How to Get Out of a Plateau!!!

Hi Motiv8ers,

Coach Ty Here. Lets get back to work to making you GREAT.  lets cover a topic I feel will help you be more mindful of where you are now and help you figure out how to make your next step to grow and get stronger especially if you feel like you are in a slump.

Topic for today is 'Why We Plateau and Three Things That might Cause a Plateau in Your Fitness.'

Motiv8ers, throughout my career as a Coach I have heard numerous times this phrase, "Ty I just feel like I am hitting a plateau.  I am not loosing any more weight, I am not getting stronger, and right now I just feel really tired and sluggish.  What can I do to get back on track?"  Motiv8ers there are a lot of factors that can cause you to feel like you are plateauing but I have narrowed it down to just three things that I feel have the biggest impact on your fitness.  Lets get started.

First you have to have the Mindset of Improving Every Day!

Motiv8ers this is the easiest factor to make a change in.  As you come out to your SETS regularly you will begin to get stronger.  Your core will improve, you will notice you can get through a whole SET without to much difficulty, and you will begin to get use to the workouts and exercises.  But this is where you can get into trouble.  If each week and each day you push yourself at the same level, use the same size weights, or never try the harder form of each of the exercises you will never see the improvements you want over the long term.  Because you will eventually get used to your workout and you will plateau.  So make sure that you are always striving to improve.

• Every couple of weeks try to increase the size of weights you use.  You might not be able to do as many reps but you will start to spark that muscle growth to see the muscle tone you want.
• Each day try the harder versions of each exercise before modifying and then each day try to do a little more. This will keep you always out of your comfort zone and keep you in a stat of constant growth
• As you get use to the cardio aspect of the workouts try to start maximizing your heart rate a little more each day.  Get that heart rate up high and see how long you can keep it there.  Then each day after that try to keep your heart rate up a little longer.  This will help improve your cardiovascular.

Crew if you feel that you need help in this area talk to your Coach because we love it when we hear our clients say, "Coach can you push me a little more!"  =)  Start having the mindset of improving each day Crew.

Second, The Amount of Energy You Take in Doesn't Match Your Energy Output! 

Motiv8ers as you get stronger and your cardiovascular improves you are going to start working harder at your workouts.  Plus, with your new found strength and endurance you are going to find that you can now just do more through out your day.  You level of Energy Out put will become so much greater then it used to be.  But, here is where the plateau happens, if your energy Intake, meaning the foods and calories you eat, do not match your energy output then you are going to find yourself feeling sluggish, tired, lazy, and not able to recover from your workouts.  So Motiv8ers make sure that as you increase the amount of exercise you do through out your day you also increase the amount of calories you take in.

But Now I know what you are thinking.  'Ty if I start eating more food I will just gain all of my weight back."' Well Crew that statement is true and false.    Basically, as we have learned from other blog posts, if you eat whole plant based carbohydrates with a good dose of fiber your body will store those calories for energy and help fuel your body.  But if those calories come from processed junk food with no fiber more than likely those calories will be stored as fat leaving you with no energy.  Crew if you want to understand this process better on how the body stores calories as energy vs. fat then check out some of our other nutrition blog posts.  Motiv8ers if you feel like this might be the cause of your plateau then talk to your coach immediately.  We are here to help and help point you in the right direction the right way to fit your needs.

Lastly, The last Form of Plateauing can be caused by STRESS!!

Motiv8ers stress can come at us in so many different ways and it can hit our body's really hard. Stress can be caused by work, from a serious family event, from over training with no rest, not getting enough sleep, etc.  These stresses can cause injury, sickness, depression, or lack of appetite.  Crew watch this short video to learn how stress affects the body.

 So after watching the video you see there are tons of ways to make sure you are managing your stress so it doesn't effect you physically.  Those tools are:

• Finding a supportive group of friends that you can talk to and help you through the stress you are going through.  And, crew you have that.  Your Motiv8 Team and family is awesome.  Definitely reach out to them.
• Find some time to be with just yourself to relax a little.  Try yoga at home, go for a jog or walk, or do some meditation.  Spend some time paying attention to your thoughts that are stressing you and use that time to figure how you can take the next step in managing your stress and being more productive. Be more mindful of your situation.
• Next you might be working yourself to much without any rest days.  If you have been exercising day in and day out and not letting your body recover then that stress could cause an injury in the long term.  So make sure you get a good amount of rest in between each workout.
• Lastly make sure you are getting enough sleep each night and drinking enough water through out your day.

Motiv8ers lots of info here and I know you will have questions after reading this so post below, talk to your coach, or call me and lets talk for a while.  Hitting a plateau is something that every one hits and all it takes to get out of that plateau is just possibly making a few adjustments to  your diet, making sure your mindset is on point to push yourself, or making sure you are managing your stress and getting enough rest.  Remember Motiv8ers we are here for you so reach out to us.

