Workout Program – SuperPumped

It takes a lot to get me super excited about a supplement, so many of them fall short of all they promise, but every once in a while I come across something that really stands out against the rest. In this article we look at why Gaspari Nutrition hit the gold mine with one of the top selling supplements in the entire industry.

The name of this supplement? Superpump250. The claim? Promotes skin tearing muscle pumps, roadmap vascularity and explosive workouts! So does it do as it says, or is this all marketing hype?

The truth is not quite, but nevertheless it does do one thing that is quite impressive – it does promote explosive workouts and a great pump during and after your workout. Well some may think that this is just like any other Nitric Oxide energy drink, but there is one significant difference…

Nitrix Oxide works by expanding or dilating our blood vessels and allows our muscles to get nourished better while at the same time allowing the byproducts of exercise to be removed. SuperPump 250 doesn’t just rely on Nitrix Oxide though, it has an extensive blend of other effective elements including Creatine Monohydrate (for more info on Creatine read my article on Benefits of Creatine Supplementation), Vitamin B’s, Ginseng, Ginko Bilboa, Taurine and a host of essential amino acids.

How Does SuperPump 250 Taste?

Gaspari Nutriton has made a number of different flavours including: Refreshing Orange, Blue Raspberry Ice, Lemon Burst, Tropical Punch, Raspberry Lemonade and Grape Cooler. Personally I find the Grape Cooler tastes freaking amazing, reminds me of the grape freezies I’d get as a kid, so make it better and add some ice to it and give it a good blend.

When Should You Use SuperPump 250?

The great thing about SuperPump 250 is that it works pretty quickly, generally within 30 minutes so take it right before your workout. I would also recommend that you have at least a banana or a protein shaker 30 minutes before that. This will give your body the ability to take that energy and boost it with this supplement during your workout.

Is SuperPump 250 Just For Bodybuilders?

Absolutely not! Sure it says that it will give skin tearing pumps and crazy vascularity but those effects only last for about an hour and like I mentioned before it helps you by dilating your blood vessels and nourishing them while taking away toxins. Ok, but are there any concerns?

I would only express caution to those who are super sensitive to stimulants like caffeine as SuperPump 250 does contain caffeine and taurine. You may also want to check with your doctor if you have high blood pressure, or any other health problems which in that case I would generally advise to focus on a healthy diet first.

Benefits of Superpumping Your Workouts

The benefits are pretty substantial as having more intense workouts means you will obtain results much more quickly and those results will be elevated. You may also find that you have more mental focus when you are working out and that will allow you to keep proper alignment of your back and push through your workouts.

The end result means more lean muscle mass, and a higher muscle to fat ratio.

Get the Best Price on SuperPump 250

 
I’ve checked many different stores and websites and without a doubt the best price discounted on SuperPump 250 is from one of the most respected online stores – Bodybuilding.com (click here for the discount)

 

 

Conclusion Workout Program SuperPumped!

Supplemented aren’t for everyone, we all have our own different opinions. If you already have made sure your diet is full of healthy foods and you have a workout program that is planned specifically for your objectives then SuperPump will be icing on the cake. Just remember there is no easy way out though, you have to train hard to get real results, that’s just the real truth!

Have you tried SuperPump 250? Please leave your feedback on this supplement below…

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5 Foods That Speed Metabolism

If we can get help from foods that can increase our metabolism and burn fat then why don’t we do our grocery shopping that way? Time and time again I see the most people spending the most time in the wrong aisles of grocery stores.

Is it because those foods are cheaper or is it simply because they don’t know what information to take away from all the messages we are constantly being bombarded with about our health all the time. How about this? Resist the chips and pop aisle and instead think about this list of 5 foods that will get you to your goals…you know those goals that you envision in your head for this summer…

Foods That Speed Metabolism: #1: Acai Berries

The acai berry is small round purple berry found from the palm trees of the Brazilian Amazon which has ten times the antioxidants of grapes and twice that of blueberries.

The keyword here is antioxidant.

This is important to us because when we’re stressed out, fighting a cold, or just trying to recover from an exhausting day our body goes through an elevated level of oxidative stress where we produce damaging free radicals. Free radicals are very damaging to our cells and have been linked to a number of diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and chronic fatigue syndrome.

When we ingest foods that are higher in antioxidants then we help our body fight these free radicals. So when we have acai berries or most commonly found as Acai juice then we also help the cellular mechanisms in our body to work most efficiently and this includes our metabolism and break down of foods.

Foods That Speed Metabolism: #2: Whey Protein

Pretty much any fitness athlete knows that whey protein is an essential and important part of their daily diet. Whey protein powder is one of the highest quality forms of protein you can find in the market and is a great source of essential amino acids. But why are amino acids important?

Amino acids are the building blocks of our muscles and tissues and in any given day when we are exercising or just running around we are breaking down these tissues. So supplementing with whey protein is key to rebuilding and recovery which also means higher muscle to fat ratio in our bodies. This directly equates to a faster metabolism and a leaner meaner body.

Foods That Speed Metabolism: #3: Salmon

Lean meats like fish are very critical diet component to anyone wanting to speed up their metabolism. Salmon in particular is low in saturated fat, high in protein and provides health promoting Omega 3 fatty acids.

Omega 3’s are essential fatty acids that we must obtain from our diet and great for keeping our heart healthy, and have been shown to help control our cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Omega 3’s also help with enzyme reactions that boost our metabolism so currently much research is being done on how these fatty acids can help with obesity.

Foods That Speed Metabolism: #4: Turkey

Another great source for high quality natural protein is Turkey. Of course, we want to aim for skinless and as fresh as possible to get the most nutrients but Turkey is also a great source for Vitamin B’s.

The B Vitamin family is known for helping us with healthy immune and metabolic function as well as combating symptoms of stress and depression. I’ve found this to be especially true with my energy levels and take a B Complex Vitamin once or twice daily.

Foods That Speed Metabolism: #5: Green Tea

The Green Tea phenomenon has gained mass appeal not only in North America but across the world. It contains high quality antioxidants as well as polyphenols which have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Green tea also has a natural form of caffeine which spikes your metabolism for a few hours after drinking it so why not add a cup or two in the morning when you are working.

Conclusion: Foods That Speed Metabolism

Ok so after reading this list you should know what to buy next time you’re getting groceries…make that list now: Acai Berries (blueberries are also good), Whey Protein powder, Salmon, Turkey, Green Tea, and of course you can make it easier on yourself and buy some of the recommended products I have made online right now so you don’t forget. You should see a boost in your metabolism and that belly fat start to melt off after several weeks of trying these 5 foods.

Please leave a comment below if you have any questions, or have tried incorporating this list and are starting to see some great results…

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Thermogenic Weight Loss Supplements – Effective?

What is usually a bright color, comes in a capsule, and is supposed to light your metabolism on fire? Yes, you guessed it! It’s the thermogenic metabolism booster.

If you have ever considered doing on a diet, there is a high probability that you have crossed paths with one of these so called “magic pills”.

Apparently, if you take a few of these pills per day, your metabolism is supposed to be drastically increased, and your body will start to incinerate the remaining body fat you have left. But, do they actually work? Or are they just a big marketing scam from large nutrition companies…

The answer is “It depends”…

Here’s why…

To achieve maximum weight loss, you have to be on a strict diet. It doesn’t matter how many pills you take, if you are eating more calories than you expend, you will gain weight. So, to loose weight, you have to eat less. It’s that simple.

But, when you have a solid diet in place and are following it, the addition of a thermogenic supplement can actually help you lose more fat.

A thermogenic supplement works by stimulating your metabolism, causing it to speed up and burn more calories. Most of the supplements on the market today are caffeine based, so it is similar to having multiple cups of coffee per day. This large dose of caffeine stimulates your body, your metabolism starts increasing, therefore you are burning more calories, and the fat starts to come off.

If you are not losing any weight at all, get your diet in check! But, if you are steadily losing fat and want it to come off a bit faster, consider adding a thermogenic supplement to your diet!

Have you tried a thermogenic weight loss supplement and found it to be effective? Please leave a comment below…

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Low Carb Diet – What is the purpose of a carb refeed?

If you have ever been on a low carb diet, you have probably heard of the term “carb refeed” or “carb up”. You may not know what these are, but they are essential to the success of a carb restrictive diet.

A low carb diet works by depleting the carb stores in your muscles.

In simple terms, if your body needs energy, and there is no muscle glycogen (energy solution in your muscles that carbs produce), it is likely to go find some body fat stores and eat that instead, leading to weight loss.

But, being on a low carb diet for a long period of time has a negative effect on your hormones, and specifically your thyroid function.

When your body doesn’t have adequate amounts of carbs to run on, leptin production, an important compound closely related to metabolic rate, begins to drop, and all sorts of bad things start to happen.

You start to get lethargic, and eventually, your metabolism will start to decrease.

But, by overloading your body with carbs once per week, you stimulate your thyroid and normalize your leptin and hormone production levels.

It is important to not that it takes a lot longer to fully restore these production levels, but refeeds as short as 5 hours have been shown to have some effect.

By eating almost nothing but carbs, your body quickly replenishes your muscle glycogen, and some of the spill over carbs go to help restoring hormone production.

The science behind the refeed process and it’s benefits are quite complicated, but you don’t really need to know all the details. The important thing to know is that it is important to incorporate a weekly refeed into your diet, especially if you are restricting the amount of carbs you intake!

Do you have a carb refeed scheduled in your Low Carb Diet? Please leave a comment below…

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Is It Really All About Calories In vs. Calories Out?

It has been an ongoing debate in the world of nutrition whether the qualities of calories you ingest has anything to do with your body composition. Some believe that eating clean calories will lead to better weight loss and more lean mass gain, while others think as long as you hit your macronutrient breakdown, you should eat whatever you want.

What is the correct answer? Perhaps no one really knows the real answer.

But, there is one other important thing to consider – how do the calories ingest make you feel and perform in the gym…

Sure, you could probably eat ice cream, chocolate and protein shakes all day, and still hit your required 200g of protein, 400g of carbs and so on, but what is your workout going to look like? Are you going to be hitting new one rep maximums, or are you going to be dragging yourself through your workouts, not really putting in your best effort.

Now, what if you ate sweet potatoes, lean chicken and olive oil instead? How would that make you feel? What would your performance in the gym be like then? Probably a lot better, right?

What I am trying to say here is sure, it may be possible to lose weight and gain muscle eating ice cream, but do you really want to sacrifice your in gym performance for a bunch of junk food? Do you really think you will be able to perform to the best of your ability if you don’t eat clean?

Do yourself a favor and eat clean. Sure, having a cheat meal a few times per week is great, but if the foundation of your diet is not based on healthy food, you are not progressing to your goal as fast as you could be.

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Is Vitamin Water Really Good For You?

Thought it was time to do a little investigative reporting as one of you had asked me if Vitamin Water was a good alternative to sodas. I remember taking a quick look at the ingredient list last year and I was a bit shocked. So in this article we take a close look at Vitamin Water and see whether it is as it claims – a
healthful alternative” to sodas.

Vitamin Water actually has an interesting story, let’s take a quick look at it’s history…

History of Vitamin Water

I had heard that Vitamin Water was new venture of Coca Cola company a few years back but I did a little digging around and found out that it wasn’t started by Coca Cola in the first place. It was actually an idea developed by a guy named J. Darius Birkoff who one day in the mid 90’s was feeling run down so he created a mixed drink of mineral water and Vitamin C. Thinking he was onto something he then created a company named Glaceau Smartwater to sell this product.

Several years later his Smartwater was being sold throughout New York and was gaining major market share as more and more people wanted a healthy alternative to soda pops. Coca Cola being years behind made an aggressive bid and took over the company for a reported $4.1 billion all the while keeping Bikoff as the chief operator of this subsidiary.

Re-branded as Vitamin Water, it is now taking over major market share in Europe, Canada, Australia and Mexico. Now I wasn’t able to find out whether the ingredient listing changed or not after this take-over although I have a strong feeling it after taking a look at the ingredient list…

Nutrition Facts of Vitamin Water

There are several flavors of Vitamin Water and each one claims to have some specific health benefit such as Strenth, Defense, Focus, Balance, Endurance and so on. Highlighted on the packages of these drinks are the vitamins, minerals and other health supplements such as Glucosamine and Guarna, but what if we look at the ingredient list?

First and most importantly the second ingredient after distilled water is Crystalline Fructose. Fructose is just sugar from fruit right? Wrong! Crystalline Fructose is actually processed sweetner that is derived from cornstarch. It is a substitute to high fructose corn syrup (the lethal ingredient in sodas) because it is 5% sweeter and therefore less can be used.

But are there any health concerns of Crystalline Fructose? Doctors are alarmed at the relationship between Crystalline Fructose and fatty liver disease, heart disease and even obesity. Wow! Why can’t corporations like Coca Cola just use plain old table sugar if all these major health concerns surround these sugar substitutes? Well the truth of the matter is that sugar derived from corn products is dirt cheap and can increase their profits when sold in a mass scale.

My honest advice? Stay away from Crystalline Fructose with a 10 foot pole. Why risk your health? But not only that there is another kicker to the ingredient list of Vitamin Water.

The serving size is completely out of whack! They list that there is only 50 calories per serving yet one container is actually closer to 2.5 servings. So if you drink the whole bottle you will be getting 125 calories and more than 32 grams of sugars (carbohydrates). Combine this with a processed sweetner and we’re talking major damage to your health.

Conclusion: Is Vitamin Water Really Good For You?

After taking a close look at the ingredient listing and mallacy in health claims I can see why the Center for Science in Public Interest (CSPI) has filed a class action lawsuit against Coca Cola noting that the marketing of Vitamin Water as a “healthful alternative” is a falsehood and in direct violation of guidelines set out by the FDA.

This goes back to my recommendation that sure water can be boring but we can definitely try replacing it with natural tea which you can get in so many different flavors. One of my favorite brands is Stash tea which has all natural ingredients and the Black Licorice Spice is ridiculously tasty (it even has a sweet aftertaste even though it has no sugar in it!).

Where you as surprised as I was about Vitamin Water being good for you? Think you will switch to tea now, or will you look for another alternative to water? Please leave a comment below…

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6 Pack Abs Myths Demystified

It’s time we take a close look at myths about how to get 6 pack abs and break these ideas by looking a little deeper at the physiology of our core muscles.

Unfortunately, when it comes to 6 pack abs there is a lot of flawed advice out there and if you’re doing crunches to the point where you pass out you may still not get those abs to really pop out.

So let’s break apart from this and expose some interesting facts…

6 Pack Abs Myth #1: Ab Crunches are The Best Exercise for Abs

This is definitely not the case. The way to make muscles stronger and bigger is by forcing them to resist motion or tension. Therefore all that doing crunches over and over again will do is contract the abs in one plane by bending your spine. Repeatedly bending these vertebrae in your back doesn’t force your abs to resist motion.

A better approach may be to think more about stabilizing movements like planks on a stability ball or stability board. Flexing your abs in this position while keeping perfect posture is very effective at burning calories and hitting your abs in a completely different way.

6 Pack Abs Myth #2: Rotational Exercises are Best for Building Obliques

Our oblique muscles surround and accentuate our abs all the while protecting them from damage when we rotate our body too quickly. Rotational exercises like Russian Twist may help build the oblique muscle but researchers are beginning to note that they can also harm your spine by putting too much force on our vertebrae.

A better approach may be to building foundational strength by implementing heavy compound exercises into our workouts. Some of these exercises would include squats and deadlifts as they activate the obliques to maintain proper posture.

We can take this to the next level by adding in unbalanced movements like the single leg deadlift with a dumbbell or single leg lunges. These kind of exercises will force our body to adjust to uneven stress while our spine is in neural position, and this further stabilizes our core and builds our obliques (as long as we make sure to maintain proper form).

6 Pack Abs Myth #3: Higher Reps Are Essential For Abs

Just doing more and more reps will not make your abs grow. The key is to keep adding variation especially with a focus on body-weight or stability exercises which will activate your entire core.

Try adding in a bosu ball or stability board when doing biceps curls and notice how much energy it will take you to keep everything stable…this is the kind of thing you are aiming for and the best part is that it will also excel you in any sport you take part in.

