run in that Super Spartan Race there.


2013

Boston Marathon

 In April 2013 I will run the Boston Marathon. This is something that I have always wanted to do since I ran track back in High School. I see this as the ultimate challenge and can not wait to run it. This will be the biggest fitness accomplishment when I run and finish this race. 

For me these are my Fitness goals that i set forth for my self. I am currently in training for all of these events. I will take them one event at a time. I am using P90X, INSANITY, (ASYLUM when it comes out) Kettlebell training, running, and (P90X MC2 when it comes out) to train for all of these evvents. I will be using all of these becasuer I want to be in the best physical shape all around when it comes time to compete in these events and not just in one specific area. This will give me the advantage when it comes time for comatition.
 I will be constanly updating everyone with blog post about my training and hope you all will follow me on my personaly fitness journey!

Week 1 INSANITY Review

Last week I started my first full 60 day round of INSANITY. I decided to do this because I was looking to get more lean and cut, and also I wanted to improve on my cardio because  I felt I was lacking in that area and I want to prepare for INSANITY ASYLUM.This is my week one review of INSANITY and how I did.

Beginning INSANITY I did not know what to expect except that it was going to be tough. Let me tell you I was right it is very tough! My first day I had trouble getting through the warm up. I had to take a few breaks to catch my breath and then get back into it. After the warm up I did not have much trouble with the first two levels of the interval training. When it came to the third and last level the give it all you got and leave nothing behind I was digging deep then. I had to stop a few times to catch my breath and find the energy somewhere to get through the 3 minutes. It was the longest 3 minutes of my life!

As each day went on I was shocked at how quickly I was getting better at each workout. Every day I seemed to be able to go longer through the workouts and not have to take as many breaks. I could tell my cardiovascular system was improving at a crazy rate. Along with that I can see that my form for each move is getting better and my speed is improving.

One of the most notable things that I can tell after my first week is first my leg strength and overall body toning. After my first week I found that I have gained a great deal of strength in my legs and my legs are starting to get more muscular and a lot harder. I am also starting to see a lot more definition in my muscles. my abs and chest are two body parts that I am seeing the biggest change in. I was nervous about losing muscle mass with all the cardio involved in INSANITY. Because of this I ajusted my diet and took in a few more calories along with adding some weight training and it is working well because I have not lost any muscle mass I have overall gained 1lb in a week!

This again is just my week one INSANITY review. I can not believe in just one week what I am seeing and how much it has improved my overall. I will begin to add some weight training into the schedule so i can continue to lift weights and build muscle. I can not wait to see what the rest of the 60 days is going to bring and what my results will be like. If the rest of the program is going to be anything like this first week. I know I will get amazing results!    

What is a Beachbody Coach and what do we do?

There is a common question that I get asked many times about what I do as a coach and that question is well what is it that I really do. I thought I would share with everyone what a Beachbody Coach does, the benefits of become a coach, and give you information on how you can become a Team Beachbody Coach.


What is a Beachbody Coach and what do we do?


A Team Beachbody Coach is someone who is using a Beachbody product such as P90X, INSANITY, Turbo Fire, etc and sharing there results with others. The job of a Coach is not to sell anything to anyone we are NOT SALES PEOPLE. Our job is to help and guide people through there programs and help them get the best results possible. We are there every step of the way to answer there questions and motivate them to commit to there program. Sharing our success stories with others is a big part of coaching. The truth is you do not have to have amazing results or even completed an entire workout yet to be a coach. All you need is a desire to help others get into the best shape of there lives and improve there lives because of it.   


Who can be a Beachbody Coach?


Anyone out there 18yrs or older can be a coach. You do not have to be a personal trainer or a nutritionist, you just have to be someone with the desire to help others. From stay at home moms to doctors to college students anyone can be a coach.


What are the benefits of become a coach?   


There are many benefits of becoming a Beachbody Coach. You receive a 25% discount on everything Beachbody. You also are able to make a 25% commission by being a coach in a number of ways. The main way of making a commission is by retail sales. If someone decides to purchse anything off your personal website you will get a 25% commission of of that sale. Another way of making commission is by building a team of coaches under you that will result in you getting a team cycle bonus. This bonus can happen multiple times a day depending on your rank. There are many other ways to earn commission, but these are the most common and most effective ways of making the commission. 


