How have you been? How was your Thanksgiving?

It’s Jonathan Register (your fitness Coach). I can’t believe Thanksgiving has already come and gone.

Where has the time gone?

Quite honestly…

When it comes to my fitness journey things have not been good (just want to be 100% transparent with you).

Over the past 60 days A LOT has gone on in my personal life, and I’ve found myself letting a dangerous, dangerous mindset creep in a take hold.

This mindset has led to…

– Me skipping my workouts

– Me wayyyyyyyyy overeating.

– Me eating junk that I usually wouldn’t eat.

The result?

My confidence has dropped.

I feel bloated all the time.

My energy has dropped.

And I’m losing muscle definition AND it looks like I’m starting to add fat around my belly (just based on what I see in the mirror, I haven’t taken my measurements lately so I don’t know for sure).

Here’s the dangerous mindset that’s crept in…

“Screw it. I’m busy. A lot is going on in my life. It’s the holiday’s. I’ll get back on the wagon next week, or in January. Or here soon…”

Guess what has happened?

I still haven’t gotten back on the “wagon” yet.

And deep down I know, if I don’t do something now…if I don’t get myself back into my normal, healthy habits….we all know where that’s going to lead.

SOOOOO….

For me personally it’s starts now.

I’m re-committing myself to my health and fitness. And I’m going to DO something about it now.

I encourage you to do the same if you’ve fallen off the wagon.

Decide.

Decide right now.

Right this second…you’re going to stop saying “screw it…” and instead say…

“it’s time to start now.”

We are all creating out future NOW.

So start NOW.

Anyways…

Just wanted to be 100% real with you, and hopefully by sharing this, it helps you in some way.

Lastly…

– I deleted my old Facebook profile, and created a brand new Facebook profile (for various reasons that aren’t important) here. So feel free to add me as a friend if you’d like.

– I’m thinking about putting together a group to give support, help, and accountability so that we hit our fitness and health goals as we go into the New Year…

If that’s something you’d be interested in, reply with a YES so I can gauge the interest level.

Have an AMAZING day.

I believe in you.

The post Not good :-( first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

I shared with you this new blog post recently…

Inside I revealed for the first time my own personal challenge.

And that’s to get a full time six pack.

A full time six pack is simply this.

When you’re standing there (WITHOUT FLEXING)…

BOOM.

Washboard abs.

You can SEE your abs.

So you don’t have to flex to see your abs (when you have to flex, that’s a part time six pack, which is cool too)

And yes…

I did coin these phrases:

Full time six pack – When a person has a visible six pack without flexing.
Part time six pack – When a person only has a visible six pack when they flex

So why should you care about how I’m doing this?

Because maybe you don’t want to get a six pack (or could care less about getting six pack abs).

But maybe you have some excess fat you’d like to lose?

If so…

The process of getting rid of excess fat, and getting a full time six pack are pretty much the same.

Here’s what I’m doing…

1) Strict tracking.

I know I know. Not sexy.

But it’s the most sure fire way to drop a ton of fat.

It’s hard to improve what you don’t track.

So I’ll be tracking my daily calorie intake and macros and eating in a way to promote fat loss (while maintaining muscle).

These days…

Tracking is super easy to do with technology (takes seconds).

2). Intermittent fasting.

I have no idea if this or help or not (here’s what intermittent fasting is and you can read about my intermittent fasting experiment).

But so far into my intermittent fasting experiment I’m starting to become a believer.

Why?

– Because it’s been wayyyyyyy easier to eat less calories (I’m actually having a HARD time eating enough calories each day).

– Because I can see how it gives your body a chance to burn fat when you’re in the “fasting” window.

But time will tell if this works or not.

3) Daily Shakeology.

I’ve used Shakeology almost daily for 6 years anyways…

But it’s been proven to be one of the easiest, simplest tools in my arsenal to get the nutrition my body needs, and to help promote fat loss.

I spend all of 5 minutes a day to make it and BOOM…

I’m taking in nutrients that are proven to promote fat loss while increasing my overall health, energy, curb cravings, etc.