Conclusion on 6 Pack Abs Myths

Regardless of how much ab work you put into your training regimen, remember that a well planned diet and total body workout is essential to your success. Abs don’t start showing magically after you build them! They show when you’ve built all the muscles in your body and reduce the fat in your midsection!

Have any other abs myths you’d like to know the truth about? Please leave a comment below…

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Online Calorie Calculators Accuracy

If you are going to plan out and measure your diet and activities in terms of calories burnt, there is a good chance you have come across a “calories burnt” online calculator.

The premise is simple – you put in your age, your weight and the duration of the activity you will be doing, and it tells you how many calories you have burnt. Sounds like a great tool, but are they really that accurate? Are they accurate enough to use in your calculations?

The calculators are accurate to a certain degree. They are the easiest way to get an estimate of how many calories you have burned, but you must take into account a few things.

1)   Most calculators include your BMR number in the total calories burnt. For example, if you went jogging for 1 hour, it may state that you burnt 800 calories. But, included in that number is your BMR for the hour, which may be up to 200 calories. So, when someone thinks they have burnt an extra 800 calories on top of their BMR, they have actually only burnt 600. This may not seem like a lot, but it adds up over time.

2)   Every person will burn a different amount of calories doing the same activity. Take 2 people, for example. Both weigh 180 pounds and are the same age. One runs 10 miles per day and the other has never run before. If both complete 10 miles, who do you think will burn more calories? It won’t be equal, will it?

The  ”calories burnt” calculators are very useful tools if you keep in mind the above caveats. They are accurate enough for most dieters and give a pretty good estimate of the actual amount of calories burnt!

Have you used an online calorie calculator? What is your opinion on them? Please leave a comment below…

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Muscle Building Tips: The Key

When building muscle many of us experience times where things get a little dull and our results start fading. This is the dreaded plateau and almost everyone in the fitness industry is creating one product or another to shock your system so you can keep getting these results.

But what does the recent research indicate when trying to build muscle? Let’s take a close look at this killer tip…

Muscle Building Tips: Change the Number of Reps

Some recent research in Brazil took a look at varying repetitions for people who alternated upper and lower body training. They also looked at beginners vs advanced bodybuilders to see if they would find any difference. The results were pretty amazing.

For those who varied the number of repetitions they did every time they went to the gym, also saw the fastest and most impressive results in muscle gain.

In other words, they focused on doing just 6 repetitions in one workout, 10 repetitions in another workout and 14 reps as a last variation.

This is capitalizing on the variation principle for muscle building. The more variety we add and continue to shock our musculo-skeletal system, the quicker we see results with muscle gain and fat loss. Changing the weight load also recruits different muscle fibers and allows us to get a fuller more comprehensive strengthening of our muscles.

The surprising results with this variation is that it works for both beginner and experienced lifters alike. I’d also suggest this for anyone needing to shock their system and get a boost.

Muscle Building Tips: Conclusion

Take any workout from the Workouts and Training section of this site and apply this principle. If you’re doing a day of legs this week make sure to stick to just 6 repetitions. The following week do legs with 10 repetitions, and the following week after that do 14 repetitions. Also apply this to any other body part. Mix it up as much as possible and have fun challenging yourself.

Have any questions of have you applied this variation to your training? Please leave your feedback below…

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Stevia Sweetner – Good or Bad?

There has been a lot of negative information being passed around about artificial sweetners and sugar substitutes over the past several years. Today there different sugar substitutes in the market but how do you know which one is not harmful to your health?

Stevia extract sweetner is the topic of this feature where we look to see where it comes from and if it is a healthy alternative to sugars that we can incorporate into our diet today.

What is Stevia Sweetner?

Stevia sweetner is actually an extract from a Stevia plant which is a shrub found in South America and is part of the sunflower family. It has a slight licorice after taste This extract has been removed from these plants and used as a sugar substitute because our bodies cannot digest the carbohydrate, and therefore it has no effects on our insulin levels.

In other words it is a zero calorie natural sweetner, but the question is why was it banned by the FDA and European Union?

Why did the FDA Ban Stevia?

This is pretty interesting, because my research shows that Stevia extract as a sweetner has been used for over 50 years but some early research in the 80’s indicated that it may be toxic to humans. The problem with the research was that it was severely flawed and was even dismissed by the scientific community.

Unfortunately, the results of the study were taken out of context and lead to the ban by the FDA and European Union. Years later and hundreds of scientific double-blind studies later have proven Stevia extract to be safe and non-toxic to mammals even at very high concentrations.

It appears that the other artificial sweetner companies also had a part in placing pressure on the FDA to ban Stevia extract and this is an alarm bell for me once again that the FDA is heavily influenced by commercial companies who have one interest in mind – business and making money from their own products.

Is Stevia still banned by the FDA?

Well, it looks like all the research and consensus from the World Health Organization that Stevia extract is in fact completely safe for human consumption pushed the FDA to remove the ban.

In fact, some countries like Japan have been using Stevia as food additives since the 70’s and some recent research even indicates that Stevia can actually have health benefits for reversing diabetes and helping those with metabolic problems.

Does Stevia Have Side Effects

As with any food product some people may have allergies to Stevia and related plants. It looks like some people have also reported some bloating or nausea, but again that doesn’t seem out of the norm for any food product.

I’d like to see some more extensive long term research on a specific Stevia extract that is not patented by any company, but only time will tell whether that will happen or not.

Conclusion on Stevia

Take this for what you will but I for one am a little surprised as to the positive findings of all this research. It’s also interesting to note that once the FDA approved Stevia, both Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola have started creating their own Stevia derived sugar substitutes and will be using it in a number of low calorie drinks in the near future.

I invite you to do your own un-biased research on Stevia extract and consult with your family doctor to see if it is right for you.

Here are a couple high quality Stevia products if you’d like to try them:

• NOW Organic Stevia Extract
• Optimum Stevia Liquid Extract

Have you been using Stevia extract? What is your opinion on Stevia as a sugar substitute?

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Can You Build Muscle And Lose Fat At The Same Time?

One of the goals that many people just starting to work out try to achieve is to simultaneously build muscle while losing body fat. They think that working out will magically take them from having a flabby body to a body like Brad Pitt’s ala Fight Club or Snatch. But the truth is, it just isn’t that simple.

A basic understanding for the mechanics of how the body works dictates that you must consume an excess of calories to build muscle, but must be at a calorie deficit to lose body fat.

As you can see, these two goals require the exact opposite treatment to achieve them. So obviously, losing body fat and building muscle at the same time is impossible, right?

That’s not quite true.

More people are starting to focus on a carb cycling diet. The basic concept for this diet is that you will go on a 3 day cycle of high carb, normal carb, and low carb consumption. By cycling like this, you are allowing your body to build muscle on the high carb and normal carb day, while losing fat on the no carb day.

So, you are not really building muscle and losing fat at the exact same time, but week after week, the benefits are the same.

If you really want to build muscle and lose fat, but don’t want to do a traditional bulk and cut cycle, you should really look into a carb cycling diet. Not only will it help you achieve your goals, it will not be as restrictive as a cutting diet, and you are more likely to adhere to it.

It may not work as effectively as traditional cutting if you have a high body fat percentage, but it is definitely worth a try!

Have you tried carb cycling to lose fat and build muscle? Please leave a comment below on your results…

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Muscle Recovery Supplements

If you’re a beginner and just started training or if you’re super advanced and have been training for years, muscle recovery is absolutely key to your success. When it comes to supplementation we of course want to try and get all our nutrients from a diet rich in lots of fresh fruit, vegetables and lean meats like fish plus whole grains and beans. However, having a diet that is perfect in this way can be really challenging especially if you are always on the run or trying to keep to a budget.

If you’re finding that your muscles are always sore or you’re not getting the results you think you should be getting then supplementation to our diet can be considered after we take the time to understand what supplements are safe for us and will work with our routine.

Let’s take a quick and brief look at some of the safest and most tested supplements for muscle recovery in the market.

Muscle Recovery Supplement 1: Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA’s)

BCAA’s are 3 essential amino acids that we must get from food because our bodies cannot make them on our own, these are Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine. The reason BCAA’s are so important is because if we do not have sufficient BCAA levels in our system then our body will break down muscle tissue to get the BCAA’s they need.

This is especially vital because intense workouts, cardiovascular exercises and lowered calorie intakes when you’re dieting all deplete BCAA significantly.

Now you can get all the BCAA’s you need from whey protein powders such as the Gold Standard Optimum 100% Whey Protein or you can get it from BCAA supplementation alone.

Some of the top BCAA supplements people have rated highest are:

• Optimum BCAA
• Dymatize BCAA Complex
• SciFit BCAA AKG 1000

Muscle Recovery Supplement 2: Glutamine

Glutamine is a non-essential amino acid that is the most dense in our muscle tissue often accountig for more than half of the amino acids. When we workout our muscles become quickly depleted with glutamine and this slows down muscle recovery and limits our strength levels each time we workout. It is also an essential component of protein and muscle synthesis so research has shown that supplementation is very effective in counter-acting these effects.

Some of the highest rated Gluatmine Supplements are:

• Higher Power Glutamine AKG
• Optimum Glutamine Powder
• MHP Glutamine-SR

Muscle Recovery Supplement 3: Creatine

Creatine which is also made up from 3 different admino acids (Arginine, Glycine and Methionine) within our livers and is an important part of energy production. In fact, creatine supplementation has been shown to improve recovery from weight training and intense exercise.

Creatine most importantly comes into effect when we are exerting maximum force in aerobic exercise or with weight training. The problem is that our muscles only contain enough energy to last 10-15 seconds when we’re exercising at our most intense level creatine aids in supplying more energy to allow you to workout at a higher level for a longer period of time.

Some of the highest rated creatine supplements are:

• Optimum Micronized Creatine Powder
• AST Micronized Creatine
• Fusion Bodybuilding Purple-K

Conclusion Muscle Recovery Supplements

It’s time to take your training to the next level, but before you can do so you also need to make sure you give your body enough rest and the amino acids it needs to recover from intense exercise. Try these muscle recovery supplements and please leave a comment below on how you have found them to help you with your training and your workout goals!

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Lower Back Pain Stretches

A few weeks ago I wrote an article on Lower Back Pain Exercises and this week I thought I’d come full circle and talk about lower back pain stretches we can do to relieve all that tension.

The thing about lower back pain is that it can be alleviated quite easily if we spend a few minutes a day stretching it out. But before we get into that I thought it was important to look at the possible causes of lower back pain…

Lower Back Pain Causes

Let’s first look at the main cause for lower back pain. Most people I know have a job that involves them sitting down for most of the day, but even those who have the top of the line lumbar supporting chairs, lower back pain is still common.

The problem arises by keeping the hamstrings tightened in one position all the while not sitting upright in your chair. What’s happening here is that the muscles in your legs are pulling on your lower back and you’re not giving them a break for hours. Hence, why it’s important to try and get up and walk around at least once every 15 minutes. It’s also a good break for your eyes, so try and be vigilant of these breaks!

As you’re reading this you might actually find yourself noticing how poor your posture is and begin to straighten up your back. This is a good thing and a main reason for writing this article.

Another major reason for lower back pain is in contrast to the former, those who are standing all day or walking around a lot. If you’re one of these people and experiencing lower back pain then it may be a smart plan to take a look at your shoes and maybe even orthotics for your shoes. Having proper arch support and cushioning is very important for proper alignment of the vertebrae in your back.

Nevertheless, regardless of the cause let’s now take a look at lower back pain stretches we can incorporate into our daily routine to help alleviate and/or prevent lower back pain…

Lower Back Pain Stretches

Before beginning any stretching or flexibility training remember it’s better to have your muscles and tendons warmed up with just 5 or 6minutes of quick walking. Warm muscles and tendons means less chance of micro-tears which can make the problems worse.

Stretch 1: Knees to Chest Stretch ( refer to photo here )
Lie on your back, knees bent. Take both knees towards your chest using your hands until you feel a mild pain-free stretch. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat 3 times.

Stretch 2: Rotating Knee to Floor Stretch ( refer to photo here )
Lie flat on your back and use your hand to take your opposite leg across your body. Keep your other arm straight on the ground as shown. Hold for 20 seconds and repeat 3 times at a moderate pain-free stretch. Perform on each side.

Stretch 3: Prone Back Stretch ( refer to photo here )
Start lying on your stomach with your hands in the press up position as shown. Gently straighten your elbows, letting your back fall into an arch. Keep your back relaxed. Straighten your elbows as far as possible pain-free. Repeat 3 times.

Stretch 4: Psoas Stretch ( refer to photo here )
Start in the lunge position, with a leg behind you. Keeping your back straight and butt contracted, gently lunge forwards until you feel a stretch in the front of your hip. Hold for 15 seconds and repeat 4 times at a mild pain-free stretch.

Give these stretches a try and watch your lower back pain start to fade away. Have any questions or other ideas for lower back pain stretches? Please leave a comment below…

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Muscle Memory

The question many people weight training ask is how does muscle memory work and how can we capitalize on this in our workouts? Well the answer may be a little more complicated than it seems but this article seeks to demystify the muscle memory phenomenon and provide you with strategies to make the most of your workouts even when you miss a few days or weeks.

What is Muscle Memory?

Physiologically speaking muscle memory is also known as nerromuscular facilitation whereby our muscles memorize movements and through space and time.

To clarify this point lets take a look at someone who has an ankle break and has a cast placed on their ankle. After not using the muscles in the foot and calves for several weeks the person loses ability to completely flex and extend the foot. Although this may seem like a major set back the muscles still remember how to do the movement and that person is able to walk again shortly thereafter.

Now let’s contrast this to learning an exercise for the first time, for example a biceps curl with a dumbbell. When we first learned how to do this our brain wants to do this exercise the easiest way we know how, by involving our shoulders and using our body to swing the weight up.

But we quickly learn from personal trainers (and health blogs such as this!) that we really need to keep our elbows tucked in to our sides and simply use the bicep muscle alone to flex and bring the weight up. After all, doing it this way without any swinging motion is the most effective way of building the biceps muscle.

How Can We Benefit From Muscle Memory?

This one simple point is the basis of all our training. The more we train and understand what exercises our body responds to best the better we can perform and utilize our muscle memory to gain maximum results from weight training. In other words, even if you take some time off or away from the gym, when you come back a few weeks later you can still have that benefits of remembering how to do that exercise and quickly get back on the train of muscle growth.

How Can We Suffer From Muscle Memory?

Of course with every positive is a negative so we can also suffer from muscle memory. By this I mean that our body rapidly adapts to exercises and the immediate results that we see when getting back in the gym eventually slow down…unless…we add variation. This is key, we have to remember to switch up our weight training routine at least once every 6 weeks otherwise we will plateau and lose motivation.

Professional athletes and trainers are very focused on this. Even if the exercise is as simple as bicep curls with a barbell, simply switching it up to dumbbells will be a significant variation to give us results again.

Conclusion

Remember, no matter what gets in your way of maintaining your training schedule it is never too late to go back. Consistency with variation is key, kind of ironic I know, but have fun with your workouts by trying out different routines all the time. Keep your muscles guessing and you will maximize the benefits you see with muscle strength, toning and fat loss.

Have any questions about muscle memory? Please leave a comment below…

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When Is It Time To Take A Break From Your Diet?

Too many dieters fall into the trap of dieting for long periods of time. What usually happens is this: as the weeks move on, the pounds stop coming off.

Instead of taking a break from their diet, they just reduce calories or increase their levels of cardio, but, in the end, they don’t end up losing any more weight.

What they should have done is take a break from their diet. But, how do you know when it is time to take a break?

Many people take a break based on duration. For example, they will diet hard for 12 weeks, then plan to take a 2 week break then return to dieting. This is a great way to plan your diet, because you know when the end is near and will be willing to stick to your diet for those extra few days.

Some people like to do it in a less measurable way – they just listen to their body.

If you have ever been on a strict diet before, you know that your body changes, and your mind starts to play tricks on you. The longer you diet, the more you think about food until it is almost unbearable.

The mistake most people make at this point is to continue doing their diet. This usually leads to a breakdown, a large binge, and then some weight gain. If you have been dieting for a while, and all you can think about is food, or you are starting to feel depressed, it is probably time for a break from your diet.

