If you imagine your trunk as an onion with layers of rings from the inside (core) all the way to the outside this will represent our muscle support network. Typically, the center of the onion is engaged and supports the spine (in ideal situation). This provides our brain with a feeling of security, i.e., stability, which allows for us to excute a full range of motion across that particular joint. In simplest terms we require stability for full mobility to be executed safely and efficiently.
Mobility without stability is what leads to repetitious stress, degeneration and injury. If your joint is unstable internally and you create motion across this joint it leads to micro trauma that accumulates over time.
If the center of your onion is weak your brain will naturally look for help in providing the much needed stabilization. So, what does it do? You guessed it. The brain will start to recruit other layers of the ‘onion’ and squeeze the inside, ‘core’, from the outside in.
Can you begin to see how inefficient this is?
What’s more is that these muscle groups were not designed to fire all day and support the spine. This is why they begin to fatigue, ache and cause you pain.
It is the Multifidus, External/Internal Oblique muscles and the Transverse Abdominis that play a crucial role in stabiliation of the pelvis and the spine so that full range of motion can be achieved with proper stability.
The Psoas muscle also plays an integral role in core support and stability. A deconditioned core will tend to cause a gradual 'unraveling' of your muscular support network from the inside out. This is often the missing link in a lifelong struggle with chronic low back pain.
Often times in the clinical setting this simple step is overlooked. At Prairie Life Fitness we pride ourselves on integrating advanced technologies in health care.
Call us now to start enjoying the benefits of a healthy and conditioned core
Monday, October 11, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
how to lose weight easily
Weight loss programs and diets?
What is the best and easist way to lose weight and show a weight loss? You are about to learn two simple secrets that will guarantee easy weight loss.
The first big secret:
The most powerful factor in weight loss
Have you ever noticed this:
People who have shed a lot of weight through successful dieting and exercise always want to encourage everyone else to lose weight. “If you want to lose weight,” they say, “I will show you how I did it.”
But even though they tell this to all the overweight people they know, the “fatties” will always ignore the advice — unless one factor is present. And this is the biggest secret to weight loss. If this factor is present, any overweight person can lose weight easily.
What is this secret? It is motivation.
What is motivation?
Motivation is the answer you give when someone says “Why do you want to lose weight?” Do you have a strong reason?
If you desperately want to lose weight before your upcoming wedding, that is a powerful motivator. If your doctor has told you to lose weight or you will be dead in 12 months, that is a powerful motivator too.
If you want to lose 10 lbs before your wedding, or you are an overweight actor who has landed a film role to play a skinnier person, you too have a powerful motivating factor.
Whatever your reason, it must be a strong motivation for you to lose weight. Without it, you are not yet ready to lose weight. It's as simple as that. That's why not everyone who goes to weight-loss clinics or tries hypnosis loses weight. They are too content with their life as it is. Motivation is missing.
Of course the motivation could simply be to lose weight so you will look better and find it easier to move around. Overweight adults often diet to lose weight to look more attractive or to get slimmer for their wedding, or to stop wrinkles. Overweight teens can feel shunned until they determine to lose weight. If your motivation is strong enough, you will find it much easier to lose weight.
“Think thin”
So, find a strong reason why you want to be thinner — you must be thinking more of the thinner, better looking, healthier, leaner, lovelier you than of how nice that cream doughnut looks. If you can imagine that cream doughnut sitting on your hips or tummy when you look in the mirror, it will help you decide whether you want to eat it and be about the size of a cream doughnut fatter, or ignore it and look a cream doughnut thinner.
So the first big secret to losing weight is motivation. If you have a powerful reason to lose weight, you will. It's as simple as that!
Got motivation? Then read on for two easy weight-loss plans that will work for the rest of your life. (There are other tips in throughout the blog that may also help desperate fatties)
One plan below lets you eat what you are already eating and slowly lose weight. This may be enough if you want to lose 10 lbs before you get married in 12 months time. The other shows how breaking up your meals better and choosing good foods can help you lose weight more quickly.
Another big secret:
Plan No.1: The “non-diet” diet
If you are overweight and find it difficult to stick to weight-loss programs, try this “non-diet” diet. We have never heard of a failure with this diet for those who genuinely make it part of their eating routine. It is natural, painless, and sensible.
The 10 per cent diet doesn't require a change in what you eat, just a slight change in how much you eat. It will help you steadily lose weight for as long as you like.
Avoid that last bite
The 10 per cent diet works in a similar way. It means you eat about 10 per cent less than you normally would. Take nine bites and leave the tenth. Cook nine spoonfuls instead of 10. Mentally divide your meal into 10 parts and give the tenth part to your dog (if one part looks bigger than the other nine, make sure the bigger one goes to the dog!)
It doesn't seem much, but after 10 days you will have eaten only nine days of your normal food intake. If you are getting married in 10 months' time, by the time your wedding arrives you will have eaten only nine months' supply of food and will have saved a whole month of food bills and will fit better into your wedding outfit. If you make sure you do even simple exercise (such as walking briskly or bike riding for 30 minutes) and cut down on foods loaded with fat or sugar, it may contribute another 10 per cent or more weight loss.
This easy way to lose weight makes you think before you eat. You don't cut down so much that you still feel hungry, yet you continue to eat what you eat now — if you want to. You can lose weight even more easily if you replace high-fat/high-sugar foods with low-fat/ low-sugar foods.
Simply buy less, cook less, and eat less. You will feel better while you save money and watch that excess weight slip off to reveal the real thinner, lovelier you!
Plan No.2:
The Eat More Meals Diet
To lose weight more quickly, you can follow the Eat More Meals Diet.
The Eat More Meals Diet changes your pattern of eating to give you healthier eating habits without leaving you hungry. It is designed to get you into the habit of eating for health instead of for pleasure.
You need to get out of your regular routine of having 3 big meals a day (with constant in-between snacks), or skipping meals to try to lose weight. Instead, plan 4 meals a day of better food that is filling enough to prevent you from wanting to snack.
It works like this. For the next 10 days, plan 4 meals a day made up from the following foods. Eat two or three of the items in each meal, but over the day try to get a variety — so you will be getting a good mixture of vitamins, fiber, protein, dairy, and nuts.
Salad or cooked vegetables
skinless chicken or chicken slices
skinless turkey slices
ham
fish
fruit
baked beans
cheese
milk
frozen yogurt
nuts.
Cross out anything from that list that you can't stand.
Drinks should include lots of water, but you can also have coffee and tea as long as you use an absolute minimum of sugar and honey as sweeteners — if you have to use them.
The idea is to get you through the day with healthy foods that stop you from feeling hungry. Leave at least two-and-a-half hours between each meal.
Example
Four meals (some are really snacks to fill you until the next meal):
1. Ham or tuna salad (lots of lettuce and tomato, plus maybe cucumber, celery, and onions), and a couple of handfuls of peanuts. 2. A pear, an orange, and a plum, with some cashews. 3. Turkey slices and cheese slices (as many as you need to feel satisfied). 4. Grilled, steamed or baked piece of fish (no batter or crumbs), plus a salad made of beans, lettuce, celery, tomatoes.
Try to get some nuts in at least two meals each day, with just one other item accompanying it (grapes, cottage cheese, salad, etc.). Vary some of the items you put in your garden salad or cooked vegetables so that each tastes a little different.
And get out of the habit of thinking you always need cereal for breakfast (or ham and eggs or sausages or whatever). Try a different breakfast, like a bowl of mixed vegetables and a frozen yogurt, or chicken and fresh fruit. Once or twice in the 10 days you could have a sandwich with one of the other items, or have a bowl of unsugared cereal.
Stagger your 4 meals across your day, but make sure you have the 4 meals, even if you don't eat much at one and eat more at another.
Weigh yourself early on the first morning, before you have anything to eat or drink, then again every three days, and again at the end of the 10 days. After 10 days, spend the next 2 or 3 days having something different (if you want to). You should now be getting an idea of what satisfies you and how much you need to keep going without feeling hungry.
You will need to impose a sensible limit on portions. You just need to feel satisfied, not full. Remember, to lose weight you have to eat for health, not for pleasure.
What is the best and easist way to lose weight and show a weight loss? You are about to learn two simple secrets that will guarantee easy weight loss.
The first big secret:
The most powerful factor in weight loss
Have you ever noticed this:
People who have shed a lot of weight through successful dieting and exercise always want to encourage everyone else to lose weight. “If you want to lose weight,” they say, “I will show you how I did it.”
But even though they tell this to all the overweight people they know, the “fatties” will always ignore the advice — unless one factor is present. And this is the biggest secret to weight loss. If this factor is present, any overweight person can lose weight easily.
What is this secret? It is motivation.
What is motivation?
Motivation is the answer you give when someone says “Why do you want to lose weight?” Do you have a strong reason?
If you desperately want to lose weight before your upcoming wedding, that is a powerful motivator. If your doctor has told you to lose weight or you will be dead in 12 months, that is a powerful motivator too.
If you want to lose 10 lbs before your wedding, or you are an overweight actor who has landed a film role to play a skinnier person, you too have a powerful motivating factor.
Whatever your reason, it must be a strong motivation for you to lose weight. Without it, you are not yet ready to lose weight. It's as simple as that. That's why not everyone who goes to weight-loss clinics or tries hypnosis loses weight. They are too content with their life as it is. Motivation is missing.
Of course the motivation could simply be to lose weight so you will look better and find it easier to move around. Overweight adults often diet to lose weight to look more attractive or to get slimmer for their wedding, or to stop wrinkles. Overweight teens can feel shunned until they determine to lose weight. If your motivation is strong enough, you will find it much easier to lose weight.
“Think thin”
So, find a strong reason why you want to be thinner — you must be thinking more of the thinner, better looking, healthier, leaner, lovelier you than of how nice that cream doughnut looks. If you can imagine that cream doughnut sitting on your hips or tummy when you look in the mirror, it will help you decide whether you want to eat it and be about the size of a cream doughnut fatter, or ignore it and look a cream doughnut thinner.
So the first big secret to losing weight is motivation. If you have a powerful reason to lose weight, you will. It's as simple as that!
Got motivation? Then read on for two easy weight-loss plans that will work for the rest of your life. (There are other tips in throughout the blog that may also help desperate fatties)
One plan below lets you eat what you are already eating and slowly lose weight. This may be enough if you want to lose 10 lbs before you get married in 12 months time. The other shows how breaking up your meals better and choosing good foods can help you lose weight more quickly.
Another big secret:
Plan No.1: The “non-diet” diet
If you are overweight and find it difficult to stick to weight-loss programs, try this “non-diet” diet. We have never heard of a failure with this diet for those who genuinely make it part of their eating routine. It is natural, painless, and sensible.
The 10 per cent diet doesn't require a change in what you eat, just a slight change in how much you eat. It will help you steadily lose weight for as long as you like.
Avoid that last bite
The 10 per cent diet works in a similar way. It means you eat about 10 per cent less than you normally would. Take nine bites and leave the tenth. Cook nine spoonfuls instead of 10. Mentally divide your meal into 10 parts and give the tenth part to your dog (if one part looks bigger than the other nine, make sure the bigger one goes to the dog!)
It doesn't seem much, but after 10 days you will have eaten only nine days of your normal food intake. If you are getting married in 10 months' time, by the time your wedding arrives you will have eaten only nine months' supply of food and will have saved a whole month of food bills and will fit better into your wedding outfit. If you make sure you do even simple exercise (such as walking briskly or bike riding for 30 minutes) and cut down on foods loaded with fat or sugar, it may contribute another 10 per cent or more weight loss.
This easy way to lose weight makes you think before you eat. You don't cut down so much that you still feel hungry, yet you continue to eat what you eat now — if you want to. You can lose weight even more easily if you replace high-fat/high-sugar foods with low-fat/ low-sugar foods.
Simply buy less, cook less, and eat less. You will feel better while you save money and watch that excess weight slip off to reveal the real thinner, lovelier you!
Plan No.2:
The Eat More Meals Diet
To lose weight more quickly, you can follow the Eat More Meals Diet.
The Eat More Meals Diet changes your pattern of eating to give you healthier eating habits without leaving you hungry. It is designed to get you into the habit of eating for health instead of for pleasure.
You need to get out of your regular routine of having 3 big meals a day (with constant in-between snacks), or skipping meals to try to lose weight. Instead, plan 4 meals a day of better food that is filling enough to prevent you from wanting to snack.
It works like this. For the next 10 days, plan 4 meals a day made up from the following foods. Eat two or three of the items in each meal, but over the day try to get a variety — so you will be getting a good mixture of vitamins, fiber, protein, dairy, and nuts.
Salad or cooked vegetables
skinless chicken or chicken slices
skinless turkey slices
ham
fish
fruit
baked beans
cheese
milk
frozen yogurt
nuts.
Cross out anything from that list that you can't stand.
Drinks should include lots of water, but you can also have coffee and tea as long as you use an absolute minimum of sugar and honey as sweeteners — if you have to use them.
The idea is to get you through the day with healthy foods that stop you from feeling hungry. Leave at least two-and-a-half hours between each meal.
Example
Four meals (some are really snacks to fill you until the next meal):
1. Ham or tuna salad (lots of lettuce and tomato, plus maybe cucumber, celery, and onions), and a couple of handfuls of peanuts. 2. A pear, an orange, and a plum, with some cashews. 3. Turkey slices and cheese slices (as many as you need to feel satisfied). 4. Grilled, steamed or baked piece of fish (no batter or crumbs), plus a salad made of beans, lettuce, celery, tomatoes.
Try to get some nuts in at least two meals each day, with just one other item accompanying it (grapes, cottage cheese, salad, etc.). Vary some of the items you put in your garden salad or cooked vegetables so that each tastes a little different.
And get out of the habit of thinking you always need cereal for breakfast (or ham and eggs or sausages or whatever). Try a different breakfast, like a bowl of mixed vegetables and a frozen yogurt, or chicken and fresh fruit. Once or twice in the 10 days you could have a sandwich with one of the other items, or have a bowl of unsugared cereal.
Stagger your 4 meals across your day, but make sure you have the 4 meals, even if you don't eat much at one and eat more at another.
Weigh yourself early on the first morning, before you have anything to eat or drink, then again every three days, and again at the end of the 10 days. After 10 days, spend the next 2 or 3 days having something different (if you want to). You should now be getting an idea of what satisfies you and how much you need to keep going without feeling hungry.
You will need to impose a sensible limit on portions. You just need to feel satisfied, not full. Remember, to lose weight you have to eat for health, not for pleasure.
Monday, October 4, 2010
shake receipe
I've had several readers ask me for smoothie and/or protein shake
recipes that taste good and meet all of the criteria that I laid
out in previous emails. Because I consider you all my good
friends, I'll give you my super secret recipe for a great tasting
chocolate peanut butter shake! These shakes are a great way to get
that critical protein and carry you over in the afternoon!
If you don't have one by now, get yourself a high-quality blender.
And my favorite place to get the protein powders listed below is
Netrition.com. I've been using them for years - their service is
unbeatable, they are extremely quick to ship, and their prices are
some of the best on the Internet.
Ok - here it is:
2 scoops chocolate whey protein - my recommendation is Nature's Best Isopure Low Carb Chocolate
2T of natural peanut butter - NOT the regular peanut butter that has added sugar - try the Smuckers smooth or chunky
2T of Jello Fat Free/Sugar Free Instant Chocolate Pudding
1T of unsweetened cocoa powder - lots of good antioxidants in cocoa
Ice
50 grams of protein, 16 grams of healthy fats, and minimal carbs -
and tastes pretty darn good!
Be creative - for example, you can throw in a small banana if your
daily intake allows it or use skim milk or nonfat dry milk instead
of water. Just make sure you take into account everything you are
putting in when you are figuring out your daily intake.
Chocolate not your thing? How about a Root Beer Float?!
1 can Diet Root Beer - I like Barq's the best
2T of heavy cream - this is OK for your diet, trust me! Just don't drink it by the gallon!
2 scoops vanilla whey protein - my recommendation is Nature's Best Isopure No Carb Vanilla
Ice
Great way to get 50 grams of protein in you with about 10 grams of
fat and no carbs!
recipes that taste good and meet all of the criteria that I laid
out in previous emails. Because I consider you all my good
friends, I'll give you my super secret recipe for a great tasting
chocolate peanut butter shake! These shakes are a great way to get
that critical protein and carry you over in the afternoon!
If you don't have one by now, get yourself a high-quality blender.
And my favorite place to get the protein powders listed below is
Netrition.com. I've been using them for years - their service is
unbeatable, they are extremely quick to ship, and their prices are
some of the best on the Internet.
Ok - here it is:
2 scoops chocolate whey protein - my recommendation is Nature's Best Isopure Low Carb Chocolate
2T of natural peanut butter - NOT the regular peanut butter that has added sugar - try the Smuckers smooth or chunky
2T of Jello Fat Free/Sugar Free Instant Chocolate Pudding
1T of unsweetened cocoa powder - lots of good antioxidants in cocoa
Ice
50 grams of protein, 16 grams of healthy fats, and minimal carbs -
and tastes pretty darn good!
Be creative - for example, you can throw in a small banana if your
daily intake allows it or use skim milk or nonfat dry milk instead
of water. Just make sure you take into account everything you are
putting in when you are figuring out your daily intake.
Chocolate not your thing? How about a Root Beer Float?!
1 can Diet Root Beer - I like Barq's the best
2T of heavy cream - this is OK for your diet, trust me! Just don't drink it by the gallon!
2 scoops vanilla whey protein - my recommendation is Nature's Best Isopure No Carb Vanilla
Ice
Great way to get 50 grams of protein in you with about 10 grams of
fat and no carbs!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Are you tough enough? The Extreme Kettlebell Cardio Workout
The following will rip you through a blistering set of ball-buster kettlebell drills designed to raise the bar on your athletic potential—then leap over it.
This pounding Extreme Kettlebell workout will give even the most seasoned athlete fresh legs—and the inspiration to take his game to the next level.
Lesser mortals: simply use lighter bells to start with, until you are ready to join the serious ranks of the super-conditioned.
Become a well-oiled, unstoppable machine and discover what toughness is really all about, with The Extreme Kettlebell Cardio Workout.
Here's a breakdown of what you need to do:
The Manmaker
Bang off with a series of challenging, hi-octane drills: 10 thrusters/side, 10 clean and presses/side, then 10 OH squats/side, 10 windmills/side, and finally 10 swings or snatches/side.
The Upper Body Blast
Continue with a blistering series of upper body oriented exercises strung together in push-pull fashion in order to prevent over-emphasizing one particular movement pattern and to avoid burning out too early. One side of the body, preferably the non-dominant side, is worked first, then the other. This places deliberate and unforgiving stress on the respiratory muscles. The exercises include, in order, windmills, push presses, cleans, clean and presses, rowing, pushups, upright rowing, then finally the hot potato drill.
The Leg Burner
You ain't kidding! If you're not ready for this you could feel like you'd sucked on gasoline then thrust a burning torch down your throat. Could be called the lung burner as well because of the intensity of this series. Just be prepared… 10 overhead sq/side, 10 squat kicks/side, 10 overhead lunges/side, 10 tactical lunges/side, 10 swings/side, and finally 20 bodyweight squats.
The Swing Workout
Still standing? Then pound out a series of swing variations interspersed with the hot potato drill to allow the hip and thigh muscles to recover slightly, while keeping the heart rate high and working the core in a different way. The swing variations include one handed swings, high pulls, clean and presses, cleans, then back to standard swings. When I did this every cell in my body screamed for relief…
The Slingshot
But wait, there's more savagery to be enjoyed: between the legs pass variation of the Slingshot is performed between sets of 2 handed drills including squats, overhead push presses, tactical lunges, thrusters. That'll teach you!
