You have worked too hard to let your summer body fade going into the fall and winter. How do you maintain your summer body long after summer? I have 5 strategies to practice in order to stay focused and preserve your summer physique.

• Prioritize weight training with the goal of progressively getting stronger. Muscle is what creates the look of definition. Having more muscle will also make achieving and maintaining a leaner physique easier, as increased muscle mass allows you to burn more calories both in and out of the gym.
• Focus on a consistent diet. Read nutrition labels and be aware of what you are consuming. Energy balance is what determines weight gain/loss (calories in vs calories out). It is simply impossible to gain fat without consuming an excess of calories; new tissue cannot be created out of thin air.

We want our diet and fitness routines to mirror a lifestyle, not just a season.

• Stay active in ways you enjoy and can be consistent with. If you live in an area that gets colder or snowy, use that to your advantage. I love to snow ski and snowshoe. You work muscles and various cardio intervals, different from typical summer activities and outdoor cardio. One way to burn out is to be tied down to a cardio machine. Get creative and try something new.
• Stick with what you know works for your balanced diet. Stay away from fad diets, extreme practices, and “quick fixes.” Those are for people who want to avoid fitness and health as a lifestyle. We want our diet and fitness routines to mirror a lifestyle, not just a season.
• Be consistent! The number one secret to my fitness lifestyle is in my book. Remember, long-term consistency beats short-term perfection every time.

It’s the everyday small choices that create good, consistent daily habits that can change your life.

Photo By: Armando Adajar

Never skip leg day! It’s not just about building your legs or conditioning. Leg day is a catalyst for getting that six-pack. People often ask me how to lower body fat so they can start to see their abs. There are several ways to do that, but I always tell them to lift their legs at least twice a week and never skip leg day.

Training legs has so many benefits beyond the obvious of strengthening and building leg muscles. You ignite your metabolism with leg training. Whether it be by lifting heavy or plyometrics, your legs boost testosterone simply because the legs are the biggest muscles in the body and the amount of force and energy they produce. There are so many muscle fibres firing elevating the heart rate and burning calories long after the workout is done.

Leg day is the day to reignite your body’s fat-burning mode.

I have to be honest, legs are not my favourite body part to train. I would much rather train my shoulders or back. However, I like to stay lean all year round with a sub-10% body fat. I know training legs is one of the key components to maintaining that low of body fat. This is the psychological tool I used to get me motivated and disciplined to train my legs twice a week. I know it’s going to burn more calories than any other upper body training day and also jack up my metabolism for the day increasing calorie burn. It’s all about body composition when looking for those abs to pop. Leg day is the day to reignite your body’s fat-burning mode.

I typically train legs on Wednesday and Saturday. I do a split of heavyweight training and the other day a circle style of plyometrics. This way my legs are being trained via conditioning and strength as well as keeps my workouts different. Both burn calories and total body fat at a high rate.

If you’re having a hard time getting motivated to train legs, just remember that it’s doing so much more than just legs. Keep that in mind and hopefully, it will help you look forward to leg day and think of it as an abs day as well.

One of my best training techniques, I use to get the best results is by implementing supersets. I apply supersets to every muscle group I train. They keep constant tension on the muscle group targeted to get the most out of every fibre for maximum results. Supersets can be used for one muscle group or as an agonist and antagonist split such as biceps and triceps. They are also very time effective and keep your workout moving.

I often get the question: “How long do I wait until I go into the next set?” My answer to that is no longer than 15 seconds. I tell clients to start the next set right before they are “ready.”

Supersets have a design to keep us accountable by nature.

This technique is doing several things: 

1. You will shock the muscle which is also explained as muscle confusion. This is an excellent way for hypertrophy and growth for muscle fibres.  The body is very smart and adaptable, so going right into the next reps before the muscles recover from the last set will force them to grow and strengthen to handle the load.
2. The muscle stays under tension for a long period of time. After the 15-second time frame, the impact of the muscle is under tension diminishes. If you can start that next set before the 15 seconds is up you will continue to work the muscle optimally forcing it to grow.

