The benefits of deadlifts

The deadlift it is an exercise that has many benefits too it that people over look. I know when I first started out weight lifting dead lifts is something that I hated doing. I would see it on my college lifting workouts and automatically skip over them because I never saw the benefit from them. It wasn’t until my junior year of college that I started to taking deadlifts serious. Below are some benefits that I’ve discovered during the process.

#1. Better Posture

Deadlifting increases your core strength and also adds to core stability. While performing this exercise it targets all of the muscles responsible for your posture and enables you to keep your back straight during your daily activities.

#2 More Muscles are being worked

The deadlift works more muscles than any other exercise believe it or not and that is also including the squat. While doing this exercise the lift engages all of the major muscle groups. When you are performing this exercise you may notice that your upper and lower body parts are being worked which is contributed to this workout.

#3 Increases Hormones

When doing at least 8-10 reps of deadlifts with a significant weight you can increase the amount of testosterone and growth hormone that is produced in your body. Testosterone increases muscle growth and improves muscle. So if your doing deadlifts and after a couple sets seems like your what I like to call “in the zone” it is because your body is producing testosterone at a high level.

#4 Prevents Injury

The deadlift can help prevent injuries by increasing the strength of your muscles around certain tendons and ligaments. After pulling my hamstrings and even partially tearing one during my basketball career when I found this out deadlifts became my best friend, They have helped me a lot during my career and I think it is something that is very vital to having strong hamstrings.

Overall I know deadlifts are one of the most important exercises that can benefit you when done correctly. Some people tend to put a lot of weight on and their form ends up being horrible and they end up hurting themselves. The best advice I can give is to do what is comfortable for you and more importantly make sure your form is correct.

Does the Sauna help you lose weight?

When I first started going to the gym I was never really use to the sauna. I noticed that a lot of people would go in before or after their workout and they would come out sweating. So one day I took it upon myself to give it a try and it was my first time and I almost passed out because I stayed in for too long. At first I didn’t see any benefits from it but after a while I thought that it was actually helping me lose extra weight that I did not want. So eventually I started weighing myself before I got in and after I got in and surprisingly there was no major difference. So eventually I went on to do some research to discover if the sauna actually helped people lose weight and here’s the answer:

When you are in the sauna you are losing a tiny bit of weight because you are sweating off water weight. Once you start drinking water again the weight returns. The sauna may also help you burn some extra calories but I would not recommend relying on major sweat sessions alone to shed weight. It is not a real effective tool for significant weight loss.

So at the end of the day if you are someone who has been counting on the sauna to provide significant weight loss for you then I would suggest to look for another avenue. Because at a bear minimum you are only shedding off water weight.

Finding motivation

A lot of people struggle with the ability to find motivation when accomplishing their dreams and goals. People say that they want to go to the gym everyday but when that alarm clock goes off and your body is telling you stay in bed people often give in. When they have to be at the gym by 7 they think 7:30 won’t hurt then that turns into 7:45 then they think maybe I’ll just go later in the day and never make it to the gym. Trust me I know this happens because this is something that I use to struggle with myself until I found something that motivated me. Here’s a little story:

On January 5th I drove to the basket and landed on my hand. I automatically assume the worse because it was my shooting hand but I continue to play through it because it was late in the game but I knew something wasn’t right and I went to the trainer right after. I told him what happened and he said it was probably a minor sprain and with ice and some treatment it will get better. The following week I’d say it gets worse to a point where it’s excruciating pain just to shoot a basketball. Nobody really knows what I’m going through and to make the long story short I play the rest of the season dealing with this injury. Come to find out a couple days ago I have a ligament torn in my wrist and now they are talking about possibly getting surgery done once I graduate. But during this process I had to find something to keep me going. Basketball is my life I been playing since I was 3 years old. If something it going on in my life and I want to get away from it I go lose myself in the gym and go shoot. I love the game. But imagine not being able to do something you love to do because every time you do it it literally hurts. I even had a dream about this a couple nights ago and tears literally started pouring down my face in my sleep and when I woke up I knew it was still a reality. I miss it but this is what I was dealing with and I had to find something to motivate me to get through it. I would always have talks with my parents back home and they would always tell me how proud they were of how far I’ve come even though my performance wasn’t like it was last year they knew what I was capable of. But little did they know I physically couldn’t do it and that is what hurt me mentally the most. To be completely honest with you all from Jan 5th to the end of the season mentally was the worst time of my life. But talking to my parents and seeing back home that I had people that counted on me kept me waking up at 5AM and training. I couldn’t shoot because the pain was too much but I kept working on things in my room to keep my mind and body strong and in tune with myself.

