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EMAIL: btracke@gmail.com

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Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! Half way to 50 feels amazing!⁣ ⁣ This weekend I was in Colorado for the @getppsc anatomy course and honestly all I can say is WOW - what an incredible weekend of learning and sharing ideas with some of the best minds in the strength training world. ⁣ ⁣ Thanks to @drjohnrusin, @drdavemarcu and @njcfit for putting on such a valuable course!

Now-a-days it’s incredible how reactive we are with our health. ⁣ ⁣ It’s also incredible how so many people are sick and injured. A large part of this is due to the fact that we aren’t taking preventive action against chronic illnesses and pain. ⁣ ⁣ More pills are not going to solve the root cause of your issues. This will only mask the issues and potentially lead to more issues - which many times is masked with more pills. ⁣ ⁣ How you can begin to be more preventative...⁣ ⁣ ✅ Lift weights to get stronger and more resilient - build some damn muscle! This helps with so much from injury prevention to metabolism and hormonal function. ⁣ ✅ Drink more water and less of the sugary & caffeinated stuff. Hydration is important for many things including body temperature regulation, nervous system function, digestion & more. ⁣ ✅ Choose to eat more whole foods and less processed packaged garbage. Lower inflammation and less likely to overeat. Processed stuff is addictive and will make you crave it more. ⁣ ✅ Value your sleep & relaxation time. Make it a priority to get quality sleep and time to do things you enjoy. ⁣ ✅ Begin to form better relationships. This starts with your relationship with yourself. Do you hate yourself? Or do you love yourself enough to take care of your health? Sometimes all you need is a reframe of your mindset. You should consider surrounding yourself with people who also value health from a global standpoint. Meaning they value EVERY PART of health from physical to emotional/spiritual. ⁣ ✅ Do things outdoors that you enjoy - get active! Training isn’t the only time we should be moving our bodies. Step outside and go for a walk a couple times per day. Getting sunlight is a great way to get the vitamin D you need to function optimally. ⁣ ⁣ Most of these things are pretty simple - but good healthy habits aren’t always easy. Your health is MOSTLY in your control and we need to realize this. You have to get started and get accountable because that is the only way these will become habitual. ⁣ ⁣ Hope everyone had a great weekend. Get this week started off by having a more preventative mindset!

𝘚𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 & 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴...⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ That’s totally cool. But you also have to realize a few things if your goal is fat loss, muscle gain and/or overall health...⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ A. Stuff that is HIGHLY PROCESSED - aka packaged food with more than 3 ingredients needs to be avoided. Eating these foods will add unwanted calories and make you crave more of that food. These are mostly foods that are high in sugar (carbs) and fat. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ B. To support muscle gain while strength training you have to eat enough protein. So at every meal, you should be having 1-2 palm size portions of protein. ⁣Protein has the highest thermic effect of food as well - meaning it takes your body more energy to process it. This is GOOD when your goal is fat loss and overall health. ⁣⁣ ⁣ C. To ensure you’re getting the micronutrients you need, you should be having 3-4 servings of veggies (and 2-3 servings of fruit) per day. So at each meal this looks like 1-2 fist size portions. Probably should be eating carbohydrates too if you’re training - so 1-2 cupped hands. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ D. To ensure you’re getting enough healthy fat to regulate hormones, use your thumb as a guide and at every meal having 1-2 thumb sized portions of fat. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ You can have a treat here and there, but if fat loss and health is the goal, it shouldn’t be daily - and probably at the max 1-2 MEALS (not “cheat days” where you’re eating 6-8k calories) per week if you’re not going to track calories and macronutrients. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ If you have questions about what “good” protein, carbohydrate and fat sources look like, you can shoot me a DM. Most people know what they should be eating more of, they just don’t have the skills to do it. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Small habits create big change. I have 2 spots open for online nutrition coaching available. First come, first serve. 💪

𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 Is Never a 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 ⁣ ⁣ Being strong isn’t just something that is cool for talking about how much weight you can lift in a gym. ⁣ ⁣ That stuff is great, but what really counts (especially with the clients I work with on a daily basis) is how much being strong and working on gaining strength carries over into your daily life and adds to your overall longevity. ⁣ ⁣ Working on strength in the gym isn’t just about numbers that you can lift. It’s about having more stable & mobile joints, less risk of injury and being overall more resilient - and as you get later into life this becomes increasingly important. ⁣ ⁣ This means training foundational movement patterns like the squat, hip hinge, lunge, push, pull and carry and training them for strength. ⁣ ⁣ No, this does not mean hammering barbell lifts and making that the majority of your programming. And no, every exercise you program should not be a 5x5 protocol. This will leave you with chronic joint pain and injury. In my opinion in regards to training longevity, it should be the opposite. Cut the barbell work down and ramp up the rep work with dumbbells, kettlebells, landmine set ups, bands, cables etc. Not that barbell work can’t be in there but no more than roughly 10% of your programming if you’re looking to train and be strong for life. ⁣ ⁣ Lifting weights properly is not dangerous. Being weak on the other hand, could potentially be very dangerous and leave you with chronic pain and a less than optimal way to live your life.

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