Friday, December 26, 2014

Why Versus Boot Camp?



Do you want to be a 98%'er?  Most of our Versus coaches started in a "98%" place mentally and stayed trapped there for much longer than we care to admit.  Its a tough place to be but each of us finally found the way out.   

-What is 98%? 

In short, being a 98%'er is a mindset.  It's the way you think.  An example might be saying things like:

  • “There’s nothing I can do”
  • “They make me so mad”
  • “That’s just the way I am”
  • “I don’t have the time”
  • “I'll never do that”
  • “I have to do this”
  • “I can’t, that’s me”

-Today, we train people looking for the same way out.

We've struggled through our own mental and physical transformations.  We've spent years trying to build muscle and lose fat, all while screwing up plenty along the way.  After all of the trial and error we discovered there is only one way out of our old lives:

Defeat the “negative mind-set” once and for all.

A negative 98% mindset is looking at your body and the world in a way that guarantees failure. It makes you feel "stuck", insignificant and small. Not only when you’re in the gym, but even when you’re just out living your life.

Most folks stay locked in this mindset forever and never get the body they want. Often, their lives — much like their bodies — are destined to remain average.  Being average is easy.  Breaking the mold is hard but sooo worth it.

With the right tools and a little coaching, you can permanently escape this mindset, and maybe even change your life. 

We’d like to show you how to transition to thinking/saying things like:
  • “Let’s look at what we can do”
  • “Let’s choose a different approach”
  • “I will do this”
  • “I am in control of my own feelings”
  • “I can do this”
  • “I choose”
  • “I will”
In our boot camps, your coach will help you make these small changes.  Each day you show up willing to put in the work, you'll notice micro changes.  Those little bitty gains and changes in your mindset and in your body is what this journey is all about.

Remember, there are no overnight successes and there are no short cuts. 

Lastly, one year from now, you'll wish you started today.  So don't let tomorrow, turn into never!

Here is a list of all our boot camps:
 
BOOT CAMP

If you have anymore questions like:
  • I've never worked out before.  Can I do this?
  • I'll miss the first week of camp.  Should I still sign up?
  • I can't run, should I still sign up?
Shoot me an email at steve@versusstrengthandconditioning.com and I will help you.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Why RUN VSC?


Are you spending countless hours on the road, training for your next race, and feel like you’re not getting any faster?

Are constantly worn out, over trained, and injured?
The vast majority of endurance athletes get injured during the typical training year…
Enter the VSC Running Clinic.
Coach Michael Frierson spent the last 10 years running races of all types:  5k, 10k, half marathon, marathon, 50k, spartan race...  I asked him why attending the Run VSC clinic would be vital to any level of runner and a few other questions:
Versus- "What's the longest distance you've competed/completed?"
Michael- "I completed the Carl Touchstone 50k.  While training for the race, our team logged over 350 miles... All injury free."
Versus- "What's your fastest 5k?"
Michael- "Recently, 20:54.  In my opinion the 5k is one of the hardest races.  If you build a good level of endurance completing a 5k isn't too difficult.  Trying to run it hard is very difficult in my opinion."
Versus-  "Why should you sign up for the VSC Running Clinic?"
Michael- "Its a great value!  As a client you'll get video analysis of your running form, weeks worth of skills and drills to take home and practice,  nutrition information for all race distances and mobility techniques for injury prevention.  Most importantly, we will help improve your technique immediately."
Regardless of your endurance background the VSC Running Clinic has you covered…
Are you looking to improve your running and endurance just so you can get a better 5k time?
The Skills & Drills program will help you do just that. With 6 weeks of ‘homework’ that you can fit into to your daily warm ups you’ll be running more efficiently in no time.
Do injuries have you sidelined? 
Shin splints?  Plantar fasciitis?  Knee pain?  Do you heel strike when you run?  The mobility and technique portions of this seminar can help!
So, If you’d like to get faster, reduce your chance of running injuries, improve your technique, and complete your first, or your best race... 
Sign Up Now: Click Here!

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

How to gain momentum: 5 Tips

I'm pretty sure that most of you out there in internet land have lost your momentum, drive, mojo, will power or whatever you want to call it at some point in time.  You know the feeling:

  • You don't want to accomplish anything,
  • It's hard to get out of the bed and go to work (and heck they are paying you to show up)
  • You make excuses for everything
  • All you want to do is scroll mindlessly through Facebook, Instagram, snap chat or set your fantasy sport roster for the 100th time to keep your mind off of what you should be doing.

