Bag Beatdowns for Brains Charity Challenge 2014

We had a great time today for an important cause. Thanks to Max for this awesome video. All proceeds are going directly to the Alzheimers Association. Please feel free to donate over the next few days. We will leave the page active till Thanksgiving.

Thanks go out to some of our sponsors for the event:

Chef Jerome Picca

Starbucks Westford, MA

Springdell Farms Littleton, MA

Reed's Deli Westford, MA

Special thanks to all those who donated to the cause, sponsored someone, and/or participated in the event! We appreciate your support.

Monster-Fit Classes Expanded

Good News Everyone,

Tuesday and Thursday Monster-Fit classes have been full to capacity this year. We started out the year by  opening up the Mon/Wed morning 'Instructor-Only Monster-Fit' time to all members (10:30AM to 12PM). A couple people have started regularly attending this time, which is nice to see.

With the increase in attendance for Tue/Thurs night's Monster-Fit, we've decided to make one more shift to help more of you get your training time in. We're converting all Fit-Kick classes (offered Mon/Wed - 5:45 to 6:30 PM) to Monster-Fit classes.  

We're looking forward to the new schedule and hope to see more of you on Mon/Wed nights.

The 4 P's - P.P.P.P.

When I was in flight school in the U.S. Army, I was sitting in a pilots briefing before our night flights listening to one of the Instructor Pilots giving us a lecture on planning. He was claiming the #1 reason for mission failure was "The 4 P's, or P.P.P.P.". He successfully captured our curiosity as we stared at him in anticipation for the meaning.  After a brief pause, he had us all laughing uncontrollably with his definition - P%$$ Poor Prior Planning.

That acronym stuck with me over the years and I have recalled it in just about every job I've held in life.  How is it relevant to me now? Because I see the same applies to our eating, sleeping, and workouts/training.  The key difference between a successful student making progress in their training, and someone that doesn't, is usually lack of planning.  A person that loses weight versus one who doesn't - dietary planning.  Someone that gains more energy or strength versus one who doesn't, feeling better with their eating habits versus losing steam and motivation, and someone functioning normally in their day versus those that don't?  The P.P.P.P's.  

If you want to succeed at getting better in martial arts, fitness goals, eating habits etc., then you need to have a plan.  Lack of a plan is why most that fail, fail.  Here are a few suggestions to hopefully help you out:

1. TRAINING - Set a schedule of specific days and times you are going to train.  Stick to this at all costs if possible.  Meaning - it is a sacred time on your calender.  Most of you don't cancel Doctor appointments, or your dentist trips, so don't cancel your training times either.
   
   Somehow we feel guilty that we're going to train.  We feel like it's not as important as other things in life and that we can change that time if needed.  Nope.  Training is what makes you stronger, healthier, manage stress in your life, keeps your energy up, and adds years to your life - pretty important if you ask me.
   
   Sometimes we personally let ourselves down by not setting a routine for our training. We set a 'tentative schedule'. Meaning we start the day saying "I might go to class tonight", or "I might go to the gym tonight". Right there you set in your mind that it is now an optional and flexible choice rather than a commitment to a plan.
   
   Training time has to be sacred time.
2. EATING - Planning can help your eating habits as well.  First you need to learn from an expert what you should be eating, complete with suggested menus and shopping lists. This helps cut out the time you need to spend trying to develop your own uneducated plan. If you don't know how to cook, that should actually be step one; learn from someone or take a few classes.
   
   Once you have menus in place, establish a meal plan so you know what you are having for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack #2, & dinner every day of the week. This cuts down on the 'unknown factor' of meals day to day, which makes it difficult to buy groceries, not waste food (and time) on trying to figure out what you are going to make for dinner every night. Not to mention the money wasted eating out because it is easier to go to a restaurant than figure out what you are going to eat that meal.
   
   Another factor in not having a meal plan, and specific times that you eat?  The hunger idiot comes to visit.  Who's the 'Hunger Idiot'? It's us when we wait too long to eat. Have you ever tried to take the car keys away from someone that had too much to drink? How did that work out for you?
   
   The same holds true with food. When we wait too long to eat, the Hunger Idiot comes to visit our brains and we throw out all rational thinking of what we are going to eat.  We also lose motivation to spend the necessary time preparing our meal.  Invariably, we reach for the fastest, and if we can, tastiest thing we can think of at that moment (something usually full of salt, sugar, and bad fats). Nine times out of ten, it's unhealthy and very bad for you.
   
   To avoid this, have your meals planned out, and make sure you start to prepare your next meal before you are too hungry and turn into the Hunger Idiot.  I also keep food handy in case I miss that time.
   
   Speaking of 'time'
   Sometimes I hear - "I don't have time to make a good breakfast, etc."  You can make a very healthy breakfast (oatmeal with healthy fixings, or eggs, spinach, and toast, or a meal shake) in under 15 minutes.
   
   The ever declining meal time...
   I'd like to bring a little perspective into the picture.  30 years ago, we were all sitting down for meals (aside from lunch during the work day), and spending time preparing our dinners.  As the processed food and fast food nation arose, we started to allocate less and less time toward preparing meals and eating. We pack more into our daily routines and somehow eating has become a backseat priority, especially the preparation and planning part.
   
   Try to keep this in mind as you look at your eating habits. I work till 10pm or later at night and eat dinner when I get home. Trust me, I DO NOT want to spend an hour preparing my dinner. But I will tell you first hand, there are plenty of ways to eat good food, enjoy eating good, and not spending a ton of time doing so. But it has to be more time than pouring a bowl of cereal! Yes, that is bad.
   
3. SLEEP - Lastly, sleep schedules.  At least 7 hours of sleep is recommended to function properly through the day.  Try to set your schedule so you consistently get the right amount of sleep for you.  It is very difficult to get motivated to train or eat properly, when we have exhausted ourselves from poor sleeping habits.  

Planning can make the difference between success and failure.  Start with a plan, make it a habit, and then you no longer need to spend time planning.  Don't plan and you may find yourself in the land of P.P.P.P.  Good luck!

"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan next week." - General George Patton

Kids Nutrition Tip

Wondering what to give your child before Martial Arts class? Something that won't make them crash, or worse get sick or pass out? Yes, it's happened, and it is usually due to Low Blood Sugar (caused by long periods without eating, or a large sugar blast which the body burns through then crashes), or dehydration. Here's a couple of helpful hints that can give your son or daughter all the fuel they need to meet their physical and mental challenges.

1/4 cup of Almonds and an Apple.

1/4 cup of Walnuts mixed with 1/4 to 1/3 cup Blueberries.

Paleo Bar (meal replacement bar)

Fresh Veggies - we need 5 to 7 servings of vegetable/day, why not get some of them in a snack? Carrots and Celery sticks with a little Olive Oil. Tomatos and Cucumber with a little salt and pepper.

Things to avoid before class - Milk, Cheese, Crackers, Cookies, Spicy Foods or lots of Bread. Also try to avoid high sugar products like juice, gatorade (or anything like it), soda, etc. Water is best for exercise. Feel free to ask questions if you need more ideas.