How Fitness Changed My Life

It was the spring of 2013. I had just finished my second year of college. You'd think I was at a high point in my life, where I'm getting involved within a university, making friends, and learning more about myself each day. Well that's wrong. I couldn't have been further away from that. I was in what I consider the darkest point of my life. My baseball career looked as though it was ending, I lost my scholarship at the school I loved, and felt a heavy sense of identity crisis. 

All throughout my childhood, I grew up around baseball. I was watching it all the time, playing as often as I could, and learning the baseball culture as much as possible. Then I reached high school, and realized I was actually pretty freaking good. I sucked at every other sport. I didn't have the drive for them, either. Basketball, no. Football, no. Track, heck no. So I invested everything I had into baseball. It became my identity. I was Adam the baseball player, and that's all I knew. After receiving a scholarship to play in college, I left my home town to pursue my dream of being a professional baseball player. As year one went by, my attitude was horrible. I got a scholarship to play at a division 1 program. Why would I need to put in anymore work? It was time to kick my feet up.

Freshman year was over. No appearances on the mound; I was a redshirt with nothing to show for myself. That redshirt was actually the only thing keeping me afloat. As sophomore year approached, I felt good, I felt like I was in the right mindset. I had been working hard all summer, and wasn't going to ride the pine any longer. Nothing was breaking my determination.

Fall Ball started, and I was looking and feeling good. I had command of all my pitches, and had good outings during inner-squad. As fall came to an end and snow began to hit the ground, we moved our practices inside the dome. 

THE "THING"

It was crowded, there were teammates all around me and baseballs flying everywhere I looked. As I reared back to start playing catch with my teammate, something went wrong. I follow through and throw the ball, but it goes 10 feet left of my target. Way off. I think to myself, "that's strange." My arm goes back to throw another one. The same feeling happens. Something is off. I don't miss my target as bad this time, but I still miss. Next thing I know, every single time I went to my release point, something wasn't clicking mechanically and mentally. I feel like I've forgotten how to throw a baseball. 

Each one of my throws was going every which way. My teammates were staring at me and coaches were yelling, trying to figure out what the heck was wrong with me. I somehow make it through the practice, and get straight to my computer to investigate what the heck was happening. After a few hours of research, I find out it's the yips.

This "thing" sticks with me throughout the rest of the season. I can hardly throw a baseball until I'm put in a position where I have to zing it over to my partner. In other words, it doesn't affect me during long toss or pitching, which was ok for the time being. With a little more time, it began to severely affect my release point and the way I'm throwing my pitches on the mound. My velocity goes down by at least 10mph, and I'm failing to execute more than %50 of my pitches.

I couldn't take it anymore. It was the most frustrating feeling going from a solid sought-after pitcher, to feeling like I didn't know how to throw a ball 20 feet. I had to fix the problem, so my family and I hired a sports psychologist from California to try to fix the issue. We had Skype and phone calls multiple times per week to get to the bottom of the problem.

Within weeks, I couldn't believe it, I was beginning to play catch again without too much thought or hesitation. My confidence with the ball in my hand was coming back and it felt amazing. 

Soon after, I have one period of self-doubt, and every improvement I made was stripped away from me in an instant. It was worse than the first time. I couldn't even pitch. Next thing I know, I sat my coaches' office at the end of the season.

AN END

My scholarship was stripped, and they didn't have room for me, because I was a product that wasn't producing in a business. I had to be removed. And I understood that. They are business operators at the division 1 level. If they have employees (players) that don't produce, they must get rid of them. I walked out the door and began to zone out. I knew what they were going to say before I even walked through those doors. I knew I was done before it actually happened. There were no surprises in that meeting whatsoever, but yet I was in the most depressed state I have ever been in. 

I called my dad, the person I would always go to with baseball issues. I talked him through as much as I possibly could without completely sobbing my eyes out. He makes it clear to me that I was his son regardless. I was Adam. Not ONLY Adam the baseball player. As I begin to pull myself together, I hang up the phone only feeling a little bit better. The worst part about it is I have to get through a few more weeks of workouts with my teammates before I leave. 

Between the phone call I had with my dad, as well as a crazy spiritual experience I had in the weight room one day (I may talk about this more in the future), I knew it was time to come home, and let that dream go...

That point in my life was rock bottom. That whole second year of college was my rock bottom. EVERY SINGLE DAY was completely miserable. But I had to somehow let that go and leave it behind me when I came home. As I began to settle into Fort Collins, I forced myself to think about what the heck I was going to do with my life other than finish school. I couldn't even come close to thinking about anything related to baseball because it was just too painful. Not only did I miss baseball, but I yearned to compete and push myself. I missed the feeling of being in a high pressure situation and coming out on top. I was DYING to better myself in some way. 

