Team Poynter Blog Week: See How Brandie Uses Training to Cope with Tragedy!

Brandie:
Bodyspace: http://www.bodyspace.com/brandiecola



My name is Brandie, I live in the upstate New York and for the past 3 years now it
has been the toughest time of my life.  I have always been pretty healthy and fit until I lost my father in 2003 and my best friend, my mother in 2007 both to cancer.

After losing my mom I started to just not care about anything anymore...I gained more weight, became very depressed and just really didn't care about anything. 

I knew I had to get out of this spot I was in and start living my life again.  My mother wrote in her last letter she left to me "Brandie please for me don't get depressed and stay down, you've got your kids to think of and you'll always have me in your heart, smile and laugh, remember our love and life together".

My complete inspiration, hard work and determination comes this letter she left me which is 7 pages long and from seeing everything that she went through in life. 

She was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was 11 and didn't think she was even going to see me drive my first car.  My mother was the strongest women I know, she battled on and off with the breast cancer for 22 years and going through every medical possibility to keep her alive until it reached her brain.   I have always worked out but mostly just went through the motions not really caring about it.

My training and determination tells me I am strong like my mom I can beat anything that stands in my way.  I will eat healthy and be the most physically fit person I can be to make sure I have little or no chance of getting cancer like my parents did and to also feel absolutely great about myself physically and be the best mom to my kids and wife to my husband. 

I work out between 4-6 days a week and every time I walk into that gym I am excited to be there now, I do squates and feel that animal in me come out!  I feel strong inside and out and stronger every week I keep going.  I eat very healthy which makes me feel very strong and energetic, like they say "you are what you eat" and its so true. 

I eat 6 x a day with additional supplements that really help me with becoming who I want to be.  I take Cellucor D4 which is an excellent supplement for energy before your workouts and helps burn fat throughout the day.  I also take Cellucor T7 which is stimulant free, promotes positive mood, and helps release stubborn fat within our bodies. 

I also use No Extreme by Cellucor which increases lean muscle mass and gives you an explosive energy surge.  I believe Cellucor products are by far the best products on the market!  I take daily a protein drink by gaspari nutrition which helps me get more of the protein I need for my body and taste really good, not chalky like some protein shakes I have tried. 

I believe anyone out there can change with motivation and dedication!  If you fully dedicate yourself to being healthy and fit then you will be. 

My main goal in life physically is to become ripped, fit and lean.  I know I can do this, I know I can be strong and I know I can change and so can you.  There is NO EXCUSE!  We all have an inner strength we just have to find out what it is and make it happen.

This is dedicated to my mom & dad and to everyone else out there that has weight, medical or physical problems.  You can do this! You can be better! You are strong!  Being Repetitious will be your goal and you will see results!"

Thank You,
Brandie

Team Member Blog Week: Brittnie's Progression: What a Motivator!

Post By: Brittnie
Bodyspace ID: http://www.bodyspace.com/ladyfirefighter

"So I started cutting on Monday January 4, 2010 as I concluded my bulking cycle. During that bulk I went from 160 pounds to 188 pounds. I won’t lie to you, I wanted to see how close to 200 pounds I could get. I know some of you are like "IS SHE CRAZY"?

Probably so but "I" think I carry my weight well. So I was like why not. I kept the food clean as I used a Mass Meal Plan from Steve & we all know he knows his stuff. I went with him this time on the bulk because my last bulking cycle didn’t go so well but this one did & I was VERY pleased with the results. I too used one of his Bulking Workout Plans.

This was not my 1st plan from Steve so I KNEW if I was using this to bulk I would get BIG and MAN DID I….

Supplement wise I just added NO Shotgun more or less for Lean Mass, Cellucor NO Extreme for INSANE pumps. I stayed on the same protein which was Nitro Core 24 I just added LOTS more, stayed on Xtend and def my ANIMAL Flex for my joints.

As far as the cuts I am on a meal plan from Steve as well as the Psychotic Fat Destruction workout. I can say its been a CRAZY ride just in the first week because the workout is insanely hard and the diet is 0-50 carb based meal plan. I am combining the workout & meal plan with the Cellucor Extreme Energy Weight Loss kit and BOOYYYYY does it work…also staying on the NO Extreme from Cellucor to keep my insane pumps, the Animal Flex, and any isolate protein. I have a few different kinds and all have been decent taste wise so far.