Does any of this sound familiar?  If it does... keep reading!  If it doesn't... Well you must be a unicorn or something not real or whatever.

The "Why" of losing motivation or momentum could be a billion things.  Everyone's situation in life is different.  Everyone is a special unique little snowflake.  But what all of these little snowflakes have in common is the ability to change their situation or circumstance. Or ,better yet, the power to change the way we think about our situation or circumstance.  Keep your situational change ability in mind as you read ahead.

I guess the big question looming is "Why" did I lose momentum or "How" did I lose momentum. Like I said earlier, it could be a billion reasons and those reasons do need to be explored.  BUUUUUT some folks get so consumed in the "Why and the How" that they never do anything to change their situation.  Being consumed with the W and H is what we like to call- the emotional rocking chair.  Don't get caught in the emotional rocking chair!  You may be rocking away, but you are not making any progress.

So how do you change your situation?  I guess is where the catchy title comes to play!!!

Tip 1- Positive Self Talk. 

Read this next sentence carefully, "Do not picture Brad Pitt on top of the Eiffel Tower wearing a pink bikini."  What just happened?  You pictured Brad Pitt sporting a pink bikini atop the Eiffel Tower, didn't you?  The words on this page became a thought, the thought then became an image and then a crooked smile popped on your face.  Your mind changes thoughts into images.  So what happens if you consistently have negative self talk?  "I can't do this.  I don't deserve change.  I don't want to change.  I am too busy."  In my opinion, if you think negatively, you will develop a negative outlook on life and you'll get caught in a different style of rocking chair:  The Negative Nancy Everything is Impossible Rocking Chair.  Be careful what type of thoughts you put into your head.  Those thoughts could very well be contributing to how you view your situation.

Tip 2- Help Someone else.

Ever heard the saying, "Tis better to give than to receive."?  Performing acts of kindness for a total stranger can put a smile on your face and on theirs.  Helping someone else sounds like a simple concept... So simple that there is no way it could work, right?  My thought is this:  In today's society we are consumed with, Wait!  Let me take a selfie!  We all have instagram, facebook, myspace (don't hate), iPhone, iWatch, and maybe an iLife.  It seems like everything has an inward focus.  By helping others it might just be possible to break the cycle of the current situation you are in and also put a smile on someone's face.

Tip 3-  Break Things Up.

Have a task that is blocking your way?  Does it seem insurmountable?  Is it just too much?  Answer this question, "How do you eat an elephant?"  Simple... One bite at a time.  Look at your huge task as a bunch of smaller task, right?  Nope not for me.  Looking at a lot of little stuff gives me anxiety.  Try breaking your huge task into 10min windows instead.  Literally set a timer for 10min and get to work! When the timer expires stop immediately.  If 10mins seems too long... make it shorter.  It is ok to stop.  The key issue is what?  YOU STARTED!  Positive thinking! #winning!

Tip 4-  Change your scenery.

You could literally change your scenery, like move to North Carolina or whatever, but how about looking at who you hang out with and what you do on a daily basis.  Do you socialize with loud and aggressive people that have negative habits and negative vocabulary?  Do you drink your sorrows away after work, and stumble to the couch day after day only to get up and do it all over again?  How's that working for ya?   Trying breaking the cycle!  Go to the gym instead of going to the bar!  Hang out with a new social group for a while.  Change your scenery or it will stay the same...

Tip 5-  Don't Trip.

A friend of mine once told me, "Don't trip about the future." Don't focus completely on the future is what he meant, I guess...  Couldn't agree more! So what happens if you future trip?  You will not be able to focus on the present.  Future thinking causes stress and won't allow us to stay engaged in the moment.  This mental chatter can make it difficult to maintain perspective and focus. If we’re too stressed about the future, we can’t make good decisions and solve problems and stay composed.  Stay focused and composed and build momentum!

Hopefully these tips can help lower stress levels, connect with the present moment, and create a more momentum. I hope some of this helps!

**Disclaimer**

I'm not a board psychologist.  I'm just a dude, disguised as a trainer, playing a psychologist in my spare time.  Really though, all I'm doing is making an observation.  I hope this can help someone.

