Jack up your STRENGTH with “instability”

Training

This is something we at ALIVE push all the time. This article written by Scott Shannon goes into great detail from a military stand point, but can help you with everyday living.

Today we’d like to share an incredibly effective way of building high levels of strength that immediately transfers to real-world operational needs.

And remember, “operational needs” are self-defined. For soldiers in
the field they may involve combat applications, but for our
Commandos on the home front, “operational” could just as easily
refer to sport, work, or home life. Your training should focus on making your life better, rather than make you a slave to a program.

When it comes to building a killer physique using simple tools and the weight of your own body, few have equaled the sinewy power and raw strength of a gymnast. Those guys and gals are absolutely incredible! They control their bodies with effortless grace,
bursting explosively into leaps and turns and suddenly stopping on
a dime with the utmost control.

Incorporating aspects of gymnastic style training into your bodyweight routine can take your strength gains to entirely new levels. And you don’t even need a gym to do this — plenty can be done using portable tools.

One tool commonly associated with gymnasts has been part of the
full equipment-based TACFIT program from its inception: portable
gym rings.

The instability of the rings forces you to focus on achieving
stability before you can perform any movement.  Focused
concentration engages the nervous system throughout every second of
the exercise, and THAT is what builds strength quickly. Ring
training taps into this like no other tool.

The opposite of this is a “motor set.” Motor sets happen when
training becomes rote. They’re the precursor to the dreaded
“plateau,” where gains stop, progress stagnates, and people fall
off the exercise wagon.

When you practice many repetitions of a movement, that movement
becomes much easier to perform, to a point where it becomes
automatic. The simpler the movement, the quicker this adaptation.
It’s simply how the body adapts to imposed demand, and exercise is
designed to take advantage of that.

The thing is, your body is really good at adapting to stimuli, and
if you want constant gains you’ve gotta stay one step ahead of it.
When the nervous system is not challenged enough, it dials ‘effort’
down to a lower level. In essence, it gets bored. And that’s when
your progress grinds to a halt.

That’s one of the great benefits of introducing gymnastic-style
ring training to your personal TACFIT program. It’s tough enough to
keep your nervous system focused on the task at hand. That means
incredible strength gains in a short period of time. And it also
means a hell of a fun workout!

Portions of TACFIT are done at ALIVE.

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Build muscle to burn fat

Nutrition, Training, Weekly Motivation

BY Scott Sonnon

We’ve known for years that muscle tissue is highly active
metabolically, and it helps us burn more calories during the day. So
more muscle equals better fat burn, right? Unfortunately that’s only
partly true — and not to the extent we once believed. A pound of
muscle is now thought to burn an extra 6 calories per hour (as
opposed to the 25 or more per hour we once believed). You’d have to
pack on an awful lot of beef to make much difference.

But that’s only one side of the equation. Muscle mass provides a
number of other important benefits, foremost of which is better
management of insulin. Insulin is your “storage” hormone. Its job is
to transport fuel into your cells. The higher your ratio of fat to
lean tissue, the less sensitive your lean tissue becomes to insulin.
Basically, when your body fat percentage creeps too high and insulin
comes knocking, your lean mass stops answering the door. If you see
a vicious cycle in all of this, you’re right!

One way to encourage your muscles to start answering the door again is through resistance exercise aimed at growth. Why is it important to improve insulin sensitivity? Well, if your muscles don’t answer the door, guess who will… Yep, your fat cells are always ready with a warm welcome.

To top it all off, long slow cardio can actually cause you to LOSE
muscle because it increases your level of cortisol. If you focus
instead on short bursts of high intensity effort using exercises
that target the entire body in all its ranges of motion, you can
actually BUILD muscle while you do your cardio! Fat burning just got
easier, and a lot more fun.

Turn Your Body Into A Fat Burning Machine with a program from The ALIVE EXPERIENCE.

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Do You Believe in Miracles?

Weekly Motivation

by Shawn Phillips

I just opened my email to find one with the subject line, “The [unnamed supplement] Miracle.”

My response was visceral and yet, my disdain for gaudy marketing required I open it. Inside the miracle was immediately announced: “Yes, it’s a miracle! We now have product for shipping.”

