Guest Post- Challengers

Ashley Ludlow












Here is my before picture. I just had a baby about 2 months ago, so I have a LOT of work to do ;)

Goals:

Write a clear business plan and get focused on what I really want in my business.

Host an event for my business at least once every 2 weeks.

Take a few minutes each day to play an instrument, either guitar, ukulele, or piano.

Spend several minutes each day on vocals.

Eat intuitively.

Spend a few minutes each week planning a menu and shopping list for family dinners.

At least 3 mornings a week, do some form of physical activity.

Strength train at least 3 times a week.

Study, Pray, and Journal daily.

Do at least one small act of kindness for my husband every day.

Read to my children before nap time.

 

 

Josh Schiffman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goals:

 

1) Have visual stomach muscles by Dec. 27

2) Read half of the Book of Mormon

3) Memorize Young Womens theme

4) Complete virture project from Young Women

5) Improve my handwriting

6)Find ways to lighten wifes load and make her feel appreciated

Fall 2012 8 week challengers

Carol Brogdon



Goals:

1) Lose 5-7 pounds
2) Workout for 30 minutes at least 4 times weekly
3) Keep a food journal


Scott Schwab:

















Goals:

1) Get to 6% body fat
2) Maintain healthy weight
3) Finish 5 chapters in the book im writing
4) Open second store for Mixers
5) Change 1 persons life forever

Fall 2012 8 week challengers

Carol Brogdon



Goals:

1) Lose 5-7 pounds
2) Workout for 30 minutes at least 4 times weekly
3) Keep a food journal


Scott Schwab:

















Goals:

1) Get to 6% body fat
2) Maintain healthy weight
3) Finish 5 chapters in the book im writing
4) Open second store for Mixers
5) Change 1 persons life forever

Every Day ENERGY

1.Get Good Rest

Boosting your energy in the morning just might start the night before. Everyone needs to get a good night's sleep in order to be productive and have energy to start a new day. Staying up late at night is going to leave you drained for the next day. Plan your evenings to include time to wind down from a busy day, relax and then drift off into a dreamland. You'll wake up rested and refueled for the day ahead.

2. Fuel your body right

Eating a good nutritious breakfast is essential for having enough energy to get your day underway. We should all know that the food we eat is fuel for our bodies, and you need that fuel to boost your energy level to jump-start your morning. Eat a good balance of proteins, fruits and whole grains. A bowl of oatmeal with fruit is going to keep you fueled throughout the morning.

3. Plan healthy to go

Even if you don't have time to sit down and eat a well-balanced breakfast, you can still whip up a protein smoothie in the morning to take along with you. Keep ingredients on hand for those mornings that the sit-down breakfast just isn't happening. Blend a banana, 1 cup water, frozen fruit and some protein powder, pour it in your travel mug and on with your day you go. For variations, try mixing a fresh vegetable chilled pureed drink. There are tons of vegetable drinks and protein smoothies that really give that morning energy boost; find one that you like.

4. Start your day being active

Wake up 30 minutes earlier and take a walk around the block or hit the treadmill or exercise bike for a morning energy boost. The exercise gets your heart pumping and your body moving. You're getting your cardio workout for the day and waking up your body to get moving and meet the new day.

5. Start with Yoga

If you prefer to ease into your morning or have a more "zen" type greeting to the new day, do yoga in the morning. There is no more perfect time than first thing in the morning to do your sun salutations to greet the new day. It brings center to your life and energy to your new day. Yoga practice teaches excellent breathing techniques, focus, concentration and body control, which is perfect to practice first thing each day. You'll be awake and energized for the day ahead.

Guest blogger Greg Larsen

I wanted to introduce Greg Larsen. He is a friend of mine from the gym and in business. Shockingly, Greg used to weigh 250+. You would never know it now as he has transformed into a Ironman. We will begin hearing from Greg on more of a regular basis. He has a lot of knowledge and writes about his experience with training in the swimming, biking, and running realm. He is a fun writer and has great content. Here is a story that I took from his blog.

