Fitness & Wellness

5 Things to be Learned from the Philadelphia Eagles

Published by chris on February 5, 2018 | Leave a response

Here we are.

The day after the Super Bowl and the Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl Champions.

As a die-hard New York Giants fan, you may think that those words may sicken me. Well, years ago, there’s a good chance I’d be pretty pissed off today. And although this is still a pretty painful article for me to write, I realize that being annoyed would be a complete waste of my time and energy…

Rather than being disgusted and “hate” on the outcome, I now choose to learn the valuable lessons that sports can teach us about life. To me that’s way more important.

If we look a little deeper into what we witnessed yesterday, here’s what we’ll see.

1. Resiliency

The Eagles have been absolutely plagued with injuries this year, including their starting quarterback, Carson Wentz. To be successful you have to use what (or who) ya got. It would be easy to just throw in the towel and say “fuck it” when things don’t seem to be going your way. Sometimes you’re dealt a shitty hand, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a chance to win. It just means that you might have to dig a little deeper and fight a little harder to get what you want.

2. Relentlessness

What we saw yesterday was a relentless effort to accomplish a goal. There was no “takin it easy” or “I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings” type of attitude by the Eagles. It was a group of individuals who came together and put their everything into every play, unapologetically. To be successful, you have to be relentless on your mission. No excuses, no apologies.

3. No Fear

You’re facing the best coach and quarterback of all time, it’s fourth and goal and you can either play it safe and take the field goal or risk the points and go for the big score. Head Coach Doug Pederson chose to say “fuck you” and go for it! Then chose to go for it on another 4th down later in the game which also converted. Two crucial plays that helped lead to the Eagles victory.

Sometimes when we are faced with a big decision we get overcome by fear and let that fear blur our vision. Doug Pederson and the Eagles didn’t allow that, and you shouldn’t either. It’s important to recognize fear and acknowledge that it’s there. Shit, we’re human! However the difference between the successful and the unsuccessful, champions and runners up, is that they feel fear but then do what they know they should do anyway. Fuck fear.

4. Belief

When you’re an underdog in the biggest game around, there aren’t too many people that believe in you. Especially when you’re up against the best to ever do it. What we saw yesterday was a group of men that paid no mind to what the doubters and critics were saying. All they did was believe in each other and themselves. It didn’t matter what any outsider thought or said, they knew they were going to go out and play their game.

In your life you need to realize that there will be doubters. There will be haters and critics and all things alike. It is your duty to ignore these people. Pay them no mind and only focus on your true beliefs. The fire that burns deep down in your soul, that’s what matters. Ignore the bullshit.

5. Execution

None of these things matter if the Eagles didn’t go out there and execute. When it comes to the general population, it seems that a lot of times people may have the right attitude, a great plan and belief, but they never get anywhere because they don’t execute! They don’t put in the consistent work it takes to be successful. If you want to achieve ANYTHING in your life, you have to understand that you are going to have to work like hell to do it. Nothing will be handed to you, you’re going to have to earn every ounce of it. Yesterday, Philadelphia did just that.

General Patton once said, “A good plan VIOLENTLY executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” Don’t wait for perfect, hell, don’t wait for anything! Get to work NOW!

The older I get, the more I value these incredible lessons that sports can teach us. Instead of arguing who’s better, or what could have or should have happened, look more deeply into what you’re actually watching. These big games have a lot more meaning than pizza and booze. Those are just an added bonus…

They teach us what it takes to be great…What it takes to be the very best at something.

Deep inside of you there is greatness. Instead of hating, LEARN from the greatness out there that we get to witness.

Apply these five things to your life and I know your 2018 will be your best year yet. Shit, I know I sure as hell will.

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles on this well-deserved championship.

And here’s to a New York Giants Super Bowl victory in 2019!

Thanks for reading, guys.

Posted in Fitness & Wellness

Do These 10 Things to Avoid Overtraining

Published by chris on January 18, 2018 | Leave a response

If you’ve been training hard for a while, you have probably heard of overtraining. You may have even questioned if YOU are over trained.

Before we go there let’s clear up what overtraining even is.

Overtraining is creating too much muscular damage and central nervous system fatigue for the body to repair as quickly as it normally does. When this happens it comes along with a number of symptoms and impedes your strength and performance.

Some of the signs of overtraining include insomnia, lack of drive to train, weakened grip strength, elevated resting heart rate, fatigue and abnormal muscular soreness.

However, many of these symptoms can also exist if you are new to training and simply deconditioned, and you may only be experiencing them due to lack of exercise and poor nutrition.

So here is how I’m going to kick this off so you can differentiate between being over trained and deconditioned.

If you recently began training (less than one year of hard training) don’t worry about overtraining. You need to be more concerned with developing good habits and training consistently enough to see real results. If you are really weak and deconditioned, then odds are, you aren’t doing enough to truly over train. This doesn’t mean that you should ignore all of my training recommendations and train for 17 hours a day, every day. It just means that if you’re strength training 3-4 days per week for one hour and doing cardio/conditioning for 20-40 minutes on off days the chances of you over training are very small.

Now if you’ve been getting after it for over a year and have seen some significant progress, then there is a chance you can reach a point of overtraining if you’re doing too much and may need to kick it down a notch.

If you’re advanced and have been training for years, then overtraining is certainly something you need to consider.

So, simply put, if you are a complete newbie to the training world, don’t pay too much mind to overtraining. If you have been training hard for AT LEAST one year or more, than you may need to put some thought into avoiding it and follow certain recovery protocols, and here is how you can do that.

Sleep 7-9 hours per night

I have stressed the importance of sleep over and over again. And today I’m going to do it some more. If you want to be healthy and get the most out of your training you need to get adequate sleep. Not only does your body produce anabolic hormones like testosterone and human growth hormone when you sleep, but it also helps combat disease and strengthens your immune system. Turn off Netflix and get your ass to sleep!

