We've Moved

I set up my blog on my homepage:

www.patrickperformancetraining.com

The main page will be the blog so be sure to stay tuned there.

Ryan

Lesson Learned

I was a great seminar this weekend and I learned a lot of interesting things. I learned plenty of nutrition and training, but my favorite are always the life lessons.

Dave Tate shared some pretty inspiration knowledge, and he was certainly passionate about it (Imagine an intense 275lb ripped-to-the-bone man standing up more or less yelling this!).

First a little background, Dave owns Elite Fitness Systems which outfits a number of high school and collegiate weight room--they make the best equipment and EFS has become the BRAND as far as strength equipment goes, but they had some hard times.

Dave didn't pay himself for the first 5 years of business, there were times when wasn't even sure how he was going to pay his bills and the company started at a fold out table in his bedroom. Even when there seemed to be no hope along the way, he stuck to the path and eventually his passion to fulfill his dream eventually came to fruition.

He made it a point to find the things in your life that are the most valuable to you and stick and live by them no matter what. If there are important things or people in your life, keep them in your life. Don't give up on your dreams for fear of failure.

You don't want to be on your deathbed and have regrets about what you should have done instead or what you didn't do. Not to get morbid or sappy on you, but you could die tomorrow by some strange occurrence and you have to live everyday to the fullest and love the people closest to you and take action with your dreams.

I recently had a friend who was more or less in a rut. I stopped by his work last night to visit him since I was in town and you could see in his eyes something had changed. Sure enough, after talking to him he made a decision to start action on his ideas and chasing his dreams instead of letting it all pass him by.

It's never to late to start and if you have the right people supporting you, you can achieve anything. Sometimes you just gotta put the work in to get something back out of it.

--
Ryan
e: info@patrickperformancetraining.com

P.S. Excuse the typos--I got pretty pumped up writing!

Excuses Are Running Out

More healthy options are available now than ever! There are more gym locations, more inexpensive home equipment, and more innovative ways to workout at home with minimal equipment.

Your excuses are running out.

No more, "I don't have time". It just doesn't fly anymore and you need to step up and make a commitment. Don't fall behind and let all your friends get in shape this year!

You still have time until memorial day! The Unofficial start to summer is coming up and you should set this summer off right by looking fabulous. Get the movie star arms and stomach you've always wanted!

Your goals are closer than you think, let my newsletter show you how to get started ;)

--
Ryan
e: info@patrickperformancetraining.com

4-Minute Fat Blast

This is one of many trumps I have to the fact that people say they don't have time to work out (so stop making excuses and I won't need to pull out the other ones!).

Researchers in Japan found that by performing high intensity 4 minute bouts of exercise that you could burn 9 times more fat than every effort doing regular aerobic training.

Granted, you need to do more than one 4-minute bout, but even with only two you're getting the benefits of doing 72 minutes of steady state cardio!

That's well over an hour of saved time and you can stand a little more free time, (who can't).

I'll tell you some of the details on this later in the week, but remember for now...

high intensity and shorter workouts are FAR FAR better htan long, boring slow workouts for buring fat.

Save time, save the money for smaller pants (not bigger ones)

--
Ryan
e: info@patrickperformancetraining.com

Diet vs. Exercise

The battle royale.



If you want long term weight management, you better exercise. How many friends of yours went on a new diet?

Ok, now how many of these friends had long term success on this diet?

I would venture to say the number is close to 0.

People are more likely to try some wacko's diet than actually exercise. Upwards of 50% of Americans are not getting enough daily physical activity, and upwards of 2/3 of people are overweight or obese. These numbers are serious because these numbers are killing people prematurely.

If you want long term weight loss you need to prioritize exercise as a staple in your life. Proper dietary habits are more likely to follow once you have the pieces in place to start with this.

Sign up for our newsletter today to receive and e-course that offers 7 great days of exercise and diet advice to achieve long term health and weight management!

--
Ryan & Andrea
e:info@patrickperformancetraining.com

Don't Diet

Fad diets pride themselves on how easy they can be and how much more fat they burn than any diet before. It's true that dieting isn't that difficult, but the changes initially can be overwhelming.