Greg Larsen-

 

 

 

The LONGEST Day of My Life

 

Today I had to climb a ladder and unclog a couple of drains. Everytime I climb a ladder I have a nice little laugh and think back to what I consider to be literally the “longest” day of my life. Thought I’d share it with you…enjoy! The doctors visit on the campus of Weber State University started this long day. I went in for a check-up and some help in knowing what I needed to do to lose weight. So of course he does what all doctors do and checks my vitals, but then wants ”the stats”.
“The stats” are those fun numbers that we all dread, but can’t help talking about, weight and height. I quickly rattled off both for him and he chuckled. “Thanks, but let’s just check.” I think the chuckle was for my weight. I probably said something like 190 or 200. Yes, I had no clue what I actually weighed at this point.
To the scale we go…you kow the accurate ones that don’t lie and you have to mess with the weights until things balance out. The one that takes forever to get right so you’re just staring at the weights praying they get pushed to the left, not the right. Ya, that scale!
First though he props up the pre-installed yard stick to get my height. “I’m just shy of 6’1″”, I say. Again, a chuckle. I’m not liking the chuckle! “Sorry Greg, you’re just over 5’11″”. “Huh? What? Wait…You’re wrong!” Step back and look and sure enough there it was, proof I had shrunk. I was now a midget! Seriously, my uncles and cousins are 6’4″ and taller, my Dad was 6’1″ & my mom is 5’10″. I am literally the runt of the litter! A midget! (no offense to those who are dwarfs or midgets)
Now, I’m just deflated! It really didn”t matter what my weight is, I was short! Probably hadn’t ever been 6′. I couldn”t even say “I’m 6′”, ’cause now I’m lying. Yes, I obsessed over this more than the weight that was being measured.
Because of my height concern I wasn’t paying attention to the scale. “You weigh 25…” I checked out at that point. I don’t even remember what the exact number was. It wasn’t even close to what I thought I was. I had just told I was short & now this! For a guy struggling with image and life this wasn’t helping.
We walked back to the room and he pulled out a BMI chart. I knew I was overweight, that’s why I was there. I was looking at the words on the chart, “normal”…not me, “overweight”…me, and “obese”…nope, just overweight.
As you do with everone who is lost he drew the line of where my height and weight matched then drew the line down to the word “OBESE”. I honestly didn’t know what to do with that description of me. Overweight I could’ve handled, but the word obese rocked me to the core.
The doctor showed me the magic numbers that brought me to overweight and then to normal. I had a long way to go. This is also when he prescribed the diet I talked about in “my story“. We reviewed things and what it meant for me if I didn’t start moving things the other way. I thanked him and walked out of his office in a cloud of haze.
Returning home that evening I told my wife about the visit. She laughed supportingly as I described how I had just found out I was an “Obese Midget”. We talked through the diet and what I needed to do, but I was teetering on whether or not I was ready for this.
I had committed to helping my neighbor prune an old fruit tree in his backyard. While not excited to do this it was at least something to keep my mind off of the days events….maybe not!
My neighbor was an elderly gentlemen who enjoyed his yard, his garden, and his fruit trees, but had gotten too old to do it all. He had everything prepared for me including an old a-frame latter. When I say “old” I mean it. This thing only had one post on the backside to support the entire ladder and now, yes, a recently diagnosed “obese midget”.
Climbing up the ladder I felt ok, but the branches he needed pruned were at the very top of this tree, maybe 15′ high or so. Cautiously I climbed the ladder careful not to sway it one way or the other. Remember it only had one post to support it. I found a rhythm and started pruning, but I forgot to remain cautious.
Reaching for an unreachable branch the ladder shifted, and well, yep, you guessed it…the ladder fell out from under me.
As the ladder fell out from under me and gravity took over, my first instinct was to grab a branch. The branch I grabbed was easy 6 to 8 inches in diameter and should’ve held me up and allowed me to swing off. Not a chance! It was old enough that it wasn’t about to support this falling obese midget! The branch broke and I fell hard to the ground.
My wife came running over. She had heard the loud obscenity shouted by her “saintly” husband and then saw me falling. Once she saw that I was ok she just started to chuckle. What else was there to do? A grown man had just fallen off a ladder, through a tree and broke a decent size branch in the process.
My neighbor on the other hand wasn’t as amused and thanked me for the help, but he’d have one of his grandkids or relatives come over and finish. One more blow on a day that just wouldn’t stop punching!
While I’ve changed physically and mentally and have come to terms with the fact that I am NOT 6′, that day still brings a smile and a laugh; especially on days like today when I face my old nemesis, the ladder!

For more reading visit www.thelifeitri.com
 

Mentally prepare yourself

Scott Schwab:

I am going on my 4th day of doing the master cleanse. I  have not eaten food since Sunday. You may think, this guy is crazy! There is some truth to that, however what I have found with this cleanse and also looking at any performance towards a result, I have found that we do things mentally before we do them physically. When we set goals we need to think ourselves through performing the goal itself.