Drink at least ½ of your body weight in oz. of water daily

Adequate hydration is also imperative to help avoid overtraining and aid in recovery. Muscle tissue is made up of 70% water. If you aren’t supplementing that fluid with a solid supply of purified water every day you can potentially create more damage. At the very least you should be consuming half of your bodyweight in ounces of water daily.

Stimulate, don’t annihilate

To quote the great Lee Haney, stimulate, don’t annihilate.

Some guys just go way too hard. I was certainly a culprit of this in my early twenties. I would treat every training session like I was going into the fight of my life. I’d crank crazy tunes and go absolutely ape shit for an hour 4 days a week. I’d go as heavy as possible and then hit a fuck-ton of volume for every body part.

I was constantly sore and eventually ended up exhausted all the time, lost muscle and strength. I was definitely over trained and felt like absolute shit.

Now, I’m certainly not suggesting that you don’t train hard. If you want results you gotta put in some hard goddamn work! But there is a line between training hard and training like a clinical maniac.

There is no need to destroy every body part with every set you do. Be smart, avoid training to failure and don’t beat yourself into oblivion every session. Take it from me, you’ll only end up weaker, smaller and constantly tired.

Get massages, SMR, hot/cold treatment

Take advantage of the benefits of massage, self-myofascial release (foam rolling, using LAX balls, etc.) and contrast baths. Both massage and SMR can help break up scar tissue and replenish the muscle with fresh blood filled with vital nutrients.

Hot/cold treatment is incredible for recovery. The heat will dilate blood vessels which will bring fresh blood and nutrients into the muscle. The cold will constrict the vessels which can help pump out some of the built up lactic acid from training. This can be easily done in the shower if you don’t have access to hot/cold tubs.

Focus one day per week on recovery

To maximize your recovery, dedicate one day per week to it. Go for a walk, do some light sled dragging, get cryotherapy or a massage, stretch, go through a mobility circuit. Do something to aid in your recovery from training.

Feeling like shit? Take the day “off”

The whole “no days off” thing you see flooding your social media feed seems to have become quite glamorous these days. The problem is that most of these people are knuckleheads and sometimes you need to take a day off.

Sometimes you’re sick, haven’t slept or just feeling completely exhausted. When shit happens (and shit does happen) you need to be smart and listen to your body. A day off isn’t going to kill you, in fact you will actually benefit more and usually feel tremendous when you get back in the gym the next day.

Please don’t use this as an excuse to be lazy and say “Chris Tutela said I don’t have to train when I don’t feel like it”. That’s not what I’m saying at all. What I am saying is that if you’ve been training your ass off for a long time, sometimes you‘ll need a day to rest. And maybe on that rest day you stretch, do some more SMR work, go for a swim, hike or bike ride or hit a massage or cryo session. For those of you that go 110 mph all the time, you can do something like this rather than continue to roast your CNS even more when you’re feeling off.

Eat real food

The quality of the foods you ingest play a huge roll in your energy, physique, strength, performance and of course, overall health. If you’re eating shit food you’ll feel like shit and never hit the training goals you’re looking for.

Avoid training to failure

This goes back to the “stimulate, don’t annihilate” tip. Try to have the last rep of your set look like the first rep; clean, with no one else doing the work for you! If all of your sets end with slow, grinding reps or even worse, missed reps, you’ll only end up working backwards. You’re CNS gets roasted from training that way. Plus, that’s a sure way to NOT build muscle and strength. Don’t waste time. Train smart.

Deload

If you’re advanced, you should be taking a scheduled deload week every few weeks. Deloading basically means that you will reduce the intensity (percentage of your 1RM) on your big lifts and the total volume of your workout (total sets) for one week. Deloads work wonders for gaining strength, avoiding overtraining and for keeping your joints healthy.

Typically I recommend deloading every 4^th week. So 3 weeks hard, followed by a deload. During your deload week you can reduce the total number of your sets by about 40%. So if you were doing 20 total working sets the week prior, you can kick it down to 12. If you’re doing big lifts like the bench, squat, deadlift and military press you can reduce the intensity to 50% of your 1RM. So if you’re 1RM on a squat is 400 lbs, you’d only work with 200lbs when deloading. You can use this weight for 2 sets of 5 reps on deload weeks.

Schedule one week “off” every 12-16 weeks

If you’ve been going hard for a while, you gotta give yourself a break every now and then. I typically suggest giving the weights a breather every 12-16 weeks. Just don’t use this as an excuse to sit home and eat Milky Ways. Keep your nutrition in check, walk, do some mobility work and low impact activities.

I know that working these 10 tips in will help you feel better than ever. Take advantage of them and take your training and physique to the next level.

Drop a comment below if you have any questions.

Thanks for reading!

Posted in Fitness & Wellness

11 Rules to Crush Your Goals in 2018

Published by chris on December 28, 2017 | Leave a response

People talk about “new year, new me” all the time. As you probably know, that attitude typically lasts for about 12 days. Then most people end up falling right back into their old routines.

Well, if you’re reading this site, odds are you ain’t one of those people. Or, at the very least, you are doing your best to not be one of them anymore.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that it took a lot for me to get to this point in my life. I had a lot of shit to overcome and helped plenty of people overcome their shit too.

Today I want to share with you my “rules” to overcoming whatever shit you’re faced with so you too can accomplish anything you want in 2018, instead of just talking about it.

So here it goes!

Sleep 7-9 hours per night

Most people don’t take their sleep seriously enough. If you want to be a high performer you need adequate sleep, even if you don’t think you do. Be sure to get your sleep in check if you want to have a chance at changing your life.

