Weight loss plateaus can be frustrating and detrimental to your fat loss if not dealt with swiftly and properly. Another way to look at weight loss plateaus is that they are actually your body settling in at a new body weight set point.
The set point theory is basically the idea that your body likes to be at a certain body weight and it will work to keep you there. Chances are you have experienced this in your own life. I'm talking about situations where you will gain or lose weight but inevitably after a couple weeks or months of trying to change you end up around the same body weight (I know for me 175lbs was a set point, in my own system for quite some time).
In order to break these body weight set points, it is important to understand the forces that you are working against (know thy enemy, right?). I'm talking about adaptive thermogenesis. Adaptive thermogenesis is the seemingly automatic reduction in energy expenditure that occurs when you diet. Many think that this is the driving force behind people's body weight set point.
This is important so I want to make sure I'm explaining it clear enough so here's an oversimplified example.
You are currently eating 2000 kcal per day. Your body is currently burning 2000 kcal per day. You decided that you need to lose weight so you cut 500 kcal from your diet. So in theory your body should now have to dig up another 500 kcal from body fat to fuel the calorie difference.
It doesn't work that way. Studies show that your body adjusts its energy output so that it can now function on only 1500 kcal per day. This is adaptive thermogenesis. It has been demonstrated that adaptive thermogenesis occurs with both severe and modest calorie cutting.
What is the driving force behind this? Here are some candidates are:
* Changes in body weight
* Changes in Leptin
* Changes in Insulin
* Changes in Thyroid Hormones
* Depletion of Fat Stores
Fortunately you can beat all of these, prevent adaptive thermogenesis, and keep the weight loss coming.
The answer?
Exercise combined WITH diet.
This seems to help - but not in all cases. We know from research and anecdotal evidence that not all exercise prescriptions work. What does work is intense metabolic resistance training.
If you are currently stuck at a weight loss plateau, you need to break your body's set point. To do this it is necessary to undergo a rigorous change in diet and training so that you can in essence shock your system.
Here's what to do next. Once you break though your sticking weight using Warp Speed Fat Loss (or which ever method you choose), maintenance is very important. Get 5-15lbs below your old body weight set point and maintain that weight. Many people lose their fire and drive after they have lost the weight but you need to stay focused so that you can reset your body's set point.
Maintain your new weight for 4 weeks (this is ideal - if you can't go that long at least do 2 weeks) before you start losing weight again. This step wise approach will help reset your system to your new body weight and help fight its urge to return to the old set point. The key is keeping your body weight long enough so that your body 'thinks' that is the new normal.
Resurrect your body back to life!
PS- For a free 1-week trial to Tyron's North Vancouver Boot Camp and experience some of the best personal training in North Vancouver, please call us at 604-626-2342 or email us at ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp@gmail.com.
About the Author/More Info:
Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete 28 day diet and training system crafted to help you lose 10,15, or 20lbs of body fat in just 28 day. To start losing weight fast visit (http://www.warpspeedfatloss.com/yes.php?offer=tyronp&pid=1). Mike Roussell is a nutrition doctoral student at Pennsylvania State University. Mike's writings can be found in magazines such as Men's Health, Men's Fitness, and Testosterone Nation. Mike specializes in fat loss nutrition and diets for busy men and women who need to lose weight fast without it interfering with their lives. Warp Speed Fat Loss (http://www.warpspeedfatloss.com/yes.php?offer=tyronp&pid=1) is a complete Done-for-You A-Z Fat Loss Blueprint that gives you exactly everything you need to eat to lose weight in record time.
Tweet This
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
North Vancouver Personal Trainer Gives You 2 Exercise and Diet Tips to Live By
If you want to get lean and stay lean for life, these 2 exercise and diet tips below ultimately sum up what all of us need to do to accomplish this.
Keep it simple because… simple works!
