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	<title>Mark Briggs Fitness</title>
	
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		<title>Summit 2012</title>
		<link>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/summit-2012/</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/summit-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 02 Jul 2012 15:30:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark Briggs</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[photos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[summit]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[<p>[AFG_gallery id='13']</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/summit-2012/">Summit 2012</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com">Mark Briggs Fitness</a>.</p>]]></description>
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<p>The post <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/summit-2012/">Summit 2012</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com">Mark Briggs Fitness</a>.</p><div class="feedflare">
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		<title>P90X2 / PUMP / INSANITY / ASYLUM / MMA CONDITIONING HYBRID</title>
		<link>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/638/</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/638/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 04 Mar 2012 23:45:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark Briggs</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/?p=638</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>In the interest of coming up with some INTENSE variety, I&#8217;ve decided to create new hybrid workouts in 4 week intervals.  Here is my latest creation, which I&#8217;ll be starting on 3/5/12! P90X2/PUMP/INSANITY/ASYLUM/MMA CONDITIONING HYBRID WEEK 1 1.  PUMP REVOLUTION (PUMP) 2.  MAX INTERVAL SPORTS (INSANITY) 3.  THE CIRCUIT (MMA CONDITIONING) 4.  RELIEF (ASYLUM) 5. ... <a class="view-article" href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/638/">View Article</a></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/638/">P90X2 / PUMP / INSANITY / ASYLUM / MMA CONDITIONING HYBRID</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com">Mark Briggs Fitness</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: left;" align="center">In the interest of coming up with some INTENSE variety, I&#8217;ve decided to create new hybrid workouts in 4 week intervals.  Here is my latest creation, which I&#8217;ll be starting on 3/5/12!</p>
<p align="center"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">P90X2/PUMP/INSANITY/ASYLUM/MMA CONDITIONING HYBRID</span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">WEEK 1</span></strong></p>
<p><strong>1.  PUMP REVOLUTION (PUMP)</strong></p>
<p><strong>2.  MAX INTERVAL SPORTS (INSANITY)</strong></p>
<p><strong>3.  THE CIRCUIT (MMA CONDITIONING)</strong></p>
<p><strong>4.  RELIEF (ASYLUM)</strong></p>
<p><strong>5.  CORE (X2)</strong></p>
<p><strong>6.  COMBAT (PUMP)</strong></p>
<p><strong>7.  OFF</strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">WEEK 2</span></strong></p>
<p><strong>1.  PAP UPPER (X2)</strong></p>
<p><strong>2.  BACK TO CORE (ASYLUM)</strong></p>
<p><strong>3.  THE CIRCUIT (MMA CONDITIONING)</strong></p>
<p><strong>4.  RECOVERY &amp; MOBILITY (X2)</strong></p>
<p><strong>5.  PAP LOWER (X2)</strong></p>
<p><strong>6.  PURE CARDIO (INSANITY)</strong></p>
<p><strong>7.  OFF</strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">WEEK 3</span></strong></p>
<p><strong>1.  PUMP EXTREME (PUMP)</strong></p>
<p><strong>2.  CORE CARDIO &amp; BALANCE (INSANITY)</strong></p>
<p><strong>3.  THE CIRCUIT (MMA CONDITIONING)</strong></p>
<p><strong>4.  FLOW (PUMP)</strong></p>
<p><strong>5.  TOTAL BODY (X2)</strong></p>
<p><strong>6.  SPEED &amp; AGILITY (ASYLUM)</strong></p>
<p><strong>7.  OFF</strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">WEEK 4</span></strong></p>
<p><strong>1.  BALANCE &amp; POWER (X2)</strong></p>
<p><strong>2.  GAME DAY (ASYLUM)</strong></p>
<p><strong>3.  THE CIRCUIT (MMA CONDITIONING)</strong></p>
<p><strong>4.  RELIEF (ASYLUM)</strong></p>
<p><strong>5.  BASE &amp; BACK (X2)</strong></p>
<p><strong>6.  CARDIO POWER &amp; RESISTANCE (INSANITY)</strong></p>
<p><strong>7.  OFF</strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/638/">P90X2 / PUMP / INSANITY / ASYLUM / MMA CONDITIONING HYBRID</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com">Mark Briggs Fitness</a>.</p><div class="feedflare">
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		<title>MMA Conditioning with the 233rd MP Company</title>