Eat well

Like sleep, your nutrition plays a huge roll in your day to day actions and performance. Everything from your mood, energy, and performance are affected by the food you eat, not to mention the way you look. Eat lean sources of protein, unprocessed carbohydrates, healthy sources of fats, fruits and a fuck-ton of veggies consistently and cut out the crap. Nutrition doesn’t have to be so complex and complicated. Just stop eating shit and start eating clean.

Train hard

If you want to achieve any fitness goal you have to be willing to put in the work. Don’t worry too much about fancy programming or high-tech facilities. What’s more important is consistent, hard god damn work and a clear goal which you can focus on. That goal may change after 12 or even 16 weeks, but you need to focus on one specific goal for a long enough duration (12-16 weeks typically) which you can accomplish it. Be relentless in your pursuit of this goal and do everything it takes to achieve it. There are too many pussies out there. You’re not going to be one of them!

If you’re going to accomplish any goal you need to have rules 1-3 in check first. Without abiding by them you’re only setting yourself up for failure, regardless of the goal you’re pursuing. Create a plan to get these first three in check. If you’re already there then let’s move forward.

Educate yourself

Most people stop learning the day the graduate college or sometimes even high school. The most successful people on the planet make time for seminars, events, podcasts and books. There is so much FREE information out there that there is literally no excuse to not know how to do something. Or to AT LEAST get started.

Highly successful people read up to 60 books per year. Average people read one or less. Which category do you want to be in?

Find a mentor

Want to know the best way to accomplish something? Seek out the people who have already done it and pay them to teach you how! Solutions to your problems are very simple, however most people refuse to pay for a service because they say it’s “too expensive”. That’s a lame excuse. If you want something you need to be willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it, including paying top dollar. This can be difficult at first, especially if you don’t have a ton of extra cash to spend. However, you have to think about the return you’ll get from your investment. Most of the time you can find a program that is either free or less expensive to get the ball rolling. Once you get started and see the results, it will be easier for you to invest in a higher end program.

Either way, having a mentor to show you the way and hold you accountable is crucial to your success.

Set goals, write them down and read them everyday

It’s important to set goals. But if you forget what they are then they’re useless. Be sure to write them down and read them every day to keep you on the path to reaching them.

Keep in mind that when setting goals you need to be very specific. Write down exactly what you want in detail, and the time frame in which you will do it. Then, write out a thorough action plan in what you will do to achieve each goal. Be specific here as well, you’re going to need to give yourself clear action steps.

Find your why

Having a goal is important. Knowing why you have that goal in the first place is more important. You need to spend some time trying to understand your purpose. Once you understand it, your purpose will become the driving force which will light that fire inside of you and gets you out of bed in the morning.

Shallow goals like “I want to make more money” are meaningless. But if you have a goal that’s specific and set for a specific reason then you have a much greater chance of accomplishing it. For example, if you’re goal is “I will earn $200,000 in my business this year so I can change the lives of x amount of people. With this new platform I created I will be able to raise $10,000 for charity. This will create fulfillment in my life, help provide for my family and help me support those in need” then you will be more inclined to take the massive action it takes to accomplish something.

When goals are set that are in line with your why you’ll wake up excited and ready to crush them!

Get comfortable being uncomfortable

If you are going to achieve success, you’re going to have to do things that make you uncomfortable. That involves taking risks, investing money, speaking, giving your opinion and putting in consistent hard work. You’re going to have to get up early and be willing to do things that others are not.

With that, personal growth will also come. That growth is a major part of what it takes to achieve your goals.

Create good habits

Human beings are creatures of habit. Unfortunately, many people have plenty of bad habits. Habits are hard to break, regardless if they’re bad or good. The best way to kick a bad habit is to replace it with a good one. Once you use discipline to do something consistently enough, it will then become a habit. The problem is most people run out of discipline before that happens. Be aware of this and do not stop putting in the work to develop your new good habits.

Take a step back and look at your life. Are your habits aligned with your goals? Which habits do you need to kick, and what do you need to do in its place? Think long and hard about this and decide what you need to change. Then, DO IT!

Spend your time with the people who lift you up

You are the product of the five people you spend the most time with. If you want to achieve greatness then you have to spend your time with the people who will only support you on your mission. There’s no time to waste on the crabs.

Whether you realize it or not, you will develop the traits of those who you spend your time with. As difficult as it sounds, you’re going to have to limit the time you spend with certain friends and family members. If they are going to hold you back from living the life you want then you can’t be around them. At least most of the time. Or, at the very least you have to limit your conversations with them and only discuss meaningless BS, rather than your mission.

This rule is an absolute game changer and I highly recommend attending events, conferences or meet up groups to meet more people that will support your vision.

Take MASSIVE ACTION

You can write out the best plan possible, if you don’t take action you will never accomplish anything. If you want to be successful then you have to consistently take massive action. You do not have to be the smartest, most educated or most outgoing to accomplish things in your life. What matters most is the level of effort you put into achieving what you want.

Talking about shit will get you nowhere. You have to work your ass off every day, then, results will come. There are no secrets or shortcuts here. The “secret” to success is to relentlessly put in the work day in and day out.

2018 is here and can easily be the best year of your life. Or it can be another year where you were motivated for about 5 minutes. The choice is completely up to you. I truly hope that you make the choice that will change your life for the better.

Good luck on your journey and here’s to a very happy, healthy and successful 2018.

Happy New Year, folks!

Posted in Fitness & Wellness

My Way

Published by chris on December 21, 2017 | Leave a response

2017 is coming to a close. As every year approaches its end, I spend some time reflecting on the year that has passed. Did I accomplish all that I wanted to? Did I stay consistent with things I need to change most? Did I see the places I wanted to see? What are my new goals for 2018? What is my plan to achieve these goals?

Then I write out all of my answers and new goals, and prepare myself for the year to come.