TOP 2 EXERCISE TIPS
1. Invest in a Whole Body Workout
This means doing a five-exercise circuit (designed to work your upper body, lower body, and core) at least three times per week with a day of rest between workouts. A good whole body circuit that I like to use in my North Vancouver Boot Camp is alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each a double-leg (e.g. squat), push (e.g. push-up), single-leg (e.g. lunge), pull (e.g. row), and core (e.g. plank) exercise. Perform up to 4 rounds without rest for a killer 20-minute total body workout.
Check out this post for a great whole body workout that you can do at home: http://tyronpiteau.blogspot.com/2009/03/for-bride-to-be-bridal-fitness-workout.html
2. Harness the Power of Intervals
Interval training is scientifically proven to burn more body fat than ordinary exercise and elevates metabolism for up to 36 hours following your workout (researchers stopped measuring at that time so essentially it could be longer). Perform cardio intervals on non-strength training days three times per week. Selecting your cardio exercise of choice, alternate between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest and repeat this 30 second interval eight times for four total minutes followed by a one-minute rest. Repeat for up to 20 total minutes. This routine works best on a stationary bike or for body weight cardio exercise that you can do at home like running in place, jumping jacks or burpees (a favourite of clients).
TOP 2 DIET TIPS
1. Eat Early and Often
Eat immediately upon waking and then every two to four hours to put yourself in fat burning and muscle feeding mode. By continuously fueling your furnace, and eating some protein (meat, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts, etc.) at every feeding, you’ll also keep your metabolism revved up throughout the day and prevent overeating.
2. Think Fiber First When Consuming Carbs
Eat an unlimited amount of fibrous, cruciferous green veggies to fill your belly both during and between meals. For optimal fat-burning, try to limit other carbohydrate consumption (bread, potatoes, rice, pasta) to within 1-3 hours post-workout when your body best tolerates starches and sugars.
Live by these 2 training and nutrition rules CONSISTENTLY and you will have a body that'll please you. Remember: it doesn't have to be hard so keep it simple.
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
PS. Visit the link below to get your FREE 1-week trial and experience some of the best workouts in North Vancouver.
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com
PPS. Please forward this blog post to anybody that you know who can benefit from it! Tweet This
Keep it simple because… simple works!
TOP 2 EXERCISE TIPS
1. Invest in a Whole Body Workout
This means doing a five-exercise circuit (designed to work your upper body, lower body, and core) at least three times per week with a day of rest between workouts. A good whole body circuit that I like to use in my North Vancouver Boot Camp is alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each a double-leg (e.g. squat), push (e.g. push-up), single-leg (e.g. lunge), pull (e.g. row), and core (e.g. plank) exercise. Perform up to 4 rounds without rest for a killer 20-minute total body workout.
Check out this post for a great whole body workout that you can do at home: http://tyronpiteau.blogspot.com/2009/03/for-bride-to-be-bridal-fitness-workout.html
2. Harness the Power of Intervals
Interval training is scientifically proven to burn more body fat than ordinary exercise and elevates metabolism for up to 36 hours following your workout (researchers stopped measuring at that time so essentially it could be longer). Perform cardio intervals on non-strength training days three times per week. Selecting your cardio exercise of choice, alternate between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest and repeat this 30 second interval eight times for four total minutes followed by a one-minute rest. Repeat for up to 20 total minutes. This routine works best on a stationary bike or for body weight cardio exercise that you can do at home like running in place, jumping jacks or burpees (a favourite of clients).
TOP 2 DIET TIPS
1. Eat Early and Often
Eat immediately upon waking and then every two to four hours to put yourself in fat burning and muscle feeding mode. By continuously fueling your furnace, and eating some protein (meat, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts, etc.) at every feeding, you’ll also keep your metabolism revved up throughout the day and prevent overeating.
2. Think Fiber First When Consuming Carbs
Eat an unlimited amount of fibrous, cruciferous green veggies to fill your belly both during and between meals. For optimal fat-burning, try to limit other carbohydrate consumption (bread, potatoes, rice, pasta) to within 1-3 hours post-workout when your body best tolerates starches and sugars.
