Albert K. Park

I give a lot of advice to friends on how to workout for their specific goals but no matter what I tell them I always get the same response.

                        Sure it’s a simple question that I could answer with a sample workout but my answer always catches people by surprise.

 Yeah I do lift weights but strength training is only one tool I have in my bag. Once you start training, you need to have a whole bag full of different tools to help you reach your goals. The more tools the better. Here are 6 tools that I always use from my bag of goods.

            When was the last time you trained anaerobically? Pushed yourself past easy jogging on a treadmill? Well sprints are the most natural form of High Intensity Interval Training. A method that increases natural HGH and testosterone levels in the body, helps increase metabolism, and fights the storage of fat.

                Incorporate sprints into your training to start packing on lean muscle mass and shedding the excess fat on your body. Try this series of sprints with enough recovery time to make each sprint a 100% effort.

            No, protein is not just for gym rats and meatheads. Protein is the building blocks for muscle and a great tool for staying lean. Protein is packed with amino acids and requires your body to work pretty hard to digest. Your body will actually burn about 30% of the protein calories just trying to digest it as opposed to carbohydrates, which is around 10%.

            My protein intake mostly comes from lean meats, eggs, and whey protein. Hard-boiled eggs are always easy to make and take with you for a quick snack. Whey protein is an essential tool I use pre and post workout to aid in quick recovery so that I can train hard the next day.

            After hurting my back last year I always avoided this exercise. This was a big mistake. With such a vital tool like this, you need to do whatever it takes to get back to deadlifting. For me, it took drilling really lightweight with perfect form to get comfortable again. But you have to put this one in the bag.

            The deadlift is the ultimate exercise in my toolbox for building muscle and functional strength. The movement requires your body to use every muscle. It utilizes your entire upper body for holding and stabilizing and lower body for lifting. It puts the entire body under tension and promotes muscle-building testosterone.

               Sleep is really, really, important. This is the time when your body recovers, grows, and makes those changes from your training. So if you are like me who sleeps in the am then rises 5 hours later, you have to tell yourself that 5-6 hours just isn’t enough. Try to get the ideal 8 hours of sleep for maximum recovery. I know I have to work a little harder on this one.

               If you’re like one friend I have now who sleeps for 10 hours a night with no training. Shame on you! Get off your ass.

            This is a hobby of mine that I could not live without. Not only is combat engraved into my DNA it is my number 1 method for the release of stress. Hitting a heavy bag for a set number of rounds is a fantastic way to train conditioning.

            If you walk into a gym anywhere in the country, everyone more or less can look like they are working out. Everyone can play the part and go through the motions to impress others and make themselves feel better. The one thing I always bring in my bag of tools for any training session is Intensity!

            Whether it’s lifting weights, cardio, or abs I am trying to go balls to the walls because I know I am there to train. No I’m not a robot or refuse to talk to anyone but just remember what your main priority is when you walk into the gym. If it’s time for me to train that’s exactly what I’m going to do! 

            Every Wednesday I sit at the Seattle’s Best and drink a green tea while I steal their wi-fi. I only buy the green tea so they don’t hassle me. This Wednesday was going textbook until two 20 something year old girls walked in and to my luck I had left my headphones at home. They walked in together simultaneously talking to each other and to whoever was on their I - phones.  I let out a big sigh anticipating the challenge of trying to read with them in the same room.

            After only 5 minutes the consistent repetition of topics drove me insane.

 “I don’t have any summer clothes……I hate my boss…..that girl is a bit*h…..this girl is a bit*h…..I need to lose weight”.  And repeat.

            I could ignore everything except the “lose weight” part. So, I excused myself into their conversation and said I could help. Their disgusted gazes made me feel like a creep but I still went ahead to educate them. As I cleared my throat, these are the 5 pointers I gave them

          

When was the last time you went a week or even a day with drinking only water? If you are like me, you like some flavor in your beverages. Unfortunately, most drinks that taste good also contain high amounts of sugar and calories. To increase fat loss, try purifying your system with a week devoted to only water.