One of my latest end of the year rituals is to repeatedly listen to one of my favorite songs of all time. This one particular song gets me more fired up than any other and motivates me to live my life the way I want.

That is, to live with passion, drive, energy, compassion and focus. To work hard, help others, travel and have a shit-ton of fun in the process.

Some people who know me well might think this is some Eminem or Biggie song, however that’s pretty far off. Actually, the song I’m referring to is “My Way” by Frank Sinatra. I already know what you’re probably thinking, “another guido listening to Frank Sinatra, how typical”. Well, you’re right! I guess the year end forces me to channel my inner piasan.

But to me this is one of the most motivating songs, because it inspires me to live life the way I want, and I want to share some of the lyrics with you in hopes that it will inspire you to do the same.

“And now, the end is near; and so I face the final curtain.”

When you face your final curtain, will you have done all that you wanted to? Will you have traveled to the places you wanted? Did you ever reach your fitness goals? Did you ever buy that house you and your family always wanted? Did you ever start that business you’ve always talked about?

“I’ve lived a life that’s full. I’ve traveled each and every highway, but more, much more than this, I DID IT MY WAY.”

Are you living a life that is full? Are you doing the things you want? Or, are you living for someone else? Does your boss control your life? Are you pointing the finger at other people and blaming them for things you say you can’t do?

Or are you traveling, competing, having fun or maybe even starting a family? Whatever it is that you want to do, if you aren’t doing it, why the fuck not?!

“Regrets, I’ve had a few; but then again, too few to mention.”

We all have regrets and wish we could have done things differently. However, the mistakes you made do not define who you are right now! Do not live in regret. Change the things you want to change about your life and focus on what you could be doing right now!

“I did what I had to do, and saw it through without exemption.”

You want to do something? Do it! And give it absolutely everything you’ve got.

“And more, much more than this, I DID IT MY WAY.”

More importantly, do it for you, the way YOU want to do it! This is your life, no one else’s!

“Yes there were times, I’m sure you knew, when I bit off more than I can chew, but through it all, where there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out.”

Things can be overwhelming at times. Hey, that’s life. Figure out a way to structure your day and organize your time so you can get more done. The more action you take, the less you’ll be overwhelmed. Don’t find the time to do something, MAKE THE TIME!

And doubt…People will doubt you. You may even doubt yourself at times. Remember that you’re human and doubt will exist. If people are doubting you then I suggest finding new people to spend your time with. If you doubt yourself then understand that it’s normal and do what the fuck you want to do anyway, because you don’t want the “what if’s” to turn into the “I should have’s”.

“I faced it all and I stood tall; and DID IT MY WAY.”

Smile, stand up tall and take on what life throws at you. NEVER accept the roll of the victim. You are 100% in charge of your life! Don’t complain or blame other people. Pussies do that. Take life by the horns and create your own destiny.

“I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried. I’ve had my fill; my share of losing.”

Don’t hide your emotions. Let your true colors come out. Love those closest to you and let them know it. If you’re sad about something then cry and let that shit out. Talk to someone who can help. And never, ever forget to laugh every day. Life is too short not to enjoy it.

“To think, I did all that; and may I say, not in a shy way, oh no, oh no not me, I DID IT MY WAY”.

Don’t hold back. Talk to strangers and put yourself out there. You’ll never regret getting turned down by someone, but you’ll always regret never knowing what could have been. If you see a girl you’re interested in, talk to her. What do you really have to lose?

“For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has not, TO SAY THE THINGS HE TRULY FEELS AND NOT THE WORDS OF ONE WHO KNEELS.”

This is by far my favorite part of this song. Never, ever try to be someone else. You cannot and will not please everyone, so don’t try to. Be yourself and say what YOU believe in.

People surrender to criticism, doubt and fear. They are so worried about what other people think that they hold back from doing so much in their lives. Do everything in your power to be you. When you face your final curtain you will only regret not truly expressing yourself on this short journey that is life.

You don’t have to agree with someone just because you fear the backlash. Don’t constantly argue with people but express yourself and let the world know who the fuck you are.

“The record shows, I took the blows, and DID IT MY WAY.”

I’ve learned that in life, you will take your bumps and bruises. You’ll be heartbroken, faced with death and all types of traumatic experiences. But it is up to you how to handle them when they arise. You can CHOOSE to accept the pain and tragedy we all face, or you can fall victim to it.

I have also learned that the good will too come with the bad. You will laugh, love and party. You can accomplish anything that you want and live however you want. You can travel, meet new people and make the world your playground.

The highs and lows you face on this journey is what makes up life! You can’t expect the bad not to happen, because at some point it will. You just need to prepare yourself for it the best that you can, and then do your best to move on, and always focus more on the good.

Sure, sometimes you’re going to take your blows. But so will I and so will everyone you know, whether they talk about it or not.

In 2018 you have the potential to live life YOUR WAY! If you choose to make changes or achieve certain goals, go do it! Don’t just fuckin talk about it, TAKE ACTION!

I have no idea when I will face my final curtain. But I do know that when that day comes, I will be absolutely fucking certain that I lived everyday to make sure that I lived this life for me.

My way…

Thanks for reading, guys and here is to an incredible, happy, healthy, successful 2018.

PS Don’t forget to give this a listen.

Posted in Fitness & Wellness

A World Connected Has Left Us Disconnected

Published by chris on November 30, 2017 | Leave a response

Technology is one of the best things that has ever happened to our society. We literally have the world at our fingertips.

Need a cab? Grab an Uber and have a car at your door in minutes. Want to have a face to face chat with your friend in Bangladesh? Go right ahead! Want to read about the woman who got pregnant and gave birth after being born WITHOUT a vagina?! Do it! (True story by the way…Google it!)

