New Year, New You: How to Stay Motivated

We’re all familiar with the routine that comes with a new year: you enter January with a long list of goals and a great deal of optimism towards achieving them. A month or two later, you’ve lost your motivation and you’re back to square one. Not this year, Supzilla Nation! 2018 is your year for health, fitness, and massive gains!

At SupZilla, we’re all too familiar with this new year’s resolution cycle for fitness and have witnessed people burn out countless times. Thankfully, there are many unique ways to avoid losing motivation towards completing your new year’s resolutions. Here are some of our favorites.

Write Your Goals Down and Display Them

Writing down your goals helps make them much more real in your mind. Keeping them displayed in a spot where you frequently see them also helps keep you reminded to stay on track. Every time you glance at your list, you’ll gain a small amount of motivation. Your goals should be achievable, whether it’s losing 10 pounds or benching another twenty. Be specific and keep those goals in front of your face!

Set an Accountability Buddy

Find a close friend that you trust--be it a friend, spouse, or coworker-- and confide in them about your goals. Choose a friend that you know won’t be afraid to call you out if you are slacking on your diet or trying to skip leg day. Another good suggestion is to find a partner who has the same goals as you to get the added bonus of keeping each other accountable.

However, it is not a good idea to go around broadcasting your new year’s resolutions to everybody. Studies have shown that people who frequently discuss goals that they have not yet completed gain a sense of complacency and can trick their brain into actually thinking they are making progress when they haven’t done anything to move toward accomplishment. Don’t share it with the world until you’ve hit some key milestones. And once you do, go ahead and take pride in it!

Be Realistic

While it is good to to dream big, don’t set goals that you can’t reasonably achieve. If your goals are too lofty right out of the gate, it may make you discouraged and decrease the likelihood of you following through with them. This goes back to being specific. Don’t just make a goal of losing weight, specify a target number and lay out the plan for getting there. You won’t transform into Arnold in three months, but if you set realistic goals and keep hitting them, maybe you’ll be Terminator swole in a year or two.

Additionally, having a realistic approach applies to not only your goals themselves, but to your attitude towards fulfilling them as well. If you break your promise to yourself, if you skip the gym, or sneak a donut that you aren’t supposed to have, the important thing is not to beat yourself up about it. If you treat each mistake like the end of the world, it just increase your chances of giving up on your goals completely. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Habits take a long time to change, and there will always be bumps along the way!

Set Milestones and Celebrate Them

One of the easiest ways to keep yourself motivated towards a larger goal is to continually complete smaller tasks along the way. If your goals seem daunting, try breaking them down into smaller chunks that take less time to complete. For example, if your overall goal is to lose weight, then a good milestones would be to celebrate increments of weight loss along the way. For each mini-goal that you achieve, you will increase your motivation and make the final goal less daunting.

Fuel Your Transformation with Supplements from SupZilla

If you’re worried about losing motivation towards your new workout routine, then we can’t recommend supplements enough. Workout supplements can help motivate you and keep you energized even when you may otherwise not feel up for it. Consider a good pre-workout supplement for that morning jolt to get you to the gym and BCAA’s to fuel you throughout the workout and the day. Always refuel your torched muscles with a couple scoops of healthy whey protein.

It’s important to keep in mind that not everybody works the same way and is motivated by the same things. Try a few different strategies to see what works best to help you stay focused on your goals in this upcoming year.

If you have questions about health, fitness, training, nutrition, or choosing the right supplements for your lifestyle, the experts at Supzilla stores are available to advise you in the right direction.

Come see us at your local Supzilla store today!

Creating a Starter Supplement Stack for Her

It’s time to acknowledge the ladies of Supzilla Nation out there actively working toward new levels of health and fitness! We see you working on being the best you possible, and here’s a high five. Now let’s talk about your supplement stack.

You’ve started exercising or eating healthy and you’re doing well, but you want to take your fitness to the next level. The only problem is you don’t know where to start! Don’t worry you’re not alone. Getting started with the right supplements can be a little overwhelming with so many brands and types on the market. Instead of focusing on a specific brand, let’s break it down into categories. We carry high quality fitness and nutritional supplements in a variety of price ranges, and sometimes a choice simply comes down to preference. Here are the top things you will want to include in your beginner stack.

Beginner Supplement Stack for Her

BCAAs

Branched Chain Amino Acids are a great addition to any healthy lifestyle and fitness regimen. They help with protein synthesis, or the creation of muscle. BCAA’s can also help regulate blood sugar levels and can be taken throughout the day. There are many flavors and brands to select, from watermelon to sour apple and unflavored options.

