By Travis

 

It’s not the latest workout fad.

It’s not the hardest exercise routine.

It’s not about the trendiest diet.

And certainly not about that reality TV show.

The true key to fitness success lies in MOMENTUM.

The power of doing a bit every day and not stopping. Today, I’ll guide you on how to do this!

A single workout may leave you sore.

Ten workouts will start showing changes.

A hundred workouts will transform you.

The impact of exercise accumulates over time. Spread those 100 workouts over a decade (about one workout every two weeks), and you’ll see no significant results, regardless of the workout intensity.

What you really need is consistency, which is challenging. That’s where we come in at Sentry. We help you develop consistency (regular exercise) in a manner that integrates exercise seamlessly into your life (momentum!).

1. It starts with proper onboarding. Poor technique hinders consistency and disrupts momentum.

2. We gradually introduce healthy eating habits. Consistent good eating habits are more effective than occasionally perfect ones.

3. Our workouts are designed to be enjoyable. You’ll be eager to attend because it’s not boring.

4. We’ll present you with your next step so you know what you’re reaching toward.

5. We regularly update your workouts, programs, and nutrition plans to avoid plateaus.

6. Our focus is on one daily action to enhance your health.

The magic of point 6 is this: as you get fitter, the fitter you get from the simple tasks.

Gaining lean muscle and losing fat compounds your results. You’ll look forward to working out. You’ll feel better, have more energy, and be excited to hit the gym.

As you become stronger and more flexible, you’ll start exploring new limits, surprising yourself with your capabilities.

This is what momentum means: small habits create small wins, which creates enthusiasm for your fitness. And when you love this stuff, it’s easy. And when it’s easy, you get more results, even faster…

What are you doing TODAY to build momentum for yourself?

So, what are you doing TODAY to create your momentum?

 

By Travis

As the end of the year approaches and festive meals abound, it might seem appealing to put your health objectives on hold. January 1st is often viewed as an ideal time to start fresh with our fitness goals, but that’s not necessarily the best approach. Delaying your fitness routine until after the holidays could make your journey back to fitness more difficult. Here’s why sticking to your health plan throughout the festive season is beneficial for both your physical and mental well-being, and it could give you an edge when the typical New Year’s resolutions crowd comes knocking.

1. Keep the Momentum Alive

– The Power of Consistency: Your fitness and nutritional efforts accumulate momentum, much like a train picking up speed. Halting now means extra effort to recover that pace in January.

– Skip the New Year Rush: Gyms become packed at the start of the year. Maintain your routine now to keep up your rhythm and sidestep the influx and stress.

2. Manageable Indulgences Over Major Overhauls 

– The 80/20 Approach: Adhere to your fitness and nutrition strategy 80% of the time and you can still savor holiday treats without the remorse or drastic post-holiday actions.

– Celebrate Smartly: Practicing moderation during the holidays teaches lasting habits, easing the path to self-discipline in the future.

3. The Holidays: Manage Stress with a Secret Weapon

– Workouts is a Stress Reliever: Utilize physical exercise to combat holiday stress. Staying active can keep you calm amidst the chaos.

– Diet’s Role in Mood: Staying true to a balanced diet can keep your mood and energy consistent, making it easier to handle holiday stresses.

4. The Gift of Health

– Inspire Your Circle: Lead by example with your commitment to wellness, turning holiday socializing into chances for group activities and healthy meals.

– Holiday Specials: Take this chance to grab holiday deals on health and fitness products to enhance your goals with new equipment or supplements.

5. Step into the New Year with Assurance

– No Starting Over: Avoid the post-holiday blues by continuing your path, feeling proud and assured in your steadfast dedication.

– Celebrating Real Progress: Ring in the New Year celebrating not just the date change, but real progress in your fitness and wellness journey. Persist now for a celebratory January.

Ultimately, the date on the calendar shouldn’t dictate your commitment to health. The pride and dedication you have in your wellness journey shouldn’t hinge on a specific day. Let’s shift our perception of New Year’s resolutions by deciding not to delay. Stick with your health plan over the holidays, and you’ll jump into January with vigor, strength, and a significant lead on the typical “New Year, New Me” objectives. Your future self will appreciate your prescience.

 

By Travis

Optimizing your nutrition involves three key variables:

1. What you eat (or don’t eat)

2. When you ear (or don’t eat)

3. How much you eat

You can enhance or limit your dietary habits by pulling one, two, or all three of these levers at a time.