The Turkish Getup
A "nice" way to finish off. 5 sets per side consisting of 2 getups, 2 overhead squats, 2 windmills, then 10 swings (2 handed) before switching sides and repeating the sequence. A good focus training as it is difficult to breathe, concentrate on form, and keep pushing through the fatigue at this stage of the training session. Also a dynamite routine done on its own.
Core Workout/Cooldown
Administer the final smacks to your battered body with this highly demanding routine cunningly crafted to scorch the pre-fatigued core muscles as well as hammer the last remnants of your cardiovascular system. This workout is unorthodox in the sense that the reps are high relative to what would be recommended for pure strength purposes. Live with it!
Do you like the psycho-satisfaction of murdering your abs? Is that what you get off on? Do you feel that you haven't really worked out unless your abs are contorting in pain? Then here's the perfect Killer drills for you, you devious twisted person…
The evil drills span from situps with the bell, crunchs, lateral leg raises, floor wipers, Russian twists, partial get-ups for the obliques, frontal leg raises, followed by a brief stretching session, to bring you back from hell…
If you feel you're not yet man enough to follow along for the entire Extreme Kettlebell Workout in one shot, then I have some advice for you:
I designed the routines to be as different as possible from one another so if a person wanted, they could do one routine a day and have worked their entire body by the end of the week. I also wanted it to be possible to do the entire workout in one session by carefully distributing the load so a person would not have to quit because a particular bodypart was too fatigued to continue.
The only reason a person should be unable to complete the whole hour would be more due to a low lactate threshold and/ or difficulty tolerating the pain associated with prolonged oxygen debt. I made the rep counts all to 10 so a person could start out doing say 5 reps of each exercise in a routine, then progress up to 10 as their fitness improves. Also, some people I have talked to said they like to alternate between a heavier and lighter bell depending on their goals for that day."
Have at it—and let us hear about your results!
This pounding Extreme Kettlebell workout will give even the most seasoned athlete fresh legs—and the inspiration to take his game to the next level.
Lesser mortals: simply use lighter bells to start with, until you are ready to join the serious ranks of the super-conditioned.
Become a well-oiled, unstoppable machine and discover what toughness is really all about, with The Extreme Kettlebell Cardio Workout.
Here's a breakdown of what you need to do:
The Manmaker
Bang off with a series of challenging, hi-octane drills: 10 thrusters/side, 10 clean and presses/side, then 10 OH squats/side, 10 windmills/side, and finally 10 swings or snatches/side.
The Upper Body Blast
Continue with a blistering series of upper body oriented exercises strung together in push-pull fashion in order to prevent over-emphasizing one particular movement pattern and to avoid burning out too early. One side of the body, preferably the non-dominant side, is worked first, then the other. This places deliberate and unforgiving stress on the respiratory muscles. The exercises include, in order, windmills, push presses, cleans, clean and presses, rowing, pushups, upright rowing, then finally the hot potato drill.
The Leg Burner
You ain't kidding! If you're not ready for this you could feel like you'd sucked on gasoline then thrust a burning torch down your throat. Could be called the lung burner as well because of the intensity of this series. Just be prepared… 10 overhead sq/side, 10 squat kicks/side, 10 overhead lunges/side, 10 tactical lunges/side, 10 swings/side, and finally 20 bodyweight squats.
The Swing Workout
Still standing? Then pound out a series of swing variations interspersed with the hot potato drill to allow the hip and thigh muscles to recover slightly, while keeping the heart rate high and working the core in a different way. The swing variations include one handed swings, high pulls, clean and presses, cleans, then back to standard swings. When I did this every cell in my body screamed for relief…
The Slingshot
But wait, there's more savagery to be enjoyed: between the legs pass variation of the Slingshot is performed between sets of 2 handed drills including squats, overhead push presses, tactical lunges, thrusters. That'll teach you!
The Turkish Getup
A "nice" way to finish off. 5 sets per side consisting of 2 getups, 2 overhead squats, 2 windmills, then 10 swings (2 handed) before switching sides and repeating the sequence. A good focus training as it is difficult to breathe, concentrate on form, and keep pushing through the fatigue at this stage of the training session. Also a dynamite routine done on its own.
Core Workout/Cooldown
Administer the final smacks to your battered body with this highly demanding routine cunningly crafted to scorch the pre-fatigued core muscles as well as hammer the last remnants of your cardiovascular system. This workout is unorthodox in the sense that the reps are high relative to what would be recommended for pure strength purposes. Live with it!
Do you like the psycho-satisfaction of murdering your abs? Is that what you get off on? Do you feel that you haven't really worked out unless your abs are contorting in pain? Then here's the perfect Killer drills for you, you devious twisted person…
The evil drills span from situps with the bell, crunchs, lateral leg raises, floor wipers, Russian twists, partial get-ups for the obliques, frontal leg raises, followed by a brief stretching session, to bring you back from hell…
If you feel you're not yet man enough to follow along for the entire Extreme Kettlebell Workout in one shot, then I have some advice for you:
I designed the routines to be as different as possible from one another so if a person wanted, they could do one routine a day and have worked their entire body by the end of the week. I also wanted it to be possible to do the entire workout in one session by carefully distributing the load so a person would not have to quit because a particular bodypart was too fatigued to continue.
The only reason a person should be unable to complete the whole hour would be more due to a low lactate threshold and/ or difficulty tolerating the pain associated with prolonged oxygen debt. I made the rep counts all to 10 so a person could start out doing say 5 reps of each exercise in a routine, then progress up to 10 as their fitness improves. Also, some people I have talked to said they like to alternate between a heavier and lighter bell depending on their goals for that day."
Have at it—and let us hear about your results!
Mini Meal Diet
The six mini meal a day diet plan has been a proven successful fast and healthy way to lose weight. As a matter of fact it is a great change of lifestyle plan as well.
Dieting doesn't mean you have to die while you at it. Dieting doesn't have to make you feel sluggish and starving all the time either. I have found this to be a workable plan
Instead of three tasteless low-fat meals where you engorge on green beans just to feel full and then discover you only lost 1 pound; try six tasty small meals that keep you feeling full and build your metabolism for fast weight loss 5-10 in a week.
The secret is your are fueling your metabolism where it has to work continuously while burning out excess fat.
Here are a few of my menu choices that you can try or inspire you to create your own.
MENU # 1
Breakfast: 1 egg, 1 piece of high fiber toast ( can spray with fat-free butter spray),1 cup of skim milk.
Mid-morning Snack: 1 apple sliced with 1 TBS of peanut butter spread on slices. Drink a large glass of water or Splenda tea.
Lunch: Tuna Salad sandwich ( made with fat-free mayo or miracle whip),1 small bag of Baked Lays and a small dish of sugar-free jello for dessert.
Mid-Day Snack: 1 orange or 1 protein bar
Supper:1 Marinated broiled or grilled chicken breast, steamed veggies, side salad sprinkled with cheese and low-fat dressing. Dessert: 1 cup of lite vanilla ice-cream.
Evening Snack: 4 crackers with thin slices of cheddar cheese
Drink lots of water and splenda tea throughout the day and exercise!
________________________________________________________
MENU # 2
Breakfast: 1 ruby red grape fruit , 1 1/2 cups of low calorie cerial and fat-free milk
Mid-morning snack : 2 slices of cheddar cheese
Lunch: 1 chicken with steamed broccoli. Dessert : 1 cup of sugar-free fat-free pudding.
Mid-day snack: 1 banana and 2 low-fat cookies
Supper: Simmered Turkey Gourmet Sandwich ( Take deli turkey and simmer it in Swiss cheese, then add lettuce, tomato, onions ect., put it on toasted bread; very scrumptious). Dessert: Grapes ( You can sprinkle with light Splenda for sweetness).
Evening Snack: 1 cup of fat-free yogurt
Drink lots of water, splenda tea and exercise!
___________________________________________________________
Menu #3
Breakfast: 1 cup of lite vanilla yogurt,1 cup of grapes. Sprinkle granola or Kashi cereal on top.
Mid- morning snack: 1 orange
Lunch: salad with grilled chicken, chopped bananas and jello with fat-free whip topping on top.
Mid-Day snack: 6 baby carrots dipped in low-fat ranch
Supper: Grilled Chicken salad with cheddar cheese and low-fat dressing. Dessert: Low-fat brownie
Evening Snack: 5 pretzel sticks, 1 cup of skim milk
Drink lots of water and splenda tea and exercise!
____________________________________________________________
What is great about this diet is you don't have to feel hungry, you can also interchange a few of these selections, but be careful I tried to balance out the more fattening foods with proteins and veggies.
Dieting doesn't mean you have to die while you at it. Dieting doesn't have to make you feel sluggish and starving all the time either. I have found this to be a workable plan
Instead of three tasteless low-fat meals where you engorge on green beans just to feel full and then discover you only lost 1 pound; try six tasty small meals that keep you feeling full and build your metabolism for fast weight loss 5-10 in a week.
The secret is your are fueling your metabolism where it has to work continuously while burning out excess fat.
Here are a few of my menu choices that you can try or inspire you to create your own.
MENU # 1
Breakfast: 1 egg, 1 piece of high fiber toast ( can spray with fat-free butter spray),1 cup of skim milk.
Mid-morning Snack: 1 apple sliced with 1 TBS of peanut butter spread on slices. Drink a large glass of water or Splenda tea.
Lunch: Tuna Salad sandwich ( made with fat-free mayo or miracle whip),1 small bag of Baked Lays and a small dish of sugar-free jello for dessert.
Mid-Day Snack: 1 orange or 1 protein bar
Supper:1 Marinated broiled or grilled chicken breast, steamed veggies, side salad sprinkled with cheese and low-fat dressing. Dessert: 1 cup of lite vanilla ice-cream.
Evening Snack: 4 crackers with thin slices of cheddar cheese
Drink lots of water and splenda tea throughout the day and exercise!
________________________________________________________
MENU # 2
Breakfast: 1 ruby red grape fruit , 1 1/2 cups of low calorie cerial and fat-free milk
Mid-morning snack : 2 slices of cheddar cheese
Lunch: 1 chicken with steamed broccoli. Dessert : 1 cup of sugar-free fat-free pudding.
Mid-day snack: 1 banana and 2 low-fat cookies
Supper: Simmered Turkey Gourmet Sandwich ( Take deli turkey and simmer it in Swiss cheese, then add lettuce, tomato, onions ect., put it on toasted bread; very scrumptious). Dessert: Grapes ( You can sprinkle with light Splenda for sweetness).
Evening Snack: 1 cup of fat-free yogurt
Drink lots of water, splenda tea and exercise!
___________________________________________________________
Menu #3
Breakfast: 1 cup of lite vanilla yogurt,1 cup of grapes. Sprinkle granola or Kashi cereal on top.
Mid- morning snack: 1 orange
Lunch: salad with grilled chicken, chopped bananas and jello with fat-free whip topping on top.
Mid-Day snack: 6 baby carrots dipped in low-fat ranch
Supper: Grilled Chicken salad with cheddar cheese and low-fat dressing. Dessert: Low-fat brownie
Evening Snack: 5 pretzel sticks, 1 cup of skim milk
Drink lots of water and splenda tea and exercise!
____________________________________________________________
What is great about this diet is you don't have to feel hungry, you can also interchange a few of these selections, but be careful I tried to balance out the more fattening foods with proteins and veggies.
Monday, September 27, 2010
muscle building for skinny guys
Note: If you want a step-by-step proven workout plan for packing on slabs of muscle, I highly recommend coming in and getting a tailored personal training program.
With that out of the way…I’ve been getting a bunch of email lately with guys always asking me how can skinny guys build muscle.
Well here’s a no B.S. program to get you on the right path. It really comes down to three things. Lift. Eat. Recover.
Lifting to build muscle
As usual, we’re going to focus on compound movements using barbells (Pull Ups and Dips being the exceptions to the rule). We’re going to combine the 5×5 strength building protocol with a mid-range weight and rep format to promote hypertrophy (that means getting those muscles big!).
We’re also going to use the superset (doing two different exercises in a row without rest in between) to keep the workouts short and get you out of the gym in 30 minutes or less.
Muscle building workout plans
Phase 1
Workout A: Deadlift 5 reps x 5 sets.
Superset Shoulder Press with High Pulls 8 reps x 4 sets.
Workout B: Squat 5 reps x 5 sets.
Superset Bench Press with Pull Ups 8 reps x 4 sets.
You should stick with the same weight and try to finish all of the sets with that weight. So if you are bench pressing 150 lbs for 5 reps x 5 sets, you should use 150 lbs for all 5 sets. If you make it through that, the next time in the gym you should try 153 or 155 for 5×5.
You should always be trying to break your personal record from the last time in the gym. If you lift the same weight for 8 weeks straight, the muscle WILL NOT GROW. You gotta increase the weight if you want to increase the muscle size.
For Phase 1 you will train 3 days per week, alternating the above workouts. As an example, you may train on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. During the first week, you would do Workout A on Monday and Friday and Workout B on Wednesday. The second week, you would do Workout B on Monday and Friday and Workout A on Wednesday. Continue with the format and stay on Phase 1 until one of two things happen: 1) your results plateau, or 2) you get bored and don’t look forward to hitting the workouts anymore. Either way, you should stick with Phase 1 for a minimum of 4 weeks.
Phase 2
Workout A: Deadlift 5 reps x 5 sets.
Power Clean 8 reps x 3 sets.
Workout B: Shoulder Press 5 reps x 5 sets.
Superset Bent Over Rows with Bench Press 8 reps x 4 sets.
Workout C: Squat 5 reps x 5 sets.
Lunge 8 reps (each leg) x 3 sets.
Workout D: Pull Ups 5 reps x 5 sets.
Superset Dips with High Pull 8 reps x 4 sets.
For Phase 2 you will train 4 days per week, training two days on, one day off, two days on, two days off. As an example, you may do
• Monday – Workout A
• Tuesday – Workout B
• Wednesday – Rest
• Thursday – Workout C
• Friday – Workout D
• Saturday – Rest
• Sunday – Rest
Muscle Building Diet
Gaining weight is like going to war, and your weapon of choice is a fork.
In the most basic sense, eat more than you’re eating now. A lot more. In a more specific sense, where I commonly recommend a carbohydrate restriction for weight loss, I recommend eating carbohydrates with each meal for muscle building. When trying to put on muscle you should be eating anywhere from 3000-5000 calories per day depending on your current weight. Building muscle is 80% diet and 20% lifting. Your diet is that important.
But that’s not license to go crazy with Krispy Kreme and crapolla. Oatmeal, brown rice, whole wheat pastas and breads, and potatoes should be included in every meal. But that’s not at the sacrifice of your protein source: you should be eating a good protein source with each meal. Ideally about 6 oz. per meal. Unless of course you’re of the vegetarian persuasion, then no problem. . . tofu will work, as will beans and rice.
And to keep your vitamin and mineral content on point, eat at least one serving of fruits or vegetables with each meal. Nuts are another fine addition as they are calorically dense and nutrient packed.
Also, bring on the dairy! I’m typically not a big fan of dairy (is there another animal besides humans that drinks the milk of another animal?). But if you’ve been afflicted with Skinny-Man Syndrome your whole life, slurping down the cow juice will go a long way in adding the calories you need to pack on slabs of muscle.
Drinking 1/2 gallon – 1 gallon of whole milk per day is a good idea if you’re super skinny. It’ll add an additional 1200-2600 calories to your day. Super skinny guys can put on 10-15 lbs in a month by doing this.
Get protein right after your workout
An important thing to remember is you need to make sure you are eating breakfast everyday and also getting a lot of protein in right after your workout. Most guys that are skinny, have problems getting enough protein, so 20 oz+ of chocolate milk right after a workout will help. You can also eat protein after your workout, but chocolate milk is just much easier to deal with.
Strive to eat 3 meals per day with 3 snacks, with about three hours between meals.
A sample meal plan follows. When in doubt, just friggin’ eat!
Meal plans for gaining weight and building muscle
6:00am 4 eggs scrambled. Serving of homefried potatoes with green pepper and onion. Cup of oatmeal with mixed berries.
9:00am 8 oz glass whole milk. Large handful of walnuts. Fruit cup of melon and pineapple.
12:00pm Stir-fried chicken and broccoli with a large serving of brown rice.
3:00pm Turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with lettuce, tomato, and mustard. 1 apple with natural peanut butter.
6:00pm Grilled steak with tomatoes, peppers, and onions wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla with cheddar cheese and black beans. Side salad of raw spinach.
9:00pm 8 oz. glass whole milk. 1 banana. Large handful of raw almonds.
The hardest thing about getting bigger is eating enough food. To make it easier I suggest cooking your meals ahead of time so they’re always ready. You can cook on Sunday and have meals that will last until Thursday. Things like burgers, chicken, pork, eggs, mashed potatoes, chili and veggies can all be prepared ahead of time.
Recap – what you should be eating
Protein – Eggs, chicken, pork, steak, burgers, almonds, walnuts, peanut butter, chili, beans
Carbohydrates – Potatoes (mashed or baked), whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread, rice (w/beans)
Vegetables and Fruits – Bananas, oranges, apples, strawberries, green beans, lentils, broccoli, cauliflower
Dairy – Whole milk, plain yogurt with fresh berries
Proper recovery is crucial for muscle building
In today’s fast-paced world, recovery can often be the most difficult component to get in place. Do the following and your body will have the opportunity to process all of the lifting and eating into the muscles you desire.
• Sleep: Do your damnedest to get in 8 hours per day. A quick 20 minute nap in the afternoon is also great if you can squeeze it in.
• No more circuits: I love high intensity “Oh, shit I’m gonna puke” circuit training. But it will be counter productive if you’re trying to pack on the muscle. You have to be stingy with your calories: save ‘em for the heavy lifting and revisit the circuits when you’re ready to get lean.
• Take Off Days Off: Pay the neighborhood kid to cut the grass. Forget about off-day “cardio” nonsense. And unless your mortgage depends on it, avoid sport specific training if you can. Again, we’re being stingy with the calories and providing the body time and energy to recover from the intense lifting sessions.
• Relax!!!: Meditate. Read a book. Pet the dog. Or find a hobby that doesn’t involve jacking your heart rate. Whatever you do, make time for activities that help you de-stress.
I’m trying to get bigger but it’s not working
If you’re following the plan above and you’re not seeing results, there are a few reasons for it.
1. You’re not eating enough
This is plain and simple. If you’re following the plan above and you’re not gaining weight, then you’re not eating enough. Even if you think you’re eating a lot, you’re obviously not because you’re not gaining any weight!
My tips for making sure you always have food around to eat are as follows…
• Prepare meals in advance – You can prepare meals ahead of time for the next 3-4 days. You might think “this sucks I dont want to eat the same thing”….well TOUGH! What you’re doing right now obviously isn’t working, so it’s time to try something new. When trying to build muscle food should be seen as fuel, not a delicious meal.
• Keep your cupboards full – If you don’t have food to cook you’ll end up eating something that’s not going to help you build muscle. Keep food around at all times.
• Slurp the milk down – Seriously, if you’re not drinking 1/2 gallon – 1 gallon of whole milk per day, then get on it. Buy 2-3 gallons in advance, and drink them throughout the week.
2. You’re not pushing yourself hard enough when you workout
When you workout, you should be grunting out the last few reps of every set. That’s how intense each set should be. If you’re doing shoulder presses and you float through each set without a “tough rep” then you need to add more weight to the bar.
If you find it hard to push yourself like many people do, find a workout partner who is motivated like you that will help push you during a workout.
Your biggest muscle gains come in the last few reps you crank out when you think you can’t do anymore.
With that out of the way…I’ve been getting a bunch of email lately with guys always asking me how can skinny guys build muscle.
Well here’s a no B.S. program to get you on the right path. It really comes down to three things. Lift. Eat. Recover.