Live by these 2 training and nutrition rules CONSISTENTLY and you will have a body that'll please you. Remember: it doesn't have to be hard so keep it simple.
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
PS. Visit the link below to get your FREE 1-week trial and experience some of the best workouts in North Vancouver.
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com
PPS. Please forward this blog post to anybody that you know who can benefit from it! Tweet This
Monday, March 30, 2009
How Fasting WILL Help You Lose Fat
A colleague of mine in Ontario has an interesting concept when it comes to losing fat and he calls it Eat Stop Eat, which is basically intermittent fasting through the week.
He wrote a short article that I want to share with you to show you the MANY benefits of fasting and how it WILL help you lose fat particularly if you have hit a fat loss plateau.
See his post below.
It is a common misconception that the goal of a great diet program
is only to help you lose weight. This is wrong the way to view dieting. A great diet program should make sure the weight you lose is all fat, and this is the goal of Eat Stop Eat.
I spend my mornings catching up on my reading. This usually
involves a nice hot cup of coffee and a desk full of research
papers.
Lately, I've found that there is more and more research
being published that supports the science behind the Eat Stop
Eat lifestyle.
Just the other day I came across a very interesting
study in Acta Physiologica Scandinavia - The journal of the
Scandinavian physiological society. In this study the effects of a
3-day fast on human metabolism was examined.
The authors found the typical benefits that are associated with
fasting:
No decrease in Energy Expenditure - metabolic rate DID
NOT slow down
A decrease in RQ - indicating an increase in fat burning
Increased blood flow - some very impressive numbers, (I challenge
any "Nitric Oxide" supplement to show this kind of data!!)
Decreased blood insulin levels - Considered to be one of the
major health benefits of fasting
Increased glucagon levels - more reliance on body fat as a fuel
source
Increased Growth Hormone levels - If you have read Eat Stop Eat
then you know that I think this is one of the major keys behind the
benefits of fasting
Increased noradrenaline - More fat burning hormones
No increase in cortisol - No reason to think that muscle is being
broken down
One of the major things that caught my eye in this paper was a
great graph showing the change in fuel sources that were fueling
metabolism.
The first thing I noticed in this graph was that the amount of
calories being burned during a fasting day and a non-fasting day
are roughly the same (about 2000 Kcals), however during fasting a
lot more of these calories are coming from fat. And, since the
subjects were not eating any fat while fasting, this fat must have
been body fat.
Another interesting finding was that the majority of this fat was
stomach fat.
While I do not recommend fasting for 3 days straight (I prefer
24 hours, going from dinner one night to dinner the next night), this study does add evidence to the idea that fasting can be an effective method of reducing calorie intake and increasing fat burning without negatively effect metabolic rate, or muscle
mass.
After thoroughly reviewing this study I'm more convinced then ever that the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle is the easiest way to lose weight, and to make sure that the weight you lose is all fat.
Brad
Remember, if you want to learn more about Eat Stop Eat, you can
check it out here ==>Eat Stop Eat
Reference:
Gjedsted J, Gormsen LC, Nielsen S, et al. Effects of a 3-day fast
on regional lipid and glucose metabolism in human skeletal muscle
and adipose tissue. Acta Physiol 2007, 191, 205-216.
PS. Start with 1 day per week. Have dinner and then don't eat again until dinner the next night. This is what I do. Throughout the day drink water, tea, and have a piece or two of fruit if you need it. I also have a greens drink twice during the day. Tweet This
He wrote a short article that I want to share with you to show you the MANY benefits of fasting and how it WILL help you lose fat particularly if you have hit a fat loss plateau.
See his post below.
It is a common misconception that the goal of a great diet program
is only to help you lose weight. This is wrong the way to view dieting. A great diet program should make sure the weight you lose is all fat, and this is the goal of Eat Stop Eat.