Friday, September 5, 2014



Why should you join the last Versus Boot Camp of 2014?  I could give you a lot of reasons why but I'm biased  because I own Versus.  So why not turn it over to a client who just finished our 6 week boot camp?  Meet Kalee:



One of my coworkers sent out an email about this bootcamp. I had no clue what it entailed, but I had hit rock bottom and knew I needed to make a change in my life immediately. I signed up for bootcamp because I was miserable. I was huge and hated to look at myself in the mirror. I had a good looking husband who deserved better and a one year old that I couldn't keep up with. Since my old lifestyle consisted of sitting, eating, sleeping, etc. I knew that a "I'll go walking this summer" attitude would probably last maybe... a week. I needed something that would help me be consistent and keep me accountable. $150 is A LOT of money to pay as a teacher (and my husband decided to do it too so make that $300), so that also motivated me to stick with it. I kept thinking, if I can do this for 6 weeks, I can do anything! I'm also very competitive and driven, so I had the "go big or go home" attitude from the start. However, I'll never forget how nervous I was prior to going. I emailed my coach before signing up and asked her to make sure I wouldn't die!!!!! Those 6 weeks changed my life and I can't imagine not having Versus now.

I'll never forget the first day...we completed the first portion of exercise and Suzannah (my coach) said, "That's the warm up we will do each time." WHAT??!!! I thought that was the exercise!!! I was about dead from trying to make it 400 m. Immediately, I wrote in my black book that a goal of mine was to run 1 lap around the track without walking. Now, I'm able to run a mile with very little walking. It's amazing how much better my stamina has gotten. In addition to fitness results, I've changed my diet dramatically. We eat clean with very little "cheat meals" and I have a whole new attitude about food. I eat to fuel my body, not because I crave the food. We were eating fast food just about every night. Now, if we treat ourselves to a fast food meal, my body regrets it. I don't know how I use to eat that way daily. Because of "eating clean" and "training dirty", I accomplished huge results physically. I was wearing a size 14 when the bootcamp began and I set a goal to reach a size 8 (thinking this would be a WHILE) and now I'm wearing a size 6. I also set a goal to be confident wearing sleeveless shirts because my arms were huge! Now I'm seeing muscle in them instead of fat. I've lost a total of 30 pounds and 27 inches. My body is constantly changing and improving.

My favorite part of bootcamp was having such a close group of people to trudge alongside me. We were always encouraging one another, dying of pain together, and pushing each other to keep going. I also, of course, love having a personal coach and love mine dearly. She is always encouraging us and pushing me to a whole new level. I couldn't have made it without Suzannah. She's changed my life, and I will always be thankful for her. I've continued with the Versus AT class and am now setting and accomplishing new goals for myself. My husband goes to a later class so we can flip flop our child. It's a sacrifice of our time, but one that's well worth it. Not only are we improving our lives, we are also setting a positive example for our son. I'm now happier and more confident than I've been in a long time. I hope to inspire others to begin their new life and I always say, "A year from now, you'll have wished you'd started today!" 

Friday, August 15, 2014

Competitors List

Whats up guys and gals?  Here is the complete competitor list.  I might be missing one of you guys on there.  If I am, I apologize.



When you sent in your tee shirt size and what division you were in we made a list.  That determined the order you see here.  It is completely random.

Event 1 is the Thruster Ladder.  However you place in Event 1 will determine in what order you go in other events.

The gym will open tomorrow at 7am.  The Scaled Women will go first in Event 1 at 8am sharp.  RX Females will go next and RX guys will go last.

I will give detailed instruction and Demo of each event before you perform it.  

*******DISCLAIMER*******

This is a charity event.  We want this to be fun and competitive.  Judging won't be absolutely perfect just as all of your reps won't be perfect.  We will also try to have you guys done with the competition by 1pm.  Q-Doba mexican Grill stepped up and provided everyone with a Meal Deal Card for a discounted lunch.

Lastly,  I want to personally thank you for signing up.  We want to continue to host events in the future, so I hope this is the first of many to come.  The charity you guys are supporting is The Field House.  They are a local charity so check them out on facebook if you have time.

-Steve

Friday, July 25, 2014

Throw down Events

Event 1: Pure Strength 

Thruster Ladder-  30 second to complete each bar. 

