The Quickest Way To 5X Your Results In The Gym

Are you wasting all those hours you've put in at the gym?!

I see it all the time. People go into the gym, they bust their a**, stay hydrated, do what they need to do to recover.

You're doing everything you think you can to make progress in the gym. You do this day in and day out for months at a time; with NOTHING to show for it.

You haven't lost that stubborn belly fat, your biceps aren't as big as you thought they were going to be. You still feel soft and weak and begin to think this whole health thing is for the birds.

This eventually causes you to give up completely on your dreams of fitness. BUT WAIT!!!

There's a secret to avoid this pitfall and it's the thing you need to 5X your results in the gym. "What is this miracle secret, Shae?"

I'm glad you ask, the secret is nutrition!! Yep, that's right. The food you eat, how much you eat, and when you eat it. 

Dialing all of these variables of nutrition has been shown to increase your overall results by up to 5 TIMES.

That means 25lbs lost instead of 5. That means 20 points off your blood pressure instead of 4.

It almost sounds too good to be true. It's not, I assure you. It's FOOD. The fuel you put into your body makes all the difference.

If you're not eating enough, or eating too much of the wrong things at the wrong time, your results will suffer. It is SO IMPORTANT to have nutrition dialed in if you're seriously trying to change your health.

It can be very confusing with all the misinformation out there today. That's why we've put together some fantastic, easy to understand nutrition programs for all of our followers to dig into and take their results to the next level.

These are based on science! They are not some fad or gimmick diet, it's based off real world clients and proven methods. Life rewards ACTION TAKERS. There is no reason to have your results and your health suffer.

The only question left to ask is, "Am I truly ready to make the commitment to myself to reach my goals?"

If you answered yes, head on over to our nutrition coaching page and get ready for the best results of your life.

>>>>>>> NUTRITION COACHING <<<<<<<

Stop Waking Up Tired: 7 tips to fix your sleep.

I recently did a facebook live video regarding stress & sleep dysfunction. I dove into a lot of the different reasons you may be having trouble sleeping.  We get into the activation of different nervous systems, blue light, melatonin production, cortisol, and a ton of other useful information. In this post I’m going to list 7 things to implement right away to increase the quality of your sleep.

I’ll even give you some of my favorite recommendations for supplements I use! Full disclosure, I am affiliated with Onnit and Enlightened Athlete will receive a small portion of purchases made using our special banner in this post.

Here’s the link to the facebook live video if you’d like to tune in: Stress & Sleep Dysfunction FB Live.

Here’s the 7 tips, not listed in order of importance!

1.       Stay adequately hydrated through the day.

2.       Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine, and sugar especially after lunch as much as possible.

3.       Do not eat large meals within an hour of your bedtime.

4.       Get to sleep at the same time every night.

5.       Exercise! Some form, regularly.

6.       Sleep in a COMPLETELY dark room.

7.       No Screens 1 hour before bed. (Phones, computers, tv, tablets)

Boom! Start putting those tips in practice and you will be feeling better, burning more fat, building muscle, and performing mentally and physically at a level unprecedented in your life. If you know someone who could use these tips, share it with them on facebook or tag them in the link we shared. Thank you in advance!

I go into very deep detail on the facebook live video about each of the points and why they are important. Give it a watch if you’d like to delve a little deeper. The aim of all these tips is to increase your sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene refers to sleep habits and sleep environment. So basically, it means getting better sleep habits, and sleeping in a place and way that allows your body to sleep optimally.

Now, let’s talk a little about supplementation and how it can help you find optimal sleep.

First up, New Mood from Onnit.

New mood is Onnit’s daily stress formula. It’s a powerful combination of relaxing herbs and the building blocks of serotonin; L-Tryptophan and 5-HTP. Serotonin is a key neurotransmitter linked to mood, happiness, and positive outlook. It also contains herbs shown to reduce stress markers in clinical trials.

This supplement will help you reduce stress levels and prepare your body for sleep. It’s a great supplement to help cope with stress and lowered stress hormones will lead to better sleep. Click the banner below to snag some.

Another supplement I love to use is Hibernate from RedHNutrition.

This a fantastic high-quality supplement from a business I trust. I know what they stand for and their goal is to help athletes reach their highest potential. Hibernate contains magnesium and zinc to prime your body for restful sleep. This supplement also contains Tribulus Terrestris, a natural testosterone booster, to create an anabolic state to help you recover from your hard workouts or a long day on the job!

Get yours here: Hibernate

The final sleep hack is something I covered in the video but I want to make sure people know about it. It’s really simple and super effective. Three ingredients.

1.       Water

2.       Raw, local honey

3.       Apple cider vinegar

Warm up the water, mix in 1 tsp of honey then add 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar. Boom, drink that 30-45 minutes before bed and rest peacefully. This works like crazy. Not something to use everyday due to the honey but it helps me get right to sleep.

Hope these help! If you have any questions, shoot us an email at info@enlightenedathlete.com

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Lean Into The Hurt A Little. [VIDEO]

I love assisting people reach their health and fitness goals. I teach them how to squat, press, lunge, jump, sprint, and pick things up off the floor without hurting themselves. I love talking about nutrition so they stop gaining weight and feeling like they’ve been hit by a bus.

I teach people the importance of a holistic lifestyle and how to maximize their health. They learn how to stretch, why this or that hurts and we fix it with corrective exercise.

Movement and the physiological aspects of health is what I was put on this earth to share.

Physiological and movement education however, is not the full extent of what my profession entails. During sessions, there lies just under the surface, an unanticipated adaptation. Just under the surface of what seems like chaos; loud music, clanging weights, grunting, spitting, sweating and swearing there is a beneficial change happening.

