Why Tim Succeeds Each and Every Day

I remember when I first got into fitness and nutrition. I read articles out the wazoo and watched videos on YouTube like there was no tomorrow. Over time, I gained a lot of inspiration and I was ready to begin my fitness journey. 

But there was one problem.

All of these videos I was watching were created by guys on drugs who were honestly just jacked bodybuilders and nothing more.

Hear me out. I don't mean to say that they are stupid, but they know their body, their biology, and what works for them. It would be extremely difficult for them to relate to a 175 lb male who was just looking to improve his health and physique on a natural level. Not to mention the differences in lifestyle. I didn't want to eat chicken and broccoli 7x/day nor did I want to spend 3 hours in the gym every day and completely cut out my social life. 

My guess is you don't either. Don't you like pizza? Don't you like the occasional bowl of ice cream? Duh of course you do. You're not weird. Don't you enjoy being able to go out with friends and not feeling like you have to be the odd ball out because you "can't" have a beer? What the heck is that? If you're not competing or reaching for an extremely challenging goal, there's no sense it taking it to the extreme and making your life miserable, am I right?

Yes, you are right, Adam! But what are you getting at here?

Well thank you for asking. Here's what I'm saying. In fitness, you'll fail. And you'll fail A LOT. But, you need to make sure you breed success from your failures (quote of the month). And it's a lot easier to believe you can succeed when you know that other busy bees are crushing their goals, rather than idolizing and reaching for the results of some juice-head that lives a completely different life. 

So what I've decided to do is "bring along" a close friend and client of mine, Tim. Tim has been working with me since the birth of Poehlmann Fitness, and is still continually crushing goals. He's a youth pastor at a church in Northern Colorado, a husband, as well as an avid hunter and soccer player/coach. To sum it up, he's spending at least 80 hours/week dividing his time between all of his commitments. So how the heck does he do it?

What are the Keys to Tim's Success?

I'm going to share the TOP FIVE things that has enabled Tim to succeed with an extremely busy and demanding life. These are not MY five reasons he's successful. These are the exact reasons why HE believes he does so well. These keys come straight from the source.

1. "..A drive to improve my health and reach goals."

Here's the thing. We get sick and tired of things. I know I do. I get sick and tired of commercials. I get sick and tired of "we" couples. I get sick and tired of my seemingly weak will power when it comes to binge watching "The Office" on Netflix. 

What's interesting is that Tim got sick and tired of being sick and tired! Countless hours on the treadmill, elliptical, spin bike, and stairmaster. Sick and tired of turning cardio into some sort of mathematical equation in order to optimize fat loss.

Being truly sick and tired is one thing. We're all sick and tired of something on some level. It's finding the spark to make a change that really matters. I have some good news and bad news for y'all on this one. The bad news: the spark that ignites the fire of intrinsic motivation can't be easily found (another quote for the ages). It's something that is different for all of us. We all think differently, and we're all moved on an emotional level differently. For some, it's knowing they'll be around to spoil their grandkids. For others, it's being able to spend hours tracking an animal in the middle of the woods. The good news: once you find that spark and the fire is lit, oh my gosh... the world better get the heck out of your way. 

2. "...a plan to follow"

Shooting in the dark is dangerous, stupid, and pointless. Unless you're in a horror/thriller movie and it's your only option for survival. That's a bit different. Thankfully, you're in a real life scenario and shooting in the dark isn't your only option. You have the ability to look almost anywhere for a plan. And when I say anywhere, I mean the internet. Have you met the internet? It's nuts. 

Anyway, cookie-cutter plans, coaches, trainers, nutritionists, workout videos, e-books, and more are available with one single internet search. If you're willing to find a plan to stick to, it's too easy to find something and Tim knew that. He was sick and tired of being sick and tired, and realized that finding a well-constructed plan was something that would get him to his goal and off his plateau.

See, here's the thing. I know more than you do. No matter how many times you decide to "switch up intervals" or "do high reps" instead of the usual routine you've been doing, I'll still be able to create a better plan than you will. I am a professional at what I do. I'm not putting myself on a pedestal, believe me. I'll always be learning. But when it comes to fitness, I willing to put money on my skills when it comes to making a plan for you that will have you looking your best.

Tim realized this, and sought out my help. He knew he was willing to put in the work, but just needed some guidance on a training and nutrition plan. Another note: your work is what brings you the results, not my plan. I can write custom programs all I want, but when you follow it and put in the work, amazing things happen.

Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?

3. "...clarity brought when I needed it"

My only job is to impact people's lives through fitness. Because of this, it is an absolute necessity that I'm great at what I do. This means that I will always be looking, always seeking clarity. There are aspects of fitness/science that I don't know about yet, and it will always be that way. So I'm constantly taking in knowledge. For Tim it's the same way, just a different scale. He's gotta learn how to make adjustments.

Although my plans are custom tailored, there are still things that present themselves as obstacles. For example. Tim goes on a lot of trips with students in the area. From boarding on the mountain top to backpacking for a week straight, there are things that come up. Lucky for him, he's had someone to reach out to. 

