Fat Mom Blogging Secrets

I had a 40-year career as a high school teacher. During my eight final years I served as the coordinator for the Performing Arts Magnet at Van Nuys High School. During that time my co-coordinator, Chris Hale, and I undertook a renovation of the high school auditorium and instituted a program that taught students how to set up sound and lighting for rock performances – a roadie academy if you will. The funding for that program came in the form of a state grant that provided 90% of the funds if a donor from private industry would come up with the other 10%. Somehow we managed to talk the Frank Zappa family trust into providing the 10%, and we were off to the races. As it turns out they were also willing to provide the instructor, Marque Coy, who had been Frank’s top roadie for two decades.  I got to know Marque very well during the years we worked together. It turned out he had been on 27 world tours with a number of top names, including Robert Palmer and Nickleback. He had grown up...

As a new coach, leading a group fitness class can be an overwhelming experience. First there is the material to know, then there are the people with all their needs, questions, and personalities, and then you have space and equipment to manage. Amidst the requirement of being able to teach a movement, respond to inquiries, adjust for injuries, and keep everyone moving safely and having fun, sometimes the true core of coaching is lost. Observing new coaches, what I most see lacking is intention. Recently while taking class from a novice coach, I asked her what her intention was in teaching a particular movement. Her reply was, that was the programming, so that was what she was teaching. Here’s what I think of that – you are not a coach if you are just showing up and following a list on a piece of paper. You are not a coach if you merely mime movements for me, press start on a stopwatch, or write my weights down in a manila folder. There should never be a point at which during your c...

I’ve been studying diet and fat loss for over twenty years . I’ve experimented with “fat burner” supplements like the ECA stack . I’ve also tried everything from low fat to low carb to intermittent fasting with varying levels of success. Here’s one thing I’ve noticed: all successful diets have three things in common, each starting with the letter “C.” I hope this short post will help you cut through some of the hype about losing fat. What I’m about to share isn’t new —it’s just my simple way of expressing some basic things about diet and fat loss . 1. Calories Yes, you guessed it—all successful diets are based upon a negative calorie balance. You must use more calories than you consume in order to lose fat . Everything else is secondary. A few years ago, a nutrition professor at Kansas State University decided to try to lose weight on a “ Twinkie diet .” Two-thirds of his caloric intake came from junk food (snack cakes, etc.), but he made sure to eat about 1,800 calories a day (ab...

This is my new gym. I recommend the dark roast coffee and the cheese danish: This is my new gym. I recommend the dark roast coffee and the cheese danish: Well, I was HOPING this was my new gym considering that the mobile app GymPact allows you to tag any building as a gym. From there on out, whenever you “check in” to the gym with your mobile phone and stay in that geo-monitored location for more than thirty minutes, you get paid. That’s right, you get paid to “workout.” Unfortunately (or fortunately), GymPact didn’t fall for my ruse of making my local diner my gym. Just like I had imagined in my habit building article : Wouldn’t it be cool if a gym paid YOU to workout. We would all be super-sculpted athletes and gyms would be bankrupt. Alas, we aren’t and they aren’t. Alright. So the thought experiment is a reality. Why aren’t we hearing more about this phenomenal startup that recently teamed up with my favorite running app, Runkeeper ? Lets take a look at why the app works, an...

Ordering apparel for your gym should be fun. Cool gear should be a way to bring the community together and put some extra money in your pocket . But time and again, I see gym owners give up on the process or avoid it because of the stress and confusion involved. I see this because I run a custom apparel business myself. I’ve seen the mistakes most people are prone to making. So, here are my recommended strategies to avoid the headaches and just get down to what matters – bringing your community together . Too Many Options and Styles Did you know that people actually buy less when they have more options? If you’re curious about why choice is demotivating to clients and consumers, check out the Columbia Jam Study . Basically, the study focused on a jam-tasting booth set up inside a popular grocery chain. On different weekends, they tested the following: On one Saturday, the booth would have 24 different jams to choose from. On the following Saturday, the booth would have only six...

