Say Goodbye to Santa's Sweet Tooth in 6 Steps

SAY GOODBYE TO THE SUGAR

1. Cut down Gradually 
• Ever tried cutting something out cold turkey? Its not an easy feat. 
• Reduce your holiday sugar gradually: for example if you snacked on cookies throughout the day try to have only 3 cookies one day, then 2 the following, then one. 
• If you reduce your sugar intake slowly you will be less likely to have massive cravings for it later on. 
2. Switch from Simple Carbs to Complex Carbohydrates
• Cookies, Cakes, and sweets contain simple carbohydrates. These can also be found in white bread and other refined flour products. 
• The problem with simple carbs is they do not keep you full for a long period of time. You are also more likely to get a high and crash hard. 
• Switch to complex carbs these will keep you full for longer periods of time and won't let you crash. 
• Some examples of complex carbs are: Oatmeal, Sweet Potatoes, Squash, Brown rice, Quinoa.
3. Be prepared
• Set yourself up for success, not failure!
• When your out shopping or making those holiday returns, pack healthy snacks with you like apples, almonds, or healthy homemade granola (Check out how to make my healthy granola right here!). 
• This will help you stay full while shopping so you don't have to chose an unhealthy food court option. 
4. Stay away from artificial sweeteners
• You may think that your making a healthy choice by reaching for that diet soda, however, you could be really hurting yourself up in the long run. 
• The body does not intrepret these sweetners as calories, so it will therefore crave actual calories to replace it. 
• This means that you will reach for those cookies or a bag of chips to replenish those cravings. 
5. Drink Water 
• Many times we interpret thirst as hunger. So next time your hungry, try drinking a glass of water, you may not be as hungry as you think. 
6. Get out of the kitchen 
• Many times we open the fridge because we are B-O-R-E-D. 
• Avoid the temptation by getting out of the kitchen. 
• Go for a walk with your pets and family outside. Sometimes the fresh cool air is just the thing to make you feel full. 

Stopping her Sugar cravings! 

You can tell I had a lot of fun taking these pictures! 

Till Next Time....

-Kate 

Homemade Healthy Granola

Hey Everyone! 

This homemade granola recipe speaks for itself. It is not only an extremely healthy treat, its also simple to make! Hope you enjoy this recipe and share it with the ones you love this holiday! 

Mama Cody's Healthy Homemade Granola Recipe 

• WET INGREDIENTS: 
• 1/4 cup oil (Olive Oil, Coconut oil, or Canola oil)
• 3/4 cup honey or Agave 
• 3.5 tsp vanilla

• DRY INGREDIENTS: 
• 8 cups Whole Oats 
• 2 tsp Cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds or flax seeds
• 1/2 cup wheat germ 

• OPTIONAL: 
• Apricots, Rasins, Coconut flakes, Banana chips 

• DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees 
2. In a saucepan, heat the wet ingredients and stir over a low heat until fully combined 
3. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl 
4. Pour wet mixture over the dry mixture, making sure to coat it evenly
5. Pour the mixture over two baking sheets. 
6. Place both trays in oven and set the timer for 10 minutes. 
7. Once the 10 minutes is up, stir both mixtures and switch the bottom pan with the top. 
8. Place in oven for the last 10 minutes. 
9. Remove trays and let them cool. 
10. Once granola is fully cooled off, add your favorite fixes. I suggest slices of apricot and raisins, however my mom has added banana chips, chocolate chips, and even baked coconut slices. 

Check out the finished product!! 

This granola is a great morning treat and goes amazing with yogurt or even just some simple milk! 

We love hearing from you all so be sure to send us your granola creations, by adding #nateandkatefitness to your pictures on instagram!  

And enjoy the christmas season, Nate and Kate fitness style!!!

Till next time.....
-Kate 

Beginner Full Upper Body Workout

Hey everyone!

I have been getting a lot of comments recently for a basic full upper body workout.
This is for anyone who is looking for a simple workout that will focus strictly on the upper body.
Give it a try and let us know what you think!

• This entire workout should take approx. 1 hour. 
• Complete 3 sets per exercise before moving onto the next exercise 
• Stick with 10-12 reps per set. 
• If your not sure what is an approperiate weight, the key is the last 2 reps of the set should be challenging. For example: If we are doing lat pull downs with 70 lbs and we are aiming for 12 reps, if at 10 reps it is easy, then by all means increase the weight for the next set.
• Take 1 min break between sets, and 2 min break between exercises 
• Ps DB stands for dumb bell 

Warm up: 

• 10 min stairclimber (moderate speed) 

Back 

• Wide grip lat pull downs 
• DB rows 

Chest 

• DB Incline Bench 
• Machine flys 

Shoulders

• Machine Military Press
• DB Side Laterals 

Biceps 

• Straight bar curls 
• Seated DB Hammer curls (alternating sides) 

Triceps 

• Bench Dips 
• Cable Straight bar tricep extensions

Cool down: 

• 5 min walk on low incline treadmill 
• Foam roll 

Click on this if you want a clear demonstration of the exercises


Or let me know if you would like to see a full video of me demonstrating this workout!