In my opinion this is the best time to be alive. We have access to whatever we want, whenever we want.

That said, there’s a huge problem with that.

Simply walk into any restaurant and take a look around. You’ll see couples more concerned with social media than each other’s company, fathers replying to emails rather than paying attention to their children and a group of friends that are literally not saying a word to each other, just a table of five staring at their phones.

We are so disconnected to the world around us it’s sickening. And here’s why this has become such an epidemic.

Every time we get a “like” on social media, a text or an email our brains produce more of the hormone dopamine. Dopamine is the same hormone that spikes when people use drugs like cocaine. It is one of the key factors that lead to addiction because we feel good in the moment without any consideration of the consequences.

While dopamine is certainly not a bad thing in itself, it can cause us to want too much of a good thing, on constant pursuit of this spike. This desire to “feel good” leads us to obsessing over every buzz we feel coming from our phones.

This addiction is leading us to be less social, inactive and totally not present. In addition, constantly checking social media updates, texts etc. are a huge reason why we fail to get our most important work done. This can lead to more frustration, anxiety and a lack of fulfillment.

And then of course, what is the biggest excuse as to why people say they can’t workout? They say they don’t have time! How much time does the average person spend on social media per day? An estimated 116 minutes!

So not only are we sabotaging our work and time with our loved ones, people are sabotaging their health so they can sit on their asses and read political rants for 2 hours. Talk about a waste of time!

There is obviously a laundry list of issues with the way people use their devices. I just want to be clear and say that I have no issues with social media and technology. I think it is all great and have built my business by using social.

It’s us that need to change.

We need to change our behavior and have more self-discipline when it comes to checking our phones. We can’t be a slave to it and jump at every text, email or “like” we get. That’s no way to fuckin live! I see it everywhere I go and cringe when I think of how people are wasting their lives staring at a screen all day.

Most people no longer appreciate a meaningful conversation. They are more concerned with what Bruce Jenner’s tit size is than quality time with someone they care about.

I’ve seen a father at a park with his son and the whole time while his son was playing he was staring at his phone. I obviously have no clue what that guy was looking at but I do know that 99.99999% of the time, it can wait.

People are crashing their cars and killing people because they are too busy reading a text. This is fucking madness! People are willing to risk their lives to reply to someone’s text that says “yo” (Which is a sure way to get me to not respond to you by the way).

And I am certainly not perfect and have been guilty of all this stuff. But for the last few years I only dedicate certain times that I check my phone for any reason, and turn it off completely when I’m doing focused work. This has been the best thing I have ever decided to do. My productivity is better, my focus is better and I am no longer a slave to technology. It has been completely freeing.

I highly recommend you try that and start implementing it into your life. This way when you’re working, you work. When you’re with your family you are 100% present. When you’re driving you only focus on that, and maybe some good tunes.

This allows you to take back your life and enjoy the things that mean the most to you. At the end of your life you’ll be happy you enjoyed the precious moments with your children and won’t give a damn about who liked your Instagram post.

Another big no-no is checking your phone first thing in the morning. Most people do it, however it is one of the worst things you can do for your productivity. Right from the get-go you become reactive, rather than proactive. You spend your day putting out fires or getting frustrated before you do anything for yourself. This is a sure way to get less personal development and meaningful work done.

Working on YOU first thing in the morning is an absolute GAMECHANGER and I highly recommend you start doing that immediately.

I hope that you see the significance in this post and begin making these necessary changes in your life. At the very least give your willpower a test and try the tactics I mentioned above for 30 days. I guarantee that you will get more done, appreciate more and enjoy LIFE more! Rather than staring at a screen all day and night.

If you have any questions at all please feel free to drop a comment below or shoot me an email at info@tutelatraining.com.

Thanks for reading, guys.

Posted in Fitness & Wellness

2 Valuable Lessons from UFC 217

Published by chris on November 13, 2017 | Leave a response

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to see UFC 217 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Not only were the fights fantastic, but every time I watch a big event I try to learn something from it. Although there were many takeaways from this event, there were just a few that truly impacted me.

My biggest takeaway came from the bout where champion Cody Garbrandt took on former champion, T.J. Dillashaw. This was a fight that has been building up since the summer, since these two were coaches on the show “The Ultimate Fighter”.

There was certainly a lot of bad blood between these two and when they walked into the arena you could absolutely feel it.

The fight began and was just as fast and explosive as everyone thought it would be. Late in the first round T.J. was knocked down by a right hand from the champion and was almost stopped. However he managed to scramble back to his feet as the round ended.

In the next round T.J. sparked the crowd by knocking Cody down with a kick to the head which Cody recovered from. Shortly after T.J. then caught the champion with a right hook directly on the chin, which dropped him and led to the fight being stopped.

We have a new champion! And from this fight I learned a few things…

Lesson #1

There will be times in your life where you get hurt, whether physically or emotionally. There will be something in your life that occurs and puts you down.

But that should never define the outcome of your fight.

Your personal battle may be in fitness, business, family, relationships or anything else that’s important to you. At some point bad shit WILL happen and can derail you from making strides towards your overall goal and happiness. However it’s not about preventing the bad shit from happening, it’s about how you respond to it when it does.

The last place in the world that T.J. wanted to be was lying on his back after getting dropped by the champion in a world title fight. He was derailed from his goal, but only for a moment.

He could have simply given up, but he didn’t. He battled through the challenge he was faced with and in the end came out victorious.

And I believe that there is one big entity that enables us to accomplish something like that, which takes us to my next point.

Lesson # 2

Over the last 12 years I have worked with many people. When I reflect on those who I’ve come across I realize that many of them have goals, but very few of them know why achieving that goal is important to them.