Women Scaled weights- 35,45,55,65,75,85,95,105
Women RX-65,75,85,95,115,125,135
Men Scaled- same as women RX
Men RX- 115,135,155,175,185,195,205,225

Tie Breaker is Amrap deadlift at the weight on which you fail.  So if a Male Rx athlete fails at the 175 bar he can AMRAP deadlift 175 until his minute is over.
If any athlete in.  The bar must be held over head in a fully locked out position for an out loud 2 second.  The judge must say "good lift" for the rep to count.  The bar must pass through a full squat and end up locked out over head for the rep to count.
Estimated Time for Event: @25 Mins

Event 2- 1 Century, 2 Century, 3 Century

100 pull up
200 kbs
300 Double Unders

This workout may be split up by the team mates in any way they see fit.  However, they must complete the pull ups before moving to the kbs, and must complete the kbs before moving to the double under.  Pull up standards are as follows:  arms must be fully locked out at the bottom range of motion and chin must fully pass bar height.  Anything close will not count.  KBS standards are as follows: The kettlebell must be swung to shoulder height (russian swing).  Anything below shoulder height will result in a "no rep".  Double Under standards: Rope must pass under feet twice.  No singles or attempted double unders will be counted.


Scaled Women- Ring Rows, 25lb kbs, and singles 600reps
Scaled Men- Ring Rows, 35lb kbs, and singles 600reps
RX Women- Pull ups, 35lb kbs, and 300 doubles or 900 singles (both partners must do either singles or doubles.  No mixing of doubles and singles)
RX Men- Pull ups, 53lb kbs, and 300 doubles or 900 singles.
Estimated Time for Event: 60 Mins

Event 3- Cake Walk

3 rounds per person

10 wall ball
10 burpee (hop onto 45lb plate)
80 yard prowler push (high handle 40yrds and low handle 40yards)

Scaled women- 8lb wall ball to 8 foot target, Burpee to 45lb plate, prowler push with 20lbs of added weight
Scaled Men- 12lb wall ball to 10ft target, Burpee to 45lb plate, prowler push with 50lbs of added weight 
RX Women- 14lb wall ball to 8 ft target, Burpee to 45lb plate, prowler push with 50lbs of added weight
RX Men- 20lb wall ball to 10ft target, Burpee to 2 45lb plates, prowler push with 90lbs of added weight
Estimated Time for Event: 90 Mins

Event 4- Krebs Relay

1mile Run
2000m Row
1mile Run

Athletes must run 200m in a relay format until 1600m is completed.  Once 1600m is complete the athletes can move on to the rower to complete the 2000m Row.  The row must be done in 500m increments.  After 2000m row is complete the athletes may move onto the last mile run.  Athletes must run 200m in relay format until 1600m is completed.
Estimated Time for Event: 50 Mins

Monday, June 23, 2014

Being healthy is difficult.

I had a conversation with a client the other day about working out and nutrition (shocking right?).

This general conversation turned specific quickly.

Me: "Our stance on nutrition is pretty straight forward, but you have to start where you are right now.  If I tell you to eat only Meat and Veggies and you have a sugar addiction... Probably going to fail."

Client: "I bet all of this comes really easy for you.  You are at the gym every day and know what to eat and how much and what supplements to take..."


Our conversation continued for a little longer about specific small goals that we both decided were reasonable and obtainable for them.  After our conversation was finished I mulled over one part of it that stuck with me, "I bet this is easy for you."

I thought, "Do I give off the vibe that fitness is easy?"  If I do, buddy I sure do want to apologize.  This whole fitness and wellness gig is hard!!  First, I want to say if I can do it... you can do it.  Here is a little story:  A little over 7 years ago (Kellar will yell at me because I always get my dates wrong) I weighed 228lbs.  Thats 228lbs of squishy awesomeness!  After 3-4 years of hard work, I finally got down to 185lbs again.

