Coughlin Inner Circle

Are You Doing THIS With Your Cardio?

It’s very easy to get lackadaisical with your cardio routine.  To most people, it tends to be monotonous, boring, and you just want to get it over with as soon as possible.

Still, cardio is a vital piece to the fitness puzzle.

Without it…

… You’re not burning additional calories that would otherwise be stored as fat.                
… You’re not strengthening your heart and lungs.                                                                           
… You’re not reducing additional stress or relief from depression and anxiety.                                    
… You’re not reducing the risk of heart disease and other types of cancer.                                 
… You’re not going to be confident about how you look and feel.                                                             
… You’re not going to sleep as well as you like.                                                                                 
… You’re not going to have more energy and vibrancy.                                                                                           
… You’re not going to lose weight effectively.

I think I made my point.  You absotively NEED cardio! 

Now all of these benefits are well and good BUT you still need to keep score.

And what I mean is, in order for you to kick arse with your cardio you need to be aware of two things.

1. Your heart rate.

2. Your breathing.

If you are constantly aware of both these items at ALL TIMES during your cardio workout you can’t fail.

For your heart rate, you want to use what you call the “Karvonean Formula” or “Maximal Oxygen Uptake.”

This means you take your age from the number 220 and the number you get would be considered your maximum heart rate.  (example.  220 – 40(age) = 180 MHR)

Depending on how experienced you are with your cardio, you want to work at a certain percentage of your maximum heart rate.  Percentages can be 60 percent if you are a beginner and 80 percent if you are more advanced.  The number you get from this would be your target heart rate (example. 180 x 60 percent = 108 THR)

Now for some people I’ve trained, this equation doesn’t really hold much weight.  Some people can train at 90 to even 100% of their maximum heart rates! 

These people are also half cyborg…hehe. :) 

No, seriously, these people have abnormally high heart rates, so, this formula doesn’t really apply to them.

But what does apply to them or maybe YOU as well - would be your breathing.

So if you’re working at 75 – 90 percent of your maximum heart rate and you don’t feel challenged, I highly recommend that you monitor your breathing.

And to do so, it’s really simple.  You want to use what you call the talk-test. 

Meaning, if you can talk very easily during your cardio, your cardio is, well, too easy.

If you’re completely out of breath, this means your cardio may be too hard because the oxygen being delivered to your heart is inefficient.  You want to find a happy-medium.  You want to work out at a pace where your breathing is intense, but also controlled.

So be sure to always be aware of your heart rate and breathing.  This way, even though sometimes cardio may be a drag to you…at least you know you’re doing it the best way possible and moving one step closer to the body you want… Right?

That’s all for today my friend.  Have a great week!

Yours in Total Fitness and Maximum Success,

Jim Coughlin

Relax...Its Only One Meal

With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up in a few days, it’s a time to give thanks for everything in your life, spend time with family, watch football and eat some good food. 

Yet in most people’s minds, this good food leads to guilt and the fear of gaining weight.  Though, if you really think about it, this so-called guilt that people make up in their minds is a complete falsehood. 

Why should you feel guilty for enjoying ONE MEAL of good food?

I know, I know… Jim, its NOT just one meal – it’s a huge feast. 

Well, here’s the deal. 

Just because you’re exposed to this ‘feast’ and it’s tradition to gorge yourself year after year, doesn’t mean you have to.  And this doesn’t mean you’re being rude either.

You can STILL be on target with your weight loss goals regardless of it being Thanksgiving.

The key is stabilizing your blood sugar throughout the day. 

Before I got involved in fitness, this is something I NEVER did.  Like most people, I would visit family and practically starve myself for the entire day.  Once the Thanksgiving bell rang, it was…eat EVERYTHING in sight! 

I may have enjoyed the meal for the time being, but I was doing my body a huge disservice in the process.

Even if you’re setting aside Thanksgiving to be your cheat meal, you should still be eating small portioned meals every 2-3 hours to keep your blood sugar levels stable.  This will ensure you don’t gain weight and have energy throughout the day.

The last thing you want to do is starve yourself and eat a giant meal. 

