#dolvett

New Post has been published on http://www.gsnaab.com/2016/02/15/dolvett-quinces-best-advice-starts-with-a-mental-workout-first/?utm_source=TR&utm_medium=lenes14.tumblr.com%2F&utm_campaign=SNAP%2Bfrom%2BTurbulence+Training

Dolvett Quince's best advice starts with a mental workout first

When Dolvett Quince took the stage at the Varsity Theatre on the campus of Marquette University last week, I assumed he’d spend his time talking about the fitness buff stuff; you know, everything from squats to supplements.

After all, isn’t that about what we’ve come to expect from the chiseled and charismatic celebrity who is now in his sixth season on the television show “The Biggest Loser”? Portrayed as the tough-love trainer, he’s often seen pacing between treadmills, pushing contestants to go harder and dig deeper until you can’t really tell if they’re soaked in sweat — or tears.

But in Quince’s first-ever visit to Milwaukee, he threw us a curve and devoted most of his speech to a completely unexpected topic: self love, and the daily practice of affirmation.

“I want you to say, ‘I’m great.’…And I want you to be OK with saying you’re great. I want you to own that,” said Dolvett.

The crowd went pretty quiet. If this feels a little awkward to read, or makes you feel uncomfortable, join the club.

Why in the world would Dolvett go there? Greatness is found in work, usually, isn’t it? Greatness — at least the fit and athletic kind — begins with discipline and sacrifice and pain (and suffering, but that’s me). What’s love got to do with it?

It’s pretty hard to feel great when you’re out of breath from climbing up a flight of stairs or when your self-esteem is in the dumps – or the bottom of a bag from Hardee’s.

It’s probably why “The Biggest Loser” focuses so little on nutrition and fitness tips and so much on the backstory of the contestants — “because the tears are heavier than the pounds,” explained Quince. Anyone who struggles can usually relate.

Quince has had a lot of experience in working with those of us who have hit health rock bottom, and he doesn’t like the things that we tell ourselves when we’re there.

“Push away the negativity,” Quince said. “It’s OK for you not only to pursue greatness, but to be great. And don’t apologize for that.”

I cannot even imagine. It’s a fight just to stay on top of work every day and maybe make an appearance at the gym and then collect a kid at whatever sports practice or game and hopefully get something on the dinner table that didn’t come from a box and try not to nod off while looking at social studies homework while holding a basket of unfolded laundry.

I settle for surviving — and that’s a good day.

But Quince, who gives about a dozen speeches a year nationally, said something else that might make a lot of sense to anyone who beats themselves up to the point where it holds them back from good health, from change, from progress.

He suggested that we think about our affirmations as reps. Reps, short for repetitions, is a sports phrase. Like every time a young quarterback threw a pass in practice, it was a rep and the more reps in practice he got, the better he became.

Well Quince, this seemingly have-it-all, do-it-all success story, was once a foster child who was abused and did not get the positive encouragement that every kid needs. He had to prop himself up with his own pep talks, and to this day, he wakes up every morning and tells himself that this day is his day. That this day will be better than yesterday.

Quince starts training his brain way before he starts working out his body.

And I guess we can do that at any weight and at any age and at any stage of our own versions of survival. How often do any of us start our morning with such meaningful meditation?

“Every single day I have to be positive with me,” said Quince. “So if my attitude is positive, if my mind-set is positive, then I am halfway there. Discipline, and positivity of mind, is what directs us to the path to accept the fact that it’s OK to be great.

“I do it, and I do it on purpose because it gives me a certain energy I like to guide my day. I wake up, I put my feet on the ground, and I say, ‘Today is my day. I’m going to be better than yesterday.’ This isn’t a trainer thing. This isn’t a physical thing. This is a mind-set.

“I was told once that I wasn’t good enough. I had to rethink the way I think and I never graduated from that. It’s never over. I don’t have all the answers. I pursue them daily.

“Don’t put so much power in your doubts. The more power that you put into a specific thing, the more reps, the better you get at it. If I am constantly working on doubting myself, I will get so good at doubting myself.