– What you eat – Options include Dietary Restrictions, macronutrient planning, or supplements (DR)

– When you eat – Time-based Restrictions or macronutrient loading (TR)

– How much you eat – Caloric Restriction or overfeeding (CR)

Among the most popular approaches are caloric restriction (as seen in Bernstein, Weight Watchers, and premade meal plans), followed by dietary limitation (like macro counting, Zone Diet, Keto), and finally time-based eating (such as intermittent fasting). But, intermittent fasting (IF) is often the most straightforward way to manage your diet.

Many people unknowingly practice a form of fasting while they sleep, typically for about 8 hours (from bead time until they “break fast” in the morning).

Extending this period to 10 or 12 hours is quite manageable; for instance, ending meals by 7pm and eating again at 7am achieves a 12-hour fast.

Compared to calorie counting or macronutrient tracking, this is a simpler strategy. It’s essential, though, to be aware of and honor both your hunger and fullness cues as they are integral to healthy eating. Eating is often viewed as an inconvenience, rather than one of the best ways to promote deep health, consistent energy, mental focus and excel at sports/exercise/fitness etc.

For long-term health benefits, the ideal approach involves consuming minimally-processed foods rich in vegetables, fruits, proteins, and healthy carbs, while also staying hydrated. According to Dr. Attia, most individuals should be employing at least one of the three dietary strategies (DR, TR, CR) at any given time, sometimes two, and occasionally all three.

On the other hand, unrestricted eating — consuming whatever you want, whenever you want — typifies the standard North American diet and is a pathway to poor health.

Many leave their diet to chance: how they feel, and what’s easy and tastes good. (And in Urban Centers, Food Deserts are a real problem as well.) Whereas those with a healthy “diet” have constructed their environment and habits to promote wellness and deep health in a way that is sustainable for the long term

Eating for Fat Loss or Health

An effective fat-loss plan involves a slight caloric deficit achieved through gradual, sustainable changes. Excellent progress equates to losing 0.5-1% body fat every 2-4 weeks. Average is losing 0.5% body fat over 4 weeks. Proper hydration is also crucial for the biochemical processes required to breakdown fat.

Eating for Fitness

The key to enhancing physical fitness through nutrition is to focus on high-quality foods that aid in post-workout recovery and provide energy for your exercises. Adequate hydration is equally important. When eating for Fitness, the majority of your meals should be high quality with room for some lower quality food/drink choices.

Eating for Performance

For peak performance training, limit low-quality food and drink choices. Diets that are too restrictive can’t be sustained long term, but that’s not the goal of those seeking to peak their performance for competition anyway. This is another example of how competition and improved health are sometimes conflicting goals.

 

By Travis

Ever felt like just another face in a gym crowd? Do you sometimes question whether your exercise regimen is actually benefiting you? That’s where individual training steps in as a game-changer. Here’s why it’s the quickest way to achieve your fitness goals.

Why Individual Training is Your Top Choice:

1. Customized for You: Each person is unique, and your workout plan should be too. Individual training provides a specialized exercise regimen focusing on your specific needs, goals, and challenges. This isn’t a generic program, but a plan designed solely for you.

2. Maximum Flexibility: Life’s unpredictabilities should not derail your fitness quest. With our individual training, we accommodate your schedule, making sure you stay committed to your fitness regimen.

3. Adapted to Your Daily Energy: Your energy levels can fluctuate. Your coach adapts your training sessions based on how you feel that particular day. Think of it as having a personalized fitness guide.

4. Optimized for Your Available Time: We understand you can’t spend hours at the gym every day. A custom program maximizes the benefits from the time you can devote.

5. Evolving Exercise Plans: Stagnation is progress’s worst enemy. Your training regimen will evolve every few weeks to both challenge you physically and mentally, ensuring ongoing development.

6. The Fast Track to Achieving Your Goals: It won’t be effortless, but it will be more efficient. Individual attention and a custom approach mean your fitness aspirations are within reach sooner rather than later.

So, what differentiates Sentry Athletics? Our coaches are not only seasoned but genuinely invested in your success. Their proficiency is rooted in years of experience, coupled with a commitment to the most current fitness trends. We aim for your workouts to be not just productive but also enjoyable.