It is extremely important to take a break from dieting once in a while. The longer you diet, the less sane you become, and the more difficult weight loss becomes! Don’t be afraid of taking a break – it doesn’t signal weakness, it is the smart thing to do!

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What Protein Powder Should You Use – Whey or Casein?

Protein powder is an essential supplement for anyone looking to improve their overall health, strength and endurance. But, what kind of protein powder is best for you? Is whey better than casein?

One form of protein is not better than the other, they just serve different purposes.

The main difference between the two kinds of protein is their rate of absorption…

Whey is a very fast acting protein. As soon as you take is, it starts being absorbed as fast as possible. It creates an insulin spike, and the protein is used very quickly.

Casein, on the other hand, is more sustained release. It’s goal is no to be absorbed as quickly as possible, but to be more sustained release. It doesn’t create as big of an insulin spike as whey.

What does this all mean? Well, it means that each protein has a specific application where they have more benefits over the other.

For example, the best time to take whey is right after a workout. After you have taxed your muscles, they have an immediate need for protein. So, having some whey is the best way to give your muscles what they need fast and allow them to start repairing themselves as fast as possible.

But, if you are getting ready to go to sleep and need a protein that will keep your body from going catabolic while you sleep, you should take some casein. Because it is released slowly, it will constantly feed your body with protein for a longer period of time and keep you full.

There are specific times when whey is most effective, and some times when casein would be better suited. The best plan of action is to include a combination of the two in your diet to achieve the maximum benefits!

What’s your favorite whey protein powder and why?

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Low Glycemic Carbs for Weight Loss?

Do You Really Need To Avoid Simple Carbs And High GI Carbs If Your Goal Is To Lose Weight?

Everyone has heard it before – if you want to lose weight, you have to cut out simple carbs that have a high glycemic load and focus on getting complex, low glycemic load carbs. But, is this true? Is eating a sweet potato better than eating a white potato for weight loss? Is oatmeal better than pasta?

For weight loss alone, there doesn’t seem to be any benefits to avoiding simple, high GI carbs. 

Everybody seems to think that the insulin spike that simple carbs cause has a negative effect on weight loss. But, a few recent studies where obese patients have had their insulin levels intentionally reduced has not shown any increased weight loss.

So, is this to say that you should eat any kind of carb you want, and as long as you are below your caloric requirements, you will continue to lose weight? In practice, it is true, but in real life, it is a bad idea. Not only will you feel pretty bad all the time, your workouts will greatly suffer!

You see, complex carbs offer so much more in terms of nutrients than simple carbs. They usually have a higher amount of fiber, and contain many other essential compounds your body needs to be healthy. They also keep you feeling full longer, so you are less likely to overeat.

The best plan is to get a good mix of simple and complex carbs in your weight loss diet, and not worry too much about the glycemic load. As long as you make healthy food choices and stay under your daily caloric requirements, the weight will come off quickly and you will be feeling better than ever!

Have you tried sticking with low glycemic carbs? How has it affected your weight loss?

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What Are The Benefits Of Eating Whole Foods Over Taking Supplements To Get Your Daily Nutritional Requirements?

If you have looked in a nutrition store any time in the past few years, you will know that there is a supplement for almost everything. Protein powders are the most common, but there are carb supplements, and even fats (fish oil, etc) in supplement form. In theory, someone could get all the daily nutritional requirements by taking just supplements. But, this is clearly you can be smarter than this.

There is a reason they are called supplements – they are to supplement your normal diet. There are many different vitamins and minerals that are found in whole foods that just aren’t found in many supplements. Sure, you can probably find them in pill form, but you will probably end up taking upwards of 30 different pills per day, and this could get expensive. Supplements are very convenient, but they are in no way a substitute for real food.

By getting most of your daily nutritional requirements from real food, you are getting all the good stuff that you don’t usually find in supplements, and you are also promoting healthy eating habits. A lot of people don’t recognize this point, but taking a large quantity of supplements on a daily basis takes a toll on your digestive system, along with other essential bodily systems. The human body wasn’t designed just to live on dairy based powders and waxy maize. As much as people like to disagree, living on powders is just not healthy!

The best option is to plan a healthy, whole food diet, and use supplements in areas that are lacking. This way, you get to eat whole, healthy food, while getting the gains that supplements provide. This promotes a healthy lifestyle and healthy bodily functions!

Here is a list of the healthiest whole foods you should be incorporating into your diet:

Fruits
* Acai Berries
* Apples
* Apricots
* Bananas
* Blueberries
* Cantaloupe
* Cranberries
* Grapefruit
* Goji Berries
* Grapes
* Kiwifruit
* Lemon/Limes
* Oranges
* Papaya
* Pears
* Pineapple
* Plums
* Prunes
* Raisins
* Raspberries
* Strawberries
* Watermelon

Vegetables
* Asparagus
* Avocados
* Beets
* Bell peppers
* Broccoli
* Brussels sprouts
* Cabbage
* Carrots
* Cauliflower
* Celery
* Collard greens
* Cucumbers
* Eggplant
* Fennel
* Garlic
* Green beans
* Green peas
* Kale
* Leeks
* Mushrooms, crimini
* Mushrooms, shiitake
* Mustard greens
* Olives
* Onions
* Potatoes
* Romaine lettuce
* Sea vegetables
* Spinach
* Squash, summer
* Squash, winter
* Sweet potatoes
* Swiss chard
* Tomatoes
* Turnip greens
* Yams

Seafood
* Cod
* Halibut
* Salmon
* Scallops
* Shrimp
* Tuna

Beans & Legumes
* Black beans
* Dried peas
* Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
* Kidney beans
* Lentils
* Lima beans
* Miso
* Navy beans
* Pinto beans
* Soybeans
* Tempeh
* Tofu

Poultry & Lean Meats
* Beef, lean organic
* Calf’s liver
* Chicken
* Lamb
* Turkey
* Venison

Nuts & Seeds
* Almonds
* Cashews
* Flaxseeds
* Olive oil, extra virgin
* Peanuts
* Pumpkin seeds
* Sesame seeds
* Sunflower seeds
* Walnuts

Grains
* Barley
* Brown rice
* Buckwheat
* Corn
* Millet
* Oats
* Quinoa
* Rye
* Spelt
* Whole wheat

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How To Wake Up Early

Without a doubt sleep is a critical component of your training/weight loss plan and competitive athletes are very aware of this. Sleep is the time when our body repairs all our muscles and prepares all waste products to be removed so if you are doing all the training in the world but you’re not getting enough sleep then you are also not going to see the results you should be getting.

I’ll be honest waking up early has always been a struggle for me and is something I have been working on a lot lately mostly because I’ve found when I wake up early and get to the gym first thing my energy levels are heightened for the rest of the day. This is extremely effective in making you far more productive in your work and opens up time to spend with your friends and family so the rewards are pretty awesome.

How To Wake Up Early Tip 1

The first and most important element of a good sleep is to reduce stimulants and depressants which can harshly effect your sleep quality. And this is a tough one because that means that we need to reduce our consumption of caffeinated products as well as alcoholic drinks.

Caffeine and other stimulants found in coffee and black teas saturate our adrenaline hormone levels and if taken after 3 or 4pm (assuming you want to get to sleep at 11pm) can have a long lasting effect in keeping our heart rates a little too high to fall asleep. If you are taking supplements make sure you also pay close attention to when you are taking them as many in the market today have caffeine or derivatives of ephedrine.

The problem with alcohol is that it is a depressant and can induce sleep but as the effect wears off we start coming out of our deep sleep cycle and end up waking up in the middle of the night. Stick to a maximum of one glass of wine a night and you will prevent this sleep disruption.

How To Wake Up Early Tip 2

If you’re accustomed to waking up at 8am then all of a sudden waking up at 6am can be too much of a shock to your body leaving you feeling tired and lethargic for the rest of the day especially if you didn’t get enough sleep the night before.

So let’s try a different strategy and reduce the pressure by waking up 15 minutes earlier each day until you get to your goal.

Still think this is too big of a challenge? Let’s try adding one more thing. Instead of waking up to an annoying buzzing alarm try setting it up so that you can wake up to the latest song you’re really into. It might be a little money, but isn’t it money well spent if it sets you off on the right foot and allows you to get tons more done each day? Check out this fully featured ipod/iphone alarm clock from Amazon.com

How To Wake Up Early Tip 3

Brighten up! Ok well brighten up your room that is. Light can be a great way to get you out of bed, but what can we do when it’s winter and it’s dark outside or we don’t want to sleep with our blinds open?

Simple…get a timer switch.

These are super cheap and easy to set up…all you need to do is to change up one of your light switches with these and you can easily program it to turn on a few minutes before your alarm. Check out this affordable and sleek timer switch at Amazon.com which also has sunrise and sunset activation!

Conclusion

Ok, let’s do this as a challenge and see how effective it can be. I’m in this with you guys and looking for feedback on how these tips are working or not working so please make sure to leave a comment below if you try it!

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When is the Best Time To Workout?

Many people wonder if the actual timing of your workouts matter. Is it better to workout in the morning so you can take advantage of a raised metabolism throughout the day? Or is it better to workout at night to burn up any extra calories you have ingested throughout the day? Many people have varying opinions on this, but the general consensus is that it doesn’t matter when you have your workout.

Some people like to do fasted cardio and workouts in the morning, because they think it will help them burn fat due to the lack of available carbs. There is a little evidence to support this, but there is also evidence of muscle breakdown, which may outweigh any of the benefits of fasted cardio.

Some people like to work out later in the day. But one thing you should be aware of is that if you workout to close to your bedtime, you may have trouble sleeping. And, if you know just one thing about weight training and building muscle it is that sleep is extremely important.

The more important aspect of workout timing is that you are actually working out consistently and are not skipping workouts. To many people fall into the trap of planning specific time periods when they wish to workout, but if something else goes wrong during the day, they end up skipping it. Instead of making it up, they just wait until the next planned workout session. When that comes around, they don’t really want to do that either. Then, your gains really start to suffer.

As long as you are consistently working out, there is really no bad time to do it. As long as you can fit it in sometime during the day and get it done with maximum intensity, you will achieve the best gains possible.

What time do you workout and why? Please leave a comment below…

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Is It Easier To Lose Weight On A Carb Based Or A Low Carb Diet?

When people want to lose weight, one of the main decisions they have to make is whether they want to go on a diet that uses carbs as their energy provider, or to go on a low carb diet. Both diets seem to work, but which one works better?

In all honesty, there is no real answer to this question. The main reason is the law of thermodynamics.

It doesn’t really matter what you eat – as long as you consume less calories than your body needs to operate, you will lose weight. The main difference between these diets is the percentage of mass lost – muscle compared to fat.

Low carb diets, which usually induce ketosis, are muscle sparing in nature. This means that when the body needs extra energy, it consumes fat (or ketones, a byproduct of the ketosis process) instead of attacking lean body mass. This means that a high percentage of the weight you lose will be from fat.

Carb focused diets, on the other hand, sometimes lead to more lean body mass loss. This is just because your body has never transitioned into ketosis. If your body needs extra energy, it sometimes breaks down lean body mass to feed itself.

It is important to note, though, that you will only be able to notice a real difference if you are on an extreme diet. It is not as if your muscles are going to shrivel up and disappear on a carb based diet. As long as you keep calories at a reasonable level, continue on a workout plan, and don’t diet for very long periods of time, either diet will work well. You will lose a bunch of fat and you will maintain most of your muscle mass.

What has your experience been with carbohydrates and losing weight?

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Overtraining Symptoms : When Is It Time To Take a Break From Your Workout?

It doesn’t matter what kind of training you are doing, whether it be for bodybuilding purposes or for sport specific purposes – it is extremely important to take breaks from your workout.

Some people think that taking breaks is slacking off, but in reality, it will help your gains.

Especially if you are giving 100% in the gym, you need to give your body a break periodically and hopefully at least once a week.

Most people don’t understand the incredible level of stress they put their body under when they train. If you don’t take planned breaks, you are putting yourself at an increased risk of overtraining and injuring yourself or slowing down your gains.

How do you know when it is time to take a break?

Easy, just listen to what your body is telling you. If you have been going to the gym for 6 weeks straight, and suddenly you can’t seem to drag yourself out of bed in the morning to go work out, it is more than likely time to take a break. Your body is an incredibly fine tuned machine, you just have to listen to it and give it what it wants. When it gets tired, don’t ignore these signs and interpret it as weakness. Everyone, even the most serious athletes, get burnt out and need to take a break.

What should you do on your break? Well, that depends on your routine. But usually taking a short brisk walk every day is enough to keep you loose.

After your body is rested, you will return to the gym with renewed vigor and ready to make some big gains. Don’t be afraid to take breaks from your workouts. In the end, it will benefit you more than it will hurt you!

Do you feel like you overtrain often? What are the symptoms you experience the most?

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4 Signs You Need To Make Changes To Your Diet Plan

There are tell tale signs that you are body is giving you each day hinting that you really need to change your diet plan. The question that lies therein though is are you listening to these messages or are you ignoring them and pushing through your day?

Well it’s pretty easy to ignore them because there are so many stressors in our lives and we tend to lay blame on one thing or another but if we take into consideration the signs that we need to change our diet at least we can rule that part out. So let’s look at the 5 signs…

1. You always crash at a specific time during the day

I used to get this a lot when I was working in an office 10 years ago…crash at 3pm almost every work day. I wish I was aware of my body then, because a simple change in my eating habits would have solved that problem. You see I was doing the regular 3 meals a day routine and my lunch was most often the biggest meal of the day because I was famished by noon, then by 3pm I would fight keeping my eyes open!

If this sounds like you in any way, here is the solution. Simply change your diet so that your lunch is split into 2 smaller meals. What’s happening when you eat a large meal is that your body goes crazy digesting all the food and you get a huge surge of sugar (from breakdown of carbohydrates & proteins) in your blood from all the food but then you also have a huge crash of sugars and this induces a total sleep state.

By splitting your meals you don’t get that huge crash anymore and instead provide your body with continuous energy. Give it a try and see the difference!

2. You feel bloated all the time

Do you feel bloated all the time or at least a lot of the time? This is a clear indication that you need to change your diet in one form or another. Now here’s something of a surprise… for the most part we feel bloated when we don’t have adequate water intake!

Surprising isn’t’ it?

Generally a bloated feeling occurs when we have had caffeinated or salty foods and these cause our body to retain water. So either try increasing your water intake to counteract this problem, or better yet reduce your caffeine or salt intake.

3. Your eyes look like they need a trip

Eyes are the windows to your soul, but more importantly to your health as well. If the bags under your eyes are freaking out they are warning you of a number of different health issues. Most likely you didn’t sleep enough, but it could also be that again like in the tip above that your intake of caffeine and salt is too high or it could also mean that you are not eating enough fresh fruits and vegetables.

The solutions are simple. Consume more fresh vegetables and fruit which are high in antioxidants so they can help your body eliminate daily toxins. Give your body a 2 week break from caffeine and salty foods and make sure you do your best to get adequate sleep.

4. You go for a workout but feel unmotivated and tired

If you are getting as far as getting your butt into the gym but then feel really unmotivated and tired what is the first thing you should look at? You guessed it, your diet! An hour before your workout you should have had some healthy carbs like oatmeal, or fruit like bananas/apples, or even some whole wheat toast with light peanut butter because these are the foods that will provide you with the energy you need to really push yourself in your workout.

A clear sign is when you are working out and you feel light headed and see stars. This means you didn’t eat properly before your workout and your water intake was probably also too little. Become conscious of this one point and you will gradually see improvements in your motivation and energy levels at the gym.

Conclusion to Making Changes to Your Diet Plan

This article isn’t brain science, but its intention is to remind you to become more aware of your body and the signs it is giving you each day. Notice your energy levels throughout the day or think about what may have caused the disruption from the day before. Prepare your attack and have a healthy diet plan that fits all the criteria of being full of fresh fruits and veggies plus smaller meal sizes and lots of water. Now we’re getting somewhere!

Do you notice energy crashes in your day? What changes will you make to counteract this? Please leave a comment below…

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Diet Tips: What Are The Biggest Issues Dieters Face?

Dieting is a psychological battle. There are many issues long term dieters face, but the following two seem to be the most prevalent and cause the most damage…

Binge Eating

If you have ever been on a diet, there is a very high chance you have gone on a binge. Usually, binges occur when you eat something you shouldn’t have, then you think to yourself “Well, I already ate this, so I might as well eat some more and go back to my diet tomorrow.”