For instance some people have a goal of making more money, but when asked why they want more money they don’t have a real answer. They say stuff like “so I can buy a nicer car” or “so I can buy a bigger house”. If your why is only to buy more stuff it’s going to be hard to put in the massive amount of work it will take to make the money you want.

There has to be a bigger purpose as to why you want to achieve something. When your why is strong enough, there will be a significant amount of emotion tied to accomplishing your goal.

Failing to have a true why leaves you with a sense of insignificance and lack of fulfillment. I truly believe that is a huge reason why there is so much depression and a need to medicate ourselves in this country.

When you look at the Cody vs. T.J. fight what you saw was an unbelievable amount of passion and emotion when T. J. got the victory. It was so intense that I could actually feel it from my seat.

If T.J. Dillashaw didn’t have a true why, and was simply in that cage going through the motions, he would have never made it out of that first round. The raw emotion was so incredible that you know there was a greater purpose for T.J.

And it’s unfortunate that so many people will never know what it feels like to have such implausible emotion about something that you literally roar in victory when your target is met.

And you don’t have to be a professional cage fighter to feel that. If your why is strong enough then you will feel a similar sense of emotion by accomplishing whatever you’ve worked so hard for.

You may even break down in tears when that goal is achieved.

So my advice to you is to find out what makes you tick. What is something that you would die for? What is something you believe so strongly in that you would defend it at all costs? Take some time to think about your answers because within them, you may be able to find what you are truly capable of.

When you tie emotion to a goal you can literally become unstoppable. You will work harder and won’t let the day to day bullshit prevent you from taking action on your dreams. You won’t care what other people say or think because your why will lead you to a razor sharp focus that cannot be blurred.

I feel that there are many overlooked lessons that we can all learn from world-class athletes. Next time you’re watching a big sporting event, think about what it truly takes for these men and women to achieve these incredible outcomes. Think about how much work is required of them to succeed and how strong their driving force must be.

Then realize that they are human beings, just like you and me. And if they can accomplish incredibly hard tasks, then why the hell can’t you?

The answer is inside each and every one of us, so reflect on why your goals are important to you and you will get closer to achieving them.

I hope this post helps you on your path. Be sure to drop a comment below if you have any questions.

I’ll catch you guys next time.

Posted in Fitness & Wellness

Is your Macro Counting Jeopardizing your Health?

Published by chris on October 26, 2017 | Leave a response

These days, there seems to be a lot of talk about the importance of tracking your macronutrients. For those who don’t know, macronutrients are your proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Macro trackers keep a daily count of their protein, fat and carbohydrate intake to ensure they meet their daily caloric requirement to reach their fitness goal.

That goal may be fat loss, hypertrophy or general health. In order to meet those goals, tracking your macronutrient profile is an absolute must.

It’s what needs to be done in order to have a successful meal plan.

Certain things that need to be considered when conducting an adequate macronutrient profile are the person’s daily activity level, if they play a sport, how often they practice or play, training frequency, training age, lean body mass etc.

Based on the above factors we will then come up with what that person’s daily caloric intake should be, and then total up the amount of proteins, fats and carbs that person should be eating on a daily basis.

However what needs to be considered more than anything is health. Your health should be priority number one with physique transformation occurring as a side effect to eating for better overall health.

And that is what gets lost in all of the social media hype of “counting my macros bro”.

You see, your health and longevity should not be secondary to physique transformation by incorporating shit foods into your diet to complete your macro profile.

For example, you may see someone adding one pound of cheese to their salad because it helps meet their fat intake for the day.

Or, someone may drink a low quality protein powder with complete disregard to all of the artificial chemicals it has.

Sure, you can certainly make some physique changes that way, but you’ll be doing it at the expense of your health. That is where people need to recognize the issue in the message they’re spreading.

And here’s how to change that…

For just a moment, start thinking of the MICRONUTRIENT profile in your foods rather than just the macronutrients.

I’ll elaborate…

Micronutrients are the nutrients that make up your foods, like vitamins and minerals. Rather than solely focusing on your protein, fat and carb content focus on WHERE these macros are coming from.

Let’s play a game so you can get a better idea of what I’m talking about.

Choose the foods with the better micronutrient profile.

White bread or Quinoa
Spaghetti or blueberries
Big Macs or Organic free range chicken
Cheese or coconut oil

If you guessed quinoa, blueberries, chicken and coconut oil, congrats! If you guessed bread, spaghetti, Big Macs and cheese then I pray for your mental well-being.

You can meet your daily caloric requirement by eating shitty foods but the inflammation they cause will certainly be at detriment to your health.

When you dial in your micros along with your macros that is when real, sustainable results occur. And, more importantly, that is when you will see the most improvement in your blood work.

Once you start eating REAL FOODS with a quality micronutrient profile your body starts to improve in many ways. Your immune system improves, your cognitive ability improves, your energy improves, your digestive system and gut health improve. Your body becomes enhanced down to a cellular level.

If you’re functioning better at a cellular level that means that fat loss, strength gains and hypertrophy, as well as improved performance, comes at a much faster pace.

However the best key indicator if a diet is optimizing your health is a complete blood panel. I recommend getting blood work done every 6 months to see where you stand. I suggest getting an extensive blood test at places like the Nutrition Treatment Center rather than just a routine CBC. But I understand that insurance can be an issue so for now, just get what you can afford.

Remember that your health is your top priority. Once you focus on the quality of your food rather than just your macros, everything changes for the better.

Including your physique and performance.

If you are only concerned with your macros you may be eating foods that are causing a fuck-ton of inflammation and wrecking your digestive system. These two things are directly linked to disease so keep that in consideration.

I really hope this article helps clear up a foggy topic. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to comment below.

Thanks for reading, guys.

Posted in Fitness & Wellness

Need and Want: Know the Difference

Published by chris on October 18, 2017 | Leave a response

Over the years I have worked with many different people. Often enough, many of them have told me the things they “need” and why they are being held back from achieving their goals.