When working for the same muscle group, I suggest using different angles and resistance.  For example: after doing dumbbell tricep kickbacks go right into skull crushers.  Changing the angle of the arm works the muscle differently causing the best results. I love changing angles with all my lifts because it’s using every part of the muscle. One of my favourite supersets is prone machine hamstring curls and then going right into swiss ball hamstring curls while on your back. These will ignite every muscle fibre, trust me you will feel the burn! I also really love barbell squats and then transition into squat jumps.  This throws in that plyometric aspect into the superset. These kinds of training sequences are a game-changer for your physique.

I use supersets every time I train.  It’s too easy to glance at our phones or talk too long with our training partner. We can all become complacent at times.  Supersets have a design to keep us accountable by nature.  After the first set, you are obligated to go right into the next one. Give some of the examples I mentioned a try this week in your workouts. I promise they will not disappoint.

Maintaining your diet while traveling is easier said than done. The airport can be a huge obstacle if you are not prepared to battle the high prices and lack of options that fit your particular diet. I have a few specific tips to consider when traveling to avoid slip-ups and will support your fitness and healthy lifestyle.

Plan ahead
Pack healthy protein-dense snacks that will keep you full and help you reach your macros for the day. Before I travel I arrange what snacks to bring so I can avoid lackluster airport and gas station nutrition options on the road. Some of my favorites are jerky, nuts, protein bars, Starkiss Tuna packs, and peanut butter on veggies. I’ll also bring a small cooler if I’m on the road with grilled chicken and steamed veggies if it’s just a day trip. The key is to plan ahead and have everything ready beforehand.

The strategy is to plan ahead and remember who you are as a healthy person inside and out

Continue to adhere to your workout plan
Hotel gyms can sometimes be pretty bare, but it’s important to continue with your workout regiment to stay motivated with your diet. It’s too easy to blow your diet when you work out aren’t keeping you focused. There is nothing better than getting in a good workout to keep you motivated to clean eating. Being accountable to yourself is the backbone of discipline which leads to empowering behavior.

Remember this is your lifestyle
Health and fitness are continual, there is no end goal when it is your lifestyle. Eating healthy with an active and fit lifestyle is who you are! You never know who you inspire as you eat your tuna packet at the airport. It has nothing to do with shaming or casting judgment on what so many people aspire to have, Own it, you could be changing as spectators’ life to strive for more.

Give yourself a break when special events such as a wedding or birthday coming up. We only have one life and we deserve to celebrate with coconut cake or pizza from time to time.

Discipline beats motivation, in the long run, every time. I love this topic because there is so much confusion about what it takes to get that desired physique or stick to eating healthy. A lot of people purely rely on motivation to drive their hunger for results. People often ask me what it takes to obtain the fitness and health goals they desire. Everyone’s goals are a little different, but there are two things I consider to be the secret to earn those envisioned goals.

Most importantly, the inner confidence you carry and see in yourself is so rewarding.

Discipline combined with consistency is the key. It doesn’t matter if it’s with school, your career, or your fitness and health goals, discipline and consistency will unlock your potential to the next level and beyond. Motivation is all fine and good, but it will only take you so far. We all need motivation from time to time. There are those days when you just aren’t feeling like going to the gym, so you throw on your favourite song to get pumped up reminding yourself of your goals. However, I view motivation as a tool rather than a means of sticking with a fit and healthy lifestyle. Motivation is so fleeting. It’s tough to find motivation day in and day out when life hits you with unexpected obstacles.

Discipline on the other hand is synchronized much better with the everyday healthy lifestyle. Are you a disciplined person? There is so much self-respect and personal pride in knowing you carry out a disciplined lifestyle. People can see it beaming from the way you carry yourself, and when you apply it to your fitness and diet, people can see the physical and positive emotional results. Most importantly, the inner confidence you carry and see in yourself is so rewarding. If it was easy everyone would be disciplined. You have to take a good look at yourself from the inside out. Ask yourself: “Who am I and what do I want for myself? What do I deserve?!”

Discipline combined with consistency is a powerful combination for life-changing results. The lifestyle you live will provide you with self-respect and the respect of others. Think of motivation as a tool to throw into the mix to help. Motivation is all great but remember it’s not the driving force for striving towards your goals day after day. Use it as an instrument to add to your success. You have what it takes!