The problem with this is you end up stuffing yourself with as much junk food as you can, and reverse some of the progress you worked so hard for.

There are two easy way to prevent this from happening.

1)   If you feel like cheating, plan to do it tomorrow! No, really…if you feel like eating a pint of ice cream, plan on doing it the next day. More often than not the next day, after a night of sleep, you will not want to break your diet.

2)   If you absolutely must cheat, do it right before you go to sleep. I know, some of you may be thinking it will instantly turn into fat if you eat right before you go to bed (Myth!). But if you instantly go to sleep after you cheat, you will prevent yourself from continuing to binge, and when you wake up, you will be ready to continue with your diet!

Not getting enough variety

Too many people don’t get enough variety in their diets. Now, if you have incredible determination, eating the same things every day is not really an issue. But, if you get bored of the same foods quickly, instead of incorporating new foods in your diet, you end up going off your diet. To combat this, make sure you build in some variety into your diet when you originally plan it, and continually add new foods that fit your macronutrient breakdown when you get tired of what you are eating.

If you control your binges and get enough variety in your diet, the results will come faster than you think, and compliance will be easy!

Have any questions about these diet tips? Please leave a comment below…

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Abdominal Weight Loss Attack

This is it. It’s a time when you are probably wavering on your attack on losing weight from your abdominal area and motivation is dwindling. But don’t give up yet, I’m writing this article just for you to boost your motivation and create a workout like none other. This is as extreme as it gets and you are going to need gather all your strength and push through this one for at least 4 weeks.

One side note here before we get into the workout. One of the best tips I have here is gather up everything that is frustrating you these days. Everything that is making you angry, all your relationship, financial, work issues and bundle it up so you can take it out on the machines and weights at the gym. Got it? Good! Let’s go!

Abdominal Weight Loss Workout

We’re going to create an abdominal weight loss workout which combines my ultimate treadmill workout and other core exercises all into one day. Make sure you get enough nutrition an hour before this workout because it’s going to be intense….

5 minute treadmill warm-up: start with 5 minutes of warming up on the treadmill from 4.1mph to a steady 6.5mph

Abdominal exercise 1 – 50 crunches on stability ball. (view image)
Oblique exercise 1 – Woodchopper with medicine ball. (view image )
High Intensity Interval Training session – Interval 30 seconds each of 6.0mph and 8.5mph for 10 minutes
Abdominal exercise 2 – 30 balance board knee tucks. (view image)
Oblique exercise 2 – 2 sets side planks on each side. Remember to hold for 30 seconds on each side. (view image)
Moderate Intensity Elliptical Trainer – 5 minutes of elliptical trainer at moderate intensity (ie.level 5)
Abdominal Exercise 3 – 2 sets of 10 hanging leg raises (view image)
Lower back extensions – 2 sets of 10. (view image)
Bike Machine Cool Down – 5 minutes of moderate intensity on bike machine (ie.level 5)

I want to make it so that you never waiver with this workout so here’s another tip. Print this abdominal weight loss workout and review it on the morning that you will do this. This will keep it fresh in your mind and keep you on track.

Recommended Supplements
This is probably the most intensive supplement package I have come across which is made for men and women individually. They include pretty much everything you will ever need to burn that fat and accelerate abdominal weight loss attack. Check it out:

• Men’s Advanced Fat Loss Combo
• Women’s Advanced Fat Loss Combo

Conclusion: Abdominal Weight Loss Attack

Remember this is an extreme workout so if you can’t complete it or need to water it down the first several sessions feel free to do so and don’t get discouraged. The goal here is to have something to really achieve and if you can stick with this workout at least once or twice a week for 4-6 weeks you are going to see some fantastic results in your abdominal area, your core will be much stronger and you are going to feel amazing when you look at yourself in the mirror after doing this.

Have any questions, thoughts or feedback about this routine? Please leave a comment below…

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What is BPA? Dangers of Food & Beverage Containers

If you haven’t heard about BPA in the news lately you most certainly want to know about it because it extremely toxic to your health and has been even linked with weight gain.

BPA also known as Bisphenol A is a compound used to make plastics and is used to make shatter-proof containers most commonly water bottles, and plastic food containers and is also found in almost all of the linings in food and beverage cans to protect us from botulism (a bacteria which is very lethal).

Although I am not going to get into the boring specifics of how the largest plastic manufacturers in North America commonly use this product, the important thing to take away from this article is how to protect yourself from BPA and prevent negative health effects.

Health Effects of BPA

The scariest part about BPA is that it is a chemical that messes around with your hormones by mimicking estrogen activity. The other part that is scary is that recent research indicates that most North Americans also have too much BPA in our bodies and we are suffering adverse health effects as a consequence.

Some of these negative health effects include: obesity, breast and prostate cancer, fertility problems, heart disease, diabetes, and altered brain and behavior development.

As you can see from this list, this is no laughing matter and frankly I’m quite surprised that even at the lowest levels it has been accepted by the health and food administration in US and Canada.

The problem is that because we are repeatedly exposed to this chemical, over time it builds in our bodies and eventually wreaks havoc with our entire hormonal system which regulates our well being.

Reducing Exposure to BPA

• Start with eliminating the use of plastic food and beverage containers that include BPA. Currently, since most do use BPA I would be safe and just expect them to have it unless they specifically say they are BPA-free. I’m sure companies will use this as a marketing strategy really soon and start labeling plastics that are BPA-free, it will just be too much of a competitive advantage for them not to label.
• Use glass or stainless steel bottles that are reusable for carrying your liquids. You will be doing the environment a favor too!
• Never, ever heat plastic containers in the microwave or pour hot food onto them. Heat causes BPA to leach from the plastic into your food so be smart and use glass or ceramic containers instead.
• Try and cut back your use of foods that are contained in a can, especially fish stored in oil (canned foods with higher fat content have been found to have more BPA). As mentioned before BPA is almost always used as a lining in canned foods so hopefully we will being to see tuna stored in BPA-free cans or recyclable glass containers very soon.

Conclusion to What is BPA? Dangers of Food & Beverage Containers

Some countries such as Japan are way ahead of the curve and have banned BPA and moved on to a much safer compound so it is up to us to stop using BPA products and enforcing our consumer power. This article just re-iterates the importance of eating more fresh foods which is a key factor in keeping fat off our midsection. I know that now I will try and find an alternative to my canned tuna, and I will definitely not store or heat foods in plastic containers ever again and I will make sure that my family doesn’t either (P.S. please share this article with your friends and family too).

What are your thoughts about BPA? Are you going to change the way you store and heat food?

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Lower Back Pain Exercises

We’ve all at some point had some pain in our lower back and we know how debilitating and scary it can be. The drug companies know this and have created many drugs to help us with this pain relief, but what about taking some of the best medicine money can’t buy! By this I mean, preventative education and strength training of the lower back.

The muscles which cause lower back pain include the Lats, Erector Spinae and the Glutes because they are all attached and cross over each other. With this in mind, it’s a good idea to strengthen these muscles and this article looks at the most effective exercise to do this.

Try including this routine into your back workout, and do 3 sets of each exercise for a total of 8-12 reps.

Stiff Leg Deadlift with Dumbbells: You can do this exercise with a barbell or dumbbells, but I prefer starting my with dumbbells because it allows you to get comfortable with the movement and focus more on keeping your core tight rather than trying to balance the barbell. Remember to keep a natural arch in your back! (view image)

Back Extensions: You need a hyperextension bench for this exercise but most quality gyms to possess them. When doing this exercise you can lower yourself with a smooth slow motion and then raise back up so your back is straight, try not to go over board and bend back further as this can cause unnecessary strain. To make this exercise a little more challenging you can also add a slight twist when coming back up. (view image)

Superman Exercise: This is such a great and simple exercise to do, I’m surprised I don’t see it more often in the gym. Just lie face down on a mat and bring your arms up like you are going to fly like Superman. Now slowly rise your arms, legs and chest off the floor and hold this for 2 seconds. To get the most out of this exercise focus on tightening your lower back muscles at the top of the movement. (view image)

Lower Back Pain Exercises: Taking it Further

If you have a day where you are focusing on strengthening your core this would be a great addition to that day. After all, it’s your entire core including your abs, obliques and lower back muscles which will give you the best foundation to build muscle on and prevent lower back pain. Some other articles which will help you in this area include: oblique exercises, exercise ball abdominal workout, 6 pack abs checklist, Tone Lower Abs Workout, and abdominal workout

Conclusion:

Are you ready to strengthen your lower back with the highly effective exercises pointed out in this article? Make sure you take it nice and slow and start with light weights. You may experience tightness the next day, if that’s the case remember to ice for 15 minutes at a time every couple hours and this would be an excellent time to see a registered massage therapist to help you get blood flowing and those muscle nourished so they can become strong and toned up.

Have any questions or comments about Lower Back Pain Exercises? Please leave a comment below…

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Calculating Your Daily Maintenance Caloric Intake

The first thing people should do when they decide to either lose weight or gain muscle is determine their daily caloric needs. By having a reasonable estimate of what your body’s maintenance caloric intake is, you will be able to effectively plan your diet to reach your goals!

The first thing you need to calculate is your Basal Metabolic Rate. This sounds complicated, but all it entails is the amount of calories that your body needs to continue operating it’s bodily functions without dipping into fat or muscle stores. Technically speaking, if you did absolutely nothing all day and ingested this amount of calories, you would maintain your weight. The formula to calculate your BMR is as follows:

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) – ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) – ( 6.8 x age in year )

It is extremely important to understand that this is just an estimate. To get a more accurate number, you would have to go to the doctor and get some tests done, but this number should be close enough.

Next, you have to multiply your BMR by an activity multiplier. The most popular formula is called the Harris Benedict formula. Its purpose is to compensate for activities you do every day. You take your BMR number from above and multiply it by one of the following figures.

If you are…

Sedate – BMR x 1.2

Lightly Active – BMR x 1.375

Moderately Active – BMR x 1.55

Very Active –  BMR x 1.725

Extra active – BMR x 1.9

Once again, note that these are just estimates.

Once you have completed all the calculations and have your daily caloric requirements, you can subtract 500 per day to lose weight, or you could add a surplus to start packing on some extra muscle!

What’s your daily caloric intake? Please leave a comment below…

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3 Highly Effective Weight Loss Tips

Sometimes we get too caught up in complicated tangled up ideas of how to lose weight and we lose focus of some of the most simple and effective strategies.

In this article we look at 3 of the most effective weight loss tips we can incorporate into our daily life and take away some of this pressure.

Effective Weight Loss Tips #1: Keep A Food Journal

When it comes down to looking at my new client’s diets the first thing I ask for them to do is to write down a food journal for 3 days. That means everything they are eating and drinking, even if it’s water.

Just this one act really brings light to one’s diet and can completely change the perspective of what they are putting into their bodies. Too cliche, but I have to say it, “you are what you eat right?” Hopefully you’d rather be a lean chicken breast rather than a fatty burger or calorie dense caesar salad!

Effective Weight Loss Tips #2: Sit Down When You Eat

Are you always running around and not taking the time to really sit down and eat a healthy meal? A while back I saw a Canadian study done in 2006 which showed that people who ate while sitting down at a table and didn’t rush through their meal also ate as much as 33% less for a snack later one.

So focus on really enjoying your meal and being greatful for how this food nourishes all your muscles, bones and organs and in the end your body will also respond favorably to you!

Effective Weight Loss Tips #3: Use Your Better Judgment

You may look at menus in restaurants and deep down question how healthy they really are. Don’t ignore these thoughts and use your better judgment. Simply asking for reduced oil, or the dressing on the side can equate to you saving thousands of calories at the end of the month.

Imagine the difference this is going to make in a year!

Conclusion

So yes, this article is all about your diet and how you eat. But if just these 3 tips can make such a big difference to us do we take the initiative and take action on doing them or do we just read this article and move on? This is the real test and I hope that some of you will leave a comment below on the results that you achieved from taking this article to heart!

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We all like to eat junk food sometimes. There are certain foods you can enjoy in moderation, and then there are foods (like the ones listed below) that you shouldn’t even consider consuming.

Here are three of the most calorie dense junk foods popular fast food restaurant chains offer today!

Carl’s Junior Double Six Dollar Burger

602 Grams – 1520 calories – 11g Fat – ?g Trans fat – 60g Carbs

When you see this hamburger, you can just tell it is full of fat and calories. But, it is still a popular menu item at Carl’s Jr. It is over half a pound of greasy, cheesy goodness that tasted so good, yet is so bad.

Arbys Sausage Gravy Biscuit

238 Grams – 961 Calories – 68g Fat –  0g Trans Fat – 107g Carbs

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So, what should you eat? If you are looking to stay thin, you will probably want to avoid the Arby’s Sausage Gravy biscuit. While it doesn’t sound too dangerous, this little bundle of flaky dough and creamy gravy packs in almost 1000 calories. Add in an orange juice and some hash browns, and you are almost half way through your daily caloric requirements.

Dairy Queen Chicken Strip Basket

531 Grams – 1270 calories – 67g Fat – 12 g Trans Fat – 121g Carbs

Chicken is pretty healthy, right? It is usually preached as the healthy alternative to beef when people go to fast food restaurants to order a meal. But, that is not always the case. In the seemingly healthy looking dish called the “Dairy Queen Chicken Strip Basket”, there is over 1200 calories! Look back at the Carl’s Junior Double Six Dollar Burger…which one sounds healthier? If you add a glass of orange juice to this meal, you are almost consuming the same amount of calories. Looks can be deceiving!

Take home lesson:

It is OK to have junk food once in a while, but just be sure you know what you are eating. Some things that look relatively healthy can be quite deceiving!

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Healthy eating isn’t that difficult. As long as you know what you are doing, it can be just as satisfying as eating the junk food we all love! Here are 5 quick tips to help you eat healthier.

Control your portion size

It is unhealthy to overeat. Even if you are eating healthy food, too much of it is still a bad thing. The most important tip for healthy eating is to control your portion size. You don’t have to buy a kitchen scale and weigh everything you eat, but you should have a general idea of what a standard serving size looks like.

Eat Slower

It has been reported that it takes the brain around 20 minutes to receive the signal from your stomach that it is full. So, if you eat a big meal quickly, you will be stuffed and will have overeaten before your brain knows you are full.

Drink water before your meal

Many people mistake thirst for hunger. If your body is craving water, but you give it food, you are going to inject extra calories you don’t need, and you will still be thirsty. If you drink water before you eat, you will quench your thirst and know your hunger is for food.

Learn as much as you can about food

One of the most beneficial things you can do in regards to nutrition is learn as much as you can about food. Do you know what fat is? What is a carb? How about protein? How many calories are in a gram of each? The more you know about the macronutrient breakdown of your food, the more likely you are to watch what you eat and make healthy choices.

Eat a variety of foods

Eating the same foods over and over again isn’t always good for you. You probably already know this, but you need to eat a wide variety of foods to get all the nutrients your body requires.

If you follow the tips above, your diet, physique and state of mind will improve drastically!

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Abdominal Workout – Exercise Ball

Have you tried a full abdominal workout with just an exercise ball? If not then this workout will give you a push beyond your limits. It’s challenging and yet provides strengthening of your lower back so you aren’t straining in ways usual ab exercises do.

Before we get into the workout here are some things to think about with this workout:

Choosing the right size of exercise ball for you – you’ll have to experiment with the different sized balls and see what fits the curve of your back best. As you build strength with your core using these exercises you can then add variation by changing the size of the ball.

Keeping your chin to chest space constant – if you’re feeling strain in your neck it is usually because of two things. Firstly you may be placing your hands behind your head and pushing against your head during the movement. It’s ok to have your hands behind your head but better yet would be to just lightly touch with your fingertips and make sure you don’t push. The other way to reduce stress is to pretend you have a tennis ball between your chest and chin, keeping that distant constant.

Slow controlled movement – you’re going to get the most out of your ab workouts if you don’t go too fast. Focus on a slow controlled movement with tightening of the midsection and your entire core to activate all those abdominal muscles.

Sets and Reps – Aim for 3 sets and up to 14 reps for each exercise, but feel free to adjust this to make sure you get that burn. If you’re not getting a burn then you’re not getting a lot out of this workout.

