DonnyMcGinnis

I had the opportunity to compete as a team of three for the first time. I was used to competing as an individual athlete. This was different, but so fun. Especially being able to do it with two of my good friends. Training for this competition was really fun, being able to work in a group of three. We were splitting up the work, and finishing the workouts as fast as we could. Training was a lot of fun, we trained a month in advance for this competition as a team. We would meet three to four times a week, and do a few workouts each time we met with some strength lifting. As it got a bit closer to competition day, we practiced the workouts that we had to do at the competition. We identified all our strengths and strategized who should do what exercises to help us reach our full potential. Doing this, we found out that we were a really good fit together, because each of us had our own strengths and weaknesses. We would make up for each other’s weaknesses and make each other stronger. I found that working together through the workouts made it almost easier. The push we had to motivate each other to finish a workout, made it a better experience for us all. Relying on each other really made a huge difference in how we performed. I felt more confident in myself having them with me and keeping each other motivated. Doing this team competition really helped me to learn and come to understand that it’s not all about myself. Taking my pride out and focusing on my teammates really helped me to grow as a person. An experience I had at the competition was during one of the events we had rope climbs. I had messed up on the first two with my feet and I was getting frustrated and mad at myself. I really didn’t want to let my teammates down. I didn’t want to screw it up for us. During that time my teammates told me to not worry that we were still in the lead and that I needed to focus on the next rope climbs to come. This really helped me get rid of my frustration and I was able to get past those mistakes. I moved on from that frustration and used it to finish the competition. I know if I would have done this as an individual athlete I would have let those frustrations take over, and not move past them. Having those teammates really help me to learn how to get past those setbacks that are so small and to move on and finish even stronger. This really helped me in the long run as an individual athlete being a part of this team. We performed our best at Fitcon. We did well in all of our events and came out being third overall over twenty-three teams. This was a huge accomplishment for us being our first team competition. We are excited to keep moving forward from this experience and do more competitions to come. Hopefully to take first in a competition to come.  

I have been doing crossfit for a few years now. I always get the comments from people, isn’t it so bad for you? You get hurt really easily doing crossfit. Isn’t it really hard on your body? I get these all the time from many different people, from women to men and athletes. Everytime I come across this, I always have a similar answer that is different. One of the biggest things I tell people is yes it can be really bad for your body, and you can get really hurt. But can’t you do that walking down the street or riding your bike, or even going to a normal 24 hour fitness gym. What it really comes down to with crossfit is your self and the trainer at the gym. Yes you can go into a crossfit gym and the coach be terrible and not teach you the proper form and technique and you blow your back out. Then you could go into another crossfit gym and have a great trainer who teaches you the basics and helps guide you to master the movement. When you go to any gym whether its crossfit or 24, you really want to listen to your body. Don’t hurt yourself if your body is saying ouch I can’t move like that then stop. Figure out if you are doing it wrong or you need to work on mobility and flexibility before going further. The biggest thing you need to consider with any workout you do is doing it right. The last thing you want to do is put yourself in the hospital or do something so bad that you can never workout again. Sometimes I find myself getting tired in a workout and I start to compromise my form. When this happens, you need to stop and either adjust the weight you’re using or make the movements you’re doing easier. There are so many different kinds of workout, but I know for myself crossfit has brought me a lot of joy. Making me feel young and being in a competitive mode and mindset. I tell people all the time crossfit might not be for you. Find something that will motivate you to become better. Biggest of all, find something that will make you happy doing it. If it makes you feel miserable, stop and go find something else. A lot of the times people want you to decide for them on what the best exercise is to do. When it comes down to it, it needs to be your choice. For me it is crossfit. I find myself eager everyday to go in and train so hard. But for someone else it will be something completely different. There are good things and bad things about everything. You can always have too much or too little of something. The biggest thing with doing something is moderation and listening to your body. You should always have rest days and do what your body tells you to do.

