Getting What You Want

Q. How do you reach a goal?

A. Never, never, never give up.

Those words – "Never, never, never give up" – declared by Winston Churchill to rally England during World War II can be found on inspirational greeting cards and T-shirts today. But his words out of context really don’t express the utter desperation of a country ready to surrender to an invading army.

His words worked. England prevailed. Ah, the magic of a powerful mantra and a single focus.

Kids have this mantra instinctively. Somewhere deep inside all of us exists this rhythmic beat.  Maybe it’s more like go - go - go. Anyway, how would any of us be walking on two feet instead of crawling without that determination and obsession? Watch them, kids are up for a second and then ker-plunk… followed by weeping for the sheer joy of the experience.

The Ker-plunk Factor

You’ll be surprised to know that the ker-plunk factor is one of the most important training programs our brains can experience. To quote John Medina from his book – Brain Rules – on how the brain learns:  “What we pay attention to is profoundly influenced by memory. “

Memory of a ker-plunk teaches us how not to do something. Our onboard computer kicks in and looks for new strategies. Achievement and success get logged in too. So look at one of our first ker-plunks and first brilliant victory – learning to walk. Take that determination right into your fitness quest and routine. Not getting what you want fast enough? Don’t give up. Learn what works and what doesn’t. Be vicious with anything that takes your determination away.

Double Memory Imprint

When I learned to walk, I also learned how to take off my clothes and for some odd reason, my parents didn’t make the effort to help me distinguish between the two. This resulted in me sneaking out of the one room apartment my parents had in downtown Portland, Oregon to visit all the neighbors – naked. Wow, what a memory imprint. I guess that’s what landed me on the cover of Playgirl a few years ago.

Cute little toddlers make you smile, don’t they?  They don’t require a “gym body” to have total fearlessness that comes from belief in possibility. Not giving up is having belief in yourself – and belief is the mind’s most powerful creative tool.

Slicing & Dicing Attention

Kids brains aren’t trying to multi-task learning to walk. By multi-task I’m referring to the “attention” directed at a task. They give just one thing total focus, and then they move on to the next thing. I used to think I was pretty good at mutli-tasking, until I realized that each task was happening slower. I was exhausted at the end of the day and my efficiency was poor.  Studies show that when you interrupt a task, it can take up to 50% longer to complete it.

Wandering Eyes

If you want to achieve something, be committed, believe in yourself and your process, and stay focused on the task at hand. I don’t let my client’s eyes and mind wander at the gym (just another form of multi-tasking). If they start to, I may have them repeat a phrase “mind in my muscle” or something that works for them in order to keep attention focused on the muscle and form.

Burn & Build a New You
The Burn & Build Body 14-Day Anti-Aging Detox is almost magical in it's ease of use and ability to focus attention on healthy transformation. The 14-Day Detox guide book "has your back" and keeps you inspired.

My clients who have wanted to lose body fat or those "last 8 pounds" have immediate success when they follow the program. It's the perfect foundation program to achieve your New Year's body composition goals. You'll Burn Fat and become stronger – the program requires eating, it's NOT a fasting diet -- and it is designed to maintain lean muscle so you don't rebound at the end of the 14-Days. There's even a Detox Maintenance Kit that you can use to continue with the "feel good" results of the 14-Days.

If you’re having difficulty reaching your goals, just remember that with razor sharp attention, you once stood up and defied gravity against huge odds and never, never, never gave up.

Train your body. Train your mind. Tame your tongue.

Information n this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional, health care provider or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your wellness professional.

Protein Lean Power

Power-up your workouts by adding lean protein to your breakfast

Warm Gluten Free Cereals: 

Buckwheat, Gluten Free Oatmeal and Organic Brown Rice Cereals

Cook as directed on the label and just before the cereal is completely cooked add pre-mixed protein powder to the cereal. Continue to cook on low heat for a few more minutes, or until the protein liquid is mostly absorbed. This will give you a creamy breakfast cereal with complex carbohydrates and protein.

To mix the protein powder: Add two scoops of protein powder to about 7-10 ounces of water (or non-dairy “milk”). Shake or blend until dissolved. Do not put the powder directly into the cereal without mixing, it will probably curdle and get lumpy without blending into the cereal.

Gluten Free Cold Cereals:

Blend protein powder in 8-10 ounces of almond, rice, oat or hemp milk. Shake or blend well. Add to your cereal bowl. You can combine this with fruit in season. 


Best Bet:

I recommend Protein Lean from Burn & Build Body to add to your warm or cold cereals and protein smoothies. It will add 17 grams of brown rice and green pea protein to your breakfast and won't cause bloating the way whey and casein protein powders can.

Protein plus Fruit Smoothies:

Mix fresh or frozen fruit with protein powder and about 8 ounces of water or almond milk. If you are allergic to nuts – use rice, oat or hemp milk.  

Eggs:

Look for organic, free range (as opposed to cage free), antibiotic free eggs. Buy them from farmers markets, or if you’re lucky enough to live in the country, go right to the farmer.

Best hard or soft boiled. Tasty scrambled eggs oxidize the cholesterol in the yolk. 

