Trail Running Versus Road Running

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Road running with all of its measurements and regularity is perfect for tracking performance, but you can’t compare it to the freedom and beauty of a heart-pounding trail challenge. Trail running, with 6.7 million participants in the U.S, allows people the chance to get off the beaten path, away from the traffic and noise, even if its just for an hour.  It is a killer workout and an escape from the hustle and bustle.  However, when faced with the question, which is better, trail running or road running, beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder.

Today, we are heading down the trail…..

No roads. No treadmills. No tracks. No sidewalks.

The trail runner slips into the wild beauty of the hills with a map, shorts, a shirt (optional), and a pair of trail runners.  No dodging cars. No eating fumes. No waiting for stoplights, stop signs, or slow people. The road has an appeal of conformity, but the trail has non-conformity, which is better known as FREEDOM!  This freedom is easy on the joints, as well as easy on the eyes.

The beautiful appeal of nature gives the runner an exhilarating thrill, and meditative focus, brought by the terrain. The variability makes running on trails challenging and doesn’t allow for the “spacing out” that can occur on the road.

This is how running started.

I can see some early human now, on a trail, looking for food, when he looks to his left and sees fangs and claws…RUN!!!! Having to balance, dodge, and jump your way down the trail is a great way to strengthen your stabilizer muscles in your legs, hips, and core, even your arms and shoulders can burn as you pump your way to freedom. This is perfect for the road runner or the not-so-active-runner as it can reduce road running or chronic running maladies such as shin splints and meniscus tears.

Here are a few tips for your off road adventure:

Warm it up. Trails will challenge the rookie runner and the street veteran.  Most common are ankle sprains.  Be sure and take the time to warm up properly before venturing out on the trail.

Got a partner? Running with a good partner can help you train harder, but also a great safety measure out on the trail.  If you’re running alone, always make sure you tell someone which trail you’ll be running on and bring your ID.

New to the trail? The ups and downs, rocks, branches, loose footings and other obstacles are not things you see on the road.  Start slow and allow time for your body to adapt to these new challenges.  If you are planning to run a trail race soon, be sure and get out on the trail regularly, so your body is properly prepared.

Watch out for that! Keep your eyes peeled, so you can see obstacles such as rocks, roots, logs and branches.  Constant awareness might seem strange at first, but as you practice, this will become second nature.

Where  are you going? Good trails might have maps and signs, but don’t count on it.  Make sure to bring a map and know where you are going.  You don’t want to get lost and end up on one of those TV rescue shows.

Fueled up? Always bring water and some type of fuel.  Camelbacks offer a great solution that won’t get in your way during the run.  Bring some snacks and always have water.  It will improve your performance and could save your life.

Whether you want to get lost or improve your body and mind’s reaction, agility, and strength, trail running is the perfect adventure to get away.  Happy trails, and here’s to getting away…bye!

I’m going running. Trail running.

If you live in Orange County, CA, here are a few places to get outside and give you some variety in your training:  10 places to get outside and workout in OC

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Brandon Featured in Maximum Fitness Magazine!

Brandon has transformed his life and is an inspiration to others

Here is his story:

Last summer, I couldn’t carry grocery bags up my stairway without feeling exhausted. I needed to sit down to just breathe.  I suddenly came to the conclusion that I was disturbingly out of shape. Not only that, I’d get out of breath chasing my 3-year old daughter around the park. I tried going to the gym by myself because apparently, that is what people do when they feel fat and out of shape.

The problem was that I wasn’t getting any results. I was already feeling angry but this put me in an even worse mood. At the same time, my friend, Michael Foster, was in the process of becoming a personal trainer and asked if I would sign up as his client. I told him “absolutely” because I knew I needed the help.

The week before I was to start training, I went on a vacation to Hawaii. It turned out to be a complete food and alcohol binge. Sadly, I don’t remember much of the trip. On September 26th, 2007, five days after the vacation, I showed up at the gym for my first session with Michael. While I hated feeling very weak and slow, I knew that Mike was helping me to take steps in the right direction. For three days after my first workout, I could barely move, but it felt so good for some reason. Not only was he helping me to work out but he was helping me with my diet too. Before I began working out, I was eating fast food probably 4-7 times a week. I had to immediately stop that habit. It didn’t take long at all to start seeing results. It was almost instantaneous. Although I weighed 240 pounds so I had a lot of weight to lose. In a month I lost 10 pounds just by eating well and working out with Mike a couple times a week. I continued to lose 10 pounds a month for four months straight.