Lifting to build muscle
As usual, we’re going to focus on compound movements using barbells (Pull Ups and Dips being the exceptions to the rule). We’re going to combine the 5×5 strength building protocol with a mid-range weight and rep format to promote hypertrophy (that means getting those muscles big!).
We’re also going to use the superset (doing two different exercises in a row without rest in between) to keep the workouts short and get you out of the gym in 30 minutes or less.
Muscle building workout plans
Phase 1
Workout A: Deadlift 5 reps x 5 sets.
Superset Shoulder Press with High Pulls 8 reps x 4 sets.
Workout B: Squat 5 reps x 5 sets.
Superset Bench Press with Pull Ups 8 reps x 4 sets.
You should stick with the same weight and try to finish all of the sets with that weight. So if you are bench pressing 150 lbs for 5 reps x 5 sets, you should use 150 lbs for all 5 sets. If you make it through that, the next time in the gym you should try 153 or 155 for 5×5.
You should always be trying to break your personal record from the last time in the gym. If you lift the same weight for 8 weeks straight, the muscle WILL NOT GROW. You gotta increase the weight if you want to increase the muscle size.
For Phase 1 you will train 3 days per week, alternating the above workouts. As an example, you may train on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. During the first week, you would do Workout A on Monday and Friday and Workout B on Wednesday. The second week, you would do Workout B on Monday and Friday and Workout A on Wednesday. Continue with the format and stay on Phase 1 until one of two things happen: 1) your results plateau, or 2) you get bored and don’t look forward to hitting the workouts anymore. Either way, you should stick with Phase 1 for a minimum of 4 weeks.
Phase 2
Workout A: Deadlift 5 reps x 5 sets.
Power Clean 8 reps x 3 sets.
Workout B: Shoulder Press 5 reps x 5 sets.
Superset Bent Over Rows with Bench Press 8 reps x 4 sets.
Workout C: Squat 5 reps x 5 sets.
Lunge 8 reps (each leg) x 3 sets.
Workout D: Pull Ups 5 reps x 5 sets.
Superset Dips with High Pull 8 reps x 4 sets.
For Phase 2 you will train 4 days per week, training two days on, one day off, two days on, two days off. As an example, you may do
• Monday – Workout A
• Tuesday – Workout B
• Wednesday – Rest
• Thursday – Workout C
• Friday – Workout D
• Saturday – Rest
• Sunday – Rest
Muscle Building Diet
Gaining weight is like going to war, and your weapon of choice is a fork.
In the most basic sense, eat more than you’re eating now. A lot more. In a more specific sense, where I commonly recommend a carbohydrate restriction for weight loss, I recommend eating carbohydrates with each meal for muscle building. When trying to put on muscle you should be eating anywhere from 3000-5000 calories per day depending on your current weight. Building muscle is 80% diet and 20% lifting. Your diet is that important.
But that’s not license to go crazy with Krispy Kreme and crapolla. Oatmeal, brown rice, whole wheat pastas and breads, and potatoes should be included in every meal. But that’s not at the sacrifice of your protein source: you should be eating a good protein source with each meal. Ideally about 6 oz. per meal. Unless of course you’re of the vegetarian persuasion, then no problem. . . tofu will work, as will beans and rice.
And to keep your vitamin and mineral content on point, eat at least one serving of fruits or vegetables with each meal. Nuts are another fine addition as they are calorically dense and nutrient packed.
Also, bring on the dairy! I’m typically not a big fan of dairy (is there another animal besides humans that drinks the milk of another animal?). But if you’ve been afflicted with Skinny-Man Syndrome your whole life, slurping down the cow juice will go a long way in adding the calories you need to pack on slabs of muscle.
Drinking 1/2 gallon – 1 gallon of whole milk per day is a good idea if you’re super skinny. It’ll add an additional 1200-2600 calories to your day. Super skinny guys can put on 10-15 lbs in a month by doing this.
Get protein right after your workout
An important thing to remember is you need to make sure you are eating breakfast everyday and also getting a lot of protein in right after your workout. Most guys that are skinny, have problems getting enough protein, so 20 oz+ of chocolate milk right after a workout will help. You can also eat protein after your workout, but chocolate milk is just much easier to deal with.
Strive to eat 3 meals per day with 3 snacks, with about three hours between meals.
A sample meal plan follows. When in doubt, just friggin’ eat!
Meal plans for gaining weight and building muscle
6:00am 4 eggs scrambled. Serving of homefried potatoes with green pepper and onion. Cup of oatmeal with mixed berries.
9:00am 8 oz glass whole milk. Large handful of walnuts. Fruit cup of melon and pineapple.
12:00pm Stir-fried chicken and broccoli with a large serving of brown rice.
3:00pm Turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with lettuce, tomato, and mustard. 1 apple with natural peanut butter.
6:00pm Grilled steak with tomatoes, peppers, and onions wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla with cheddar cheese and black beans. Side salad of raw spinach.
9:00pm 8 oz. glass whole milk. 1 banana. Large handful of raw almonds.
The hardest thing about getting bigger is eating enough food. To make it easier I suggest cooking your meals ahead of time so they’re always ready. You can cook on Sunday and have meals that will last until Thursday. Things like burgers, chicken, pork, eggs, mashed potatoes, chili and veggies can all be prepared ahead of time.
Recap – what you should be eating
Protein – Eggs, chicken, pork, steak, burgers, almonds, walnuts, peanut butter, chili, beans
Carbohydrates – Potatoes (mashed or baked), whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread, rice (w/beans)
Vegetables and Fruits – Bananas, oranges, apples, strawberries, green beans, lentils, broccoli, cauliflower
Dairy – Whole milk, plain yogurt with fresh berries
Proper recovery is crucial for muscle building
In today’s fast-paced world, recovery can often be the most difficult component to get in place. Do the following and your body will have the opportunity to process all of the lifting and eating into the muscles you desire.
• Sleep: Do your damnedest to get in 8 hours per day. A quick 20 minute nap in the afternoon is also great if you can squeeze it in.
• No more circuits: I love high intensity “Oh, shit I’m gonna puke” circuit training. But it will be counter productive if you’re trying to pack on the muscle. You have to be stingy with your calories: save ‘em for the heavy lifting and revisit the circuits when you’re ready to get lean.
• Take Off Days Off: Pay the neighborhood kid to cut the grass. Forget about off-day “cardio” nonsense. And unless your mortgage depends on it, avoid sport specific training if you can. Again, we’re being stingy with the calories and providing the body time and energy to recover from the intense lifting sessions.
• Relax!!!: Meditate. Read a book. Pet the dog. Or find a hobby that doesn’t involve jacking your heart rate. Whatever you do, make time for activities that help you de-stress.
I’m trying to get bigger but it’s not working
If you’re following the plan above and you’re not seeing results, there are a few reasons for it.
1. You’re not eating enough
This is plain and simple. If you’re following the plan above and you’re not gaining weight, then you’re not eating enough. Even if you think you’re eating a lot, you’re obviously not because you’re not gaining any weight!
My tips for making sure you always have food around to eat are as follows…
• Prepare meals in advance – You can prepare meals ahead of time for the next 3-4 days. You might think “this sucks I dont want to eat the same thing”….well TOUGH! What you’re doing right now obviously isn’t working, so it’s time to try something new. When trying to build muscle food should be seen as fuel, not a delicious meal.
• Keep your cupboards full – If you don’t have food to cook you’ll end up eating something that’s not going to help you build muscle. Keep food around at all times.
• Slurp the milk down – Seriously, if you’re not drinking 1/2 gallon – 1 gallon of whole milk per day, then get on it. Buy 2-3 gallons in advance, and drink them throughout the week.
2. You’re not pushing yourself hard enough when you workout
When you workout, you should be grunting out the last few reps of every set. That’s how intense each set should be. If you’re doing shoulder presses and you float through each set without a “tough rep” then you need to add more weight to the bar.
If you find it hard to push yourself like many people do, find a workout partner who is motivated like you that will help push you during a workout.
Your biggest muscle gains come in the last few reps you crank out when you think you can’t do anymore.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
cardio-vascular workout
To accomplish a good cardio-vascular workout all you really need is a good pair of running shoes. Most cardio-vascular exercise needs little or no third party apparatus to help you accomplish your routine. Running, dancing, walking can all be done with no equipment (well, if dancing, then maybe some music would help). Other forms of cardio are step, circuit training, bike riding, swimming, aerobics and more...
With most exercise you should always remember to warm up first and cool down afterwards. This means gently stretching and moving your muscles to start off with. Suddenly moving into full exercise without building up first will cause problems such as stiffness and cramps. Ease yourself into it. Then after exercise, the cool down is basically gently moving the muscles and joints to stretch and relax, as your body returns to its normal pace.
Running:
Make sure you have a good pair of running shoes. The technology put into these shoes nowadays is highly researched and designed to reduce shock to the feet, ankles, legs and back. So don't skimp on these - you get what you pay for.
Before you start your run, be sure to warm up first. Start with a brisk walk ensuring you move your arms vigorously gradually breaking into a slow jog. It is better to run at a speed to which you can still converse. If you find yourself losing breath, slow your pace down until you've recovered. If you are a novice runner try running and walking, until you can hold your run for 15 minutes.
Now increase the length and time of your run by a couple of minutes every other time you hit the road or treadmill, until you can run for 30 minutes without stopping. Try to increase your run time by 10% each week, remember not to over do it and don't forget to warm down at the end of each by slowing down gradually. When your run is complete stretch your legs for 30 seconds per muscle, hamstring, calf and thigh.
Cycling:
Cycling is one of the best ways to get a good cardio-vascular workout.
First of all, if you are riding on the roads safety is paramount, always use the appropriate safety equipment when road riding. You can stay fit by riding a bike to work, most people work within a five mile radius of there place of work, which is a perfect distance for a bike ride.
Exercise bikes can be used in a variety of ways, general riding for specified length of time, this is like going for a bike ride with out the dangers of road riding and the weather. Warm up riding you can use an exercise bike for warming up the legs before a leg workout. Also exercise bike classes, these classes are taken by an instructor, who will put you through various levels of pace, quite like a circuit training exercise with a bike.
You may find it surprising to find that riding a bike five miles 3 times per week will improve your heart rate, your posture, skin and weight control. Some even say that riding and running are great ways of relieving stress.
Swimming:
One of the best ways to firm up and trim your body down. Due to the resistance the water has on the body swimming involves all the major muscle groups this allows the body to burn up to 20% more calories than swimming through air. Swimming a few lengths per day will keep you fit and give you an excellent workout. Swimming also has less impact on the joints than say, running.
If you wish to take your swim a little further try picking up the pace of your swim, you can work up to a great aerobic exercise and give your body an excellent workout.
Start off by swimming 1-2 lengths at a time resting between sets if necessary, after you have swam ten lengths call it a day. The next day repeat the process until you can swim five lengths without a break. Progress to ten lengths in by adding an extra length each time you return.
You can put together your own cardio raining routing in the gym, if you have a problem with this then the staff on hand will write one for you and show you how to achieve your goal. Try to make your cardio last between an hour and an hour and a half. A good start point for cardio is always a run.
This cardio workout will work for a person of medium fitness, however adjust the times and pace according to your fitness levels.
1. Run at a light pace for 20 minutes, start off at a walking pace and gradually move to a run, this helps you get warmed up and the blood pumping.
2. Rowing machine- set the rowing machine for a countdown time of 15 minutes or keep a check on your watch or the clock. Start off with a slow rowing motion to get the pace up, maintain this steady pace throughout the full 13 minutes and use the 2 minutes to slow the pace down.
3. Move immediately on to exercise bike take a stead paced ride for 12 minutes with a sprint finish for the remaining 3 minutes.
4. After the exercise bike move directly on to the step climber for a period of 15 minutes climbing on a light level to get the legs going. Try to move at a swift pace for the full 15 minutes as this is the last of the leg work you will be doing.
5. When you have completed the step climber, move onto the abs bench for some crunches. 4 sets of crunches to failure is your target for this exercise. Try twisting your body and touching your left knee with your right elbow and vice versa.
6. The last exercise in this quick cardio workout is the leg raise apparatus. Bring your knees up to your chest for 3-4 sets for as many reps as possible (failure)
After the completion of this cardio workout, remember to do a full warm down by stretching the muscles. The full workout should take you around 1 hour 20 minutes.
With most exercise you should always remember to warm up first and cool down afterwards. This means gently stretching and moving your muscles to start off with. Suddenly moving into full exercise without building up first will cause problems such as stiffness and cramps. Ease yourself into it. Then after exercise, the cool down is basically gently moving the muscles and joints to stretch and relax, as your body returns to its normal pace.
Running:
Make sure you have a good pair of running shoes. The technology put into these shoes nowadays is highly researched and designed to reduce shock to the feet, ankles, legs and back. So don't skimp on these - you get what you pay for.
Before you start your run, be sure to warm up first. Start with a brisk walk ensuring you move your arms vigorously gradually breaking into a slow jog. It is better to run at a speed to which you can still converse. If you find yourself losing breath, slow your pace down until you've recovered. If you are a novice runner try running and walking, until you can hold your run for 15 minutes.
Now increase the length and time of your run by a couple of minutes every other time you hit the road or treadmill, until you can run for 30 minutes without stopping. Try to increase your run time by 10% each week, remember not to over do it and don't forget to warm down at the end of each by slowing down gradually. When your run is complete stretch your legs for 30 seconds per muscle, hamstring, calf and thigh.
Cycling:
Cycling is one of the best ways to get a good cardio-vascular workout.
First of all, if you are riding on the roads safety is paramount, always use the appropriate safety equipment when road riding. You can stay fit by riding a bike to work, most people work within a five mile radius of there place of work, which is a perfect distance for a bike ride.
Exercise bikes can be used in a variety of ways, general riding for specified length of time, this is like going for a bike ride with out the dangers of road riding and the weather. Warm up riding you can use an exercise bike for warming up the legs before a leg workout. Also exercise bike classes, these classes are taken by an instructor, who will put you through various levels of pace, quite like a circuit training exercise with a bike.
You may find it surprising to find that riding a bike five miles 3 times per week will improve your heart rate, your posture, skin and weight control. Some even say that riding and running are great ways of relieving stress.
Swimming:
One of the best ways to firm up and trim your body down. Due to the resistance the water has on the body swimming involves all the major muscle groups this allows the body to burn up to 20% more calories than swimming through air. Swimming a few lengths per day will keep you fit and give you an excellent workout. Swimming also has less impact on the joints than say, running.
If you wish to take your swim a little further try picking up the pace of your swim, you can work up to a great aerobic exercise and give your body an excellent workout.
Start off by swimming 1-2 lengths at a time resting between sets if necessary, after you have swam ten lengths call it a day. The next day repeat the process until you can swim five lengths without a break. Progress to ten lengths in by adding an extra length each time you return.
You can put together your own cardio raining routing in the gym, if you have a problem with this then the staff on hand will write one for you and show you how to achieve your goal. Try to make your cardio last between an hour and an hour and a half. A good start point for cardio is always a run.
This cardio workout will work for a person of medium fitness, however adjust the times and pace according to your fitness levels.
1. Run at a light pace for 20 minutes, start off at a walking pace and gradually move to a run, this helps you get warmed up and the blood pumping.
2. Rowing machine- set the rowing machine for a countdown time of 15 minutes or keep a check on your watch or the clock. Start off with a slow rowing motion to get the pace up, maintain this steady pace throughout the full 13 minutes and use the 2 minutes to slow the pace down.
3. Move immediately on to exercise bike take a stead paced ride for 12 minutes with a sprint finish for the remaining 3 minutes.
4. After the exercise bike move directly on to the step climber for a period of 15 minutes climbing on a light level to get the legs going. Try to move at a swift pace for the full 15 minutes as this is the last of the leg work you will be doing.
5. When you have completed the step climber, move onto the abs bench for some crunches. 4 sets of crunches to failure is your target for this exercise. Try twisting your body and touching your left knee with your right elbow and vice versa.
6. The last exercise in this quick cardio workout is the leg raise apparatus. Bring your knees up to your chest for 3-4 sets for as many reps as possible (failure)
After the completion of this cardio workout, remember to do a full warm down by stretching the muscles. The full workout should take you around 1 hour 20 minutes.
Monday, September 6, 2010
cardio compensation
I used to be shocked at the number of people I saw in the gym who put so much time into cardio workouts without seeing any results. Many of these people are putting forth much more effort than me, but don't have the results to show for it. I feel bad, because I know their challenge comes down to diet. Did you know that the type of cardio you do, can play a big role in your craving for food? It is possible that many people are sabotaging their ability to lose body fat, by choosing a type of cardio that makes them desperately crave food.
[Have you ever been so hungry that you ate everything in sight? I have had problems with hunger in the past, but adjusting my cardio has helped a ton in this regards. The wrong type of cardio can make dieting a tough deal!]
Cardio Compensation – Eating More Calories Than You Burned
Some people have a tendency to crave more food after a cardio workout and "compensate" for their calories burned. They may burn 300 calories each and every cardio workout, but increase their daily calorie intake to make up for those calories burned. This is why a large percentage of people doing cardio workouts, get stuck at the same weight for long periods of time. Note: Studies have shown that longer, steady state cardio workouts are the type of workouts shown to increase craving for food (in some people).
Willpower Plays a Role, But Why Torture Yourself?
It takes a certain amount of willpower and discipline to lose weight, but why make this harder than necessary. What if there was a way to burn a lot of calories in your workout without having stronger-than-normal food cravings? There is!
Interval Training Has Been Shown to Reduce the Appetite
I'm a big fan of interval training for fat loss. Things like HIIT and body weight circuits are an extremely efficient way to jack up your metabolism and drop body fat quickly…they can also reduce your appetite! Australian Professor Steve Boucher has shown in research that interval training increases hormones called catecholamines. These hormones actually reduce your appetite. So instead of compensating with calories, you eat less than normal.
Reminder…You Can Lose Fat Without Cardio
To be honest, if you were on a strict diet you could get as lean as you wanted without cardio or any type of interval work. Believe it or not, it doesn't require typical "fat burning exercise" to lose body fat. I recommend intervals as a way to stay healthy while getting lean and to experience quicker results, but it really isn't mandatory. If you were crunched for time, you could 2-3 resistance training workouts each week and diet hard and get pretty darn lean. The resistance training would insure that you maintain muscle while on a low calorie diet.
Intervals and Cardio Should Just Speed Along the Process
I like to look at intervals and cardio workouts as a way to accelerate fat loss results that are already happening. My outlook is that my diet is already getting the job done, but the intervals and cardio are going to help me reach my goals much quicker than diet alone…plus I like being "in shape". I think this is different than how a lot of people view exercise when it comes to fat loss.
Your Workouts Should Not Cause You to Crave More Food
If your workouts are causing you to crave much more food than normal, you may want to consider changing things up. Another thing that happens is that many people use exercise as an excuse to eat more calories. If you do this, then you will always have a tough time getting lean. My suggestion is to eat "as if" you weren't going to do intervals and cardio…but add in intervals and cardio to turbo-charge your fat loss results.
A Way to Do Steady State Cardio Without The Food Cravings
People who have read my blog for a while know that I recommend 15 minutes of Interval Training followed by 15-20 minutes of steady state cardio. Besides the added fat burning this combo provides, the intervals insure the release of catecholamines…which should reduce your appetite.
Note: Some people have the ability to do long cardio workouts without craving extra food. This post is just geared towards people who have an increased appetite from exercising. Also, I'm a big fan of intervals, HIIT, and cardio…done strategically with the proper diet is the best way to quickly and easily get lean.
[Have you ever been so hungry that you ate everything in sight? I have had problems with hunger in the past, but adjusting my cardio has helped a ton in this regards. The wrong type of cardio can make dieting a tough deal!]