Till Next time....

-Kate

This weeks motivation

How to Stay Healthy over the Holiday Season: 4 Easy Tips

Hey Everyone,


Did you know the average American will gain 1-2 lbs from Thanksgiving to Christmas. This may not sound like a big deal but 1-2 lbs per year can add up!!

In light of the holiday season, I wanted to post about 
4 Simple tips to stay healthy over the holiday season.


1. Moderation

• Holiday's are a special time for families to get together and spend quality time. By all means enjoy the time you spend and indulge on some of Grandma's mashed potatoes. However, keep in mind that moderation is key! 
• If you plan on having a large thanksgiving meal, try to avoid a large Thanksgiving breakfast of pancakes, muffins, cakes.. etc. Eat your normal smaller portioned breakfast and lunch, that way you wont hurt your diet completely and are less likely to overdo it. 

2. Portion Control

• Try to eat off a smaller plate and make it colorful! 
• Have fun on thanksgiving by loading up on the greens and veggie sides. (like side salads, green beans, roasted cauliflower) 
• Before you jump in for seconds, wait 10 minutes, drink some water, and enjoy spending time with loved ones. Sometimes that's really all it takes. 
• Your already eating a stuffed turkey, so why feel like one??

3. Bring your own healthy alternatives

• If your spending thanksgiving with Grandma and dreading her butter loaded mashed potatoes, offer to bring a healthy side! 
• Here are some awesome healthy sides that you will feel great about eating. 
•  Click this link to see 44 Healthy sides recipes  

4. Get active!

• So much of the holidays is sharing food with family, why not start a new tradition and get active with your loved ones! 
• Stop watching the football game and go play your own! 
• Have a 3-legged race! 
• Play some wii fit games.
• Or just go for a walk in this beautiful fall weather. 

I hope these 4 simple tips help you stay healthy and happy on during this holiday season.

Till next time.....
-Kate

KATE TALK SERIES: The Powerful benefits of working out

Hey Everyone,

I wanted to introduce a new series called Kate talks. This will be the first of many discussions where I will be discussing your questions as well as inspirational bits and gym motivation.

Today's Kate talk is the power of working out. 

It all started this week, when I noticed the wear and tear I was putting on my only pair of sneakers.

At first I was upset and found myself looking around at girls who were wearing lululemon or the newest nike sneakers. But I quickly realized that those material clothing items really don't mean anything. I'm not denying that these material items can't provide short term motivation, but for me they dont keep me going in the long run.

At the end of the day the clothing on my back is not pushing me through the last rep or the last minute of sprints.

Picture after a late night workout

It is my body that reflects the hard work that I have put in. No money can buy it, you cant just "inherit" it, or borrow it. You have to hold onto it with constant work. I find that my body is a reflection of the promises I make to myself. It signifies my discipline and self-respect. More importantly, it demonstrates patience, work ethic, and a pure passion.

When you find yourself getting caught in life's static, I find that weight lifting can be the best tool to keep you grounded. I hope it will bring you all of these powerful skills like it has given me.

Until next time....
-Kate

PS Check out our website and contact us for what you would like to see for the next blog post, we love hearing from you all!!
Nate and Kate Fitness official website!

Fall Inspired Pumpkin Protein Shake

Hey Everyone,
In honor of the Pumpkin festivities of fall,
We wanted to share with you all this amazing Pumpkin Protein shake recipe.
It is great for a post workout shake or even a fall morning pick me up!
Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients

• 5 ice cubes 
• 1 scoop preferred protein powder (I used Vanilla by EAS) 
• 1 cup almond milk 
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 
• 1/2 banana 
• 1-2 tbs raw honey 
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• 1 tsp pumpkin spice 
• Optional: almonds or walnuts

Add ingredients in blender. Place blender on high speed until smooth.
Enjoy it outside overlooking the beautiful changing fall leaves....

Until next time
-Nate and Kate

Learn How to Achieve Happiness

Hi everyone,

With the start of a brand new school year, I wanted to stress how important it is to not only take care of our physical health but also our mental health.

Many of us associate health in the physical form, but there are many other forms of health: mental and emotional health being one of them.

I read an incredible book this past year with a group of my friends that I wanted to share with all of you.