4) Daily workouts.

Like usual, I’m working out for 6 days a week.

Unfortunately…

Based on where I’m at in the program I’m doing, it’s not really suited for burning fat while building up my core strength.

YES, I can burn fat with it, but where I’m at in the schedule isn’t meant to promote fat loss.

So I may take a break from that program and do a program better suited for fat loss/ab strength.

###

Boom.

That’s what I’m doing.

And my deadline to get a full time six pack is by December 31st (which I think is a very, very, very realistic goal…except it is the holiday season which will test me).

Have questions? Feedback? Comments?

Then let me know in the comments box below!

I hope this helps you!

The post Here’s How I’m Getting A Full Time Six Pack (Step By Step) first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

This morning I’ve been working on a new version of this webclass.

And I was thinking about all the benefits and perks that we get from working out, and just living a fitness driven lifestyle.

One of the perks that literally brought me tears was this…

I was thinking about our son Noah. And how it feels like he was born just yesterday:

And with a blink of a eye, he’s already 2 years old:

Noah is on the right. :-)

I know one day…

There’s going to be a day where Noah doesn’t have a lot of time to spend with his Daddy. Because he’s going to grow up, move out, and he’s going to have his own life, and probably his own family.

That made me just think about how precious time is.

It is so freakin’ precious.

And one of the top benefits that we get from working out, and living a fitness driven lifestyle is…

the energy.

The energy to play with our kids.

The energy to be the Dad’s and Mom’s that our kids deserve.

The energy to be 100% present so we don’t miss out on those precious, priceless moments.

So I was thinking…

How?

How do you put a price on that?

I don’t think you can.

Just some thoughts…

Have an amazing day.

I believe in you.

The post How? first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

(that was me taking a deep breath)

The past 3 weeks have been a whirlwind…

Here’s what’s gone down:

• Our community blog has gotten a complete re-design (with lots of under the hood updates/improvements),
• We have a brand new logo (what do you think?),
• I created this new success guide for you here,
• We have a TREK2BEFIT fitness challenge starting in less than 2 weeks…

AND, there’s lots and lots of other stuff I’ve been working on behind the scenes.

AND…there’s a million and one other things I need to do.

It seems like there’s just soooooo much to do, and I want it all done…

…like yesterday.

Ever feel that way?

So I wanted to take a break from the craziness and do a check-in with you to share with you what’s happening with my own fitness journey…

…then I want to hear from you, and hear how your journey is going.

I figured sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly on my own personal fitness journey would hopefully help you on yours.

Sound good?

Ok, let’s get to it…

I did my workouts (for the most part).

Right now I’m doing this program.

I’ve been doing that program now for almost FOUR years (since about July 2012)…which is insane to think about.

But I really enjoy it.

I’ve of course had my up’s and down’s over the past 4 years, but it’s one of my all time favorite workouts.

I’ve committed to doing a NEW workout program with our Challenge group peeps.

As I mentioned, I’ve done this program for almost 4 years now, so I’m super duper excited that I’ll be doing a BRAND NEW workout starting Monday, May 30th with our private TREK2BEFIT Fitness Challengers.

As excited as I am, I’m also really nervous.

Because I’m about to start a new program I’ve never done. And I’ve gotten very comfortable with my current workout/routine.

But that’s even more the reason why I need to do something different.

I’ve been consistent with my daily supplement regimen.

Taking the right supplements is one of the easiest things you can do to fast track your success, to give your body the nutrients it needs to build muscle, burn fat, and to have just good overall health.

So there’s not much else to say as far as that goes! I’ve been takin’ my supplements like I should.

I took my very first after-workout fitness selfie of 2016.

Here it is:

I’m a little rusty at selfies as you can tell…

And I probably need to work on my selfie pose. :-)

Need to do better with my nutrition.

Honestly, I’ve gotten lazy with my nutrition.

I know I’m eating too much of the wrong foods (especially in the evenings), and I just haven’t been on point like I need to be.