Cardio Compensation – Eating More Calories Than You Burned
Some people have a tendency to crave more food after a cardio workout and "compensate" for their calories burned. They may burn 300 calories each and every cardio workout, but increase their daily calorie intake to make up for those calories burned. This is why a large percentage of people doing cardio workouts, get stuck at the same weight for long periods of time. Note: Studies have shown that longer, steady state cardio workouts are the type of workouts shown to increase craving for food (in some people).
Willpower Plays a Role, But Why Torture Yourself?
It takes a certain amount of willpower and discipline to lose weight, but why make this harder than necessary. What if there was a way to burn a lot of calories in your workout without having stronger-than-normal food cravings? There is!
Interval Training Has Been Shown to Reduce the Appetite
I'm a big fan of interval training for fat loss. Things like HIIT and body weight circuits are an extremely efficient way to jack up your metabolism and drop body fat quickly…they can also reduce your appetite! Australian Professor Steve Boucher has shown in research that interval training increases hormones called catecholamines. These hormones actually reduce your appetite. So instead of compensating with calories, you eat less than normal.
Reminder…You Can Lose Fat Without Cardio
To be honest, if you were on a strict diet you could get as lean as you wanted without cardio or any type of interval work. Believe it or not, it doesn't require typical "fat burning exercise" to lose body fat. I recommend intervals as a way to stay healthy while getting lean and to experience quicker results, but it really isn't mandatory. If you were crunched for time, you could 2-3 resistance training workouts each week and diet hard and get pretty darn lean. The resistance training would insure that you maintain muscle while on a low calorie diet.
Intervals and Cardio Should Just Speed Along the Process
I like to look at intervals and cardio workouts as a way to accelerate fat loss results that are already happening. My outlook is that my diet is already getting the job done, but the intervals and cardio are going to help me reach my goals much quicker than diet alone…plus I like being "in shape". I think this is different than how a lot of people view exercise when it comes to fat loss.
Your Workouts Should Not Cause You to Crave More Food
If your workouts are causing you to crave much more food than normal, you may want to consider changing things up. Another thing that happens is that many people use exercise as an excuse to eat more calories. If you do this, then you will always have a tough time getting lean. My suggestion is to eat "as if" you weren't going to do intervals and cardio…but add in intervals and cardio to turbo-charge your fat loss results.
A Way to Do Steady State Cardio Without The Food Cravings
People who have read my blog for a while know that I recommend 15 minutes of Interval Training followed by 15-20 minutes of steady state cardio. Besides the added fat burning this combo provides, the intervals insure the release of catecholamines…which should reduce your appetite.
Note: Some people have the ability to do long cardio workouts without craving extra food. This post is just geared towards people who have an increased appetite from exercising. Also, I'm a big fan of intervals, HIIT, and cardio…done strategically with the proper diet is the best way to quickly and easily get lean.
Eating to build muscle
Eating to Build Muscle
If you’re wanting to learn what foods to eat to build muscle, and how to lose weight and build muscle, you’re in for a treat here. I’ve written the following article that addressed all of these issues, including information on foods that build muscle, the best way to lose weight, and exactly what to eat to build muscle.
How many of you have heard from your clients or friends, “I am a hard gainer and no matter how much I eat, I can’t gain weight”? Maybe that is how you feel yourself. Or I’m sure many of you want to lose fat and maybe build a little muscle too. Even if your weight training goals are just to remain healthy and maintain your current physique, there are certain “rules” you should follow. Therefore, I thought I would compile a list of what I’ll call the “Ten Commandments of Training.”
1. Eat a balanced diet. Some of you may think I am a bit biased since I’m a trainer; however, training is at best half the battle. If your goal is to pack on slabs of muscle, you can lift until the gym staff has to scrape you off the floor with the trash, but without refueling those muscles, your efforts are futile. It is actually after training, when you allow your muscles to rest, that they will grow. The best way to refuel and recover your muscles is by eating a sufficient amount of calories, high quality carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Similarly, if fat loss is your goal, it will be next to impossible to be successful if you change nothing about your eating habits and only increase your exercise. Not monitoring your food intake while training hard is like riding a bicycle with one flat tire; sure, you may get to your destination, but there will be ton of wasted effort.
2. Keep a food log. This may be a barrier for many of you, but how do you plan to monitor your changes without writing them down and seeing what can be altered? This journal does not have to be detailed; record the portion sizes and foods you eat and beverages you drink, the calories, carbohydrate, protein and fats each contain. This will allow you to see what foods or food groups you may be missing or limited in, what foods you can eliminate or reduce if your goal is to lose weight, or just closely monitor your intake if you are trying to gain muscle and limit fat gain.
3. Keep a training log. Similar to the above recommendation, you can’t effectively track your progress if you don’t know what you’re doing. You may learn from recording and watching your physique that a particular exercise or series of exercise is effective and maybe some that is not. Similarly, it will help you track your progress to ensure you are on track.
4. Vary your routine. To be ultimately successful in the gym, you need to vary your workouts. In fact, there is no other aspect of your life that is stagnant—why should the gym be any different? However, this probably describes many of you: Monday is chest day, in which you start with 3 sets of 10 reps on flat bench, followed by 3 sets of 10 on incline press, and maybe 3 sets of 10 for dumbbell fly’s. You then move to triceps, where you do pushdowns and maybe lying tricep extension. The rest of the week follows suit. You always pair back and biceps together, legs are granted their own day, and shoulders fit somewhere in the mix. Mix it up-do a different body part(s) on Monday’s, do dips instead of flat bench, pushups on a stability ball, 4 sets of 5, whatever. If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.
5. Rest!!! When was the last time you took some time off from training? Go ahead, get out of the weight room for a week. I’ll rarely tell you to be a couch potato, but here’s your opportunity. OK, fine, don’t undo what you’ve worked so hard at by sitting with the remote in hand and a bag of chips at your side for a week straight, but being active doesn’t mean you must live in the weight room. Remember, growth happens during recovery, not when you’re in the gym. If you hit the weights day in a day out, you are never giving your body a chance to recover. A week off now and then is great for the body and I bet you’ll come back stronger.
6. Stretch. I bet there are a lot of you out there who do not stretch at all or if you do, stretch the muscle you’re going to work for about 5 seconds. Stretching helps muscles recover, increases muscle elasticity and decreases the chance of injury. Make sure you leave plenty of time to stretch after your workout, do a number of stretches for the body parts you just worked, and hold each stretch for about 20 to 30 seconds. I’m not asking you to mimic Gumbi, just do some basic stretches. Heck, try a yoga class for a change of pace.
7. Lift heavy weights. If I had a nickel for every time I heard “I don’t want to lift too heavy because I will get bulky,” I would be giving Trump a run for his money. Yes, I’m picking on the women here because they are usually the group who is afraid of looking like Hercules. But flapping your arms with 1 lb dumbbells like you are trying to take off will do nothing more than bore you to tears while you claim that weight lifting is useless. Challenge the muscle and lift heavier weights within your comfort zone.
8. Use proper form. I know I was guilty of this the first day I stepped into my high school weight room. I was trying with all my might to bench press 135 lbs since I saw someone else using that weight. Any ounce of “coolness” I had as a gawky freshman left my body faster than the weight falling straight to my chest. I would have rather been injured than suffer through the embarrassment of an upperclassmen “rescuing” me from underneath the bar between his laughing in the corner. I looked like I was having a seizure as a squirmed and twisted to get that weight up. Save yourself from the embarrassment and more importantly a potential injury. If you can’t lift the weight in a controlled manner, it is too much weight. Take it from me; it is not pretty when you let the weight “control” you.
9. Cross train. Weight training is a great form of exercise, but you will ultimately be much better off health wise if you try different activities (both aerobic and anaerobic in nature). Hit your local high school and run some bleachers, ask a friend or spouse to play tennis, swim, do some sprints at the local track, pull together a group of friends for some flag football, mountain bike, etc. The list can go on forever, but cross-training will not only make you stronger, it will help your body recovery by hitting it with varied movements, and will also decrease your chance of injury.
10. Drink like a fish. My college days are over; I’m talking about non-alcoholic beverages. Keep in mind that if you are thirsty, mild dehydration has already set in. This may not sound very important, but even mild dehydration will be a decrement to your performance. It’s not only important to carry a water bottle with you to the gym, but you should be consuming fluids regularly all day. Shoot for 8 cups of water for every 1000 calories you consume (that is ½ gallon for every 1000 calories). Of course this is most important during the summer months when the mercury is nearing triple digits, but should not be negated during the colder months too.
Keep these “rules” in mind to help keep you healthy, strong, and injury free.
If you’re wanting to learn what foods to eat to build muscle, and how to lose weight and build muscle, you’re in for a treat here. I’ve written the following article that addressed all of these issues, including information on foods that build muscle, the best way to lose weight, and exactly what to eat to build muscle.
How many of you have heard from your clients or friends, “I am a hard gainer and no matter how much I eat, I can’t gain weight”? Maybe that is how you feel yourself. Or I’m sure many of you want to lose fat and maybe build a little muscle too. Even if your weight training goals are just to remain healthy and maintain your current physique, there are certain “rules” you should follow. Therefore, I thought I would compile a list of what I’ll call the “Ten Commandments of Training.”
1. Eat a balanced diet. Some of you may think I am a bit biased since I’m a trainer; however, training is at best half the battle. If your goal is to pack on slabs of muscle, you can lift until the gym staff has to scrape you off the floor with the trash, but without refueling those muscles, your efforts are futile. It is actually after training, when you allow your muscles to rest, that they will grow. The best way to refuel and recover your muscles is by eating a sufficient amount of calories, high quality carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Similarly, if fat loss is your goal, it will be next to impossible to be successful if you change nothing about your eating habits and only increase your exercise. Not monitoring your food intake while training hard is like riding a bicycle with one flat tire; sure, you may get to your destination, but there will be ton of wasted effort.
2. Keep a food log. This may be a barrier for many of you, but how do you plan to monitor your changes without writing them down and seeing what can be altered? This journal does not have to be detailed; record the portion sizes and foods you eat and beverages you drink, the calories, carbohydrate, protein and fats each contain. This will allow you to see what foods or food groups you may be missing or limited in, what foods you can eliminate or reduce if your goal is to lose weight, or just closely monitor your intake if you are trying to gain muscle and limit fat gain.
3. Keep a training log. Similar to the above recommendation, you can’t effectively track your progress if you don’t know what you’re doing. You may learn from recording and watching your physique that a particular exercise or series of exercise is effective and maybe some that is not. Similarly, it will help you track your progress to ensure you are on track.
4. Vary your routine. To be ultimately successful in the gym, you need to vary your workouts. In fact, there is no other aspect of your life that is stagnant—why should the gym be any different? However, this probably describes many of you: Monday is chest day, in which you start with 3 sets of 10 reps on flat bench, followed by 3 sets of 10 on incline press, and maybe 3 sets of 10 for dumbbell fly’s. You then move to triceps, where you do pushdowns and maybe lying tricep extension. The rest of the week follows suit. You always pair back and biceps together, legs are granted their own day, and shoulders fit somewhere in the mix. Mix it up-do a different body part(s) on Monday’s, do dips instead of flat bench, pushups on a stability ball, 4 sets of 5, whatever. If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.
5. Rest!!! When was the last time you took some time off from training? Go ahead, get out of the weight room for a week. I’ll rarely tell you to be a couch potato, but here’s your opportunity. OK, fine, don’t undo what you’ve worked so hard at by sitting with the remote in hand and a bag of chips at your side for a week straight, but being active doesn’t mean you must live in the weight room. Remember, growth happens during recovery, not when you’re in the gym. If you hit the weights day in a day out, you are never giving your body a chance to recover. A week off now and then is great for the body and I bet you’ll come back stronger.
6. Stretch. I bet there are a lot of you out there who do not stretch at all or if you do, stretch the muscle you’re going to work for about 5 seconds. Stretching helps muscles recover, increases muscle elasticity and decreases the chance of injury. Make sure you leave plenty of time to stretch after your workout, do a number of stretches for the body parts you just worked, and hold each stretch for about 20 to 30 seconds. I’m not asking you to mimic Gumbi, just do some basic stretches. Heck, try a yoga class for a change of pace.
7. Lift heavy weights. If I had a nickel for every time I heard “I don’t want to lift too heavy because I will get bulky,” I would be giving Trump a run for his money. Yes, I’m picking on the women here because they are usually the group who is afraid of looking like Hercules. But flapping your arms with 1 lb dumbbells like you are trying to take off will do nothing more than bore you to tears while you claim that weight lifting is useless. Challenge the muscle and lift heavier weights within your comfort zone.
8. Use proper form. I know I was guilty of this the first day I stepped into my high school weight room. I was trying with all my might to bench press 135 lbs since I saw someone else using that weight. Any ounce of “coolness” I had as a gawky freshman left my body faster than the weight falling straight to my chest. I would have rather been injured than suffer through the embarrassment of an upperclassmen “rescuing” me from underneath the bar between his laughing in the corner. I looked like I was having a seizure as a squirmed and twisted to get that weight up. Save yourself from the embarrassment and more importantly a potential injury. If you can’t lift the weight in a controlled manner, it is too much weight. Take it from me; it is not pretty when you let the weight “control” you.
9. Cross train. Weight training is a great form of exercise, but you will ultimately be much better off health wise if you try different activities (both aerobic and anaerobic in nature). Hit your local high school and run some bleachers, ask a friend or spouse to play tennis, swim, do some sprints at the local track, pull together a group of friends for some flag football, mountain bike, etc. The list can go on forever, but cross-training will not only make you stronger, it will help your body recovery by hitting it with varied movements, and will also decrease your chance of injury.
10. Drink like a fish. My college days are over; I’m talking about non-alcoholic beverages. Keep in mind that if you are thirsty, mild dehydration has already set in. This may not sound very important, but even mild dehydration will be a decrement to your performance. It’s not only important to carry a water bottle with you to the gym, but you should be consuming fluids regularly all day. Shoot for 8 cups of water for every 1000 calories you consume (that is ½ gallon for every 1000 calories). Of course this is most important during the summer months when the mercury is nearing triple digits, but should not be negated during the colder months too.
Keep these “rules” in mind to help keep you healthy, strong, and injury free.
this weeks workout
Monday: pushups in morning
as many sets as it takes to get 100 pullups
go for run
do a fun outdoor activity with the family on labor day, like hang boarding or wake boarding
Tuesday:
Hike 3mils
offset pulls
aerobic class
abs
stabilizer work
wednesday:
100 pullups
legs
core
run as per marathon
do fun activity with family outside only a few more nice days left
thursday:
rope exercises
tire flips
Push exercises
run 5 mile further than you did on your longest run last week
Friday
100 pullups
run 1 mile further than yesterday
ab
Pull exercises
Saturday: Long outdoor hike
Sunday: rest
as many sets as it takes to get 100 pullups
go for run
do a fun outdoor activity with the family on labor day, like hang boarding or wake boarding
Tuesday:
Hike 3mils
offset pulls
aerobic class
abs
stabilizer work
wednesday:
100 pullups
legs
core
run as per marathon
do fun activity with family outside only a few more nice days left
thursday:
rope exercises
tire flips
Push exercises
run 5 mile further than you did on your longest run last week
Friday
100 pullups
run 1 mile further than yesterday
ab
Pull exercises
Saturday: Long outdoor hike
Sunday: rest
Friday, July 23, 2010
workout
Each day you'll do a mini circuit or tri-set for each body part do 3 rounds 8-10 reps
Day 1 and 4
tri-set 1
Pushups
Tecno gym chest press
hammer chest
tri-set2
latpull
pullup
bentover row
Day 2 and 5
triset 1
chinup
seated hammer curl
reverse curl
triset 2
close grip bench
dips
oh tri ext
Day 3
triset 1
squat
jump squat
squat and press
triset 2
squat
lunge
bird dog
Day 1 and 4
tri-set 1
Pushups
Tecno gym chest press
hammer chest
tri-set2
latpull
pullup
bentover row
Day 2 and 5
triset 1
chinup
seated hammer curl
reverse curl
triset 2
close grip bench
dips
oh tri ext
Day 3
triset 1
squat
jump squat
squat and press
triset 2
squat
lunge
bird dog
Saturday, July 10, 2010
week of July 12th workout
Monday;
box squat 5x5
leg curl 3x10
back ext 3x10
2 hand DB swing 3x10
Weighted decline situp 3x10
Tuesday
Bench press 5x5
Pressdown 3x10
Face pull 3x10
Shrug 3x10
On arm bentover lateral raise 3x10
Thursday
Rack Pull Deadlift 5x5
leg curl 3x10
one leg back ext 3x10
good morning 3x10
weighted decline situp 3x10
Friday
Bench 3x10
pressdown 3x10
facepull 3x15
shrug 3x15
one arm bentoverlateral raise 3x15
box squat 5x5
leg curl 3x10
back ext 3x10
2 hand DB swing 3x10
Weighted decline situp 3x10
Tuesday
Bench press 5x5
Pressdown 3x10
Face pull 3x10
Shrug 3x10
On arm bentover lateral raise 3x10
Thursday
Rack Pull Deadlift 5x5
leg curl 3x10
one leg back ext 3x10
good morning 3x10
weighted decline situp 3x10
Friday
Bench 3x10
pressdown 3x10
facepull 3x15
shrug 3x15
one arm bentoverlateral raise 3x15
Friday, June 4, 2010
Have you tried everything under the sun to get a flat stomach, only to come up disappointed? Have you fallen prey to all the gimmicks, fad diets and shameless infomercials promising you that elusive flat stomach that you desire?
Well fret no more, I’m going to let you in on the two ‘secrets’ that will help you shed unwanted fat and reveal your toned, flat stomach once and for all.
The first secret for a flat stomach is eating supportively. While this doesn’t seem like a secret at all, most women get this wrong in spite of their best – but misguided – efforts. Women have fallen prey to low-fat, low-carb, Hollywood, grapefruit, South Beach and every other over hyped diet that marketers can dream up, all in hopes of shedding those unwanted pounds. But eating supportively isn’t about dieting or deprivation; it’s about moderation and balance. While cutting carbs or fats out of your nutrition plan might give you a temporary loss of a couple of pounds, it’s typically followed by a drop in metabolism and a weight gain of more than you lost in the first place once you go back to your old eating habits.
So what is eating supportively? Eating supportively is having protein and carbohydrates at every meal. It’s grazing on 4-6 meals or snack each day instead of missing meals and then gorging yourself. It’s enjoying a healthy breakfast and not drinking your calories. But most of all, eating supportively is enjoying the foods you love in moderation instead of in excess.
If eating supportively is the first secret to a flat stomach, then what’s the second? The second flat stomach secret is resistance training. Unfortunately, just as fad diets have stood in the path of women achieving the flat stomachs they so desired, so have the myths of spot reduction and cardio being the best method for fat loss. Late night infomercials have long promoted gadgets that promised to spot reduce those trouble spots that women struggle with and sucked us in with testimonials from fitness models that undoubtedly picked up a nifty paycheck for endorsing their wares. But spot reduction is a myth. Think about it – have you ever met someone with a flat stomach and fat arms? Didn’t think so. If spot reduction was possible then undoubtedly one of these happy customers would have toned and tightened their stomach, yet kept their flabby arms.
The other myth that has led women astray is the belief that cardio is the best solution for fat loss. Treadmill manufacturers have sold the virtues of the ‘fat burning zone’ and led us to believe that we could plod along on a treadmill watching Oprah and before long a flat stomach would be ours. These two myths have diverted us from the path of what really does work – resistance training. Resistance training is a flat stomach’s best friend because not only does an effective resistance training session burn plenty of calories while you’re doing it, but it keeps you’re metabolism revved long after you’re done. One recent study showed that you’re metabolism would stay elevated for over 36 hours after a resistance training session.
Try to get that out of an aerobics class.