If you want to lose weight, you should stick to long term health habits. Otherwise you end up following the pattern:

Get Chubby --> Diet --> Repeat

It becomes and endless cycle and you'll need 2 wardrobes on depending on what part of the cycle you are in. Imagine buying two completely different wardrobes!

The key is to make small changes that you can commit do weekly. Start small and gradually develop habits that will promote long term weight management (more on this tomorrow). Below are some simple examples of changes you can try to make each week:

-Make water your main beverage and stop drinking all calorie containing beverages or diet drinks
-Add vegetables to each meal
-Don't skip breakfast

This list is a mile long and these are some of the more obvious changes we wanted to let you know about, but there are many more you wouldn't believe!

Start small, develop habits, and reap the benefits!

What can our coaching do for you ;)

--
Ryan & Andrea
e: info@patrickperformancetraining.com

Diet Books, Chocolate Shakes, and Sensible Dinners

Memorial Day is coming up and it's the unofficial start to summer. The question is whether or not you will be ready for your 2 piece bathing suit (gasp!) this year

Diet books are a popular choice. With your busy schedule, your kids' busy schedule, you should have just enough time to read 1/2 of chapter 1 and never really use the information.

Plus there are thousands of diet books available so you should have an idea exactly where to start.

Or you could try shakes twice daily and have one "smart" meal per day at dinner. This is after you've starved your self all day and you tend to over-consume food anyway?

That's right, your biggest meal of the day should be breakfast, so skip the chocolate shakes because when hunger kicks in after a day of pint-sized shakes you're gonna be rippin' the cabinets apart looking for chocolate and peanut butter! Or you may just hit the drive through on the way home (but it was just a small fry!)

Do something better this year. Find a trainer or dietitian who can make goals specific to you and help you look your best in that suit this year...the one you've been to shy to wear the past 2 years!

Stop dragging your feet and give "results" a shot this year

--
Ryan & Andrea

For more information about our services email info@patrickperformancetraining.com

See the Hype

Bathing Suit Season!!

The weather is finally getting warmer and summer is just around the corner. You know what that means... bathing suit season has arrived. For some this is the time to display their new and improved body. For most, it's the time to cover up the extra 5-10lbs pounds.

Are you one of the many Americans that added extra padding this year? If so, your response might be to start cardio a few times a week. This may help you feel better, have more energy, and maybe tip the scale reading a bit. But, if you want real results you will need to reconsider your approach.

According to research, the most effective way to change your body composition and loose those unwanted pounds is to implement high intensity workouts that combine strength and cardiovascular training. Cardiovascular training will strengthen your heart and aide in some weight loss. Wanting to really change the way you look naked? Strength training is the only way to achieve the toned attractive body you have always wanted.

Workouts that combine cardiovascular and strength training should be high intense circuits that get your muscles pumping and heart racing.

- Choose 4-6 body weight or weight resistance compound exercises (exercises that use multiple muscles)
- Perform a circuit: do 1 set of exercise #1, then 1 set of exercise #2 etc
- Rest 2-3 min after each circuit
- Repeat circuit 3-4 times

Here is an example that can be done at the gym, while traveling, or outside at the park:

~10-15 burpees
~25-30 body weight squats
~25 push-ups
~10 pull-ups (if pull-up bar available)
~25 sit-ups
* Rest 2-3min, Repeat circuit 3-4 times

**Burpee: start standing up, then place hands on the outside of your feet, jump your feet back into push-up position, jump your feet back to your hands then stand up = this is one repetition)

Adding high intense circuits similar to the workout above will be beneficial for anyone, especially if you desire a toned, bikini bound body!!

=)
Andrea
e: Andrea.Behling@yahoo.com

Ryan
e: Ryan.Patrick@yahoo.com

Sweat the small stuff

Sometimes people look at me like I have two heads when I ask if they weight their food with a scale. This day and age it's not good enough to just use measuring cups. Here's a quick example:

1/2 cup oatmeal for breakfast is 40g. You can easily outweigh this by 5g with a measuring cup (low balling).

Let's say you also have peanut butter mixed into this. 2 TBS is 32g and you can very easily spoon 40g into this or for the example's sake, lets say 5g more.

So we have 5g more of oatmeal and 5g of peanut butter. Over the course of a month this "modest" increase in food that seems negligible adds up to almost 1500 calories. That's almost 1/2 lb of fat you could add, and this is just from ONE MEAL!