Tim claims that a lot of his success has come from the ability to reach out to me for clarity when needed. Heading for a trip? We'd work together to make sure he could hit his macros without a kitchen and full pantry. Doing a wedding for some friends and unsure he'd be able to hit his protein goal with the food provided? No problem at all. Just a quick text, call, or email and I'm there to assist him with bumps in the road. Bumps in the road are just that. They're bumps. We go over them strategically and they don't stop us! 

4. "...flexibility and the ability to adjust workouts, diet, etc."

This ties in with number three, but we need to bring it to attention. Ladies and gents, we all need flexibility. Whether it comes to fitness, or finding a daycare for your kids that works with your schedule, your mental, physical, and emotional health are at their best when flexibility is an option. Why is this? 

Well, it's simple. Life doesn't give a crap about your schedule or whatever it is you want to do in the day. Things can change at the snap of a finger. Traffic can jam up in an instant. Your family member could run out of gas on the side of the road. Crap will ALWAYS be thrown at you. One of the games of life is not twisting things in order to have less crap thrown at you, it's how well you manage the crap that is thrown at you. 

Thankfully, the plans that I give Tim allow him to assign his own workout days. If his schedule only allows training on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, then he moves his workouts to those days on his app! Tim can also adjust his macros accordingly. Since he's not on a strict, demanding diet that asks for consumption of few foods, he can focus on his macros and have the freedom to eat based on his schedule. Can't workout next Tuesday? No worries, he'd just move his workout to a different day and eat his "rest day" macros! 

I'm all about the K.I.S.S. at Poehlmann Fitness.

5. "...celebrating victories with me"

Along with K.I.S.S., I'm all about victories at Poehlmann Fitness. I genuinely care about what is going on in your life. Fitness related or not, I care!

From my clients going on successful dates to braking their personal record on their bench press or mile time, I'm here 24/7 to pop the champagne with you.

Here's a convo Tim and I had the other day:

Tim - "New PR boiiiiiiii! 725lbs on the plate loaded squat, 6 reps..."

Me - "You filthy freaking animal, dude that's so awesome!"

Now I'm not always going to call you a "filthy freaking animal", but if you break an awesome PR on a lift, I just might have to.

The point is, Tim says some of his success came from accountability and encouragement. Whether it's your fitness coach, your mom, or a friend, we all need encouragement from others to keep us pushing. 

The Takeaway 

Tim's keys of success may not look EXACTLY like yours, but the truth is we can all benefit from these five things. Knowing that real people with crazy lives just like you can succeed is HUGE. Forget the massive bodybuilders and freakishly lean figure competitors (unless that's your goal), achieving an amazing physique and great health is right in front of you sitting on a silver platter. All you have to do is be willing to reach out and grab it. The reach may not be easy, but it's always worth it.

If you need help with your reach, holler at me (adam@poehlmannfitness.com) and let me help.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to like, subscribe to my YouTube channel, and share this with a friend!

Finding Your Split

I'm sorry. This is an apology for all of you out there who thought I was going to spend my sweet time writing about banana splits today. Another apology goes out to all of the people out there who thought I was going to be writing on the extreme improvement of flexibility in order to complete the splits. If I'm ever spending a lot of time writing and talking about the latter, please sit me down and have a good heart-to-heart with me. Maybe a slap in the face to finish the job.

So what are you you actually writing about? 

Well, self, thanks for asking. Today I'm going to talk splits. Training splits, that is. For the population reading this that doesn't know what a split is, no worries, here's the Poehlmann Fitness definition (it was the from the most credible source I could find, too):

A training split is a fancy way of describing how you separate your workouts throughout the week in order to optimize your goals.

Let's put this in a real life scenario.

Bro 1: "Yo yo yo, uh, hey bro, like, what kinda split are you doing bruh?"

Bro 2: "Oh hey broseph. I've got chest on Monday, biceps on Tuesday, chest and abs on Wednesday, then traps, abs, and arms on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday."

Bro 1: "Right on, bruh. You'll get super jacked doing that bro."

Bro 2: "Brooo... I'm hoping so bro." 

*Both bros take a swig of weight gainer shakes and walk away*

No chunks, bro.

Is this only for the bros?

When it comes to being a bro, there are some items that are distinctly "brotems" or "bro items." Things that are included on this list are items like bro tanks, stripes in the hair, and cut-off tanks that look more like a poncho because his tiny muscles can't fit into it.

Thankfully, training splits are not only for the bros. Sing praises.

So if I'm not a bro, what does a split look like?

Great question. The truth is that there is no right or wrong training split. There isn't a template that everyone has to follow, thankfully. It really all just comes down to where your body is at now, and what your goals are. So let's break this down step by step. 

The Body Part Split

This is the most common split done by almost anyone trying to put on mass and add strength. This split assigns a muscle group to each day of the week. 

