Contest Prep On The Road

by Kris Pitcher

Can you stay on track when you're traveling? Oh, yes you sure can! I am a consummate contest prep traveler and my recent business trip put all my skills to the test.

It begins with finding the right place to stay. I prefer a hotel where I can have a mini refrigerator and a microwave. If they have a fitness "center" that's a bonus too. Center means room with a few pieces of cardio in it. But it will get your day started. This preference means I don't stay at the Hilton.

Next, know your neighborhood. Get online and find a grocery store,  and a gym - the basics. Now it's time to get in the kitchen before you leave home and do some work. Food prep is essential. Take it with you or you're stuck. For me, at this stage in the game...I want food I can control. The hotel does a complimentary breakfast where I could get an egg white omelet. But, I want to know exactly how many eggs, how it's cooked, with what etc.

I prepped my meals by cooking, weighing and bagging them. (You might want to buy stock in zipper bags.) Then they go in the deep freezer. I froze one day's worth. The remaining half day on one end of travel was packed in my Pyrex containers just like I'd take meals to work. The half day on the other end, bagged and ready.

Frozen veggies - I grabbed those too. So, now I've got essentially everything I need for my trip. I have a soft-sided cooler which I can carry over my shoulder. It fits under the seat in front of me on the plane. I put the frozen bags in there, all the others, the veggies, the meals in Pyrex, and throw a few small ice packs on top.

I pick the small ice packs because I'm going to fit them in a small lunch bag sized thermal bag that I'm also bringing along. With that I can throw up to three meals in the car, or in my bag for "on the go". I am all set for a full day of meetings and visits. You have to think ahead and be prepared.

You can always pick up a salad, or get veggies on the road. But having exactly what you need requires planning and packing ahead. I'm all set for two and a half days of contest prep eating on the road...now, I hope I packed my underwear!?

Number One Diet Mistake!

by Kris Pitcher

There are a lot of diet mistakes. But there's one that's sure to stop you in your tracks. So for now, we're calling it the number one diet mistake. People do this all the time. They do it over and over.

We give up when we screw up. I've been up front with you all along. This will not be a perfect process. You are not perfect. You're just not. You will make mistakes. You'll screw up. You're human! Give yourself a break.

Then get back to it. Simple as that. It's the giving up that puts a big hold on things. See, we make a mistake...like eat something we didn't intend to eat. Let's just say it slipped into our mouths. We ate it, it's done. Next comes the guilt, remorse, and bad feelings.

I'll tell you what. Skip all that. Just skip that part, and get back on track. No one expects you to be perfect at this. Really, we don't. And you shouldn't either. We're going to make mistakes along the way. The difference in successful people (because they make mistakes too) is they just keep going. They don't give up.

You know my mantra...you only have to do weight management as long as you want it to work. Most of us want it to work forever. We've got time. Plenty of time. As long as we don't give up. Allow yourself to make mistakes and to be human. Don't make the number one diet mistake...don't give up when you screw up!

A Contest Prep Update - A Blissful Choice

by Kris Pitcher

Five weeks out and counting. It must be like when you're pregnant and everyone (everyday) asks you how you feel. They want to touch your big swollen belly, smile in your face and hear all about it.

Same as yesterday. I'm going to eat the same things as yesterday. My morning cardio was awesome, and I can hardly wait to do my evening cardio. I'll muster up the energy to lift...but I'm thinking in my head, "Four more chest workouts - make this one count."

The count down is on. We are hunkered down, focused - crazy focused. We take everything we need everywhere we go. We try to act normal, like normal people. Fit in to normal life. It's an act.

The insomnia this prep is like no other. I toss and I turn and I'm grateful for five hours of sleep. I do a lot of thinking in those hours. The mind is never quiet. I visualize my posing, I solve problems...I wish upon stars.

So as you rub my belly and smile into my face...prep is going well. I'm leaning out, and looking good. I'm excited about the hard work which is being uncovered after a productive off season. The year of eating clean and lifting heavy paid off. I'm even ready to pose in my (tiny) suit.

I'm nervous, excited, and anxious. And why do we do this? We do it to push ourselves beyond limits. To take the stage presenting a physique better than last season. We do it to craft our bodies, to fine tune, to mold and refine. We do it because we don't really like to golf.

As it gets more difficult in the final weeks I remind myself, I do this by choice. I can manage my hobby along with the other things in my life. I will fight off the fatigue, I will rise to the challenge, I am a champion. I compete because I love it. Competing is a blissful choice.

