The day has finally come!  After twelve weeks of clean eating, carb cycles, outrageous cardio, heavy lifting, mood swings, and a dozen coats of protan… I made it to the 2009 NPC Novice Michigan Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure & Bikini Championships! I know that I typically post a new show on Wednesday mornings, but I wanted to get this one out as soon as possible.

The competition was fierce.  I was up against so many gorgeous women!  The prep for this sport is a very taxing and unique one, so I couldn’t have done it without the encouragement of you, my fans!  I also could not have done it without the help and guidance of my talented friend, a successful personal trainer and figure competitor, who coached me along the way, Magda Sadowski.  She kicked my butt!  Another special thanks to Rick Romeo.  He put on a great show at the Redford Theater in Detroit, MI, where the show was held, and made my experience competing in it a great one!

Also, if you want to see some of the pics, check out my Facebook Fan Page. While your there, Fan me up! CLICK HERE FOR THE PICS!

Spring is in the air!  But before you celebrate, your first concern is probably how you are going to tone up for the summer.  (We all worry about it, so you’re not alone!)  And though summer is 12 weeks away, it provides an optimum amount of time for you to develop a permanent and consistent health, fitness, and nutrition program.

The first sign for many that it’s time to “get back on track” is the soft mid-section and arms - am I right?  These areas are popular for being bared in the warmer months.  So instead of waiting until two weeks before your summer trip, start trimming up your abs and arms NOW!!

Check out this week’s Made Fit TV podcast on creative - but challenging - movements to hit your abs and arms at the same time.   In the video,  I demonstrate these compound movements listed below.  Working both muscle groups at the same time challenges your endurance, strength, and function for great results!  (Just don’t forget to eat healthy and lean and keep up with your cardio, of course!)

Side plank with lateral shoulder raise

• Lie on one side and hold your hips off the ground with your forearm and side of your feet
• With the opposite hand, hold a dumbbell face down at your side with arm straight
• While keeping your hips off the ground, perform 10-12 reps of a lateral shoulder raise
• Repeat on other side, 3 sets on each

Elevated bear crawl

• Get into a push up position in front of a step or box
• While maintaining a tight core and straight arms, alternate climbing the step with your hands up and then down
• Perform 10-15 reps per arm, 3 sets total

‘V’ sit overhead press

• Sit on the ground or the edge of a box with your knees bents and together and toes off the ground
• While balancing in this position, hold a dumbbell in each hand above your shoulders
• While maintaining the v-sit, press the dumbbells straight up and over head
• Perform 10-15 reps, 3 sets total

Strength and resistance training can involve so many different methods, equipment, intensities, frequencies, tempos… it can make your head spin!  Well, whatever you’re currently doing, I’m sure it’s fair for me to assume that you’re getting bored, right?  To wake your muscles up a bit, try Negative Resistance Training (NRT).

NRT, also known as Eccentric Resistance Training, is a strength training method that focuses on a contracted muscle in it’s lengthened state.  It conditions the muscle to become stronger and more functional, promoting better results in performance and tone.

As I touched on in Made Fit TV Ep #37 “Why Plyometrics are Awesome!”, the eccentric state of a muscle is when it is lengthened but still activated against weight, gravity, or some other weight-bearing force. During a movement, the concentric motion can be considered the “positive,” the eccentric the “negative.”

Now that we have all of the technical stuff out of the way, try it for yourself in this week’s Made Fit TV video!  Check out the workout notes below - and print them off - to guide you at home or at the gym.

Workout

1. Concentration Bicep Curls
2. Dumbbell Chest Fly
3. Front Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Notes

• Tempo 3/1/6
• Use weight 5 to 15 lbs. lighter than what you are used to
• Perform 3 sets of each movement at 10 to 12 reps each

This week’s referenced links:

http://coachaustin.tripod.com

Besides time and money, motivation is one of the biggest factors that can make or break your health and fitness results.  Without that inner drive to be consistent and keep trucking along, you end up letting yourself down - and that’s a bad feeling.

Being a personal trainer, I am a motivator.  People use me to push them to do something they believe they are incapable of doing on their own.  But neither me or any other trainer out there can’t train you forever, right?  So, the next step is to find out what, inside you, can help motivate you to reach and maintain your goals.

In this week’s Made Fit TV episode, I answer a couple of the many emails I have received on the topic of Motivation.  Check out my list below of some little tips that can make a huge change in how you look at exercise.  Even if you can only relate to one tip, it’s going to make staying “on track” a lot easier for you!

#1 Set Small Goals

#2 Prioritize Exercise

#3 Focus on Numbers that Really Count

#4 Eat Healthier

#5 Secretly Compete with Yourself

#6 Surround Yourself with Supportive People

#7 Don’t Give up your Power!

I always say this, but it is true!: “Nutrition accounts for 75% of the results you see from your exercise program.”  In other words, were are what we eat.  Period.  There’s no way getting around it, that’s just the way we as humans were made.  Okay, now that you’ve dried your eyes from the shocking truth, it’s time to take action and eat foods that work for your body and the results you are trying to achieve, as opposed to against it.

Oats are one of the healthiest foods on the planet to eat because they are packed with slow-digesting complex carbs, fiber, and heart-healthy components.  Granola, although it contains oats, isn’t always the best food to eat.  See for yourself.  Flip over that box you have stashed in your desk drawer and you will see the loads of sugar and, more likely, processed ingredients listed in the nutrition facts.

Now, I want to commend you for at least keeping food with you so you don’t starve yourself all day and then binge at night.  That’s the fastest way to packing on the pounds.  But if you are not sure of what granola bars to buy because of all the marketing hype… make your own!  Check out this week’s Made Fit TV episode where I show you how to make protein-packed, chewy, low-sugar, yummy, cranberry almond granola bars!

If you’re pressed for time (as we all are), whip them up over the weekend or a day off to have for snacks and meal replacements for the work week, saving you time and money!

Cranberry Almond Granola Bars

Ingredients: 3 cups oats,  3 egg whites, 1/2 cup sliced almonds, 3/4 cup protein powder, 1/4 cup splenda, 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1/4 cup apple sauce, 1/4 cup honey 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tsp skim milk

1.) Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees

2.) While oven is pre-heating, chop up the almonds with a knife on a cutting board until they are to your desired size

3.) In one mixing bowl, combine the eggs, apple sauce, honey, skim milk, and vanilla extract - Mix for two minutes, or until smooth

3.) In a separate bowl, combine the oats, protein powder, splenda, almonds, and dried cranberries

4.) When dry ingredients are blended, pour in the wet ingredients and stir until blended together for about 3 minutes

5.) Spray a cookie sheet with a fat-free non-stick spray and pour the granola mixture onto the sheet

6.) Place a sheet of wax paper over the mixture and spread out evenly until the mixture is about a 1/2 inch thick all around and it makes a rectangle (or your desired shape!)

7.) Remove the wax paper and place the cookie sheet in the oven to bake for 15 to 20 minutes (depending on the oven), or until the top of the granola is golden brown

8.) After baking remove the entire granola in one piece to a separate surface to cool for 5 minutes, then cut it into 18 bars

9.) Cover and refrigerate for later

Nutrition Facts: 1 bar = 137 calories, 3g fat, 21g carbohydrates, 10.5g sugar, 7.5g protein