And there’s another benefit of resistance training when it comes to getting a flat stomach. The lean muscle that you gain will raise you’re resting metabolic rate and help you burn more fat all day long, each and every day.
There you have it, two ‘secrets’ that are guaranteed to boost your metabolism and give you that flat stomach you’ve been longing for. So ditch the diet books and the aerobics classes and start eating supportively and resistance training. Before long that flat stomach will finally be yours.
Well fret no more, I’m going to let you in on the two ‘secrets’ that will help you shed unwanted fat and reveal your toned, flat stomach once and for all.
The first secret for a flat stomach is eating supportively. While this doesn’t seem like a secret at all, most women get this wrong in spite of their best – but misguided – efforts. Women have fallen prey to low-fat, low-carb, Hollywood, grapefruit, South Beach and every other over hyped diet that marketers can dream up, all in hopes of shedding those unwanted pounds. But eating supportively isn’t about dieting or deprivation; it’s about moderation and balance. While cutting carbs or fats out of your nutrition plan might give you a temporary loss of a couple of pounds, it’s typically followed by a drop in metabolism and a weight gain of more than you lost in the first place once you go back to your old eating habits.
So what is eating supportively? Eating supportively is having protein and carbohydrates at every meal. It’s grazing on 4-6 meals or snack each day instead of missing meals and then gorging yourself. It’s enjoying a healthy breakfast and not drinking your calories. But most of all, eating supportively is enjoying the foods you love in moderation instead of in excess.
If eating supportively is the first secret to a flat stomach, then what’s the second? The second flat stomach secret is resistance training. Unfortunately, just as fad diets have stood in the path of women achieving the flat stomachs they so desired, so have the myths of spot reduction and cardio being the best method for fat loss. Late night infomercials have long promoted gadgets that promised to spot reduce those trouble spots that women struggle with and sucked us in with testimonials from fitness models that undoubtedly picked up a nifty paycheck for endorsing their wares. But spot reduction is a myth. Think about it – have you ever met someone with a flat stomach and fat arms? Didn’t think so. If spot reduction was possible then undoubtedly one of these happy customers would have toned and tightened their stomach, yet kept their flabby arms.
The other myth that has led women astray is the belief that cardio is the best solution for fat loss. Treadmill manufacturers have sold the virtues of the ‘fat burning zone’ and led us to believe that we could plod along on a treadmill watching Oprah and before long a flat stomach would be ours. These two myths have diverted us from the path of what really does work – resistance training. Resistance training is a flat stomach’s best friend because not only does an effective resistance training session burn plenty of calories while you’re doing it, but it keeps you’re metabolism revved long after you’re done. One recent study showed that you’re metabolism would stay elevated for over 36 hours after a resistance training session.
Try to get that out of an aerobics class.
And there’s another benefit of resistance training when it comes to getting a flat stomach. The lean muscle that you gain will raise you’re resting metabolic rate and help you burn more fat all day long, each and every day.
There you have it, two ‘secrets’ that are guaranteed to boost your metabolism and give you that flat stomach you’ve been longing for. So ditch the diet books and the aerobics classes and start eating supportively and resistance training. Before long that flat stomach will finally be yours.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Viseral Fat
Following menopause, many women experience a natural increase in obesity, particularly around their intra-abdominal area, which refers to fat that stored in and around the internal organs.
What is Visceral Fat?
Body fat comes in two varieties. There’s subcutaneous fat, a noticeable layer of fat that lies just below the skin, and then there’s visceral fat, which is buried beneath the muscles. Visceral fat is the more worrisome variety because it surrounds vital organs and is metabolized by the liver, which turns it into blood cholesterol.
Visceral fat can go largely unnoticed because it’s not visible to the naked eye. In fact, the only effective way researchers can locate visceral fat is by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which uses magnetic waves to take a picture of the inside of the abdomen. Researchers can use this picture to estimate the amount of visceral fat a person is carrying.
What Causes Visceral Fat?
Your genetic makeup is between 30% and 60% responsible for the amount of visceral fat you carry. Nevertheless, research shows that both your diet and your level of physical activity contribute to your level of visceral fat. People who consume large amounts of saturated fat and people who perform little or no physical activity are likely to have high stores of visceral fat.
Short of talking a physician into performing an MRI on your abdomen, how do you know how much of this unhealthy fat you have? Check your waistline. A trim waistline is a good indicator that you don’t have a large buildup of visceral fat.
Identifying women with visceral fat
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have set the following cutoff points to identify women who are at high risk of developing obesity-related diseases:
Women with Waist Circumference Greater than 88 centimeters (35 inches)
If your measurements fall above these cutoff points, there is a good chance that you are carrying a dangerous amount of visceral fat. Even if your waist circumference does not exceed the cutoff value, making an effort to reduce your waistline can still significantly improve your health.
Getting Rid of Visceral Fat
Research shows that people whose diets contain polyunsaturated fats in place of saturated fats have less visceral fat. Polyunsaturated fats are found in high concentrations in sunflower, corn, and soybean oils, as well as in fish. Also, just exercising moderately—doing things such as walking, swimming, or playing tennis—on most days of the week will help you prevent visceral fat from accumulating. What’s even better is that doing regular bouts of vigorous exercise can markedly reduce the amount of visceral fat you already have.
Building muscle—through weight lifting or other resistance exercises—will help, too. Muscle burns calories and helps you maintain your metabolic rate. The more muscle you have, the bigger your body’s engine, and the more likely you will be to burn fat.
Once adipocytes get the signal from hormones and release fat into the bloodstream, they shrink just like a balloon that you let air out of. When they shrink, so does your body fat. But if you eat excess fat once you’ve shrunk your adipocytes, chances are it will find its way right back to the adipocyte, and once again you’ll gain fat.
No matter how much physical activity you do, adipocytes never shrink so much that they disappear entirely. Like a balloon that you let all the air out of, you’re always left with some remnant. The only way to totally remove adipocytes from your body is with a surgical procedure such as liposuction or excision. But even with these procedures, if you go back to eating excess fat, you’ll put all the fat back on.
A Recent Study
In a study (in the Nov. 2004 issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism,), conducted by Dr. Nicklas and her colleagues, who examined 58 obese, postmenopausal women, one-half of whom had metabolic syndrome, to determine whether four factors: aerobic fitness, body composition, body fat distribution and inflammation, differed between women with and without metabolic syndrome.
"We found that where the body fat is stored was the main determinant of who had metabolic syndrome," Dr. Nicklas said. "We were not just looking at whether the fat was carried on the hips or in the abdomen. We determined whether abdominal fat was stored between the skin and the abdominal muscle wall, what we call subcutaneous fat, or stored as visceral fat, which is beneath the muscles and wrapped around the internal organs. There have been a number of studies that indicate that visceral fat is worse because it surrounds vital organs and may lead to more fat metabolism by the liver."
"There was a dramatic difference in percentage of visceral fat between those women with metabolic syndrome and the other women in the study," Dr. Nicklas said. "Women with metabolic syndrome had 33 percent more visceral fat, but were similar in all other respects, including the waist circumference, with almost exactly the same amount of subcutaneous fat and identical fat cell size."
"The study makes it clear that all fat is not alike and points to the importance of improving our understanding of visceral fat," Dr. Nicklas said. "We need to learn what causes the fat to be stored beneath the muscles or around the internal organs and determine treatment options to reduce this visceral fat. More studies are also needed to determine whether measurement of visceral fat could be used by doctors for more accurate prediction of cardiovascular disease risk in obese individuals."
While we need much more research to understand these risk factors, there are things people can do to reduce their risk," Dr. Nicklas said. "High intensity exercise seems to preferentially reduce visceral fat and general weight reduction helps, too"
What is Visceral Fat?
Body fat comes in two varieties. There’s subcutaneous fat, a noticeable layer of fat that lies just below the skin, and then there’s visceral fat, which is buried beneath the muscles. Visceral fat is the more worrisome variety because it surrounds vital organs and is metabolized by the liver, which turns it into blood cholesterol.
Visceral fat can go largely unnoticed because it’s not visible to the naked eye. In fact, the only effective way researchers can locate visceral fat is by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which uses magnetic waves to take a picture of the inside of the abdomen. Researchers can use this picture to estimate the amount of visceral fat a person is carrying.
What Causes Visceral Fat?
Your genetic makeup is between 30% and 60% responsible for the amount of visceral fat you carry. Nevertheless, research shows that both your diet and your level of physical activity contribute to your level of visceral fat. People who consume large amounts of saturated fat and people who perform little or no physical activity are likely to have high stores of visceral fat.
Short of talking a physician into performing an MRI on your abdomen, how do you know how much of this unhealthy fat you have? Check your waistline. A trim waistline is a good indicator that you don’t have a large buildup of visceral fat.
Identifying women with visceral fat
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have set the following cutoff points to identify women who are at high risk of developing obesity-related diseases:
Women with Waist Circumference Greater than 88 centimeters (35 inches)
If your measurements fall above these cutoff points, there is a good chance that you are carrying a dangerous amount of visceral fat. Even if your waist circumference does not exceed the cutoff value, making an effort to reduce your waistline can still significantly improve your health.
Getting Rid of Visceral Fat
Research shows that people whose diets contain polyunsaturated fats in place of saturated fats have less visceral fat. Polyunsaturated fats are found in high concentrations in sunflower, corn, and soybean oils, as well as in fish. Also, just exercising moderately—doing things such as walking, swimming, or playing tennis—on most days of the week will help you prevent visceral fat from accumulating. What’s even better is that doing regular bouts of vigorous exercise can markedly reduce the amount of visceral fat you already have.
Building muscle—through weight lifting or other resistance exercises—will help, too. Muscle burns calories and helps you maintain your metabolic rate. The more muscle you have, the bigger your body’s engine, and the more likely you will be to burn fat.
Once adipocytes get the signal from hormones and release fat into the bloodstream, they shrink just like a balloon that you let air out of. When they shrink, so does your body fat. But if you eat excess fat once you’ve shrunk your adipocytes, chances are it will find its way right back to the adipocyte, and once again you’ll gain fat.
No matter how much physical activity you do, adipocytes never shrink so much that they disappear entirely. Like a balloon that you let all the air out of, you’re always left with some remnant. The only way to totally remove adipocytes from your body is with a surgical procedure such as liposuction or excision. But even with these procedures, if you go back to eating excess fat, you’ll put all the fat back on.
A Recent Study
In a study (in the Nov. 2004 issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism,), conducted by Dr. Nicklas and her colleagues, who examined 58 obese, postmenopausal women, one-half of whom had metabolic syndrome, to determine whether four factors: aerobic fitness, body composition, body fat distribution and inflammation, differed between women with and without metabolic syndrome.
"We found that where the body fat is stored was the main determinant of who had metabolic syndrome," Dr. Nicklas said. "We were not just looking at whether the fat was carried on the hips or in the abdomen. We determined whether abdominal fat was stored between the skin and the abdominal muscle wall, what we call subcutaneous fat, or stored as visceral fat, which is beneath the muscles and wrapped around the internal organs. There have been a number of studies that indicate that visceral fat is worse because it surrounds vital organs and may lead to more fat metabolism by the liver."
"There was a dramatic difference in percentage of visceral fat between those women with metabolic syndrome and the other women in the study," Dr. Nicklas said. "Women with metabolic syndrome had 33 percent more visceral fat, but were similar in all other respects, including the waist circumference, with almost exactly the same amount of subcutaneous fat and identical fat cell size."
"The study makes it clear that all fat is not alike and points to the importance of improving our understanding of visceral fat," Dr. Nicklas said. "We need to learn what causes the fat to be stored beneath the muscles or around the internal organs and determine treatment options to reduce this visceral fat. More studies are also needed to determine whether measurement of visceral fat could be used by doctors for more accurate prediction of cardiovascular disease risk in obese individuals."
While we need much more research to understand these risk factors, there are things people can do to reduce their risk," Dr. Nicklas said. "High intensity exercise seems to preferentially reduce visceral fat and general weight reduction helps, too"
Friday, May 28, 2010
diet tips
Count carbs not calories
I aim to eat carbs high in fiber and low in starch. Vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, Brussels sprouts and peppers are low in calories so I can eat as much as I like. For refined carbs, I go for minimally processed, raw rather than roasted nuts, and whole grains such as barley, quinoa, and oats. Fiber doesn't raise your blood sugar, and helps you feel full. Starchy foods do the opposite. Fast-rising blood sugar triggers the release of insulin, a hormone that lowers blood sugar but also tells your body to store fat. Pick foods with the greatest ratio of fiber to total carbs and you'll regulate your insulin levels and reduce hunger. The end result: eating fewer calories becomes easier.
Keep it clean
I try to stick to foods that are produced naturally and are free of synthetic components. If it doesn't grow, walk, swim or fly, I tend to avoid it. Processed foods are loaded with trans fats, added sweeteners, artificial colouring and flavouring which we know affect your health. So it stands to reason they'll mess with your metabolism and your weight, too. How can you tell whether a food has been processed? Well if it has, it'll often come in some form of packaging, so it should have a label. If you can't understand it, don't put it in your body
Eat fat to burn fat
Not all fats are created equal. While I avoid foods with trans fats, I add natural fats to my meals. Such natural fats are good for your body and include olive oil, coconut oil, organic meat, oily fish and poultry, fatty fruits such as avocados and olives, nuts and seeds. Have eggs, put avocado in your salad, eat the steak and use real oil on your salads. Eat fat and enjoy it without guilt. In fact, a University of Connecticut study found eating these foods while cutting carbs reduces key risk factors for heart disease. And it does that more effectively than eating a low fat diet does.
Cheat and indulge
Treat yourself once in a while. I don't eat junk but I am partial to the odd serving of ice cream. Not feeling bad about an occasional indulgence is an important factor in sticking to any eating plan. So whether your poison comes in a bowl or a bottle, consume it wisely and it won't be a problem. With ice cream we advise eating it after dinner when you have fewer hours to allow one bowl to turn into three or four. Choose any natural variety that contains only cream, eggs, sugar, and milk. Half a cup, topped with fruit or nuts, once or twice a week is fine - any more may slow weight loss.
I aim to eat carbs high in fiber and low in starch. Vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, Brussels sprouts and peppers are low in calories so I can eat as much as I like. For refined carbs, I go for minimally processed, raw rather than roasted nuts, and whole grains such as barley, quinoa, and oats. Fiber doesn't raise your blood sugar, and helps you feel full. Starchy foods do the opposite. Fast-rising blood sugar triggers the release of insulin, a hormone that lowers blood sugar but also tells your body to store fat. Pick foods with the greatest ratio of fiber to total carbs and you'll regulate your insulin levels and reduce hunger. The end result: eating fewer calories becomes easier.
Keep it clean
I try to stick to foods that are produced naturally and are free of synthetic components. If it doesn't grow, walk, swim or fly, I tend to avoid it. Processed foods are loaded with trans fats, added sweeteners, artificial colouring and flavouring which we know affect your health. So it stands to reason they'll mess with your metabolism and your weight, too. How can you tell whether a food has been processed? Well if it has, it'll often come in some form of packaging, so it should have a label. If you can't understand it, don't put it in your body
Eat fat to burn fat
Not all fats are created equal. While I avoid foods with trans fats, I add natural fats to my meals. Such natural fats are good for your body and include olive oil, coconut oil, organic meat, oily fish and poultry, fatty fruits such as avocados and olives, nuts and seeds. Have eggs, put avocado in your salad, eat the steak and use real oil on your salads. Eat fat and enjoy it without guilt. In fact, a University of Connecticut study found eating these foods while cutting carbs reduces key risk factors for heart disease. And it does that more effectively than eating a low fat diet does.
Cheat and indulge
Treat yourself once in a while. I don't eat junk but I am partial to the odd serving of ice cream. Not feeling bad about an occasional indulgence is an important factor in sticking to any eating plan. So whether your poison comes in a bowl or a bottle, consume it wisely and it won't be a problem. With ice cream we advise eating it after dinner when you have fewer hours to allow one bowl to turn into three or four. Choose any natural variety that contains only cream, eggs, sugar, and milk. Half a cup, topped with fruit or nuts, once or twice a week is fine - any more may slow weight loss.
burn more fat with these breakfast foods
You can give your body a little fat-burning advantage by including items like these in your morning meal: eggs, yogurt, and whole-grain cereal.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day if you're trying to control your appetite and lose weight, but these three items in particular have been credited with extra fat-burning and pound-dropping powers in recent studies.
How They Help
Eggs: When people on low-calorie diets ate two scrambled eggs with toast and jam for breakfast, they lost 65 percent more weight than the dieters who started their day with a bagel and cream cheese. The protein in eggs probably helps control appetite, so people eat less.
Yogurt: Calcium and other helpful compounds in yogurt may help stop fat storage and turn up fat burn. In one study, obese people on reduced-calorie diets lost 61 percent more fat overall -- and even more belly fat -- when they ate three 6-ounce servings of yogurt every day. This was compared with the people who had no yogurt in their diets.
Whole-Grain Cereal: Research shows that people lose more belly fat when they replace refined-grain foods with whole grains. All the appetite-controlling fiber they pick up in the process probably accounts for the slimming effect. Plus, whole grains can help control blood sugar and lower blood pressure, and they can even reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day if you're trying to control your appetite and lose weight, but these three items in particular have been credited with extra fat-burning and pound-dropping powers in recent studies.
How They Help
Eggs: When people on low-calorie diets ate two scrambled eggs with toast and jam for breakfast, they lost 65 percent more weight than the dieters who started their day with a bagel and cream cheese. The protein in eggs probably helps control appetite, so people eat less.
Yogurt: Calcium and other helpful compounds in yogurt may help stop fat storage and turn up fat burn. In one study, obese people on reduced-calorie diets lost 61 percent more fat overall -- and even more belly fat -- when they ate three 6-ounce servings of yogurt every day. This was compared with the people who had no yogurt in their diets.
Whole-Grain Cereal: Research shows that people lose more belly fat when they replace refined-grain foods with whole grains. All the appetite-controlling fiber they pick up in the process probably accounts for the slimming effect. Plus, whole grains can help control blood sugar and lower blood pressure, and they can even reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers.
russian strength workout
Monday and Thursday
you will do ladders: start with a weight you can do 10 times, begin with 1 repitition rest 1-3 minutes then go to 2 reps, and so forth until you can no longer get all the reps. that is 1 ladder do 3 ladders of each of the following exerices.
here is the kicker: you must pause for 5 seconds and the bottom of each of the exerciese before you continue. For example on the bench press you will hold at the bottom for 5 seconds on each rep before pushing back up
only 3 exercises
Bench
Front Squat
Standing low cable row
Cardio:
monday
20 min bike 50-100%
Tuesday
5 min warm up
5 min easy: 5 min hard as you can x2
5 min cool down
Wednesday do outside if nice
15 min bike
15 min run
15 min bike
Thursday:
treadmill 10 min
stepmill 10 min
rower 10 min
Friday
10 min treadmill 1:1 0% grade:5% grade
10 min bike 1:1 hard to easy
10 min track Sprint long jog shorts
you will do ladders: start with a weight you can do 10 times, begin with 1 repitition rest 1-3 minutes then go to 2 reps, and so forth until you can no longer get all the reps. that is 1 ladder do 3 ladders of each of the following exerices.
here is the kicker: you must pause for 5 seconds and the bottom of each of the exerciese before you continue. For example on the bench press you will hold at the bottom for 5 seconds on each rep before pushing back up
only 3 exercises
Bench
Front Squat
Standing low cable row
Cardio:
monday
20 min bike 50-100%
Tuesday
5 min warm up
5 min easy: 5 min hard as you can x2
5 min cool down
Wednesday do outside if nice
15 min bike
15 min run
15 min bike
Thursday:
treadmill 10 min
stepmill 10 min
rower 10 min
Friday
10 min treadmill 1:1 0% grade:5% grade
10 min bike 1:1 hard to easy
10 min track Sprint long jog shorts
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
train like an animal
MONDAY/WEDNESDAY/FRIDAY
turkish get up 1x2
done as a circuit 2times no rest between circuits
trx single leg suspended pushup 6-8
speed skater w band 20
trx inverted row 12
bosu ball bicycle crunch 20
db squat and press 12
feet elevated side plank crunch 15
dips 15
balance 15
pullup 10
TUESDAY/THURSDAY
done as a circuit 3 times no rest
100 jump ropes
db bentover row 15
squat 15
back ext 15
jumping jacks 25
db bench 15
deadlift 15
bicycle crunch 15
stepups 15
dbmilitary 15
turkish get up 1x2
done as a circuit 2times no rest between circuits
trx single leg suspended pushup 6-8
speed skater w band 20
trx inverted row 12
bosu ball bicycle crunch 20
db squat and press 12
feet elevated side plank crunch 15
dips 15
balance 15
pullup 10
TUESDAY/THURSDAY
done as a circuit 3 times no rest
100 jump ropes
db bentover row 15
squat 15
back ext 15
jumping jacks 25
db bench 15
deadlift 15
bicycle crunch 15
stepups 15
dbmilitary 15
Thursday, May 20, 2010
is LSD good for burning fat?
