Training for Warriors Hicksville

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

4 Tips for Self Motivation

Are you struggling with self motivation? Having a hard time getting yourself to your regularly scheduled workouts? Finding more and more reasons to cheat on your healthy diet?

You’re not alone and today I’ve got just the 4 Self-Motivating Mind Tricks that you need to lock onto your goals…

A healthy dose of motivation coupled with determination will get you almost anything in life. So how do you know if you’re genuinely motivated?
  • Motivation will tell you to get out of bed for an early workout.
  • Motivation will nag you to put down the doughnut.
  • Motivation makes passing on fries a reflex.
  • Motivation makes a sweat drenched workout exciting.
  • Motivation constantly reminds you why you do what you do.
Self-Motivating Mind Trick #1: Pinpoint Your Motivator. 

Motivation stems from having a goal. What is your goal? Why do you want to get into great shape?

Once you uncover your personal motivator you’ll find that motivation flows quickly your way.

Take a minute to really uncover the reason that you want to lose the weight. Don’t say something vague like you want to 'Be thinner' or 'Look more attractive.' Dig deeper – there is a very specific motivator in your life, you simply need to uncover it.

Here are some possible motivators… 
  • I want to have more energy to keep up with the kids.
  • I want to improve my health through weight loss to extend and improve my life.
  • I want to lose 15 pounds before my vacation.
  • I want to restore my confidence to wear sleeveless shirts.
  • I want to regain my figure to impress and attract my significant other.
Self-Motivating Mind Trick #2: Make It Official.

When you write something down it suddenly feels official, doesn’t it? Write down your motivator for getting into great shape, and post it where you will see it often—next to your alarm clock, on the bathroom mirror, or in your car.

Each time you see your written motivator take a moment to visualize yourself accomplishing your goal. Try to make the scene as clear in your mind as possible. This is a powerful tool for maintaining your focus and direction.

Self-Motivating Mind Trick #3: Be Practical.

It’s game plan time. You know what you want, and now you need to map out exactly how you’ll achieve it. It is important to be practical in your planning, rather than throwing out ideas that you know you won’t stick with.

With any weight loss goal it is important to 1) maintain a healthy low-calorie diet, and 2) participate in a consistent and challenging exercise program.

Plan a routine that will fit into your schedule and you’ll be more likely to stick with it. Also choose an exercise program that you enjoy—don’t force yourself to jog everyday if you hate jogging.

Self-Motivating Mind Trick #4: Call For Backup. 

Enlist the support of your friends, family and co-workers. Tell everyone about your goal to lose weight and get fit, you’ll be surprised how supportive most people will be. By being open about your goals you’ll likely be an encouragement to others to make healthy changes in their own lives.

Interested in learning more about fitness, nutrition and motivation? Follow our blogs and check out our websites for more info!

Coach Mat

Friday, March 25, 2016

5 Tips for Maintaining Lower Back Health by Dr. Joe Galletti

5 tips for maintaining back health (and decreasing your risk for injury!)

Maintaining a healthy and strong back is one of the most important things you can do both side the fitness world and out. 

A strong core will give you up right as you get older and help you avoid the dreaded "old man hunch" that years of sitting and having weak lumbar muscle will do to you!

Lucky for us, in the information age we have literally the answer to every single problem in the palm of our hands. It's not knowing what to do...it's doing what we know that will help make us stronger in the long term.

Check out these 5 quick tips for building a better back written by our very own Dr. Joe Galletti, D.C.

1. Prehab 

Foam rolling or rolling out with a lacrosse ball the muscles of your calves, hamstrings, hip flexors, lower back, mid/ upper back. This releases adhesions in the soft tissue which increases mobility and range of motion leading to a safer and more productive workout. 

2. Warmup 

Warming up before your workout prevents injury plain and simple. Dynamic warmups such as jumping jacks, jump rope, and other active stretches activate the muscles and prep you for lifting heavy loads. 

3. Core strength 

The "core" is the muscles of the trunk that support and stabilize the torso, protect the spine and allow proper transfer through the spine. Strengthening the core will not only keep you safe and prevent injury but will improve basically every lift from squats and deadlifts to push-ups and overhead press. 

4. Deadlift 

Contrary to popular belief, deadlifts (when done properly) will lead a stronger back & posterior chain. 

5. ADL (Activities of Daily Life)


  • A. Do not sit for prolonged periods. If you have a desk job, get up and walk around every 30-45 minutes. 
  • B. Never twist your torso when you are lifting anything. 
  • C. Stay hydrated. Dehydration leads to cramping, decreased range of motion, and potential injury. 
  • D. Maintain an arched or flat back when bending at the waist such as loading the bar on a deadlift. Rounding out the back with the spine in flexion is another serious set up for injury. 
If you're interested in learning more about the body, workout tips, motivation and nutrition check out this blog weekly as well as our website!




Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Failure by Jamel White


Failure, that infamous word that everyone experiences but doesn't want to admit. We all go through bouts of failure, it's a rite of passage so to speak. 
Think about a baby. Babies will fail at walking hundreds of times before they take their first successful steps. The only difference is babies don't know about the stigma that comes with failure... so they try, try again until they succeed. 
For adults failure isn't the problem. It's what they do after they fail. They quit! Failure is just the excuse they were looking for to justify their urge to quit. Most people choose a life of ease and convenience over the hard work and trial necessary to accomplish real achievements. 
People who are aware of this urge can control it and dial in on their goal. With that laser focus they see failure as a common and harmless reality of having high aims and standards. 
The truth of the matter is if we do not fail from time to time then we are not trying to accomplish anything new, bold and significant. We have all heard that our goals should be SMART goals. SMART stands for:

Specific
Measurable 
Achievable
Realistic
Time Limited 

By following this framework, you will ensure that all of your goals are more likely to be accomplished than not. The last part of the SMART goal that isn't part of the acronym is that your goals should scare you enough to force you to be brave enough to accomplish it. Bravery isn't about not being scared, it's being scared but still deciding to march forward anyway. When your goals evoke the strong emotions of fear and bravery, that is a sure sign that they are new, bold and significant. 
So I hope at this point you realize that the fear of failure and failure itself is necessary and holds no real power over us. In truth failure often dies when we adopt a learning mindset. Instead of becoming saddened or frustrated to the point of failure, we must simply become curious, asking, what am I doing wrong (self observation) and how can I make adjustments (learning and adapting to the circumstances) to get past this sticking point. 
By taking the time to stop and analyze why you are failing you will better understand what to do the next time you encounter this problem, which will help you be even more of your best self and provide even more of your best services to the people you love, your community and world. 
Successful people become confident in their abilities and that confidence leads to them overcoming failure. What goals have you repeatedly failed at? It's not too late to get back in the saddle and conquer them. Lastly, please remember we all need to experience failure so we can appreciate success!
Coach Jamel


Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Know your Fats! By Mathew DeSanno

All month we have been discussing the importance of paying attention to food lables!

Food labels can be tricky as there is no one standard for what a serving size constitutes.

Companies are allowed to make a serving size as big or as small as they want and sometimes this is done on purpose to make it look like the product is not calorically dense...unfair I know!

But what are you to do? There is so much misinformation out there and every where you look there is more conflicting thoughts and ideas that it will make your head spin!

Lucky for you, we have this guide that we use for educating our students in our TFW Hicksville facility that you can use to become the healthiest (and leanest you) possible!

First things first, Know your fat names!

 We have saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and trans fats.

 At first these seem like complicated scientific names but they are actually really easy to understand!

Saturated Fat: Found in most animals, saturated fats get their name from being broken up and saturated with hydrogen molecules.

Diets high in saturated fat are thought to be linked to heart disease and high blood pressure but they shouldn't be avoided. Saturated fats are the building blocks our sex hormones...which have obvious benefits!

How much should you be ingesting?

Based on the presumption that you are following a lower carb diet like our Warrior 20 then saturated fat should make up around 7% of your Total fat intake (which should be 25-35% of your total calories)


Polyunsaturated Fats: They are considered to be unsaturated due to the presence of multiple double bonds (hence the name poly). Based on the carbon atom that the double bond appears, these fats can have different names like Omega-3 Fatty Acids or Omega-6 Fatty Acids and with different names..come different health benefits. 

Omega-3's that are found in fatty fish, krill and nuts (along with many more) can have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body reducing damaging inflammation and can reduce the risk of certain cancers and heart diseases. EPA and DHA, two other well known Omega-3 FA's are also super important for proper brain health, function and development..especially in pregnant women and growing children!


How much should you be ingesting? 

Polyunsaturated fats should make a up a majority or the 25-35% of your daily fat intake...around 15-20%

Monounsaturated Fats: These fats get their name from the fact that they only hold one double bond. They differ slightly from polyunsaturated fats and share the same sources. 

The most known monounsaturated fats are olive oil and avocados. Some studies suggest that diets lower in saturated fats and high in monounsaturated fat can help improve your insulin sensitivity. This means that you will be more responsive to your own insulin so you will produce less of it. High levels of insulin (like as seen in diabetics) can damage the kidneys, nerves and blood vessels.

How much should you be ingesting? 