As we encounter this 8 week challenge or any goal, let us break down the psychology behind being successful with the goals that we set.

#1 Realistic goals- For us to have obtainable goals we need to set realistic goals. Realistic goals are measurable based on crystallizing our results. If we want specific results we need to break it down to the performance and the actual step by step process. 

#2 Record your goals- There is no way that we will hold ourselves accountable unless we write it down and can visualize it. The best way to get results is putting the pen to paper and then figuring out the best way to achieve that goal in a given time. Once we have recorded it, we need to give ourselves reminders. One thing recording does is giving us a chance to remember it and giving our subconscious the thought that it is important.

#3 Announce your goals- Not only is it important to announce our goals to ourselves, but it is often times more helpful to have other people hold us accountable. Announcing our goals makes our goals real. Vocalizing is a way for us to put into our thought process the things that are most important. There is no secret as to why people generally become what they are told and what they think about themselves. If you want to change, send a different message to your brain and work towards the performance and not just the result.

#4 Prepare by planning- Part of the process of goal setting is planning what we want to achieve. If we smoke, we may not have success if we keep cigarettes around the house, hang out where people smoke, and place ourselves in situations where smokers are going to be. For weight loss, we need to plan to eliminate the foods that are not healthy. If we fail to plan... we plan to fail. Having meals pre made so we don't have to go out or planning time to be at the gym is part of the planning process of goals.

#5 Sacrifice- I can promise one thing. If a person does not like something, they will not fight very hard to keep doing that thing. If we hate exercise we will not keep going to the gym. If we don't like feeling sore, we will not do the activities that will make us sore. We need to realize that to get results we will face resistance. The very thing we do not like to experience is often times the thing that needs to be done so we can get results. Like a  muscle that is never used, it cannot grow without resistance. Sacrifice the comfort and realize we will encounter discomfort.

Make meaningful goals and make it happen. Achievement ultimately starts and ends with us. Live an accountable life and restore the ability to hold ourselves responsible for what we set out to do. Also never give up! When we give up we not only prohibit ourselves from obtaining that goal, but from a psychological stand point, we actually damage our ability to make goals in the future because we tell ourselves in our inner most thoughts that we really wont perform or we will not follow through. We are not dumb and our minds are the greatest computer in the world. When we set a consistency of not following through it becomes a habit. Our habits eventually end up defining our characters.

Be different and be strong. Start small and  progressively set harder goals for obtainment. This will build our confidence personally and increase the likelihood that our performance will lead to results.

Let the games begin...

Scott Schwab:
All this week get your photos, and goals in. We will start posting towards the end of the week. For now I want to focus on why we do the challenges and how to get results even when you have done a challenge before or diet, etc.
The purpose of the challenge is to begin a lifestyle change that takes work, time, and more than anything consistency. Some may say that 8 weeks is a short amount of time for results to be achieved. I disagree and would argue that 8 weeks is a perfect time to start a lifestyle change and see just enough results that is motivating. There is a saying that I like and will use here:

"It takes 4 weeks for ourselves to start seeing results."
"It takes 8 weeks for our family to start seeing results."
"It takes 12 weeks for the world to start seeing results."

Whether this is true in your life or not, I have seen on countless occasions; great things happen within the 8 weeks that we have these challenges. The one common thread is that those who have success dedicate all of their time, effort, and focus to their goals. To many times, we see people start the challenge, have great motivation, and eventually lose motivation and end up not finishing. If we are to have success, we must set realistic goals and focus on the performance and let the results take care of themselves.

I was talking to a guy just today and he said that he would like help gaining 40 pounds. I asked him what his time frame is and he said... "well I don't know?" That is a great example of someone who has an idea of what they would like, but there is no goal that is broken down in terms of performance. Think about our own goals. Do we wish, hope, pray, without the results we desire? Likely we do not obtain all of our goals. At least I can say that I do not obtain all of my goals. I can say though that having many goals allows me to focus on different aspects of improvement and I do not live and die by 1 goal that I hope will eventually happen.
I also would like to point out that an unmet goal, is a perfect opportunity to adjust, pivot, and try again. If something is important we must be willing to face failure and learn. We also need to understand that at times we may come up short, but we can adjust our goals and go for the goal again until we obtain the result. Again, performance is the reason that goals happen. Results is the composite outcome of all of our efforts, dedicated time, and consistency at doing the thing that we desire most. If we do not truly desire the results, we will eventually give up, quit, or find something else to focus on.

