Proactive Evolution's MissionProactive Evolution is dedicated to empowering you to proactively take the steps that will wholistically evolve your body and mind toward your best self by incorporating fitness, nutrition and healthy behaviors as a part of your everyday life.
As a committed and caring trainer and health coach, I will work within the Proactive Evolution Code of Values to ensure that each client clearly defines and measurably moves closer to the goals they want to achieve. Proactive Evolution specializes in life-changing fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle programs individualized for each client. By fostering awareness, presence and mindfulness, our programs give our clients the opportunity to both choose a healthier life and work towards it, one step at a time, fully supported. Our clients are positive, open-minded people who want to make a difference in the world by first evolving themselves into a better state of fitness and wellbeing. From that space of greater vibrancy and energy they have more of themselves available to create positive relationships with their families, friends and the world as a whole. Proactive Evolution is invested in our clients and we strive to exceed expectations. We care about our clients as individuals and as members of the community. We are thrilled to see our clients' physical transformation as well as the transformation of their belief systems, behaviors, and ultimately, their lives. Proactive Evolution Code Of Values COMMITMENT I am 100% committed to the Proactive Evolution mission and to my clients. I always give my best. I expect my clients to commit 100% to their wellbeing. OWNERSHIP I am responsible and accountable for my actions and outcomes. I own everything that takes place in my life. No excuses, no blaming, and no denial. I know that change comes from within, and it is my sole responsibility to manifest the change I want. EMPOWERMENT I am committed to empowerment through fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle choices. Empowerment means showing our clients that they have the power to confidently make healthy choices on their own. INTEGRITY I only make agreements with myself and others that I am willing, intending and able to keep. I communicate potential barriers to fulfilling the agreements I have made at the first opportunity and I resolve unfulfilled agreements immediately. FREEDOM Proactive Evolution provides clients with the awareness that only they are empowered to choose well being, fitness and and a healthy lifestyle for themselves. The freedom to choose how to live is completely within our control. Each of us has the freedom to be stuck in a vicious cycle of overeating, depression, low energy and overweight or obesity, or to proactively evolve our lives into our grandest vision. EXCELLENCE I strive to exceed my client’s expectations at all times. TEAMWORK I am a team player and team leader. I do whatever it takes to move the team as a whole toward team goals. I ask for help when I need it and I am compassionate when others ask me. HEALTH I live my life in a way that sets an example for my clients by modeling fitness, nutrition, healthy lifestyle choices and behaviors. COMMUNICATION I commit to clear, honest and confidential communication in order to create positive, solid, encouraging and supportive relationships. TRUST I extend trust to my clients that they will commit to their own best interests, always thinking the best of them unless they prove otherwise. I expect to receive that same trust. ENJOYMENT Exercising consistently and strenuously isn't easy. However, it can be fun and it leads to even more fun! By keeping workouts fresh and challenging time passes quickly and the benefits are most evident while engaging in physical activities that you really enjoy--whether that's biking, surfing, running, golfing, dancing or any other activity where a strong, flexible and mobile body is necessary for full enjoyment and injury prevention. ACCOUNTABILITY Goals are important, but without objective measures of progress and accountability they tend to slip off our radar. By helping formulate relevant and achievable goals and measuring progress, I help ensure clients stay on track. I challenge clients to move past their comfort level and achieve what they never thought was possible. CONSISTENCY I model and teach that consistency over the long haul is the key to lifelong health and wellness. Change happens 1% at a time and by focusing on the accumulation of small successes rather than the distance that needs to be traversed, you will achieve your goals.
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There's a definite line between working out a lot and working out too much, although the signs and symptoms might not be clear to you if you're not paying attention. It's worth keeping track of your workouts and your general physiological and psychological states to help make sure you're not getting too much of a good thing. If after you start paying attention to the effect of exercise on your state of being, you think you're overtraining, slow down your training, give yourself more rest days, don't work so hard and make sure you're staying well hydrated. If the signs and symptoms of overtraining don't go away quickly, see your healthcare professional for an evaluation. (Don't risk your longterm health to get in another workout!)
