Strength for Life: The Fitness Plan for the Rest of Your Life
Shawn Phillips is one of the reasons why I am SO convinced that women and men need to weight train. He is the one who gave me the cantalope/baseball analogy- which is better? I also have really appreciated his way of thinking and his plans. Before you are to start the plan- you need to give yourself 12 days to detox your body of sugar and refined sugars and prepare your body for the weight training program. (Base Camp) He’s Strength for Life plan consists of 12 days of Base Camp, 12 weeks of Transformation Phase, 7 days away and then you transition to the off season training plans. Off-peak season training such as yoga, cycling, triathlons- something you enjoy. This obviously can be adjusted but it’s fantastic way to improve, take a break and come back stronger. I think this is one of the best ways to TRAIN!
Mind Body Connection:
The FIT techniques have been designed to improve the mind-body connection. Focus on the muscle being worked rather than the number of sets and reps. ”It is a power of focus that will change your way of thinking.”
Fueling your body:
He has a clear and concise way to eat your way to success. I like it because it is so SIMPLE yet manageable. Eating clean and eating to fuel your body for success are the ways to think about food. How you feel after you eat certain foods. Make note of the sugar crashes that happen when you eat crappy foods. Journaling, protein, balance, planning and taking one day each week to eat whatever you want. Love it. Getting away from reactive eating and immediate gratification (man, I have so moved away from this!)
Simple Plan:
The strength plan is basic, simple and easy to follow. He breaks the workouts into six days a week – three strength days, 2 Intensity Cardio workouts w/abs and 1 full body exercises and stretches. No relentless cardio routines, no hours on spin bikes, no hours of running on a treadmill are recommended. He simply suggests you do 30 minutes of HIGH intensity on a given cardio machine. 1 minute hard with 30 seconds of Low intensity for the whole thirty minutes. That’s it!
I admit that I haven’t read very many strength plans. But, from what I’ve seen, I think this plan looks awesome. Simple and I know I’d see a ton of improvement of my own strength if I was doing this plan. Not sure what I’d do with all my free time!
Shawn also has a blog which I have enjoyed reading. Very interesting and thought provoking.