Guys,

This is a reminder that classes at the gym are canceled this Thursday and Friday, to observe the holidays.

Have a safe Christmas and we will see you soon.

Butch Hiles
www.advancedbkj.com

I just wanted to write a quick post and say how great I think “Healthy Life Market” is.  It’s located in all Drug Emporium stores and has just about anything you would ever need to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

I’ve had a couple of friends who mentioned this store to me in the past but they never really went into detail about how great it actually is.  I finally went about a week ago and have been back at least five times since then.  They have a huge selection of protein and supplements, which is great if you need something quick after a workout or just a healthier snack (and that’s my main reason for being back so frequently recently), but they really have a little bit of everything.

There are tons of organic foods, gluten free, grass fed meats, unprocessed, and just all around great stuff to choose from.  I have been big on the large selection or raw, organic, and unsalted selection of mixed nuts they have there, because it’s nice to finally find so many varieties available.

I highly recommend this store to everyone.  You can really change your cooking habits for the better (healthy cooking oils and baking materials) and also possibly change some of your unhealthy snacking habits around.  I really think you guys will be impressed with the place!

http://www.healthylifemarket.com/

Please let me know what you think,

Butch Hiles

www.advancedbkj.com

Guys,

I will be working on getting all of our new apparel on the site and at the gym, but there is a lot…  This means not all of it will be displayed at the gym and it may take me some time to get it all listed.

There are plans to get some adidtional pictures tonight but time is really tough to come by these days.  In any event, here is some of the new gear (men’s and women’s) and it can be purchased asap off the site.

This link won’t be found on the site, until I do some updates, so save it if you navigate to the other merchandise sections.

www.advancedbkj.com/apparel

Please let me know what you think,
Butch Hiles
www.advancedbkj.com

Butch Hiles November 2009

After posting the 11% body fat article, along with my ab picture, I got quite a few questions about what I eat, workouts, etc. I am sorry I didn’t respond to everyone directly, but I definitely didn’t forget about you guys and I am definitely here to help.

I was in terrible shape about a year or so ago due to bad eating habits, and the bottom line is you have to have your workouts (cardio and weights) and diet in check.  You really cannot have one without the other.  We all have the tools out there to do it and it’s just a matter of putting it all together and sticking to it.  I have always gone through cycles of being in good shape, then bad, then good, then bad, and so on, but it basically breaks down to not keeping both of those things in check at all times when that happens.  When I don’t, I suffer because of it.

So, here’s some easy information to get your diet in check, and it’s what I do as well.  After talking to my friends, Jeremy Mullins and Dan Stickler, Paleo is the way to eat.  Here is some information about this lifestyle change and why you should do it: http://www.paleodiet.com/

I am not going to make this little post all scientific.  Do your own research and read the info on that link or do a google search.  I happen to agree with the information behind the principles of this way of eating, but most of all I have personally seen tons of in shape people who follow this same diet.  By in shape, I don’t mean skinny either.  Many times, being skinny doesn’t necessarily mean you are physically fit or healthy, and sometimes these people are worse off than the overweight people we know.  By in shape, I mean ripped, overall physically healthy, and can compete at the highest level athletically.  That is the true measure of the nutritional part of your lifestyle.

As I said, this post isn’t meant to be a research article.  It’s just a short informational blog to help some of you out.  I can answer individual questions at another time or, preferably, in the comment section of this post. 

This bit of information will help get your diet and nutritional needs in check.  Afterwards, you will need to start to get your fitness in check.  Obviously, we all do a lot of martial arts (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Boxing, MMA, etc) at our gym (www.advancedbkj.com), but we have also added our Ultimate Cardio & Conditioning Class to help everyone out as well.  These are my main forms of cardio but I also add in some running and weights in my spare time.

It’s great to be around a lot of motivated people.  This really helps keep everyone on track and accomplishing their personal goals.  I am very lucky that we have that at Butch Hiles Brazilian Jiu Jitsu & MMA, LLC but there are also many other places that can help you reach your goals.  Both of my friends, that were previously mentioned, run great crossfit gyms and there are also other great martial arts gym around.  In the end, I just hope everyone is able to accomplish whatever goal it is that they are setting for themselves.  If you need help, you are always welcome at our gym.

As always, I am here to help.  Train hard and see you soon!

Butch Hiles

www.advancedbkj.com

Lisa Hiles

My wife, Lisa Hiles, worked very hard and passed her MRI certification today. She is now officially a registered MRI Technologist!!!

Congrats and Love,
Butch Hiles

www.advancedbkj.com

Guys,

I cannot be happier with this weekends workouts! Today, I am hobbling around at work but it’s the good kind of soreness. It’s the kind that lets you know you blasted your muscles and you are going to get great benefits from it when it’s all said and done.

Our Ultimate Cardio and Conditioning Class is amazing. It’s great to get an intense full body workout at the end of the week and my cardio is getting even better and better.