Luckily, I’ve been sticking with my workouts, and eating pretty good most of the time, which has helped combat any major weight gain.

BUT, I know I can do better.

I need to start doing abs again!

For the past several weeks (this is embarrassing to admit), I’ve been skipping my ab workouts.

Why?

I’ve just been making excuses. I’ll finish my workout, and then tell myself…

“There’s too much other stuff to do. I’ll do abs later…”

Then later never comes.

So this upcoming week…when abs is on the schedule, I’M DOING IT!

Boom.

There you go. That’s my update…

NOW, IT’S YOUR TURN!
LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS:

#1 – What’s 1 good thing that happened this past week as far as your fitness journey?

#2 – And for bonus points, what’s 1 thing you could improve on when it comes to your fitness journey?

The post Friday Check-in first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

First, before I share this confession with you, not sure if you remember or not, but in a blog post I created for you end of June (this one here), I told you moving forward I’ve got 2 words I need to share with you.

I don’t think I ever shared those 2 words, so here they are…

I’m BAAAAAAAAACCCCK! :-)

…you may have already figured that out, but just wanted to formally tell you. I’m so excited to re-start our journey together.

I’m so excited to HELP you. I’m so excited to see YOU get the body you’ve always dreamed of having (a body that everyone, EVERYONE will be jealous of :-)).

I’m so excited to help you on your journey so you can look in the mirror and feel so dang good about yourself.

So….I’m excited…can’t you tell? ;-) I hope YOU are too. This is the start of GREAT things for YOU, if….IF you take action.

Ok, now back to the confession I need to share with you.

For the past at least 8 weeks (I think probably more like 10 weeks).

I have not gotten any “real” workouts in.

Our Townhome We Just Officially Sold Today (yea yaaaa!)

My wife and I put our townhome up for sale in May, and then we moved into our new home middle of June.

When we put our townhome up for sale we had to keep our townhome perfect. Since our living room was our workout area, that meant we had to pack up a lot of our equipment, and put our weights in the garage.

SO, that was my excuse then as to why I couldn’t workout.

In all reality though, I could have made it work. There’s this little program called Insanity that we have that requires ZERO equipment that I could have done.

So then we finally moved into our new home middle of June.

Admittedly, it was a constant go-go-go. It seemed like it was never-ending stuff that needed to be done-

• We had to move everything from our townhome to our new home.
• We had to call contractors to fix stuff at our townhome after we went under contract to sell it.
• We had to do tons of yard work at our new home since the prior owners totally neglected the front & backyard landscaping.
• We had to unpack and put stuff away at our new home.
• And on and on and on.

As I’m typing this, I’ve come to realize everything I just shared with you…

Is pure and simple…

EXCUSES!

In my mind then I couldn’t fit my “workouts” into our busy schedule. But in ALL actuality…

I could have made it work.
I could have made the time.

SO….To be totally 100% real with you, and to own up to everything…

For the past 10 weeks, I have NOT worked out like I should have and instead, I just made a ton of dumb excuses.

Can you relate at all to that? Are there any excuses YOU are making?

NOW…it’s time to get my act together, and just move forward.

It’s time to take control of my health & fitness and get myself back to where I should be.

No excuses.

It’s a trek. It’s a never ending trek to bettering ourselves so we can live a long, happy, healthy life (that’s why fitness & eating right is NOT a “temporary thing”…it’s a lifelong journey).

You wanna join me on this journey?

Leave Our Community a Comment Below and tell us if YOU ARE committed to a better YOU and are going to work to living EXCUSE free like I am.

Oh yea, one last thing…TODAY, my wife and I are starting a brand new program. I’ll share with you what program we’re doing, how the first workout went in just a few days so you can join us on this journey if you want.

The post Confession. first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

How to Calculate Your Target Heart Rate

It is important to note that before I go into the step by step guide that this method that your TRH is generally between 60% and 80%. The way I am going to show you how to calculate your target heart rate is based off the Karvonen Method, which is one of the most effective methods since it takes into account your resting heart rate (RHR).