Combine your eggs with a slice of gluten free toast and steamed vegetables.

Meats:

Stay with leaner meats (turkey, chicken). Avoid sausage and fatty meats like bacon. Turkey bacon is processed, it just promotes itself as healthy, don’t be fooled.

6 to 8 ounces of is good for a serving. If you’re on a lean down and build fitness quest, meat at breakfast might be a short-term option. However, our morning metabolism isn’t usually ready for this kind of heavy protein. Stay with organic meats, or at least certified meats, free of growth hormones and antibiotics.

Combine your meat with a slice of gluten free toast, brown rice or quinoa and steamed vegetables.

McFriedBreakfasts:

This isn’t part of a healthy lifestyle or diet. No fast food breakfasts.

Know your egg, know your meat, don’t even think about dunkin a donut.

While you're at it, put these foods on your unhealthy list and  eliminate them from your diet:

Dairy including milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese

Gluten containing grains, pastas and baked goods

Refined sugar and chemical sugar substitutes

Peanuts and peanut butters

Shell fish and shrimp

Deli meats and processed meats

Hydrogenated oils and oils heated to frying 

Soy products

Train your Mind,Train your Body,Tame your Tongue

Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your health care provider.

Burn & Build Body with your Detox

More than Squeezing Lemons

I remember my first “detox experiment” when I was in my 30’s. Some friends were doing a fasting cleanse with water, lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. What did I know? It sounded good to me, and since we were all engaged in similar spiritual pursuits and taking breath work classes together, I figured someone knew what they were doing. As it turned out, all we were really good at was squeezing the lemons and getting the cayenne pepper mix just right. In the end, we all went back to our old eating habits.

That wasn’t my last adventure into detoxification and I’m glad that I’ve had various experiences which have included a guided juice and vegetable liquid fast and Panchakarma, the Ayurvedic cleansing program. The goal of all of the various programs is always physical cleansing and rejuvenation.

Since then I’ve learned a lot, and since I’m working with my training clients on anti-aging and lifestyle changes in addition to pumping iron, I thought I’d share some of the information here. 

Metabolic Slow Down

Most people think that a detoxification is necessary only after you’ve binged excessively on drugs, alcohol or prescription medications. They also think that a detoxification has to be in a “fasting” form.  But that isn’t the case. Our bodies accumulate toxins through the ingestion of pesticides, breathing polluted air, drinking chlorinated water laced with fluoride and from the toxic by-products of digesting food, or only partially digesting food and from working out– as well as from drugs and alcohol. These toxic substances slow our metabolism - we get fat, decrease our energy and chip away at the vital life forces that keep us young, strong and confident.

Toxic Congestion

When toxins build up, our body looses the ability to function at its peak, opening the door for chronic, degenerative and non-specific diseases.  Our natural state of health and wellness is lost. Like Superman around kryptonite, we’re weaker everywhere… that includes mental functions and emotions that should be calm and happy – in addition to the physical dangers.

Starting a Detox

We can scrub our skin, but what about our internal organs? To look and feel our best, we have to make a conscious decision and take action to clear toxic substances from our system. Because a healthy, well functioning body is critical to gains made while strength training, I have about 70% of my new clients start with a cleanse. If you’re looking for a program, you’ll want to make sure you have guidance and support, someone to modify your program depending on your level of detoxification. Burn & Build Body was created to support my clients and Dr. Margolin's patients. Dr. Margolin and I co-founded Burn & Build Body and have been testing the Detox Kit for the last 5 years, it's user friendly, uncomplicated and has proven results.

Detox on the Run

On the run? Well, not really. But unless you can drop out of life for a week or two, you’ll be managing a detoxification program while you’re working, and dealing with everyday life. Since a program that detoxes the liver, kidneys, lymph system and supports intestinal function along with providing digestive enzymes is important to start with, I use the 14-Day Anti-Aging Detox Kit that has a specific diet, doesn’t’ crash your body and leaves everyone feeling more energetic and usually lighter.

My favorite thing is that the Burn & Build Body 14- Day Anti-Aging Detox program has a defined beginning and end, a specific and manageable diet, re-focuses eating patterns and while eliminating toxins, brings calm and change to both body and mind.

14-Day Detox vs "Fasting"

A fasting vs. food based detox. Both types of detoxification programs have benefits. When I "fast", it’ll be a fruit and vegetable juice fast, I’ll drop out of life for the duration and be in a place that prepares the juices and supports me spiritually as well as physically. The benefits of the Burn & Build Body cleanse – a cleanse that with a modified food diet include: being able to  choose to stay in your daily activities and having food to absorb and carry released toxins out of your system. 

Detox to Retox

I’m not sure if I made that word up, but it does happen. We slip into some of our old eating habits after a while. Confront your daily stresses and toxins start to build up again. So one detox gets us started, and repeated ones keep us healthy and vibrant. The New York Times (T-Magazine) recommends getting a detox Kit in December to detox after the holidays. (T-Magazine - see December 18)

Subversion Assault

It’s not just alcohol, sugar, dairy, gluten, heavy metals, pesticides and pollutants that are out to bring us down. (Translate that as “accelerate our aging process”), it’s people we know, even “friends” who want us on the same binge as them. Detoxification can also mean cleaning up our relationships and choosing healthy ones instead.