They say they can’t get 8 hours of sleep because they “need” to unwind. Which really means they want to stay up and watch mindless TV rather than rest.

They say they need to eat fast food because they don’t have time to meal prep. Which really means they don’t feel like meal prepping and would rather eat shit food, rather than spending the extra hour per week cooking.

They have also said that they don’t have time to train because they need to… fill in the blank.

Most people describe their “wants” as their “needs” which, in reality, are two totally different things.

Here are some of the things you need:

Water
Sleep
Quality food
Exercise
Shelter

Here are some of the things you want:

Pop-tarts
French fries
Ice cream
Pizza
Hookers

See the subtle difference?

Consider that your wants and needs are very different, and sometimes you may not want to do the things you need most. But it’s when we push through our weak moments and do these things anyway that we gain some momentum. Once we gain momentum these actions turn to habit. Once good habits are created then things are consistently getting done and you have just made a hell of a lot of progress.

What’s funny about what I do is that most people already know what they have to do. They just need someone like me to guide them the right way and hold them accountable. Sure, there is more complexity to certain things. Whether it be program design or understanding the human body and human behavior, but most people know that broccoli is a better choice than Cheese Whiz. Most know that a piece of grilled salmon is better than a fatty steak fried in butter.

It comes down to making choices.

And for most people their “wants” dictate their decisions, regardless of the negative impact it makes on their lives.

If you ever want to get anywhere in life, you have to get a handle on that shit. Otherwise, you make bad choice after bad choice, which leads you to just going through the motions and not getting the most out of your life.

People that live this way typically have no hobbies, hate their jobs, have bad relationships, are overweight, unhealthy and don’t spend enough time with their friends and family.

And when I ask why they don’t work out, start a new job etc. the usual reply is “I just don’t have enough time”.

Really? You don’t have 3 hours per week? Ok how about 2 hours per week, can you manage that?

Can you wake up one hour earlier? No, ok 20 minutes earlier?

If you wake up just one hour earlier per day that is an extra 7 hours per week, 28 hours per month and 336 hours per year that you can invest in your goals!

You see it’s not that they don’t have the time, they just don’t manage their time wisely.

We all have the same 24 hours per day as The Rock, and he gets WAY MORE done than most can even imagine. And that’s because he manages his time better than anyone. He knows exactly what he has going on each day, and honors his schedule.

Most people simply let life happen to them rather than taking life by the balls and fucking owning it.

Get to bed earlier, get up earlier, create a schedule, honor your schedule, take MASSIVE ACTION, read fucking books and learn to CREATE the life you want.

Because it ain’t gonna change if YOU don’t change.

You don’t need to watch Game of Thrones, you want to. Which is cool but make sure you schedule it at a time that allows you to get your most important work done first. Don’t sabotage yourself and tell yourself that you’ll do it later, because you won’t.

We are simply a product of the people we spend our time with and the choices we make.

Not our life’s circumstances, not the president, but by our choices.

Once you accept that and start living like you are in charge of your own fucking journey you will get much more done and will be shocked at how much your life will change.

I speak from my own personal experience. I was once overweight, unhealthy, mentally weak and controlled by my inability to make good choices. I drank too often, ate shitty food and went to bed at 5AM every day.

As a result I got nothing done.

It wasn’t until I DECIDED to make a change that my life actually changed.

Yikes!

You are no different from me and can create the life that you want. But no one is going to give you discipline and structure. You need to create those things for yourself.

Whether your goal is to make more money, pack on more muscle or lose 100 lbs. of fat, you won’t get there by giving in to your “wants” all the time.

Recognize that you don’t “need” the bullshit you’re telling yourself you do, like alcohol and ice cream.

The instant gratification you receive will only be satisfying for a moment. Then you’ll realize you have only set yourself further away from the things you wish to achieve.

I know that if you start to live your life this way you WILL create the life you have always wanted. I am living, breathing proof of it.

You just need to do it.

If you have any questions feel free to drop a comment below or simply reply to this email.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Posted in Fitness & Wellness

Mindset: The Difference Between Success and Failure

Published by superadmin on September 17, 2017 | Leave a response

I have been in this business for a long time.

Since 2006 I have worked with athletes and different kinds of people from all walks of life.

Over the years most of my clients have made tremendous progress in their training and lifestyle.

But there are also those who have not.

As a coach, I take full responsibility for those who haven’t made the progress they had originally set out to. Maybe there is something I could have done differently to help them succeed.

However the one difference between those who have seen great success and those who have not may be different than you think.

Some may guess age, injuries or something along those lines.

But none of that is true. In fact, I have had great success with clients and athletes that were both older and dealing with an injury.

The one thing, the only thing holding people back from achieving their goals is their MINDSET.

I don’t care what obstacles there are to overcome, if you have the right mindset you will make tremendous progress in any realm of your life. If you don’t, well then it doesn’t matter if you’re training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, your results will suffer.

Mindset is one of the major factors in one fighter beating another, or one team collectively defeating another.

Your mindset can make all of the difference in any aspect of your life.

And unfortunately, most people do not have the right mindset for success.

Most people like to blame outside circumstances for their problems. They like to complain about things going on in the world that are out of their control. Or they will talk bad about people out of envy instead of being happy for someone else’s success.

Whether in training, sport or life the wrong mindset will set you up for failure and/or unhappiness and lack of fulfillment.

It is those who look at unfortunate circumstances as a challenge, and accept that challenge head on who see the most success. Because it doesn’t matter to them what anyone else is doing or the obstacles they need to overcome. What matters to them is the decisions they make and the actions they take.

They don’t get mad and piss and moan. They TAKE ACTION. And rather than have life happen to them they take life by the balls!