1. The How of Happiness written by Sonja Lyubomirsky

This book taught me the basics of how to be actually happy. Everyone is born with 40% of their happiness level is from their parents. However the 60% you have complete control over!

Let me give you a little intro to the book:
It starts off with a happiness quiz that will help you determine what are your strengths and weaknesses  based on 12 different characteristics of "happiness".
From there each chapter focuses on one trait at a time. The Twelve traits of happiness are:

• Expressing Gratitude
• Cultivating Optimism 
• Avoid Overthinking and Social Comparison 
• Practice Acts of Kindness 
• Nurturing Social Relationships 
• Developing Strategies for Coping 
• Learning to Forgive 
• Increasing Flow Experiences  
• Savoring Life's Joys 
• Practicing Religion and Spirituality 
• Taking Care of Your Body (Mediation) 
• Taking Care of Your Body (Physical Activity) 
• Taking Care of Your Body (Acting like a Happy Person) 

Perhaps the greatest thing I got from reading this book was a simple idea: YOU can create your OWN happiness! It does not have to be a search for that new dress, or maybe even a new pet.

You have the ability to create your own happiness whenever YOU choose.
This concept is so simple, however, for a long time I felt that I was continuinally searching for that "something".

This book was a wakeup call for me, and allowed me to look into myself and realize that I can choose to be happy whenever I want!


2. This book impacted me so greatly because I read it with an amazing group of best friends. 

(THIS IS ALL OF US)

Each week we read a chapter at the start of the week and make sure our mission was to address the goals within that chapter. We would meet at the end of the week and discuss our experiences and what we had learned.

This was a great experience for us all to really try to improve our lives in a supportive group setting. 

If you are interested in reading The How of Happiness. I highly suggest you pick it up with a group of friends who you trust.  I encourage you to take the first step on an powerful journey towards achieving your own happiness. 

Till next week, 

-Kate 

3 Simple Tips to Enjoy Summer BBQs the Healthy way!

Hi Everyone,
In light of the summer bbqs, parties, and other festivities, we wanted to shed some light on how to enjoy time friends and family while staying healthy!
Lets face it, the summer is a great time to enjoy some sun and great food with the people you love.
However, its easy to let the festivities get a hold of your healthy diet.
Were going to share with you some simple healthy tips that will allow you to control your diet, without feeling deprived from some summer fun:

1. Eat with your EYES: 
• Luckily the summer is full of fresh fruit and veggies. Fill your plate with all different colors and variety! Stray away from anything that is golden brown (typically: chicken nuggets, french fries...) We truly do eat with our eyes, so have fun and make your plate a beautiful masterpiece!

• Some great veggie options are: cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, avocados, peppers, carrots, chickpeas, eggplant, fennel, garlic, green onions, herbs, lemon grass, beets, peas, potatoes, radishes, spinach 
• Some great fruit options are: melon, pineapple, watermelon, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, grapes, limes, lemons, cherries, figs, strawberries 
2. Bring your own healthy options 
• Before you attend the party, ask the hostess if there is anything you can bring. If they are not specific then bring your own healthy options! That way you are sharing your healthy foods with the other guests as well. 

• Appetizer idea: Fresh tomato slices with low fat mozzarella, basil and balsamic vinegar on top 
• Dinner idea: Kabobs: Load them with shrimp, chicken, or steak, peppers, mushrooms, and onions, or any other vegetable your love
• Desert idea: Water melon (is a simple and who doesn't love it?!)
• VISIT THIS SITE FOR MORE HEALTHY SUMMER RECIPES
3. Change your CAN'TS into I DON'T WANT 

• This is my best tip that has truly helped me resist temptation at parties or bbqs. If someone offers you for example a piece of cake, instead of saying,"Oh no thank you I CAN'T eat that, I'm on a diet" try saying I DON'T WANT. 
• By saying "No thank you, I don't want _________", you are taking ownership for your OWN decisions. There is not some "external force" or "diet police" who are forcing you to eat that piece of cake. You, yourself, are making that decision. 
• I promise you this small adjustment in your lifestyle will empower you to take responsibility for your own actions, and you will walk away feeling great. 

Till Next Week....

-Kate 

Shaker Bottle Review

Hey Everyone,

Today I am going to review a shaker bottle that both Nate and I love.
The shaker bottle is called Core 150. Read our review on this incredible product.

Then be sure to purchase your own Core150 shaker at the end of the blog with a special Nate and Kate Fitness discount!