Regulate your carb intake from your diet for a couple weeks. Try getting all your carbs in at breakfast and lunch. By getting your carbs in early you will be able to use the rest of the day to burn it off. Also make sure you are consuming complex carbs meaning whole wheat breads and/or fruits.

Stop the long distance running and the 1 hour cardio machine binges. Try incorporating High Intensity Interval Training to accelerate fat loss. If you do use a cardio machine, alternate back and forth with different intensities.

            Example:

            4. More Protein

Protein is the foundation to building lean muscles mass and the number one tool to fight fat is…….lean muscle mass. Also, protein demands more energy to digest meaning more calories burned to process protein. If everyone new this maybe more people would start eating protein.

Try getting some protein with each of your 5-6 smaller meals throughout your day.

Here is a sample workout to help you get started on your way to losing 10 lbs before June.

                  The looks on their faces didn’t change too much as they jumped right back in to the monotonous repetition of topics. Their body language, shoulders turned in from me, suggested that my advice went in one ear and jet streamed out the other. I took this as the perfect opportunity to slam my green tea and leave. I made an extra effort to be quick and swift packing up my belongings.

                    I walked out the café that day with a smile on my face and laughing to myself. I had probably just annoyed the hell out of those girls and thrown myself into the cycle of negative topics in their conversation. Whatever, it was my attempt at helping somebody out and I just hope they wrote that sh*t down because it really does work!

                 If you need to lose those last few pounds before you head off on your vacations, try incorporating 1 or all of these in the few weeks we have before June. Remember, consistency is key. Even one day of binging can set you back on your effort of losing that weight! Good luck in getting your Beach Ready Bodies. 

              

                    Another phone call from my friend across the world, via Skype, has put things into perspective. I am truly a fan of Skype now. It is so easy to become comfortable with life. With work, finances, your “situation”, and even training. Without a doubt, becoming comfortable is the first step before you start falling backwards. Have you noticed this red flag in your life?

            A couple of months ago, I received an opportunity to speak with a pretty successful entrepreneur through the mastermind networking group I am a part of. www.Young-Masterminds.blogspot.com He talked for a long time and I listened for a long time trying desperately not to stare at the Glock 9mm attached to his hip. The one thing he emphasized that was burned into my mind was the simple advice of “Grow or Die!”

            Sure this may have been a little extreme in reference to training but I love that about the quote. If you’re not continually improving or striving for goals all you are doing is maintaining. In the world of fitness, it is so easy to stop or give up. We come across new clients that start off so excited to reach their goals only to give up and quit after 1 or 2 months because they settle for the results they worked for. What usually happens is that they come back to us 2 months later with twice as much weight to lose. Maintaining is not enough. When you reach your goals, give yourself a pat on the back and make new ones to achieve.

              In the book “A Fighter’s Heart”, the writer finds an opportunity to train with the Militech MMA camp in Iowa. This is an elite MMA gym home to fighters like Tim Sylvia, Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver, and Robbie Lawler. He goes there to train to fight because of an innate drive for combat but also goes as a writer. In a short conversation with Jens “Little Evil” Pulver they quickly distinguish the definition of “Drive”. The author mentions that he understands he needs to be hungry in order to become a fighter. Jens simply responds “Hungry? You need to be fu*king starving!”

            This definitely puts things into perspective. Sometimes you need to be starving for your fitness goals. Willing to sacrifice and put in the hard work. Ronnie Coleman says it pretty well too, “Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder but nobody wants to lift some heavy ass weight!”. Yeah everybody wants to be in shape but nobody wants to put in the work at the gym or more importantly eat right.

            With the start of summer only a couple weeks away there is no more time for excuses. There is no more trying; only doing. No more excuses. If you want to achieve those goals, you can’t become comfortable with what you are maintaining. You need to strive for more.

            Thank you to my bro across the world for the enlightening conversation, thank you to the entrepreneur for motivating me, and thank you to Sam Sheridan’s “A Fighter’s Heart” for inspiring me. Remember you are either the Lion or Hyena!