MET
MET. Maybe you’ve noticed the three strung-together letters around your local fitness establishment. Maybe you gave them thought … but most likely you didn’t.
What were those three letters doing plastered to the sticker on the side of the stair master? What does MET stand for? What does it mean? And how does it impact us?
MET is an acronym for metabolic equivalent. It stands for an estimate of the number of calories burned during activity.
Our bodies use oxygen for energy. The more oxygen we use, the more calories we burn. Simple as that. At rest, our metabolic equivalent is roughly 1. Should we get off the couch and cease rest, opting for a light- to moderately-paced jog instead, our METs would increase. A not-so-strenuous jog can be about 7-8 METs, depending on the individual and the jogging conditions. Because of increased intensity and heightened demands on the body, we are using more oxygen – 7-8 times more than at rest. Therefore, we are burning more calories with the greater workload.
How does this translate to burning calories? Here’s the formula: METs x 3.5 x weight in kg / 200 x minutes performed
Example: Matt weighs 90 kg (that's 198 lb – to get pounds, multiply kg x 2.2). He participated in a HIIT program for 30 minutes, working at 11 METs.
11 x 3.5 x 90 / 200 x 30 = 527 calories
Matt burned 527 calories during his workout.
Of course, like everything, it gets more nuanced than this. Many factors go into weight loss – one’s metabolism, age, weight, lean body mass, etc. But hopefully you get the idea. If your goal is to lose weight, it might be wise to include high-MET activities into your routine.
So the next time you see or hear of the word MET, you’ll know exactly what is being shown or presented.
WORDS and your Frame of mind
"We will take good care of him."
Words are only that, words. But they sure do have a powerful impact on the mind!
This morning, my almost-4-month-old son had surgery. It wasn't a serious surgery, but he still had to be put under. Like any parent, I was nervous. Really nervous.
Before taking him to the operating room, I met with several members of the hospital staff, including the surgeon. Each one before leaving me said seven words that stuck with me: "We will take good care of him."
Did the words change the doctor's ability? No. Did the words change the staff's competence? No. But the words did one thing: put my mind at ease. They gave me a mindset that trusted the process; my spirits were lifted; the words gave me greater optimism.
What I'm getting at is this: what is it you need to tell yourself in order to perform better, to get through a difficult set, to weather a difficult situation? Sometimes a few positive words make all the difference in the world. "I *can* do it." Or, "I've prepared for this -- I'll make it to the other side."
If you've put in the work and have spent the time in preparation, give yourself the words of encouragement to put yourself over the edge. A positive frame of mind will ALWAYS defeat a negative one.
Now, go #dowork!
(And by the way, my son is doing great!)
Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
You asked for it, you got it! Once a month, we'll spotlight one of Mrs. Farmer Gym’s favorite recipes.
This month: Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Bars:
1 c oats
1/4 c wheat bran*
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
2 very ripe bananas
2 scoops protein powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 c almond milk
2 egg whites / 1/4 c egg substitute
dash of salt
*can be replaced with flax seeds or oat bran, or omitted
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 8” round or 8”x8” square pan. In a large mixing bowl, stir dry ingredients together. Add ripe bananas and mix until well mashed. Stir in egg whites, almond milk, and applesauce. Pour into pan. Optional: sprinkle with granola to top. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until firm.
Makes 4 servings. Approximate nutrition per serving:
220 calories
1 g fat
6 g fiber
15 g protein
optional:
1 c blueberries or raspberries
1 c diced apple
PUT ON MUSCLE
Every morning between 5 and 6am I wake up with my newborn. And every morning at the same hour, he chugs 4 to 5oz. of milk. A boy has to grow, right?!
Many times when feeding him, I play a college football podcast. (34 days until kickoff!) To start the show this morning the hosts talked about quarterbacks across the country gaining weight. A football player, like my son, has to grow! Three named QBs put on approximately 20lbs. over the course of only several months!
How can this be? How can a person put on 10, 15, or 20lbs. of muscle in only half a year?! Something fishy has to be going on, right? Wrong. It's not easy, but it can be done.
First and foremost: a new college football player is ripe for muscle gain. He is the type of person who has the appropriate hormones kicking on at the right time -- an 18-21 year old male with lots of testosterone.
Beyond that:
*Calories coming in *must* be more than calories going out. And if you want the weight gain to be more lean muscle than bulky fat, make healthy food choices. That excludes frequent fast-food stops and at-home foods high in saturated fat.
*Get your protein! Protein builds the body; carbohydrates and fats give it energy. So, if you're not consuming protein, you're not building the body right. A good rule of thumb for the active, weight-bearing lifter without bodily complication: 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.
*Fuel up before and after workouts. No, there's not necessarily a magic window, but eating too far in advance and too far after a workout isn't a great idea. Take in solid nutrients pre- and post-workout. This will allow substances to quickly enter into your cells and begin the building and replenishing process.