Are you kidding? It’s a miracle that I can now send you money? Hoorah! It’s a new the new low-bar for a miracle! Let the trumpets sound.

Now I hate to be the one to break it to these boys, but putting a simple powder in a bottle with a cheap label on it is way this side of a miracle. It doesn’t even qualify for “product development.” It’s simple packaging, no more complex than bagging groceries.

Miracles… Seems they aren’t what they used to be.
The Decline of Miracles

What reaction do you have when you see the claim of “miracle” on an email or advertisement? Does it provoke a favorable response, a curiosity or anything at all?

I suspect most of us have become skeptical—and justifiably so. “Miracle” has been overused and abused to the point that it’s often shady and meaningless at best.

But does the abuse stop there or is there a deeper, more destructive force in play here? Is the abuse of “miracle” having a more profound negative side-effect on you and I. Could it be quietly draining our desire and even capacity to believe? And a result, are we becoming a harsher, more staunchly rational, less “inspired” society?

By definition, a miracle is: “an event that appears to be contrary to the laws of nature and is regarded as an act of God.”

It strikes me that miracle once connected us to a hopeful, positive energy.

In the Christmas Classic movie, “Miracle on 34th Street,” there’s a line when (Santa) Kris Kringle is on trial and says: “I’m a symbol. I’m a symbol of the human ability to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major part of our lives. If… you can’t believe, if you can’t accept anything on faith, then you’re doomed for a life dominated by doubt.”
Doomed!

I don’t want to be doomed!

I wish not to be doomed to a life dominated by doubt. But I can see how it could happen, when most everything we’re exposed to daily, even the news, is somewhere between a manipulative lie and a “harmless” exaggeration. You and I are basking in the fuel that ignites a life of doubt and suspicion.

Yet, if we allow this abuse of our “miracle bone,” our desire to believe, to shut-off or weaken our openness, wonder, and dreams; then we’ve succumb to a subtle form or terrorism.

Certainly we’re better people, a better society, when we suppress the “selfish hateful tendencies” and accept some things on faith. And without doubt I believe there are some things we should believe in and that we need to believe. It’s what we humans do best.
Believe We Shall

It is human, very much so, to have dreams, hopes and desires—to quietly hold the slightest glimmer of possibility that some how, some way there is a Santa Claus, even though ever fiber of your rational mind knows it’s not so.

To say, “Yes!, I believe in miracles!,” is not to be weak, dependent and helpless but rather to hold space for possibility, to embrace, celebrate and keep the wonder alive.

For Santa, like so many things which are the best of mankind may not be intended as literal interpretations. Which is to say that red suit, white beard and sleigh is the social icon, the marker we use to represent the goodness, kindness and love of ourselves and our fellow man.

That’s what it means to “believe.” For belief requires doubt, for without some doubt it’s not belief but certainty. It’s not always literal, it’s not always provable. It needn’t be, which is why we’ve been given belief.

For belief requires doubt, for without some doubt it’s not belief but certainty. It’s not always literal, it’s not always provable.

To Believe is Choice

How do you believe in a world that’s intent to defraud you, to use your belief against you? How do you love in a world where people hurt people?

You just do.

Hopefully, ideally with your eyes wide-open and with awareness. But even then you’ll lose a few and be wiser for it. And even when you’ve been handed the short end, may you resist the temptation to make the mistakes of one, the truth for all.

We see a bad cop on the news, we need not believe all cops bad. We get taken by a bad contractor and needn’t believe all contractors bad.

We choose and create our beliefs. To do so freely we must take responsibility. When we’re “at the wheel,” when we avoid the trap of being the victim, we may fall but are quick to get back up.

You may believe in your team, or your children and even our president. Eventually, at one time and another your belief will be tested. Not broken. For belief is not theirs to break, it’s yours and mine.

Struggle with that? Think it’s out there—dependent on them?

Consider that you’re free to believe that the economy will improve—even though there’s endless evidence that it’s not moving that way, now, not “really.” So, you would be rational, perhaps even “wise” not to believe but which feels better? Which offers more energy, more hope? Which will get you moving in the right direction regardless?

Right? Belief has a positive energy about it.

So, why not believe?

What if millions of us chose to believe in our economy, or our leaders right now? What if we believed in our ability to eat right, to live well, to thrive?