I know not everybody has the series on cardio that I posted earlier this year. Otherwise, people would have a greater understanding of the topic.
LSD by the way means long slow distance
Simplistically
As you move from low intensities to higher intensities, the amount of fat vs. carbs burned shifts from one to the other
At low intensities, you may burn near 100% fat
At the highest intensiy (acually just about anything above lactate threshold), you burn 100% carbs
at any intensity between, you burn a proportion of the two. As you move from lower to high intensity, you burn proportionally less fat and proportinally more carbs until you reach a point that the body can only burn carbs.
The issue with the 'fat burning zone' concept is that people confuse %ages with absolutes
Say you're walking at 3mph and burning 5 cal/min, but you're burning 100% fat. That's 5 cal/min of fat.
Say you're running at 6 mph and burning 10 cal/min but you're burning 50% fat.
Ruh roh, that's less fat, isn't it? No, it's not. 10 cal/min * 50% 5 cal/min of fat. It's the same amount of fat in absolute terms although it's a lower percentage. But you're also burning 5 cal/min of carbohydrates.
Say that at 6 mph you're burning 10 cal/min but still 65% fat. That's still lower by %age than at 3mph. But you're burning 6.5 cal/min of fat which is higher. And you burn more total calories. And you deplete some of the carbohdyrate in your muscle.
Some studies have shown that that maximum absolute amount of fat burned occurs right around the lactate threshold (the highest, hardest, most painful intensity that you can sustain for an extended period) although it depends on training status and some other factors
When you deplete muscle glycogen (via burning it during exercise and/or carbohdyrate restriction), this increases whole body fat oxidation. And, for the most part, what you burn during exercise is less relevant than than what you burn the rest of the day and none of this matters if you aren't in a deficit). So say you do a hard session where you burn a combination of fat and carbs. Not only did you burn those calories, by depleting muscle glycogen
a. your body will burn more fat for the rest of the day (I'm not saying more in terms of 'metabolic rate' is increased, but more in terms of the proportions used)
b. incoming carbohdyrates tend to go to refilling muscle glycogen instead of being used for energy
Which is why, to a certain degree, it doesn't matter what you do as long as the calorie burn is roughly similar
Low intensity activity is sort of a direct fat burner, you burn mostly fat for fuel but that's all you get out of it.
Higher intensity burns some proportion of fat/carbs but impacts more greatly on what you burn later in the day
Intervals burn only carbs during training but the glycogen depletion and other factors may make you burn more fat later in the day
I think the bigger issue is that, if you do too much high intensity activity too frequently, you get overtrained and that causes too many problems.
I'll make a few points regarding the intervals vs. steady state issue:
Basically, do whatever you can to burn the most calories as possible during exercise. For example, a 5-10 minute workout that absolutely destroys you is not likely to burn as many calories as say 30-60 min of low intensity steady state work. Intervals can give you more bang for your buck, but don't think that Tabatas will burn as much calories as steady state work. Ten minutes of 1 min high intensity/1 min low intensity may burn about the same as 10 min of steady state work...just something to keep in mind.
Whether you use intervals or steady state work to burn extra calories generally does not matter as long as you are burning calories EXCEPT when you get down to bodyfat levels for men of about 10-12% and for women of about 18-20%. That's when all this matters, but I'm not going to explain that right now.
LSD by the way means long slow distance
Simplistically
As you move from low intensities to higher intensities, the amount of fat vs. carbs burned shifts from one to the other
At low intensities, you may burn near 100% fat
At the highest intensiy (acually just about anything above lactate threshold), you burn 100% carbs
at any intensity between, you burn a proportion of the two. As you move from lower to high intensity, you burn proportionally less fat and proportinally more carbs until you reach a point that the body can only burn carbs.
The issue with the 'fat burning zone' concept is that people confuse %ages with absolutes
Say you're walking at 3mph and burning 5 cal/min, but you're burning 100% fat. That's 5 cal/min of fat.
Say you're running at 6 mph and burning 10 cal/min but you're burning 50% fat.
Ruh roh, that's less fat, isn't it? No, it's not. 10 cal/min * 50% 5 cal/min of fat. It's the same amount of fat in absolute terms although it's a lower percentage. But you're also burning 5 cal/min of carbohydrates.
Say that at 6 mph you're burning 10 cal/min but still 65% fat. That's still lower by %age than at 3mph. But you're burning 6.5 cal/min of fat which is higher. And you burn more total calories. And you deplete some of the carbohdyrate in your muscle.
Some studies have shown that that maximum absolute amount of fat burned occurs right around the lactate threshold (the highest, hardest, most painful intensity that you can sustain for an extended period) although it depends on training status and some other factors
When you deplete muscle glycogen (via burning it during exercise and/or carbohdyrate restriction), this increases whole body fat oxidation. And, for the most part, what you burn during exercise is less relevant than than what you burn the rest of the day and none of this matters if you aren't in a deficit). So say you do a hard session where you burn a combination of fat and carbs. Not only did you burn those calories, by depleting muscle glycogen
a. your body will burn more fat for the rest of the day (I'm not saying more in terms of 'metabolic rate' is increased, but more in terms of the proportions used)
b. incoming carbohdyrates tend to go to refilling muscle glycogen instead of being used for energy
Which is why, to a certain degree, it doesn't matter what you do as long as the calorie burn is roughly similar
Low intensity activity is sort of a direct fat burner, you burn mostly fat for fuel but that's all you get out of it.
Higher intensity burns some proportion of fat/carbs but impacts more greatly on what you burn later in the day
Intervals burn only carbs during training but the glycogen depletion and other factors may make you burn more fat later in the day
I think the bigger issue is that, if you do too much high intensity activity too frequently, you get overtrained and that causes too many problems.
I'll make a few points regarding the intervals vs. steady state issue:
Basically, do whatever you can to burn the most calories as possible during exercise. For example, a 5-10 minute workout that absolutely destroys you is not likely to burn as many calories as say 30-60 min of low intensity steady state work. Intervals can give you more bang for your buck, but don't think that Tabatas will burn as much calories as steady state work. Ten minutes of 1 min high intensity/1 min low intensity may burn about the same as 10 min of steady state work...just something to keep in mind.
Whether you use intervals or steady state work to burn extra calories generally does not matter as long as you are burning calories EXCEPT when you get down to bodyfat levels for men of about 10-12% and for women of about 18-20%. That's when all this matters, but I'm not going to explain that right now.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
about that lower stomach
Today we are talking about the lower abdominals and a very common mistake that might change your thinking about them a little.
There are two basic areas of confusion when it comes to abdominal training. The first of these is that of the much sought after lower abdominals. Many folks (including my new personal training clients) say that their upper abdominals are starting to really show, but the lower abdominalsare not coming in at all regardless of how muchtraining they do. These are also usually the samefolks that are always on the lookout for the miracle lower abdominal exercise. But if you look at the anatomical picture of the abdominals you can clearly see that the rectus abdominus is a single muscle running from sternum to pelvis. Thelower abdominals do not exist. The reason that the lower abdominal area seems to take forever to show is not because of your abdominal training but because mother nature has chosen the lower abdominal region as one of her favorite fat storage areas. I know, it sucks.
So long story short, the lower abdominals ARE getting trained from all that time in the gym it's just that you can't see them under the fat! Just to prove a point, try this: lie on the floor and get ready to do some crunches. Take one of your hands and put it on your lower abdominal area and the other on your upper abs. Now slowly do a proper crunch and curl up vertebrae by vertebrae so that your sternum and pelvis are closing towards each other. You will feel both areas contract at the same time as you curl up. I'm going to go into this in depth in another blog post about the second issue in regards to abdominal development but what I want you to takeaway from this information is that seeing yourlower abs or definition in any muscle for that matter is a matter of reducing body fat and not finding that one wonder exercise that will make your muscles show. If you would like more specific information that deals with ONLY how to get a flat stomach and washboard abdominals, contact me today.
There are two basic areas of confusion when it comes to abdominal training. The first of these is that of the much sought after lower abdominals. Many folks (including my new personal training clients) say that their upper abdominals are starting to really show, but the lower abdominalsare not coming in at all regardless of how muchtraining they do. These are also usually the samefolks that are always on the lookout for the miracle lower abdominal exercise. But if you look at the anatomical picture of the abdominals you can clearly see that the rectus abdominus is a single muscle running from sternum to pelvis. Thelower abdominals do not exist. The reason that the lower abdominal area seems to take forever to show is not because of your abdominal training but because mother nature has chosen the lower abdominal region as one of her favorite fat storage areas. I know, it sucks.
So long story short, the lower abdominals ARE getting trained from all that time in the gym it's just that you can't see them under the fat! Just to prove a point, try this: lie on the floor and get ready to do some crunches. Take one of your hands and put it on your lower abdominal area and the other on your upper abs. Now slowly do a proper crunch and curl up vertebrae by vertebrae so that your sternum and pelvis are closing towards each other. You will feel both areas contract at the same time as you curl up. I'm going to go into this in depth in another blog post about the second issue in regards to abdominal development but what I want you to takeaway from this information is that seeing yourlower abs or definition in any muscle for that matter is a matter of reducing body fat and not finding that one wonder exercise that will make your muscles show. If you would like more specific information that deals with ONLY how to get a flat stomach and washboard abdominals, contact me today.
Friday, May 14, 2010
chisel your 8 pack
Cardio exercises helps to speed up your fat loss. You are required to perform some form of cardio workouts, in the morning, on an empty stomach, for 30-45 minutes while keeping your heart rate at about 140-160 beats per minute. This cardio workout may not seem like a lot, but it is the ideal range for fat loss.
What exactly is Cardio?
Cardio exercises can be considered any type of exercise or activity that strengthens the cardiovascular system. Some of the indoor cardio exercises are elliptical trainer, stair climbing, treadmill, stationary bicycle.
Why Morning?
Studies have shown that cardio exercises in the morning will help to burn more fat, because you will not have eaten for that eight hour period that you are asleep. Your muscles will have used up just about all of their glycogen (sugar used for energy) stores. Once this happens, your body turns to using stored body fat for fuel.
Cardio exercise benefits :
The point of doing cardio exercises is to increase metabolism, which causes you to burn more body fat.
Cardio exercise that trains your heart to rapidly increase and rapidly decrease will make your heart more capable of handling everyday stress.
Highly Variable Cyclic Training
Highly variable cyclic training teaches the heart to respond to and recover from a variety of demands making it less likely to fail when you need it. Exercises will make your heart more capable of handling everyday stress. Stress can cause your blood pressure and heart rate to increase rapidly. Steady state jogging and other endurance training does not train your heart to be able to handle rapid changes in heart rate or blood pressure.
Some of the potential benefits of variable cyclic cardio training compared to steady state endurance cardio training are as follows: improved cardiovascular health, increased anti-oxidant protection, improved immune function, reduced risk for joint wear and tear, increased muscularity (versus decreased muscularity with endurance training), increased residual metabolic rate, and an increased capacity for the heart to handle life’s every day stressors.
Stop-and-Go Training
Most competitive sports such as football, basketball, volleyball, racquetball, tennis, hockey, etc. are naturally comprised of highly variable stop-and-go motion which trains the heart through a higher range than just steady walking or jogging.
One of the absolute most effective forms of variable intensity cardio training to really reduce body fat and bring out serious muscular definition is performing wind sprints. Wind sprints can be done by sprinting at near max speed for 10-30 seconds, and then taking 60 seconds to walk for recovery before your next sprint. 6-12 total sprint intervals is usually a very challenging cardio workout for most people. There are so many different and fun non-traditional training styles out there to help get the lean ripped body that you've been looking for.
Interval Cardio Training
High intensity interval cardio training (varying between high and low intensity intervals on any piece of cardio equipment) is yet another training method that utilizes exertion and recovery periods. For example, an interval cardio training session on the cardio equipment like treadmill could look something like this:
Warm-up for 3-4 minutes at a fast walk or light jog
Interval 1 - run at 8.0 mi/hr for 1 minute
Interval 2 - walk at 4.0 mi/hr for 1.5 minutes
Interval 3 - run at 10.0 mi/hr for 1 minute
Interval 4 - walk at 4.0 mi/hr for 1.5 minutes
Repeat those 4 intervals 4 times for a very intense 20-minute cardio workout.
Alternative Exercises
What are the alternative cardio equipment like treadmills and elliptical trainers? Here are some of favorite types of the alternative cardio exercises:
Jumping Rope - great mind / body connection (try speed jumping, crosses, double jumps once you get skilled at it)
Bodyweight Training - Bodyweight squats, pushups, lunges, jumps, bear crawls, rock climbing, planks, and the list goes on and on
Outdoor Wind Sprinting - The ultimate for a rock hard ripped body... just look at the chiseled powerful bodies of world class sprinters, and compare that to the weakling withered physique of a typical marathoner.
Hill Sprinting - Yet another classic cardio workout for a rock hard powerful body.
Rowing Machine - The rowing machine is actually a great full body workout that actually uses resistance.
Heavy Bag Punching / Kicking Workout, Speed Bag, Rebound Bag... all great forms of training and much more interesting than boring cardio machines (requires an intense mind / body connection)
Full-body strategically-designed resistance training programs along with high intensity cardio training programs guaranteed to strip off body fat when combined with a healthy diet are included in my BURN MORE FAT! weight loss program. Stop wasting your time in the gym and contact me today for a complimentary personal trainnig sesion.
What exactly is Cardio?
Cardio exercises can be considered any type of exercise or activity that strengthens the cardiovascular system. Some of the indoor cardio exercises are elliptical trainer, stair climbing, treadmill, stationary bicycle.
Why Morning?
Studies have shown that cardio exercises in the morning will help to burn more fat, because you will not have eaten for that eight hour period that you are asleep. Your muscles will have used up just about all of their glycogen (sugar used for energy) stores. Once this happens, your body turns to using stored body fat for fuel.
Cardio exercise benefits :
The point of doing cardio exercises is to increase metabolism, which causes you to burn more body fat.
Cardio exercise that trains your heart to rapidly increase and rapidly decrease will make your heart more capable of handling everyday stress.
Highly Variable Cyclic Training
Highly variable cyclic training teaches the heart to respond to and recover from a variety of demands making it less likely to fail when you need it. Exercises will make your heart more capable of handling everyday stress. Stress can cause your blood pressure and heart rate to increase rapidly. Steady state jogging and other endurance training does not train your heart to be able to handle rapid changes in heart rate or blood pressure.
Some of the potential benefits of variable cyclic cardio training compared to steady state endurance cardio training are as follows: improved cardiovascular health, increased anti-oxidant protection, improved immune function, reduced risk for joint wear and tear, increased muscularity (versus decreased muscularity with endurance training), increased residual metabolic rate, and an increased capacity for the heart to handle life’s every day stressors.
Stop-and-Go Training
Most competitive sports such as football, basketball, volleyball, racquetball, tennis, hockey, etc. are naturally comprised of highly variable stop-and-go motion which trains the heart through a higher range than just steady walking or jogging.
One of the absolute most effective forms of variable intensity cardio training to really reduce body fat and bring out serious muscular definition is performing wind sprints. Wind sprints can be done by sprinting at near max speed for 10-30 seconds, and then taking 60 seconds to walk for recovery before your next sprint. 6-12 total sprint intervals is usually a very challenging cardio workout for most people. There are so many different and fun non-traditional training styles out there to help get the lean ripped body that you've been looking for.
Interval Cardio Training
High intensity interval cardio training (varying between high and low intensity intervals on any piece of cardio equipment) is yet another training method that utilizes exertion and recovery periods. For example, an interval cardio training session on the cardio equipment like treadmill could look something like this:
Warm-up for 3-4 minutes at a fast walk or light jog
Interval 1 - run at 8.0 mi/hr for 1 minute
Interval 2 - walk at 4.0 mi/hr for 1.5 minutes
Interval 3 - run at 10.0 mi/hr for 1 minute
Interval 4 - walk at 4.0 mi/hr for 1.5 minutes
Repeat those 4 intervals 4 times for a very intense 20-minute cardio workout.
Alternative Exercises
What are the alternative cardio equipment like treadmills and elliptical trainers? Here are some of favorite types of the alternative cardio exercises:
Jumping Rope - great mind / body connection (try speed jumping, crosses, double jumps once you get skilled at it)
Bodyweight Training - Bodyweight squats, pushups, lunges, jumps, bear crawls, rock climbing, planks, and the list goes on and on
Outdoor Wind Sprinting - The ultimate for a rock hard ripped body... just look at the chiseled powerful bodies of world class sprinters, and compare that to the weakling withered physique of a typical marathoner.
Hill Sprinting - Yet another classic cardio workout for a rock hard powerful body.
Rowing Machine - The rowing machine is actually a great full body workout that actually uses resistance.