Being in the fitness world the past few years, I have been blessed with the opportunity to train many different people. From women, men, children, athletes, and high school students. I have been a stepping stone for some to gain muscle, lose weight, get competition ready, and to simply just stay in shape. With this opportunity there is one person that I will truly never forget, that has changed my mindset and outlook on life. I had the opportunity to train someone who was obese, and in the worst shape of her life. I was introduced to this girl through one of the clients I previously had. The first day we met, she was so excited to make this journey and really see outstanding results. I was so excited for this. I told her with that kind of mentality and attitude we will succeed. We made goals with each other, setting short, intermediate, and long term goals. We met three times a week, and messaged everyday. In the beginning we saw tons of results. Her attitude and determination was so incredible. She was getting into the best shape of her life. She was losing tons of weight which was one of her goals, and also she was eating better than ever. The most important thing though was how much better she felt about herself. You could see her self esteem change just after a few weeks, and that to me was the most rewarding. After a few months of this, we got to a point where she started to plateau with weight loss. She didn’t see the results come as quick anymore. We were able to discuss how much she has improved already and how many goals we had reached for her already. When we got to this point, I explained how we wouldn’t see the results as quickly. I told her we would make some little changes and keep pushing forward. Once you lose most of you body fat, your body will hold onto what’s left for as long as it can. I told her that this is what happens when your body goes through changes and she seemed to feel a bit better and wanted to keep working towards her goals. We were able to get past this plateau and start realizing the smaller changes she was making. After a year of training she had lost 73 lbs. Still to this day we meet and see each other. One thing I will never forget she told me and will stick with me for the rest of my life is “Thanks for caring, thanks for pushing me to my limit and overcome the pain and my trials.” I was in awe at how much happier she became throughout our time together. These are the types of experiences that help me love what I do. This experience didn’t only change her life, but changed me as a person to realize what it takes to achieve in any aspect of life.

In this blog post I will speak a bit about macronutrients. What they are and how they kind of work. I will also provide a list of different macronutrients people want to eat and that people should stay away from. This will help you gain a little understanding of what foods are actually good and healthy to put in your body, and will also show you what foods you should avoid.

• Carbohydrates:

A carbohydrate is any of a large group of organic compounds that is in foods and living tissues. This includes sugars, starch, and cellulose. These foods all contain hydrogen and oxygen in the same ratio as water (2:1) and are to be broken down to release energy for your body to use. In my opinion, carbs are the best tasting and is what our bodies crave everyday to have energy. There are two types of carbs, simple and complex. As you are tracking your macros and are trying to reach goals I would encourage to eat complex carbs and stay away from the simple carbs. Simple carbs are processed things like breads, cereals, cookies, pastas, and drinks. Complex carbs are your sweet potatoes, spinach, asparagus, and oats. Although we should try to avoid the simple carbs, it’s hard to resist them. Taking these tips and using them MOST of the time is what I want everyone to try out. Then slowly work up to cutting out those high sugar, processed foods.

• Fat:

A fat is another fuel source that the body uses for energy. It contains the most storage form of energy. Fat also has many other important functions in the body, and a moderate amount is needed in the diet for good health. Fats come in several forms with food. These include saturated, monounsaturated, trans and polyunsaturated fats. The best fats for you and what you should try to include in your diet are the ones that are liquid at room temperature, unsaturated fats. Some fats you want to have on a day would be avocados, raw nuts, avocado or coconut oil, and raw cheeses. All fats are good in consideration. It’s hard to completely cut out the good tasting fats, but my goal is for you to try and cut out the saturated fats.

• Protein:

A protein is a macronutrient that is essential to building muscle mass makes up about 15 percent of a person’s body weight. Chemically, protein is composed of amino acids, which are organic compounds made of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur. Some proteins you want to provide for your body are beef, fish, and chicken. These are all great sources of protein as long as the meat is well grown and not given chemicals or put into a stress gain environment. After a workout, you should consume protein to rebuild your muscles after tearing and working them out. 

I hope this information will help motivate you to want to reach your fitness goals. Giving you a better understanding of what macronutrients are, and what food to eat to hit those numbers you have set. I encourage you to test this and give it a shot. Don’t get frustrated, but find a way to love what you eat and enjoy it by reaching your ultimate goals.

Fad Diets

I will be discussing and explaining what these different fad diets are, so you have a little understanding on each of these diets. I will explain what is kinda done in these diets, and also some of the foods you can eat while doing them. 

• Keto:

The Ketogenic diet also known as the Keto diet is a low carb high fat diet. This diet is similar to the known atkins diet. In this diet you drastically lower your carbs and increase your fats. Doing this, puts your body into a state of ketosis. Examples of what you eat in a Keto diet are cheese, avocado, seafood, eggs, meat/poultry, yogurt, etc. 