For example: Monday - Legs, Tuesday - Chest, Wednesday - Back, Thursday - Shoulders, Friday - Arms, Saturday - Off, Sunday - Off. Accessory muscle groups (abs, lower back, forearms, calves, etc) are trained on the days preferred by the individual. This would be considered the traditional bodybuilding split. The reason this is so popular in the bodybuilding world is because assigning one muscle group each day allows for a lot of intensity and volume applied to those muscle fibers without spending 6 hours in the gym, which ultimately leads to extreme muscle activation and breakdown for growth. If you're just beginning to get into intense muscle activation, this split is perfect for growth and building a great physique. Eventually, what ends up happening is that your muscles get used to the stimulation, and protein synthesis doesn't last as long as it used to after your workout. Bodybuilders that are juicing can excel with this split too, because their PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) can enable protein synthesis to last much much longer. 

What if I'm not a juicer or a beginner?

Also a great question. Since you don't have the benefits of extremely shocked and confused muscles or high quality steroids, you're going to have to take a different approach in order to see your body make changes. For those of us that train to look good naked and live longer, frequency matters much more. Several studies have come out that show training splits with higher frequency may lead to more mass gain. A study done in 2015 compared training muscle groups once per week versus 3x week. The 3x/week group had more mass gain in three different muscles. It seems that this is the way to go. 

Cool, but what does that split look like?

Well, if your goal is to build muscle and burn fat (which it should be and if it isn't, get out. Kidding. Kind of.) You can start by training each muscle group twice per week and work your way up. 

Monday - Legs, Tuesday - Chest/Back, Wednesday - Shoulders/Arms, Thursday - Legs, Friday - Chest/Back, Saturday - Shoulders/Arms, Sunday - Off

Once you begin to plateau, one approach you can take is bumping your frequency up to 3x/week and turning your training sessions into upper/lower body push/pull days. 

The Takeaway

Hear this: your training split is YOUR training split. The worst thing you can do is psyche yourself out by thinking you're doing everything wrong. Keep up with your nutrition and track your progress. If you plateau for a few weeks, then look at what you might need to change. If you don't know what to change, that's what I'm here for. Shoot me an email (adam@poehlmannfitness.com) and I'll help you out. 

Thanks a bunch for spending your valuable time here, I really appreciate it! I'd love a follow or a subscription on my YouTube channel too. Check out my new video for a nutrition hack by clicking the YouTube icon below!

Thanks for reading!

References

Schoenfeld, Brad J., Nicholas A. Ratamess, Mark D. Peterson, Bret Contreras, and                

Gul Tiryaki-Sonmez. "Influence of Resistance Training Frequency on                          

Muscular Adaptations in Well-Trained Men." 

Journal of Strength and Conditioning

Research 29.7 (2015): 1821-829. Web.

Rice: White or Brown?

While scrolling though my Facebook comments yesterday, I saw a really good question on one of my recent posts about my go-to bowl at Chipotle. 

The question was this: "Just curious.... why white rice over brown? Doesn't white have little nutritional value?"

I loved this question so I wanted to blog about it in order to expand my answer a little bit further. So, yes, I do eat white rice over brown. But it's not like I'm crazy about it. I'll eat brown rice, but here's why I'll choose white if I have the option.

I don't know what you've heard about brown rice thus far, but I'm willing to bet that you've been told that it's full of protein, and the nutritional value if FAR better than white rice. Not to mention that unbelievable fiber content... Well, if anyone has ever told you that, they KINDA have it right.

Truthfully, though, the amount of protein in brown rice is laughable, if you're using it to fulfill your protein goal for the day. You're better off getting your protein from animal sources. The fiber content is something we can chuckle at too. If you're including nutrient-dense foods in your diet like fruits and veggies, you shouldn't give a crap about how much fiber is in your freaking rice. And the nutritional value? The differences are minimal. 

EAT IT KEVIN!

So, if the differences between white and brown rice are minimal, what's the benefit of eating white rice over brown?

Well, it's called phytic acid. What is it and what does it do? Phytic acid is basically an anti-nutrient in brown rice that causes micronutrient malabsorption. In english, it makes your body do a poor job of properly digesting micronutrients like calcium, potassium, vitamins, etc. which are all needed for good health. Brown rice, along with other whole grains can lead to GI distress as well as feeling bloated after consumption.

Does all of this mean brown rice is bad for me and I shouldn't eat it? 

No, absolutely not. But, if you're a heavy lifter or an athlete who is working their tail off day in and day out, it should mean carbs are a must-have in your diet. And when you're trying to lift big, you need to eat big. For example, I train balls to the wall 6 days/week and I'm trying to put on weight right now, so a lot of carbs are a must for me. Since i'm eating so many carbs, it makes sense for me to eat white rice over brown in order to avoid all of the bloating and potential GI distress. 

If you're trying to cut body fat while in a caloric deficit, it makes sense to have brown rice for the "nutritional value" because your carb goals for the day may only be 100-150 grams. 

As with most things, deciding between white and brown rice depends on where you're at in your fitness journey. But as I said before, the differences between the two are minor, so don't let this give you any sort of Oryzaphobia (phobia of rice). 

If you need any help with making such a decision, holler at me! I check every single email, so I'll get back to ya! adam@poehlmannfitness.com 

Say what's up on the socials too, if you have a sec ;)

Thanks for reading!