Doing so will destroy your muscle and make your body store fat.  Not only that, but you’re going to feel like crap the whole day and most likely, the next day as well.

Now again, I know its tradition to have a huge Thanksgiving meal every year…but dammit…it’s time to break tradition.

Does your family walk in your shoes everyday?

Do they share the same fitness goals as YOU do?

No.

So they should not get their feelings hurt if you decide NOT to smother yourself in food.  If THEY want to, more power to them, but don’t feel like you’re obligated to. 

Now having said all that, if you go a couple hundred calories OVER your normal meal limit, don’t beat yourself up.  As long as you are eating every 2-3 hours and drinking plenty of water up to your Thanksgiving meal, you’ll be fine.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Best Regards,

Jim Coughlin

The Client Who Trains Me

My objective as a personal trainer is to help my clients achieve their fitness and health goals as efficiently as possible. 

But in order for this to happen, it can’t just be all me.  The client has to step up to the plate as well.
 
When talking about maximizing a client’s strength training routine, the only way this can happen is if the client pushes THEMSELVES in addition to my guidance and motivation. 

So if I’m having a client do an exercise, there’s only so much I can control.  All I can do is make sure their form is correct and encourage them to do their best. 

The rest is up to the client. 

And what I mean is, a client must make sure they work their muscles as intensely as possible for each exercise they do.  They should do each exercise until they can no longer do it or until their muscles can no longer support the movement.

This is the difference between getting good results and GREAT results with your strength training routine.

If you make the mistake of immediately stopping an exercise once you start to “feel the burn”, you’re NOT gonna get the full benefit. 

This burn is the lactic acid building up inside your muscles and is only the INITIAL sign that your muscles are actually beginning to work hard.  There’s plenty of room for improvement. 

For example, if you do 20 push-ups but don’t start to feel a burn until around the 16th repetition, you’re not working your muscles as hard as you can.  I guarantee if you really pushed yourself, you could do 30. 

Again, the goal is to do each exercise to failure - not to when you JUST feel your muscles.

I train a client by the name of Bonnie who has got this principle down pat…so much so - she’s training me!

She’ll say “Jim, I DIDN’T feel my muscles the day after…can we make the routine harder?” or “Jim, I’m NOT feeling my muscles on this one…I can do more.”

This is mind-blowing to me because she’s already doing exercises I consider to be VERY HARD, yet she still is not afraid to let me know she can do something even more challenging. 

This type of communication is crucial to one’s success and is the reason why Bonnie and many of my past and present clients (You know who you are) will get the body they want.  They epitomize what hard work can do for you.

If your trainer is having you do an exercise you feel is too easy…Speak Up.  And no, you’re not being out-of-line when you do so. 

Again, he or she is NOT a mind-reader.  YOU are primarily in control.  All they can do is motivate and guide you, but it’s up to you to unlock your full-potential. 

Now if you currently don’t have a trainer – that’s perfectly fine. 

I’ve got an awesome course I’ll soon be coming out with called “The In-Home Personal Trainer” that will show you in pain-staking detail what I just discussed here plus MUCH MORE.  It’s very close to being done, so please stay tuned!

Have a great day.

Yours in Total Fitness & Maximum Success,

Jim Coughlin   

Are You Moving One Step Closer or Back?

Got an email from a client today saying she’s feeling sick, stressed with her job and she needs some inspiration with her nutrition program.   

So I thought to myself...hmmm...if she needs some inspiration, maybe YOU do too.

So here goes…

When you’re having days like this, you must understand these circumstances are perfectly normal and have nothing to do with your fitness goals.

You’re not always going to feel 100 percent.  You’re not always going to love going to work.  But you DO owe it to yourself to always be healthy and stay on track with your fitness program.

Every single day you make the decision to either move one step closer toward your goals or one step back. 

So ask yourself… What are MY fitness goals? 

You want to lose X number of pounds, right?

Ok, great.

So what do YOU have to do in order to achieve this goal?

Will eating like crap today because you don’t feel well and are stressed out with work help you?

NO.