By the end of February 2008, I weighed in less than 200 pounds for the first time in 6 years.

I couldn’t have felt any better! For the first time in a very long time, I was actually happy with myself. I wasn’t waking up everyday mad at the world. I enjoyed life again. Carrying groceries was no longer a problem. Playing with my daughter just got better and better every day because I knew that what I was accomplishing would also extend my life. I never thought of it this way before, but it turned out that I was not only doing this for me, but for everyone who cared about me. Since February, I lost another 20 pounds and people are constantly telling me how much happier I seem and how much better I look. I know that I couldn’t have done this without the help of Mike and everyone at Innovative Results.

Today Brandon is using his experience to help other people transform their lives.  He is an inspiration to everyone he meets and is changing people’s lives everyday.  His ability to relate to people’s obstacles and then to create positive change has become an integral part of Innovative Results.

Great job Brandon!

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Does Your Weight Loss Plan Have a Solid Foundation?

Why do you think so many people fail when they try to get in shape or lose weight?

Innovative Results has developed their 5 Aspects of Fitness plan that allows clients to increase their chances of success.  It addresses all five aspects that affect someone’s ability to get in shape and stay in shape.  These are time tested practices that the world’s top athletes and competitors use to get in incredible shape!

Innovative Results 5 Aspects of Fitness

1.  Mental Fitness – This is commonly skipped, but is the #1 factor that will determine your level of success.  Knowing specifically what you are striving toward, why you are doing it and when it will be completed are incredibly important.  It allows you to determine where you are, where you want to go and how you are going to get there, so that when challenges arise, you are not sidetracked by the obstacles….and its not a matter of if you will be challenged, but when.  So make sure your goals are clear!  .  Check out this article to help get your goals dialed in.

2.  Nutritional Success – These days it seems like there is a new diet plan coming out every week.  Eat this, don’t eat that… How do you know how whats healthy and whats not?  Unfortunately, marketing has confused us all.  Innovative Results truly believes that healthy eating does not need to be complicated.  It is really very simple.  Here is our cardinal rule:  If God made it, eat it.  If it occurs in nature and hasn’t been altered by man, then it is good, healthy and safe.  It is really very simple.  Whole, natural foods provide everything we need and processed, manufactured foods do more damage than good.  Here are a few helpful sheets that can help you learn more and apply healthy eating habits into your life.  Drink plenty of Water,  Five Worst Foods, Healthy Shopping List, and track eating habits with our Food Log.

3. Exercise progress – The foundation of exercise is movement.  Everybody squats, lunges, pushes, pulls, bends, twists and walks.  That’s it, simple.  All the rest of the variables (what exercises/drills, how much, how often, how intense) depend on your ability level and specific goals.  One key point is to continuously challenge your body, keep it guessing and force it to change and adapt.   People’s biggest mistake is doing the same exercises every week, every year and then wondering why their bodies havent changed.  Our bodies adapt quickly, so it is important to challenge yourself with new routines every 3-6 weeks.  Work hard, mix it up and reap the rewards! More exercise articles here.

4. Increased Recovery – Most people live in front of a computer, driving a car or sitting in front of the TV.  So, when you start to move, you are going to have some soreness and minor aches.  If you are a more seasoned athlete, then you will need to learn recovery techniques to speed recovery and improve performance.  Some simple recovery techniques include proper warm up (preventative), corrective exercise, ice, massage, self myo-fascial release, contrast showers, time off, and proper nutrition.  Utilizing these techniques helps people progress faster than they ever thought possible.   Download our Recovery Techniques here.

5. Guidance and Accountability – There are very few people who can set a goal, execute and stay on track by themselves.  When you start a program it is important to get good advise and to have a support group that is dedicated to your success.  Most of us can be lazy, lose focus, and come up with a variety of excuses to stop, postpone or procrastinate.  A good trainer, coach or workout partner is there to hold you accountable to the goals that you have set.

So there you have it.  5 Proven techniques that are vital for any fitness plan.

We hope this helps you develop your foundation and makes this year your best ever!

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Just Visualize Success, Right? WRONG!

Although visualizing success is important. It is not the end all. Actually, according to studies done at UCLA “outcome simulation” (visualizing your success) was put against “event-simulation” (visualizing the process it takes to reach success). In almost every aspect the event simulation beat out the outcome simulation.

What does this mean for you and your goals?

What does this mean for Innovative Results and some of its methods of getting their clients to become success stories?