I spend my mornings catching up on my reading. This usually
involves a nice hot cup of coffee and a desk full of research
papers.
Lately, I've found that there is more and more research
being published that supports the science behind the Eat Stop
Eat lifestyle.
Just the other day I came across a very interesting
study in Acta Physiologica Scandinavia - The journal of the
Scandinavian physiological society. In this study the effects of a
3-day fast on human metabolism was examined.
The authors found the typical benefits that are associated with
fasting:
No decrease in Energy Expenditure - metabolic rate DID
NOT slow down
A decrease in RQ - indicating an increase in fat burning
Increased blood flow - some very impressive numbers, (I challenge
any "Nitric Oxide" supplement to show this kind of data!!)
Decreased blood insulin levels - Considered to be one of the
major health benefits of fasting
Increased glucagon levels - more reliance on body fat as a fuel
source
Increased Growth Hormone levels - If you have read Eat Stop Eat
then you know that I think this is one of the major keys behind the
benefits of fasting
Increased noradrenaline - More fat burning hormones
No increase in cortisol - No reason to think that muscle is being
broken down
One of the major things that caught my eye in this paper was a
great graph showing the change in fuel sources that were fueling
metabolism.
The first thing I noticed in this graph was that the amount of
calories being burned during a fasting day and a non-fasting day
are roughly the same (about 2000 Kcals), however during fasting a
lot more of these calories are coming from fat. And, since the
subjects were not eating any fat while fasting, this fat must have
been body fat.
Another interesting finding was that the majority of this fat was
stomach fat.
While I do not recommend fasting for 3 days straight (I prefer
24 hours, going from dinner one night to dinner the next night), this study does add evidence to the idea that fasting can be an effective method of reducing calorie intake and increasing fat burning without negatively effect metabolic rate, or muscle
mass.
After thoroughly reviewing this study I'm more convinced then ever that the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle is the easiest way to lose weight, and to make sure that the weight you lose is all fat.
Brad
Remember, if you want to learn more about Eat Stop Eat, you can
check it out here ==>Eat Stop Eat
Reference:
Gjedsted J, Gormsen LC, Nielsen S, et al. Effects of a 3-day fast
on regional lipid and glucose metabolism in human skeletal muscle
and adipose tissue. Acta Physiol 2007, 191, 205-216.
PS. Start with 1 day per week. Have dinner and then don't eat again until dinner the next night. This is what I do. Throughout the day drink water, tea, and have a piece or two of fruit if you need it. I also have a greens drink twice during the day. Tweet This
Monday, March 16, 2009
Stay Lean When Travelling With These 10 Travel Fitness Tips
If you struggle with your weight, you have probably found the most difficult times to be when traveling or on vacation. You may be like most people in that you let your health and fitness regress when on the road. It's too easy to tell yourself "ah what the heck, I’ve been really good, now it’s time to let loose!” I know as a personal trainer and boot camp instructor in North Vancouver how many other fitness enthusiasts out there battle the dangers that travel can pose to one’s midsection.
As you can agree with me, it can be upsetting to bring back vacation memories in the form of unwanted fat storage in trouble spot areas that makes you feel sluggish, bloated, and unattractive.
Today I am going to share my top 10 travel fitness tips to help you maintain your overall health, performance, and body composition when away from the structure of home:
1.) Commit to Performing Short 10-20 Minute Maintenance Workouts First Thing In The Morning Each Week
Don't let time be an excuse. You can squeeze in at least 10-20 minutes before you start your day. Trust me on this - this brief workout first thing in the morning will set the tone for the rest of your day. Besides being your energy pill to attack the day with vigor, this workout can serve as some damage control if you to decide to indulge in some foods that deviate from your nutrition plan. But they key is to do it first thing in the morning because I personally guarantee you that’s the only time you can count on getting it done when enjoying the sights and sounds of vacation.