How much can you make being  Beachbody Coach? 


How much you make as a coach is truly up to you. The sky is the limit to how much you can make in this business. You can make anywhere from $20 all the way up to a 6 figure income. Like anything you will get out of this business what you put into it. If you decide to work your business when you feel like it that's fine you can do that, but if you want to be successful and make that 6 figure income you have to stay focused and work  hard. The more effort and time you put in your business the more you will get out of it.


How can I become a Beachbody Coach?


So this sounds like something that you want to get into. The next question is how do I get started. Getting started as a coach is super easy to do! here's how you do it. Go onto my website http://www.xbodynow.com/ and click become a Coach. From there you fill out the required info. There is a one time start up fee of $39.95 to activate you as a coach. This will open up your coaching back office where you can run your business. It will provide you with the Coaching starter kit. It will also open up your own personal website where people can go to purchase products. After that you only pay $14.95 a month to keep you back office and website up and running.  


Becoming a Coach has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that no one should pass up. If you have a passion for fitness and helping others this is for you.
 If you have any questions feel free to email me at xbodynow@yahoo.com

Kettlebell Training- The missing link to your fitness

      To most people kettlebell training is a thing of the past. Not many people out there use this training method to build strength and muscle anymore. Recently though kettlebell training has been making a big comeback in the fitness world and I am here to tell you why.

      I was introduced to kettlebell training by my good friend and Coach Mike French.  Never using kettlebells before I was curious to see what it would do for my fitness training. Once I began intergrading kettlebells into my normal workout schedule I began to see immediate results. I could not believe what a simple steel ball could do for the body. My main exercise is the 2 handed Kettlebell swing with a 55lb kettlebell. This move is an amazing full body workout working not only your major muscle groups but also many connective tissues and accessory muscles. It will work every muscle from your quads all the way up to your shoulders. I have found that this move is very effective in strengthening your lower back. Not only will this help you build muscle, it will also help you build overall strength in your entire body. Along with muscle strength kettlebells will also help you improve your cardiovascular endurance. Due to movements in kettlebell training your cardiovascular is put into overdrive causing you to improve your overall cardio endurance.
     2 handed kettlebell swings is just one of the many great workouts you can get using a kettlebell. There are many other moves that target other areas of the body as well.

      If you are thinking of adding kettlebell training into your normal workout routine I highly recommend finding a certified kettlebell instructor or a instructional book/DVD to show you proper form for all these moves. Though these workouts are highly effective in building muscle and strength, they can also be very dangerous if performed wrong causing injury. so make sure if you do decide to begin  using this training method think this SAFTEY FIRST!!


    I have personally have achieved great results form the short time I have been using kettlebell training. I highly recommend adding kettlebells into your training regimen if you are looking to build muscle and overall body strength and cardiovascular endurance. There is nothing out there like a kettlebell workout!

        Mike 

Supplement Review

I have received a lot of questions lately on what supplements I take while I do P90X and INSANITY. For this reason I decided to make a blog to explain to everyone what supplements I take and the benefits of these supplements.

OMEGA 3 FISH OIL

What is it?

Omega 3 is an essential fatty acid, which means it cannot be manufactured by our own body and therefore must be obtained through our diet alone. Most people's diet's contain an insufficient amount of omega 3. Because of the lack of omega 3 in our body we take omega 3 fish oils to meet this daily requirements.   

What are the benefits?

- lowers blood triglyceride levels
- reduces the risk of heart attack
- reduces the risk of dangerous abnormal heart rhythms
- reduces the risk of strokes
- slows the buildup of atherosclerotic plaques
- lowers blood pressure
- reduces stiffness and joint tenderness associated with Rheumatoid arthritis

  Omega 3 fish oil have also been suggested to help prevent

- Alzheimer's disease and dementia
- depression
- heart disease
- cancer
- arthritis
- diabetes
- hyperactivity
- ADHD

Creatine

Creatine monohydrate is used to increase lean muscle mass, strength and energy. The human body naturally makes creatine to supply energy to the muscles. Creatine is made in the liver, pancreas and kidneys and is transported to the body’s muscles through the bloodstream. Once it reaches the muscles, it is converted into creatine phosphate. This is then used to help restrengthen your muscles and give you more energy and streangh to perform your workouts.