I say all this to say, if you ever find yourself asking how can I keep the momentum going to accomplish my goals or tasks, whether it’s going to the gym everyday or eating healthy or going to work when you don’t feel like it, find something that will motivate you. Once you find that motivation I promise everything will be so much easier for you. Those days when you just don’t want to get up for work, when you think about your motivation your body will switch into another gear and you will find yourself never contemplating those thoughts again.

I want you to take some time out of your day today and think about it now and write it down so it’s a daily reminder to yourself, what motivates you?

Benefits of drinking water when first waking up

Everyday whether your working all day or going to class your body has exerted energy and power. That’s the reason that you get thirsty and want to soothe yourself through hydration. But something that you may not have known was that drinking water first thing in the morning has many health benefits.

Every morning when you wake up your body is craving water. The human body is composed of more than 50% of water to keeping it refreshed with water is very important. When you do this in the morning you will see amazing benefits from it. Maybe after reading these benefits that I will give you, you will also join me and drinking water first thing in the morning as well.

#1 Drinking water first thing in the morning immediately helps rehydrate the body.

A lot of people don’t realize that when you go to sleep for that six-eight hour time period that’s literally your body not having any consumption. So when you wake up feeling thirsty that’s your body telling you that it needs to be replenished. Drinking two-three glasses of water when you wake up on an empty stomach allows you to quickly rehydrate.

#2 Drinking water first thing in the morning helps fuel your brain

One thing you may not have known is that our brain is made up of over 70% water. So when you are not properly hydrated your brain operates on less fuel causing you to feel drained and feel fatigued. It can also help your memory and brain performance.

#3 Drinking water first thing in the morning increases your level of alertness

One of the main indicators of fatigue and tiredness is your dehydration. A lot of times when you first take a drink of something in the morning you literally feel like a shock went through your body. I know a lot of people like coffee or tea first thing when they wake up but try water. Water can stimulate faster growth of red blood cells in your system which generates more oxygen in your blood. When this happens it gives you a good burst of energy.

#4 Drinking water first thing in the morning helps get rid of the toxins in your body

Drinking a few glasses of water in the morning can help flush out all of the toxins that stores in your body overnight. As you drink it, it naturally stimulates movements in your bowels. During the night your body repairs itself and takes out all of the toxins in your body. Drinking water in the morning will help flush out these toxins giving you a fresh body.

As you start this process of drinking water on an empty stomach in the morning you will also start to see your skin start to glow and your metabolism increasing. Water is one of the most underrated things when it comes to having a better lifestyle that people look at. I know for myself I never used to drink water I was always a big juice fanatic but when my body started cramping during games and I would always drink juice after a workout and would still feel thirsty I wondered why. And it’s because water does so many things to your body that you have no idea it would even affect but it does.

Try this out for two weeks and let me know if you see any progress in your health!