2.) Use Body Weight and Resistance Band Exercises That You Can Do Anywhere
All you’ll need is your body and one resistance band to get the job done. During maintenance weeks for my boot camp clients, I highly recommend they do something whether its the Rapid Fat Loss Cardio Program they receive when they sign up. Another possibility is to use mostly bodyweight-based exercises with the exception of some resistance band exercises to get that pulling component in since it is often very difficult to access body weight rows and pull-ups when on the road.
Bodyweight-based exercises allow for some much needed rest and de-loading for the muscles and joints.
3.) Build Your Own Vacation Workouts for Fun
Let’s face it- working out with intensity can get old real fast! So, if you are wanting to be fit and look and feel good for the long run, you better find a way to mix things up as often as possible with your workouts to keep yourself motivated.
Being on vacation can allow for this as you can typically access a host of unique training locations and equipment! Maybe hit the beach and alternate between intervals of sprints and body weight strength exercises so that you can burn fat and get some Vitamin D in at the same time. Or hit up the local park and do a playground style workout using benches, monkey bars, etc. Let your mind wander and most importantly have fun deviating from the typical structure of your at home workouts!
4.) Bring Portable Fat-Burning Snacks
This may very well be the most important tip of all. At home, we all choose the foods that are most convenient, affordable, and accessible, which is why meal planning and preparation is so critical to being lean year round and why I emphasis it in my Rapid Fat Loss Nutrition System. This becomes especially important when traveling because the food choices can often be even worse for your body and being unfamiliar with your surroundings means you can’t always lean on the trusty fallback options that you can at home.
Here's a list of go-to lean traveler foods that you may want to use to maintain your fitness:
- Mixed raw nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans, walnuts, etc.)
- String cheese
- Protein Powder and/or Amino Acids
- Organic Deli Meat (unsweetened, low in salt)
- Fruit and Raw Veggies
Use these fat-burning, muscle-building foods to stay full and leave less room for all of the other junk food options that surround us all on a daily basis.
5.) Perform 30-60 Minutes of Daily Activity
Don't let a vacation turn you into a sloth. Rather, be the lean traveler who looks to be active whenever possible when on vacation to keep your body in check.
Look to walk as much as possible, sign up for local trips and excursions, and engage in some recreational sports with your travel buddies. Almost all of us naturally increase our caloric intake on vacation, so it is critical to intentionally maintain or increase our activity levels to offset the potential weigh gaining hazards that come with travel eating.
6.) Perform Daily Corrective Stretching and Self-Massage
I know this one may be a bit of a stretch, pun intended however we do tend to pay less attention to the small details that keep our bodies safe and pain-free year round when on the road. To keep your muscles, and thus your joints, healthy, it is critical to still do some daily flexibility work and foam rolling.
Keep it simple. Bring either a half foam roll, a tennis ball, and/or a rolling pin in your suitcase for all of your self-massage needs. Try to get in at least 5-10 minutes of some combination of rolling and stretching first thing in the morning and before bed for best results, however try to aim for at least once per day.
7.) Don’t Worry About Being Perfect All of the Time
My boot campers train with me for 4 weeks at a time with short 1 week transition periods throughout the year. In total, they are in full boot camp mode for 41 out of the 52 weeks each year.
What I try to instill in my campers is working hard and eating clean and healthy during those 41 weeks that we are together to allow for the desired flexibility during the 11 weeks that we are not. In other words, my clients move to maintenance mode during off weeks allotting themselves to eating a little more outside of the eating plan, performing a few short maintenance workouts each week, and focusing more on improving flexibility and tissue quality.
Bottom line, perfection most of the year allows for the desired flexibility at the times when you want it the most!
8.) Plan Your Reward Meals in Advance
Let’s not forget that you don’t need to be perfect and eat like you're training for the Olympics when on vacation. After all, the occasional indulgences are a part of living the good life we were designed to enjoy - especially those treats that are unique to certain travel hot spots. But, it is key to at least plan and prepare for them. In other words, I have found most people can allot themselves 4 free meals per week (or 10% of their weekly meals) and still maintain their results.