Protein

Many people simply do not get enough protein in their diet, so supplemental protein powder or a ready to drink protein shake is a great way to ensure your body is getting the fuel it needs to build muscle. Many women opt for protein powders with low carbs and fats, with about 120-160 calories per serving. A great way to find a protein flavor and brand you like is to try a sample serving. Many companies sell small serving size sample packs. Don’t forget we also offer Ohio made all natural protein by the scoop in all our stores!

Multivitamin

Including a multivitamin in your diet is essential because many times we don’t get enough nutrients from our foods and supplementing can help make up for shortcomings. Look for a multivitamin pack. These packs contain more potency in the vitamins, a multivitamin capsule or tablet can only pack in so many ingredients, and a multipack is able to deliver more than a single pill.

These three supplements are great fundamentals for any stack. You can always build upon this by adding supplements for energy, increased metabolism, or endurance. Something to keep in mind is supplements are just that; supplemental. They should not replace a healthy diet and exercise, but rather support these efforts by filling in the gaps in your nutrition. They may help you achieve your goals, but there is no magic pill for a healthy lifestyle.

Any of our knowledgeable store associates can help you build a supplement stack and choose products that are right for your needs and goals. Come in to get started and take your health to the next level!

Find a location near you and come grab a scoop!

Creating your First Supplement Stack: For Him

Alright Supzilla Nation, are you looking for the best supplement stack for your first foray into nutritional and fitness supplements? For the guys out there looking to see some amazing results, we’ve put together a beginner stack to get you started.

When choosing supplements, it’s best to go with products that are backed by proper science and research. We only carry the best brands on the market, all of whom offer top of the line nutritional products that have stood up to rigorous testing.

Folks that are new to fitness often cling to supplements as a shortcut, but keep in mind that supplements are intended to be supplemental. Training and nutrition should be the primary focus to meet your goals with healthy nutritional and training supplements deployed to help push you that extra mile toward results.  As long as you’ve got a solid plan for training and diet, we’ve got the perfect supplement stack to help you reach your goals.

SUPPLEMENTS FOR BEGINNERS

PROTEIN

When people talk about supplements for fitness training, they’re mainly talking about protein. It’s the king, and for good reason. Protein is a key supplement to add to your supplement stack, as it’s the primary building block for generating healthy new muscle tissue after you’ve broken it down in the gym. Protein comes in a variety of forms and flavors, based on either whey or soy, and generally produces the following results;

• Filling in the protein macronutrients missing from the average diet

• Refueling your muscles with the building blocks for increased size and strength

• Aiding in fat loss as the body converts protein nutrients into muscle fibers

When choosing a protein supplement there are many options to consider. Whey protein is rapidly digested and can help repair your body quicker. Another protein option is casein, this type of protein is slow digesting and makes for a good snack or meal replacement because it will keep you full longer. Research shows drinking protein before exercising is more beneficial than afterward. Consider drinking a fast digesting protein before your workout. Although protein is great if you’re on the go and need a quick food source, it should not replace all of your protein sources from food.

Supzilla offers a wide variety of protein products as well as our “by the scoop” model, allowing you to come grab a scoop of your favorite flavor as you need it.

GREENS

If you’re like most people, your diet is sorely lacking in quality fruits and vegetables, which means you’re missing out on key vitamins that are essential to health and recovery. A greens supplement is a great way to fill in the gap for any missing nutrients. It won’t replace fruits and vegetables in your diet but if you’re not getting enough, green supplements can help.

FISH OILS

Fish oil is one of the most universal super-supplements on the market.  Fish oils have many health and wellness benefits including an anti-inflammatory effect that can replace your need for pain relief. Fish oil can help with cardiovascular health, arthritis, skin problems, and joint pain by giving your body an extra dose of Omega 3 fatty acids.  Studies have shown fish oil to help with weight loss, fertility, pregnancy, increasing energy levels, and improved memory and cognitive function. You will want to find a quality fish oil with a combination of EPA and DHA. Our supplement associates at Supzilla will help your find the right product for you.

CARB SUPPLEMENTS

A fast digesting simple carbohydrate source can be consumed before, during, and/or directly after your exercise and helps with protein synthesis by replacing glycogen stores that were used during your workout. Taking a carbohydrate supplement before and after working out will help build muscle, restore energy, and help with a faster recovery. There are carbohydrate powders and supplement drinks available for those training who need carbs to restore energy and build muscle mass. 

Obviously our Supzilla stores carry a whole range of supplementation products designed to achieve performance results inside and outside of the gym, however this list gives the guys out there a place to start.

These supplements will help you get more out of your training program, including increased energy, better recovery, muscle strength and growth, and improvements in overall health. Supplements can help improve all the effort you are putting into your health and wellness by giving you that added edge.

Stop into any of our Supzilla stores and ask one of our associates to help you create a supplement stack to crush your goals and fuel your transformation!

Come get a scoop!