Core150 Shaker Cups 

Pros of the Core150 Shaker Cup

• Huge Size 
• The Core150 Shaker Cup is the largest shaker bottle I have ever owned. Unlike the blender bottles that only hold around 28 ounces of water, the Core150 can hold up to a liter of water. I try to drink a minimum of a gallon of water a day. However, carrying a gallon around can be very impractical. There are 3.7 liters in a gallon, so in order to drink a gallon you would only need to refill the cup 4 times. Lets face it, most of us are too lazy to continually refill a water bottle. The sheer size of the Core150 shaker makes it very convenient to get your daily amount of water. 
• 3 Compartment Spaces 

• The actual Core150 Shaker bottle is split in half with 3 compartments that can hold a total of 150g of powder. The compartments actually take up half of the inside of the bottle. This great because you fill one compartment with pre workout, one with protein for post workout, and one with bcaas or whatever supplement you like. You can even fill them will snacks like nuts and dried fruit or whatever else you feel like! 
• Leak proof 
• One of the greatest part of the Core 150 shaker is it is completely leak proof. I have never had any water in any of the 3 compartments, so none of your protein will ever leak out of the compartments and into your water. I have put my car keys and even my headphones in a compartment and they were completely dry when I took them out, that is how much I trust this product. 
• The Core 150 also has a great top. I know this sounds dumb, but there is nothing more annoying then a shaker that you cant even shake your protein or preworkout in without it spilling everywhere. The Core 150 top locks into place, so it will never leak on you. 
• Filter
• The Core150 even have a great filter on top that will allow all your powders to distill through without any lumps in your water. 
• Color 
• We cannot forget to mention that the Core150 comes in 4 great colors: Red, Purple, Green, and Pink. 

Cons of the Core150 Shaker Cup 

• Too large for most cup holders 
• This is a small dislike I have for the Core150. Due to its large size, it cannot fit in a standard cup holder. My car does not have an expandable cup holder, so I merely put the cup on my passenger seat. However, if your car does have an expanable holder then the Core150 would easily fit. 
• Core 150 label seal rubbed off 
• I have one of the older Core150 bottles and the label on the side rubbed off from sweat and water. 
• Luckily, they redesigned the label by heating it with UV light to ensure that it will not rub off. 

Kate with her Core150 Pink Shaker Cup 

Overall Feeling 

• I would give this bottle a 9/10. It does have a few cons as mentioned above. However, this is by far the best shaker I have ever owned. I cannot go anywhere without it, and I will never go back to any other shaker bottle. 

• Purchase your OWN Core150 shaker with an awesome discount! 
• Be sure to purchase the Core150 here with the special Nate and Kate Fitness discount:
• Enter the promo code: core10  at check out to receive an additional 10% off the already discounted $14.99 price!
• But be sure to buy it soon because this discount will expire in 3 weeks!

• PURCHASE YOUR OWN CORE150 SHAKER BOTTLE HERE

• Your input, advice, and support means so much to us! This is just a small way that we can thank all of you. 

Till next week....
-Kate

Kate's First Figure Competition Experience

Hey everyone,

This is certainly a long awaited blog post, but today I'm going to share my first figure competition experience.

Deciding to compete in bodybuilding is an extremely hard decision. There is definitely alot of trial and error. In fact, if bodybuilding has given me anything, it has taught me to have patience!

Throughout the entire year, I stayed around 130 lbs and through an extremely short prep was able to get to 125lb on stage.

However I ran into a road block early in my prep phase. At 8 weeks out, I was a mere 115 lbs! I am 5'4 and I had never weighed this little in my life, and more importantly I did not feel healthy.
My diet contained no fats, so my skin and hair were extremely dry and brittle. My hair was constantly falling out. I looked and felt as if I had an eating disorder. My grades were starting to slip and both my friends and family were nervous for my well being.

(These pictures were at my lowest point in prep) 

 I knew that I needed to make a change. I started to incorporate healthy fats and  more calories into my diet and I actually gained 10 lbs during the last 8 weeks of prep. I showed up on stage feeling strong and beautiful. The huge bonus of it all was that I actually won my first figure show at only 18 years old.

However, It's not about the first place trophy that gave me so much. It was the whole journey, the highs and lows, that made me into a stronger person. It was the sense of accomplishment and empowerment that I want to you all to aspire to achieve in your life time.

In this life, no one will hand you anything. You WILL fail, but its up to you to get back up and overcome all the difficult. So go out there and earn it!

Watch my full figure competition experience right here:

Stayed tuned till next week,

-Kate

3 Easy Changes to help you lose weight fast

Hey everyone! 

Im going to share with you the 3 easy ways you can lose weight. These 3 tips are instant changes you can make in your diet that require no thought! 

• 1. Drink more water

I'm sure you all have heard this so many times before, but I cannot stress how important it is to drink water. 

Many times when you think you are hungry, your body is actually thirsty! 