Coach Q

Benefits of NoFap

Fellas I wanted to touch on this subject because I think this is something that a lot of you may be dealing with and having struggles with. When you watch porn and jerk off you are actually lowering your testosterone levels. Your semen literally has nutrients and vitamins in it that you need to be a man. Women can sense a man’s masculine energy from a mile away but when you masturbate your limiting yourself from certain options. When you masturbate you’re not at your strongest, ever think why after you masturbate you feel tired? It’s because you’re emptying yourself of the nutrients that men need to have. Now in order to fix this you need to have goals and aspirations that your passionate about and translate that energy that you spend jerking off towards that goal. I know some of you will spend hours at a time watching porn but just imagine taking that time and putting it towards a business you want to start or hitting the gym. This is called SEXUAL TRANSMUTATION. I only know this because it is something that I used to do myself. But once I was able to restrain from it and put my energy towards the weight room and basketball my life started to change. I had a different swagger about myself and quite frankly when I walked into any room I owned it. My confidence level was and still is through the roof. And I would say restraining from porn had a lot to do with this because I know after I would masturbate my testosterone level was low and I wasn’t motivated to do anything at all. All I wanted to do was take a nap after and when I woke up half my day was already over. A number of things will improve when you stop jerking off to porn. Some of these things are you will have improved confidence, your motivation to get things done will improve, your sex life will improve and lastly your all around aura will improve. You should want to be the most masculine version of yourself but can’t be the masculine version of yourself if your beating your meat and watching porn. How do you expect for you to walk into a room and have women feel your energy when all your energy is being wasted on porn all day? This dampens your masculine energy and it’s something that as a man you should pay attention too. Now if you find this to be you I’m not saying to go cold turkey and stop watching porn because you will relapse but I am suggesting too limit the amount of times you watch it gradually and eventually it will become easier for you to control yourself.

The importance of a good warm up

A lot of times especially for myself when I first started training and wanting to get my body in shape I would never warm up. Even playing basketball I would do two or three stretches then jump right in and play. Over the years I over looked the importance of a good warm up and this is why I want to help you. I find that we skip warming up for numerous reasons whether you are pinched for time or think you don’t need to, it is something that I would highly recommend that we all do.

One of the benefits of warming up is that you prevent yourself from having injuries. I know this personally dealing with hamstring injuries if I had warmed up before hand and took the proper precaution and stretched properly I truly think that I could have prevented my injuries. Even until this day now that my body is healed I learned my lesson from before to never just jump into a workout.

Another benefit that warming up provides is the mental preparation part. Sometimes you may not be in the mood to workout so you find yourself not motivated to get it done. But I have found that if I warm up it sharpens my mind and gets me focused on the task that I am going to accomplish and therefore will put me in the right frame of mind. If the mind is ready to endure the discomfort from your workout then your body can prepare for the task at hand.

The last benefit that I have discovered from warming up is that it enhances your performance. During a warm up your blood flow increases which causes an increase in your muscle temperature. The more blood going to the muscles along with more oxygen available to the working muscles means better performance.

I would recommend that your warm up should be no more than 10-20 minutes. Some exercises for warming up are low intensity swimming cycling or running. Keep it moderately low so your body can adapt and get ready for your workout shortly after. You don’t want to kill yourself during your warm up and then have no energy for your main workout.

Can meal replacement shakes help you lose weight?

A lot of people including myself have always drank protein shakes before or after my workout to replenish our bodies. Some people even take a “meal replacement shake” which are intended to provide the full nutrition of a full meal. Some of these shakes come prepared in a bottle and there are some that are mixed with milk or water. When consuming them they contain a good amount of protein, fiber and essential vitamins that you would be getting in a regular meal. It’s basically an easy way to get quick meal on the go that is low on calories. But this big question that a lot of my clients as me is if I just take this and not eat, will it help with my weight loss process. And today I am here to break it down and give you the answer.

#1 Help you avoid unhealthy food

Meal replacement shakes are portable and convenient for you so the next time you want to stop by McDonald’s this would give you less temptation. Also eating fast food would not be giving you all of the key nutrients that you need. One of the most common excuses that I hear when it comes to eating healthy is the time it takes to prepare certain foods. Now I’m not saying that I’d suggest taking one every time instead of making a meal from whole foods but if your schedule and jam packed and you are on the go taking a meal replacement shake is a better option.