Click Here to Apply to Be a Beta-Tester After three years of bringing you the best information on training, nutrition, and healthy lifestyles, Breaking Muscle is now going to be bringing you even more information – in eBook form! This fall we are officially launching our eBook publishing, but before we can do that, we need your help. We are looking for beta-testers to try out our first eBook programs that will be available. What You Need to Know to Become a Beta-Tester Minimal experience is required, but dedication is extremely important. In exchange for your participation, you will be coached and supported on top of receiving great programming. We’re counting on your feedback. We are looking for healthy, active individuals to complete twelve-week programs in the following disciplines: Kettlebell training for women Bodyweight training for men and women Pregnancy workouts with kettlebells Pregnancy bodyweight workouts What’s required of you: Before-and-after photos an...

EDITOR’S NOTE: For an in-depth description of the beginner workouts and the movements contained in them from their creator, Bret Hamilton, have a look at his article on getting started with this 12-week program . Getting Started with the Beginner Workouts If you are just starting out and are unfamiliar with the movements included in this cycle, please refer to the instructional videos included and make sure you understand the techniques involved and have access to the proper equipment and space. Tracking your progress is invaluable in achieving the results you desire. It will aid you on your journey and help you make sure you’re using a load that is challenging enough to help you improve, but not so challenging that you’re risking burnout or injury. The program is designed to be performed three times a week. Monday, Wednesday, Friday would be ideal. It will help to build strength, improve coordination and flexibility, and also improve anaerobic endurance. The total number of sets...

Team GB has announced that British weightlifters Rebekah Tiler and Sonny Webster will be making their Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro. Teen sensation Rebekah Tiler is due to compete in the women’s -69kg category, while Sonny Webster, 22, will fly the flag for Great Britain in the men’s -94kg division. 17-year-old Tiler, from Keighley, West Yorkshire, is set to be one of the youngest athletes for Team GB in this Summer’s Olympic Games. She will go as reigning British Champion, having taken two British records at the most recent British championships. She is also the gold medal winner at the Youth Commonwealth Games. Sonny Webster is likewise the current British Champion and finished fifth at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, as well as being an U23 British Record holder. On her selection for Rio, Tiler commented: “I am so excited and honoured to be representing Team GB in Rio this summer; it’s a dream come true and something I’ve wanted ever since I got into the sport. The next few wee...

Recently we saw a flood of Facebook re-posts of UFC fighter Conor McGregor training with Ido Portal . These posts have drawn attention to free movement as training. The post linked above contains an important line for those who “don’t have the base level of joint health then don’t just run out and start doing all this.” This point is not to be glossed over. Joint ill-health interferes with our ability to detect external and internal forces from the ground, the wind, an opponent, or our own inertia. Our ability to take in everything that occurs in wrestling, grappling, combat situations, or any situation with a direct opponent is measured in sport as an output. The essence of an athlete is the ability to process internal and external sensory stimuli (inputs) into gross or fine patterns (outputs). The essence of an athlete is the ability to process input stimuli into output patterns. Poor Movement Isn’t Poor Coaching When an individual moves poorly (i.e., the output as a pattern ...

When do you workout? Anyone who exercises consistently has an answer to this question. The people who build sustainable health and fitness aren’t the ones bebopping into exercise classes on random evenings, and convenient long weekends. These people have a plan. Ask them when they work out and they’ll tell you: When do you workout? Anyone who exercises consistently has an answer to this question. The people who build sustainable health and fitness aren’t the ones bebopping into exercise classes on random evenings, and convenient long weekends. These people have a plan. Ask them when they work out and they’ll tell you: “First thing in the morning before the family is up.” “On my way to work. I shower and get ready for work at the gym.” “On my lunch break.” “Right after work, before I get home.” Those who struggle to consistently exercise usually will cite being too busy as the reason. It stands to reason. Even if you are doing a very efficient 30 minute or less HIIT routine, th...