Ten things to look out for in yourself, your workout partner(s) or someone close to you who works out alot: Decreased performance. Be on the lookout for slower reaction times, a reduction in speed or lower endurance. Agitation, moodiness, irritability or lack of concentration. Too much exercise and too little rest can wreak havoc on the hormones and cause mood swings and an inability to concentrate. Excessive fatigue and malaise. A body that never has a chance to fully recover from a previous workout will continue to feel more and more fatigued. Some people describe this feeling as "heavy legs." Increased perceived effort during normal workouts. Overtraining takes a toll on the body, and workouts that were once a breeze can begin to feel like a grind. Chronic or nagging muscle aches or joint pain. Overused muscles and joints can cause constant aches, which may go unnoticed until the body is given proper rest. More frequent illnesses and upper-respiratory infections. Too much exercise taxes all of the body's systems and makes it more difficult to ward off infections. Insomnia or restless sleep. During sleep the body has time to rest and repair itself. An overtrained body, however, is sometimes unable to slow down and completely relax, making it difficult to recover between workouts. Loss of appetite. Overtraining can cause an increase in hormones such as epinephrine and norepinephrine that tend to inhibit appetite. The physical exhaustion and anxiety that often comes with overtraining can also have the same effect. Chronically elevated heart rate at rest and during exercise. A clear sign of an overworked heart muscle is a chronically elevated heart rate. Also, people who overtrain will often find that it takes longer for their heart rate to return to normal after a workout. Menstrual cycle disturbances in women. Exercising excessively and not consuming enough calories may disrupt a woman's menstrual cycle. While some may experience irregular periods, others will stop menstruating altogether. Source: American Council on Exercise.
Vegans who workout need protein! Fortunately, this is becoming more common sense knowledge. However, it wasn't always that way. When I became a vegan in 2005 there was still a lot of misinformation floating around about how humans don't really need much protein. This was primarily a knee-jerk reaction to the large amount of animal protein that the average American consumed. It was intended to help would-be vegans justify to their family and friends that they would be OK without their animal sources of protein. Slowly, over the years, as the numbers of vegan endurance and strength athletes increased, it became evident that to continue performing or competing at the highest level, they needed ensure they were getting sufficient quantities of protein in their diets. The shift toward more natural foods also helped as it highlighted minimally processed foods that are low on the food chain, and raised the awareness of nutritional content of foods. Because we live in a society of quick fixes and on-the-go eating, it didn't take long before some enterprising individuals and corporations figured out that there was an untapped market, and vegan started to go mainstream. Where the options used to be wholesome foods that took time to prepare, now, even big-box grocery stores (at least here in Southern California) carry a wide variety of vegan processed foods and there are even chains of vegan "burger" restaurants that serve up vegan versions of all the fast-food nightmares Even though highly processed, nutritionally stilted food options seem to be proliferating, many have come to realize that these foods aren't good for our health. The same is true for many of the vegan options available in the grocery stores and restaurants. Just because something is vegan doesn't mean it's good for you. For the sake of convenience, that vegan item could be highly processed, high in sugar, salt, and fat, or filled with chemically processed isolates. In reality, we need to reconsider the price of convenience. It is better for our bodies, our minds and our planet when we eat closer to nature, with some supplementation and an occasional "treat". This way we ensure both our nutritional and psychological needs are met.
So, what does that mean for protein? First, we need to have an understanding of how much protein is required. The USDA's Recommended Dietary Allowance says that relatively sedentary human adults need 0.36g of protein for each pound of bodyweight (0.8g per kilogram of bodyweight). However, the problem with this calculation is that it actually doesn't provide enough protein for relatively active to athletic adults. Considering that a 150 lb adult eating a 2000 calorie diet would only receive 53 grams of protein per day. At 4 calories per gram of protein, those 53 grams of protein equal 212 calories, or only about 10% of total daily calories. That's at the low end of the well publicised goal of 10-35% of daily calories from protein. Factor in an active or athletic adult who is burning an additional 1000 calories per day, and the percentage of calories from protein falls even lower. According to Nancy R Rodriguez from the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, (Am J Clin Nutr June 2015 vol. 101 no. 6 1317S-1319S) the average relatively sedentary individual should be targeting closer to 0.45g-0.68g of protein per pound of bodyweight (1g-1.5g per kilogram of bodyweight). Some studies have shown that this level of protein intake may result in reduced risk of chronic diseases, better weight management and body composition, adherence to a weight loss programs, and importantly, may slow or prevent the progression of sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) in active older adults. With the argument made for additional protein consumption, the difficult part comes into focus. How do you get the added protein in your diet. For omnivores (people who eat animals, vegetables, fruits and dairy products.) it's pretty easy. But for vegans, unless you eat a lot of those highly processed foods, you'll have a much more difficult time. In the chart below I've