Client Welcome Page
What to Expect
I’m so excited to help you with your health and fitness goals!! Below is some information I hope you find helpful and encouraging to get the most out of our time together; along with additional positive, healthy lifestyle tips that you can keep in mind with you forever.
I tried to keep this short and to the point. Please take the below information as you please; I know it can be a bit overwhelming at first.
Training Structure
Our training may seem different than what you are formelry used to. I typically prescribe programs focused on progressive overload for 4-10 weeks, dependent on a few factors. This structure allows us to improve form safely and effectively, while progressing optimally, whether your goals are fat loss, muscle building, strength, or some combination in-between.
Shoes
For resistance training, a flatter, stiff soled shoe is preferred (as opposed to a cushioned running shoe). When training, we want to have a stable base to push off from for both safety and efficacy. Converse and Vans are commonly owned shoes that can be worn, or a more specific training shoe such as Reebok Nanos (wider toe box sneaker), or my personal favorites that I highly recommend -- barefoot shoes, such as Vivo Barefoot or Origo. Typically for barefoot shoes you want to size up 1/2 size bigger (to allow toes to naturally spread).
Keep It 100
For us to work together optimally, as a team, we must have good communication. The more honest and direct with me you can be, the better I can try to help you. What we do in the gym is important, but it’s arguable that what is done outside the gym is even more important. Please be open with me so we can find realistic, sustainable solutions and courses of action that will help aid your health and fitness goals.
Patience
With the abundance of input we are exposed to daily with social media, it can be very easy to compare yourself and your progress to others. If this is something you struggle with, please remember to be gentle and loving to yourself; take it day by day and focus on you and just doing your best. You got this!
Nutrition
For best results, general health and well-being, I strongly recommend the basis (70-80%) of your food intake consisting of nutrient-rich whole foods. In other words, foods that are fresh and minimally processed. For example, focus on eating primarily foods that your great-grandparents ate, rather than the abundance of prepackaged items we so readily have today on the shelves. While prepackaged foods are undoubetly convenient (especially if you have a busy schedule), consuming mostly fresh, whole foods have numerous advantages such as being higher in nutrients (vitamins and minerals), lower in calories (less fat & sugar typically), and much better for your gut health, which impacts your overall health in countless ways (many diseases and other unpleasant symptoms can be traced back to having an imbalanced microbiome in the gut).
I take a more practical approach when it comes to nutrition; I believe there is a physical and mental benefit to enjoying yourself in moderation, as you should, especially when life has its occasions – enjoy it! Just remember what you do the most and consistently has the greatest impact. Consume a balanced diet of fresh foods, reduce processed foods, get in adequate protein, and strive to have reasonable portions. Do it for your current self, and your future, older self will thank you too. At the end of the day, the best method of eating is one you can be consistent with and works for you.
Speaking of gut health, I strongly encourage every human to take pre & probiotics regularly – whether it’s in capsule form, yogurt, kefir, kombucha, etc. Truly, the benefits of having a healthy gut are plentiful!
If you would like more specified help with your nutrition (such as learning how to count macros), let me know! This is an eating strategy that will take additional time and effort on your part, but will pay off if adhered to correctly. I believe everyone should have experience with counting macros at some point in their life. While you don’t have to do it forever, it will leave you with a deeper understanding and appreciation for the “worth” of food.
For a brief overview on fat loss and calories read this by yours truly. ;)
If the convenience of purchasing from a meal prep company interests you, here are a few (of many) local companies in SD that you can check out:
Supplements
Supplements can be beneficial but should not be seen as a replacement. Strive to get as much macros (protein, carbs, fats) and micros (vitamins & minerals) as you can from wholefoods. If you struggle with protein intake (consuming roughly around lean body weight in protein, ex. weight is 150lbs – strive to eat roughly 130 grams of protein a day). This is where a protein supplement can help out:
Water
For general health, it is recommended you drink about a gallon of water a day (this keeps you hydrated and helps flush toxins out from your body). For example, if you use a 32oz Hydroflask, it is recommended you fill and consume it at least 4x daily. Or about 7½ standard 16.9oz water bottles.
Cardio
If fat loss is a goal, cardio can be a good way to expend additional calories. While it is not mandatory to lose fat, cardio can help with aiding in a slight caloric deficit, along with general benefits of overall heart health.
We can talk about this in more detail, depending on your health and fitness goal(s). In the meantime, here are some small tips you can take daily on your own that can add up and have a big impact on the goal of fat loss.
Striving to get more steps in throughout your day sounds so miniscule, but is a great low-impact, low-intensity activity. For example, let’s say your Apple watch (or other device/phone) reports you average about 5k steps a day. You could make it a goal to get 7k each day for a week, then following each week slowly increase it a bit more (ex. 500-1k steps a day). If you have a dog, this can be a beneficial activity for you both! Everyone is different, in both body and goals, but a good rough average to strive for is at least 10k steps a day.