Photo By: Rosemary Wright

When it comes to reaching your goals, it’s all about having a plan and maintaining a big-picture perspective. It’s too easy to fall off the wagon if you have a bad day, miss another workout or fall victim to bad food cravings. With the perspective of winning the week, it gives you a mental tool to see 7 days as a whole.

If you can make progress each week and keep it as your lifestyle, that’s when you know you are on the right track to making it life-changing.

This mindset gives you time. If you mess up a day or two you have 5 or 6 other days to make up for what threw you off. This can also prepare you for a big birthday or holiday dinner. Garlic knots and pizza can be planned and managed in the week leading up to that meal. By adjusting your workouts and diet, you can fit in foods you enjoy pretty easily. I like to think of this strategy like it’s a bank account. Money spent is calories eaten. You get so many calories a week to eat. It’s your choice how and when you eat them. A deposit can be made using your workouts during the week to help out with your budget.

I personally used this mentality during my week to stay on track while still being able to enjoy some of my favourite foods. Remember, it’s all about balance and maintaining a healthy lifestyle both physically and mentally. If you can make progress each week and keep it as your lifestyle, that’s when you know you are on the right track to making it life-changing. Consistency is key, one week at a time.

Heading into the winter it’s easy to lose sight of next summer and your fitness goals. For me personally, I like to be in my top physical condition by the beginning of June. I’ve learned to not get too far behind over the winter months, as the journey back to the top condition can be torturous. Maintain your focus and remember your vision for next summer so you don’t dig yourself into a hole.

A lot of people like to start a “bulk” during the winter months. Depending on your goals that can be a good idea, however, I never recommend a “dirty” bulk. Bulking while overeating can be an easy way to gain unwanted weight. The surplus of calories can help you build some muscle, but once you start to shred down a lot of that muscle can be lost.

I recommend doing a “clean” bulk. What does that look like? A surplus in calories between 500 and 1000 daily while still tracking your macros and eating clean food. Dirty bulks often give people the sense that they can eat whatever they want. Again, I don’t recommend this because you can gain too much-unwanted weight. Keep your macros balanced and managed as well, it can be easy to lose track making them unbalanced. You want to keep your ratios somewhat the same with maybe a higher level of protein. Your clean bulk must be accompanied by a solid workout routine that focuses on strength and hypertrophy.

I like to do a slight clean bulk, adding about 500 calories to my diet. Calories are still managed and measured so I know what my macros look like and the extra 500 calories aren’t out of thin air. Strategic placement of macros is in mind as I increase protein to aid in my training that’s focused on building muscle.

If you are not interested in bulking this winter, remember to keep up with your cardio and balanced diet. The cold weather can discourage cardio outside which can neglect your cardio training altogether. Stay disciplined and hit the treadmill, stair master, or whatever keeps you consistent. I always try to keep in mind those spring months and get a head start with maintaining my plan through the winter months. Your body and mind with thank you for it.

Photo By: Black Sails Photography

Are you having a hard time getting the results you want from the gym? Does it seem like your “hard work” isn’t paying off? These are just a couple of questions we have asked ourselves at times over the years when goals are taking longer than expected.  I want to challenge you to look in the mirror and really ask yourself, am I really “All In?”

Going all in doesn’t mean you have to eat chicken and broccoli for the rest of your life. It means you take those small steps that turn into consistent habits that forge the body and lifestyle you want. The most successful people make small changes over time. Small good habits lead to big change. One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is expecting changes to happen overnight. Maybe this can happen for a while, but big changes usually don’t last long. It’s the little changes that snowball into more and more good habits that break into a lifestyle.

It’s pretty straightforward what habits should be at the forefront of your lifestyle. Meal prepping with the right foods and a consistent workout plan that includes resistance training should be automatic. However, the key to all of this is to make it consistent. Good things take time, time and consistency.

I encourage you to take those first steps by taking a vow to yourself that you will see it through and make it your lifestyle. Work hard and focus on your vision and keep pushing it forward.  You will always have a time that you stumble, but it’s when you get up and right back at it that separates you from the rest.

Photo by: Taylor Cifuentes