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Now that you have started to exercise and have changed your diet, one constant thing you will have to work on is your motivation. There will be days where you feel like you can work out for 3 hours and eat nothing but lean protein and veggies, and other days you may not even want to get out of bed. The key thing to understand is that this WILL happen.  Everyday will not be perfect, but everyday you WILL have to push yourself to achieve your goals.

On the days you are naturally motivated and have had enough sleep, it will be easy to get into the gym and complete your workout. But what are you going to do on the days when there is just too much going on and you would rather pull your blanket over your head and go back to sleep? Here are a few tips and things to keep in mind when your motivation is low. If you PLAN ahead, you will stay on track and be one day closer to reaching your goals.

Now that you have been going to the gym since the New Year, and have already been seeing awesome results, the next BIG thing to work on is your DIET! Where do you start? First, let’s be realistic. If you don’t have kids it may be easier for you to control what you buy and keep in the house. If you do have kids or 3 other roommates that don’t live your same lifestyle, it will be a little bit more work on your part to keep things clean. So, get into the right mindset of WHY you are changing your diet and how it’s going to benefit you immediately and in the long run. Here are 7 necessary steps YOU need to take to get on the right track!

Instead of paying hundreds of dollars for a fancy dinner and overpriced wine, why not do something different this year for Valentine’s Day? Try going on a romantic walk, or even nice run somewhere outside and spend some real quality time with your loved one. Maybe even a workout session to energize your body from the inside out. Another idea is to make a nice and clean dinner for 2, so you know exactly what you are putting in your body! Add some strawberries and raspberries for dessert, to stay in the Valentine’s Day spirit!

We all know the feeling: your heart starts racing, your mind is going a million miles an hour, your back begins to tense up, and you feel tension and anxiety creeping up on you. Yes, this is stress. Whether this is actual stress, or perceived stress, it’s still stress. If you work out regularly, you already know that a good workout can be the most beneficial thing you can do to relieve and even completely get rid of stress. Chronic stress can actually lower your immune system, make you feel tense and cranky, and will prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep. Other methods for stress reduction exist such as like progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery and biofeedback. One direct way to ease tension is through massage.

Antioxidants are compounds that protect our cells from oxidation. Oxidation is something that happens when we are exposed to things like pollution, excess sun, toxic substances, and also from immune system responses. Our cells have a specific “fat” layer that protects them from being damaged. When toxic substances like free radicals come in, they disrupt that layer and the cell may be damaged. So what if one cell damaged? Not much, your body will regenerate. However, if you multiply this by 1,000,000, then you have a lot of damaged cells. When we eat plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts such as blueberries, avocados and almonds, we can actually prevent some of this damage. Think of free radicals as unstable thieves trying to rob people for their belongings. Because they are unstable, they try to take things from other people to make themselves rich and stable. Does this sound like anyone you know? Free radicals work as a domino effect, where more damage to our cells gives them more power! Therefore something has to be done to stop them! Antioxidants work as superheroes to prevent this damage by donating themselves to these destructive free radicals, and therefore the healthy cells are no longer hurt. Of course the process is slightly more complicated, but for now let’s think of this as the antioxidants’ main job.

You've decided, it's final, this is the year you are getting into shape! Congrats! So where do you start? Before you get too excited and pay hundreds of dollars for a new gym membership and buy 10 different types of protein powder and bars, make yourself a plan.

It's the holiday season and you have been invited to numerous holiday parties, and every time you turn around someone is bringing cookies and something sweet to work. Although the holidays are a time for celebration, it is not a time for you to start eating whatever you want for 2 months. If you train hard and eat clean throughout the whole year, why would you stop during a time like this? You may be seeing family and relatives during the holiday season, so don’t you want to look your best? Yes, you can take a day off working out for Christmas and New Years and relax, but 2 weeks is no excuse! This is a time to enjoy, but not get out of control. Here are 5 tips how to avoid gaining the extra pounds during the holidays and how to keep looking lean.

The majority of the people reading this article probably already have an exercise program in place. However, it is likely that your friends don’t! How many times have you asked a buddy to work out with you, only to get shot down by their excuses? Here are 10 commonly used excuses, with rebuttals. Hopefully after a little more persuasion, you can get their a$$ in the gym!

1) When starting a new diet plan, it is an excellent idea to keep a "food diary" to keep track of everything you are putting into your mouth. Make sure you write down everything you eat, including that handful of M&M's you stole off of your co-workers desk. Everything you eat contains calories which will affect your physique. If you often find yourself getting hungry between meals, a Zero Carb Protein Shake is a healthy choice to keep you satisfied! Writing down what you eat will help you to see exactly what you have eaten and to get a better understanding of what does and does not work for you. Remember, everybody is different and what works well for one person, may not be the best thing for another. Make sure to write down how you felt while eating these foods as well. You may not realize how much emotion is involved in eating. Learning these things may help you to avoid making those same mistakes again and again!

Whether you’re a newbie or an experienced bodybuilder at some point you are undoubtedly going to experience DOMS, or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. What is DOMS you ask? DOMS is the pain and discomfort often felt in the 24-72 hours post-exercise. It differs from regular muscle soreness in the duration, severity, and causal factors – where regular soreness is likely due to microtrauma to muscle fiber structure and is experienced immediately after training, tapering off in less than two days. Some trainees feel that muscle soreness is a sign that they have actually done hard work, and if they don’t feel slight discomfort than they have not trained hard enough. Regardless of how hard you train, any new/different stimuli to the muscle will likely produce the same result; pain and discomfort.