Heavy Bag Punching / Kicking Workout, Speed Bag, Rebound Bag... all great forms of training and much more interesting than boring cardio machines (requires an intense mind / body connection)
Full-body strategically-designed resistance training programs along with high intensity cardio training programs guaranteed to strip off body fat when combined with a healthy diet are included in my BURN MORE FAT! weight loss program. Stop wasting your time in the gym and contact me today for a complimentary personal trainnig sesion.
workout
Monday
chinup 3x6-10 superset with
Nuetral grip db military 3x9,6,10
Leg raise 3xfailure superset
facepull 3x8-12
ez bar curl 3x8-10
jump rope 10 min x 60 sec on: 30 sec rest
Tuesday
10x 1 lap sprints
Wednesday
Jumprope 20 min
Thursday
Bench work up to 5 rep max
Db row 3x9,6,15 superset
db incline 3x6-9
crossbody hammer curl 4x6-9 superset
lying tri ext 4x8-12
10 min intervals on bike 30:30
Friday
Squat work up to 5 rep max
Deadlift work up to 5 rep max
gravedigger 3x10-12 each side superset
back ext 3x6-12
Run 20 min
Saturday
rest
Sunday
30 min walk or run
chinup 3x6-10 superset with
Nuetral grip db military 3x9,6,10
Leg raise 3xfailure superset
facepull 3x8-12
ez bar curl 3x8-10
jump rope 10 min x 60 sec on: 30 sec rest
Tuesday
10x 1 lap sprints
Wednesday
Jumprope 20 min
Thursday
Bench work up to 5 rep max
Db row 3x9,6,15 superset
db incline 3x6-9
crossbody hammer curl 4x6-9 superset
lying tri ext 4x8-12
10 min intervals on bike 30:30
Friday
Squat work up to 5 rep max
Deadlift work up to 5 rep max
gravedigger 3x10-12 each side superset
back ext 3x6-12
Run 20 min
Saturday
rest
Sunday
30 min walk or run
Shopping List
BAKERY:
1 loaf whole-grain bread (8 slices will be used)
1 package MexAmerican 100 percent Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas (3 will be used)
1 package whole wheat hamburger buns (4 will be used)
DAIRY:
1 package 2 percent milk string cheese (2 will be used)
1 package grated parmesan cheese
4 Stonyfield fruit-flavored yogurt cups
6 Laughing Cow Mini Babybel Original individual cheeses
1 package reduced-fat Mexican or taco-blend shredded cheese
1 package Sargento Deli Style sliced cheese (2 slices will be used)
1 package crumbled bleu cheese
MEAT/FISH:
1 dozen eggs (11 will be used)
2 medium bone-in pork chops
4 medium sirloin steaks
1 package pre-sliced turkey (8 slices will be used)
4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts
12 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs (breasts work, too)
1 medium flank steak
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pork tenderloin
FREEZER AISLE:
1 package frozen mixed berries (2 cups will be used)
CONDIMENTS/SAUCES:
1 bottle all-natural maple syrup
1 jar Dijon mustard
1 16 oz. bottle olive oil
1 bottle fat-free Italian dressing
1 bottle vinaigrette salad dressing
1 bottle low-sodium Worcestershire sauce
SNACKS AND SWEETS:
1 package Smart Balance Light Butter popcorn (3 bags will be used)
1 pound raw almonds (about 40 almonds will be used)
1 Chocolove Strong Dark Chocolate bar (2 squares will be used)
1 one-pound package raisins (50 raisins—a normal handful—will be used)
1 Larabar Apple Pie Bar
1 package Bridgford beef jerky (2 servings will be used)
CANNED/JARRED FOODS:
1 jar Crazy Richard’s Natural Peanut Butter
1 package all-natural applesauce (1 individual cup will be used)
1 jar St. Dalfour’s 100 percent natural fruit spread
2 cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 carton Swanson chicken stock (1 serving will be used)
1 3 oz. can peas
1 3 oz. can corn
1 can chunk light tuna
1 package whey protein powder (optional)
PASTAS, GRAINS AND CEREALS:
1 can/carton Quick Quaker Oats (3 cups will be used)
1 box instant brown rice (2 cups will be used)
1 box ground flaxseed (optional)
1 loaf whole-grain bread (8 slices will be used)
1 package MexAmerican 100 percent Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas (3 will be used)
1 package whole wheat hamburger buns (4 will be used)
DAIRY:
1 package 2 percent milk string cheese (2 will be used)
1 package grated parmesan cheese
4 Stonyfield fruit-flavored yogurt cups
6 Laughing Cow Mini Babybel Original individual cheeses
1 package reduced-fat Mexican or taco-blend shredded cheese
1 package Sargento Deli Style sliced cheese (2 slices will be used)
1 package crumbled bleu cheese
MEAT/FISH:
1 dozen eggs (11 will be used)
2 medium bone-in pork chops
4 medium sirloin steaks
1 package pre-sliced turkey (8 slices will be used)
4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts
12 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs (breasts work, too)
1 medium flank steak
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pork tenderloin
FREEZER AISLE:
1 package frozen mixed berries (2 cups will be used)
CONDIMENTS/SAUCES:
1 bottle all-natural maple syrup
1 jar Dijon mustard
1 16 oz. bottle olive oil
1 bottle fat-free Italian dressing
1 bottle vinaigrette salad dressing
1 bottle low-sodium Worcestershire sauce
SNACKS AND SWEETS:
1 package Smart Balance Light Butter popcorn (3 bags will be used)
1 pound raw almonds (about 40 almonds will be used)
1 Chocolove Strong Dark Chocolate bar (2 squares will be used)
1 one-pound package raisins (50 raisins—a normal handful—will be used)
1 Larabar Apple Pie Bar
1 package Bridgford beef jerky (2 servings will be used)
CANNED/JARRED FOODS:
1 jar Crazy Richard’s Natural Peanut Butter
1 package all-natural applesauce (1 individual cup will be used)
1 jar St. Dalfour’s 100 percent natural fruit spread
2 cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 carton Swanson chicken stock (1 serving will be used)
1 3 oz. can peas
1 3 oz. can corn
1 can chunk light tuna
1 package whey protein powder (optional)
PASTAS, GRAINS AND CEREALS:
1 can/carton Quick Quaker Oats (3 cups will be used)
1 box instant brown rice (2 cups will be used)
1 box ground flaxseed (optional)
meal plan
Monday:
8 a.m.
20 oz. water
One-Minute PB Banana Oatmeal
Black coffee (optional)
10:30 a.m.
1 medium apple
1 2% Milk String Cheese
Noon
TunaGuac Sandwich
15 Baby-cut carrots
3 p.m.
Smart Balance Light Butter Popcorn
7 p.m.
Chicken Tex-Mex
Steamed Broccoli
Tuesday:
8 a.m.
20 oz. water
3 Scrambled Eggs
8 ounces orange juice
Black coffee (optional)
10:30 a.m.
1 Stonyfield yogurt
1 medium banana
Noon
2 Power-Packed PBJs
1 medium apple
3 p.m.
25 raw almonds
1 medium banana
7 p.m.
Seared Sirloin with Shrooms (1 serving)
Microwave Baked Potato
20 Green Beans
9 p.m.
Smart Balance Light Butter Popcorn
1 square dark chocolate
Wednesday:
8 a.m.
20 oz. water
PB/Banana Wrap
8 oz. chocolate milk
10:30 a.m.
50 raisins
1 Stonyfield yogurt
Noon
GobbleGuac Sandwich
15 Baby-cut carrots
3 p.m.
8 oz. chocolate milk
7 p.m.
Maple Mustard Pork Chops
1 cup applesauce
Thursday:
8 a.m.
20 oz. water
One-Minute Cheesy Mushroom Scramble
8 oz. orange juice
Black coffee (optional)
10:30 a.m.
50 Raisins
1 Stonyfield yogurt
Noon
Turkey Wrap with 1 slice cheese
1 medium banana
3 p.m.
1 Larabar Apple Pie Bar
8 oz. chocolate milk
7 p.m.
Char Chicken Tacos 3 oz. can peas
Friday:
8 a.m.
20 oz. water
One-Minute PB Berries Oatmeal
Black coffee (optional)
10:30 a.m.
1 medium apple
1 2% Milk String Cheese
Noon
PB Wrap
1 serving Bridgford Beef Jerky
3 p.m.
Smart Balance Light Butter Popcorn
1 square dark chocolate
7 p.m.
Seared Sirloin with Shrooms
Microwave Baked Potato
20 green beans
Saturday:
8 a.m.
20 oz. water
Ultimate Power Breakfast
Black coffee (optional)
10:30 a.m.
1 Tbsp peanut butter
1 medium banana
Noon
Man Salad
1 serving Bridgford Beef Jerky
3 p.m.
1 medium apple
2 Laughing Cow Mini Babybel Original individual cheeses
7 p.m.
Chicken Tex-Mex
Steamed Broccoli
8 a.m.
20 oz. water
One-Minute PB Banana Oatmeal
Black coffee (optional)
10:30 a.m.
1 medium apple
1 2% Milk String Cheese
Noon
TunaGuac Sandwich
15 Baby-cut carrots
3 p.m.
Smart Balance Light Butter Popcorn
7 p.m.
Chicken Tex-Mex
Steamed Broccoli
Tuesday:
8 a.m.
20 oz. water
3 Scrambled Eggs
8 ounces orange juice
Black coffee (optional)
10:30 a.m.
1 Stonyfield yogurt
1 medium banana
Noon
2 Power-Packed PBJs
1 medium apple
3 p.m.
25 raw almonds
1 medium banana
7 p.m.
Seared Sirloin with Shrooms (1 serving)
Microwave Baked Potato
20 Green Beans
9 p.m.
Smart Balance Light Butter Popcorn
1 square dark chocolate
Wednesday:
8 a.m.
20 oz. water
PB/Banana Wrap
8 oz. chocolate milk
10:30 a.m.
50 raisins
1 Stonyfield yogurt
Noon
GobbleGuac Sandwich
15 Baby-cut carrots
3 p.m.
8 oz. chocolate milk
7 p.m.
Maple Mustard Pork Chops
1 cup applesauce
Thursday:
8 a.m.
20 oz. water
One-Minute Cheesy Mushroom Scramble
8 oz. orange juice
Black coffee (optional)
10:30 a.m.
50 Raisins
1 Stonyfield yogurt
Noon
Turkey Wrap with 1 slice cheese
1 medium banana
3 p.m.
1 Larabar Apple Pie Bar
8 oz. chocolate milk
7 p.m.
Char Chicken Tacos 3 oz. can peas
Friday:
8 a.m.
20 oz. water
One-Minute PB Berries Oatmeal
Black coffee (optional)
10:30 a.m.
1 medium apple
1 2% Milk String Cheese
Noon
PB Wrap
1 serving Bridgford Beef Jerky
3 p.m.
Smart Balance Light Butter Popcorn
1 square dark chocolate
7 p.m.
Seared Sirloin with Shrooms
Microwave Baked Potato
20 green beans
Saturday:
8 a.m.
20 oz. water
Ultimate Power Breakfast
Black coffee (optional)
10:30 a.m.
1 Tbsp peanut butter
1 medium banana
Noon
Man Salad
1 serving Bridgford Beef Jerky
3 p.m.
1 medium apple
2 Laughing Cow Mini Babybel Original individual cheeses
7 p.m.
Chicken Tex-Mex
Steamed Broccoli
Monday, April 26, 2010
People who have had children, eat too many highly salty and sugary food or tend to drink too many high calorie drinks tend to have too much belly fat. Also known as visceral fat, this type of fat is very bad for the heart. Therefore, it is important to do exercises and eat foods that burn belly fat.
Exercises to Get a Flat Stomach
Cardiovascular exercise burns calories and incinerates fat on the body. Belly fat usually disappears first when a person loses weight. In addition, muscles under the fat become visible. Starting a walking or running program is an excellent way to burn belly fat and lose weight.
Abdominal exercises such as crunches and sit ups help get a flat stomach. Pilates and yoga poses can also firm up the tummy. Abdominal exercises should be done three times a week in addition to cardiovascular exercises. Do not do these exercises daily since the abdominal muscles can get overworked.
Strength training adds muscle tone to the body. Muscles boosts metabolism which will burn body fat even while resting. A strength training routine should be followed at least two days a week. Beginners can use body weight, dumb bells or resistance bands to work out arms. Squats and lunges are exercises that work out legs, thighs and butt.
Foods That Burn Belly Fat
There are foods that can actually burn belly fat. These foods contain monounsaturated fats, vitamin B12, calcium, fiber and protein which are natural fat burners.
Consuming foods containing monounsaturated fats burn belly fat. Also known as MUFAs these healthy fats are filling and provide an excellent source of omega-3s and omega-6s. Monounsaturated fats are found in cooking oils, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, cashews, olives, avocados and dark chocolate.
Eggs are a great source of protein which will help and lean muscle.
Oatmeal is rich in fiber which keeps a person full for several hours after consumption. It is important to eat the right kind of oatmeal though. The sugary type can actually increase hunger. Look for unsweetened versions and add fruit or a little peanut butter for flavor.
Beans are low in calories and are packed with vitamins and nutrients. They also contain fiber and protein which burns body fat. Beans are also versatile and can be added to several dishes.
Losing belly fat is achievable. Doing cardiovascular activities, abdominal exercises and strength training will tone the abdominal muscles. In addition, eating foods that are associated with weight loss will shrink the waist.
Exercises to Get a Flat Stomach
Cardiovascular exercise burns calories and incinerates fat on the body. Belly fat usually disappears first when a person loses weight. In addition, muscles under the fat become visible. Starting a walking or running program is an excellent way to burn belly fat and lose weight.
Abdominal exercises such as crunches and sit ups help get a flat stomach. Pilates and yoga poses can also firm up the tummy. Abdominal exercises should be done three times a week in addition to cardiovascular exercises. Do not do these exercises daily since the abdominal muscles can get overworked.
Strength training adds muscle tone to the body. Muscles boosts metabolism which will burn body fat even while resting. A strength training routine should be followed at least two days a week. Beginners can use body weight, dumb bells or resistance bands to work out arms. Squats and lunges are exercises that work out legs, thighs and butt.
Foods That Burn Belly Fat
There are foods that can actually burn belly fat. These foods contain monounsaturated fats, vitamin B12, calcium, fiber and protein which are natural fat burners.
Consuming foods containing monounsaturated fats burn belly fat. Also known as MUFAs these healthy fats are filling and provide an excellent source of omega-3s and omega-6s. Monounsaturated fats are found in cooking oils, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, cashews, olives, avocados and dark chocolate.
Eggs are a great source of protein which will help and lean muscle.
Oatmeal is rich in fiber which keeps a person full for several hours after consumption. It is important to eat the right kind of oatmeal though. The sugary type can actually increase hunger. Look for unsweetened versions and add fruit or a little peanut butter for flavor.
Beans are low in calories and are packed with vitamins and nutrients. They also contain fiber and protein which burns body fat. Beans are also versatile and can be added to several dishes.
Losing belly fat is achievable. Doing cardiovascular activities, abdominal exercises and strength training will tone the abdominal muscles. In addition, eating foods that are associated with weight loss will shrink the waist.
Friday, April 23, 2010
the T-shirt workout
Monday:
Incline 4x10
DB bench 4x8
Db incline 3x10
Crossover 3x15
DB military 4x10
upright 4x8
Lateral raise 3x12
Bentover lateral raise 3x15
lying tri ext 4x10
close grip bench 4x10
dips 4x8
pressdown 3x12
3 miles
Tuesday
bentover row 4x10
latpull 4x8
seated row 3x12
straight arm pulldown 3x15
bb curl 4x10
seated db curl 4x8
preacher curl 3x12
rollout 2x25
5miles
Wednesday off
Thursday
squat 4x10
leg press 4x8
hack squat
leg ext 3x15
deadlift 4x10
leg curl 4x8
seated leg curl 3x12
side plank db reach 2x25
db negative situp 2x25
db crawl 2x20
4 miles
Friday
bb shrug 4x12
db shrug 4x15
reverese curl 4x12
wrist roller 4x failure
cybex calf 4x12
seated calf 4x15
swissball russian twist 2x10
5 miles
saturday
2 miles
Sunday off
Incline 4x10
DB bench 4x8
Db incline 3x10
Crossover 3x15
DB military 4x10
upright 4x8
Lateral raise 3x12
Bentover lateral raise 3x15
lying tri ext 4x10
close grip bench 4x10
dips 4x8
pressdown 3x12
3 miles
Tuesday
bentover row 4x10
latpull 4x8
seated row 3x12
straight arm pulldown 3x15
bb curl 4x10
seated db curl 4x8
preacher curl 3x12
rollout 2x25
5miles
Wednesday off
Thursday
squat 4x10
leg press 4x8
hack squat
leg ext 3x15
deadlift 4x10
leg curl 4x8
seated leg curl 3x12
side plank db reach 2x25
db negative situp 2x25
db crawl 2x20
4 miles
Friday
bb shrug 4x12
db shrug 4x15
reverese curl 4x12
wrist roller 4x failure
cybex calf 4x12
seated calf 4x15
swissball russian twist 2x10
5 miles
saturday
2 miles
Sunday off
30 minute sessions?
Is Fat Burning Exercise Possible In Just 30 minutes?
One of the biggest issues a lot of people experience today is how to lose fat fast. And which are the best exercises to burn fat.
Life is super fast paced for most people these days.
Ever forgotten your cell/mobile phone?
You know how lost you’ve felt by not being able to contact people immediately? Yet only 20 years ago nobody but the ‘Gordon Geeko’ crowd had them.
So without a doubt society has changed. It’s been known for years that we have been changing out lifestyle habits and progressively getting more and sedentary and less active. We now have the ability to fast forward through commercials on TV…the world has changed and so has our demand for everything ‘now’.
Unfortunately I haven’t invented a pill yet that can give you all the results you want, let alone instant results (either way I’d probably be the richest person on earth if I did come up with it…hmm!).
The old school way that most people adopt is to try running to lose weight. Unfortunately in the super fast paced world I just outlined, that’s not the most effective way of burn fat off.
So, what is the best fat burning exercise?
Well you have to challenge yourself. Staying within easy limits will lead to small improvements initially but you’ll soon stop changing….that’s the problem with say running to lose weight, especially if time is short and you can’t increase the time you workout for, first up it works but soon your body becomes more efficient and burns less fat….
So with society moving quickly, and with most people lacking the time for 90 minute sessions every day. What is the answer?
Well it’s not the traditional fat loss method of running as mentioned above, but instead using the latest research from the past few decades and designing programs that utilize these scientific principles.
The science has taught us that you can get incredible results in very time efficient bouts of exercise as long as they are structured correctly. We’ve come to understand that if fat burning exercises and the fat burning processes can be manipulated in the right way, they can bring about amazing success very quickly.
Now let me just restate that. I ‘m not saying that someone who can only do a limited amount of exercise could get as fast results as someone who can dedicate 90 minutes a day to exercise, but the relative gains from the extra time don’t warrant it if you are time poor.
Recent studies have reported that just 20 minute sessions enabled the participants to burn fat off at 9X faster speeds when compared to people who had done 45 minutes (steady, no change of pace).
By using these types of methods you can get almost as fast results in just 30 minutes a day as you can in one and a half hours a day. The important thing is having a plan and consistently implementing that plan to burn fat off.
The plan needs to include a system that will challenge you, even if you do start really easily. The best exercises to burn fat are those which require a lot of muscle to be used.
With the correct program that is progressive and coupled with a health dietary plan, fat loss can definitely be achieved in as little as 30 minute sessions.
One of the biggest issues a lot of people experience today is how to lose fat fast. And which are the best exercises to burn fat.
Life is super fast paced for most people these days.
Ever forgotten your cell/mobile phone?
You know how lost you’ve felt by not being able to contact people immediately? Yet only 20 years ago nobody but the ‘Gordon Geeko’ crowd had them.
So without a doubt society has changed. It’s been known for years that we have been changing out lifestyle habits and progressively getting more and sedentary and less active. We now have the ability to fast forward through commercials on TV…the world has changed and so has our demand for everything ‘now’.
Unfortunately I haven’t invented a pill yet that can give you all the results you want, let alone instant results (either way I’d probably be the richest person on earth if I did come up with it…hmm!).
The old school way that most people adopt is to try running to lose weight. Unfortunately in the super fast paced world I just outlined, that’s not the most effective way of burn fat off.
So, what is the best fat burning exercise?
Well you have to challenge yourself. Staying within easy limits will lead to small improvements initially but you’ll soon stop changing….that’s the problem with say running to lose weight, especially if time is short and you can’t increase the time you workout for, first up it works but soon your body becomes more efficient and burns less fat….
So with society moving quickly, and with most people lacking the time for 90 minute sessions every day. What is the answer?
Well it’s not the traditional fat loss method of running as mentioned above, but instead using the latest research from the past few decades and designing programs that utilize these scientific principles.
The science has taught us that you can get incredible results in very time efficient bouts of exercise as long as they are structured correctly. We’ve come to understand that if fat burning exercises and the fat burning processes can be manipulated in the right way, they can bring about amazing success very quickly.
Now let me just restate that. I ‘m not saying that someone who can only do a limited amount of exercise could get as fast results as someone who can dedicate 90 minutes a day to exercise, but the relative gains from the extra time don’t warrant it if you are time poor.
Recent studies have reported that just 20 minute sessions enabled the participants to burn fat off at 9X faster speeds when compared to people who had done 45 minutes (steady, no change of pace).