Here is the focus for the week:

1) Set realistic goals that are performance based
2) Set multiple goals that all for multiple areas of success
3) Be accountable no matter what... No Matter What
4) Have an eating plan. Remember eating is 80-90% of your results
5) Have a back-up plan. If you mess up, get back on track, don't quit
6) Drink plenty of water... like half your body weight in ounces
7) Avoid eating processed foods... Find healthy alternatives
8) Have a day in the week where you choose to eat what you love
9) Schedule exercise time. Do something that gets your heart rate up for 30 minutes
10) Switch up your routine every 3 weeks so you can continually enjoy results


We will cover these topics and others through out this challenge. A key to your success is #3 and holding yourself completely accountable. Ways to help with this is committing to yourself and others that will support you and help you be accountable. We will also give you ideas for exercise, healthy recipes, and other helpful tips to make a lifestyle change. Remember, this is not a diet, this is a lifestyle change. Ask yourself how long you would like to be in shape. If you answer your whole life, than there needs to be a lifestyle change implemented. Lasting success is built on the principal of change and continual progress.

Healthy breakfast Idea

Chandi Schwab
It can be hard to think of healthy breakfast recipes. Especially quick and easy recipes. Here is a quick, healthy easy, recipe even your kids will love!

Protein N' Fruit Parfait

-1 cup of plain regular or greek yogurt
-sweeten it with one scoop of protein powder (We love Dynamatize Elite Gourmet,vanilla or chocolate for the taste and quality)
-1/2 cup fresh or frozen /thawed fruit (If you buy frozen get 100% fruit no sugar added) Mixed berries is yummy
-Sprinkle Kashi granola or your favorite healthy granola on top.

VOILA!!!

Fall 2012 8 week challenge

Scott Schwab:
We have been tossing it around a lot and timing may not work for everyone, but we wanted to announce the Fall 2012 8 week challenge. This will take us through the Holidays, which are my hardest times of the year to maintain and forget about losing unwanted pounds.
However, we have noticed in the past that we have been more successful through the Holidays when we are focusing on being disciplined. The holidays are hard with gatherings and all sorts of events and parties. "We never said that it would be easy, but it will be worth it."
Here is the skinny on the challenge. We will begin Monday the 22nd of October and we will go exactly 8 weeks and end Monday the 17th of December. This will be perfect to help get through Candy Land of Halloween, Turkey days with Thanksgiving, and will end about a week before Christmas.
It is all about lifestyle. The challenge is to learn how to implement healthy lifestyles and still live in the world we do. If we do not learn how to succeed when failure is present, than can we really proclaim success?
All this week get your pre-photo and your goals sent to the emails listed below:

scott@mixersnutrition.com

chandi@mixersnutrition.com

drew@mixersnutrition.com


If you have any questions let us know. I know the time is short, but the hour is now. Lets get ourselves in the best Holiday shape possible.

Quote of the day

Scott Schwab:
Standing firm to our values in a time where watching the news and seeing society would make us think there are not many values left.
Great people hold their values and never surrender in the face of fear, doubt, or contempt. Good people have values, but never seem to know when to stand or when to sit. They will stand for something, but likely it will be at a time of convenience and not a time of hardship. Average people have few values and are those same people who are like a ship without a Rutter. Aimlessly following the wind and the waves, or in the terms of people, the societal fluctuations, fads, and popular things of the world.

Here is a great quote for everyone to implement into our daily lives.

"The most glorious moments in your life, are not the so-called days of success. But rather those days, when out of dejection and despair; you feel a rise in you... a challenge to life... and a promise of future accomplishments."

 

-Gustave Flaubert-

The power of plyometrics

Scott Schwab:

I cannot stress enough the benefit of doing different workouts and making adjustments to our exercise routine on a frequent basis. Plyometrics is one of those routines that make a HUGE difference to our effectiveness, stamina, and overall body composition. When we break down not only the benefits to plyometrics, but what is considered plyometrics, I believe each of us will be scrambling to find anything plyometrics worthy, to put into our workout.

Plyometrics- a type of exercise using explosive movements to develop muscular power. Especially bounding hopping, and jumping.

Now here are the benefits to plyometrics:

1. Better Performance
For those who enjoy sports like track and field, plyometric exercise can greatly benefit running speed. Plyometric exercise helps you achieve any athletic goal.
2. Developing Muscle Power
Plyometric exercise gives your legs and muscles an intense exercise which guarantees an increase in muscle potential.
3. Enhancing Your Ability to Burn Calories
An increased muscular endurance and ability to burn calories would come to great use for someone hoping to build a weight loss routine.
4. Increasing Your Muscular Endurance
Plyometric exercising will help intensify your energy and increase your stamina. Since plyometric exercising builds up an explosive amount of intense energy, it could be just the thing for a new change to a training routine.
5. No Extreme Exercising Equipment is Needed
Exercise equipment can be expensive, and plyometric exercising doesn’t require any. Anything that is needed could be easily found lying around the house.