Step 1: Find Your Resting Heart Rate

The best time to find your resting heart rate is in the morning when you first wake up. You will need to count your pulse for 60 seconds and this will determine your RHR. I would take an average of at least three days to make sure you are getting an accurate depiction of your RHR. So just take your RHR for three days and then add them all together and divide by three to get your average.

Finding Your Pulse

For those of you who do not have a fancy heart rate watch it is fairly easy to find your pulse. There are two main ways to find your pulse.

1. Neck pulse- the neck pulse can be found right under either side of your jaw bone towards the corner of the back of your jaw. Take your index and middle finger and feel around for it. If you are having a hard time finding it, do a few jumping jacks and get your heart rate up and it should make your pulse more noticeable.

2. Wrist pulse- your wrist pulse can be found on either one of your hands right underneath your thumb. I personally have a harder time finding this one, but that is just me and either one works just fine.

Step 2: Find Your Maximum Heart Rate and Heart Rate Reserve

Both of these are really easy to calculate. Your maximum heart rate (MHR) is simply the number 220 minus your age. So a 30 year old man would have a MHR of (220-30) 190. Your heart rate reserve (HRRes) is just simply the your MHR minus your RHR. So for a 30 year old with a MHR of 190 and a RHR of 66, their HRRes would be 124. Make’s sense right? Right!

Step 3: Find Your Upper and Lower THR

Based on the fact that we have established our THR zone as being 60-80% of our MHR these will be our lower and upper limits. To calculate each limit you multiply your HRRes by the limit and then add your RHR, in that order. So for the example with our 30 year old:

1. Lower Limit: [124(HRRes) x 0.60(limit)] + 66(RHR) = ~140

2. Upper Limit: [124(HRRes) x 0.80(limit)] + 66(RHR) = ~165

Step 4: Calculating Your THR

The last step is very simple and will give you your THR. All you have to do is take the two numbers you calculated for your upper and lower limits add them together and divide by 2. So you are essentially averaging the two to calculate your THR. So in finishing our example:

Calculated THR = (165+140)/2 =~153

How to Calculate Your Target Heart Rate: Final Remarks

I hope this post helped you find out how to calculate your target heart rate. As mentioned in the beginning knowing what your target heart rate is will help you maximize the benefits you can achieve from cardiovascular activity. If you want to make sure you are in your target heart rate zone while your exercising then I recommend whenever you take a quick break to count your pulse for 30 seconds and then multiply by 2. This will give you close to what your current heart rate is.

If you have anymore questions or concerns about how to calculate your target heart rate than be sure to leave a comment below!

Yours in Success,

Brett Banford

Work with me –Leaders Only!

My Blog: http://brett-banford.com

The post How To Calculate Your Target Heart Rate first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

P90X2 Phase 1: Foundation

Basically the foundation phase of P90X2 is all about preparing yourself for the rest of the workouts. It is about finding your balance and stability that will help you master some of the more difficult moves in the later workouts.

The first series of workouts that are in P90X2 phase 1 that are specific just to to this phase are X2 Core, X2 Total Body, and X2 Balance and Power. These three workouts really focus on giving you the foundation you need to succeed with the future workouts. For overviews of the workouts and how they went for me feel free to click on the links above.

Just as a quick run through all of these workouts incorporate a lot of balance posters and core moves as they would suggest. You will do a lot of compound movements that involve you balancing on one leg, squatting, core contractions and extensions etc. If you have awful balance and a weak core then this will be a phase you may want to spend a little longer time on before advancing on to the next phase of P90X2.

P90X2 Phase 1 – How It Went For Me

Overall I really enjoyed P90X2 phase 1 and found it to be very helpful with my balance and stability. Check out the video below for a more in depth look at how it went for me. I may even show you a move or two haha

P90X2 Phase 1 – My Special Opportunity To You!

As I mentioned above I wanted to give you a special opportunity that a handful of people have already taken to help them change their lifestyle and finally get the body they deserve. I want to help as many people as possible get into the best shape of their lives, but I am only looking for people who are ready to take action.