NEW BEGINNINGS

To get my mind off of things, my dad started inviting me to the gym with him. My family grew up going to the gym every day of the week, so this was a regular invite that I had. The more I went with him, the more questions I asked about his past as a bodybuilder. I became extremely intrigued. I wanted to go with him every day and throw some weights around, and I don't know if I did that to numb my pain from baseball, or if I was truly interested in exploring another aspect of life - my health.

As it turns out, I was doing both. Not only was I beginning to feel less pain from the lack of baseball in my life, but I also began to be completely consumed with learning more about fitness. From asking my dad about his bodybuilding career to reading articles and watching videos about some of the greats at the time, I became obsessed. As my love for fitness grew, I was fascinated with the changes my body was making. I think it is the coolest thing ever is that we can use the gym and the kitchen as chisels to form the body we desire. That's absolutely astonishing to me. 

Soon after my time in the gym lengthened, I became that kid that wouldn't shut up about fitness. I was talking to all of my friends about it, and shared my story with those who asked what I was up to. I absolutely loved talking about my journey.

As I began to be less self-absorbed with my mirror checks, I saw that there were personal trainers around the club constantly. One of which I've known since I was a just a child. I thought to myself, "He looks like he's having fun. He gets to talk to people about fitness all day long. I'm very extraverted, and I love fitness. Wait a minute, why can't I do what he's doing?!" Not only did I feel a sense of happiness in that, I felt a sense of service as well. Fitness was therapy for me and changed my life significantly. I had to give back somehow. Next thing I know, I'm talking to my friend about personal training. 

CERTIFIED 

After that conversation and many more, I learned a lot about the ins and outs of personal training and the fitness industry. I scheduled a day and time to take a test to get certified, and I put my nose in those books. I studied my butt off for quite some time. Interestingly enough, I learned a lot more than I thought from just working out and feeling how my body operates mechanically. After I became certified, I set up a meeting the next day with the fitness supervisor at the club. I was barely 20 years old when I went into his office. I had confidence in my ability, and drive that wasn't seen in many 20 year-old kids. Apparently he saw that, too. I was hired at the location I grew up in, and started signing up clients as fast as I could. Every single day, I woke up ecstatic to live. I looked forward to training every single client, which was easy to say because I only had a few clients at first. Less than I can count on one hand. It was probably three or four. I was completely relationally invested in my clients and loved it. I was able to share my love of fitness with them as well as network and hear their stories and experiences in life. After I began to feel really confident in the service I was providing, I began to think more on branding myself as a fitness professional. I had to grow my clientele somehow, so my hustle was turned to full throttle and I began to market and get the word out that I was "the guy" to go to. 

My clientele exploded. I was killing it at one point and had a 60% growth in only a few months. As I was beginning to juggle all of the changes with a busier schedule, I saw that my time programming and creating my best service was slightly going down. That bothered me a lot. It drove me freaking crazy. I never wanted to be at a point where my drive to grow a business was taking quality away from my clients' experiences. Another thing that bothered me was saying "no" to people. I didn't want to be at a point in my career where I had to say "no" to someone who is trying to better their well-being. Once I realized that, I left the big box gym immediately, and started my own business. 

POEHLMANN FITNESS

I started Poehlmann Fitness and online training to change more lives while providing high-quality, valuable content at the same time. I know that fitness changed my life inside and out, and I know it can do the same for so many people in the world and I am dying to be a part of that every single day. My brand and business model allow me to do that. Now my heart is happy because I have the ability to say "yes" to those who are asking for guidance in their fitness journey.

The other day at one of my classes, a girl asked me what gets me up out of bed every single day. Without hesitation, I said "people." I absolutely love people. I genuinely care and love hearing stories, sharing experiences, networking, and listening. And if I can help someone improve their health in the process, even better.

LESSONS LEARNED

Life throws us down on the pavement hard. Real hard. But guess what. The weights will ALWAYS be there waiting for us. They won't leave. They are a constant that helps you decide who you want to be. 

I'll be honest, this was painful to write. But I want the world to hear my story in hope that someone will find fitness the same way I did. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for reading.

For less dark, depressing posts that contain a ton of cool fitness stuff, give me a follow or "like"!