Crew that is all for today.

Stay EPIC and Don't Forget to Be AWESOME!

Coach Ty Out!!!

How to Fight the Lazy Voice!

Hi Motiv8ers and Future Motiv8ers,

Every Sunday night the Motiv8 Coaches and I send out Motiv8ional emails to help our clients get fired up to conquer their week and show up to their first workout.  Last night I wrote an email about a topic I have been thinking about all last week.

"How to Fight the Lazy Voice!"

This topic has been so strong in my mind.  How can I help my clients, and myself, to be more productive and fired up to take action on the tasks that they need to do to improve their lives physically and mentally.  Motiv8ers to have a better understanding on what I am talking about check out the short email that I wrote my clients last night.

"Hi Motiv8ers,

This week's theme is going to be "Fight the Lazy Voice!"

What do I mean by that?  This voice is the voice that is always trying to talk you out of doing what you know is important and productive.

• Sleep an extra hour instead of getting up for your workout
• Go get a pizza instead of eating the healthy food you prepped on Sunday
• Why do the harder exercises when you could take it easy with a modification
• You don't need to work.  Go watch a few more shows on Netflix.

All of you know this voice and sometimes it's this voice that is holding you back from being GREAT. Crew, this week I challenge you to follow your gut and not allow that lazy voice to take control.  When this voice starts to talk, you know exactly what you should be doing but you just don't want to.  You want to take the easy route.  The other route is just too uncomfortable.

But guess what? Without challenging yourself you will never get stronger, healthier, or smarter.

This week, Crew, lets get out of our comfort zones.  Follow the voice inside that is telling you how to be AWESOME!

Force yourself to push the lazy voice aside and take the more difficult road.

Success lies outside of your comfort zone!

Crew no matter how you feel tomorrow.

• Commit to being epically productive at work
• Commit to getting in at least 3 workouts this week
• Commit to improving your nutrition and eating healthy
• Commit to taking care of yourself through sleep and being kind to yourself
• Commit to being awesome to yourself and awesome to others.

Crew, tell the Lazy Voice to get lost and let's have a great week!

Stay EPIC and Don't Forget to Be AWESOME!"

That's a great pep talk right? 

But there is a problem.  This email is a great Motivator for Monday but that Motiv8ion isn't going to last all week.  You only have so much WILL POWER.  In order to be successful long term your habits and routines have to support the new changes you are trying to make.  

So lets get into how you can set yourself up for success and fight the lazy voice long term.  

Step #1  What is important to you and what needs to get done!

• What tasks have to get done for work?
• What needs to get done for your Family?
• What needs to be done to improve your health?
• What do you need to do to pursue your dreams?

 Write them all down on a sheet of paper or on a word document.

Step #2  Watch this short 3 minute video!

 This video covers all of the topics that you hear regularly about how to stay productive on the tasks you wrote above.

1. Will Power- Remember you only have so much will power and it will run out every day.  So don't rely on this energy.
2. Time Management-  Don't dry to be productive all day.  Break your day into small sessions with planned breaks.  Make the sessions more focused and focus on what needs to get done first.
3. Schedule Your Work- The night before plan out your next day.  Put all your tasks into a time frame and once your day starts just follow the plan of the day.
4. Don't Multitask- Research has shown that those who Multitask don't get as much done.  So focus on one task at a time.
5. Break your tasks into small tasks- Your brain hates thinking about things that are hard to do.  So break your tasks into smaller tasks and your brain will find these less daunting and will make the starting process easier.

All of the tips above are great tips to help you get started but there are still two more steps.

Step #3

Committing to NO MORE ZERO DAYS!

What is a Zero day?  A zero day is when you don't do a single thing towards whatever dream or goal or want or whatever that you got going on.  No more zero days.  I am not saying you have to write a book every day.  But the point is that you have to make yourself, promise yourself, that the new SYSTEM you live in is a non-zero system.  Write one paragraph, do one push up, read one page out of a book.  Do something every day that will take you one step closer to the person you want to be.  Every day think about what small task can you do to help make your future self stronger.  No more ZERO DAYS!

Step #4

GET STARTED!!

My favorite quote from the famous Zig Ziglar is this...

If you remember anything from this post remember this.

You will never have enough energy and there will never be the perfect time to start the dream you have been procrastinating on.  So many people say I will start when I have time.  I will start when I have the energy and I am physically strong enough.  I will start when I am feel confident enough.

The only way to get the energy, confidence, and time you want to start your dream is to START.

You have to start exercising to get healthier and stronger.  You have to start reading to get smarter.  You have to start eating better to get healthier.