When it comes to your fitness journey, the difference between a generic workout and a personalized one is immense. Individual training is your fast track to fitness success—it’s tailored, adaptable, and above all, effective.  We offer nothing but the best.

Begin your journey today: Schedule a free intro session. It’s your first move on the quickest path to fitness success.

By Travis

Your mind understands the need for regular exercise and better nutrition, but it often procrastinates, suggesting you start later.

This week, I’ve unveiled three approaches to bridge the gap between your mental and physical well-being: the strategy of habit stacking, the 80/20 rule, and the Connect-3 method.

But there are additional methods that truly make a difference:

1. **Embrace Challenges**

You might have come across videos of “ice baths” on social media. They serve as an example of embracing uncomfortable situations, although you don’t have to go to such lengths. Doing something you’re not initially excited about will gradually become easier.

The first time you change the cat litter, it feels laborious and unpleasant.

The second time, it goes quicker.

The third time, it becomes even easier.

The same goes for visiting the gym; the initial hesitance gradually fades away. The principle is simple: the anticipation is often worse than the actual experience. The phrase “Get comfortable with discomfort” might be clichéd but holds truth. Begin with small steps.

2. **Foster Mind-Body Alignment**

I’ve discovered an effective exercise known as Box Breathing. It’s straightforward:

– Inhale deeply while counting to four.

– Hold your breath out, counting to four once more.

-Repeat this cycle ten times to enhance focus and self-awareness.

3. **Practice Presence**

I don’t want to get hippy-dippy but much of the discord between our thoughts and actions arises from distraction. Psychotherapists  refer to this as a “check-in,” while Buddhists call it mindfulness or being “present.”Since our brains take a fraction of a second to process sensory inputs, what we think we are experiencing is technically in the past. The more distracted we are, the more this time lag extends.

A simple mindfulness exercise can help you reconnect: do the Box Breathing from above and focus on five things you can see, four you can hear, three you can touch, two you can smell, and one you can taste. It’s that simple.

We didn’t evolve for thousands of years to sit on the couch and watch TikTok.  But modern life demands that we think long-term, act against our immediate desires, and focus on enhancing our life quality. Our forebearers may not have expected to live past 40, but we do.

The “The Connect-3 Strategy”

By Travis

Those who are passionate about exercise typically share two common traits:

1 – They work out with a partner

2 – They receive guidance from a coach.

In essence, the key to a successful and enjoyable exercise routine often involves having both a workout partner and a coach. Forming habits is a challenge when you’re going it alone. However, when you know someone else is relying on you, you’re far more likely to stick to your commitment.

Your exercise partner could be your spouse, a friend, or even someone you’ve just met. Picture this: it’s 6:14 a.m., your alarm sounds for the third time, and it’s Monday. You’re tempted to snooze or browse social media, but then you remember—Sally is expecting you at the gym at 7 a.m. You’ve committed to this workout, and you’re eager to catch up with her. Would you show up? Most likely, yes. Without Sally, the choice to attend becomes far less certain. That’s the influence of having a workout buddy.

Here’s another scenario for you. It’s 8 p.m., and you’re lounging on the couch, fighting off fatigue. Your spouse has brought home a dozen cookies from a local bakery. The temptation is real. But you’re also aware that your coach will review your food log tomorrow morning, and that your choices today will impact your long-term goals. Would you eat the cookies? Probably not. Without a set goal and a coach to guide you, there’s less motivation to make the better choice.

At Sentry, we emphasize coaching and community. Our clients often work out in various formats: one-on-one with a coach, in pairs with a spouse or friend, or in group settings. Regardless of the setup, coaching remains constant.

This triad—exercise enthusiast, workout partner, and coach—creates a synergy that’s more potent than any single component. This dynamic fosters accountability, camaraderie, and sometimes, a dash of healthy competition. Dr. John Ratey at Harvard calls this phenomenon “Competitive Collaboration.” He noted that not only do we strive for our own success, but we also find joy in contributing to the success of others.

The advantage of a training partner or group is clear: they want you to succeed, sometimes even more than you do.

So, the core principle is straightforward: surround yourself with people who are aligned with your goals and seek guidance from those who have achieved what you’re aiming for.

The “Connect-3” Strategy boils down to these steps:

1. Locate a workout partner (or let us match you with one)

2. Find a coach

3. Engage with both on a daily basis.

Life is a journey. Travel with a friend.

Click HERE.