A free meal, cheat meal, or as some call it a reward meal, is basically a meal that deviates from ideal nutritional guidelines, but in moderation. This means that you eat the same healthy foods that you typically eat plus any other foods you may desire until you are satisfied, but not stuffed!
By planning out your 4 free meals in advance and eating well at all other non-free meals you will best put yourself in a position to maintain your frame.
9.) Limit Alcohol and Empty Liquid Calories
This may be one of the hardest tip to sell because of how indispensable alcohol can be for some people who want to have a good time and wind down while traveling. The reality is alcohol not only stops fat burning in its tracks, but it actually promotes fat storage. Alcohol also lowers inhibitions and opens the door to host of junk food cravings that will further set you back.
Plus, many alcoholic drinks contain high calorie sugary mixes that further tip the proverbial scale in the wrong direction so to speak. Consuming 2-3 alcoholic beverages per day could easily result in an extra 500 calories per day that would in theory result in at least one pound of fat gained in a week’s time just from booze alone. Not something you want, especially after working so hard to get it off!
In general, limit, if not eliminate, empty liquid calories since they provide no nutritional value. Rather, enjoy whole foods that actually give your body some nutrients and fill you up. If you must, try to limit alcohol consumption to 1 drink at most per day and at best 1-2 drinks (or ideally less) per week while on the road.
10.) Bring Your Supplements
Not to beat a dead horse here, but again, just because you are away from home doesn’t mean that you should abandon all of those healthy habits you have worked so hard to establish.
Take your daily multi-vitamin and fish oil supplements with you so that I can keep taking them every morning religiously. You may also want to bring protein powder and/or amino acid formulas so that you always have access to some high quality protein every 2-4 hours to best keep all of your hard earned lean muscle mass. This is especially important when traveling to any locations around the world that do not have as much animal protein (which contains essential amino acids) in their diets.
These 10 travel fitness tips will without a doubt allow you to “travel light” so that you can come back from your trip with souvenirs other than blubber and cellulite ;)
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron Tweet This
As you can agree with me, it can be upsetting to bring back vacation memories in the form of unwanted fat storage in trouble spot areas that makes you feel sluggish, bloated, and unattractive.
Today I am going to share my top 10 travel fitness tips to help you maintain your overall health, performance, and body composition when away from the structure of home:
1.) Commit to Performing Short 10-20 Minute Maintenance Workouts First Thing In The Morning Each Week
Don't let time be an excuse. You can squeeze in at least 10-20 minutes before you start your day. Trust me on this - this brief workout first thing in the morning will set the tone for the rest of your day. Besides being your energy pill to attack the day with vigor, this workout can serve as some damage control if you to decide to indulge in some foods that deviate from your nutrition plan. But they key is to do it first thing in the morning because I personally guarantee you that’s the only time you can count on getting it done when enjoying the sights and sounds of vacation.
2.) Use Body Weight and Resistance Band Exercises That You Can Do Anywhere
All you’ll need is your body and one resistance band to get the job done. During maintenance weeks for my boot camp clients, I highly recommend they do something whether its the Rapid Fat Loss Cardio Program they receive when they sign up. Another possibility is to use mostly bodyweight-based exercises with the exception of some resistance band exercises to get that pulling component in since it is often very difficult to access body weight rows and pull-ups when on the road.
Bodyweight-based exercises allow for some much needed rest and de-loading for the muscles and joints.
3.) Build Your Own Vacation Workouts for Fun
Let’s face it- working out with intensity can get old real fast! So, if you are wanting to be fit and look and feel good for the long run, you better find a way to mix things up as often as possible with your workouts to keep yourself motivated.
Being on vacation can allow for this as you can typically access a host of unique training locations and equipment! Maybe hit the beach and alternate between intervals of sprints and body weight strength exercises so that you can burn fat and get some Vitamin D in at the same time. Or hit up the local park and do a playground style workout using benches, monkey bars, etc. Let your mind wander and most importantly have fun deviating from the typical structure of your at home workouts!