Will following a nutrition program of healthy natural foods every 2-3 hours, eating small reasonable portions, combining a lean protein with a fibrous carb (if you don’t eat like this – you should start) and drinking plenty of fresh water move you closer toward your goals REGARDLESS of your current situation?

YEEEESSSS!

See.  It’s  that simple.  It’s a change in mindset.  You are in control. 

If you’re currently struggling with your program, I can almost guarantee you’re NOT keeping a strong, focused mindset.

If you want to lose X number of pounds – then go do it. 

You don’t have to be a fitness expert to know that all you have to do is eat right and exercise.

Sure, there may be some things you need to educate yourself about, but you KNOW what’s healthy and what’s not. 

There are millions of excuses, but most if not always, they end up being just that – excuses. 

It really comes down to how bad do you want it...and I know you want it BAAAD - so hop to it!

Have a great day and until next time - train hard and train smart! ;-)

Yours in Total Fitness and Maximum Success,

Jim Coughlin

Psycho Workout

Just got done training a client this morning by the name of Christy. 

Christy signed up for my “Total Body Makeover” program and wants to lose about 20 pounds.  If you don’t know, TBM is a 5 day a week program that is strength training 3x a week and cardio 2x a week.  Quite simply the most comprehensive and intense program my company offers.

But unlike most people I help with this program, Christy wanted it to be a bit more extreme.  She is a lawyer, so she has virtually NO time to exercise and even five times a week is a stretch.  Not making an excuse for her, but the girl works like 12-14 hour days…So like I said she doesn’t have time to breathe. 

As I was saying, she wanted to get the most bang for her buck and make each session as INTENSE as humanly possible. 

Well, as many of my past clients can tell you, I KNOW intense…having said that, I’m all about safety first. 

So when Christy had asked for this vigorous type of workout, I was a bit apprehensive to have her do it because I DID NOT want her to hurt herself.  Mainly because she isn’t familiar with strength training and she had also torn a rotator cuff, so again, I was very concerned for her safety.

But she insisted.  And I was like “Ok, but there’s no turning back…You want intense - you got it.”

Anyway, the psycho workout was basically this.  For her strength training 3x a week, Christy was to perform 3 sets of 8 exercises with NO REST in between (ok, maybe a couple seconds, but that’s it) for 40 minutes…THEN run at about 80-90 percent of her maximum heart rate for another 20 minutes. 

Again, for someone who is first starting off - this is i-n-s-a-n-e.  Christy easily burns in the neighborhood of a thousand calories a session.  No problem. 

For her cardio, she runs for a whole hour, again, at about 80-90 percent of her maximum heart rate and yes, I’m trucking right along with her.  She burns at least 800 calories a session here.

Well, after completing her first week, Christy annihilated any type of worry I previously had.  She proved that she could hang and was even hungry for more.  I love it.  She is well on her way to dropping those twenty pounds.

But the point I want to make to you today is what I told Christy as well.

You can perform the most insane workout ever, but if you DON’T couple it with proper nutrition you can kiss your results good-bye.

Many people have the false perception that if you exercise a lot or very intensely they can or allow themselves to do one of two things.  Number one, eat like crap.  Number two, eat virtually nothing at all.

WRONG.

If you’re performing a psycho workout like Christy is, you need to eat EVEN BETTER then how you did before, when you were doing nothing or your routine was moderate.

The simple fact is, the harder you exercise, the more vital it is to get the correct number of nutrients to your body for proper recovery.

If you eat poorly or eat very little, you’re gonna create deficiencies in your body such as your muscles, organs, blood sugar, etc. This leads to possible injury, malnutrition and basically not getting the results you want.  Not good.

Some good tips for proper nutrition is to eat small meals every 2-3 hours eating portions the size of your fist.  Eat natural foods such as lean meats, fruits, vegetables and healthy starches as much as possible.  Always combine a protein with a carb and always drink water throughout the day.

Please note that I will soon be coming out with a nutrition program called “Nutrition Secrets to Success” about the same time when I launch “The In-Home Personal Trainer” program that will cover nutrition in MUCH greater detail.  Stay tuned!

Have a great weekend.

Yours in Total Fitness & Maximum Success,

Jim Coughlin