Creatine is 100% natural and is found in small amounts in some foods. Some foods that contain creatine are red meat, salmon, herring and tuna. The amount of creatine in these foods is minimal, and most is lost when the food is cooked.The best source of creatine monohydrate is creatine powders. These supplements are 99.9% pure creatine and only a small daily dose is required to raise the creatine levels in muscle your muscles.

The one thing that Creatine Monohydrate does is it withholds water in your body. This can be a good or a bad thing.  It can be a good thing if you are looking to put on weight and do not care if it is water weight and not 100% lean muscle weight. The bad thing is If you are trying to gain weight and have it be 100% lean muscle and not have the water weight contribute to your actual body weight, then you might run into some problems. Though the amount of water creatine withholds is not substantial, it can still be noticed by some.

I personally take the Creatine Monohydrate from GNC it’s cheap and does the job. I have recently come across a highly effective creatine that does not withhold the water. The name of this product is CE2 HI-DEF I have found that works much faster then regular Creatine Monohydrate and is more effective at what it does. The only down side is the price a bottle of 180 tablets cost around $65.00.        

L-Glutimine

L-Glutimine is the most abundant amino acid in the body. It's found in high-protein foods - fish, beans, meat and dairy products. Research shows that L-Glutamine helps facilitate the release of growth hormone. L-Glutamine is released when your muscle are under stress (when you are working out). Due to this release your L-Glutamine levels become lower and need to be replaced. By using L-Glutamine you begin to replace this L-Glutamine lost during workouts, and also speeds up normal naturally occurring Glutamine in your body.

Some of the things L-Glutamine does are the following

Regulation of protein synthesis (this is one of the ways in which steroids exert their muscle building effects).

Accelerating glycogen synthesis after a workout.

Sparing the use of the glycogen stored in the muscle cell (recall that the glycogen stored in the muscle cell is what gives the cell the healthy volume and firmness that you seek).

Faster recuperation from weight training workouts.

The type of L-Glutamine that I use is the L-Glutamine pill form by GNC.

The one other supplement that I take that I highly recommend to everyone is a multi-vitamin.

Multi-vitamins are a very effective way of replaces vital vitamins and minerals essential to your buy. By taking a Multi-vitamin each day will increase energy levels and better protect you from becoming sick.

Choices

In life there are two roads you can take there's the easy road most traveled. There's no obstacles just a strait road to an ordinary life. Then there's the road less traveled. This road is full of obstacles and road blocks. But those who travel this road and overcome these obstacles will find it will lead them to an extraordinary life. Life is all about making choices. so what road are you going to choose the easy road or the hard road? Why settle for ordinary when you can have extraordinary.

My P90X Transformation

      I thought that I would share my P90X transformation story with everyone. Unlike most people I started P90X not to lose weight but to gain weight. Growing up for me was tough I was always considered the little guy. In school I got picked on because of it and it truly got to me sometimes. I was 5'8 120lbs it was awful! After dealing with this for as long as I did I decided to do something about it and join the gym. I thought I would just go lift some weights, eat a lot of food, and I would get bigger right? WRONG! I did start to gain some weight but then I hit the dreaded platue effect. I started lifting even more, spent longer hours at the gym, eating more food, and you know where it got me no where. I ended up losing most of what I had gain because I was over training. At this point I got so frustrated about it I gave up and stopped going to the gym. I thought why should I waste all my time at the gym when it is getting me no where. So that's what I did I gave up thinking I'm always going to be like this and just deal with it.