My Opinions on Intermittent Fasting

If you haven't heard yet, intermittent fasting is all the buzz in the fitness and nutrition world. As history has shown with any other type of nutritional approach, some people are big fans, and some can't stand it. In today's article I'd like to take the time to inform you on IF (intermittent fasting) and state whether or not I think it's a good idea to implement it into your program. 

WHAT IS IT, AND WHAT'S THE IDEA?

Before we head into the details of IF, we need to know what it is. IF is a term used for diets that go back and forth between stages of fasting and non-fasting. IF is well-known for it's lengthened periods of calorie deficit phases. These fasted periods can last 16-24 hours (sounds like hell if you ask me). 

When it comes to IF, the big picture idea is to deplete an individual's calorie consumption. This is similar to any other weight loss diet. It all comes down to calories in vs. calories out. Deplete the body of calories, and weight is lost. It's not that special, but it does have a twist unlike any other nutrition plan out there.

Rather than taking down calorie consumption on a slow consistent basis like most plans, IF calls for severe restriction, just like fasting. As I mentioned before, said individual would fast for a 16-24 hour period, then return to normal (dependent on the goal) eating for 8-24 hours. I'll admit, when I first heard of IF, I thought it was completely bogus, especially since the people I knew that were doing it weren't making any changes to their physique whatsoever. It turns out there is some science that can show positive effects to both health and physique while fasting.

WHAT DO WE KNOW?

Before I looked at any of the science behind IF, I was extremely against it for the following reasons: 

1. IF calls for me to fast. Forget that garbage. Food is good. I will eat food. All the time. 

2. I have used different methods with my clients and they all have worked tremendously.
3. I had a hunch fasting for that long can lead to protein breakdown and catabolism.

Now that I've looked at the research, I don't have so much hatred towards it. Thus far, the effects on body composition, performance, and mental health are not extreme in either direction. Let's look at the details.

BODY COMPOSITION

As I talk about body composition, it must be known that I am speaking in terms of individuals who are overweight. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of body composition research on those who aren't. Taking a look at a 2011 study (which was only conducted on women), we see that IF is just as effective for weight loss as continued calorie restriction. Unfortunately, there was another study conducted that showed possibility of increased protein breakdown. If you're like me, and you've spent years building lean muscle tissue, the last thing you would want is some crazy fasting plan ruining all of that. It's possible to put those effects at a halt by taking supplements out there that you can use to try to stop those effects such as BCAAs. It's not guaranteed, though.

PERFORMANCE

There isn't a lot of research on IF and performance, but there are a couple studies out there that show decreased power. Additionally, it is shown that individuals might feel fatigued, even if their strength and endurance isn't down. Personally, I don't want to feel fatigued in the gym. If I'm pushing 100s on the dumbbell bench while fasting or not, I would prefer to feel fully energized.

MENTAL HEALTH

When I don't eat, I get extremely hangry (hungry and angry). I'm no fun to be around and I turn into a complete diva. Fortunately for the individuals in a specific study, they decreased their binge eating or emotional eating while on an IF diet, and improved their healthy restrictive eating. How? I have no clue. 

MY FINAL STATEMENT

Based upon the research and studies that have been conducted thus far, it seems to me that IF isn't too bad after all. It has been shown to decrease body fat as well as upkeep performance. BUT, I wouldn't touch IF with a ten foot pole. I enjoy eating when I'm hungry and when I'm not hungry. Anyone that asks me to go without eating for more than five hours is no friend of mine. Additionally, I work too hard to risk losing lean muscle tissue that I've built. I hope you feel the same way. Having said all of this, I want to be clear that this is my stand and my opinion based on my preferences and goals. I can definitely see how this could be a great plan for an individual who claims they have no time to eat and is only wanting to lose body fat. It's completely up to you. Your body is your own and no one else's. You shouldn't expect everything to work the same for every individual.

For any other questions regarding diets, fasting, or fitness in general, send me an email to adam@poehlmannfitness.com or message me on the following!

Thanks for reading!

References

Harvie, MN, et al. “The Effects of Intermittent or Continuous Energy Restriction on Weight Loss and Metabolic Disease Risk Markers: A Randomized Trial in Young Overweight Women.” International journal of obesity (2005). 35.5 (2010): 714–27. Web. 23 Aug. 2016.

Tsalikian, E, et al. “Increased Leucine Flux in Short-Term Fasted Human Subjects: Evidence for Increased Proteolysis.” The American journal of physiology. 247. (1984): n.pag. Web. 23 Aug. 2016.

