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Oh boy. I’m about to open a can of worms with this one. First off, before I begin I need to preface with some baseline information. I am not a doctor or a registered dietitian. I have not read had extensive reasearch and training in the area of sugar intake. I am certified through Precision Nutrition and I have spent the last 10 years in the wellness space. This blog’s information comes from several PubMed studies as well as my own personal and professional perspective. My whole goal with Spark is to provide simple, result based information to you in hopes of creating a sustainable and enjoyable approach to reaching wellness goals.
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We don’t grow in the gym, we grow outside of the gym. The first time I heard this concept I was extremely confused. I had a huge misconception when I was growing up in the fitness atmosphere. I had no idea what I was doing nutritionally and thought the reason I wasn’t seeing results was because I wasn’t working hard enough in the gym. For the most part, I believe that people understand the concept of recovery. Workout hard and gets lots of protein in your diet right? While this perspective is correct to a certain extent, it is still missing the larger picture. My goal with this blog is to create the proper perspective when it comes to recovery. I want to provide you with the proper mindset and tools to see effective sustainable results. I’m convinced that if we look at the larger picture, we will be more effective in our nutrition, training, and mindset when it comes our fitness lifestyle.
Today’s blog is going to be centered on individualizing the subjects of nutrition and exercise. We miss out on effect results if we do not have a component of individualization in our exercise and/or nutrition plan. I believe the fitness community has lots of positive and inspiring qualities. However, I also believe that there are detrimental aspects that need to be addressed. Cookie cutter programs being one of these. The truth is what works for me might not work for you exactly. The most effective coaches and trainers understand this truth. I believe in structuring nutrition/exercise plans around principles and science. With science there still needs to be components of individualization if we are to reap the most effective and sustainable results. Here are some practical ways to individualize nutrition and exercise to help best fit your lifestyle. NutritionI listened to an audiobook a couple of summers ago and have continued re-listening to it every year because it's so powerful to me. The book's title is called "The One Thing". A fitness influencer I have been following over the last couple years suggested reading it so I gave it a shot. Little did I know the impact this book would have on my perspective in life (not just in the gym).
I was listening to an interview the other day on overall health and wellness. During this podcast, a world renown doctor was being interviewed. This doctor was discussing the idea of increasing our perspective/approach when it comes to our individual wellness journey. He talked about the four pillars of wellness from his perspective which relates to the overall message of the Spark brand extremely well. The four pillars he talked about were movement (exercise), diet (nutrition), sleep, and renewal. Most fitness professionals will focus more on the first two pillars but sometimes neglect the other two. During this blog, I want to dive more specifically into the pillar of sleep and how extremely important it is in regards to reaching your goal.
My first full time job out of college was a wellness director for an organization that helped served high risk youth. I helped spearhead an exercise therapy based program called Spark. I created this program based off a book called 'Spark' by John Ratey. Ratey is a member of the Harvard Medical Team and provides ample research supporting the physical and physiological effects of exercise on the brain. We combined Ratey's research based protocol and some of my background in exercise science to provide a thorough exercise program for the youth we served. Through this experience, I came to realize the psychological power that exercise has on the brain. Many times we only think about the physical benefits of exercise and nutrition. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to wellness benefits.
Periodization is used all the time in the world of exercise training. Periodization is a systematic way to segment your training in order to gain effective adaptation and bypass injury/fatigue. However, most of us don't realize that there is a thing called "nutritional periodization". At its core, it seeks to segment nutrition in a similar fashion aiming to bypass metabolic damage, hormone damage, and other physiological/mental issues.
It's been a while since I've posted a blog but I just HAD to share this nutrition system with you. At least for me, I seem to become a lot more consistent when I have a game-plan in place. Now, this game-plan can't contain too much structure/regulations or it becomes an unsustainable chore. It has to allow for life to happen. If you can develop a plan that adheres to life's variables then you will develop positive momentum as you move along your fitness journey. If you always feel "on track" you will become a lot more consistent.
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AuthorEric Stark Archives
February 2021
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