The glute bridge and hip thrust are assistance exercises often used in an effort to strengthen the glutes for the squat. They are also utilized in the world of rehabilitation for “underactive” glutes. The aim of this article is to break down the functional mechanics of the bridge in comparison to the squat, and explain how it’s possible to train the bridge, yet still be unable to recruit the glutes during the squat. (From now on I will use “bridge” to cover the use of both the glute bridge and hip thrust). How the Muscles Work Before we analyze the squat and the bridge, we must begin with principles that allow us to understand how muscles function in an isolated exercise like the bridge versus the compound movement of the squat. “The bridge has a high EMG activity; therefore, it should teach our glutes to work when we perform the more functional, compound squat. So why doesn’t this happen?” A lot of exercise science concerns strengthening muscles in an isolated way. This isola...

The community aspect of athletic activity is important for multiple reasons. Our sports communities provide support, reality checks, and useful information about appropriate behavior. And notably, our community connections are also vitally important influences on our actual learning. For as long as I’ve been training jiu jitsu, from my very earliest, flailiest experiences up to the present, my teachers and training partners have helped me achieve more in partnership with them than I would be able to by myself. Nowadays, I find myself doing for less experienced practitioners what my teachers have always done for me: using my knowledge to set them up for success. For instance, let’s say we drilled a triangle sequence during the technique part of class. During the rolling part, if my partner has significantly less experience than I do, I might purposefully place myself in a situation where s/he can execute the techniques we worked on earlier in the class. Sometimes the athlete sees the...

As with any career, people become coaches and trainers for a variety of reasons. Some reasons are nobler, like surviving cancer and wanting to help others. Some are more practical, like coaching as a career because you’ve always been an athlete. Some more aspirational, like seeing yourself as an entrepreneur and a small gym business as a path. Regardless of how you came to coaching, now you are one and it’s time to make yourself a good one. As with any career, people become coaches and trainers for a variety of reasons. Some reasons are nobler, like surviving cancer and wanting to help others. Some are more practical, like coaching as a career because you’ve always been an athlete. Some more aspirational, like seeing yourself as an entrepreneur and a small gym business as a path. Regardless of how you came to coaching, now you are one and it’s time to make yourself a good one. As with your own training, there’s no point in coaching half-assed. There are far too many bad and mediocr...

There are many scenes in the movie Miracle , about the 1980 U.S. Olympic ice hockey team, a group of underdogs that defeated the then-Soviet Union powerhouse and went on to take home the gold, that give me goose bumps. This includes one where the team has relatively recently come together. During a training session, head coach Herb Brooks repeatedly asks the players, “Who do you play for?” Each player, in turn, responds with his own alma mater, and this results in the new team being forced to run sprint after sprint on the ice until they are beyond exhausted. It isn’t until eventual team captain Mike Eruzione finally responds, “I play for the United States of America!” that Brooks ends the sprints. With this statement, Eruzione provided the evidence Brooks had been looking for that the players were starting to identify themselves as part of a defined group, that they prioritized their new group membership more than their individual histories. (At that point, they probably prioritize...

I’m a better coach because I was a stupid athlete. I didn’t know I was stupid then, but now I’m a good enough coach that I can see it plain and simple. I could spend my time wishing I’d not been stupid and imagining things I would have accomplished athletically, but that wouldn’t get me too far. Instead I’ve realized my bad and/or misinformed choices resulted in me being a far better coach than I would have been otherwise. I developed knowledge, empathy, and awareness from my missteps. And I can spot the stupidity in my athletes a mile away. My stupidity manifested in two distinct ways – overtraining and injury. I separate these out, because while injury can occur due to overtraining, they are not always linked. Because of my experiences, I am able to coach my athletes from the perspective of both what not to do and how to handle the tough, dark times that come with training. And anyone who’s trained for any measurable length knows what I mean by tough, dark times. In 2005 I got k...