5 Fitness Myths

Aside from time (which is a b.s. excuse), not knowing what to do is one of the biggest reasons people avoid making the decision to improve their health. Even if they think they know something, odds are that it's turning them even further away from fitness, because the information that was delivered to them was either misrepresented or just plain false. Similar to those nutty Christians on the street corner. It's like "bro, no wonder Christians get a bad rap when you're screaming at people telling them their souls are doomed." Know what I mean? It just drives me crazy. Anyway, I'm here to set the record straight on some of the biggest myths in fitness. Once you've read through this article, you'll have a better idea of how your body operates, and you'll save yourself months (maybe even years) of wandering aimlessly in the gym and in the kitchen. 

1. IF I WANT TO LOSE FAT, I JUST NEED TO DO CARDIO AND HIGH REPS, RIGHT?

I put this one first on the list because I hear it most often. "Adam, If I'm trying to lose weight I should just do a bunch of cardio and 15-20 repetitions when I'm lifting, right?" Nope. Not at all. 

Don't misunderstand me. Cardio burns fat, and weightlifting burns fat. But you need to understand how both work with the goal of fat loss before you implement them into your program. Let's talk about cardio. 

Cardio is very interesting to me because it has a lot of beneficial versatility. While performing cardiovascular exercise over time, your body's ability to use oxygen improves and your body uses different sources of energy to burn calories. Did you pay attention to that? Your body uses different sources of energy to burn calories. Depending on the state of your body, it chooses to use digested energy sources, fat stores, or even muscle tissue as energy. So if our ultimate goal is fat loss, we need to preserve as much muscle as possible and set our bodies up to use stored fat as energy. How do we do this? 

Proper nutrition is the answer. When your body is properly fueled with quality sources of carbohydrates before a workout, your body will choose to burn fat stores during and after your workout. If you are depleted of those carbohydrates and glycogen, your body may choose to use muscle tissue as fuel, which isn't good because we want to maintain as much muscle as possible while cutting fat.

In order to properly hold on to that muscle tissue, we must keep them in as much of a growth state as we can for as long as possible. That means low reps for strength, high reps for endurance, and mid-level reps for hypertrophy. Although we are in a "cut" we must treat our resistance training the same by shocking our muscles, tearing them down, and fueling them to properly recover. 

2. I can spot-reduce my body fat

There isn't much to explain here. The only way to spot-reduce your fat cells is through liposuction. Depending on you body and it's genetic make-up, it will reduce fat cells from wherever it wants to. 

3. cardio before weights burns more fat

Muscle burns fat. Not hours on the treadmill. It is easier for your body to perform intense cardio after weight training than it is for your body to perform intense weight training after cardio. Cardio should always come second to weight lifting. Remember, we want to hold on (maintain) or increase lean muscle tissue because it it helps boost our resting metabolic rate. And, lean muscle looks freaking good, too. I always recommend HIIT (high intensity interval training) with some form of cardio after a resistance training session. 

4. All protein powders are the same

Before I go on, let me say this: it is important for women to be taking some sort of post-workout supplement to re-feed muscles. Don't worry, protein powder doesn't make you look like a guy, testosterone does. And you don't have enough flowing through you to look like a guy anyway. So no more fuss. 

There are all types of protein powders like soy, egg, casein, bean, whey, and more. I believe that some of the best powders for post-workout nutrition are whey, soy, and egg. They all have great Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Scores. I personally take whey protein as it is absorbed by the muscles at a very fast rate. Other forms of protein (let's say casein for example) are digested much slower and therefore are perfect for a late night treat to feed your muscles overnight. 

5. Completely cut out carbs to lose weight

The myth that carbs is the only thing that makes you gain weight has been disproven for such a long time. Anything can make you gain weight. If you eat too much fruit, you'll gain weight. Too much meat, you'll gain weight. It doesn't matter what it is. The truth is that in order to lose weight and cut body fat, you must make conscious, balanced, goal-oriented choices that meet you where you're at. Losing body fat involves a good balance of weight training, cardio, hydration, and good nutrition. It's a very simple process that we often overestimate. This is why all of my clients have custom nutrition guidelines (notice how I said guidelines, not diets or plans). They all come from different walks of life, have different beginnings, as well as different end goals. Are there certain nutritional guidelines that need to be applied to lose weight? Yes, but completely cutting out carbohydrates should never be a part of the question. 

There ya go. 5 myths and their truths. My wish is that you take this with you and apply it to your life. If you have any questions regarding fitness, nutrition, great cheat meals, or anything else in life, reach out to me on these platforms or send me an email! Thanks for reading!

Email: adam@poehlmannfitness.com