		<link>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/mma-conditioning-with-the-233rd-mp-company/</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/mma-conditioning-with-the-233rd-mp-company/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:03:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark Briggs</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[photos]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/?p=612</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>[AFG_gallery id='12']</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/mma-conditioning-with-the-233rd-mp-company/">MMA Conditioning with the 233rd MP Company</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com">Mark Briggs Fitness</a>.</p>]]></description>
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<p>The post <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/mma-conditioning-with-the-233rd-mp-company/">MMA Conditioning with the 233rd MP Company</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com">Mark Briggs Fitness</a>.</p><div class="feedflare">
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		<title>The Circuit – P90X2 Strength Based Intervals</title>
		<link>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/the-circuit-p90x2-strength-based-intervals/</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/the-circuit-p90x2-strength-based-intervals/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:23:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark Briggs</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/?p=548</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>This was THE CIRCUIT workout for 01/28/12.  It consists of the following ten (10) moves.  Each move is done for 90 seconds, and then you&#8217;ve earned a 30 second break before moving onto the next one.  All told, there are 30 rounds total (for a total workout time of 1 hour, and I added 6... <a class="view-article" href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/the-circuit-p90x2-strength-based-intervals/">View Article</a></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/the-circuit-p90x2-strength-based-intervals/">The Circuit &#8211; P90X2 Strength Based Intervals</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com">Mark Briggs Fitness</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This was THE CIRCUIT workout for 01/28/12.  It consists of the following ten (10) moves.  Each move is done for 90 seconds, and then you&#8217;ve earned a 30 second break before moving onto the next one.  All told, there are 30 rounds total (for a total workout time of 1 hour, and I added 6 minutes for a cooldown).  I ended up with a total workout time of 66 minutes, burned 1200 calories, had an average heart rate of 165 and a maximum of 182 (not bad at all for a resistance workout).  As part of an active recovery effort, I there are two cardio moves &#8211; the treadmill, which we set to 3.4 MPH at an incline of 15 degrees, and the other was the elliptical (set to level 15).</p>
<p>To understand the moves, you&#8217;ll need to own P90X2 &#8211; if you don&#8217;t have it yet, contact your Team Beachbody coach and buy it from them.  Before I list the moves, I STRONG word of caution:  Don&#8217;t hesitate to use the modified versions of these movements.  As you get into this (if you&#8217;re like me) you&#8217;ll be soaked in sweat, making the equipment you&#8217;re using very slippery.  Choose a weight lighter than you think you should use (you can always do more reps&#8230;&#8230;remember, you&#8217;re going for 90 seconds, not designated reps).  Last, keep good form throughout!  When your form goes south, you open your risk up for injury!  Last, have fun, and see how hard you can push yourself!</p>
<p>1.  CRAWLY CRAB PRESS</p>
<p>2.  TREADMILL (INCLINE TO 15, SPEED 3.4 MPH)</p>
<p>3.  SLO MO BALANCE CLIMBER</p>
<p>4.  RENEGADE ROMAN CURL</p>
<p>5.  SQUAT CROSS REACH</p>
<p>6.  ELLIPTICAL (LEVEL 15 &#8211; OCTANE FITNESS ELLIPTCAL)</p>
<p>7.  PUSHUPS/PULLUPS (2 OF EACH &#8211; THIS IS NOT A MOVE FROM P90X2)</p>
<p>8.  CORE CIRCLES</p>
<p>9.  ONE LEGGED BALANCE CURL/PRESS (I  USED THE FLAT SIDE OF A BOSU TO MAKE IT HARDER)</p>
<p>10.  STEP UP CONVICTS</p>
<p>Give it a try and let me know how you did!</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/the-circuit-p90x2-strength-based-intervals/">The Circuit &#8211; P90X2 Strength Based Intervals</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com">Mark Briggs Fitness</a>.</p><div class="feedflare">
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		<title>AFE 2011 – Europe – Misc Pics</title>