#2 May help you lose weight faster

Reducing your calorie intake is one of the main factors to help you losing weight. One of the challenges of sticking to a low calorie diet is that you may end up feeling hungry. The key to taking meal replacement shakes is that they will help you feel full during this process while consuming fewer calories. Also they can help with people who struggle with type 2 diabetes and help then lose weight faster than someone who is trying to diet conventionally.

#3 Some are high in protein which will help with weight loss

The good thing about meal replacement shakes is that not all of them are the same. Many are high in protein which is a major factor when it comes to weight loss. Higher protein diets makes you feel more satisfied which will then lead to you eating fewer calories throughout the day.

Risks

Some risks that come with taking a meal replacement shake so that some of them contain unhealthy ingredients such as added sugars, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives and corn syrup. Also some shakes may contain more sugar than protein which would not help lose weight but gain it. So you have to be very careful when picking out the right shake if you want to go this route.

Another risk is that this is not a long term solution for you. Many people take these shakes and try to replace it for whole foods. This will not work because not only do whole foods have vitamins and minerals that you won’t get in a shake, it also has compounds and enzymes that may be hard to put into a bottle.

Lastly they do not fix bad eating habits. Generally just dieting does not work for weight loss it requires long term lifestyle changes. While drinking meal replacement shakes, yes they can help you lose weight but they will not force you to change your unhealthy eating habits.

At the end of the day whether you want to go this route or not, meal replacement shakes can be used to your advantage when dieting but this is not something that I would recommend that you use for your main meals. I still suggest eating whole foods and taking these shakes from time to time will benefit you the most.

Is Creatine good for you?

Before vs After Creatine

A lot of people often wonder what supplements are good for them when they are wanting to workout and gain weight. A lot of mystery circulates when people hear the word creatine. Growing up I know for a fact when I mentioned it to my parents they were totally against it. They thought it was some type of steroid and that I would have all of these different problems if I took it as my body started to develop. And honestly that’s just parents for you. But in reality creatine is actually good for you. Whether you are an athlete or just somebody that wants to gain muscle, it can help you. Below I will list some of the benefits from it.

#1. Supports many other functions in muscles

Creatine is one of the most popular and effective supplements for getting bigger muscles. It can alter many cellular pathways that will lead to your muscles growing. A secret about creatine that many people do not know is that it increases the water content of your muscles. This then makes your muscles grow quicker than someone who is not using creatine.

#2 Improves High intensity exercise performance

Creatine can improve your athletic abilities in numerous ways. It can increase your strength, sprinting ability, Muscle mass, muscle endurance and your recovery. Creatine will benefit you regardless of what your fitness level may be. You do not have to be high level athlete to see the benefits from creatine.

#3 May reduce fatigue and tiredness

I know for myself when I wasn’t using creatine I would find myself getting tired during my lifting sessions and would feel very sore the next day. But when I first started taking it I didn’t see any major results until the fourth week in because at first it has to get in your system and you go through a ” loading stage”. But once the fourth week came around I was literally powering through my workouts. Fatigue was not really a factor when I was taking it consistently and I found myself getting stronger and the more I lifted the more I got addicted to the results.

#4. It’s safe and easy to use

A lot of people look for different supplements to help them gain muscle or they try and take the easy way out and use steroids which cause tons of money and comes with a whole bunch of side effects. Creatine is simple and easy to use and is one of the least expensive products on the market right now.

Overall I think creatine is one of the best products on the market and I know for myself when I want to bulk up and get cut I turn to it because it is the only product that has shown me results. Of course you can’t just take it and expect to get muscle if you are not working out regularly but it is definitely something I would recommended. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to comment below!

Making a lifestyle change

I’d like to say for the majority of my high school career I looked like the picture on the left. I would go into the weight room and not know what to do and copy what every one else was doing. I did not know how to lift or what exercises worked what body parts. Funny part is when I was a freshman in high school I broke my wrist lifting weights with 25lb dumbbells. I seen somebody doing hammer curls and I wanted to try them and never attempting them before here I was when a broken wrist because I didn’t know what I was doing. I was confused and was tired of being skinny so I wanted a change.