Next time you feel like you are hungry, instead of reaching for a snack, pour yourself a nice cold glass of water. 

Studies have shown that if you drink 2 glasses of water before a meal you will eat less throughout the meal. 

If you are not a huge fan of water, here is a great tip: 

Add fruits and veggies into your water! 

Refreshing Fruit/Veggies Water

The fruit and veggies will steep into the water, and give you a cool and refreshing drink perfect for summer. 

I always keep frozen fruit in my house: strawberries, blueberries, and berry blends

So all you have to do is add a few frozen (i prefer frozen because it acts like ice) or your favorite fresh fruit then feel free to add veggies or herbs! Here are some of my favorite combinations: 

-Cantaloupe and Cucumbers 

-Strawberries and silantro 

-Lemons and Mint leaves

Feel free to test out your own combinations, we would love to hear what you come up with!

• 2. Watch your peanut butter! 

Ok so I'm going to be honest, at one point this year I was seriously addicted to peanut butter. There is nothing wrong with getting healthy fats, however nuts are extremely dense in calories, and if your not careful, it is very easy to overdo it. One spoon becomes two and then gets out of control from there. I forced myself to give it up because I just didn't have the self control. 

I knew there must be a way to not cut it completely out of my diet. 

The key here is portion control. I would prepackage myself 15 almonds that I would eat at night. This is seriously the best tip of advice I can give you all! If there is a trigger food (like peanut butter is for me), be honest with yourself, and find a way to portion it out. 

Also I find that if I am on the go and traveling, I love to pack Emerald 100 calorie packs of almonds. They come in a variety of flavors such as natural, coco roast (my favorite), smoked, even different nuts, and with only 1 gram of sugar and 9 grams of fat they will not break your diet. 

They are great if you want a simple and fool proof way to stick to a small portion size without depriving yourself of healthy fats! 

Kate approved mustard



Sriracha = best stuff ever

• 3. Add spices to your foods

I have found that if I feel I am extremely hungry, I will add hot sauce, cayenne pepper, or sriracha sause to my chicken, eggs, and fish (or whenever I can!). Spicy foods will not only boost your metabolism, they will also make you feel full a lot quicker! 

If you are not a fan of spicy, try using mustard instead of ketchup. Studies have shown that mustard helps to make you feel satiated quicker. 

 Mint leaves from my mama's garden

Or if your not a fan of spicy foods or mustard, try incorporating mint after your meals. 

You can do this by eating mint leaves, making mint tea, making mint water (as shown above), chew on a piece of mint gum, breath mint, or even  simply BRUSH YOUR TEETH. Studies have shown that both mustard and mint will help tell your brain that you are full. 

I hope this 3 instant changes will help you like they helped me! 

Learn more about us by checking out our website: http://nateandkatefitness.weebly.com/ 

Send us your questions and feedback there! 

Till Next week, 

-Kate 

4 easy ways to burn more fat in the gym

Hello everyone!

I hope everyone is out enjoying the beautiful summer weather. In honor of this, I want to share with you the 4 simple steps you can take to burn more calories in the gym. The best part is that they are simple, EASY, and effective solutions! (I promise)

After only 2 weeks of these tips and nutrition on par!

1) Add more volume to your workout. 
Volume will not only create more muscle hypertrophy (muscle building) it will also help burn more calories.
Switch up your workouts by adding more reps to your exercises.
Add drop sets to your last set to push your muscles to failure.
Or add more sets: try doing 7 sets on your last exercise to completely exhaust the muscle.

2) Decrease rest time between sets.
Keep your rest time to 30-60 sec (at most!)
If you have to time yourself, so be it!
This might be tricky at first, but leave all side conversations till after your done, and make the most of your workout!

3) Do not sit down between sets.
In the minimal time you have STAND UP! You don't have to run around doing burpees or jumping rope, but at least get off the machine. This will help you burn more calories in the long run.

4) Lastly: Get off your phones!
I cannot stress this enough. Yes, most of us listen to music from our smart phones. But don't allow the phone to consume you in between your sets. Think of the 45-60 min you give yourself in the gym as "sacred time". It is truly the small amount of time in the day that you can do something for you!
So go take advantage of it.
I promise this small step will have you more focused and engaged in your workouts.

These small 4 tips will have you burning more calories easily in no time. They are just small adjustments you can make today. Try it out for a week and you will see a huge improvement in your workouts.

PS. We are excited to announce that we are launching our new website!
Check it out and learn more about Nate and Kate fitness and take the next step to achieving your goals. Also stay tuned for our progress and our amazing client success stories.

 http://nateandkatefitness.weebly.com/

-Kate

Strawberry Banana Smoothie!

Great for post workouts

So this is a new one Nate just came up with its simple and easy!