		<link>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/afe-2011-europe-misc-pics/</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/afe-2011-europe-misc-pics/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:24:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark Briggs</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[afe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[photos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[support the troops]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/?p=408</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>[AFG_gallery id='1']</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/afe-2011-europe-misc-pics/">AFE 2011 &#8211; Europe &#8211; Misc Pics</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com">Mark Briggs Fitness</a>.</p>]]></description>
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<p>The post <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/afe-2011-europe-misc-pics/">AFE 2011 &#8211; Europe &#8211; Misc Pics</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com">Mark Briggs Fitness</a>.</p><div class="feedflare">
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		<title>AFE Tour 2011 – Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo</title>
		<link>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/afe-tour-2011-camp-bondsteel-kosovo/</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/afe-tour-2011-camp-bondsteel-kosovo/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 15 Oct 2011 21:39:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark Briggs</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[afe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kosovo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[support the troops]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/?p=590</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>[AFG_gallery id='9']</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/afe-tour-2011-camp-bondsteel-kosovo/">AFE Tour 2011 &#8211; Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com">Mark Briggs Fitness</a>.</p>]]></description>
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<p>The post <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/afe-tour-2011-camp-bondsteel-kosovo/">AFE Tour 2011 &#8211; Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com">Mark Briggs Fitness</a>.</p><div class="feedflare">
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		<title>AFE Tour 2011 – RAF Lakenheath, England</title>
		<link>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/afe-tour-2011-raf-lakenheath-england/</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/afe-tour-2011-raf-lakenheath-england/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 15 Oct 2011 21:36:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark Briggs</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[afe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[support the troops]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/?p=587</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>[AFG_gallery id='8']</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/afe-tour-2011-raf-lakenheath-england/">AFE Tour 2011 &#8211; RAF Lakenheath, England</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com">Mark Briggs Fitness</a>.</p>]]></description>
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		<title>AFE Europe Tour 2011 – Italy &amp; Holland</title>
		<link>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/afe-europe-tour-2011-italy-holland/</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/afe-europe-tour-2011-italy-holland/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 08 Oct 2011 21:43:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark Briggs</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[afe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[holland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[italy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[support the troops]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/?p=594</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>[AFG_gallery id='10']</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/afe-europe-tour-2011-italy-holland/">AFE Europe Tour 2011 &#8211; Italy &#038; Holland</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com">Mark Briggs Fitness</a>.</p>]]></description>
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<p>The post <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/afe-europe-tour-2011-italy-holland/">AFE Europe Tour 2011 &#8211; Italy &#038; Holland</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com">Mark Briggs Fitness</a>.</p><div class="feedflare">
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		<title>The Basics, Hard Truths, and Solutions on Becoming the Better You!</title>