Multiply this by 3 or 4 or even 5 meals a day and you'll quickly see why those jeans aren't getting any looser!

--
Ryan
e: ryan.patrick@yahoo.com

Andrea.
e: andrea.behling@yahoo.com

The "How"

I'm not a special case. I don't have super powers.

You don't need to be a special case. You don't need to have super powers.

If I set a goal, I reach it. Why?

Because I do what it takes, I know what my goal is.

Too many people replace short term wants, for their true desires.

If you desire to lose fat, you should eat foods that support the goal and avoid foods that do not. It's not always FUN, it's not EASY, but it's simple to do.

If you desire to get rid of back pain; you should stop slouching and find a therapist or trainer who can fix it. It takes some work to undo years and years of poor mechanics, but it beats the alternative.

E.M. Gray said it best:

The successful person has the habit of doing the
things failures don't like to do. They don't like doing
them either necessarily. But their disliking is
subordinated to the strength of their purpose.

Successful people do what it takes to reach their goals: they take rain checks on chocolate cake, they put themselves in supportive environments, and they don't cash in on their short term wants, instead they wait for the long term desires to become reality.

They don't want to, but they do it.

Amazing Transformation

Below we have one of our figure competitors who is only 4 weeks into her diet, so as you can imagine she has barely restricted herself, in fact she has said at times it's hard for her to finish all her food.

This is just a prime example of what a custom tailored diet and nutrition plan can do for you. She's got leeway for 300-600 calories I can "sneak" too before she has to start reducing the volume of food she is eating, so for her...fat loss is a breeze.

It's the combination of hard work, dedication, and intelligent coaching that brings results.









As you can see, she has greatly improved in her mid-section as well as her arms. There's also a noticeable increase in her leg definition.

Remember, this was only 4 weeks...

How far away are you from where you want to be?

--
Send us feedback!
Ryan
e:ryan.patrick@yahoo.com

Andrea
e:andrea.behling@yahoo.com

Crap Trainers, Reality Checks, and Philosophy

There seems to be general confusion about what constitutes a good "trainer" these days. I can't begin to tell you how frustrated I get with mis-informed trainers. Well, at least the ones who are not open or receptive to new ideas.

Reality Check: A Large amount of personal trainers are crap. It's true, and that may be the reason a lot of them struggle to make a decent income. Anybody can make anyone else sweat or work hard. Hell, you can make me push myself till you have to wipe me up off the floor.

But what does it really solve?

I'll tell you: nothing. Trainers need to educate themselves on an on-going basis, never stopping, never being satisfied. We need to train people effectively to reach their results the fastest, reduce the chance of injury, and allow them the fastest recovery to help expedite the process.

Anything a trainer makes you do you should ask "why?". If they don't have an educated answer, then you need to find a new trainer. Their rationalized opinion doesn't count either. It should be an exercise that's relevant to your condition, your needs, and your goals--if it's not, then you may be wasting your time.

If someone is a functional guy, or a bodybuilder, or a muscle building guy that's fine. But if someone only stays in the confines of that philosophy, then you are pretty much screwed.

If all you have is a hammer, then everything becomes a nail

You must find training tools that are relevant to the task and best fitted to get you to your goals the fastest. If you subscribe to one philosophy you're limiting your potential to do great things.

Find an intelligent trainer who takes your health and well-being as seriously as you do. A quality trainer deserves to be paid high dollars because we can change your body and self-confidence permanently. If you are blowing your money on a mis-informed and bitter trainer, then do yourself a favor and find someone who knows what the hell they are doing.

*steps off soapbox*
:)

--
Ryan
e: ryan.patrick@yahoo.com

Andrea
e: andrea.behling@yahoo.com

How to Improvise

You don't need a large fancy gym with a towel service.

You don't need much equipment.

You just need to have DESIRE to workout and DESIRE to overcome the the situation.

This is just one drastic example of how you can make it to your goals even in the face of adversity. I



Next time you want to miss your workouts because of "excuses", to what heights will you push yourself?


--
Ryan
e:ryan.patrick@yahoo.com

Andrea
e: andrea.behling@yahoo.com

A little from yours truly

--
Ryan
e: ryan.patrick@yahoo.com

Andrea
e: andrea.behling@yahoo.com

PPT Athlete

We're moving another component of this blog to Check it out: http://pptathlete.blogspot.com
It's going to cater to more of the performance specific crowd: athletes and law enforcement and even bodybuilding.

