Tropical heat is no excuse to skip a workout! Besides, todat is better already 😄 Go crush this week's workout!

​All push-ups for today!

[CALORIE COUNTING: YES OR NO?]

One of the heavier debated topics of late has been around calorie counting. Is it necessary or not? Is it even useful?

Some pro's and cons:

PRO:
- gives you data, which you can use later. If you had a certain daily routine that made you lose weight, it will probably work again in 3 years if you are in the same situation
- nutritional values give a good estimation of what has a lot and what has little calories
- it has been scientifically shown that you will lose weight if you burn more calories than you eat
- therefor, there are no excuses if you are not losing weight

CONS:
- calorie counting views food as points. This external focus takes all the attention away from what your body is feeling. You are basically saying "you've had enough" or "you need to eat more" even though your body might signal something different
- the estimations are approximately ok, but there can be errors up to 20%, screwing up your counting
- a lot of effort to keep track
- all of this together makes it an unsustainable option

Our advice? Focussing on how you feel has more merits than calorie counting and focussing on an external object: the scale. Eat quality, healthy foods and focus on how you feel instead of what you counted.
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​Full body blaster voor vandaag, met shoulder taps, window wipers, toe touchers en sumo squats!

Often times, the terms "cardio" and "conditioning" are mixed together. Some people even think they are the same thing. Here is a better explanation of why they are 2 totally different things!
Cardiovascular exercise can be defined as doing a low-impact movement for long times, with little to no difference in intensity. Some great examples are running, cycling and rowing. They will not help you build muscle or get a lot stronger (mosty fiber type 1 dominant), but will make you better at using oxygen and exercising for longer periods. The adaptation to this kind of exercise is very quick, since they are very repetitive in nature.
Conditioning uses structured work and rest periods in higher intensities, often with a mix of exercises. Because of their varying nature, adaptation to conditioning work is much slower, leaving you with more room to get better. Because if the higher intensity, this type of training will also help you build muscle and get stronger.
There is a place for both in training, just make sure you know what and why you are doing what you are doing! Keep your goals and sports situation in mind!
At 3-2-1 Fit, we usually choose for conditioning because of its higher benefits and efficiency. For a general population with no unjury history or risks, this will generally be the best choice for optimal results.

Home workout #18: full body madness met een oefening voor boven- en onderlichaam een core blaster!

As a coach, you are walking a fine line: don't be to quick to judge people on their outcomes in the short term, but also be critical if the outcomes are not there after a longer period.

Things don't always pan out the way you want them to go. I just finished a training program, and my squat max went up by ... 0 kg (luckily, the snatch and C&J were better). So... did I fail?

If I had set myself an outcome-based goal, I should look at this as a failure. No change means no improvement.
If I had set an effort-based goal, I should feel succesful. I did all the required things, got plenty of sleep and relatively good nutrition.

This is just an example of how when coaching people, you should always look at the entire picture. The fact that my snatch and c&j went up, highly probably indicates there was some improved strength and power, but for some reason it did not show in the squat. Maybe I was tired.. Maybe my technique was off. But maybe my nutrition was less good than I think. Maybe I was not focussed enough during the workouts.
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Great coaches know which one of the following it was, set the right (kind of) goals and steer the ship in the right direction. A tough distinction to make!

This idea, while not necessarily ground-breaking, was perfectly described in an article I was reading for the Precision Nutrition Program. It tells about how when people want to lose weight, you should try to get them to the next "level" for a meal. For example: you eat fries and a burger for every meal. Next time, try to have a whole grain sandwhich and take a half portion of fries. You get the concept: small steps.

Too many people I've guided have tried to make the leap from bad eating to perfect, only to fall back really quickly. Eating healthy is hard. Setting habits is also hard. Setting healthy eating habits is a combination of those 2, so you can't really expect it to be easy either!
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So when you want to get that summer sixpack ready, think about levelling up step by step: your chances of making lasting results (instead of having to restart next year) will be much higher. Quit thinking instant results: think long term.