“Be careful what you tell yourself everyday,” said Quince, “because you’re listening.”

Quince, who is also an author of The 3-2-1 Diet: Eat and Cheat Your Way to Weight Loss, answered several questions before his speech to the mostly female student audience on the campus of Marquette University on Feb. 4. Here’s an excerpt of his interview – with more on a short video.

Q: You’re on the show but it is up to the editors and producers to decide what airs. This year they are really showing you yelling and getting after people. How do you feel about that?

Dolvett: I want people not only to see the seriousness of their condition – and the seriousness of what self love should be. If you portray me that way and the end is the result of my ultimate goal – I’m OK with it.

Q: What do you consider to be your greatest professional achievement?

Dolvett: Being right. Being right in seeing the greatness of a person – early on. That’s hard. That to me is the biggest reward. I meet someone who is just defeated, and often times if they’re defeated, you become defeated – because misery loves company. When you talk yourself out of that, when you say no, you’re better than you think you are, that’s when I say, I told you so. You are great.

Trainers – the good ones – are true transformers. And the best trainers are good listeners. They have amazing people skills. They are not arrogant so much that it clouds the purpose. I am a tool that you can use to be a better version of yourself.

Q: I watch the show. But I have some problems with it. If it takes a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose one pound, how do people lose 20-23 pounds in a week – in a healthy manner? I know in week 1 some of that is water weight. But to lose 11 pounds in a week – and it is week 8? Are they eating 1,200 calories a day and burning 2,000 in their workouts?

Dolvett: I’m looking at two men (Luis and Roberto, for example) that are still in their 300s (in weight) – I’m looking at two men who are pushing to represent their team. These men are saying the team is relying on me. You’re in a competitive environment. Because they’re in a competitive environment, like all us athletes, they say OK I’m going to push myself as far as I can. I’m not going to let my team down. Not only am I going to push myself as hard as I can, but my team is also back home, my family – and we need this $250,000 to win this whole thing. You dangle this carrot of hope and accountability over anyone’s head – they’re going to push themselves.

Now is it possible for a man to lose 11 pounds in week 8 who is still 300-plus pounds? The answer is yes, because he’s training seven hours a day. There is no TV and there is no cell phone and computer. It’s just, go outside and go for a walk. Go back inside and eat clean. The setup is for a lot of numbers. In the real life that’s not possible. It’s still a show.

Q: I wish the show had a counselor. If a woman comforts herself to 260 pounds after a breakup, doesn’t she need help with disordered eating? And if there is a counselor, why not show that as part of the health and wellness transformation?

Dolvett: There is a therapist on site. There is a therapist that they work with before, during and after. They have constant visits. … Which we need that. I’m not a psychologist – although sometimes I do feel like it.

♦ THE GREAT MILWAUKEE PI RUN: For the number 3.14 etc., and there will be pie at the finish line of this 5K run and walk. Boerner Botanical Gardens March 12. Click here for more info.

Also, check out the blog posts by Silver Circle Sports here – for runners and athletes alike. Good information.

BREW CITY 10K AND HALF: April 2, starts and ends around Veteran’s Park at the Milwaukee Lakefront. This is a chip timed event with age group medals.

SPARTAN: Doesn’t look like the Spartan Race organizers wanted to come back to Milwaukee this year. That’s too bad; the stadium atmosphere was really popular with obstacle course racers. But there is a Spartan Super and a Spartan Sprint nearby in Illinois June 11.

ROCK N SOLE: … Just keep in mind that the Summerfest Rock ‘n Sole is also that day, June 11, at the Milwaukee Lakefront.

RAGNAR RELAY: … And so is this event. A Madison to Chicago, 192-mile relay race for running teams of about 12 people each. June 10-11. Each runner can expect to run three legs of anywhere from 3 to 12 miles (you pick the distance and the degree of difficulty for the run). This is supposed to be a memorable, team-building event according to past participants. Click here for more information and to register your Ragnar team.