Sunday, I was able to roll with some really good blues and purples and they took it to me, but the amazing thing was I never got tired. We rolled for just about two hours straight (10 minutes on the mat and 5 minutes off) and I don’t think I ever really breathed that hard. I had just as much energy at the end of two hours as I did at the beginning. That’s really amazing for someone my size (over 200lbs).

I am truly thankful to have such a great group of guys to train with and great classes to take part in. Without every individual in our gym, we could not make this happen. So, I want to really thank all of my instructors and members from the bottom of my heart for making our gym such a great place to be at.

Thanks for great classes and training and I hope to see more of you there very soon!

Butch Hiles
www.advancedbkj.com

Butch Hiles November 2009

In July, I set out to get in the best shape that I could possibly get in.  At 32 years of age I had tried quite a few workouts and had my fighters and gym members take part in quite a few workouts and diet plans.  So, I had a basic idea of what worked and what didn’t work but I also knew that I needed to maximize the effort I was putting into to get the maximum output that I wanted, especially at my age.

So, in July I had a DEXA scan in order to keep accurate track of my body fat percentage, lean muscle gained, and fat lost.  A DEXA scan is really the gold standard for this kind of testing, and it is the best way to stay motivated and give myself honest feedback.  Otherwise, it would be easy to just coast on through workouts and maybe make assumptions about weight gain, progress, etc.  This scan keeps me honest and doesn’t allow me to cheat myself, which is very important for the current set of goals I am trying to accomplish.

My first DEXA scan put me at 19% body fat (overall) and I was a softer 210lbs.   I took these numbers, along with the others on the scan, and set out to improve every single thing on there.  I used a very good weight routine, combined with increased cardio and a much healthier diet, to tackle my goals.  After only four months, and a lot of hard work, I am seeing the results that I was hoping for.  In fact, the results are quite amazing thus far.

My last DEXA scan was yesterday (November) and I am already down to 11.5% bodyfat, I have lost 14.5lbs of fat, and gained 17.6lbs of muscle.  These results are amazing, considering the short time that has past and I am very happy about them.   Without the DEXA scan, however, I would have never known how good I was doing, so I am very thankful that I was able to get these tests done.  In fact, I am more motivated then ever and I look forward to some more amazing numbers in a few more months.

I am also very thankful that I am gaining some very useful knowledge to help fellow members of my gym, Butch Hiles Brazilian Jiu Jitsu & MMA, LLC.  Hopefully, I can help some people accomplish similar goals.  We have some really motivated people at our gym and it’s a great group to be part of.  Each and every day people are working to be the best they can be, and it’s amazing to be part of such a great group of people.

If anyone needs anything or has any questions, just email me from the website.

Talk to you soon and train hard,

Butch Hiles

www.advancedbkj.com

From Marcello Monteiro Seminar

This last month or two, I feel like I have really improved my game by leaps and bounds.  However, each and every day I am still trying to learn and get better.

Many people think that once you get to be a black belt that the journey is over and there is no more to learn.  In fact, when I first started BJJ I thought the same thing.  However, nothing could be further from the truth.

In September, my instructor came in and taught a seminar and I have used at least 3-4 of the things that he taught, that day, in my game every time I train now.  I have also just added a hybrid form of some arm drags that were taught to me by Tim Lajcik and Marcello Monteiro at different times.

The odd thing is, I also find myself performing moves that were taught to me years ago but at that time I was unable to do them or fit them into my game.  Maybe I didn’t understand them at the time or my game wasn’t involved as much, but in any event it is nice to keep adding things new and old.

That is really why i have a love for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  There is no match to the mental challenge you get from learning a sport where you can actually never stop learning the sport.  Each and every day I can learn something new, if I keep my mind open and come into training with the right outlook and mindset.

I hope that you guys will continute to try and learn every day, and I also hope you have just as much fun doing it as I do!

Butch Hiles

www.advancedbkj.com

Our Ultimate Cardio & Conditioning Class is going great, and right now I couldn’t be more pleased:

http://www.advancedbkj.com/ultimate-cardio-conditioning-class

Last Saturday, we blasted our core and did a ton of reps with our abs. That was just the warm-up though because we then completed our normal routine.

Two days later I still have that nice tight feeling in my abs and a great feeling of accomplishment.

I also burned close to 600 calories in just 30 minutes. That’s amazing and for comparisons sake a good hard 30 minute run (3 miles or so) usually only burns about 350 calories for me. So, I am getting twice the output and I definitely enjoy the Ultimate Cardio & Conditioning Class a lot more because I am around other motivated people and we have fun working with each other. It’s also easy for my mind to lose focus on the run and want to quit. I never get that feeling in the cardio & conditioning class, and if I did someone would be right there yelling and encouraging me to keep up.

I look for great things out of this class and really hope to continue to see more of you each and every Saturday!

Butch Hiles
www.advancedbkj.com