Check it out: PPT Athlete

--
Ryan
e: ryan.patrick@yahoo.com

Andrea
e: andrea.behling@yahoo.com

5 habits EVERYONE needs to adopt!

1. Sleep 8 hours a night
Adequate sleep provides the necessary time for muscle recovery. If sleep is not a priority, you could be inhibiting your chances of reaching any fitness goals! Sleep deprivation affects your mood, energy, concentration, and efficiency.

2. Drink at least 1 gallon of water a day
Water aides in digestion and absorption of food. It also regulates body temperature and blood circulation, carries nutrients and oxygen to cells, and removes toxins and other wastes. Drinking water throughout the day can also help distract you from feeling hungry.

3. Plan 2 days a week to cook
Preparation is key! If your food is cooked ahead of time you won't have any excuses for not eating clean.

4. Organize all meals into Tupperware containers
Go one step further, at night organize each meal and measure out the appropriate portions for the next day. Having your meals in containers ready to go, is the most efficient way to ensure clean eating throughout the day.

5. Create a workout program
Determine what your goals are, do you want strength, fat loss, hypertrophy, endurance, etc? Creating a set lifting program will put you on the right path for success. What if you don't know how to formulate a program? Ask a fitness professional or hire a personal trainer. Having a professional create your program is the best option! It takes all the confusion and guesswork away from you!

=)
Andrea
e: Andrea.Behling@yahoo.com

Ryan Patick
e: Ryan.Patrick@yahoo.com

5 Minute Muscle

2 scoops of protein powder, I recommend Beverly International's Ultimate Muscle Protein or Biotest's Metabolic Drive
1/2-3/4 cup of oatmeal
1-2 TBS of Peanut Butter
Add enough water or Hood Low Calorie Chocolate Beverage to make into a pudding consistency

1 cup plain yogurt
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1oz walnuts or almonds
Cinnamon, to taste
Splenda, to taste
*optional: 1-2 TBS of Flax Seed Meal

When preparing chicken, try this:
Using a brush, glaze the chicken with olive oil and the blend below
Fresh finely chopped basil
Oregano
Rosemary
A few turns of cracked pepper
Pinch of red pepper
Aged Parmesan Cheese

--
Ryan Patrick
e: ryan.patrick@yahoo.com

Andrea Behling
e: andrea.behling@yahoo.com

Pictures

Fat Loss Facts

This week I have been listening to some presentations from some of the top fitness professionals in the industry.

One comment was made that stuck in my head and has been floating around ever since regarding fat loss.

Alwyn Cosgrove said that fat loss is simple...but it isn't easy.

It's one of those moments when the light bulb goes off. We know the physiology behind fat loss and how to get there the fastest, it's pretty cut and dry.

Although it is simple, it requires a lot of effort and directed attention. A "con" for the general public, if you will.

I know I can get anyone into the best shape they desire as fast as possible, but it's whether or not they want to commit to the efforts.

Do your actions match your goals? Everything you eat, every time you exercise is an opportunity to improve yourself.

So make the most of it...

--
Ryan Patrick
e: ryan.patrick@yahoo.com

Andrea Behling
e: andrea.behling@yahoo.com

23/1 Rule

You spend roughly 23 hours per day outside of the weight room and maybe one hour inside.

We can do all the corrective training in the world during our 1 hour session, but if you don't change your habits outside of the gym then the efforts can be very fruitless.

In my best cases, I'll see clients for 3 hours a week, thats 165 hours per week they have to mess their posture up versus the 3 hours I spend with them attempting to fix it.

If you have a forward head posture, and 90-95% of people do to some degree, find lifestyle habits that will complement your efforts in the gym.

-take periodic breaks when sitting; roughly get up to walk around every 15-20 minutes
-sit tall, and put the monitor at a position where you don't have to look down at it
-a stand up desk :)
-stretch your pecs, lats, levator scapula on a regular basis

It takes little time and can make a huge difference in your life, beyond just looking normal

--

Ryan Patrick
e: ryan.patrick@yahoo.com

Andrea Behling
e: andrea.behling@yahoo.com