Abdominal Workout with Exercise Ball:

Ab crunches on exercise ball (view image)
Ab exercise ball extensions (view image)
Exercise Ball Pull In (view image)
Abdominal crunches legs on exercise ball (view image)
Oblique crunches on exercise ball (view image)
Plank on exercise ball (view image)

Want to take this workout to the next level? It won’t be with more ab exercises, but rather some high intensity training between exercises. Try a 1 minute full on sprint (9.0 mph or higher) on the treadmill. Wow, this will blast definition like nothing else. Just remember to eat healthy to keep the results coming!

Try this workout and let me know what you think? Please leave a comment below:

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Treadmill Workout – Ultimate Routine

Let’s screw all theories regarding weight loss, weight training, toning and defining and let’s look at a very practical treadmill workout routine today. A word of warning – this workout is not for the beginner as it gets very intense very quickly and pushes you right to your limits. It’ll get your heart rate going and your metabolism super-charged allowing your body to burn through fat at an incredibly high rate.

One more thing…this routine actually includes a large portion of high intensity interval training and includes sprints but also periods where it’s more about strengthening and toning by using the gradation button of your treadmill to simulate hills.

Get ready? Get Set! Go…

Treadmill Workout

1 minute – pre-warm up with 3.8 mph and 1.5 elevation
4 minutes – warm up with 6.5 mph

————-Begin HIIT——————
1 minute – 7.0 mph (base speed for our interval training)
30 seconds – 8.5 mph
30 seconds – 7.0 mph
30 seconds – 9.0 mph
30 seconds – 7.0 mph
30 seconds – 9.5 mph
30 seconds – 7.0 mph
30 seconds – 10.0 mph
30 seconds – 7.0 mph
30 seconds – 10.5 mph
30 seconds – 7.0 mph (we’ve reached 10 minutes total)

————-Begin Climbing——————
1 minute – 6.0 mph increase elevation to 2.5
2 minutes – 3.8 mph increase elevation to 6.5
2 minutes – 6.0 mph decrease elevation to 2.5
5 minutes – 7.0 mph keep elevation

————-Cool Down——————
3 minutes – 3.8 mph with 1.5 elevation

Conclusion

There we go, this treadmill workout is just 23 minutes but it’s an ultimate routine because if gears you up to a full on sprint, then brings you down and really gets you sweating like mad with a climbing session that will tone your quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and glutes (butt!).

Feel free to add variation or use this plan as a goal to reach while you work on a similar but less intense routine until you can get your cardio up to this level. Give it a try and leave a comment below on your thoughts.

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Top 5 Workout Mistakes in the Gym

Are there times where you are in the gym and you see someone swinging the weights or doing an exercise with really bad form? Welcome to my world! And I’m not saying I always have perfect form because I definitely acknowledge that I don’t but at least I try and always be very conscious of my body in space and time when performing an exercise.

What we want to get our of this article is a reminder of the top mistakes that we all make in the gym and how to fix them so we get the best results from our workouts. The benefits are huge and will include: more definition, quicker strength gains, less chance of injury, more energy, and less body fat!

Let’s not waste time and get right into the top 5 mistakes:

Workout Mistake 1: Inadequate Nutrition & Hydration

You’ll know for the most part when you have inadequate nutrition and hydration when you’re working out because it’s those times when you feel light headed and losing energy and motivation to be in the gym. Of course this can also be lack-of-sleep related but for the most part it’s because you didn’t have some high quality carbohydrates (like fruit, oatmeal, yams) and at least 2 glasses of water an hour before your workout.

Hydration and nutrition are key to keeping your energy high during your workout and allowing you to progress through each day you’re in the gym. Stop thinking that limiting your food intake before your workout means more fat loss as your body will also break down muscle in this process so it’s not only fat you’re losing!

Workout Mistake 2: Inadequate Warm Up

I can’t count the amount of times I see someone walk right into the gym and pick up some moderately heavy dumbbells and begin their workout. This is an injury waiting to happen because you haven’t given your muscles enough time to warm up and you haven’t given your lungs the preparation they need to be able to expand more and provide oxygen to your entire endo-muscular system.

Stop being lazy and prevent serious injuries from happening by warming up for at least 5 minutes on a cardio machine or doing something with low impact that really warms you up.

Workout Mistake 3: Improper Form

How good are you at checking your form? Are you aware of your posture, your core muscles and the placement of your feet when doing exercises? Do you check your form in the mirror or have a friend/trainer giving you feedback at least once every couple of weeks?

Don’t worry about being vain in this situation. Looking in the mirror to check your form is very important because the better form you have the more you will get from performing those exercises. Actually the amount of mirrors a gym has is a good indication of the quality of the gym!

Workout Mistake 4: Resting Too Long

How long are you resting between your sets? Are you listening to music and spacing out, or talking to friends for unmeasured lengths of time? This is not only a bad habit which upsets others in the gym wanting to use the same equipment but also a detriment to your workout. You should have rest periods no longer than 30-60 seconds maximum as your muscles will begin to cool down and leave them culpable to injury. (The only exception is if you’re training for some strength competition then longer rest periods are possible as long as you’re keeping your body moving).

I try and keep rest periods to 30 seconds because I’ve found this makes a more intense workout and greater toning and definition is the killer result!

Workout Mistake 5: No Flexibility Training

It’s 2010 and 9/10 people in the gym are not doing any kind of flexibility training (or some of you may call it stretching). I’ve spoken about the benefits of flexibility in many articles on this site (most recently in the article Weight Training Plateau) but to reiterate leaving 10 minutes at the end of your workout for flexibility training allows your muscles to recover quicker because it allows your muscles to get proper blood flow going again and having the waste products removed.

Leave 10-15 minutes at the end of your workout for flexibility training and use this time to think about your workout and how you can improve it next time around all the while relaxing. This is your time for your body so if you can provide a little more focus by joining a yoga class then even better.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this article and reference it from time to time to refocus and bring energy back into your training program. I’ll take my own medicine and practice this with my clients and myself but if you have any other feedback or questions please leave a comment below so we can all benefit from it.

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Training After Injury or Surgery

I’ve been asked very frequently lately about training after an injury or surgery so I thought I’d do a quick write up based on my personal experience working with quality physiotherapists. I should note though that before proceeding to do any kind of rehabilitation exercises it is my biggest recommendation that you see your doctor first and get his approval.

I should also bring to light that not matter how small the injury or surgery was you should take it very seriously as it’s usually the little things that pop-up later in life and mess up your progress if not dealt with correctly.

First Step

Ok so you were injured or just had surgery, did you have a qualified doctor examine and give you a correct diagnosis? Remember if you are not happy with the the answer you always have the right to get a second opinion. Hopefully that is not the case as it seems like the medical system is finally cracking down on negligent doctors but overall you know your body best and should always trust your gut instinct if something seems strange with that doctor’s diagnosis of your problem.

One thing that should have stood out for you was following the RICE principle. RICE = Rest, Icing, Compression and Elevation. You should have done at least two or more of these immediately post injury/surgery to reduce swelling and allow your body to eliminate wastes from that area.

Preliminary Training

It could be anywhere between 6 to 16 weeks before you are recommended the preliminary training stage by your doctor/physiotherapist of the injured area. But this usually doesn’t mean that you should stop exercising of other un-affected areas! For instance, if you broke an ankle or had knee surgery you can still get into the gym with your crutches and do upper body exercises (as long as you do them in a safe manner where you aren’t reliant on stability provided by your legs!).

The point is to be creative, be determined and push through. Studies have found that the simple act of exercising regularly allows your body to be top notch condition especially when coming to your immune system so use this to your advantage to speed up your recovery.

One tip here. This would be a great time to experiment with going a little hardcore with your diet and focusing on eating extra healthy to prevent from extra pounds packing on. A few years back I broke my ankle and took that recovery time as a challenge to see how restrictive I could be with eating mostly only veggies, fruit and very lean meats and I actually noticed that I lost some excess weight. It was a very nice surprise considering I couldn’t do my regular weight training regimen.

Training Stage 1

Now when it come to training your affected area, you’re going to have to start slowly. Usually after a serious injury you need to warm up the joints and surrounding tissue very slowly and allow it to regain the entire range of movement that it had pre-injury. Again remember the time to do this must be approved by your doctor/physiotherapist. After recovery from a broken ankle simply getting on a bike machine and cycling with low resistance for 30 minutes is a great way to regain this flexibility.

Other methods of training in stage 1 after injury include using balance boards, resistance bands and resistance cables. Again these are great for returning your full range of movement through that joint so if your doctor/physiotherapist isn’t giving you these kind of exercises make sure to ask them for it.

Training Stage 2

You will probably be in your 1st training stage for another good 2-3 months so stay patient and determined. At this stage you will want to bring back very light weights into your routine and start building strength again. Whatever you do DON’T rush this phase as you could seriously re-injure that area again and it can set you back a few months.

Training Stage 3

After several weeks in the 2nd stage you should slowly be regaining your strength and getting back to normal. The point of focus for you now is to focus on proper posture in all your exercises and making sure you are doing the movements with completely control all the while keeping your core tight. In my humble opinion this is a time when you want a personal coach/trainer/mentor who can help guide you and provide you with feedback so you can keep getting stronger and preventing any further injuries.

P.S. On that note please stay tuned to the online coaching program that I will be releasing for this site in the very near future. With your support and feedback I can continue to provide you guys with top notch training and nutrition information and we can further build this amazing like-minded and motivated community!

Have any questions/thoughts/feedback about training after injury or surgery? Please leave a comment below…

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Strength Training Benefits – Why It’s Essential to Your Health

It still surprises me that today in 2010 there are still so few people who are actively working on building their strength through weight training and other activities. The fact is that strength training is very essential to your health and in preventing diseases and joint/bone problems later in life so the point of this article is to bring light to all the benefits. Perhaps we first need to define strength training though…

What Defines Strength Training?

Well strength training is simply training your muscles to be able to lift/pull with greater force and efficiency. So this doesn’t just mean lifting or pulling heavier weights, but being able to do the movements with greater control of your body in space and time.

But how do we get stronger? In my humble point of view, training with weights is the best way to get stronger quickly and safely. When focusing on strength building we want to aim for lifting as heavy a weight as possible approximately 6-8 repetitions in a set for 2-3 sets. This can contrast to an endurance periodization plan where we focus on toning our muscles by doing 12-14 repetitions in a set.

What about women compared to men?

Although women may not want to get the bulky muscle appearance, a strength training period of 4 weeks should be included into their exercise plan at least 3-4 times a year.

Women and men who want to pack on more muscle can split up their strength training and endurance/toning period a little differently though. For instance, most fitness competitors take the fall and winter months to build strength and muscle size and then take the spring and summer to focus on toning and definition with higher repetitions.

So hopefully now the definition and technique is more clear to you but what about the promised benefits?

Strength Training Benefits

Ok this list can be very long, the benefits of strength training have been shown in almost all physiology and sports research! But some of the more interesting benefits range from reducing the risk to age related diseases like Alzheimers, Parkinson’s Disease to arthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis and even depression.

Let’s take a quick look at the fundamental biology of how this is happening and how it is benefiting you…

Metabolism and Strength Training

It’s no secret that the more muscle we have the more energy we use up especially since muscle uses up energy and fat does not. Therefore a 150 lb fitness trainer will burn more calories than a 150lb couch potato, so strength training also helps control our weight by continually burning sugar and fat. The cool thing is that this is happening even when we’re sleeping!

As a result a positive biochemical reaction that happens in our body with strength training is improved glucose control meaning a significant reduced risk of type II diabetes (diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in older adults!).

Cardiovascular Health and Strength Training

Stronger muscles also means stronger heart muscles especially if this leads to a leaner body as well. In fact, the American Heart Association is recommending a 3-day-a-week strength training program for adults to reduce risk of heart disease and as a therapy for patients in cardiac rehab programs.

A side effect with stronger heart muscles is also increased aerobic capacity which means that your heart will be able to pump blood more efficiently to all your muscles and organs when you are exercising. The result? Run longer & faster, play sports without getting tired, and have more energy throughout your day.

Arthritis/Bones and Strength Training

Numerous studies have proven that strength training reduces pain associated with arthritis in joints like knees, hands, and shoulders. The improved muscle strength with this kind of training protects the joints and bones and means less pain as you get older. Bones also become stronger and less prone to osteoporosis since their density is kept higher than individuals who don’t train with weights.

An added bonus is that stability is increased substantially when core strength training is practiced and this means a reduced chance of broken bones and sprained tendons especially as we get older.

Strength Training Routines

This is probably the question you all have, where can I get more of these routines. Well pay close attention to the workouts and training section of this site as I will continue to add the best most effective and efficient programs I have experienced personally and with my clients. You can make adjustments by simply reducing reps to 6-8 when you want to focus on strength if that routine is not specifically written out that way.

P.S. I am developing a coaching section to this site for those of you who want a little more one-on-one guidance and I’ll definitely keep the fee minimal so everyone can afford it.

Conclusion

The benefits of strength training are simply far too great to ignore regardless of your age and sex. The more consistent you are with your training, the more you will benefit especially as you age. If you’re too intimidated or not sure about your training regimen then check out the numerous workout routines in the workouts and training section of the site and stay tuned for the coaching section coming very shortly.

Have any questions about strength training benefits your routine or want to suggest ideas for the coaching program? Please leave a comment below…

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Holiday Weight Gain and How to Fight Back

Let’s face it, this holiday may have been one that wreaked havoc with our training and resulted in unsightly fat gain in our midsection! You may have already jumped on the train this week to get back in shape but even if you haven’t let’s all make a deal to fight back with a vengeance. The goal of this article is for a quick 4 week whip you back in shape diet and workout plan to tighten your abs and shed the excess fat weight.

Fat Busting Diet Plan

Your healthy diet plan is all messed up, you’re waking up schedule is all a mess now…so let’s get things back in order! Here’s the schedule you should try and aim for:

Meal 1 (as soon as you wake up) – healthy cereal, oatmeal, or eggs with whole wheat toast & milk, etc.
Snack 1 (2 hours later) – fruit of your choice, vanilla yogurt with fresh fruit, handful of nuts, or protein smoothie
Meal 2 (2 hours later) – healthy sandwich, low fat chili, or wrap
Snack 2 (3 hours later) – fruit of your choice, vanilla yogurt with fresh fruit, handful of nuts, or protein smoothie
Meal 3 (3 hours later) – lean ground beef, chicken or fish with brown rice or yam & salad with light dressing
Snack 3 (2 hours later) – fruit of your choice, cottage cheese with 1sp honey or protein smoothie

Nice right? Be creative with the foods but try and stick to the schedule so that you keep your metabolism as high as possible and your cravings completely in check. 4 weeks with this plan and you’re going to see some impressive results.

Gut Busting Workout Routine

This workout routine is going to be simple and short. You want to achieve at least 3 days of cardio training for the next 4 weeks so you can blast away fat around your gut…the higher intensity you can achieve the better and quicker your results will occur.

If you can add 2 or 3 days of weight training to this schedule then you’re doing one better and will wreak major benefits of stronger muscles and a tight core which will eliminate lower back pain and keep your energy levels high.

One note…if you are doing weight training and cardio in the same day make sure to do your cardio session afterwards. You want to have the greatest strength possible to allow you to push the weights with maximal force.

Rest & Relaxation

I thought I’d in this bit because it can be quite easy to get carried away and forget to schedule rest and relaxation days. You don’t have to be a complete couch potato on these days, but have a day or two a week where you do more light intensity activities such as walking, yoga or biking. This is the time your body needs to recover, repair and grow and with this scheduled in to your weekly plan you prevent yourself from burning out, losing motivation and weakening your immune system.

Special for Smokers

I’ve tried arguing the whole quitting smoking thing before with smokers but it hasn’t worked so I’m just going to put a note here for you to re-evaluate why you’re smoking. Nothing anyone says is going to help you if you don’t want the help. Try writing down 5 reasons why you should stop smoking and stick it to your bathroom mirror…at least it will be a good reminder in your own words!