*Compound Movements + Volume + Frequency = Results! Squat. Deadlift. Pull-up. Bench Press. Overhead Press. Clean. Dip. Bent-Over Row. Lunge. (Sorry Bicep Curl fans...) The large muscle groups *must* get hit. Now, use a heavy-ish weight for reps and sets. 60-85% 1RM, for example; 6-12 reps across for 3-6 sets. These are just ballpark figures -- specific alterations must be made for a particular individual. Now hit it hard for 4 days a week.
So there you have the blueprint. Sure, more intricate details are involved, but if you want to pack on muscle and increase weight, the above bullet points can be used as a guide.
Mental Resilience
“I’m not any different than anyone else. I just believe that you have a lot better chance of beating your problems if you have a determination and a drive to win.” - Robert Garbak
At Farmer Gym we endorse mental resilience. Our workouts are designed to not only build stronger bodies, but also create stronger minds. We believe that through the rigors of fitness, a harder, tougher mind is formed.
Knowing how fervently we promote strong minds, I wanted to turn to a source of inspiration, someone I consider to have one of the toughest minds around. I wanted to gather his thoughts on mental resilience. Where did his strength come from? How can we gain this mental edge? Cue Bob Garbark.
I got to know Bob nearly three years ago when I helped train at and manage a fitness center in Tallahassee, FL. There, I got to know Bob’s incredible story, which you’ll read some of below. The thing that struck me with him, though, is he *never* looked for sympathy; he never wanted someone to feel sorry for him; he never wanted the spotlight. He approached every situation with a warrior’s mentality – a humble warrior. I’ve since moved from Florida, but I’m thankful to have called Bob a co-worker and blessed to call him friend.
Before reading our conversation below, I want to first state the following: I went to Bob nearly two weeks ago asking him if he’d be interested in sharing his story. I gave him my thoughts and my ideas regarding what I’d like to cover. Bob then told me that his local newspaper, the Tallahassee Democrat, was coincidentally doing a piece on him. I had no idea of this when approaching Bob. Nothing below was taken from that article. This is a stand-alone writeup. But I highly recommend checking out what it is the Tallahassee Democrat had to say.
Q: What does mental resilience look like to you? And how does it help us in our daily lives?
A: Mental resilience is intangible. It’s a way of dealing with life and life’s downfalls. It’s a matter of believing in who you are, where you came from, and how you were raised – all while having faith in yourself and knowing that the man up above is going to take care of you.
Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your past. Tell us where your mental resilience came from and how it has grown throughout the years?
A: I’m originally from the Cleveland, Ohio area. I was quite active as a youth, playing pee-wee football and basketball; I remained active and continued to play sports into my high-school years. It was then, during my freshman year, that I was diagnosed with stage-4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
My mental resilience started the first time I heard the word cancer come out of my parents’ mouths. It was kind of like the movie Over The Top, where Sylvester Stallone’s character turns his cap backwards and he’s unbeatable; to me, I just turn my “cap” backwards, and I am able to beat cancer.
Since high school, I’ve had several close calls with my life. I’ve had a heart transplant, and recently, I’ve had stints put into my new heart. I can’t really explain it, but the minute I get bad news I automatedly go into the mode of winning – beating the obstacles in my way through working out and praying.
I don’t want to look like someone who is battling to live. I always take life’s challenges head on. I got that from my dad.
Q: Why do you believe so many people lack mental resilience?
A: I’m not sure if people lack mental resilience. A lot of people deal with life-threatening issues in their own way, but I believe your determination and fight can go a long way in whether you win or lose.
Q: Do you think this is a trait that can be taught or learned? If so, how might others build this mental fortitude?
A: Yes, I believe it can be taught, but you have to accept the issues you’re facing and you must put in the time and work to handle whatever it is you’re facing. What I mean by that is this: don’t act like you know more than the doctors (or other experts); do exactly what you’re told to do, and then some.
As I said in the beginning, have a relationship with the man upstairs and lean on your friends and family. Don’t be in denial. Be determined to win.
I spent a lot of time building mental resilience by thinking of how awesome it is going be to be cancer-free and to have a new, healthy heart. And I promised myself if I got those things I would not take it for granted and I would continue to take care of myself.
Q: What parting words do you have for our readers? What nuggets of advice would you like to give them about becoming stronger mentally?
A: My advice to people out there in Farmer Gymland is simple:
-Gather up as much information on your particular issue as possible. Ask a lot of questions, even if you think they’re stupid questions – the stupid question is the one you don’t ask.
-Believe in yourself and visualize how great it’s going to feel to win.
-Lean on family and friends and share your story with others who are battling a serious health issue; encourage them to pray, and to take a look at themselves in the mirror and accept what it is they’re dealing with and believe in who they are.