listed out a wide variety of vegan protein sources and the number of grams of protein per 100g of the food. Eating more seeds, nuts, and beans is the most obvious choice, but that also has the side effect of getting higher amounts of fat and total calories. For example, while 100g of almonds provides just over 21g of protein, it also provides about 500 total calories. This is where I believe that supplementation comes in. There are a variety of high-quality vegan protein supplements available. While they're still highly processed in comparison to whole foods, many vegan protein powders avoid unhealthy chemically processed isolates, and high sugar contents. My personal favorites include Vega One All-in-One Nutritional Shake, Vega Sport Performance Protein Powder, and Garden of Life Raw Fit Protein Powder. If you're a vegan, I strongly suggest you research your protein needs and discuss protein supplementation with a registered dietitian. I have a network of vegan RDs that I can refer you to as well as provide you with further information. Feel free to contact me by clicking on the CONTACT button. Does going to the gym sound boring to you? Does the idea of running on a treadmill make you want to stay home and watch TV? Guess what? You're not alone! One of the biggest reasons exercisers stop making progress in their weight loss or worse yet, stopped working out all together, is boredom. In fact, doing the same workout routine over and over, whether that's cardio or resistance training, is a surefire way to get bored and on top of that, it's a reliable way to STOP getting the results you want. Here's the problem. The body and mind have this incredible ability to adapt to new inputs very quickly. The gains that occur in the first few weeks of doing a workout are usually the result of neuromuscular adaptations. During this phase, your muscles and nerves are learning how to fire to efficiently perform the exercise and as a result you see a rapid change in your abilities. However, after several weeks, once your body has figured out what muscles and nerves need to fire, your progression slows down. Additionally, your mind figures out little ways to cheat...A little swing of the weight, or a twist of the elbow, or pushing with the stronger leg, etc., all serve to further slow down the progression. As your progression slows, so too does your enthusiasm. It's hard to keep motivated when the weight loss slows or stops or you can't lift heavier weights or improve your time on cardio activities. Then why do people repeat the same workout over and over expecting different results? Partly because we're creatures of habit. Partly because we liked seeing ourselves progress over time. (E.g. The first time you do a workout, you can lift 25 lbs. or run for 15 minutes. Then, over time, you add more weight or time and that feels good because you have evidence that you're progressing.) Partly because it is uncomfortable doing things that we're not good at or that we're not familiar with. And partly because we are uncertain how to change things up in a way that will get us the same level of results. So, what can you do about this? The answer is simple. Switch things up on a regular basis. Here at Proactive Evolution, we are constantly changing up the exercises that our clients do. Focusing on Metabolic Workouts with a wide variety of exercises that work the entire body, you will get the results you want. To learn how I can help you Proactively Evolve yourself, click on over to the "Contact" page and send me a message. Now is a great time to lose the boredom and lose the weight! There's an old saying in the fitness community that has several variations and goes something like this: "You can't out lift your mouth" or "you can't outrun your mouth." The obvious meaning is that no matter how much you exercise, you won't get the body you want if you don't watch what goes in your mouth. There is a corollary to this statement that says no matter how much you diet, you're not going to get a fit, strong, powerful body if you don't workout. Even though this is seemingly common sense, it's amazing how many people attempt one without the other. (To be honest, in the past I've been one of these people!) To illustrate what this looks like, I'll give a few examples. Go to any gym and you'll likely see a guy who is strong and moves heavy weights around like child's play, but, he has a big belly. He lifts weight regularly and he might even hit the treadmill or elliptical machine for a few minutes. He thinks, "If I just lift more weight, I'll get that six pack" and then he leaves the gym and grabs some fast food and a few beers to 'enjoy' while he watches TV for the night. He doesn't get the fact that the food he's eating and the otherwise sedentary lifestyle he leads are prohibiting him from seeing all the muscles that are swathed in layers of adipose tissue. The alternative--those who constantly diet but do not do any resistance training--are just as common (although more often they're women than men.) In fact, pick up any fashion magazine or look at the majority of advertisements that feature women, and you're likely to see someone who is extremely thin, with stick-arms and stick-legs. These people, who embody what our society thinks of as "thin and beautiful," are likely to be eating lettuce with lemon juice for breakfast, lunch and dinner and probably doing lots of cardio in between. You'd think that because they are thin that they are fit healthy. But, just like the fat strong guy, the thin weakling isn't any better off. The ideal that we should be striving for is "Lean and Powerful". Both men and women need to be lifting weights, progressively adding resistance so that we can build our strength. And, we need to be watching what we put in our mouths so that 95% of the time, we're eating lean, clean and green. If you need help with the tools and techniques to take charge of your life and build a Lean & Powerful body, click on over to the "Contact" page and send me a message. Now is a great time to start! |
Personal Trainer, Health Coach, Skydiver, Mountain Biker, Road Cyclist, Vegan, Medical Device Systems Engineer. |