Holiday Weight Gain Conclusion:

Ok remember to stick to this for at least the next 4 weeks, that’s a good goal to start with and once you get into the groove of things you can continue to build, add variety and intensity and push yourself to a stage that you are really happy with by summer. To keep your health at the top of your mind make sure to skim through the articles on this site on a weekly basis and I will do my best to keep your motivation high and continually looking at your training in different angles.

Have any questions or want to help inspire others? Please leave a comment below…

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6 Pack Abs Checklist

Is it really possible for anyone to get 6 pack abs or is it some genetic mutation that only some people are gifted with? I’d like to say yes it’s all genetics as I’m in the same boat with you, it’s a pain in the ass battling with having a chiseled midsection. In fact, it’s taken me a heck of a lot of work to get toned abs and sometimes I’m quite annoyed with guys who come in to the gym and barely workout and yet have the perfect abs.

Be that as it may, we’re going to quickly run through the 6 pack abs checklist so we have a point of reference in case we start going off track. I’ll be honest with you, it’s not going to be easy (for most of you!) but take this on as a personal challenge and stay determined until you reach your goals.

6 Pack Abs Checklist: Abs Diet

Well a whole book can be written on this topic, and heck there are probably thousands of books written on 6 pack abs diet, but let’s take a different approach. Let’s take a look at a typical diet of a fitness competitor who’s whole career is focused on reaching the perfect 6 pack. Ready for this? It’s not pretty!

Meal 1: 4 egg whites, 1/2 cup of oatmeal with cinammon, 1 teaspoon honey
Meal 2: Whey Protein Shake
Meal 3: 1 Chicken breast, 1 cup of brocolli
Meal 4: 8oz lean beef seasoned over 1 cup brown rice, 1 cup vegetables
Meal 5: 1 chicken breast, 1 cup brown rice, 1 tbsp olive oil, salsa
Meal 6: 1 cup fat free cottage cheese, 2 whole eggs
Meal 7: 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt with fresh fruit
Meal 8: Whey Protein Shake

Are you surprised? Sounds a little bland to me, but interesting how many meals and the variety this kind of 6 pack abs diet includes! So now we know how much dedication it takes. But personally I want to make sure I still enjoy what I eat, so we can strive our best to get close to this kind of meal plan right?

6 Pack Abs Checklist: Intense Cardio Training

There are two ways you can go about this. You can include low impact long duration cardio if you’re not concerned about muscle mass, or you can include high intensity short duration cardio training if you are focusing on gaining muscle mass. Personally I like somewhere in between these two with high intensity interval training because it allows my body short breaks between the sprints and reduces overall muscle strain.

The key to focus on here is that you are pushing yourself in some way in each session keeping some form of intensity. Try increasing sprint durations, or use hills, bleachers, stairs to add variety. Also make this more fun by trying different cardio exercises like jumping rope, biking, hiking, spin classes, kickboxing, power yoga, swimming, rowing, etc.

6 Pack Abs Checklist: Core Training

Notice that I’ve left core training ab workouts as the last step in this checklist because out of all 3 it is the least effective in providing 6 pack abs. What I mean by this is that you can have the most intense ab workout in the world but if you’re not eating well and including intense cardio in your workouts you won’t be able to get a 6 pack.

But what if you’re doing your best with eating well and getting at least 3 days of cardio sessions in a week? Well let’s take a look at some very effective 6 pack abs exercises:

Abdominal crunches on a stability ball (view image)
Side plank (30 seconds each side) (view image)
Abdominal wheel extensions (view image)
Back extensions with stability ball (view image)
Balance board knee tucks (view image)
Hanging leg raises (view image)
Woodchopper with medicine ball (view image)
Deadlift with dumbbells (view image)
Cable crunches (view image)
Bicycle crunches (view image)

Try a mix of 5 of these exercises in an ab workout session and make sure to reduce your resting period to about 30 seconds between each set and you’re going to be feeling a pretty good burn.

6 Pack Abs Checklist: Supplements
Last week I came across a pretty killer combo package created by Bodybuilding.com which is made for men and women individually. They include pretty much everything you will ever need to burn that fat and accelerate your 6 pack abs goals. Check it out:

• Men’s Advanced Fat Loss Combo
• Women’s Advanced Fat Loss Combo

6 Pack Abs Checklist: Conclusion

Nice, we now have a pretty solid checklist to reference whenever we notice our tummy is bulging out. We can follow these steps as close as possible and know that we’re doing our best to achieve the ultimate goal – getting 6 pack abs!

Have any comments on your favorite ab exercises or questions about 6 pack abs? Please leave a comment below…

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New Year’s Resolutions: Healthy Weight Loss Edition

I started this New Year’s Resolutions series with a Fat Loss Edition since I thought it was most important to focus on losing fat rather than just losing weight. But in this edition we want to focus on recalibrating our way of thinking so that weight loss is imminent and simple. Get your cup of green tea and join me for a quick read…

Healthy Weight Loss: New Outlook

Put everything you’ve ever heard about weight loss behind, you should be looking at this year with a new outlook and if you take this upcoming nugget of wisdom you will multiply your efforts with weight loss forever. Forever you ask? Bold statement yes, but it is absolutely integral to the mindset of those who are most successful long term. Here it is…

Forget what you weigh on the scale and put all your thoughts towards enjoying how good you feel after exercising. This is very essential most simply because the weight scale is so inaccurate. You may actually gain weight after exercising since muscle gain is heavier than fat so the scale could be crushing your motivation and determination.

So how good do you feel after exercising? Are you getting an adrenaline rush that lasts for hours? Are you feeling relieved from the stress factors of that day? Are you getting a boost in self confidence? Ask yourself these questions every time you workout and you will begin to realize a whole new outlook with weight loss.

Now what if you don’t feel good? These are questions to keep in mind… Do you have the right workout plan for you? Have you consulted with a certified personal trainer who has lots of raving clients (Read Personal Trainer – Benefits Exposed)? Do you have a healthy eating plan? How is your sleep? Are you allowing enough time for rest and recovery from your workouts?

Now you have both sides of the story and can use these questions to evaluate your current progress. But let’s get a little more into planning ahead to really make this even more powerful…

Healthy Weight Loss: Planning Ahead

You need to plans to be successful with your healthy weight loss goals: a workout plan and a diet plan.

Workout Plan – You need a new one of these at least every 6 weeks otherwise your body will adapt to your workout and you will stop seeing progress (that is if you don’t get bored of it before that!). Check out the workouts and training section of this site for ideas on workouts and try and consult with a personal trainer at least once a month (I will also be releasing an online coaching program in the near future so stay tuned!).

Here’s a very cool tip to keep you motivated…Review your workout routine in the morning of that day. Just doing this will keep you extremely motivated and anticipating that rush you get after a workout.

Diet Plan – Ok by diet plan I don’t mean some crazy plan where you’re eating lettuce and celery all day! I mean planning ahead the night before or in the early morning for that day. Aim for 3 meals and 2 healthy but significant snacks (examples include whey protein smoothie, handful of nuts, fruit, yogurt, or two celery sticks with natural peanut butter). Alternatively you can also plan for 5 smaller meals (stopping just before your full) which is the best way to go for quick weight loss but definitely more challenging to schedule.

Now we just need one more element to keep us on track…

Healthy Weight Loss: Support System

Do you have anyone to help you keep accountability for your workout and diet plans? This is key especially if you have problems with motivation and are yo-yo-ing with your weight loss all the time. Have a personal trainer, spouse, relative, or friend to ask you about your progress once a week or at least once a month. Make sure this person is positive and encouraging yet persistent to help you stay on track.

Healthy Weight Loss Supplements:

What about healthy supplements that will help you with your weight loss efforts. Here is my true advice that I have given even to my mom and dad about healthy supplements.

• Whey protein powder is the gold standard because it helps you keep full and provides your body with essential amino acids that help your muscles with growth and recovery. Read which whey protein is right for you in my article on Whey Protein Isolate vs Whey Protein Concentrate.
• Green Tea is another very healthy supplement to your diet because it is zero calorie and boosts your metabolism to burn more calories all the while providing antioxidants which helps protect our body from harmful additives in our food. Check out my article on Green Tea Top Secret Weight Loss Drink.
• Omega 3 – an essential fatty acid found in fish, flaxseed & other seafood and has been shown to activate enzymes which increase your body’s metabolic rate. The supplement is recommended because most fish (especially farmed) are found to have high levels of toxic contaminants which can accumulate in your body over time. Read more in my article on Omega 3 Benefits.
• CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) is another naturally occurring free fatty acid that is found in dairy products and meat and has been show to increase muscle mass while at the same time reduce body fat. We can get it concentrated in a gel cap so it’s easy to take on a daily basis with basically no side effects. Read my article on CLA Secret Fat Loss Formula.

What are your Weight Loss New Year’s Resolutions? Leave a comment below…

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A New Healthier You

2009 was a challenge for most people I know…we were challenged incredibly with our employment, finances, family life, relationships and of course our health. It seems like our health is one of the easiest to get hit the worst in tough economic times. Many of us try and make ourselves feel better with food and this leads to excessively eating foods with little to no nutritional value like chips, popcorn, ice cream, chocolate and pastries. But now?

Now it’s the year 2010! It’s time to reflect on last year and think of ways we can make this year better. Sounds a little overwhelming though doesn’t it?

Well let’s make this as simple as possible but let’s first start by promising ourselves to make this year a healthier year. We can always get better with our health, and if you don’t think that’s possible then you aren’t opening your mind up to learning. Even though I’ve been training for over 17 years I still feel like I’m learning each and every day and having this huge audience consistently asking questions allows me to think of solutions with different angles in mind.

Let’s get started!

Better Sleep
The first point I think we should all focus on is sleep. Healthy regular sleep 7-8 hours each night. Your body’s circadian rhythm depends on this…in other words every biological mechanism that is continuously happening in your body has a rhythm which is affected by your sleep.

If you sleep in 2 hours one day then that cycle of your body expecting breakfast at 8am in the morning is now messed up. This leads to a dominoes effect where your digestion system is now put on hold, the energy supplied to your muscles, heart, brain are all affected.

Invest in a good mattress and pillow and focus on making this year a good year for sleep. If you can master this one art then you will see major, no massive health benefits including natural weight loss. (check out my article on Sleep Well With the Right Pillow).

Weight Training
Weight training is the next fundamental component of your health. Regardless of whether you are male/female, young or old weight training should be a component of your exercise regimen. Training with weights strengthens our muscles, bones, tendons, and joints and prevents serious health problems like painful lower back, knees, and brittle bones (osteoporosis).

Just make sure you train the right way, get a personal trainer for even just a few sessions this year and ask him/her to make sure that you are performing exercises the right way. That your back is aligned properly in all movements, that you aren’t swinging, that you have your feet the right distance apart and that you are not placing excessive force on your shoulders or knees.

Sure this may set you back a few hundred but you should should be doing this before you think about spending money on any health supplement including vitamins otherwise you are just throwing away that money. The benefits will be very impressive, I promise you that!

Variation in Your Cardio Routine
Are you the type of person that does the same cardio routine like a 60 minute jog week after week? Well 2010 is the year to mix things up. Sure that kind of routine is overall good for your health but if you want to see improvement in your physique then variation is key. Try high intensity interval training, signing up for sports you’ve never done including volleyball, skiing, yoga, kickboxing, surfing, soccer, etc.

This alone will inject a whole new level of excitement into your exercise plan and keep you motivated and excited to keep improving.

More Natural Foods
Let’s keep it simple…healthy eating can be much more easily followed if you purchase more fresh fruits and vegetables than processed foods which are packaged.

Have fun with this…try a unique fruit or vegetable a month and by the end of 2010 you will have found probably one or two new favorite healthy foods. Some you might want to try: pomegranate, kumquat, bok choy, pitaya, chayote, beets, acai berries, guava, etc.

Conclusion
What do you think about that? Nice simplified focus for a new healthier you in 2010…better sleep, weight training, variation in your cardio routine, and more natural foods. Forget all the other hype for now and focus on these points and you are going to reach levels you never have before regardless of your age. Be adventurous, have fun and have a new perspective of this year…here’s to a New Healthier You in 2010!

Have anything you’d like to add? As always I appreciate your comments below…

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Why Fruit Can Harm Your Health These Holidays

In several articles on this site I state that a key component to any healthy eating plan is to include lots of fruit. But the question is, can fruit really be bad for us considering all the chemicals and pesticides that are sprayed on most fruit we eat?

My intention in writing this is to just make us all more aware of what we buy and what we put into our bodies. You may disagree with this statement whole-heartedly but the healthy thing here is that we generate discussion on this topic…

I came across a scientific report lately on how many chemicals are actually found on apples…ready for this? Scientists have found over 189 chemicals to be found on apples by the time they arrive in the grocery store, and not all the chemicals are pesticides. We already know that many pesticides, even those stated as being organic are harmful to our health and have been linked with cancer.

Side note: just because a chemical is noted as being organic does not mean it is any safer for us or even greener for the environment. However, the important thing to notice is that most organic foods have found to have less pesticide residue than non-organic foods.

Nevertheless, there is also a class of chemicals called napthaleneacetmides which are used to help regulate the growth of fruit. The way they work is by allowing the plant to grow more fruit by limiting the amount of non-fruit growth like leaves and stems. In essence, more nutrients are driven to the fruit itself and allow plants to have larger and more plentiful fruit. Ok…so are they bad for our health?

The scary thing is that the World Health Organization has deemed naphthaleneacetamides as having “high acute toxicity” for humans. But the controversy arises because the Environmental Protection Agency has deemed them safe under controlled conditions since the chemical only its purest form is actually toxic. So we’re safe right?

The unfortunate fact is that there aren’t enough inspectors to continually monitor and check for safety of this and other chemicals in our fruit before they are shipped out. Does this cause as much concern to you as it does to me? I’d also like to know for a fact that organic farms do not use these type of synthetic hormones, that question should be asked by all of us.

Further to this, pesiticides are deemed safe by the Environmental Protection Agency when tested at small concentrations. But two other questions remain unanswered. What about the accumulation of these pesticides and chemicals in our body over time? Secondly, how do the different pesticides react chemically with each other in our bodies?

So what is the solution?

Well the solution is definitely not eliminating fruit from our diets! That would be completely missing the point of eating and living a healthy liftestyle.

What about washing our fruit differently? Department of agriculture recommends washing fruit rigorously under running water with a brush, or peeling fruit. Unfortunately peeling fruit can also lose some of the best nutrients and fiber away from fruits and vegetables.

If you can afford it buying organic or even local fruits and vegetables is best as they generally will have less chemicals and pesticide residues. You can also try sticking to a variety of fruits and vegetables so you can hopefully reduce your risk of exposure to a single pesticide.

Have any suggestions or comments about this topic? Please leave a message below:

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Weight Training Plateau – 5 Tips to Push You Through

At some point everyone will get stuck with their workouts and stop seeing results in the mirror. This is the dreaded weight training plateau stage and this article will point out 5 of the most effective ways to break the plateau and push you through to the next level of gaining more muscle.

If you’re female or a male who doesn’t want to get bulky hopefully other articles on this site have shown you that it takes muscle to burn fat, and the more muscle you have the higher your resting metabolic rate will be. This means you will be burning more calories at rest if you have more muscle. There are more many more benefits of having a little more muscle such as protection of your joints and muscles and you can always cut back by adding more cardio.

Before we jump into this it should be noted that you should have been working out continuously for at least 6-8 weeks before determining that you are in a plateau stage. This is the amount of time it takes for you body to become unresponsive to your regular routine.

If you haven’t then you know what to do…go to the workouts and trainig section of this website and pick a workout that you feel is right for you (you may want to pick from the ultra popular Men’s Workout Routines or Women’s Workout Routines).

Variation in Weight Training Routine

The first and most important to take into consideration is that you need to change your workout routine about every 6 weeks. Many people get comfortable with doing the same workout week after week but our bodies have an incredible ability to adapt and this is when you stop seeing results. To keep things interesting you may even want to add this quick and easy tip on a weekly basis….

For one week try focusing on going heavy with lower repetitions in the 6-8 range. The following week focus on lighter weights but with more reps in the 12-14 range. Then cycle this to always keep your muscles guessing. Of course you can stick to heavy for 3 weeks if you first want to add muscle and then round off with 3 weeks at at the higher reps stage to add muscle definition.