Burn to Build

Once I’ve completed this 14-Day Detox program, I find my results at the gym to multiply quicker than they have in the months before. Everything is building on a clean strong base, and nutrients are being absorbed and used as they were meant to. Because my liver is performing well, my hormone levels are better.

If you’re a guy reading this, know that a poorly functioning liver also affects your prostate health adversely. My post-detox leaner body affects my spirit as well, and I have more creativity when I’m writing or painting.

Adam Razak, an elite fitness trainer and martial artist uses and recommends these products to his clients to stay fit and get cut. On the Burn & Build Body cleanse, you'll burn body fat but not lean muscle.

This is what Rich Fitter, editor of Men's Exercise had to say about his experience:

"I plan on repeating this program every six months to ensure I stay healthy and fight father time. Given my experience with the (Burn & Build Body) 14-Day Anti-Aging Detox Kit, I highly recommend it to our (Men's Exercise) readers."

See the Anti-Aging Detox article from Men's Exercise.

Choose Anti-Aging

We get to choose what we put in our body. Choose foods that heal, nourish it and promote anti-aging. Tune-up your engine twice a year. You’ll be another chronological year older in 12 months, but your body won’t have biologically aged more than a few days.  See Burn & Build Lifestyle for food, shopping, cooking and recipe suggestions.

Train your Body. Train your Mind. Tame your Tongue.

Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional or nutritionist. You should never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your health care provider.

MetroSource Magazine Article – The Pre-Travel Workouts

GETTING IN SHAPE FOR TRAVEL

As published in MetroSource Magazine, April-May 2011

Growing up in Portland Oregon in the 50’s, long distance travel was never high on my family’s agenda. Somehow I got a travel itch that started in high school and it hasn’t stopped. It’s not as easy now. I used to hitchhike and we all used to be able to walk on and off planes to see our friends off on their trips.

JUST SITTING AROUND

The most challenging part of traveling is sitting. Whether we are traveling by car, train or air, our bodies are badly supported with seats that push our shoulders forward and make our lower backs scream with inflammation and stress.  Once we arrive, hotel beds and pillows aren’t always up to the support standards that keep our bodies healthy.

ARRIVING SHARP

Whether we’re traveling for business or vacation, we want to arrive feeling rested and strong, not tired and achy. The time to insure this is prior to travel. Make a plan and perform exercises that target endurance and core muscle groups to achieve this goal.

PRE-TRAVEL PLANS

·      For vacation travel, get committed three weeks before your departure date.

·      If you travel for business, incorporate this formula into your workout regime.

·      Dedicate three days a week to fitness conditioning for travel.

·      Include a yoga or stretch class at least one day a week.

·      Include two 30-40 minute cardio sessions each week between weight workouts.

·      Get a massage every week to work out any existing stiffness.

·      Adjust your diet so it’s low in fats and carbohydrates and heavy in protein and vegetables.

·      Eliminate inflammatory foods: sugar, anything fried, alcohol and excessive salt.

STRENGTH-TEST YOURSELF

On Day 1, you will Test your strength and endurance with this simple (yet challenging) routine outlined below.  Each week, you will perform the strength test and time how long it takes you to complete. At the end of three weeks, your goal is to shave time off your initial performance.

·  Start with 10 Squats

·  Move directly to 10 Push-ups 

·  Then follow with 10 Crunches. 

·  Immediately stand and repeat the sequence 9 more times. 

Stop if you have to, but your goal is to complete all of the movements with no rest between them. This routine targets your legs, abs and upper body and will give you a good cardio workout.

TRAVEL FIT WORKOUTS

Here are 3 days worth of exercises. I recommend doing them Monday, Wednesday, Friday separated with cardio on Tuesday and Thursday.

Perform each exercise 3 times with a goal of 15 repetitions for each – excluding the Strength Test, perform that just once.

Day 1:

1.              Strength test workout

2.              Medicine ball woodchop

3.              Cable side twists

4.              Stability ball dumbbell press

5.              Stability ball dumbbell flyes

6.              Barbell upright rows

7.              Dumbbell bicep curls

Day 2:

1.              One arm dumbbell row

2.              Wide grip cable pull down

3.              Narrow grip cable pull down

4.              Seated leg extensions

5.              Hip dips on stability ball

6.              Dumbbell weighted squats

7.              Stability ball crunches

Day 3:

1.              Medicine ball weighted sit-up

2.              Oblique crunches

3.              Plank on stability ball (hold for 10-60 seconds)

4.              Dumbbell side lateral shoulder raises

5.              Dumbbell single arm shoulder presses

6.              Push-ups, toes on stability ball

7.              Triceps rope push downs

You can find instructional videos to all of the exercises      at Rick Dinihanian's Channel on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/rickdinihanian?feature=mhsn

Train your Mind,Train your Body,Tame your Tongue
Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your health care provider.