  One day I was watching T.V and I came across this infomercial for P90X. I watched it and saw how ripped and how good of shape everyone was in it. Like everyone else in the world I was skeptical about it. You know it's just another one of those T.V infomercial products that promise you the world but end up being a total waste of money because they don't work. For some reason I decided to give it a try thinking hey what do I have to lose right. Let me tell you it was the best decision I ever made. Once I got P90X I looked over the program and started the first workout chest and back. I saw that it was pretty much all push ups and pull ups and thought it was going to be so easy. I was very wrong! It was one one the toughest workouts I had ever done and I knew from that P90X was the real deal. I continued pushing play for the 90 days sticking with the diet and by day 90 I could not believe what I saw in the mirror. In just 90 days I had gotten into the best shape of my life and was totally ripped! I have always wanted a 6 pack like every guy does. I didn't get one from P90X I got an 8pack! I didn't even know there was such a thing as an 8 pack before that! After the 90 days I had everyone asking me what in the world did I do to get in such great shape and I told them. After then I have so much more confidence in myself and have a new and healthily look on life. Before I thought I could not accomplish anything in my life, but now I feel like I can accomplish anything. P90X didn't just give me a great physique, but it also gave me the confidence to tackle anything that life throws in front me because I know now I can face it head on with no fear. 

Mike

Dare to be extraordinary TEAM XBODY

P90X Diet

One of the most common questions that I get from people about P90X is about the diet. Everyone always tells me that it is hard to follow or they do not like any of the foods in the nutrition guide. I thought I would make a blog to show people how simple the diet can be.

FAT SHREDDER the first phase is the fat shredder diet. durning this phase you are going to want to take in a high protein low carb diet. The reason for this is your body is going to be burning off all the extra fat in your body and build muscle with this diet. The high protein will help build muscle where the low carbs will help you not put that fat back on. You are going to want to have a intake ratio of 20% fat 30% carbs 50% protein a 20%/30%/50% ratio. a very easy way to do this is by logging everything you eat into a website called www.fitday.com this is a great website where you can log your food intake for each day and at the bottom of the page will give you a pie chart with the ration i talked about above so you can see the percentages. it's that easy!

ENERGY BOOSTER The next phase is the energy booster. Durning this phase your are still going to have a high protein intake, but you will be upping your carb intake just a bit. the new ratio for this phase is 20% fat 40% carbs 40% protein. a 20%/40%/40% ratio. Durning this phase you will be upping your carb intake because with the previous fat shredder phase you have burned off a lot of fat from your body and build muscle. Now that you are in the second phase of the workout and diet plan you will be taking in a higher carb intake to help you with your energy durning your workouts. Carbs help you gain energy and helps improve workouts due to the increased energy in the body.

ENDURANCE MAXIMIZER The next and final phase of the workout is the endurance maximizer phase. Durning this phase you are going to be upping the carb intake once more to a ratio of 20% fat 30% protein 50% carbs a 20%/30%/50% ratio. At this point your body have burned off most of the fat in your body that you are trying to get rid of. The final phase of P90X is the toughest because it is constantly changing workouts each week, and your body needs the extra carbs for the energy. Durning this phase you are still going to be building muscle and burning fat even though you are increasing you carb intake.

One final thing about the diet and this has to do about the foods in the nutrition guide. If you are one of those people out there like me who looked at the guide and said I don't like any of these foods don't worry you can change it to fit your likings!! All you have to do is substitute the foods that you do not like with foods that you do like that are equal in nutritional vale and fall under the category that food falls under like proteins, vegetables, etc. For example I do not like fish and the nutrition guide called for fish as a meal. All Idid was replace it with a high protein rich meat such as grilled chicken. I love grilled chicken and eat it all the time. There is nothing wrong with substituting foods in the diet with foods that you like I don't care what anyone tells you!! Just make sure though you still FOLLOW THE DIET PLAN AND FOOD RATIO INTAKE!! A good friend and fellow coach of mine told me it is 80% diet 20% workouts to obtain the best results and I could not agree more with him. You can lift weights and do pull ups and push ups all day, but if you don't have the proper nutrition then you will not see the results you are looking for and become very frustrated period!

again here is the website to log your daily food intake in and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you do this! I promise it will make it so much easier for you to keep up with the diet and get the results you are looking for.
http://www.fitday.com/