I have to say I am VERY excited about this and the results I have seen in just the FIRST week. I went from 188 to 175 and I didn’t not expect to lose that much. Nor did I want to & who in the world says that??? Lol, but I guess that’s what you get with a good workout plan, meal plan, DEDICATION, DETERMINATION & DISCIPLINE. I am hoping to go to the Arnold Classic in March and look the best I have EVER looked. That is my goal & I know if I keep pushing I will get there. Also, if you will be at the Arnold, PLEASE let me know &

I hope to meet you. I hope everyone has started the new year off right and will continue to do so. If you are not a part of TEAM POYNTER, get aboard and I PROMISE you will never regret. TRAIN HARD & NEVER STOP. LOVE YOU ALL!!!! "

Just a few quotes that keep me going in this AMAZING lifestyle:

“When you know what you want, and you want it badly enough, you’ll find a way to get it” -Jim Rohn

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice
"Keep your dreams alive people. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in YOURSELF, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe"

"Attack your destiny! Live your dreams and you WILL achieve your goals. There’s nothing stopping you but your own fears and limitations. Pushing through can be painful and scary but getting to your dreams will be sweet and rewarding. Push forth my friends."

Here are pics of Brittnie's progress :

Muscle Catabolism and How You Can Avoid It!

What is Muscle Catabolism you ask?

• Eating enough protein every day is essential for many bodily functions. For endurance athletes, sufficient protein means maximum muscle development and recovery can occur. Much is made of the fact that Americans on average eat more than enough protein to satisfy daily requirements. However, as an endurance athlete your nutritional needs are greater for every nutrient than a sedentary individual. A diet that is nutritionally adequate for a sedentary person may leave a hard training athlete feeling run down and unable to train and compete at his or her full potential.
  
  
• If you fail to ingest enough protein, your body will break down its own muscle tissue to get the protein it needs for survival. This mechanism, known as muscle catabolism, is convenient when you face starvation, but highly detrimental to your everyday health and athletic performance. (Via: Personal Best Nutrition website)

A lot of people think that working out on an empty stomach first thing in the morning is the way to go and that if you do that, you will lose weight/ fat at a greater weight, when in theory, this isn't always true..

Lets say for example: Your last meal the previous day was at 10pm. You wake up at 6am, right here you have already gone 8 hours with no type of nutrients entering your body at all.

Lets say you proceed to go on , get ready and head off to the gym, saying prep time is 30 mins, including your time to get to the gym, now, you spend 1.5 hours in the gym( still, no nutrients in you at all), you leave the gym , head back home, then , maybe you eat 30 mins later..

What's your total now for having no type of nutrients in your body? 10.5 hours with no food. Wow, what is your body feeding off of? It must think you are starving it, so when it thinks you are starving it, it holds onto fat and begins to eat upon muscle to fuel you. Fat is what makes you survive, if you had no fat on your body, there is no possible way to live..

So now with you in this catabolic state and all this muscle being destroyed, is this what you are looking for?

Wouldn't you prefer to have a nice meal upon waking so you can get your body out of this catabolic state and back into an anabolic state?

So, here is my advise, Eat pre workout, even if it is a 25-40 gram protein shake, depending on your gender.

Have that in 12-14 oz of water, 30 mins -1 hour pre workout...Workout, then have another intake of a whey protein , where you are consuming 25-40 grams, depending on gender..You should also have a nice fast acting carb intake here as well, and what I mean as fast acting is, a carb in the form of table sugar, you need to replenish those glycogen levels asap so you don't go back into this catabolic state..My suggestion of post workout carbs is gummy bears, take in enough to give you a shot of 50-75 grams of fast acting carbs(table sugar). This will keep the emphasis on fat burning and will not allow you to waste your hard earned mass..

I suggest eating every 2.5-3 hours to get your metabolism spiked and keep it there, you will never go catabolic when you do this and use the proper amount of proteins..

You should eat even at bedtime, this should be a meal such as egg whites , Low fat cottage cheese or a Casein protein, Casein protein is slow digesting meaning, it will break down a little at a time overnight, while continuing to feed your body the proper nutrients while you sleep.

So here you have your reasons to eat and eat often..

If you would like to add to this post or correct me on anything you feel I have mislead on, feel free to do so..


Thanks much,

Steve

http://www.fitnesspoynters.com