		<link>http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/the-basics-hard-truths-and-solutions-on-becoming-the-better-you/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:31:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark Briggs</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/?p=366</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>I decided to title this blog post &#8220;The Basics, Hard Truths, and Solutions on Becoming the Better You&#8221; because of tons of email I receive with people wanting to get healthy and fit.  THE BASICS:  Many people want to change, but lack the basic understanding of how the body works.  HARD TRUTHS:  We all look... <a class="view-article" href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/the-basics-hard-truths-and-solutions-on-becoming-the-better-you/">View Article</a></p><p>The post <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/the-basics-hard-truths-and-solutions-on-becoming-the-better-you/">The Basics, Hard Truths, and Solutions on Becoming the Better You!</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.markbriggsfitness.com">Mark Briggs Fitness</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I decided to title this blog post &#8220;The Basics, Hard Truths, and Solutions on Becoming the Better You&#8221; because of tons of email I receive with people wanting to get healthy and fit.  THE BASICS:  Many people want to change, but lack the basic understanding of how the body works.  HARD TRUTHS:  We all look and feel the way we do because of the choices WE make &#8211; its not our genes, parents, health care providers, or anyone else.  SOLUTIONS:  Basic tips, mindset, and tools to get you on track (and keep you there).</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>THE BASICS:  Becoming healthy and fit is something that you work on from now, until your journey on this planet ends.  Its not something that we do for a week and then take two weeks off.  Its not working out 3 days a week and eating better 50% of the time.  Its dedicating yourself to being the best that you can be, each and every day.  What does that mean?  It means working out 5-6 days a week, and understanding that the closer you can stick to a diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats &#8211; the faster you&#8217;ll see results and the better you&#8217;ll feel.  These are REAL ways of living the rest of your life &#8211; not a shortcut to fit into a dress or suit for a reunion or party &#8211; but something that is going to keep you healthy and fit for the long haul &#8211; the rest of your life!</p>
<p>HARD TRUTHS:  This is the stuff that nobody seems to want to talk about, but it needs to be said.  Each and every one of us looks the way that we do as a result of the choices that WE make on a daily basis.  Too many people want to blame being overweight on their genes.  My Grandparents were fat, my parents were fat, so I&#8217;m predestined to be fat too.  WRONG!  In 99% of these cases, all of those people (and yourself included) became fat because of following a poor diet, laden in sugar, fat and salt, and the lack of exercise!  The good news is, you can do something about it, and we&#8217;ll get to that a little later on.</p>
<p>You have to accept the fact that you are where you are now as a result of your choices.  Its just how it is.  Accept it, and make this day 1 for becoming the person that you want to become.  You have to be ready to accept the fact that this is going to be a hard process (yes, a process &#8211; not an overnight switch that&#8217;s flipped and you&#8217;re healthy), and its going to take a lot of hard work and dedication.  It requires personal accountability, goal setting, and determination.  It takes 21 days to establish a new habit, and for some of the older bad habits, it can be an ongoing battle to control them.  You didn&#8217;t get out of shape overnight, and you&#8217;re not going to get fit and healthy overnight &#8211; but every day is an opportunity for you to choose the person you want to be, and strive toward making that a reality.  The whining is over &#8211; its time to take a stand.</p>
<p>SOLUTIONS ON BECOMING THE BETTER YOU:  Ok, so you&#8217;ve determined that you don&#8217;t like the place you are in life, and you want to change.  Congratulations!  Here are some tips to help you get there.</p>
<p>CREATE A SUCCESS PLAN:  Before you run off to Walmart to buy your Shake Weight and Jillian Michaels Diet Pills, you need to take a hard look at where you are, and decide where it is that you want to be.  Once you figure that part out, WRITE IT DOWN!  Write it on post-it notes and plaster it all over your house, work, in your car, and in various places to remind you on a constant basis.  Get yourself some magazines and cut out pictures of the ideal image of how you want to look (and feel), and glue them to a poster board (you don&#8217;t need to show that to anyone, but its important to do&#8230;trust me).</p>