Great question!

You must go counter-culture! Don’t follow the crowds(cattle) as they herd into intention-based secrets to fast success…That is marketing quicksand setting you up for “feelings” of winning, conquering, wealth, and fame as you go down in a flame of glory! The plan and the action is more important, and always has been. Pop-psychology is no match for the tried and true. This is where Innovative Results lives.

Innovative Results is innovative because we go against the norm and find real answers and real solutions to the problem. We scour the land for real people with real stories, and help them on their path to a real success story! Now, I would be lying if I don’t use visualizing success to help motivate me, and I would be lying if I said I never bought into the pop-culture plan to financial freedom and stardom beyond compare. I did…

Hook. Line. Sinker.

Now, I use the visualiatzion of success to give me a goal and motivate me from time to time, but my focus lies in the present. Enjoying the moment if you will, and I will. I will go through real scenarios in my head that may be problematic to my future goals and success. I perform “event-simulation” to come up with and/or go over solutions to my problem. That way when I am faced with the issues, I can combat them with some kind of experience (even if it is mental experience).

This event-simulation method can help with food addiction problems, emotional-eating situations, parties with alcohol, and the list goes on…real problems, now have real solutions, instead of fantasies of skinnyness without changing the reason for the lack of skinnyness in the first place.

Enjoy health and enjoy life…in the present!

Call us or find us on Facebook if you have any questions

866-243-4472

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Over 100 Healthy Super Bowl Snacks and 10 Really Bad Ones

Super Bowl is almost here!

How much garbage do you usually eat that day?

Chips, dip, pizza, wings, beer, fries, nachos……yikes!  Well, I know everyone isn’t gonna be perfect, but here are a ton of alternative recipes that might save ya a few thousand calories this weekend.  Ive also generously provided 10 of the worst (best?) recipes that exist.

But remember, if your fitness goals are important, DO NOT go overboard.  Moderation, moderation, moderation.  Making wise choices are easier than you think.

Visit these sites for tons of great snack ideas:

Super Bowl Snack Time

11 Healthy Super Bowl Snacks

Healthy party snacks

Healthy super bowl snacks for your party

Healthy super bowl snacks

15 suggestions for a healthy super bowl party

Top 10 super bowl snacks for kids

More healthy super bowl snacks

And…Top 10 Most Unhealthy Super Bowl Snacks.

Eat at your own risk!

Who are you cheering for?

Colts or Saints?

Hope you have a wonderful Super Bowl, but don’t forget your goals completely.

Eat and drink in moderation

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Innovative Results Success Story Workshop-Making YOU into a Success Story

No frills and no gimmicks for this workshop.

Corey Beasley delivered a power punch to the face of weight gain and unhappiness.

Through the Innovative Results’ 5 Aspects of Fitness, Corey Beasley and the IR Team helped their clients, client’s friends, and client’s family overcome obstacles and set goals in order to achieve success!

Check out the action here.

If you are ready for the next workshop, have no fear, Innovative Results will be holding the next one soon.

Look for the invite, and find us on Facebook for answers now!

Call 866-243-4472 if you aren’t into the whole Facebook, Twitter thing.

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After The Biggest Loser…What Happened to Andrea?

Let me start by saying that I am a really good girl with a lot of bad habits.

I might be a trainer’s worst nightmare.

I have way too much knowledge and an amazing gift to manipulate the majority of situations.  Most trainers I have worked with after 10 minutes are totally distracted by my gift of gab that they forget their working. It always ends up the same way with me running the show.

I need someone to keep me on my toes and peak my interest.  I have to be held accountable for my everyday nonsense. I want to be pushed to my limits and see my full potential.  Fresh ideas and constant change keep me from getting bored.

Since leaving the show I can honestly say the only trainer who has met those standards is Corey Beasley from Innovative Results.  I stand behind good people who show results and I will only put my name on something I truly believe in. I see a great deal of passion in my trainer and friend Corey as well as Innovative Results.  I have been to countless gyms both private and corporate and have worked with several trainers in the last few years. I am NEVER usually impressed but this gym was different. I feel very comfortable going there and it’s an environment where you can truly feel the positive energy.

These are good people who take a genuine interest in their client’s everyday. Whether its diet, nutrition, strength training, rehabilitation or just healthy living you will find it with Innovative Results. It has helped me stay focused and maintain a healthy balance both physically and mentally.

Andrea Overstreet
Contestant from NBC’s Biggest Loser Season 2

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