It's Not Too Late!!

So, did you eat way too much and exercise way too little over the recent holiday? Did you miss the January 1st window for making a New Year's Resolution? No worries! There's plenty of time! There's over 300 days left in 2016!

The clip below was originally posted on my Facebook page just before Christmas Eve, but besides the holiday music in the background, the workout is still a great one to help put a dent in the damage you may have done over the holiday.

So, take a few minutes and look at the video from start to finish and write down the exercises to help you remember them and then get started! Remember, if you don't have a kettlebell, you can use a dumbbell or a jug of laundry detergent! Many can be done just with body weight. No excuses!!

If you do the workout, post a few pics of your efforts in the comments section below!! I'd love to see the fruits of your labor!


RunnerDude's Holiday Tabata Workout from Thad McLaurin on Vimeo.

Avoid Resolution Sabotage!

New Year's Resolutions. Have you ever made one? I bet you have. Every January, people all over the world maKe health and fitness resolutions.  That's awesome. Start out the new year on track, with a goal and vision to better yourself. However, the sad truth is that around 30% give-up the very first week! An ever bigger percentage give up during weeks two and three. I've seen proof of this driving by the big box gyms in my area. January 1st the parking lot is full. February, you'll see tumbleweeds rolling around in that same parking lots.

Why is that? Why do so many give up so quickly? Self-Sabotage! Often our resolutions and goals are so lofty and huge that they are unobtainable. We are so quick to completely remove something or stop something as a part of our resolutions. "I'm going to stop eating carbs. No more sugar! I'm going to stop eating meat. I'm going vegan!" Or, we're too quick to add drastic changes to our routines. "I'm going to run every day, no breaks! I'm going to workout one hour every day. I'm going ride my bike to work each day!" The basic root of the resolution is solid, but it's often the severity of the limitation or addition or the time frame in which we've given ourselves to accomplish such a goal that we soon realize it just "ain't gonna happen."

I have people come to the studio all the time telling me that "I need to get them to lose 30 lbs in a month." Two things wrong with this expectation. First, the time frame is very unrealistic. Second, the responsibility has been placed on me to get them to lose the weight instead of the individual taking ownership of the weight loss. This is not a scenario for success.

It's great to have goals and to challenge yourself, but if those goals are too unrealistic, you'll only set yourself up for failure.

In stead of wanting to lose 40 lbs by February, make your goal to change your body composition by February. Often when starting to lose weight , especially if you're also beginning to exercise along with your nutrition changes, you may not initially see the weight loss you expect reflected on the scale. This is because your body is going through lots of changes. While you may be losing some body fat, you may also be

gaining a little muscle. That's a good thing, but as a result, the scale may not show the awesome changes you're actually making. So, instead of initially focusing on the scale, focus on measurements. Week 1, measure the circumference of your bicep, chest, waist, hips, thigh, and calf. (Note: Be sure that when you measure your bicep, thigh, and calf that the measurements are all on the same side, so that when  you measure at a later date you'll remeasure the same side. Your left and right sides can have different measurements, so sticking with the same side will keep your data accurate.) Record the measurements  in a journal or on a spreadsheet, so you won't forget. Give yourself three months to work on your diet and exercise. Weigh yourself periodically if you'd like, but don't redo the circumference measurements until the end of the 3rd month. Nine times out of ten, when  you redo those measurements, you'll find that your circulference measurements have decreased! You're an inch smaller here, two inches smaller there, and inch and a half smaller there. So, while the scale may only say you've lost 10-15lbs you may actually have lost a total of 5-6 inches! Proof of your hard work!

Once you continue beyond this point with your nutrition changes and exercise, you'll begin to see more weight loss. The key really is consistency.