<p>Once you have the idea of how you want to look, its time for you to choose the kind of workout routine that you&#8217;re going to do.  Regardless of your goal, you need to choose a workout program that is going to work your strength (resistance training), endurance (cardio), and flexibility (yoga or stretching).  Your body NEEDS all of these components to function properly, so select a program that fits YOUR CURRENT FITNESS LEVEL, and then buy it.  Team Beachbody offers a variety of programs from Day 1 beginner, all the way up to pro-level athlete.  Be realistic about where you are, and choose the right program for you.  If you&#8217;re not sure, get with a Team Beachbody Coach and let them help you decide.  After you do these things, you&#8217;ll likely find that you&#8217;re feeling fired up and excited about this process, and now you&#8217;re getting your mind in the right place to take the next step.</p>
<p>TAKE ACTION:  You&#8217;ve created your goals (and written them down), have your image of where you will be, and now its time to take action!  Start by cleaning out your pantry and fridge.  Get rid of all that garbage food that made you the unhappy person you are here, and head to the grocery store to replace that bad stuff with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats.  Do I really have to throw out all the bad stuff?  Yes you do!  Here&#8217;s why:  Proper diet is the KEY to seeing/feeling major change.  If you have an urge to splurge and its in your house, you&#8217;re likely going to splurge.  But, if you have to get in your car and drive to the store, hopefully those post-it notes you have everywhere will remind you of what your goals are, and you&#8217;ll avoid the same old pitfalls.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t allow yourself to think, I&#8217;m eating 50% better, and that&#8217;s good enough.  ALWAYS strive for 100%, and realize, the closer you come to eating clean, the faster and more dynamic your results are going to be.  Would you buy a car that they put 50% of the seat belts in?  Or if you were sick, would you settle for your doctor running 50% of the tests he COULD run to find out what&#8217;s wrong with you?  No, no, no, no, no!!  So don&#8217;t sell yourself short.</p>
<p>GET A FREE COACH:  Keep in regular contact with that coach, and if they are doing what they should be doing, they are going to help to hold you accountable (remember, no more whining&#8230;..it doesn&#8217;t do you any good).  A good Coach will pat you on the back when you&#8217;ve earned it, but also kick you square in the ass when you need it.  A coach is not someone to coddle you &#8211; its someone who is empathetic, but ALWAYS keeps it real with you.  Change is hard and you NEED someone to help keep you on track.  You can find a FREE Coach by going to www.teambeachbody.com , clicking on the CONNECT tab, and selecting one of THOUSANDS that are there, just waiting to help you.</p>
<p>MEALS AND TRACKING:  I&#8217;ve placed a lot of emphasis on DIET, so you need the tools to figure out where to go, right?  For those (especially starting out), I highly recommend becoming a Team Beachbody Club member.  This is an option that offers a variety of great tools &#8211; from a caloric needs calculator, to a meal planner that covers every detail, right down to a shopping list to take to the grocery store with you.  Best part, its completely catering to YOUR individual needs.  You start with the caloric needs calculator where you input your personal data (height/weight/age/fitness goals), and Beachbody program you&#8217;re doing, and it TELLS you how many calories you need to consume to reach your goals!  DIET is the part that 98% of people struggle with most, so having tools to take the guesswork out will be a HUGE help to you.  One important aspect that the Beachbody Club currently does not have (but will in the near future) is calorie tracking tools.  There are great sites out there like www.dailyplate.com and www.fitday.com that fill that void for you.  These sites are great because they allow you to enter all the food you&#8217;ve eaten (they have mobile apps too) in real time, and not only do they calculate total calories, but also break them down into percentages of protein/carbs/fats (the paid versions even go into deeper details about food contents).  If you&#8217;re serious about creating the new you, these tools are ESSENTIAL!  Lets not overlook the eating guides that come with the Beachbody workout programs either &#8211; use them!  If you bought a pirated copy of these programs, you don&#8217;t get guide.  If you haven&#8217;t yet caught on, DIET is the key to your success here, so don&#8217;t be cheap and buy pirated crap off of ebay or craigslist &#8211; spend the money and get the real deal (including that very important FREE coach)!</p>