Perspective on Goals...

Scott Schwab:

Recently I attended a meeting where the subject of discussion was goals. Though much was said about goals and the setting of goals, one thing really resonated that I wanted to pass on. "Goals are not so much about results, as they are about the performance." When we think about this small quote, what comes to your mind? For me I have always really pushed myself to get results and have placed less importance upon the performance aspect.

As I was listening it made sense that psychologically, we put unneeded pressure on ourselves, when all we focus on is the results. There are many reasons for this, but I have come up with a couple. #1 We cannot control the external forces or people who may make our goal a reality. #2 Most goals take time to accomplish and therefore require adjustments that we don't see when starting. #3 Intentions are always good, but we must fight the very goal setter (ourselves), for what we want most.

I am the type of person that believes that I create my own luck. I know this is somewhat comical to some and impossible to others, but I believe a good attitude and hard work will go a long way towards achievement. For example, I would like to lose x pounds by y date. If we look at the result of getting to our desired weight by the desired date, we are immediately putting pressure on ourselves that is not always good. Pressure can bring anxiety. One other thing that the sports psychologist was saying is that goal setting is the number one cause of anxiety for most individuals.

Setting goals for some is a nightmare. The reason being, is that we shoot so far past realistic. Our minds may want it, but our body cannot obtain it. This is when we introduce the concept of breaking our goals down and overall being more realistic. When setting a goal, we need to look at our desired results, but shift our focus to the performance. With our example, this would not be getting to the weight by a certain date, it would be more focused on the daily outcome of our efforts. If we desire to lose weight, we need to take it one day at a time and choose to eat the right things, get exercise, and avoid things that we know are not good for performance.

With that in mind, lets change the way our goal setting happens from here till the end of time. No more setting goals outside our reach, but focus on what we will do. This also plays in very well to our accountability measures. For us to have success, we need to focus on the performance of what we will do and also what we will avoid and then let our performance dictate our results.

A New workout with some stank on it...

Scott Schwab:
With so much of a focus on cross-fit, interval training, and plyometric activities, I wanted to pull together all three and create a new workout that if we do in some degree, we will see results. Now, like anything, we will need to keep with the routine for 3 weeks and than, based on what we have learned from muscle confusion, we will need to switch things up. I will give you 1 group of exercises that will need to be done 2 or 3 times per week. I recommend on the other free days that you play a sport, or do an activity that you will enjoy but also get a great workout.

Move between each of the workouts, with a short break in between. I wont dictate a time, but if you stop breathing hard, it is time to get moving.

Exercise 1: Push ups- Do as many push ups that you can until your body cannot take anymore. For increased difficulty, move your hands inwards and outwards so that you are working more muscle groups. A good suggestion is to choose a goal and do three varieties or positions for the hands. For instance close together like diamond push ups, shoulder width apart, and as wide as you can go. Another suggestion for increasing the difficulty is to put your feet up on a bench, couch, or surface that will increase the difficulty.

Exercise 2: Lunges and more lunges. Our goal is to go a distance or a time that is longer than 1 minute. To increase the difficulty, one can grab dumbbells, wear weight bands, or a curl bars. Start one direction with the weight lifted above your head and return with the weights down to your side or positioned at a 90 degree angle.

Exercise 3: Take a weight that is 50% of your maximum weight. Hold the weight out in front of you as the starting point. Now move the weight down with arms to the side and back up as high as you can lift the weight.

Exercise 4: Pull ups- Often times pull ups are very difficult to do. However, there are machines that will assist, or put a chair underneath the bar and slowly use the chair as a help. We need to make sure that we use our arms more than our legs. Slowly work up to getting our chins above the bar. For increased difficulty, you may want to wear a weighted vest or hold a dumbbell between your feet.

Now repeat the cycle 4 different times with minimal breaks and pushing yourself to failure on each of the exercises. This will not only provide a great workout, but it can also serve as the start to a phenomenal cardio workout.

* Bike 30 minutes or jog 15 minutes. Intensity will depend upon how you feel, but make sure that you push yourself to the limit.

End your days with stretching and a core exercise that will complete the full-body rotation.