Choose to believe in good people doing good things for you. Believe that there is good food that’s fast; then find Tokyo Joes. Believe that not every company is out solely for money, some are driven by purpose and passion; then find Full Strength, the world’s best nutrition shake.

Believe that there are books worth reading, that there are fitness gurus worth following, and that there is a strength a capacity deep inside you’ve yet to tap into that can change your life.

But most of all believe in yourself. For that is the belief that will change your life, and light the world. By practicing believing you strengthen your capacity to believe, even in yourself.

Try it, now. You’ll be better for it—and so will the world.

What if the real miracle is believing?

Now it’s your turn… What are you better for believing in, now?

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8 Ways to Tame a Raging Appetite

1 Comment / Nutrition

By: Adam Campbell

When your stomach is screaming, “Feed me!”, all you want to do is reach for the closest consumable object. But just because you think you’re hungry doesn’t mean you really are. And eating the wrong thing at the wrong time can add back pounds you’ve worked so hard to drop.

Follow these rules to conquer hunger pangs and stay on track to achieve your weight-loss goals.

Guarantee Success

How long do you think you can stick to a new plan? Find a duration that you’re 100 percent confident you can achieve, even if it’s just a couple of days. “Once you make it to your goal date, start the process over,” says Mary Vernon, M.D., president of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians. “This not only establishes the notion that you can be successful, but also gives you a chance to start noticing that eating better makes you feel better, reinforcing your desire to continue.”

Find More Motivation

If your diet’s only purpose is to help you finally achieve six-pack abs (or even just a two-pack), it may be hard to stick with for the long haul. The solution? “Provide yourself with additional motivators,” says Jeff Volek, Ph.D., R.D. He suggests monitoring migraines, heartburn, acne, canker sores, and sleep quality, along with common measures of cardiovascular health. “Discovering that your new diet improves the quality of your life and health can be powerful motivation,” says Volek.

Don’t Dwell on Mistakes

Okay, you over-indulged. What’s the next step? “Forget about it,” says James Newman, a nutritionist at Tahlequah City Hospital, in Oklahoma, who followed his own advice to shed 250 pounds. (That’s right, 250 pounds.) “One meal doesn’t define your diet, so don’t assume that you’ve failed or fallen off the wagon,” he says. Institute a simple rule: Follow any “cheat” meal with at least five healthy meals and snacks. That ensures that you’ll be eating right more than 80 percent of the time.

Eat Breakfast

Sure, you’ve heard this one before. But consider that if you sleep for 6 to 8 hours and then skip breakfast, your body is essentially running on fumes by the time you reach work. And that sends you desperately seeking sugar, which is easy to find. “The most convenient foods are often the same ones you should be avoiding,” says Berkowitz. That’s because they’re usually packed with sugar (candy bars, soda), or other fast-digesting carbohydrates (cookies, chips). Which leads to our next strategy.

Install Food Regulators

It’s time for a regime change. Clean out your cupboard and fridge, then restock them with almonds and other nuts, cheese, fruit and vegetables, and canned tuna, chicken, and salmon. And do the same at work. “By eliminating snacks that don’t match your diet but providing plenty that do, you’re far less likely to find yourself at the doughnut-shop drive-thru or the vending machine,” says Christopher Mohr, Ph.D., R.D., president of Mohr Results, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Think Like a Biochemist

It’s true: They make all-natural cookies. But even if a cookie is made with organic cane juice (the hippie name for sugar), it’s still junk food. Ditto for lots of “health foods” in the granola aisle. That’s because hippie sweeteners raise your blood sugar just like the common white stuff. “If you’re going to eat a cookie, accept that you’re deviating from your plan, and then revert back to your diet afterward,” says Berkowitz. “By convincing yourself that it’s healthy, you’re only encouraging a bad habit.”

Recognize Hunger

Have a craving for sweets, even though you ate just an hour ago? Imagine eating a large, sizzling steak instead. “If you’re truly hungry, the steak will sound good, and you should eat,” says Richard Feinman, Ph.D., a professor of biochemistry at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, in New York City. “If it doesn’t sound good, your brain is playing tricks on you.” His advice: Change your environment, which can be as easy as doing 15 pushups or finding a different task to focus on.

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