-I’m not any different than anyone else. I just believe that you have a lot better chance of beating your problems if you have a determination and a drive to win.
Get bitter or get better
Get bitter or get better, we choose.
It’s easy to let jealousy seep in when looking around our social landscape — there’s always someone posting some type of great accomplishment or some kind of incredible experience. Welcome to Facebook — or fill in the social-media-blank!
Unfortunately, when jealousy sets in, our attitude begins to change who we are. Resentment grows; anger builds. We become bitter, and we start to lose track of our worth and what it is we can do. Our energies become focused on something futile.
Instead of ill-will or selfish desire, try being happy for the person. Genuinely happy. We have no idea what path he’s been down to earn the experience; we may not have a clue how hard she worked for the accomplishment. Sure, some people have an easier road than others, but this is life; and life is not always fair.
After showing gratitude, it’s time to #dowork. Its time to sweat and get dirty! It’s time to work our butt off and maximize our God-given talents, to utilize the blessings and skills we’ve been given. But these blessings, these skills, cannot be capitalized off of with energy spent on bitterness. We must learn to use the energy on bettering who it is we are.
So tip the cap and give applause when it’s earned. And then get to work!
Get bitter or get better, we choose.
Don't Move The Plates
It’s incredibly important to keep the bar over your mid-foot during the barbell lifts, especially as the weight gets heavier. Why? Optimal leverage diminishes as the bar deviates from this position. In other words, the lift becomes harder to execute, and it can be more dangerous on your body as it drifts from your mid-foot.
At times it’s easy to see the bar drift during a lift; other times, it’s a little trickier. Although this isn’t a sure-proof way to pinpoint movement, it’s definitely a good indicator: watch the words and numbers on the plates. (Yes, the words and numbers — the 45 or whatever brand you use.) Do they move from their starting position? If not, odds are you were in a good position and moved in a relatively straight line. If they drastically changed, you likely weren’t set or the bar drifted as you executed the lift.
A number of things can cause movement — poor setup, rocking the body forward or backward, hand displacement, inappropriate lean, etc. For the sake of a strong, good, safe lift, try to get into appropriate position while you work up-to-down and down-to-up.
RESULTS -- THE FARMER GYM WAY
👇🏽 THAT is a ringing endorsement! 👇🏽
Travis is now on Week 12 of our 14-Week, The Farmer Gym Way program. Putting in work while staying committed to the process will pay off. #embracethegrind Props on the work you’ve put in, T-Bell!
You can get your copy of The Farmer Gym Way on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Age Is Just A Number
I’m 36. My physical “prime” is in the past. But if I live with an I-can’t-get-better mindset, I’ll always settle for less. Today I did a first: 140# 30” Box Jump. (And it scared the crap out of me!)
Don’t settle for less. You have one life to live and one body to live it in. #dowork and #neversettleforless!
GROW STRONG, BOTH MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY
It’s not just brainless broscience...
“Exercise is the most transformative thing that you can do for your brain today … you can think of your brain like a muscle. The more you’re working out, the bigger and stronger your hippocampus and prefrontal cortex gets. Why is that important? Because the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus are the two areas that are most susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases and normal cognitive decline in aging.”
So do your body AND your mind some good. Pick up a weight; hit that trail; move your butt! And #growstrong, both mentally and physically.
CREATE YOUR OWN EMOM
Create your own EMOM:
A buddy and I text regularly about our workouts. (My text history is actually chocked full of fitness conversations with a number of people.) Today an EMOM workout was brought up; EMOM comes up quite regularly with this person, in fact. That spurred me to create this post.
First, what is an EMOM? For those unfamiliar with the acronym, it stands for “Every Minute On the Minute”. How it works: you select an exercise or two and an accompanying exercise scheme. For example, push-ups for 10 reps and sit-ups for 10 reps. Next, you choose a timeframe. For example, 15 minutes. Now, the fun part — the work! Start your clock and execute 10 push-ups followed by 10 sit-ups, then rest the remainder of the minute. At the start of the following minute, again execute 10 push-ups followed by 10 sit-ups, and once again rest for the remainder of the minute. You’ll continue this process until your allotted time (in this example, the 15 minutes) is up. If you get to a point where you can no longer perform the listed work, decrease the number of repetitions; this will rest the muscles some and provide the body with a little more time to recoup.
Create your own EMOM: my friend and I love to incorporate one moderate-weight compound exercise followed by a bodyweight exercise. Why? The weighted exercise provides an excellent stimulus on the entire system while taxing a particular group of muscles. The paired bodyweight exercise does the same, but not to the extent the weighted movement does. In addition, this back-to-back, weight-bodyweight pairing heightens the cardiovascular system, thus increasing the heart rate (you take in more oxygen and burn more calories).