Monounsaturated fats should make up the final piece of your 25-35% fat intake. That means around 10-15% of your fat should come from these sources!


Last but not least...Artificial Trans-Fat:

These fats are made when hydrogen atoms are added to liquid vegetable oils in order to make a solid product. Margarine is one of the most common Trans-fats. The problem with these FA's is that they provide no nutritional benefit. 

On top of being empty calories, the body has a tremendous amount of trouble breaking them down due to their unnatural chemical composition. Because of this they get stored in the body and can lead to an increase risk of heart disease and other coronary issues.

Artificial trans fats should be avoided as much as possible. The problem with them is that you have to do some investigating to find them. Due to the lack of a uniform food label, companies are free to change the serving size of their product to what ever they like. 

This isn't such a big deal on its own. However if a serving contains less then .5g of a nutrient....they don't have to include it on the label! Crazy what they are allowed to get away with!

So..how do you protect yourself against an over ingesting of Artificial Trans Fats? 

Well to start, limit your consumption of pre processed foods. Aim to eat whole foods and base your meals around 4-6oz of protein and 6-8oz of vegetables.

Read labels! If they have trans-fat listed under total fat, avoid it! Also check the ingredients for anything that says hydrogenated or partially-hydrogentated oil. Even if they made the serving size super small..this will still tell you that it has Trans-fats!

As always please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments about the article or any other topic you'd like to discuss! You can reach me at 516-551-8900 or mat@learnapplysurvive.com

Feel free to check out our weekly newsletter for recipes, workout tips and motivational posts!

www.tfwhicksville.com
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Tuesday, March 15, 2016

“6 Essential Meal Prep Tools That Save Time & Money” by Jamel White


Before I get started, I’d like to confess something: I’ve been slacking on my meal prep lately. That’s just not cool, considering I started off the year laser focused and set an ambitious but achievable goal of following the Warrior 20 meal plan for 5 month.
 It's now 3 month in, with April and May right around the corner. The necessity of meal planning and preparation is key especially with us expecting a new addition to the family in May. Needless to say, schedules are about to get turned upside down, sleep patterns are about to be disrupted and life is literally about to happen. So meal preparation is needed now more than ever.
Billy Reuter (co-owner of TFW Hicksville) is always talking about "Kaizen". Kaizen means continuous improvement. It is a long-term approach to work that systematically seeks to achieve small, incremental changes in processes in order to improve efficiency and quality. This is exactly what meal preparation will contribute to your workout regimen. This small changes yield large returns in the gym as well as in your life when it comes to managing your time. 
If you have never taken part in a meal prep schedule, there are a few things you will need and will need to know before you begin. Actually there are 6 things to be exact! 
1. Prep Day: Set a Prep Day - I like to use Monday as my meal prep day. So "Meal Prep Monday" is the day I get all my meal prep done and it's a family affair. We all jump in the kitchen and get it done together as a team. Some Monday's my beautiful wife takes it upon herself to get a jumpstart to the prep and everything is done or almost done by the time I get home. She's amazing and I can't thank her enough for all she do. 
2. Never Shop On "E": Eat a good breakfast or lunch (never grocery shop on an empty stomach. You will purchase more then you need and most of it will go to waste), sit down and write a shopping list and hit the supermarket. A good rule of thumb for shopping in the supermarket is stick to the outskirts of the supermarket. This is where you will find all the live foods you will need to make the most out of your meal prep and your gains in and out of the gym. Only go in the aisles if you need something specific from the aisles like Brown Rice, Beans or Olive Oil. Pay close attention to stay away from highly processed foods, especially those packed with high fructose corn syrup. 
3. Crockpot/ Slow Cooker: Our crockpot has single handedly saved us hours in the kitchen. Especially during winter months when stews and soups are in season. I eat a lot of brown rice and lentil soup so it's a no brainer. Also you can throw sweet potatoes in this puppy and let the magic happen. This is a good tool to have at your disposal when you're trolling the Internet for the perfect "one pot meal". Just make sure it's "tailored" to your macros so that one pot doesn't wreck your gains. You can throw in things like chuck roasts and whole chickens, lean cuts of chicken and beef or even a bunch of beans and veggies. No matter if you're making stews, soups, chilis or just cooking 10 pounds of chicken breast or a big pot of brown rice the crockpot will get the job done. For those of you that like to plan everything down to your cheat day. You can even make delicious desserts in the crockpot like cheesecake, brownies and apple pie. If you don't have this tool in your kitchen I suggest you get on ASAP!
4. Food Storage Containers and Refrigerator Space: Its one thing to have the ability to cook several pounds of food but it's a whole other animal storing it. You not only have to have the storage containers, but you have to have the refrigerator space as well. This is where planning ahead is critical. This is where Ziplock Freezer Bags, Tupperware and Mason Jars come in handy. There is nothing more frustrating than celebrating the completion of your meal prep only to realize that you don't have enough storage for it all. I recommend getting a set with varying sizes. My smoothie fruits go into gallon-sized Ziplock Freezer Bags. My individual meals goes into large 4 cup containers and my snacks go into 1 cup containers. My refrigerator is rearranged prior to prep, which serves 2 purposes, 1. To ensure any old foods are discarded which frees up much needed space and 2. To ensure all free space is used effectively. 
5. Food Scale, Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons: If you are like me and are following a meal plan, you know the importance of developing an awareness of how much you’re eating rather than simply eyeballing your portions and praying to the gym gods for gains. A good food scale and set of measuring cups and spoons will allow you to quickly get a handle on how much you're eating at one sitting. It's important for each of your meals to hit you macros and this is a fail proof way to loose unwanted fat and gain much needed and desired muscle. This is also a fail proof way to get shredded for beach season. Staying on top of your macros ensures you have more consistent portions, more consistent food intake, and more consistent results!
6. Meal Cooler/ Lunch Bag: we all have demanding schedules and most people are on the go more than ever!!! Having a dependable meal cooler is a great way to carry your meals to work so you don't get caught up during the 1 o'clock hour with stomach rumbling and find yourself raiding the vending machine in the break room at work. It's hard enough to stick to a meal plan so do yourself and your gains a favor and have your meals packed and ready to reheat at a moments notice. This will ensure you make healthy choices and stay far away from the fast foods that will sabotage all of your progress. 
Meal prepping not only saves you time during the week but it also saves you money and adds to your gains, which accelerate your progress towards your goals. For more advice comment below or ask Coach Mat DeSanno more specific nutrition questions at Mat@learnapplysurvive.com
P.S. Please note that real food will always get you to your goals and supplements are exactly what they are called "supplements". They are supplemental to healthy diet and exercise. Also please note you can not out train a bad diet. 
Coach Jamel