No, I’m not talking about bigger biceps and tighter glutes (butts do get tighter, and biceps bigger though).

It’s an adaptation between the ears.

Along with their physical progress, I watch as people build more self confidence, do something they thought was impossible, conquer goals, and develop MENTAL FORTITUDE.

Mental fortitude is the ability to tell your brain to shut up when discomfort is presented in any form. It is what makes you sit down and do the work you don’t want to do, it’s what makes you keep running when you want to puke and fall over.

My profession requires I have the skill set to be able to bring out, immediately, the potential I see in my clients and make sure they don’t quit on themselves when it gets tough. I must be able to help them discover their strength when the workouts, and life for that matter get hard.

Being mentally tough allows you to handle anything life throws at you, professionally, personally, and in the gym.

I love this part of my job the most. I didn’t know I was going to get to do that, but it’s a necessary component. My clients become stronger physically AND mentally.They don’t give up when it gets hard.

I teach them to lean into the pain, become friends with it if only for a short while. Don't run away or avid it. It’s ok to be uncomfortable. Remember that.

I’ll state it once more because so many need to hear it. It’s ok to be uncomfortable.

Alright I’m going to share with you a video I found to be a reminder of why leaning in to the hurt is useful. I was sent the following video by a gentleman named Chad through Facebook. He’s a fellow self-improvement fanatic and I couldn’t be more grateful for his kind words and him sending me this video.  

It’s one of the most motivational videos on this very subject that I’ve ever seen. It’s long but for your own sake, watch this instead of another fu*king useless episode of The Bachelor. You’ll thank me once you make that decision.

Avoid Douchebag Shoulders, Lift More & Move Better. [WORKOUT]

I've noticed an alarming trend in athletes & gym goers.

I have noticed a bit of a trend when it comes to new trainees and even veterans in the world of training and lifting. It begins when a young man or woman enters the gym and decides to put together their own program with no knowledge of strength & conditioning principles.

They develop less than optimal workout structure, avoid necessary corrective exercises, avoid things they're bad at, and do the EXACT same routine everyday. They don't understand the importance of having a balanced and functional body. They are only concerned with aesthetics.

The funny thing is, if you have a balanced and functional body, you will have an aesthetically pleasing physique! (I’ve got a workout at the bottom of this post to help solve this issue)

They go into the gym and try to do things they’ve seen in a magazine or on tv once. They have no idea what they are doing, how to do it, or if what they are doing even works. They are plagued by a lack of guidance in their early gym days.

They lack guidance on exercise selection, proper workout routine structure, how to balance their bodies, or how to truly get results.

This can be overwhelming at times and if this isn’t enough to cause the athlete to drop their new fitness habit like a hot potato, they continue on with less than optimal routines, exercises, lack of corrective exercises and results. Eventually developing injuries, pain, and a progression towards the loss of health.

The issue described above leads to a trend of too much pressing or pushing, (bench, military press, chest flies, incline bench, push ups) and almost no pulling! If you are doing a ton of pressing in the gym, you need to counteract those effects with pulling movements.

The lack of pulling causes an issue affectionately known as DSS or Douchebag Shoulder Syndrome. We all know someone that has the gorilla-esque shoulders pulled forward and internally rotated. They can barely get their arms overhead and have never attempted anything in the gym other than you guessed it, BENCH BRO!! Cause GAINZ right?

Nobody wants to have DSS. It leads to poor posture, pain manifesting in multiple different places in the body(shoulders, neck, low back, knees) and last but not least, INJURY. So just going to the gym and doing whatever you feel like is not the way to go.

In honor of this I’m rolling a new option for those unable to come train personally with me at the Enlightened Athlete HQ gym. This is an online option delivering elite programming directly to your inbox for less than most people spend on coffee every month!

Let somebody who has put the time in, experimented and tested multiple methodologies, and led many clients to success do the work for you.

All you have to do is SHOW UP!

There’s limited spots so DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS! Shoot me an e-mail today at Info@enlightenedathlete.com to learn more or get signed up ASAP.

I want to provide you with a workout to combat all the chronic pressing I see in gyms today. To do this I created a workout aptly named “Pull Your Face Off”. So without any further delay ladies and gentleman I present to you the Pull Your Face Off workout!

Hit this workout and let me know what you think!

Upgrade Your Mindset With Gratitude Immediately! [VIDEO]

Just wanted to throw up a quick video about my gratitude practice that I've been engaging in almost daily. In life when you start to feel down, we inevitably begin to dwell on the negative aspects of our lives. It's just the way our brains are wired.

The brain is constantly looking out for potential danger, even when there isn't any threat of real physical danger. 

Being constantly aware of potential danger leads us to unconsciously focus on things that are merely bothering us. So that is why these things become the focus of your attention. Letting your brain run wild will lead you down a dark, slippery road to apathy and depression.

FORGET THAT.

You can rewire your brain to focus on positive aspects of your life. To focus on the situations and circumstances you can be grateful for. Practicing gratitude is the easiest way to change your mental and emotional state in a radical way. Stop letting your mind run freely, out of control with no guidance. You must manage your thoughts, not the other way around.

I've been really ruminating on this phrase I heard from the formidable force that is Jocko Willink.

DISCIPLINE = FREEDOM

You must discipline your mind. You must teach it to focus on the positive. You'll have more energy, exude confidence, be a more effective, husband or wife, father or mother, and a better leader. 

The priming exercise I follow is one I found from Tony Robbins himself. Its a powerful tool to rewire your brain for the better. Here is Tony Robbins taking you through his priming exercise he uses at his events: Priming Exercise