By using these types of methods you can get almost as fast results in just 30 minutes a day as you can in one and a half hours a day. The important thing is having a plan and consistently implementing that plan to burn fat off.
The plan needs to include a system that will challenge you, even if you do start really easily. The best exercises to burn fat are those which require a lot of muscle to be used.
With the correct program that is progressive and coupled with a health dietary plan, fat loss can definitely be achieved in as little as 30 minute sessions.
Being in the position I'm in as a nutrition and fitness professional, almost everywhere I go I get questions about nutrition, and most of the time, people want to hear ACTUAL examples of what I eat on a daily basis to stay super lean.
So instead of talking about more theory, here's an example of exactly what I ate yesterday (keep in mind this is not a prescription, because everyone has different food intolerances and allergies, but it's just my personal example of how I keep it healthy).
As you look at my typical daily meals, take notice that I do eat some carbs, but I don't eat any breads or pasta at all (except maybe on cheat days). Essentially, I get almost all of my carbs from fruits, and lots of veggies.
Morning Snack - 6am: Isopure whey shake
Breakfast today - 9am:
3 whole eggs scrambled with TONS of veggies (onions, mushrooms, peppers, diced squash, and chopped spinach)
1 large chicken sausage (organic free range chicken with NO nitrates, nitrites, or preservatives... only chicken and spices)
Half of a red grapefruit
Lunch - noon:
1 cup yogurt mixed with 1/2 cup cottage cheese (both from grass-fed cows) combined with pecans, almonds, frozen strawberries, and frozen blueberries. A little bit of stevia and cinnamon for sweetness and extra flavor.
Mid afternoon snack - 3pm:
1 large organic apple sliced up with almond butter on each slice.
Super high intensity weight training workout from 5-6pm
Post workout shake/meal - 6:15pm:
my typical blender mix of milk, a chopped up frozen banana, and 2 heaping tablespoons of organic cocoa powder. Plus I throw a scoop of whey protein into the blender too
Dinner - 8pm:
My "Italian blend" recipe -- This is basically a spaghetti and meatsauce meal but without the spaghetti, and tons of veggies instead.
I used grass-fed bison sausages (again, no nitrates, nitrites, or preservatives of any kind...just grass-fed bison and spices) --
...and then I use a huge cooking dish on the stove to mix in any and every type of vegetable I can find in my fridge (zucchini, onions, garlic, shrooms, snow peas, peppers, asparagus...and whatever else I have laying around).
I mix the grass-fed bison sausage and sauteed veggies with a tomato sauce and some extra virgin olive oil.
Top the whole thing with some fresh grated parmesan cheese and you've got a super-nutritious dinner with high nutrient density and no pasta (which would just pack on the lbs).
I also had a delicious side-salad of arugula, diced yellow peppers, and half of a small avocado.
Late night snack - :
A handful of pistachio nuts
So that is just 1 example of how a typical day might look for me. I mix it up and eat a variety of other things as well, but these are some pretty frequent meals that I use to stay super lean, but maintain muscle.
So instead of talking about more theory, here's an example of exactly what I ate yesterday (keep in mind this is not a prescription, because everyone has different food intolerances and allergies, but it's just my personal example of how I keep it healthy).
As you look at my typical daily meals, take notice that I do eat some carbs, but I don't eat any breads or pasta at all (except maybe on cheat days). Essentially, I get almost all of my carbs from fruits, and lots of veggies.
Morning Snack - 6am: Isopure whey shake
Breakfast today - 9am:
3 whole eggs scrambled with TONS of veggies (onions, mushrooms, peppers, diced squash, and chopped spinach)
1 large chicken sausage (organic free range chicken with NO nitrates, nitrites, or preservatives... only chicken and spices)
Half of a red grapefruit
Lunch - noon:
1 cup yogurt mixed with 1/2 cup cottage cheese (both from grass-fed cows) combined with pecans, almonds, frozen strawberries, and frozen blueberries. A little bit of stevia and cinnamon for sweetness and extra flavor.
Mid afternoon snack - 3pm:
1 large organic apple sliced up with almond butter on each slice.
Super high intensity weight training workout from 5-6pm
Post workout shake/meal - 6:15pm:
my typical blender mix of milk, a chopped up frozen banana, and 2 heaping tablespoons of organic cocoa powder. Plus I throw a scoop of whey protein into the blender too
Dinner - 8pm:
My "Italian blend" recipe -- This is basically a spaghetti and meatsauce meal but without the spaghetti, and tons of veggies instead.
I used grass-fed bison sausages (again, no nitrates, nitrites, or preservatives of any kind...just grass-fed bison and spices) --
...and then I use a huge cooking dish on the stove to mix in any and every type of vegetable I can find in my fridge (zucchini, onions, garlic, shrooms, snow peas, peppers, asparagus...and whatever else I have laying around).
I mix the grass-fed bison sausage and sauteed veggies with a tomato sauce and some extra virgin olive oil.
Top the whole thing with some fresh grated parmesan cheese and you've got a super-nutritious dinner with high nutrient density and no pasta (which would just pack on the lbs).
I also had a delicious side-salad of arugula, diced yellow peppers, and half of a small avocado.
Late night snack - :
A handful of pistachio nuts
So that is just 1 example of how a typical day might look for me. I mix it up and eat a variety of other things as well, but these are some pretty frequent meals that I use to stay super lean, but maintain muscle.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Let's do this!
Today is THE DAY, to change your life.
Your exercise challenge for today is below do each exercise for 1 min. repeat 5 times:
=> Jumping Jacks
=> Squats
=> Regular Pushups
=> Lunge
=> Plank
Depending on your current exercise ability, adjust the pushup so it works for you
Nutrition Tip => Small and often
We often eat huge meals when we do eat, and in between, we eat nothing.
You need to change this and eat several small meals throughout the day, since that will keep your metabolism high and your body will get enough fuel equally divided throughout the course of the whole day.
When your body doesn't receive nutrition for a long of period, it gets into "starvation mode", which means your body will start to store body fat, and that's the opposite of what we actually want to do, right?
Try to eat every 2-3 hours (MAX 4 hours in between) to make sure you keep your metabolism high and you stay in focus throughout the whole day!
Alright, that's it for today!
You are officially out of excuses, get to work! Today's workout is only 25 minutes long, and you do have that time, don't you?
I'll talk to you tomorrow!
Get to work
Your exercise challenge for today is below do each exercise for 1 min. repeat 5 times:
=> Jumping Jacks
=> Squats
=> Regular Pushups
=> Lunge
=> Plank
Depending on your current exercise ability, adjust the pushup so it works for you
Nutrition Tip => Small and often
We often eat huge meals when we do eat, and in between, we eat nothing.
You need to change this and eat several small meals throughout the day, since that will keep your metabolism high and your body will get enough fuel equally divided throughout the course of the whole day.
When your body doesn't receive nutrition for a long of period, it gets into "starvation mode", which means your body will start to store body fat, and that's the opposite of what we actually want to do, right?
Try to eat every 2-3 hours (MAX 4 hours in between) to make sure you keep your metabolism high and you stay in focus throughout the whole day!
Alright, that's it for today!
You are officially out of excuses, get to work! Today's workout is only 25 minutes long, and you do have that time, don't you?
I'll talk to you tomorrow!
Get to work
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Exercise, Lactic Acid And The Importance Of Breathing For Fast Weight Loss
The best plan for weight loss is one that focuses on your overall goal. You can lose excess pounds with a combination approach; that is one that successfully combines a healthy diet and by adding a regular exercise program to the mix you will achieve much more than simple weight loss.
It turns a diet into a lifestyle with food choices to reduce weight, a routine to tone and firm muscle allows you to increase your overall health and get some extra muscle tone, fat and overall weight loss.
It is not unusual for breathing to become labored during periods of intense exercise. It’s a common part of cardio exercise and we expect to be breathing heavily or even gasping for breath at the end of our morning run.
Our lungs are automated wonders, expelling a used breath and expanding to inhale as needed. Respiratory muscles in the chest also expand and contract to adjust to the changing size of our expanding and contracting lungs and these same muscle groups also control posture.
Breathing is a two part process. Respiration brings oxygen into the lungs while circulation disperses the oxygen throughout the body to where it is needed. Circulation of the oxygen is possible due to the respiratory muscles such as the diaphragm, the abdominals, and the intercostal muscles. The oxygen we inhale doesn’t provide energy but unlocks energy stores in food we’ve eaten. It basically helps fuel the process by which units of biological energy (ATP) are released from caloric stores (carbs, proteins, lipids)
Alveoli in the lungs allow oxygen to be taken up by the body and only oxygen which reaches the alveoli is utilized when we breathe. Only oxygen that reaches the alveoli can be utilized by our body. This is demonstrated by the physical response of someone who is taking very shallow, rapid breaths during a panic attack. The person may black out from lack of oxygen. The person is feeling the lack of oxygen but the lack is caused by shallow breathing where oxygen is not reaching the alveoli of the lungs.
This is why adequate respiration and ventilation - deep breathing is very important. Your lungs a have a certain amount of volume – called “dead space” that is not involved in gas transfer. Instead these areas are primarily conduits; larger pipes that transport gasses to the alveoli. Because a small part of each breath is used to move gas through these conduits(bronchi) rapid shallow breathing will decrease the volume of gas brought to the alveoli. Fortunately Oxygen transport is a relatively quick process. It is CO2 transport from the blood (carried as lactic acid) that takes longer and is thus – more sensitive to decreased ventilation and gas exchange duration. Even without lactic acid build up, simply hypoventilating will lead to a build up of CO2 and actually have the same effect of increasing lactic acids in your body from sustained muscle work!! (cardio, weight etc)
Yes breathing, and more importantly – how we breathe is very important. The concentration of oxygen in your body is a balance of the supply of oxygen to the alveoli for circulation and the amount of oxygen your body is demanding. When you are at rest, the balance is easily maintained but when you exercise your body demands more oxygen which requires more breaths per minute to supply sufficient levels of oxygen to the lungs. During exercise, deeper breaths turn into faster breaths and eventually the exertion will leave you gasping for oxygen as your body expends more oxygen than it is able to take in.
Lactic acid is an alpha hydroxyl acid (AHA) produced in our bodies and is also referred to as milk acid. If you feel the burn during an exercise, you can thank lactic acid for that.
Exercise causes sugar to be broken down producing energy for the muscles. This breakdown of sugar yields carbon dioxide and water in the end if you are getting all the oxygen you need.
Strenuous exercise may cause a deficit in oxygen and result in lactic acid being produced and accumulating in your muscles. Through a complex chemical process, lactic acid builds up in muscles during vigorous exercise. Muscles may contract more efficiently when lactic acid is present and this is why athletes like to feel the burn during exercise. To them, it signifies their muscle is being worked to capacity.
When lactic acid buildup makes your muscle begin to hurt, you breathe faster and usually slow down to allow your body to catch up with the oxygen it craves. As the depleted oxygen is restored (returning to normal breathing), the lactic acid converts to carbon dioxide and water that are expelled as you breathe.
It is lactic acid buildup during intense exercise that provides need for allowing muscle groups to rest and recover on alternate days. Your muscles may be sore the day after you exercise and this is due to lactic acid buildup. Resting for a day or two allows the lactic acid to dissipate and the muscle to recover.
It turns a diet into a lifestyle with food choices to reduce weight, a routine to tone and firm muscle allows you to increase your overall health and get some extra muscle tone, fat and overall weight loss.
It is not unusual for breathing to become labored during periods of intense exercise. It’s a common part of cardio exercise and we expect to be breathing heavily or even gasping for breath at the end of our morning run.
Our lungs are automated wonders, expelling a used breath and expanding to inhale as needed. Respiratory muscles in the chest also expand and contract to adjust to the changing size of our expanding and contracting lungs and these same muscle groups also control posture.
Breathing is a two part process. Respiration brings oxygen into the lungs while circulation disperses the oxygen throughout the body to where it is needed. Circulation of the oxygen is possible due to the respiratory muscles such as the diaphragm, the abdominals, and the intercostal muscles. The oxygen we inhale doesn’t provide energy but unlocks energy stores in food we’ve eaten. It basically helps fuel the process by which units of biological energy (ATP) are released from caloric stores (carbs, proteins, lipids)
Alveoli in the lungs allow oxygen to be taken up by the body and only oxygen which reaches the alveoli is utilized when we breathe. Only oxygen that reaches the alveoli can be utilized by our body. This is demonstrated by the physical response of someone who is taking very shallow, rapid breaths during a panic attack. The person may black out from lack of oxygen. The person is feeling the lack of oxygen but the lack is caused by shallow breathing where oxygen is not reaching the alveoli of the lungs.
This is why adequate respiration and ventilation - deep breathing is very important. Your lungs a have a certain amount of volume – called “dead space” that is not involved in gas transfer. Instead these areas are primarily conduits; larger pipes that transport gasses to the alveoli. Because a small part of each breath is used to move gas through these conduits(bronchi) rapid shallow breathing will decrease the volume of gas brought to the alveoli. Fortunately Oxygen transport is a relatively quick process. It is CO2 transport from the blood (carried as lactic acid) that takes longer and is thus – more sensitive to decreased ventilation and gas exchange duration. Even without lactic acid build up, simply hypoventilating will lead to a build up of CO2 and actually have the same effect of increasing lactic acids in your body from sustained muscle work!! (cardio, weight etc)
Yes breathing, and more importantly – how we breathe is very important. The concentration of oxygen in your body is a balance of the supply of oxygen to the alveoli for circulation and the amount of oxygen your body is demanding. When you are at rest, the balance is easily maintained but when you exercise your body demands more oxygen which requires more breaths per minute to supply sufficient levels of oxygen to the lungs. During exercise, deeper breaths turn into faster breaths and eventually the exertion will leave you gasping for oxygen as your body expends more oxygen than it is able to take in.
Lactic acid is an alpha hydroxyl acid (AHA) produced in our bodies and is also referred to as milk acid. If you feel the burn during an exercise, you can thank lactic acid for that.
Exercise causes sugar to be broken down producing energy for the muscles. This breakdown of sugar yields carbon dioxide and water in the end if you are getting all the oxygen you need.
Strenuous exercise may cause a deficit in oxygen and result in lactic acid being produced and accumulating in your muscles. Through a complex chemical process, lactic acid builds up in muscles during vigorous exercise. Muscles may contract more efficiently when lactic acid is present and this is why athletes like to feel the burn during exercise. To them, it signifies their muscle is being worked to capacity.
When lactic acid buildup makes your muscle begin to hurt, you breathe faster and usually slow down to allow your body to catch up with the oxygen it craves. As the depleted oxygen is restored (returning to normal breathing), the lactic acid converts to carbon dioxide and water that are expelled as you breathe.
It is lactic acid buildup during intense exercise that provides need for allowing muscle groups to rest and recover on alternate days. Your muscles may be sore the day after you exercise and this is due to lactic acid buildup. Resting for a day or two allows the lactic acid to dissipate and the muscle to recover.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
3 step formula
Hey everybody,
I hope you’re having a great day so far, b/c I’m about to make it better!
Follow this 3 Step Formula For Ripped Abs and you’ll be stoked:
Step 1: Start eating 6 meals per day.
Eating frequent, small meals is by far the way to go. Restricting calories is a thing of the past. It’s time that you start finding food you enjoy eating, combine them with other sources of nutrients to have a balanced ratio of carbs:proteins:fats with each meal, and satisfy yourself. Otherwise, you’ll continue to crave, eat out of appetite, rather than hunger, and gain weight in the long run.
By eating balanced meals frequently:
Your metabolism will remain high throughout the day
You will have more energy
You will get less sore from your workouts
You will stop eating as much junk (you just won’t have room for it b/c you’ll be stuffed!)
Step 2: Begin and end each day with exercise.
This is like starting the engine in your car 5 minutes before driving. It’s better for your engine, and it’s better for you. While we sleep, our metabolisms slow down and allow us to rest more peacefully without food or water. That said, why not begin each day revving up our engines and going 0-60mph, so to speak?!
By beginning and ending each day with exercise, you will:
Improve your sleep habits (takes a little adjusting to get used to exercising at night)
Be “on” the moment you get to work (because your brain actually is receiving blood)
Ramp up your metabolism for the rest of the day, allowing you to better process your breakfast.
Step 3: Exercise intensely for 30-45 minutes per day, at least 5 days per week.
A lot of people think that you have to spend hours in the gym every day in order to reap crazy results… guess what? They are dead wrong. I’ve proven this time and time again. In fact, that’s why I created Burn More FAT! – to make things simpler, faster…. all around better. Sure, it makes sense to exercise for longer for other reasons…heart health, blood pressure, stress relief, etc.
That said, here’s what will happen if you perform 30-45 minutes of intense exercise every day:
Your abs will ‘Pop Out’ and people will wonder how the heck you’ve done this
Your energy level will go through the roof (but you’ll be drained for about 3 weeks while you get used to this exercise intensity)
Your body will thank you. Plain and simple, people that are looking for crazy results often overtrain. This way, you won’t have to worry about that.
Your metabolism will shoot up, so look out! (you’re going to have to go grocery shopping as a result)
Remember, by following this 3 Step Formula For Ripped Abs,
YOU WILL SEE RESULTS!
The question is:
Are you afraid of success?
Getting lean tone abs has never been so easy – come visit me or my staff for a complimentary personal training session and I’ll show you!
To Your Success,
Brandon R. Musick
Regional Fitness Director
I hope you’re having a great day so far, b/c I’m about to make it better!
Follow this 3 Step Formula For Ripped Abs and you’ll be stoked:
Step 1: Start eating 6 meals per day.
Eating frequent, small meals is by far the way to go. Restricting calories is a thing of the past. It’s time that you start finding food you enjoy eating, combine them with other sources of nutrients to have a balanced ratio of carbs:proteins:fats with each meal, and satisfy yourself. Otherwise, you’ll continue to crave, eat out of appetite, rather than hunger, and gain weight in the long run.
By eating balanced meals frequently:
Your metabolism will remain high throughout the day
You will have more energy
You will get less sore from your workouts
You will stop eating as much junk (you just won’t have room for it b/c you’ll be stuffed!)
Step 2: Begin and end each day with exercise.
This is like starting the engine in your car 5 minutes before driving. It’s better for your engine, and it’s better for you. While we sleep, our metabolisms slow down and allow us to rest more peacefully without food or water. That said, why not begin each day revving up our engines and going 0-60mph, so to speak?!
By beginning and ending each day with exercise, you will:
Improve your sleep habits (takes a little adjusting to get used to exercising at night)
Be “on” the moment you get to work (because your brain actually is receiving blood)
Ramp up your metabolism for the rest of the day, allowing you to better process your breakfast.
Step 3: Exercise intensely for 30-45 minutes per day, at least 5 days per week.
A lot of people think that you have to spend hours in the gym every day in order to reap crazy results… guess what? They are dead wrong. I’ve proven this time and time again. In fact, that’s why I created Burn More FAT! – to make things simpler, faster…. all around better. Sure, it makes sense to exercise for longer for other reasons…heart health, blood pressure, stress relief, etc.
That said, here’s what will happen if you perform 30-45 minutes of intense exercise every day:
Your abs will ‘Pop Out’ and people will wonder how the heck you’ve done this
Your energy level will go through the roof (but you’ll be drained for about 3 weeks while you get used to this exercise intensity)
Your body will thank you. Plain and simple, people that are looking for crazy results often overtrain. This way, you won’t have to worry about that.
Your metabolism will shoot up, so look out! (you’re going to have to go grocery shopping as a result)
Remember, by following this 3 Step Formula For Ripped Abs,
YOU WILL SEE RESULTS!
The question is:
Are you afraid of success?
Getting lean tone abs has never been so easy – come visit me or my staff for a complimentary personal training session and I’ll show you!
To Your Success,
Brandon R. Musick
Regional Fitness Director
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