How in the heck did a coach, personal trainer, and educated smoothie blending champion get to be 50lbs over weight?  The simple answer: LIFE.  Here are a few reasons why I believe I got so unhealthy.
  • I'm busy.  To be very honest, sometimes being busy is a valid excuse.  Busy is valid if the task you are trying to accomplish requires copious amounts of time.  I mean there are only so many hours in the day right?  Workouts, however, do not require tons of time.  Have you ever heard of TABATA?  Complete a 12min tabata session and tell me you aren't working on your fitness.  If you discover your excuse continues to be "BUSY" take a step back.  Slow down.  Do you really not have 12min to do something?  10 min?  5min? 1min?  Doing something is better than nothing.  Don't let the little voice inside your head say, "5min of jumping jacks... it won't do anything."  Doing nothing is inaction.  Inaction keeps you where you are.  WE WANT ACTION.  Find time to do something!  Remember, something is better than nothing!  I started by riding my bike.  It was something that I enjoyed and allowed my to unwind. 
  • I'm tired.  My alarm clock would go off at 5am.  I would hit snooze like 5 times, regularly.  I'm just not a morning person I'd say.  So, I'd go to work at 7am and work until 4pm.  After clocking out, I was done.  Mentally exhausted, physically exhausted and sometimes emotionally exhausted, I couldn't wait to get home to sit down.  I performed this cycle religiously.   If you find that your excuse is "TIRED" what do you do?  If you are tired all the time, your body is trying to tell you something.  Do you get 7-9hrs of sleep a night?  Do you ever have quiet or meditation time?  Do you eat a clean diet or is it loaded with dirty foods (grains, junk food, diet drinks, sweets).  I hardly ever got 7-9 hours of sleep.  I always ate fried food or fast food.  I also had a few adult beverages every week.
  • Its complicated.  How many grams of protein should I take in?  How much water should I have a day?  Are carrots good for you?  I was supposed to run a mile but I only ran half a mile.  Was my workout a waste?  Don't cut the grass while your house is on fire!  Instead focus on what information you know is right.  Water or soft drinks?  Fried or grilled?  Veggies or Fries?  Being active or sitting on the Couch?  All of the information in my head acted as a road block.  Think about a computer with 25 programs on at the same time.  Does it run fast or slow?  Is is able to get any one thing done?  Conversely, if you have one program open, how does your computer run?  Simplify your life, your workout, your nutrition by doing the simple things!  If you know it works stick with that one simple thing.  Don't worry about opening 24 other programs that will complicate and slow down your progress.

Those are only a few things that stand out to me.  I started small and focused on being consistent with the small things.   I want to leave you with a challenge.  Pick one small thing and focus on it for the rest of the month.

-If you always sleep in and miss workouts, reschedule to a later class or make it almost impossible to skip (have your clothes out, have your coach call you to wake you up, have a friend come pick you up.)

-If you always eat out, try making a healthy meal.  Get out the crock-pot and have a healthy meal waiting on you when you get home.

-If you are dealing with a nagging injury, go get a massage, see a chiropractor, stretch or foam roll, take some time to recover.

Being healthy is difficult, especially if you choose to do nothing.  Chose to take an action step!  Remember, doing something is better than doing nothing.


ps.  forgive the typos... I didn't have time to proof!  

Thursday, April 17, 2014

ROGUE SEMINAR TIMELINE


Web Version of Timeline

Day 1

5:00 – Observe group coaching class

6:20 – Introduction
·      Who we are and what we do
·      If anyone says the phrase “knowledge bomb” we will beat you like a circus monkey.
·      What we are here to teach you – general overview of weekend
o   Banking analogy – the long term approach
o   Movement quality and the adventures of Timmy – Why movement quality matters, how to get it.
o   Motor learning – building patterns and predictions
o   How to build systems and why outputs matter less
o   Energy systems overview and how they work together
o   Training and recovery cycles
o   Coaching – How to translate what’s in your head to something your client actually understands and does
·      How you can get the most out of this
o   Unifying principles not differences
o   Beginner’s mind
o   Investing in loss and anorexic hermit crabs
o   PN approach – one thing at a time
·      Q and A –
o   What do you want?
o   What do you think are your sticking points?

7:15 - Basics
·      What is training?
·      “Tools” analogy
·      Adaptation
·      Baseline Capacities
o   Movement
o   Biological Systems
·      Long Term Training Model

7:45 - Practical Demonstration
·      Breathing and Warm Up
·      Movement and HRR based exercise

Day 2

7:30 - Group workout. (roughly 75 minutes)

15 minute break

9:00 – Rehashing some concepts from yesterday (coaches can take a break here)
·      Banking analogy. What if an investment banker told you that he would give you great returns for the next three years, but that you’d end up bankrupt after that? Most training models work the same way. Play the long game and invest in yourself.
·      The adventures of Timmy
·      Investing in loss and anorexic hermit crabs