Some favorites: 5 deadlifts followed by 10 push-ups. (If you want to torch the back, replace push-ups with pull-ups; you’re unlikely to make it long with this combination.) Or, there’s 5 overhead presses followed by 10 air squats. (Going from upper body to lower body — or vise versa — enables the system to recoup some, even though you’re working.) There are a TON of combinations, and a number of good combinations. One exercise at a time can be used; three exercises at a time; a weighted exercise and a run... The list goes on and on. It simply comes down to what you want out of the workout. I’ll say this: if you’re picking a weighted compound movement — deadlift, squat, power clean, etc. — err on the side of caution with the rep scheme; when it comes to bodyweight exercises or dumbbell/kettlebell exercises, there’s room for higher reps.
Choose wisely, friends... And #growstrong!
FITNESS JOURNEY AND THE STOCK MARKET
Our fitness journey is like the stock market. (Bear with me.) Both have a start point and an end point -- or, a where-we-are-now point; both seek to improve; both have highs and lows; both come with times of struggle and triumph.
Take a look at the chart and really examine it for a minute. What do you see? You see gradual, incremental improvement over time; you see a steady climb to the top! The stock market didn't increase in value over night -- it took years. It didn't quit or cease to exist because it had a "bad" season. It continued to exist; it turned itself around, and it continued the climb.
There will be ups and downs during our fitness journey. It's inevitable. The key is to not give up when things get tough, when things take a downturn. It's at those times we must dig deep and fight especially hard; know that it's just a season and there is something better around the corner. With grit and perseverance our circumstances can change.
Do you want your fitness to land on the green circle? Do you want to reach your goals? Then fight through the red arrows; don't let the down times determine your failure or success. Know that it's a process to the top; a painstaking process to get to where it is you want to go. Embrace the process. Don't quit. Now ... #dowork!
Nation Wide
The word is spreading... Our goal is to grow strong bodies nation wide, and thanks to you progress is being made. We appreciate you for letting us be a part of your fitness journey!
KEEP THE WEIGHT OFF
What's the trick to losing weight? Well, according to a collection of data from over 10,000 adults, The National Weight Control Registry concluded that those who successfully keep off weight have the following behaviors:
*98% of participants modified their food intake in some way
*94% increased their physical activity (with 90% exercising an average of about 1 hour per day)
*78% ate breakfast every day
*75% weighed themselves at least once a week
*62% watched less than 10 hours of TV per week
So, it's not necessarily a trick, it's more so tricks. And, of course, we all respond differently to diets and exercise. But if weight loss is your goal, there is definitely something to be said about the NWCR findings.
Check it out at: http://nwcr.ws/research/default.htm
Diet
Last week I got into several discussions about my new "diet," so I thought I'd elaborate on it some here:
(Before going further, let me underscore that I'm *not* a dietitian or nutritionist -- claiming to be an expert on this matter or telling you what to do with regard to your diet would be negligent on my part. I'm a trainer, a coach -- fitness is where my expertise lies. I'm simply telling you what I'm doing, how it's working for me, and why I'll continue to pursue my strategy.)
The diet:
Monday - Friday, from the moment I wake up until 5pm, I stick to a liquid, vegetable, and fruit diet. After 5pm, I eat as I always have. Saturday and Sunday, I eat as normal -- as I always have. Weekday example:
Breakfast: Cookies and Cream protein shake, with banana, spinach, skim milk, and ice.
Lunch: Vanilla protein shake, with strawberries, banana, spinach, skim milk, and ice.
Afternoon snack: One of the above shakes -- depending on what sounds best.
In between the shakes I typically have an apple or two, maybe some baby carrots.
After the 5pm hour: No rules. Whatever sounds good, I eat. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not shoving whole pizzas and a bucket of fried chicken down my throat...)
This diet has limited my fat and poor-food-choice intake (not to mention limiting my sodium, cholesterol, and processed-foods intake, and increasing my fiber consumption); it has helped me to consume meals in moderation; my digestion has improved; and, in only a week's time, I can see bodily improvements. Another benefit: I've saved a little money -- buying protein, fruits, vegetables, and milk in bulk has been good on my wallet! Oh! My workouts... They've been great! I really haven't skipped a beat. I'm full of energy (that is relative, might I add, as my newborn son likes to keep me up at odd hours during the night)!
To wrap up this post, what I'm getting at is this: we all can make healthy changes, and those changes don't have to be incredibly drastic or completely disrupt our lives. Small steps equal progress. Whether it's a new diet tweak or it's adding (more) exercise to your daily routine, it can be done. It just takes some willpower; but, believe it or not, after some time that willpower turns into habit, and it really does't take that much effort. In time, you may begin to enjoy it! The best part: it's good for you! It's adds to your life; it can make you a stronger all-around person.