PS: Check pout our TFW Fitness systems Web special. 3 classes + FREE T-shirt now for just $1

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

#MindsetMonday : Are You Planning for the Future or for the Present?


This is the beginning of week 2 in March. Everyone was ready to rock and roll this morning in the 5:30AM class. Remember the lesson for today... Are you making decisions based on where you are today, or on where you want to be tomorrow? 

Many of us have a "circumstance" way of thinking. You know that recurring statement "if I lose 10 pounds then I will fell better and then I'll start working out..." Many people are planning for now and not for the future. What you need now will set you behind the eight ball in the future. 

If you are working out 4 days a week now do you think that same routine will help you be successful in the future? You have to plan ahead.. Your routine should become more challenging as you become stronger and build up more stamina. Also your diet should change to off set the calories you are burning during your workouts as well as the amount of protein, carbs and fats you are taking in should change to help you build muscle and loose fat. 

We have always heard the saying, "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail." This is true when it comes to fitness. You should have the following 3 things: 

 1 You need a clear vision of where you want to be.

2 You need a clear idea of what it’s going to take for you to get there.

3 You need the courage to commit your money, time, and energy to those people and things that will get you to where you want to be even when the uncertainty of it all seems scary.

I get it change is HARD. Going into uncharted waters is scary. But if you have the right plan and direction you can get to your destination. 

Here's my challenge for you: 

1. Write down your goals on an index card

2. Put some kind of action towards that goal TODAY! Don't wait for circumstances to be perfect. 

3. Tell someone you trust about your goal or write a post about it daily on Facebook, your blog, Instagram etc. This will keep you accountable and your friends will hold you to your goals. 

4. Read your index card with your goal on it first thing in the morning and right before going to bed at night...

Good luck on your plan, I know you will be successful!

Coach Jamel


Check us out and get more info at www.tfwhicksville.com and www.ultimategmyli.com www.learnapplysurvive.com

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Mindset Monday: The Power of Self Talk



If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don't,
If you like to win, but you think you can't,
It is almost certain you won't. 

If you think you'll lose, you're lost,
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will...
It's all in the state of mind. 

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to raise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before...
You can ever win a prize. 

Life's battles don't always go...
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins...
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!

 Author: Unknown 

Observe the words which have been emphasized, and you will catch the deep meaning which the poet had in mind. 

Somewhere  in your mind lies sleeping the seed of achievement which, if aroused and put into action, would carry you to heights such as you may never have hoped to attain. - Napoleon Hill. 


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