Ingredients:

7 strawberries

2 ripe bananas 

1 cup of low fat greek yogurt (can be flavor of your choice)

1 cup of skim milk or almond milk 

optional 1 scoop of vanilla protein or flavor of your choice.

 

Need a blender of some kind.  

Directions:

Cut up half of the strawberries place them on the bottom then cut up one of the bananas and place it in the middle followed by the rest of the strawberries and the other banana.  Next add the cup of skim milk followed by the cup of greek yogurt! Then Enjoy!

Let us know what you think of the recipe; many more on the way!

Healthy Banana Bread

So there are many different variations you can try for this recipe.  I will show you what I did and also tell you how you can change it if you so choose.

Ingredients:

2 cups	All-purpose flower  ( I used whole wheat flower)
¾ tsp	Baking powder
½ tsp	Salt  ( I did not use salt cause I did not have any)
1 cup	Sugar ( you can use less if you use trivia or stevia or splenda)
¼ cup	Butter softened ( instead of butter you can use another ½ of banana)
2 large	Eggs
1 ½ cups	Mashed ripe bananas about (3 bananas)
1/3 cup	Low fat yogurt ( I used vanilla flavored)
1 tsp	Vanilla extract
	Cooking spray

Directions:

Mix all of the web ingredients together then add the dry ones stir until all mixed together nicely.

Pour ingredients into a bread making pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.  

Place in oven at 350 for about 18- minutes or until completely cooked. You can test by sticking 

Rules From The Bodybuilding Legends
Bradley Joe Kelly – 3/15/2013 
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/rules_from_the_bodybuilding_legends

The Importance of Communication

What?

What is one of the most important keys to having a successful team?  How do the best leaders motivate and inspire their people? How do the best organizations promote discipline, accountability and strategic alignment? With clear and direct communication. Communication is so vital to the team’s success, however many times it never gets addressed.  Or it does but by that time the team already has several problems.  Communication should be one of the first things a team works on.  If team members cannot communicate with themselves nothing would ever get done.  It is possible to have a successful team that has poor communication but they are few and far between.  Communication is essential in all relationships not just in the work place.  Breakdown in communication is the number 2 reason for divorce in America.

So What?

Great communication can lead to successful teams and happy relationships.  Poor communication can lead to frustration and heart ache.  If you have meager communication there are things you can do to improve upon it.  In order to have better communication you need to learn how to listen.  It is hard to convey a message to someone if you do not know what they want.  To listen well you have to focus on the other person more than yourself.  When you learn to listen properly it allows you to ask better questions showing that you are interested in the topic.  Eye contact is another way to improve the way you communicate.  People do not liked to be lied to, when you make eye contact with others when communicated you can tell if they are tell the truth or just pulling your leg.  Few people can look a person in the eye and lie.  If someone is being untruthful the line of communication is broken and you no longer care what they have to say because you cannot trust them. 

Now What?

Now you know communication is critical to establishing a good team and relationship you need to assess your own level of communication.  If you do not have the best people or communication skills use the advice above to help you improve them.  I have found from my own life experiences that poor communication can lead to many problems.  In order to solve and prevent future problems communication needs to be clear.  There are many ways to better your communication in teams; here is a link with six of them.  In the future if you are having any communication problems they need to be addressed as soon as possible. Keep good communication and you will have a happy team and partner. 

HOW TO MOTIVATE IN TEAMS

What?

The greatest truly successful teams have emotional and social well-being.  In the book The Emotionally Intelligent Team there is model that shows skills that need to be attained to have sustained productivity.  One of those things on the outer most circles is motivation.  I believe motivation plays a huge role within a team.  It requires each team member to know each other and meet their individual desires.  Also it allows the team to set difficult goals, reinforcing success, and being persistent.  In order to motivate, the team has to consider the energy levels of individuals and responsibility’s within the team.  Motivating someone can be a difficult process.  Successful team leaders igniteand inspire they do not pressure.  Pressuring teammates to do work only works temporally.  Instead, connecting with your team, building relationships is a better way to motivate your team.

So What?

Knowing team members well enough to find out what motivates them takes time but the effort will be much rewarded in the end.  All the time spent getting to know each other is helping the team develop another important skill, communication.  Connecting with team members also increases team unity which drives motivation.  Another way to encourage participation in a team is to empower members.  Giving power shows control, control increases engagement.  All of these skills build off of each other and drives the team to become better.  When new challenges arise, which they will, the team should be able to determine what there motivating factor is allowing it to inspire them. 

Now What?