I always had abs but as you can see on the left my core was weak. I never worked any of the exercises that helped make them stronger. It was not until my sophomore year in college where I changed up my whole game plan. I knew that I wanted to gain weight but I didn’t know how to do it. So I met with my trainer and he gave me a guideline of what to do everyday and he started with a meal plan.

The Basics
5AM Cardio – 1 Mile per day

Read at least 3 Chapters per day of a book

Air Alert

Program Weight Training Program & Stretching
Meal Program – Eat 6-7 times a day – small meals every 2 to 3 hours. Drink a lot of water
1 – Morning – Eggs – 2 Whole or 1 Cup Egg White with 2 slices wheat toast, Glass of Water

1 Multi-vitamin

2 – Protein Shake – 1 Scoop 25 Grams – Mid morning with water

3 – Lunch – Chicken Breast, White Rice, Pasta, Turkey, Potatoes, Lettuce, Vegetables, Beef

4 – PBJ on wheat bread or rice cake

5 – Dinner – Same as Lunch

6 – Hand full of Almonds
Half Gallon of Water – Bring a 12 oz container and fill it up each time – Drink 4 of them at least
—————-
20 Push ups and sit ups in AM upon waking up, 20 push ups and sit ups before bed Hamstring, Groin and ankle stretching daily
Air Alert 5 Days a week for 12 Weeks follow program exactly
Weight Training 3 days a week – Light to moderate weight and body weight
500-1000 shots per day
Dribble and foot work Drills daily
Cardio – Daily 1 mile straight per day – AM before school
Stretching, Icing and massage your knees constantly

This was my life literally everyday. The only thing I modified in this program was my push-up routine. I would literally attempt to do a deck of cards twice a week just to build my body up and get the frame that I wanted. And I knew eventually if I kept this up my body would start to change so months would go by and I would start to see my body start to transition. My confidence grew, I walked differently and not to brag or boast but when you start to feel good about yourself and see the results you have a different swagger about you. And this is what I’m trying to get you to have. The mindset of you feeling good about yourself wherever you go and having an abundance mindset.

Now obviously this specific plan may not work for you (because I am a college athlete) but I just wanted to spark the idea of wanting to change yourself for the better. I could have easily just accepted the fact that it’s in my genes and I’ll be small a scrawny my whole life but my end goal was that I wanted to be the best at my craft and not get pushed around every time I’m on the court so I had to change. And not only the basketball court was a factor but overall life it was a health/lifestyle change for me. Getting up at am and training everyday was never easy for me but now I have made it part of my routine where if I had to train a client at 4:30 in the morning I can easily make that happen and not worry about oversleeping because it’s embedded in me.

So why wait until tomorrow to start your change why not start today?

Benefits from Yoga

Going to yoga regularly can provide you with mental and physical health benefits. Yoga focuses on your body’s natural tendency toward health and self healing. At first when I went to my first yoga class I thought it was going to be very weird and strange because of the environment but once I finally realized the benefits that I actually got from it, it helped me a lot. While there are more than hundreds of different types of yoga most of them typically include breathing, meditation and holding different postures that stretch different muscle groups.

Some of the physical benefits include

Increased flexibility
Increased muscle strength
Improved breathing and energy
Weight reduction
cardio and circulatory health
Prevention from injury

Some of the mental benefits that yoga provides are managing stress better which can have a negative impact on the body and mind.Having stress in your life can cause sleeping problems, inability to concentrate and lower your immune system. Also practicing yoga can create mental clarity and relaxes your mind so you can become one with your body. When this happens you can sense things more clearly in your body so you may notice a pain in your body that you might have overlooked and you can get it taken care of. And what is good about yoga is that anyone can join. You don’t have to be a expert in it if you simply want to get in tune with your body and your inner self you can start today!