This is why I still want to extend the invitation to you to join my “NO Excuses” Challenge Group. We are officially rocking and rolling and off to an awesome start towards getting to our goals. Click the link above for more information on the group or if you are ready want to ask me directly than all you have to do is contact me.

Don’t let the opportunity to finally get the body you deserve slip away. You won’t always have people here to believe in you like I do. Take advantage of this and know that someone cares to see you succeed.

I hope you enjoyed my P90X2 phase 1 review and got some helpful information from it. Let me know how your journey is going! I want to hear from you and help keep you accountable. How did P90X2 phase 1 go for you? Why do you want to get into shape? Let me know below!

To Your Success,

Brett Banford

My Blog: http://brett-banford.com

The post P90X2 Phase 1 COMPLETED! first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

Well it’s time to answer that question for all of you women out there who are hesitant about trying out P90X.

By the way if you are wondering yes that is she hulk the female version of the hulk. I thought it was fitting for this post haha.

I Want To Look Like Wonder Woman NOT Superman!

Alright so I know that was a little cheesy, but I felt like this was a good comparison of body types between what women are and aren’t looking for!

So enough fooling around the truth is that P90X is not a program that is solely geared towards “bulking up” and putting on muscle. It is an overall extreme fitness program that will help you lose weight and get the body you always wanted for both male and female. So NO P90X will not cause you to bulk up and look like Superman.

P90X attacks this problem from a number of different perspectives that will make sure you don’t bulk up and put on a lot of muscle.

How To Avoid Bulking Up With P90X

* This is just a side note that I wanted to make clear before I go any further. It takes a long time to build muscle. The muscle that would make you look bulky. Muscle burns fat, which will actually make you look leaner contrary to popular believe. Check out my post about is P90X for women for more information on how muscle works!

1. Do the P90X Lean Schedule – the P90X lean schedule is exactly what it sounds like. it is the schedule that is used to get you lean and toned not big and ripped. With the lean schedule you are getting rid of one of the three muscle specific oriented workouts and adding Cardio X along with Core Synergistics. This will help to avoid lifting weights and doing all of the pull ups that are associated with those workouts.

2. Lighter weights, more reps – this is also a highly recommended way to get lean muscle and not put on size. When you start P90X you should actually here Tony say in some of the workouts “If you want size 6-8 reps, if your looking to tone and lean up, 10-12 reps”. In doing so you won’t be pushing your muscles as intensely in short burst and will be more so working on the endurance of the muscles helping you to burn off fat without putting on size.

3. Avoid Large Amounts of Protein – protein is highly associated with muscle repair, growth, and recovery. I am certainly not saying it isn’t important because it is, I am saying if you want to avoid bulking up then you need to monitor how much protein you are taking in. This is why I love the P90X Results and Recovery Formula so much!

It has only 10 grams of protein in it which will assist in your muscle repair and recovery without giving you a ton of extra to help put on the muscle size and growth. It does have a little bit of creatine in it, but this is also used to help build lean muscle and avoid bulking up. I highly recommend it. It taste delicious too, like an orange sherbet push pop!.

Your Next Step!

I hope this post has helped you ladies realize that you can get incredible results with P90X without bulking up. If you decided that you are ready to take on P90X and are ready to get into the best shape of your life than here is your next steps.

1. Sign up for a Free Beachbody account– this will give you instant access to free fitness and nutrition tools and you will also receive me as your personal coach to help motivate and support you 100% of the way.

2. Contact me on Facebook – send me a friend request on facebook and let me know that you are ready to commit to P90X and get that body you always wanted. Let’s get you back into those jeans or that bikini that you used to wear!

I hope you enjoyed this post and will leave lots of comments and questions. I would love to hear from you help you on your fitness journey!