Motivation is great to get your team moving, but it takes more than that to continue on the road to success.  Once a team has found their inspiration it’s time to work on the other areas of the diagram.  Positive mood, team identity, conflict resolution, stress tolerance, emotional awareness, and last not least communication.  After mastering all of these skills the team will have better trust, empathy, loyalty, and decision making.  This is a long process not every team will reach this level of performance.  Also not every team needs to perform all of these perfectly to be successful.  If a team does achieve all of these traits it will have emotional and social well-being allowing all of its efforts to be focused on the task at hand.  So communicate with members of your team and find out what makes then tick, use that and create a better more motivated team. 

Kris Dim Pro Bodybuilder

Kris Dim is a pro bodybuilder with an amazing story.  He grow up in a poor home with nothing to his name and made a great career out of bodybuilding.  He has placed in some of the best bodybuilding shows in the world.  He has an incredible story to tell and I wanted to help him share it.  This is true inspiration for anybody who has every wanted to do something but thinks its impossible.  So click on the link below and watch!
YouTube

Pre workout Review: Swole by Anabolic Outlaws

Hi everyone this week were doing something a little different, we are introducing our first supplement review of a high quality pre workout!

This pre workout is called Swole by Anabolic Outlaws

Lets start from the beginning:
I am not going to lie, I am not a big fan of pre workouts. I am a die hard coffee addict so sometimes when I take pre workouts I don't always feel their effects, or if I do I experience an instant jolt of energy but nothing that lasts. I decided to try a pre workout in order to help power through my intense workouts. Now that I am dieting for a physique show, my workouts will last anywhere from 2 hours to 3 so I need a pre workout that will give me sustained and clean energy.

I tried Swole for 2 weeks with my different workout splits, so I would be able to feel its effects from workouts on leg day versus my back workout days. I even tested it on my rigorous cardio routines.

Initial reaction:
I added 1 tsp of Swole to 8-10 fl ounces of water, I shook it vigorous and there were no nasty clumps at the surface (this is a plus in my book).
I also noted that Swole made the water turn a pale white color, which I LOVED! Lets face it no one wants to walk around the gym sporting a green or blue tongue. Thats just not attractive, not to mention I hate feeling self conscious feeling my breath smells like a juicy watermelon!

Taste: The taste is a general mild sweet taste
I also loved this! The taste was not overpowering or too concentrated! One day I added a small amount of green apple aminos by BSN and it tasted incredible. So the advantage of the mild taste allows you to add another drink such as a small amount of gator aid if you enjoy a great flavor.

Energy: Clean long sustaining energy
The energy was not an instant jolt that some pre workouts will give you (this is the specific reason why I stay away from most pre workouts). I could not tell the initial moment that swole kicked in (which I enjoyed), however I certainly felt lasted energy and focus throughout my 2 hour workouts.
I also found that the energy lasted throughout my lifting session and my cardio session (which I grouped back to back). This was the true test that swole passed with flying colors!! Most days, I will come back to the gym for a second time because I just will nott have enough energy to last through a lifting session AND 30 min of HIIT cardio. However, I honestly felt that swole helped me power through both completely. I did not crash at all!

Other advantages of swole:
It is one of the only testosterone boosting pre workouts out there! Don't be intimidated by this though because both men and women can use swole to help increase lean body mass and decrease fat. I felt that after taking swole I didn't feel like I have a swollen or bloated belly feeling that I had from other pre workouts in the past.

I would recommend this product to everyone who is looking for a high quality preworkout. This is a great product for beginners to the advanced lifters. It is the best prew orkout I have ever tried (you can take my word for it).

If your interested in purchasing Swole or the other awesome products from Anabolic Outlaws visit:

http://anabolicoutlaws.com/store.html

They also have some other amazing products that we have purchased such as their Overnight Grow 600 and Whey Protein (more reviews on the way!)

Last thing I love their designs! I just can't get enough of this design and their t-shirts!!

This is a picture of me sporting an anabolic outlaws shirt after my best HIIT cardio session yet. Don't forget if you look cute after your workout your not doing something right! So don't be afraid to sweat (I'm only happy when their is a puddle underneath me! yuck!!)

Hope you all liked my review of Anabolic Oulaws: Swole! Check out the product and let me know if you have any specific questions!

-Kate and Nate

The ideal workout: The secret behind reps and sets

Today were going to talk about a topic that seems to cause a lot of confusion: What is the right amount of reps should I be doing? How many sets should I perform? This post is also geared towards the females out there! But it can be applied to everyone!

These questions are pretty simple to answer. Im actually surprised were making a post about it! But here it is.

