A Goal Without a Plan is Just a Wish

If you haven’t heard we just announce our newest Team Transformation Challenge, “UNITE To IGNITE” where teams of four compete to drop as much body fat as possible in 6 weeks. When we sit down to map out the road to success (plan) for this challenge or when we meet with clients (plan) we always ask them to focus on one or two goals that will help them get to the result they are looking for. Why?

By focusing on one or two goals each week these goals become habits and soon you’ve completely changed the way you eat, live and train. One or two little things becomes three or four little things and before you know it you’ve reach the result you were looking for!

Each week we have a nutritional priority for everyone that trains here at Fuse Fitness Coaching and when we start week 1 of our youth program for kids ages 9-14 called Spark Youth Performance Training (NEW 10 week program starts in two weeks!) we always start with WATER. Why?

Water is crucial to our survival. Our body is made up of roughly 60% water, so it is important to be aware of our body’s need for hydration. It fact, water is the most critical nutrient to consume on a daily basis. Our body needs water for the following functions:

* It acts as a solvent for nutrients. * It aids in digestion and absorption. * It transports materials throughout the body. * It eliminates toxins and waste products. * It regulates body temperature. * It is used for energy production.

Heat is generated as a by-product of your working muscles. With intense, short duration exercise, the heat production can be greater than 100 times the production at rest. As body heat rises, body temperature and heart rate also rise. As the exercise continues, the body is limited in transferring heat from the muscles to the skin surface. The body will require hydration.

However, Americans rarely get enough water. The goal is to drink ½ your body weight in ounces each day. Do you carry a water bottle with you at all times? Do you add 24 ounces for each hour of exercise? Do you really get as much water as you think you are? Try using a hair band or rubber band to keep track of your intake. If your goal is 100 oz and you have a 20 oz bottle put 5 bands on the bottom of the water bottle. Each time you finish a bottle move one band to the top of the bottle, when all 5 bands are at the top you hit your goal!

If, like some people, you feel like you need to use the restroom every 15 minutes when you try drinking more water the issue might be absorption. Try adding a lemon or lime as well as Himalayan sea salt (pink) to help with absorption.

Many of you have done the Advocare 24 day Challenge to help with gut health (which we talked about a few weeks ago) to help us jump start our metabolism. Water is critical to help cleanse our system and make sure our metabolism functions properly! In fact, NOTHING you do will help improve your Lean Body Mass and drop Fat Mass like being hydrated…..NOTHING!

I know some of you are athletes (or like me…used to be) or have kids who are, and it can be helpful to think about hydration as it relates to performance and power. A study published by the Korey Stringer Institute out of the University of Connecticut (named after the Minnesota Vikings lineman who died because of dehydration) found that a 3-4% level of dehydration reduced muscular power by 3% and that lean mass (muscle) losses of 3-4% can occur in 60-90 minutes of exercise, especially if an athlete begins practice dehydrated or there are additional external factors affecting sweat rate (environmental temperature, protective equipment/clothing, etc).

It’s important to remember that muscle tissue is 75% water. ALL of us should be looking to build lean mass whether we are an athlete OR someone who needs lean mass to help burn more fat for weight loss!

For many of us, simply drinking more water could be the key to getting the results and body we want.

In our SPARKS program the kids focus on drinking ½ their body weight in water each day. They track it by adding rubber bands around their water bottles. When they finish a bottle, they take a rubber band off! I always start the class by asking “how much water have you had today.” This is a measurable goal. “umm,” “about,” “not sure,” “maybe” is not measurable. If the result you want is important you have to be able to measure against the goals that will help get you there.

Our supplement this week is Advocare’s Spark. It’s an Amino Acid supplement with over 20 vitamins, minerals and nutrients that comes in a variety of flavors. This is a great way to add some flavor to your water. To try a sample talk to a Fuse Fitness Coach today! To get 20% off of Spark or any of the other great Advocare products click here.