To Your Success,

Brett Banford

My Blog: http://brett-banford.com

The post Will P90X Cause Women To Bulk Up? first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

Way #1: Not Having a Strong Enough Why

Many of you may have just read that and said “I did have a strong why, I wanted to be able to do this or that, or feel this or that way”. Whatever your reason was the fact is you still failed at it. So what does that mean? It means that your reason was not strong enough to keep you motivated to stick with it. Plain and simple. When something is truly important to you, when you truly want something you will do whatever it takes to get it.

I heard this story from Eric Thomas, a motivational speaker, and I want to give the quick synapse of that story to really put things into context for you. He told a story of a man that wanted to be successful. The man met this success guru at the beach. All the man could talk about is how successful he wanted to be and how bad he wanted it. So the guru brought the man out into the water , clothes and all, the man kept getting a little deeper until finally the water was at his chin. At this point the man thought the guru was crazy and was wondering what the heck this had to do with success. All of the sudden the guru shoves the man’s head under the water. He holds him there, 20 seconds go by then 30 then 40. Finally the man starts flailing his arms around and right when he is about to pass out the guru lifts him up and says you just learned the first principle of success. The man gasping for air shouts “What the hell are you talking about?” and the guru says:

“When you want to be successful as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful….”

Find your why my friends, look deep down inside of yourself and find what drives you and what motivates you and then you’ll be on the right path.

Way #2: Not Changing Your Eating Habits

If you really want to make sure you fail at your workout program than not changing your eating habits is a big way to do it! Nutrition is 70% of the battle. You can workout all you want, but if you continue to put crap into your body than you will always hinder your results. Does any of this ring a bell to you? Did you work your butt off and eat like crap and find  yourself to be surprised when you didn’t get the results you expected?

Luckily for you if you struggle with nutrition as much as I do then you have a secret weapon to help combat this problem. SHAKEOLOGY of course! If you are not sure what Shakeology is then check out my no BS Shakeology review.

Way #3: Having No Support System

Finally having no support system can be a critical missing piece that can lead you down the path to failure. How many times have you had to motivate yourself, and failed? Did you just go about the whole workout thing on your own terms and whatever happened happened? Keeping your motivation, trying to hold yourself accountable, and having little or no encouragement are all issues that can be solved by having the right support system.

The two main ways that you can solve this are:

1. Sign up for a Free Beachbody Account – by signing up for a free account you open up the doors to a whole community of people who are trying to accomplish the same fitness goals as you are. You can get on message boards to talk to others, find a workout buddy, and you’ll even get me as your personal coach to help you 100% of the way. This brings me to my second way and my special opportunity that I mentioned earlier in the post.

2. Join a Challenge Group – joining a challenge group with a small amount of people all committed to the single goal of getting into shape can be a complete game changer. I want to offer you that chance. Check out my “No Excuses” Challenge Group and see if you are ready to do what it takes to get into the best shape of your life. SERIOUS CHALLENGERS ONLY!!

I hope you enjoyed this post and will take some of these to heart. I want nothing more than to help you succeed in your fitness. It has been a truly life changing journey for me thus far.

I want to get you started on your fitness journey right here and right now, so if you are serious then answer the question and leave your answer in the comment box below:

What is your why?

To Your Success,

Brett Banford

My Blog: http://brett-banford.com

The post 3 Ways To Fail At P90X, Insanity, P90X2, or (Insert Workout Here) first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

With that being said I have put together a video for you guys that gives you a little face to face time with me. I also go into a little more details about each of the P90X2 workouts through out the entire week. Enjoy!!!

How Did Your First Week Of P90X2 Go?

I hope you enjoyed my first weeks review of P90X2! I would love to hear from you about how your first week of P90X2 went. Even if you just want to comment on one of the workouts that would work as well.

What did you struggle with for these workouts? What did you like the most about the workouts? Let me know what you think. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns about P90X2 then please leave them below.

Finally if you are looking for someone to help keep you accountable then make sure you check out my “No Excuses Challenge Group“. I would love to help you reach all of your fitness goals all you have to do is take action. I look forward to hearing from all of you.

To Your Success,

Brett Banford

My Blog: http://brett-banford.com

The post My P90X2 Week 1 Review!!! first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.