My son's hockey team learned that important lesson today.  You see, they are playing at a level of hockey that most of them do not belong at.  This level was chosen for them by the system they are governed by.  With 4 days a week on the ice, nobody thought it would be a huge problem.  However, they have not won a game yet.  As the scheduler, I was asked to schedule some games with lower level teams and I complied.  Today was the first of those games.

The kids went into the game very confident of victory.  As usual, they managed to find a way to lose.  This process has gotten very frustrating for my son.  He does belong in the level he is at and has worked hard to get there.  It bothers him that he never seems to have any support.  Today he learned a lesson about desire and motivation.

The team was down 5-1 with 3 minutes left in the game.  Within 2 minutes they had narrowed the score to 5-4.  When asked by the coach what had changed the boys (all of them) replied that they did not like losing to a team at this level and especially as badly as they were losing.  Yes, they had the desire to win and the motivation to not look silly in the process.  

A well-planned protein shake can really give you a boost in calories when done correctly.  I use various recipes for these calorie boosting shakes, but they all follow the same basic principles.  A standard recipe is as follows:

8 oz. of non-fat milk
1 scoop of protein powder
1 serving of oatmeal (40 grams)
8 oz. of low fat yogurt (flavored or not)
1 banana
1 tablespoon of Udo's Oil blend

This powerful shake packs a walloping 1000 calories!  It breaks down into a 50/30/20  ratio.  It yields a great amount of energy.  I generally have 2 of these a day–1 pre-workout and 1 post-workout.  These shakes are what makes getting to 4000 calories in a day a cinch.    Give it a shot if you are trying to get to bigger calorie numbers.

"Don't do cardio and lose body fat faster than ever before!"

"Lift light weights for better growth!"

"Lift heavy weights for better growth!"

What are you supposed to believe?  It is no wonder that most people are completely confused by the information available today.  It is also no wonder that most people look the same today as they did a year ago when they started down the road towards a new body.  They jump from plan to plan, never seeing real results.  Yes, part of the problem is that most people don't exercise with enough intensity to make a difference, but it is also because of the confusion that is caused by the so-called fitness experts.  These people will do anything for a buck and when you examine their claims carefully it becomes painfully obvious.

How are you to avoid the confusion?  Find out what the real pros have done.  No, I don't mean run out and buy Muscle & Fitness or some other body building rag.  I mean find somebody who has been there and ask them how they got there.  You will be surprised by the information they will give you.  You will be even more surprised by the results you will get by following their suggestions.

When faced with an issue in your fitness program it is best if you become an agent of change.  Nobody else is going to fix it for you.  It is entirely up to you.  Most people don't even care what happens with your fitness plan, so take matters into your own hands and turn it around.  The effort you put into this will pay off big in the long run.

Avoid confusing solutions.  Don't just blindly trust everything you read from the so-called experts on the internet.  Consider the source.  What has this person done in the past?  Do they have body building competition victories under their belt?  Have they built the physique they've promised you will get if you follow their system?  These are just a few of the questions that need to be asked.

The fitness industry is a disaster these days.  You have people trying to sell their latest workout system to you at every turn.  These people turn out to be hypocrites who only really care about the money.  They preach a particular method for working out, saying it is the most efficient and guaranteed to bring you success.  Later, when one of their friends releases a "revolutionary new system" the hypocrites jump on the affiliate bandwagon, using their large lists to sell this new system even though it completely contradicts what they themselves teach.  When is it going to stop?

"Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure.  The way you think about a fact may defeat you before you ever do anything about it.  You are overcome by the fact because you think you are." Norman Vincent Peale

I have some honest concerns about helping out people on the Shreddersphere right now.  Quite honestly, the number of people in the Shreddersphere has grown tremendously.  I used to run through the entire list in about 30 minutes each day, but to do the same thing now would require about 90 minutes of my time every single day.  I just do not have that time to spare.  At the same time, I honestly believe it is important for us to support each other.  The question becomes how can we do it?

I have been very disappointed that there are just a few people who consistently comment posts on various blogs.  With a group the size of the Shreddersphere we should see blogs full of comments, but that just isn't happening.  Do people just not understand the power of the support they are giving?  Is it not understood that for there to be accountability there must be people consistently holding us accountable?  How can we be held accountable if nobody is commenting our blogs?  What sort of positive pressure is there if we are not commenting each other's blogs?