• Paleo:

The Paleo diet is also known as the caveman diet. This diet is known as staying away from processed foods and focusing on whole foods. Foods that are consumed are meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit. Staying away from grains and dairy. Examples of what you eat in a Paleo diet are fish, eggs, meat, fruits, vegetables,  seeds, nuts, herbs, spices, healthy fats and oils, etc.

• Vegan:

Being Vegan is abstaining from animal products. So anything that comes from an animal you are abstaining from it. This is from food to clothes that is worn like a leather jacket. Examples of what you eat in a vegan diet are nuts, seeds, tofu, plant foods, plant milks and yogurts, etc. 

• Whole30:

The Whole30 diet is a 30 day diet. Staying away from sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, soy, and dairy. This is similar to the Paleo diet, but more restricting. In this diet you are abstaining from inflammatory foods and drinks. Examples of what you eat in Whole30 are vegetables, potatoes, seafood, eggs, unprocessed meats, fruit in moderation, etc. 

• Low Calorie:

This diet is as simple as you read it. Consuming food by counting your calories. Eating whatever you want when you want. By staying right at or just under a caloric number set for yourself each day. In a low calorie diet you can eat anything you want. 

• Intermittent Fasting:

This diet is a pattern that you cycle from eating and fasting. You have set periods of time you eat and stop eating. For example you have a time period of eating from 12 noon till 8 pm. You are fasting before and after those times. With this diet, people tend to eat how they normally eat. This just help them maintain lower calories from the day. 

• 5:2 diet

A 5:2 diet is eating normal for five days, then the next two days really restricting how much food you eat. On those two days you are restricting your calorie intake anywhere from 500-600 calories on those two days. 

These are just a few of the fad diets out in the world today in a brief summary. I am not telling you they are right or wrong. Everything has its pros and cons, I encourage you guys to try and test these yourselves. Learn and study them, to know what works best for you, or even if they are good diets in general.

Fitness has been a passion of mine for the past few years. It has given me the opportunity to learn and grow and try so many things. It’s allowed me to reach goals and outcomes that I have strived for. Fitness and nutrition is something that is so big in the world today and is only getting bigger. New gyms and trainers are everywhere you go. Everyone has there own opinion on what is the best way to lose weight, or the best way to train and get in the best shape possible. This is something that will always be around, and a topic that will always be argued. Today I am going to give my opinion on nutrition with fitness. You can believe me, or you don’t have to believe me. You are always more than welcome to try it as well, or just hate it and say i’m full of myself. Through the years of fitness for myself, training to look my very best or training to compete at a CrossFit competition I have tried pretty much all the fad diets that exist. I have done this so I can speak to people on these diets with self proof instead of just giving my opinion and making something up. Fad diets have their pros and cons just like anything else. What I have come to learn with these fad diets, is they are diets that help you lose weight really fast and something most people don’t maintain. For example they lose like 30 pounds in 3 weeks then come off this diet thinking they can eat normal again and put the weight right back on. I have come to learn that you need to find something that makes it a lifestyle. For instance, making the excuse to family or friends that you can’t go out and eat at a restaurant because of a diet you are on is just something I don’t agree with. Something that I have mastered to keep my body in line with how I want to look and do well in competing is carb cycling. This is something that has become a part of me and is so easy to do and maintain consistently. I can still go out to eat, or go to a barbecue at someones home. It doesn’t restrict me and I always look the way I want all year round. It is so easy to do, I still have the macros I need to hit each day. Macros are your proteins, fats, and carbs. The rule I have is earning my carbs. I only eat carbs before and after working out. So if I am working out at 4 in the afternoon, I eat my carbs usually for dinner. So for breakfast and lunch I have my fats and protein, no carbs. I don’t mix my fats and carbs together, they are always split. So if I am eating my carbs for lunch I will save my fats for dinner and breakfast. This is something that I have grown to really enjoy, and is so easy to do.  Everyone will have their own opinion on what is good and bad. I know for myself this works very well for me and people I train each day. Remember to enjoy eating food, don’t starve yourself or think you have to just eat vegetables to reach your goals. Be motivated in what you want to achieve and go succeed!