Crew don't make excuses any longer.  Just start!

Motiv8ers I hope this post has given you some tools to fight that lazy voice inside and helps you be just a little bit more productive this week.

Crew above are just a few tools.  What do you use to help yourself stay Motiv8ed and productive?  Post below and lets start helping each other.

This is Coach Ty.

Stay EPIC and Don't Forget to Be AWESOME!

Coach Ty out!

Bring The Best Version of YOU Every Day!

Hi Motiv8ers,

Hope you are having the best day full of joy, great workouts, and making yourself even more awesome! =)

Today I have a message that is making a huge impact in my life. YOU HAVE TO CHECK THIS ONE OUT!

Over the past week I have been cleaning my car, making my bed, organizing my closest, cleaning the house, making sure I meditate, and much more. Although I do these tasks regularly, when my schedule gets really crazy, these are the tasks that are the first to go. And if you know me, you have definitely seen this. At times my car can get really messy. =(

So what has changed in me? Why am I making these simple tasks, that no one sees but me, a priority?

I'll tell you why!

It started with this podcast that I listened to last Wednesday.

The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes interviewing Jay Shetty titled Greatest Lesson: Life as a Monk. Jay was a former monk and now works for the Huffington Post.

Cultivate A Monk Mindset (Click on the title to go to their website)

The part of this podcast that touched me the most was the last 10 minutes. Lewis asks Jay, "If all of your books, videos, messages, and life's works were erased from the world and you were on your death bed and you could only leave three truths for the world to remember you by, what would be those three truths?"

Jay said....

1. You are a spiritual being living a human experience. You are not a human having a spiritual experience.

2. Live in your ELEMENT! Stop trying to become what everyone else wants you to become and start living your truth. You can't make a lion act like a house cat. Learn what makes you passionate and live in your element.

3. Lead with service! Learn how to use the first two to live a life of service to others. Make your life about service and helping other people. Make that the reason why you do what you do! If you start with service then you will experience love, gratitude, and happiness. You will find yourself when you lose yourself in the service of others.

This message hit me hard. It hit me down to my core. But it didn't inspire me. It actually made me depressed! When I heard that last phrase "live a life of service," I said to myself, "I want to be that person." But I remembered this phrase at the same time: "In order to help others you have to first help yourself."
 

I began to think about all the the things that I feel are holding me back in life. From large tasks all the way down to the smallest task, like cleaning the dishes. 

If I am really going to help someone else be awesome and epic, I have to bring the best version of myself every day.

I have to bring the best version of myself everyday.

I HAVE TO BRING THE BEST VERSION OF MYSELF EVERYDAY!!

What does that mean to me?

If I truly want to serve others and help them be the best version of themselves through my business at Motiv8 Fitness, then I have to be that person. I can't be acting the part. So in my mind I broke it down into 2 parts that apply to me:

How can I have the most energy, physically and mentally?

• I need to eat a clean whole food diet to stay strong, healthy, injury free. I need to meditate every day so that I can keep my emotions balanced. I need to get enough sleep. I need to take care of myself through hygiene, cleanliness, and organization so I can be as productive as possible and not feel like a mess.

How can I keep accomplishing my dreams to inspire others?

• Every morning, I should meditate and focus on my goals so that when I go into my day, I can recognize and take advantage of opportunities that come my way. This also helps me go into my day with a purpose, passion, and drive instead of just mindlessly going with the flow. According to a recent study, we have 35 to 50 thousand thoughts throughout the day. If you don't focus your mind on what you truly want, you will probably be focused more on what your coworker just said about you, or what are you going to eat for lunch, or how you can't wait to see Black Panther. Making you unproductive! Stay focused on what is important.

How can I give the energy and love to others to serve them the way they need to be served?

• If I can take care of my two points above, then I can show up ready to give the help that my clients or family deserve! If in the back of my head all I can think about is how dirty my apartment is, or how I procrastinated on my blog, or how tired I am from eating poorly that I have zero energy for the workout, how in the world will I ever be able to help someone else?? I have to take care of my OWN shit first so that I can be the best version of myself for others!

So Motiv8ers, how can you serve others this week?

By bringing the best version of yourself to every thing you do!

Motiv8ers, take this message to heart!

Show up to work looking awesome, being awesome, spreading the joy to your coworkers, and helping them get a lot of work done to make this world a better place.

Don't settle for mediocrity.

Be the best version of you, starting now, so you can help others be the best version of themselves.

Spread the LOVE CREW! I know I will be this week! =)

Lead With Service!

Stay EPIC and Don't Forget to Be AWESOME!

Coach Ty Out.

P.S. If you enjoyed this message please share it with someone that might need it. It is time we start helping each other be great, feel great, and live an awesome life! =)