Variation in Training Methodology

What the heck to do I mean by training methodology? It can actually mean a number of different techniques that will really shock your body out of a plateau. The one I like most is to hire a personal trainer for a few weeks and get him/her to really push you while keeping your focus on your form. In reality this could be far more effective than any pill on the market!

Similarly you can find a training buddy and have that person spot you with some more advanced or challenging exercises like the barbell squat or decline chest press. Just having this person with you will usually give you an adrenaline rush that will keep you extra pumped. Remember to keep the small talk short and your rest periods between exercises to less than a minute.

Lastly with training methodology you can try adding supsets, doing weeks where you focus on specific body parts or even forgetting weights and doing challenging body-weight-only exercises.

Variation in Cardio Training

There are a lot of different times you can enter your cardio routine. You can add it after your weight training routine, you can do it in between weight training days or you can do it in the evenings if you are weight training in the morning.

Remember High Intensity Interval Training? This is a great way to break you through a plateau as well since it challenges every single muscle fiber in your body including your core if you focus on proper form and hitting your max heart rate. Read the full article on High Intensity Interval Training.

Lastly with this you can switch running on the treadmill with doing a spin class, kickboxing class or playing a sport outside with your friends or on a team.

Variation in Nutrition

Nutrition is the other half of your training plan and your body also can adapt to what you eat. Be creative with your eating…try days where you do some healthy carb loading (i.e. with whole grain products) and other days where you have a little more protein than usual (whey protein smoothies are great for this).

If you aren’t eating early in the morning when you wake up try this for a while and skip your late night snack. You can also switch this up, but it’s always best to eat even something small in the morning after your 8 hour fast (i.e. sleep!).

Other ideas can include trying a vegetarian or even vegan day or two, or switching up your source of protein or carbohydrate intake (for example if you drink soy milk, switch it up with eating rice milk, or if you eat chicken switch to fish). Be aware of how your body responds and what it likes and doesn’t like so you can reference this in the future.

Variation in Rest and Relaxation

Once you understand the benefits of working out and eating healthy it’s also easy to get a bit carried away especially if you are at a desk job like most of us. Try adding rest days or taking them on different days. For instance, if you are always taking rest days on the weekend try to change this and have your rest day on Monday.

Recently I wrote two very popular articles on Health Benefits of Yoga & Health Benefits of Yoga Part 2 and having this variation for your rest and relaxation day in your pocket is a great way to completely revolutionize the results you get from your workouts.

Flexibility training and stretching after your workouts is also key to preventing plateaus because they allow your muscles to get proper blood flow going again and recover quicker as a result. My favorite is to also having a massage therapy session at least once a month…it’s incredible how this will make you find areas that you hold tension that you didn’t realize.

Weight Training Plateau Conclusion

Variation, Variation, Variation! Whatever you do, make sure to add some form of variation at least one of these points every 6 weeks and you’ll notice that you can break out of a weight training plateau. Take a break and try different forms of rest and relaxation and if you have been training for 6 months non-stop take a week off from the gym. When you come back you’ll have 110% more energy then before and this is when you really go to the next level. After training for 17 years I’m still trying and testing different variations, adding sports I’ve never done before and just having fun with it all.

I’d love to hear your stories on how you add variation to your weight training and workout routines. Please leave a comment below…

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Vitamin D Facts

Recently I’ve had a lot of people ask me about vitamin deficiencies and what we should be supplementing with. The problem arises particularly when we process foods with preservatives, pesticides or other chemicals that we see a major shift in lack of vitamins and minerals that we get from our foods. Therein lies the fact the controversy of organic foods having higher levels of natural vitamins. But what about non-essential vitamins that we generate naturally from other sources?

If we look at Vitamin D it is actually classified as a non-essential vitamin because our body generates it from other sources such as sunlight. However, the problem is that in the winter many of us do not get enough sunlight and skin doctors now mention that because many of us are now using sun-block creams this results in insufficient generation of vitamin D.

Just 20 minutes of sunlight a day would allow our bodies to generate adequate Vitamin D levels so it does come as a surprise that researchers are noting that most North Americans do not have enough Vitamin D. So what are the common problems associated with Vitamin D Deficiency?

Vitamin D Fact: Deficiency Problems

Vitamin D malnutrition can be linked with a number of chronic diseases including:

• Osteoporosis – brittle bones and increased fragility of bones which is a major problem for us as we get older
• Cardiovascular disease & high blood pressure
• Immune System Problems – Vitamin D plays a critical role in our immune cells so lack of prevents our bodies from fighting viruses, bacteria and fungi making us more prone to the common flu, tuberculosis and even Multiple Sclerosis
• Cancer – Numerous long term studies dating as far back as 1970 have shown that Vitamin D has significant protective effects against the development of cancer

Vitamin D Fact: Daily Requirements

Men & women over 18 should have a minimum of 200 IU/day and those over 51 should have a minimum of 400 IU/day. However, many experts in the medical field believe that adults should take 800-1000 IU/day to prevent osteoporosis and protect against cancer especially if you are not getting much sunlight. Institute of Medicine is revisiting Vitamin D recommendations and report is expected in spring of 2010.

Vitamin D Fact: Toxicity

You can’t overdose on Vitamin D your skin makes and it’s unlikely to overdose from food, but the US & Canadian Dietary Associations have indicated that under 2000 IU/day is safe. Vitamin D Toxicity problems include nausea, mood changes and organ damage. Check with your doctor to see what is recommended for your specific age, sex and health.

Vitamin D Fact: Food Sources

Very few foods are naturally rich in Vitamin D, but milk is often fortified with 125 IU per glass. Other foods highest in Vitamin D include fatty fish, eggs, and beef. Lately you will also see other foods such as cereals and orange juice that are fortified with Vitamin D.

Vitamin D Fact: Supplement Safety

Are Vitamin D supplements safe? Yes and often recommended by doctors especially if you are over 50, don’t get much sunlight, are a vegetarian or don’t drink milk.

Top Vitamin D Supplements:

• NOW Vitamin D-3, 1000 IU
• Nature’ Science Dry Vitamin D, 400IU
• Deva Nutrition Vegan Vitamin D, 800 IU

Have any questions/comments about Vitamin D? Please leave a comment below…

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Health Benefits of Yoga Part 2

My last article on Health Benefits of Yoga generated a lot of discussion especially in the Twitter world (http://twitter.com/samomidi) and since I noticed I could write pages on this practice this is the 2nd part in the series which will get you to see even more outside-the-box benefits.

In this article we look at how Yoga can benefit your weight loss efforts, sexual health as well as how it can excel athletes of all kinds of sport and exercise.

Weight Loss Health Benefits of Yoga

Last time I touched on Yoga as a way to reduce mental and muscular stress by allowing you to bring your mind to peace with the outside world as well as challenge you with deep stretching of all your muscles from head to toe. This directly also will benefit you when it comes to weight loss, and not just any weight loss but specifically fat loss. How does it do so?

Remember the hormone cortisol and fight-or-flight hormones like epinephrine, & dopamine? Our body secretes them as a response to stress and yes of course it is natural to do so but these hormone also lead to the breakdown of muscle and accelerated storage of fat so in case we are faced with a life-threatening stress factor we are able to burn that fat for energy (blame it on our ancestors!). Ok, I already mentioned this in the previous article but thought I’d reiterate with a better example because it is so important. But how else does Yoga help us with fat loss?

Well Yoga through stretching, relaxation and deep breathing takes it further by also improving the blood flow throughout our body and allowing us to detoxify more efficiently. Detoxification is important to get rid of chemicals in our foods, byproducts from the breakdown of foods as well as gases like carbon dioxide/monoxide which are created from exercise and unfortunately our polluted environment.

What I’m getting at here is that the more efficient our detoxification system is the more we benefit in keeping a healthier and youthful body. It gets better though because Yoga can also have many benefits for your sexual health…

Sexual Health Benefits of Yoga

We already know as adults that sexual health is utterly important to our overall well being. When we are stressed out and have a lot on mind our libido takes a major hit and can cause a spiral of problems including effects on your relationship and your self-confidence.

So with the practice of Yoga we become more aware of our body, more aware of our surroundings and begin to understand how outside influences effect and affect us. This is pretty powerful stuff if you really think about it and I think something that many men and even women today are ignoring and being ignorant about.

Somehow society forces on us that work, money and having a perfect family life is all there is to focus on, yet we lose awareness of our own well-being. This point is fascinating to even me as I write this because it’s so easy to get caught up in all of it. Way to easy in fact! But when you practice yoga it brings that balance back and with balance you are able to experience your relationships in a much heightened level (ok so in this case our ancestors from India several thousand years ago who discovered Yoga were way ahead of their time!).

Bonus factor: Practice Yoga with your partner and your relationship will become much more sensual as you discover the art together. This is a challenge I bring out to all guys who are reading this. Come on, better sex can’t be a hard sell here!

Benefits of Yoga for Athletes

I asked my friends on Facebook about how they found Yoga to help them as an athlete and I got a pretty cool reply – “Yoga has helped me in many different ways, but one of the most interesting ways, I think, is when lifting weights, now I am more conscious about the movement and my body position. – José”

José took the words right out of my head and articulated them in a way anyone can understand. This is especially fascinating for anyone who is plateuing and not seeing results from their training any longer. Usually when you are in the state of plateau you lose awareness of your body through movement and positioning. Add variety to your workout and focus on this one factor can snap you out a no-results state and allow you to progress in ways you’ve always dreamed of.

The fact that Yoga can help you with this is something that Olympic athletes and competitive weightlifters are beginning to just realize. If you could skip wasting money on expensive supplements with negative side-effects and use Yoga would you do so?

Conclusion of Health Benefits of Yoga Part 2

It’s definitely going to be a stretch for many people to become comfortable with the rituals of yoga (no pun intended!) but the benefits are so comprehensive that it almost seems like a no-brainer doesn’t it? Take a minute to skim these two articles again and it’ll make it easier for you to incorporate something that provides balance and overall well-being just for YOU.

Have you experienced other benefits of Yoga that you’d like to share? Please leave a comment below…

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Nutrition Facts Label – How to Read

Turn over any packaged product and you are faced with a Nutrition Facts Label. But how do you read it, and what do you look out for? After reading this article you will be able to take 5 seconds and look at the Nutrition Facts Label and determine if this is the right product to keep your fat-reducing muscle-producing nutrition plan in place or not.

Nutrition Facts: Serving Size

The serving size is the first thing you’ll want to look at. Is the portion size indicated a real life amount that you would be consuming? A lot of times I see this number is a little off especially with cereals. Some manufacturers indicate that half a cup of cereal is a regular serving size when a lot of times it is actually a full cup (250ml size). So if that is the case remember to double everything listed below.

Nutrition Facts: Calories

Although I’m a strong advocate of eliminating the focus of counting calories (many people lose track of how good they feel after exercising when their entire focus becomes calorie counting) it is essential to have a higher daily calorie expenditure than intake in order to lose fat weight.

With that in mind it’s a good idea to have a quick glimpse of the calories per serving and making sure it is not abnormally high (very generally a snack should not be higher than 200 calories per serving and a meal should not be more than 500-600 calories if you’re aiming at 5 meals/day).

Note: You will want to take a quick look at the ingredients list to see the top ones listed. A little more on this later but if the list of ingredients is whole grains, low fat dairy, veggies, fruit, or beans/legumes then we know that at least we’re getting most of our calories from something healthy.

Nutrition Facts: Total Fat

Several years ago there was the low-fat fad but we know better now. Some fats are healthy and essential to our diet and also keep us feeling full longer, so here are a couple tips to help you with your decision. Generally you want to have the fat be less than a third of the calories and/or below 20% of the Daily Value. This number should be lower if you’re adding healthy oils like olive oil, or omega-3’s from fish, flax or even hemp into your foods.

Although I believe media has really sensationalized the fact that all saturated fat is bad for us, it’s ideal to have the saturated fat percentage low in comparison to the amount of unsaturated fat we should be getting from healthier Omega 3’s.

Note: Stay away from Trans fats. You want to see a 0 next to Trans fats which have been shown to increase bad LDL cholesterol levels in our blood and increase risk of coronary heart disease.

Nutrition Facts: Cholesterol & Sodium

Shouldn’t be a surprised that you want to keep cholesterol and sodium levels low. In North American diets our levels of cholesterol and sodium are generally way too high so keeping this in check is great for your health.

Nutrition Facts: Protein

I generally like to see the protein value higher than just a few grams as I’ve indicated in many articles on this site (Whey Protein Powder, Whey Protein Isolate vs Concentrate) that protein has been shown to help fight hunger, provide essential amino acids to our muscles and organs and just make us stronger overall.

It’s a good idea to have at least 30% of your daily calories from protein.

Note: you’ll generally notice that more expensive products are the ones that have higher protein concentrations. That’s because filler products like sugar, flour, water, oil are all inexpensive to produce but they also have the least nutritional value.

Nutrition Facts: Vitamins/Minerals

If our foods have higher concentrations of vitamins and minerals than this is a good sign right? Absolutely! Unless you are taking excessive supplements having more vitamins and minerals is pretty much a great thing.

Ingredients Listing

Although this is not part of the Nutrition Facts label I thought I’d also include a few tips when looking at your ingredients list. Manufacturers are required to write the list of ingredients from the greatest amount to the lowest amount in the product. So the first ingredient listed is also the one that is most present, and the last ingredient is the least present.

Watch out for: high fructose corn sugar/syrup, corn/palm/coconut oil, enriched or processed flour, starch, sugars, maltodextrin and anything you can’t pronounce.

Conclusion:

I hope this article has helped you in the decision making process for picking healthier food items. Just take a few seconds to quickly glance over the back of any product and you’re going to be on your way to being more successful with reach your health goals.

Have any questions about reading Nutrition Facts Labels? Your comments are always appreciated!

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Health Benefits of Yoga

As a health coach and personal trainer I feel like it’s my responsibility to always try and step outside the box and attempt different physical activities which challenge not only my body, but my mind and overall well being. Yoga is no exception and I thought I’d share my recent experiences with Yoga as well as talk about the numerous health benefits it provides.

Overview of Yoga

Originating from India several thousand years ago, Yoga is a practice which includes techniques to bring about a higher state of consciousness through meditation, physical postures, and breathing. In the Western World Hatha Yoga is the most practiced although there are several other types identified by the religions of Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.

For a beginner who may not have ever been exposed to spiritual meditation through childhood many of these practices may seem way out there, but considering the fact that most elite athletes in the world are now including Yoga as an integral part of their training, there is definitely something remarkable about it that should not be ignored.

All you need is an open mind and willing to understand the benefits that will come through practice of this ancient art, so let’s look at just a few of these benefits…

Mental Health Benefits of Yoga

Because the main objective of Yoga is to result in balance of the mind, body and spirit, one of the biggest benefits is reduction of daily stress. In fact, many great instructors will first ask you to let go of all your stresses once you enter the room. Those who are masters of yoga are pros at this, they are cool, calm and collected at ALL times.

If you can see the power in this one point then you will begin a fantastic journey that will bring you peace even at the most trying of times. Read that sentence again because it really is what I have just begun to understand after trying yoga a handful of times (at the time of writing this article).

One very cool analogy I heard a while back is that when you begin yoga it is like a drop of blue ink in a large pool of water. It starts out dilute, but as you add more and more drops it eventually changes the entire pool to a rich blue color. In other words, the more you practice over time the more benefits you will see from it. The more relaxation you bring into your life the more rich your life will be.

Since Yoga implements meditation and allows you to be present at any one moment, the relaxation is mirrored in one other major benefit….sleep! To be frank, I was quite shocked how much yoga has already improved my sleep. We all know that sleep is important for our mental well being, but this is also reflected throughout our body and also allows our muscles to recover quicker which is the next major benefit I’d like to mention….

Muscle Recovery Benefits of Yoga

So with less stress that means our body also produces less cortisol which a hormone related to unhealthy weight gain and catabolic muscle activity (where our muscles are broken down to produce energy). Simply stated – less stress means less fat production and more muscle growth!

But the benefits don’t stop there. Yoga involves deep stretching of all body parts from your toes to your head (well your neck anyway!) This means improved range of motion, less muscle tension, better blood flow and detoxification of muscles, and even an increase of joint/tendon lubrication.

WOW right?!