Worrying and complaining isn’t going to do anyone any good. It’s only going to create more stress and toxicity so avoid doing it and be sure to avoid the people who do it too.

Most of this negativity comes from self-doubt and insecurity. People don’t believe in themselves, so they try to knock others down for achieving the things that they feel they can’t.

They are too afraid to take chances so they will shit on others who have the guts to do what they want.

If you ever catch yourself criticizing someone else’s success, take a second and actually think about why you’re not happy for this person. Why would you rather shit on them than support them?

When you begin to peel back the layers of the onion you start to realize it’s because of your own lack of belief in yourself. If you fail to recognize that then it will be very difficult to ever truly live a fulfilled life.

The mindset of those who crush their goals and see success in all facets of their life are those who support other people.

Those who are nice to others and hope to see their success.

Successful people have an iron will. A never-say-die mentality which propels them to crushing their goals. They don’t hate on others, or ever make excuses as to why they can’t do something.

Successful people don’t have time to shit on others! They are too busy putting in the work it takes to achieve their dreams.

They simply dig down deep, get their hands dirty and work their fucking ass off.

All of the people I have been fortunate enough to work with and help get to the next level are those who are willing to roll the dice and take risks.

They may risk criticism from their peers for choosing a salad over a burger. Or maybe they take financial risks in a business endeavor. Or perhaps they risk being judged for making a decision that isn’t “the norm”.

People who achieve success understand that taking risks is necessary.

Fear is accepted for what it is. It’s important to understand fear and that it’s normal for any human being to feel it. You need to feel it, and do what the fuck you need to do anyway.

Go all in!

And most of whom I have worked with treat their training the same way that they treat their careers, relationships, hobbies and parenting.

There is no grey area. It’s either black or it’s white and they decide to give it their absolute best.

There is no missing training days or cheating on your diet for some BS reason.

When you decide to focus on the things you can control and give it your very best, you will achieve more success in fitness, business or whatever else.

You just have to fix your mind and do the work!

Trust yourself, trust the process, go all in and take fucking chances.

This is the one lifetime that we know is certain. Don’t live it with fear, anger and jealousy. Live it relentlessly and pursue your dreams while helping everyone around you do the same.

Shift your thinking and change your life!

I know that if I can do it you sure as hell can too.

Thanks for reading, guys.

Posted in Fitness & Wellness

Stop Destroying Yourself and Make Better Gains

Published by superadmin on August 24, 2017 | Leave a response

Guys like us have goals.

We’re determined to get bigger and stronger as fast as possible.

So we go 110 mph all the time, in the constant pursuit of making gains.

If you played sports, you probably carryover that same mindset to the weight room. You have the mentality that you have to go as hard as possible, all the time.

Although this can be a great attitude to have, it can actually leave us beat up and over trained with lesser strength and hypertrophy gains.

Ever see the guy in the gym using a weight that he’s absolutely struggling with? He’s usually not the most jacked guy in the gym.

On the other hand, the most jacked dudes are actually doing the opposite. They’re using a challenging weight that they can handle for the prescribed rep range and leave one or two reps in the tank on sets. Just check out The Rock’s IG for example.

If you are a genetically average, drug free lifter training to failure is actually going to do the exact opposite of what you’re training for. Over time you’ll get weaker, smaller, frustrated and burned out.

If you’re not sure what it means to train to failure then check this out.

Training to failure means that if you are doing a set of bench press for 6-8 reps for example and your last rep you either go for and can’t get it up or you get it but it literally takes every single thing you got to get it up. The last rep is painfully slow and you could not have gotten one more if you had a gun to your head. Either way is hitting failure.

When you train to failure day in and day out a few things happen.

Technique breaks down and your movement quality goes to shit. Leading to excess joint stress and overcompensation.
Your Central Nervous System gets absolutely fried which makes your workout very difficult to recover from and leads to systemic fatigue.
Underdevelopment of muscular strength and growth due to what I mentioned above and the fact that you aren’t going to be able to follow the progressive overload principle. To add, you’ll constantly be missing reps.

Although our egos can lead us to training to failure time and time again we have to keep that shit in check. We have to constantly remind ourselves that trying to do too much is going to lead to the exact opposite of what we want.

Here’s how to avoid training to failure.

If you are healthy enough for the big lifts (bench, squat, deadlift) find your 3 or 5RM on those movements. Then use percentages of your max for certain rep ranges. For instance, if your 5 rep max is 275 lbs. on the bench press and the following week you are going to bench press for a set of 6-8 reps, you can take 85% of your 5RM (230 lbs. in this case) and use that weight for your sets of 6-8. Prilepin’s Chart can help you out with this.
If you are doing a body weight exercise like chin-ups, imagine during your set that if you had a gun to your head and can only do one more rep, you’re going to stop and leave that rep in the tank. So if with a gun to my head I can do 15 chin-ups, I’m going to stop at 14.

If you are using dumbbells or doing an exercise you can’t take a percentage with, select a weight that you can do about two more reps with than the prescribed rep range. So if I am doing a dumbbell row for a set of 10 and I know that I can get the 100’s for 12, I’m going to use the 100’s for my set of 10.

If you follow these guidelines you’ll be able to follow the progressive overload principle and make more weekly progress in your training.

Training to failure is very difficult to recover from and will only impede your gains and performance, so be smart about your weight selection.

Although you still want to train hard and never train like a total softy, you also have to be smart and avoid failure. Doing so is only going to save your joints and leave you bigger, stronger and feeling better.

So leave your ego aside and choose an appropriate weight. The longer you’re in the game the more gains you’ll be able to make.

I hope this helps, guys.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. As always if you have any questions feel free to drop a comment below. If you found this post to be helpful then please click the share button so your friends and family can check it out too.

Posted in Fitness & Wellness