<p>SCHEDULE YOUR WORKOUTS:  You have meetings in your business, right?  I&#8217;m assuming that those are scheduled events, so why not do the same for your workouts?  Plan your workouts at LEAST 1 week in advance, and then treat them just as you would a business meeting.  Take that time for you!  We all have busy lives, but we HAVE to take the time to exercise.  Putting them down on your schedule will make you more likely to accomplish them &#8211; and again, Beachbody workouts all come with a schedule of what workout to do on what day &#8211; plug the information into your planner and make it happen.</p>
<p>TRACK YOUR PROGRESS:  How do you know where to go if you don&#8217;t know where you&#8217;ve been?  Start off with your day 1 photos (front, side and back&#8230;.don&#8217;t worry, you don&#8217;t have to show them to anyone yet), measurements (neck, chest, upper arms, waist, hips, thighs and calves),  and weight.  Do these same things every 30 days!  Now, a little side note about the scale that you need to listen to!  The scale lies and is NOT the best way to gauge true progress.  Muscle has a greater density than fat, so it weighs more.  If you&#8217;re starting out at a gooey 180 lbs, and 30 days later, the scale says 185 (yes, weight gain), its time to look at two more things:  What the tape measure says, and how you FEEL (and what you can do).  Too many people see a number on the scale and freak out, only to find that they have LOST inches and gained strength (ie: started doing 10 pushups and can now do 30).  If this happens to you, recognize that you ARE getting more fit.  Use the test of how your clothes are fitting you as well.  You may gain weight as you build muscle &#8211; this is a good thing, so no freak outs&#8230;.ok?</p>
<p>CREATE PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY:  You have a Facebook page, right?  If you don&#8217;t, time to create one..now!  Search Facebook for Team Beachbody and you&#8217;ll find yourself connected with thousands of other like minded people who are all interested in the same thing you are &#8211; getting into better shape.  We all share a lot of common frustrations when it comes to getting in shape, and sharing that with others makes you realize that you aren&#8217;t lost and that you CAN do what you set out to do.  Post what your goals and what you&#8217;re doing.  &#8220;I&#8217;m starting Power 90 on XX/XX/XX and my goal is to lose 40 lbs&#8230;..anyone want to join me?&#8221;.  You put out that public call to action and you&#8217;ll find others that want to take the journey with you.  You create accountability and build relationships along the way (same with your Coach by the way&#8230;&#8230;its all about building relationships with like minded people).  Once you get people to join you in the challenge, create a special Facebook accountability group.  While you&#8217;re at it, you all may as well commit to the Beachbody Challenge!  Nothing like the opportunity of winning $100,000 to help create a little more incentive, right?</p>
<p>PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT:  This one is key for ALL aspects of life, and I&#8217;ve made it part of my daily activity.  15 minutes of audio, and 10 pages of a good book &#8211; every single day!  It doesn&#8217;t matter if its about fitness, business, or religion.  Fill your mind with positive things, and positive things will flow from you.  For years I had people recommend the likes of Anthony Robbins, Zig Ziglar and Dale Carnegie&#8230;&#8230;had only I listened then.  But, the past is history, the future a mystery, and that&#8217;s why they call NOW a present!  Search iTunes, Google or Amazon.com for &#8220;personal development&#8221;and you&#8217;ll find tons of great material.  Your brain needs positive conditioning, just like your body needs clean diet and exercise &#8211; so do it!</p>
<p>In closing, you need to adopt the &#8220;I can&#8221; mindset.  If you&#8217;re sick and tired of being sick and tired, then do something about it.  The tips I highlighted above come from personal experience and personal growth.  I buried my Dad when he was 71.  He spent his adult life not exercising, eating foods that were rich in sugar, fat, and salt, and he smoked for 35 years.  The end result was that those bad habits caught up with him and cancer took away from an adoring family AT LEAST 10 years sooner than he should have gone.</p>
<p>Find that motivation that drives you to be better, use the tips above, and become the person that you want to be.  Until you&#8217;re planted underground, its not to late!  Its all about choice&#8230;&#8230;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>MMA Strength &amp; Conditioning</title>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:34:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark Briggs</dc:creator>
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