9:30
Movement based training approach
·      Progressions and regressions – The Peter Principle: It’s about the pattern, not the complexity. Train at your level of competency.
·      The importance of movement patterns. Everything is training a pattern and associations. Quick practical on ingrained motor patterns. Demonstrate “Steer your car to the right” drill, “write your name in the air with two hands” and cartwheels. Motor patterns become implicit, are performed differently under implicit recall and often can only be performed well with explicit recall. They are also highly specific and subject to degradation under stress. Training is stress inoculation of motor patterns.
·      Motor learning based approach – levels of complexity – refer back to long term approach

Break

10:30



·      All successful nutrition programs are based on shared principles:
o   High omega 3, low omega 6 (refined seed oils, inflammatory processes)
o   Vegetables, leafy greens
o   A focus on food quality and whole foods
o   Mindful eating – awareness of food
o   Inclusion of exercise
·      Diets can be broken down into “eat less shitty food” (Weight Watchers) or “don’t eat shitty food” (paleo, Mediterranean, vegetarian).
·      Calorie counting is unnecessary and doesn’t even make much sense from a biological standpoint.
·      Intermittent fasting
o   Who, when and why
·      Low carb athletes
·      Nutrition Q&A
11:45
Lunch

12:45
·      Assessments – how, why, when
·      Practicals on assessing partners

1:45
·      Neutral spine – what is it?

Practical
·      Finding neutral spine – hip lift and hip hinge (RDL)
·      Practical to include several PRI drills to assist with neutral spine

2:15
Triple flexion, triple extension
·      Next level of progressions –
o   Squat to stand – bodyweight then KB
o   Lunge Variations
Practical
·      Cover above movements

Break

3:00
Upper Body Movement
·      Upper body – scapulo-humeral motion

Practical
·      Cover all movements

Core work
·      What is the core, how does it work?
·      Progressions and regressions

Practical
·      Demo and coaching

Practical
·      “Hard Clients” – case studies
·      Q and A

Break

4:15
Basic coaching lessons you need to know
·      Group dynamics
o   Leading from the front, shaping the path and pushing the pace, using a single leader’s voice.
·      The Curse of Knowledge (practical exercise – tapping out songs to partners)

4:45
·      Signaling and biases
·      Influence psych
·      Signaling and biases

Break

5:15
·      Solutions-Based Coaching
·      Motivational Interviewing
o   Demonstration – Equivoque and funneling choices
o   Practical – Motivational Interviewing

6:00-ish – Break for the day



Day 3

6:30am

Programming Basics
·      Guiding Principles

7:15

Energy System Basics
·      Foundation
·      Group
·      Athlete

Break

7:30

·      Case studies and Q &A
o   Sample case studies: 300 Central American Special Ops guys with three instructors, Joe Warren (Bellator World Champion), Jon’s baseball guy, Special Ops candidates, Go Ruck and Tough Mudder candidates, Barefoot clients, Rogue fitness clients, PN clients
8:15
·      Gym PR practical
·      Short energy system based workouts (HRI, HICT, Dynamic Repeats)

9:15
Putting it all together and short Q&A

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Many Reasons



During our most recent 6 week challenge we had a client lose 18lbs.  I can hear some of the negative comments now, "A lot of that is water weight.  That's too much to fast." Etc etc.  The blood work and doctors disagree with all the negatives.  

Ask yourself this, do all these negative comments always come up when you want to try something new?  Do you try to find reasons why you shouldn't do something good for your health?

I do.  I find reasons why I shouldn't do things all the time.  Usually what I do is try and take a step back, try not to analyze every angle and focus on ACTION.  Action is way more powerful than sitting back and knocking holes in every opportunity coming your way.  

Our next 6 week boot camp starts March the 18th.  We will have a location in Hattiesburg and in Petal.  The burg camp will meet in the morning at 6am and Petal will meet at 5:15-5:20pm.  Stop coming up with many reasons why you shouldn't and find one reason why you should.  Don't be afraid to act.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Happy Hour!

All Credit goes to Nate Green and his staff!  Great Article:

Not-So-Happy Hour
Alcohol isn’t all bad or all good. As with so many things, there’s a grey area. But when it comes to building a lean, muscular physique, you can’t be getting wasted and expect fast muscle gain.
Today we’ll cover the impact of alcohol on health, body composition, and your attempts to get ripped

Why Alcohol Isn’t Muscle-Friendly
Calories
Alcohol provides 7 calories per gram (in comparison to the 9 calories per gram of fat and 4 calories per gram of carbohydrate or protein), making it a rich source of energy. But even though it’s energy-dense, alcohol is an extremely poor fuel source.
Instead of using the fuel for good stuff, your body instead decides to deposit it in your fat cells. And with the average beer coming in at over 140 calories, a night on the town will give you a few extra hundred crap calories.