Lower Rep Range:
        1-5 reps
Moderate Rep Range:
       6-15
High Rep Range:
      15- or more

Heres my best advice to females:
     If you are just starting with weight training, its best to keep weights within the 10-12 range. Don't worry I promise you won't get "bulky".
10-12 reps is the ideal amount because it will challenge you to increase your weights and allow you to stay engaged and challenged (for example: doing 10 reps of dumbbell bicep curls with 15lb instead of 20 reps of dumbbell bicep curls with 5 lbs)

There are tons of full workouts written online, so print out a complete 3,4,5, or 6 day split and stay within this rep range. Keep track of your weight throughout the first initial 3-4 weeks. At first the program may seem challening, but you will soon find that it will get easier! Thats when you can either change the program or increase the weights and decrease the reps to 8-10 reps. Both are great options.

Here are some of my favorite written programs
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/womens-body-bible.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/womans_lean_sexy_bible.htm

Both sites are great options geared towards females who are getting started and need a nice introduction into weight lifting.

In regards to sets:
3-4 sets is perfect!
Sometimes when I perform my first exercise I like to perform 4-5 sets allowing at least 1 set as a warmup.

Don't forget to own it! I want you all to really maximize your gym time! Push yourself and see how far you can go. Because ultimately, "It's just you against you."

-Nate and Kate

How Happiness Affects People

What?

How many people can say they are happy?  I say I am happy most of the time but on the inside it is not always true.  I have always thought that a person’s happiness is dependent upon their own choices and actions in life.  But what I am coming to understand is that a person’s happiness can be greatly affected by others.  There is an article in The Washington Post that talks about happiness and how it can be spread from person to person. A study was conducted followed 4, 700 people for 20 years found that people who are happy or become happy boost the chances that someone they know will be happy (Rob Stein).  This is a very important when it comes to team work; if a team members is happy there is a greater chance that other member will be happy.  When individuals on the team are happier they tend to be more satisfied more creative and more productive (Hughes p13).

So What?

            A person’s attitude is so powerful that they might be affecting people they do not even know.  According to Nicholas A. Christakis, a medical sociologist at Harvard University a person’s happiness can also depends on the choices and actions and experiences of other people, including people to whom you are not directly connected (Stein p2).  In the business world working on projects, there might be some interaction with non-members of the team that collaboration be it positive could boosts the team’s emotional intelligence.  On the other hand, if that communication is negative it could have devastating consequences for that team’s emotional and social intelligence (Hughes p14).

Now What?

            Short entry today but the message is powerful.  People’s mood and attitudes be it internal or external greatly affects others.  This interaction can be silent but can have a lasting impact.  In order to have a more productive team happiness needs to be involved.  Also happiness has been linked with healthiness contributing to an overall longer life. Being healthy translates into being more productive less people absence from being sick.  Humanity as a whole benefit when people work together (Hughes p15).  So always be nice to others and wear a smile you never know who you might be helping.

Keeping Your Goals in Sight

Cooperation and Competition

What? 

Being in a group working to together can have its benefits and be very productive but, it also can have some draw backs.  Previously I mentioned how great it is to be in a team all working to better one another (Holfstede,1980).  It also needs to be understood that at team is made up of individual’s and they do not always agree on certain goals. I am currently in a team that has added two new additions Power-lifter Andrew Jones, and future bikini competitor Andrea Long.  They are an amazing addition to the team. They are great motivator in the and out of the weight room.  The team could not have made such incredible gains in strength and definition without the addition of Andrew and Andrea.

So what?

Having Andrew now as a workout partner is great we help push one another to our breaking point and then some.  We are both very competitive as well so we love challenging each other in the weight room.  This can be fun at time but it can also take away from our main goal of following a program and getting stronger (Levip.77).  I will admit that it is mainly my fault I feel the need to always be the best and do the most weight.  This is not the right mentality to have.  It can be destructive and have the team lose sight of what we are trying to do (Levi 80).  Also it is a great way to get hurt.  I think it has something to do with the way I was brought up.  My mother had her hands full being divorced working full time and having to raise 3 children.  I will also mention my sister and I were not that well behaved.  Being the youngest of three was not always easy I felt alone most of the time and wanted attention.  I felt as if I was always competing with my brother for attention.  But I want to say that I had an amazing mother and I do not know how she had the courage and the strength to raise all of us alone.  There is much more to the story but that is for another day.  But that is where I believe I developed my competitive nature from fighting with my brother (Levi p77 Culture). 

Now what?

           That is where cooperation and communication comes in to save the day or by back.  Knowing that we are very competitive it helps having someone else in the team step in and talk some sense into us.  Lowering the weight and having good form beats heavy weight bad form any day.  This is where having good communication and knowing your team members well really helps.  Talking to each other working together (cooperating) and doing the weight that is better for you is going to help everybody reach their goals faster and create a better team (Levip.80).  So be smart listen to each other and always be safe.