The same applies with running. Instead of on January 1st deciding you're going to run a half marathon that spring (even though you're not currently even running 1-mile without stopping), commit to building on that mile. Focus on endurance and building a base. I recommend that a runner build up to a total weekly mileage of 15-20 miles a week for 4 weeks before beginning training for a half marathon. So, begin by running 2-3 days a week to build that base. Don't focus on pace, just run. If you're currently running about a mile add a few minutes of running to the end of each run gradually increasing your distance. Build to 2 miles, then three over time. Then move to 3-4 days a week. That way when you do start that half marathon training, you won't be trying to build a base while at the same time your trying to acclimate to the demands of higher mileage in your training.

You have a whole entire year. Think through your resolution. Set yourself up for success not failure. You can do anything you put your mind to as long as you're realistic with your goals and time frame.

DOMS Da DOMS DOMS!

DOMS—Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness...we've all had it and we all hate it, but it's a necessary evil in your pursuit for a fitter stronger body. Whether you're a swimmer, a runner, a cyclist, a gym rat, or a combination of them all, you've experienced DOMS. You don't have to be a newbie to fitness to experience DOMS. Anytime you expose your body to new or more intense demands you're more than likely going to experience muscle soreness a day or two after the workout.

Lactate (a by-product of intense exercise) is often blamed for the muscle soreness, but lactate is not the culprit. Lactate actually isn't the bad guy it's often portrayed to be. A trained athlete can actually use lactate as an energy source. When an athlete pushes him/herself past his/her lactate threshold (such as in an interval workout), the body can no longer clear the lactate fast enough so it builds up and can cause that burning sensation in the muscles eventually fatiguing the muscles causing you to slow down. But if you've ever experienced that burn in an interval workout, you also know that if you slow it back down or stop and walk it off, that burn will eventually subside because the body pretty quickly is able to recoup and clear the excess lactate (usually within 30 minutes). DOMS, however, doesn't happen until the next day or sometimes not even until 2 or 3 days later. So, Lactate, you're off the hook.

If it's not lactate buildup, then what's the cause of DOMS? If you're a runner, you can probably pin point two types of workouts that might result in DOMS—short fast workouts such as intervals or hillwork and very long slow runs. Downhill running seems to cause the most intense DOMS. Whenever you up-the-ante with duration or intensity, you're putting your muscles under more stress. You're actually causing microscopic damage to the tiny myofibrils that make up the muscle fibers. Don't worry. I know that sounds bad, but it's not. This is actually how muscle becomes stronger. The pain you're feeling the next day or so, is the result of that microscopic muscle damage. But during this time the body sends in the troops and begins to repair the damage. It's this repair process that actually makes the muscle stronger. Because the muscle will be stronger, the next time you apply the same stress that caused the initial DOMS, your muscles will be able to handle the workout and most likely you'll not experience DOMS. That's called adaptation. Your body has now adapted to the intensity level.

Because your body is an expert at adaptation, it's very important to always mix up your running routine. Have you ever heard someone say, "I run every day, but I can't seem to get any faster. I'm even gaining a little weight." If you dig a littler deeper into this person's running regimen, you'll probably discover that he may have the mileage, but he's running the same distance and the same intensity every time he runs. His body has adapted to this and so he's stagnated. In order to get out of this slump, he needs to mix-it-up by throwing in a tempo run, add some fartleks to a regular run, or add a day of speed work each week such as intervals or hill repeats.

DOMS is one of the biggest reasons newbies stop working out so quickly. Since becoming a personal trainer, I've become familiar with three different possible reactions to DOMS. The first is fear. Many newbies to fitness or running are convinced that they've injured themselves when they wake up a day or two later to extremely stiff and sore muscles. A second possible reaction is discouragement. Some individuals think, "Man, I must be in terrible shape to feel this bad. I don't think I have enough in me to deal with this kind of pain." And a third possible reaction is elation!"Oh man, I'm sore! Awesome! Bring it on! This means I had a great workout!" The third reaction is the best attitude to take. Think of DOMS as proof of your hard work. You may not believe it now, but after you've been working out for a while, you may even be discouraged if you don't experience DOMS after a hard workout. Don't believe me? Stick with it a while and you'll see!