Metabolism
Most guys and gals think they’re being smart by choosing vodka over beer (“Less carbs! I’m a genius!”), but they’re forgetting about metabolism regulation.
When you introduce a load of alcohol to the body, it throws the body’s normal metabolic processes out of whack. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days (depending on how much you drink) for your body to get fully back on track.

Ever notice how the next morning after a bender you feel sluggish and sick? Among many other things, that’s your body’s way of telling you that whatever you did last night was metabolically stupid.
We could go into a diatribe about acetaldehyde and acetate, but what’s the point? Good luck properly digesting 1500-2000 good calories the next day when your metabolism is still sucking wind.
race.

Poor workout performance
This one’s pretty self-explanatory as well. With all the crap your body’s still dealing with you can forget having the best workout of your life for 48 or even 72 hours after a heavy night of drinking.
There’s no disputing the damage done. So do yourself a favor and stay away from binge-drinking while trying to get Brawny.

Moderation, Moderation?
But coach! What about moderation? Isn’t a glass of wine with dinner a good thing?
The truth is, the purported benefits of a moderate intake of alcohol are somewhat misleading. All the positive benefits provided by a glass of wine can be obtained through diet, exercise, and supplementation, without the toxic effects of ethanol.

So there really aren’t any fool-proof arguments for moderate drinking.

Cheers to getting ripped!

Friday, January 17, 2014

Steve's Veggie Packed Chili

Great on a cold day!

Veggie Packed Chili

2 lbs extra lean ground beef (96%)  I mix lean ground turkey and lean ground beef
1-2 (15 1/2 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 large onions, chopped
2 large Tomatoes, chopped
Large handful of carrot, peeled and sliced
4 bell peppers, 1 green 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 orange, cut into 1/2-inch squares
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (46 fluid ounce) vegetable juice, spicy hot
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

If you dont have all of the seasonings just use a mccormicks chili packet or two!

I AM VERSUS 2014 Teams

Welcome aboard the I AM VERSUS 6 Week Challenge!

 


The Challenge Starts Monday January 20th!!!

What does that actually mean?   -You need to email your coach ASAP!  Why?  They will generate a Team Roster and begin to send you all the information you need to know to score points for your team.

Coaches Emails:

Steve@versusstrengthandconditioning.com
Kellar1010@gmail.com
Jamierampage@gmail.com
Nathand86@yahoo.com
Michael@versusstrengthandconditioning.com

Here are the Teams:

Team Steve

Jana Creely
Anna Gaston
Amy Miller
Terri Bell
Meredith West
Amy Arrington
Lisha Turner
Megan Frierson
Teresa Melton
Kristie Brewer
Phyllis Seal
Anne Turner
Alisia Hansel

Team Michael

Mary Polk
Jason Hargrove
Amanda Gunnufsen
Wendy Lovelace
Jacquelyn Allen
Stacy Cox
Samantha Mccain
Becky Ladd
Tyler Ladd
Alex Bradley
Anna Britt
Rick Bray
Whitney Walton
John Herrington

Team Kellar


Suzannah Ledford
Lindsey Maddox
Jennifer Headley
Katie Walker
Brittany Price
Amanda Lee
Shane Fortenberry
Paul Lucas
Kristie Hardy
Molly Egloff
Will Miller
Amanda Cascio
Kimberly Eddie

Team Jamie

Davis Carothers
Sabrina Cooper
Jennie Mcraney
Holli Anna Munna
Mandy Strickland
Amber Williams
Katie Giust
Deedra Coll
Rae Herring
Lyn Bell
Angie Vann
Holly Byrd
Katelyn Stafford

Team Nathan

Lindsey Mccormick
Sarah Lott
Jen Phillipi
Lindsey Lewis
Jamie Keeton
Nicole Hererra
David Laughlin
Summer Diaz
Aaron Ryals
Logan Williams
Brandon Pitts
Chris Roberts
Danielle Bishop

Good Luck.  May the odds be ever in your favor!

ps. If i misspelled your name please forgive me.