Increased range of motion means you get more results from your workouts.
Less muscle tension means less muscle pain at any time of the day.
Better blood flow means your muscles are able to get rid of toxins easier and your muscles are able to recover quicker.
Increase joint/tendon lubrication means better life-time health of your knees, ankles, shoulders, hips, etc.

Conclusion of Health Benefits of Yoga?

There is a question mark because after writing this article I realized there are even more health benefits from Yoga! I’d like to continue this article into a 2nd part (Health Benefits of Yoga Part 2) which goes further and talks about benefits with regards to weight loss and sexual health. With that said you may want to try booking your first Yoga experience, of if you’ve tried it already think about all these benefits as a way to enhance your experience.

Have you tried Yoga? Why or why not and what has your experience been like if you have? Please leave a comment below…

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Weight Loss Motivation Tips: Top 5

It’s too bad the months of November/December and March/April are usually the ones where most people lose motivation to get into the gym and stay proactive with their healthy lifestyle choices. That’s why I thought I’d give a quick reminder of some great tips we can all use to stay on track and prevent that muffin top from getting any worst!

The goal of this article is to allow you to focus on keeping it simple and not cluttering your head with all the thousands of different diets/workout plans that promise to give you long term weight loss success. These tips are aimed at experienced pros and beginners alike and are guaranteed to work, so give it a go…

Weight Loss Motivation Tip 1: Plan

What’s your objective? What’s your plan? This is key to any successful training plan. Whether your goal is to increase muscle size or lose fat, just clarify your objective in your head for the next 6 weeks.

Once you have your objective clear develop a workout and nutrition plan based on that. You can search the articles in this website which will help you define these plans. Just pick and choose the best nuggets you get from each article and customize it to best suit your needs. This leads to the next tip which is definitely one of the most powerful you will ever encounter…

Weight Loss Motivation Tip 2: Educate

Listen up for this one. Bar none: Education is your biggest motivation booster. Take 5 minutes each day to read an article on this site and you will power your arsenal against couch potato fat more than any other method. You see the secret in this tip is that through educating yourself you will soon subconsciously make smarter decisions when it comes to your eating and your workouts.

In other words you soon won’t even have to make an effort, your brain will just do it automatically. For example, instead of asking for french fries you will ask for grilled and spiced veggies next time you’re out at a restaurant! Or if it’s your cheat day you will ask for half yam fries and half greens salad with light dressing.

That doesn’t sound as bad as you thought it would did it?

Weight Loss Motivation Tip 3: Spring Cleaning

You know how it is in Spring when you go through your house and do some spring cleaning right? Well why not apply the same principal to your kitchen? When it comes down to your health it’s really important to keep your cravings in check by just not having any junk food stored in your cupboards in the first place.

Do it this evening, take an hour and clean out your fridge, freezer and cupboards of any items you know will be landmines for crushing your goals. Won’t it be worth it in the end if you get to look in the mirror and really be proud of the physique you’ve worked so hard to achieve?

Extra tip: You know which foods are bad by looking at the ingredients and seeing if there are items whose first or second ingredient is either of one of these: sugar, cream, flour (processed, refined, enriched), oil (especially hydrogenated, corn or soy). Also if there are ingredients you can’t pronounce then it’s a safe bet they are artificial and not worth keeping.

Weight Loss Motivation Tip 4: Keep a Daily Log

Keeping a daily log of your diet and workout is extremely effective in keeping your motivation high. It allows you to stay on track and notice what diet created the most discomfort for you or which workout gave you the greatest adrenaline rush.

If you’re feeling really bored with your workouts this tip is pretty sweet. Just print out your new workout plan and then take it with you and write down what weights you used and how many reps/sets you did. It’s incredible how this little tip will keep you from getting bored at the gym. Just make sure to change your workout plan every 6 weeks for maximal results.

Weight Loss Motivation Tip 5: Picture it!

Visualizing yourself with the body you’ve always wanted to have is an advanced strategy that only some will really understand. But if you can challenge your mind with this at least once a day you’re going to not only boost your motivation but will also multiply your chances of achieving success.

A good way to start is to cut out a picture of a celebrity or athlete you want to have a the body like and leave it on your fridge or next to your cupboards. This will begin the process of getting a visual in your mind’s eye and it will begin to cause a butterfly effect. The key is to think about how each thing you eat will or will not help you get to your goals. (Sound a bit too much? Give yourself a break at least once or twice a break with cheat days where you relax and eat your favorites in moderation).

Conclusion:

Put these weight loss motivation tips in plan today (Plan, Educate, Spring Cleaning, Keep a Daily Log and Picture It) and you will without a doubt begin to see some pretty incredible results regardless of what level of training you are at. Take it one step a time and be strong as it may not be easy but it will all be worth it in the end!

Do you have any other weight loss motivation tips you’d like to add? Please leave a comment below…

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Pre Workout Energy Foods

Earlier this week I wrote about Post Workout Nutrition and got quite a bit of feedback from many who realized how important it is to have something even as simple as fruit within 60 minutes after their workouts. Now in this article I’d like to share with you my knowledge gained from studying advanced exercise nutrition for athletes.

How many times have you gone to do some exercise and have felt either tired or even nauseous just a few minutes into your workout? I think this is something experienced by everyone and although there are several factors which tie in to your energy (obviously sleep is a big one!), we’re going to look specifically at your nutrition pre-workout and even when to eat to get best results.

So what is the time span that is used when we are referring to pre workout nutrition? Well researchers in this field refer this as one to four hours before exercise begins.

What are the goals that we want to achieve pre exercise? The most important is to consume foods that provide glucose, prevent dehyration, delay fatigue and minimize gastrointestinal upset.

Let’s first address those who feel nauseous or get a bloated feeling when beginning to exercise. The fact is that we notice the most gastrointestinal discomfort when we eat too close before we workout. This problem is amplified if our foods are too rich in protein and/or fat. The reason is because fat and protein take longer to digest than simple carbohydrates.

What are simple carbohydrates? Examples would be cereal, white bread, white rice and fruit like bananas, mango and apple. Although fiber is critical to the health of our digestive system it is important to realize that carbohydrates that are high in fiber (considered complex carbohydrates which are usually those that contain whole grains) are also slower to digest.

So what does this all mean? Research has proven that pre-exercise simple carbohydrate meals are best because because they delay time to exhaustion and improve performance. Now this statement is especially important for those in long endurance sports and those who are focusing on cardio activity in the 45 minute plus range.

Pre Workout Energy Meal

If your goal is primarily to enhance performance in your sport or training then a killer example of a meal would be:
one glass orange juice
one 8oz gatorade drink (you can skip this if you are training with weights)
one small bagel with tablespoon of light cream cheese

This meal if taken 2 hours before exercise will supply approximately 100 grams of carbohydrate and has shown to help athletes training longer than an hour. Now you’ll notice the carbohydrates are quite high and this is specifically for endurance sports, but what about someone who is going in to train with weights?

Well obviously if your training is pretty quick paced and you’re doing a lot of supersets (one after another) then a good amount of carbs pre exercise is smart. Here are some other ideas to have 1 hour before exercising:

Banana/Apple/Mango/Watermelon
Yam/Potato
Trukey sandwich
English muffin with tablespoon of honey
2 Crackers with natural peanut butter
Corn Flakes with raisins and skim milk
Carrots
Air popped popcorn

You can now be consciously aware of what you eat pre-workout and see how you feel during your workouts. If you’re feeling gastro discomfort you can try reducing the amount of protein/fat or just eat it a little earlier and then concentrate on something more simple carb focused closer to your workout.

Hydration:

Although this is not a pre-workout food it is important to state that scientists have found that athletes who consume approximately 2 cups of water 2-3 hours before exercising are less likely to get dehydrated once they have begun an endurance sport lasting for longer than an hour.

If dehydration is specifically of concern to you then science has shown that carbohydrate drinks like Gatorade which contain electrolytes (specifically sodium and potassium) will help prevent dehydration. This is obviously most important for marathon runners and individuals who participate in long distant cycling.

Pre Workout Supplementation:

While researching the topic of pre workout energy foods I had a lot of you guys tweet back and let me know that you also wanted to know about supplementation, so I thought I’d add that in here.

Here is what I’ve found from real experience with myself and my clients. Creatine pre-workout is one of the best supplements hands down. It can give you that little extra bit of energy you need to push your training to the next level. Although some consider the bloating as a side effect with creatine it can also be argued that the extra water retention can help with flushing out wastes from your muscles (including lactic acid build-up), so it can have some extra benefit.

Now some of the best creatine I’ve found includes: Fusion Bodybuilding’s Purple-K or for those wanting a full energy drink mix including creatine and NO then Gaspari Nutrition’s SuperPump250 is one of the hottest supplements in the market right now (and it tastes pretty damn good too!).

Other supplementation which is smart especially if you want to have a liquid form mini-meal is a whey protein shake. Obviously because this is high in protein you want to add some fruit such as a banana and make sure to have it at least an hour before your workout. The best selling top quality protein is Optimum 100% Whey Protein (Bodybuilding.com Protein Powder of the Year -5 years in a row)
.

Conclusion Pre Workout Energy Foods:

Everyone will need different amounts of time to have their pre-workout energy foods, but this article should help you develop a guideline which you can test and discover to see what works best for you. Experiment with the amount of protein and fat as well, some of you may find that high protein drinks an hour before your workout will work wonderfully and having that extra essential amino acids in your diet will help your muscles recover and grow.

Do you have any other Pre Workout Energy Foods you’d like to add? Please leave a message below…

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Post Workout Nutrition

Post workout nutrition is a very important part of any diet and training regimen and I believe it gets missed a lot even by professional athletes and trainers. It’s important to understand the science behind this to really get the big picture, so let me start with that…

During exercise our body breaks down glycogen (sugar molecules which we get from food), as well as some fat and some protein. Glycogen of course is the most readily available in most cases and is the fuel for us to not only exercise but to also allow us to really pushes through to the next level.

If our training intensity is high enough and we are exercising for about an hour our glycogen stores are diminished substantially and our body turns to protein and then fat for fuel. This is unfortunate because it means that we actually break down muscle sooner than our body breaks down fat for energy. From an evolutionary standpoint this makes sense because our bodies learned to store fat for times when food was lacking (picture a bear hibernating during winter). Pretty interesting if you look at it in this point of view isn’t it?

Your Post Workout Nutrition Focus:
But, here is the golden nugget…after our exercise routine our bodies ability to restore our glycogen stores are at its highest. Researchers believe that this time is usually limited to within 30 to 60 minutes after exercise. Thus, you want to make sure you save your high glycemic foods to this time period (as well as pre-workout but that will be in another article!).

Many of you may think that if you starve your body after exercise that you will begin to burn fat and therefore make you eliminate body fat. Unfortunately, the complete opposite is true!!!

If you starve your body after exercise you are going to be hit by a number of negative consequences.

Firstly, if you don’t get enough high quality carbohydrates within 60 minutes post-workout then your glycogen stores will not be at their optimal level next time you workout. This means that you won’t have maximal energy and will feel drained and unmotivated next time your exercising. Can we all relate?

Secondly, you are telling your body that it may not get food again for quite a while. Our body takes this to heart and reduces our metabolism to compensate and also begins to store food as fat as much as it can just in case it doesn’t get food again.

Pretty much a double whammy right? So now that you know the science behind post workout nutrition what are some healthy examples of foods to eat?

Post Workout Foods:
Fruit especially those extra sweet ones such as ripe bananas, apples, pears, watermelon are fantastic solutions for post-workout nutrition.

New research however shows that your body also has greater uptake of essential amino acids which are found in proteins right after your workout. So having a full meal like a bowl of brown rice with chicken, vegetables and cashews with light teriyaki sauce would be perfect. Of course, you can be creative with this and substitute fish, lean beef or even prawns. Something like roasted or steamed yam with a tablespoon of organic butter and spices sprinkled on top is also very smart.

For those on the rush, a bowl of instant oatmeal or a whey protein fruit smoothie would also be exceptional post-workout nutrition.

Other options

For those seeking weight loss: carrots, chocolate milk, honey on whole wheat toast, steamed nugget potatoes, lentil soup, whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce, fruit salad, yogurt and oats.

For those seeking muscle gain: your favorite pasta with low fat sauces and extra veggies, cereal with skim milk, dark chocolate, gatorade, chili.

Have any questions about your post workout nutrition? Please leave a comment below…

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How to Get Ripped – 5 Fat Busting Tips

I’ve been getting a lot of people mentioning how much they like reading quick and easy lists. It helps keep them on track, motivated and wanting to read more on what this site has to offer. So….I thought I’d write a quick tips list on how to get ripped!

Even though it’s winter and most of us are not hitting the gym as frequently as we would like (you know who you are…it’s always funny to see so many fewer people at my gym in the months before New Years), memorize this quick list and you won’t have to go through hell with your new year’s resolution in January.

Grab a green tea, and get pumped to read this article. Ready? Let’s go…

How to Get Ripped Tip 1: Nutrition is KEY.

No matter how much cardio, ab crunches and weight training you do, you’re not going to get ripped if you go home and scarf down a bag of cookies. You have to eat healthy in the morning, at work, when you get home and before sleep.

This means you need to go through your kitchen and throw out any temptations that will get in your way. Now before you go to the grocery store make a list of as many fruits and veggies you can think of. Make a secondary list of beans, legumes, spices, low fat & low sugar dairy products, plus lean meats. Now check out the recipes section of this web site and be creative with making dinner. Make more and take it to school/work with you for lunch.

You’ve won more than half the battle after this stage!

How to Get Ripped Tip 2: Focus on eating high quality protein.

There are a lot of diet fads out there with low fat and low carbs…but the one that is the most effective for me and my clients is focusing on eating high quality protein. In other words, protein should be the staple of your meal and everything else is secondary. Of course, use good judgment here, I’m not saying atkins diet is good, just that if your focus is on high quality lean protein (seafood including prawns, scallop, fish; skinless chicken, extra lean beef, eggs, low fat dairy products, or soy/hemp/rice proteins) then garnishing with veggies and spices will give you the greatest success.

The reasoning is this – protein contains essential amino acids which are the building blocks of our muscles and if we are exercising it is absolutely essential to provide our body with protein to nourish our muscles and keep them in pristine condition. The second part of the reasoning is that protein provides satiety, meaning we feel full longer than eating the same amount in carbohydrates so therefore we have more resistance to junk-food temptations.

How to Get Ripped Tip 3: Carbohydrates are essential too!

Let me continue on the above point in that we need carbohydrates to provide energy to our muscles, and all our organs including our heart and brain. When exercising carbs are the first thing that will be used for energy so having a banana say 30 minutes before a workout is going to give you the energy you need to really take your workout to a maximum level which in turn means better results.

Another point to consider is to keep your high glycemic carbs in the morning and right after your workout. These include oatmeal, potatoes, white rice for example, and the morning and after our workouts is when our body needs a quick shot of carbs to replenish its stores and provide us with energy when we need it.

How to Get Ripped Tip 4: Water alone is the most effective pre and post workout drink.

Ok there is one exception…if you are a marathon runner or doing cardio for longer than 60 minutes. Sports drinks like gatorade are meant for long endurance athletes period. In other words you don’t need to waste money on these drinks, water is the most effective means for nourishing every single cellular mechanism in your body. Add some flavour with a splash of lemon/lime juice or even mint and cucumbers.

How to Get Ripped Tip 5: Variation in your training.

Our bodies are incredibly intelligent at adapting to any regular stress we apply to them. In other words, if you are running or weight training for 45 minutes 4 days a week for 6 months your body will start to become more efficient with the way it expends energy and you will stop seeing results. That is unless you add variation.

Continue to change your workouts every 4 to 6 weeks, even if it’s the simple variation of doing your exercise routine in a different order. Cycle weeks were you train with heavy weights and weeks where you train with lighter weights but with more reps.

Keep it fun and challenging, add different activities like indoor rock climbing, hiking, skiing, biking, swimming, etc. Include your loved one and inject your sex-life with a lot more passion!

Conclusion:

These are just 5 tips, and I could have made this list a lot longer but you would most likely start fading to something else so keep it simple with these first…once you’ve mastered these you will not only be on your way to getting ripped but you will enjoy your new spike in energy throughout the day.

Have any other tips you’d like to add? Your comments are always appreciated!

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