It's Called Personal Hygiene!

by Kris Pitcher

Some things are personal. Like personal hygiene for instance. It's personal for a reason. You should be doing these things...IN THE PRIVACY OF YOUR OWN BATHROOM.

I know we all see a lot of things in the car we wish we could un-see. People shave, brush their teeth, floss (even I wouldn't do that), put on their make-up and so on in the car while they are driving no less. I realize we are saving time here, but it's hard to un-see you with your hands jammed up in your mouth making that crazy face.

Now, at the gym we'd expect you to think you were in a more public space than your car. But no. Somehow you think the gym is a good place to take care of things like clipping your nails, picking your skin, your nose or leaving your hang-nails on the counter.

Please don't leave your hang-nails on the counter. You know how your own dirt is OK, but other people's dirt is gross. This is one of those cases. I'll be the first to admit...my house could be A LOT cleaner. But, I'm a little short on time, and it's my own dirt.

I would never come to your house and clip and file my nails on your couch. There are certain rules for personal hygiene which some people just don't follow. Hmm. I don't get it.

So, here's your public service announcement: Please take care of personal hygiene in the privacy of your own bathroom, at home. Thank you. You're not 8 years old.

Oatmeal Protein Pancakes

by Kris Pitcher

Start your morning off right with these healthy and delicious oatmeal protein pancakes. This protein powder recipe will leave you full to start off your day with the combination of complex carbs and protein powder, we even like to add a TBSP of peanut butter on top to add some healthy fats to this meal. This recipe comes from proteinpowderreicpes.com. Enjoy your morning!

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw oats
• 1 scoop Protein Powder
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 packets sweetener
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend for 30 seconds.
2. Pour onto a hot grill and cook like a normal pancake. An optional addition is to add some frozen fruit after the batter is blended.

Spinning - What Comes Around Goes Around

by Kris Pitcher

Each year the fitness industry predicts what trends will be popular. Guess what's coming back around in 2012...spinning! Indoor cycling was huge for a while. Huge!

Classes were packed, instructors were golden and class participants were like caged dogs waiting to get their slot. Studios popped up everywhere, jersey clad clip-clopping cyclists were running rampant through gyms all across the nation. And then...

And then it fell out of fashion, or everyone went back outside to ride. The trend went by the wayside. Now, a trend is different from a fad. A fad comes and goes quickly. Trends have a different bell curve.

Get those Johnny G's dusted off because the prediction in the tea leaves is indoor cycling is coming back. One of the great things about group cycling is you can instruct to a variety of different levels of riders in one class. Everyone doesn't have to ride with the same resistance or cadence. Each person can essentially control their heart rate at a level appropriate for themselves.

You can guide the group through the same type of ride; steady state, interval, maximal, mixed, relaxed, yoga...you name it. But each person works at their own level. What happened and maybe this is why the classes emptied out, is that it became one big competition to see who could push the hardest. Bad instructor. Bad.

Back in the day, (here we go aging ourselves - or is it just me) I loved instructing cycling classes. The participants loved my classes, thought I was hard-core. They didn't know where my resistance was. It was practically OFF. It was their workout, not mine.

So, what comes around goes around and spinning is making it's come back. Get your padded shorts out and give it a whirl! It might just be the next big thing.

Whip Yourself Into Shape!

by Kris Pitcher

"You can't punish yourself into change. You can't whip yourself into shape. 

But you can love yourself into well being." - Susan Skye

We spend a lot of time on the first two...punishing ourselves into change, and whipping ourselves into shape. Somehow those never seem to work. We're left unhappy, dissatisfied...feeling down. And that's where most people spend most of their lives.

"I could never do what you do." I hear that a lot. And I completely understand it and I'd be a fool if I thought anyone would want to. But what I sense when people say that, is they discredit what they could do. They don't believe in themselves. Their approach might be punishment to change.

It's a self defeating outlook. I don't have anything special that other people lack. Oh, don't get me wrong - I've tried to whip myself into shape. This has been a long journey...

I've felt "bad" for eating the wrong things, or for not exercising. But those days are long gone. The longer you do this, the better you get. And the easier it is to love yourself into well being. 

When you do things for other people out of love you get a certain feeling. You feel happy, warm inside, fulfilled...proud and loved. It feels good to make them happy. You know the feeling I mean. 

Caring for yourself in the same way is what this quote is all about - your well being. It isn't about a size, a number, or looking any particular way. It's about the expectation you set for how you will treat you. With love. You deserve nothing less!