NORTH FACE ENDURANCE CHALLENGE: The North Face Endurance Challenge is back, Sept. 16-17 on the Ice Age Trail in Kettle Moraine – and Chin Up readers have been offered a discounted rate. Go to this link – and enter for 15% discount code: D30LNWI15

The distances: 50 miles, 50K, marathon, marathon relay, kids run on Saturday; Half marathon, 10K, 5K, kid’s run on Sunday. This is a beautiful trail run, but everything is well marked and staffed by volunteers.

WHITE DEER TRIATHLON: The White Deer Triathlon is May 21 in Boulder Junction, Wis. and this triathlon is different – you get to paddle, instead of swim. The course: 3-kilometer (1.9 miles) canoe/kayak/stand up paddleboard on Boulder Lake to Camp Manito-wish YMCA; 23-kilometer (14.3 miles) bike ride on Boulder Junction’s rustic roads; and 6.5-kilometer (4 miles) run on roads and trails in the woods of Boulder Junction ending at the new Boulder Junction Community Center building. For more information, here are links to key websites: White Deer Triathlon. Click here to register. And check out Boulder Junction, White Birch Village Resort and Boulder Bear Motor Lodge.

TRAINING FOR A TRI: Thanks to Mary Van Grinsven for this training advice (and photo below of the starting line). She did the White Deer Tri in 2015 and will be back this year in the 60-69 age group:

“When the first ever triathlon for Boulder Junction was announced, my initial thought was, “wish I could.” It seemed a bit out of my reach. I loved to kayak and I was riding my bike between 6-8 miles maybe once a week. I like to walk, but running? Not me.

“I started thinking: if I actually committed myself, signed up and started training, I would be in much better shape when the big day came. That would be a win in itself. I talked to Cherie Sanderson about it and we decided to sign up together, motivate each other, train and help teach each what we didn’t know.

“I taught Cherie how to kayak (and let her borrow an extra kayak I had) and she coached me to move from walking to jogging. My goal was to finish the race. To me, that would be success!  Cherie is 14 years younger than me, so I suspect her goal was to finish…ahead of me. She was too much of a friend, to say that out loud however.

“Cherie looked up a runners training schedule online, and we used that for the most part.  We started biking together after she was done working and on weekends, as soon as the roads were clear enough- probably four weeks before the race. Up north (in Boulder Junction), that is that hardest part.

“We put our kayaks in the lake April 19th on the first day of “ice out” for Boulder Lake.  We were dressed in layers, hats and gloves. The boats were pretty cold sitting in that water.

“We trained one activity a day to start with and then we trained two activities together once or twice a week about three weeks before the race. We did all three – kayak, bike and run – 12 days before the event, but just half the distance of each one.”  

Twitter: @LoriNickel

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChinUpLoriNickel

About Lori Nickel

In honor of being THREE days away from the finale, Rob shared his three favorite exercises. #BLCountdown

My three favorite workouts all are designed to get the heart rate going and calories burned!

Boxing was something Dolvet introduced me too that I immediately fell in love with. Sparing with a friend or trainer is fun, a great stress reliever and gets the blood pumping.

For max calorie burn, interval training in a tabata or HIIT pyramid format works best. Pick an exercise: spin, elliptical, ball slams, burpees, etc. Do as many as you can for a certain time period, then rest half that time, i.e 30 seconds on max effort, 15 seconds rest.

We are 6 days away from the finale and our very own Dolvett created an awesome workout using the number 6! #BLCountdown

Let's do six moves, and six reps of that move six times!! 

6 push-ups 

6 sec rest 

Repeat 6x's 

6 crunches 

6 sec rest 

6X's 

6 squats 

6 sec rest 

6X's 

6 alternating legs standing lunges 

6 sec rest 

6X's 

6 burpees 

6 sec rest

6X's 

60 second plank!! 

Dolvett: When did you start having anxiety?

Contestant: When I was eleven.

Dolvett: How does it make you feel?