4.) Bring Portable Fat-Burning Snacks
This may very well be the most important tip of all. At home, we all choose the foods that are most convenient, affordable, and accessible, which is why meal planning and preparation is so critical to being lean year round and why I emphasis it in my Rapid Fat Loss Nutrition System. This becomes especially important when traveling because the food choices can often be even worse for your body and being unfamiliar with your surroundings means you can’t always lean on the trusty fallback options that you can at home.
Here's a list of go-to lean traveler foods that you may want to use to maintain your fitness:
- Mixed raw nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans, walnuts, etc.)
- String cheese
- Protein Powder and/or Amino Acids
- Organic Deli Meat (unsweetened, low in salt)
- Fruit and Raw Veggies
Use these fat-burning, muscle-building foods to stay full and leave less room for all of the other junk food options that surround us all on a daily basis.
5.) Perform 30-60 Minutes of Daily Activity
Don't let a vacation turn you into a sloth. Rather, be the lean traveler who looks to be active whenever possible when on vacation to keep your body in check.
Look to walk as much as possible, sign up for local trips and excursions, and engage in some recreational sports with your travel buddies. Almost all of us naturally increase our caloric intake on vacation, so it is critical to intentionally maintain or increase our activity levels to offset the potential weigh gaining hazards that come with travel eating.
6.) Perform Daily Corrective Stretching and Self-Massage
I know this one may be a bit of a stretch, pun intended however we do tend to pay less attention to the small details that keep our bodies safe and pain-free year round when on the road. To keep your muscles, and thus your joints, healthy, it is critical to still do some daily flexibility work and foam rolling.
Keep it simple. Bring either a half foam roll, a tennis ball, and/or a rolling pin in your suitcase for all of your self-massage needs. Try to get in at least 5-10 minutes of some combination of rolling and stretching first thing in the morning and before bed for best results, however try to aim for at least once per day.
7.) Don’t Worry About Being Perfect All of the Time
My boot campers train with me for 4 weeks at a time with short 1 week transition periods throughout the year. In total, they are in full boot camp mode for 41 out of the 52 weeks each year.
What I try to instill in my campers is working hard and eating clean and healthy during those 41 weeks that we are together to allow for the desired flexibility during the 11 weeks that we are not. In other words, my clients move to maintenance mode during off weeks allotting themselves to eating a little more outside of the eating plan, performing a few short maintenance workouts each week, and focusing more on improving flexibility and tissue quality.
Bottom line, perfection most of the year allows for the desired flexibility at the times when you want it the most!
8.) Plan Your Reward Meals in Advance
Let’s not forget that you don’t need to be perfect and eat like you're training for the Olympics when on vacation. After all, the occasional indulgences are a part of living the good life we were designed to enjoy - especially those treats that are unique to certain travel hot spots. But, it is key to at least plan and prepare for them. In other words, I have found most people can allot themselves 4 free meals per week (or 10% of their weekly meals) and still maintain their results.
A free meal, cheat meal, or as some call it a reward meal, is basically a meal that deviates from ideal nutritional guidelines, but in moderation. This means that you eat the same healthy foods that you typically eat plus any other foods you may desire until you are satisfied, but not stuffed!
By planning out your 4 free meals in advance and eating well at all other non-free meals you will best put yourself in a position to maintain your frame.
9.) Limit Alcohol and Empty Liquid Calories
This may be one of the hardest tip to sell because of how indispensable alcohol can be for some people who want to have a good time and wind down while traveling. The reality is alcohol not only stops fat burning in its tracks, but it actually promotes fat storage. Alcohol also lowers inhibitions and opens the door to host of junk food cravings that will further set you back.
Plus, many alcoholic drinks contain high calorie sugary mixes that further tip the proverbial scale in the wrong direction so to speak. Consuming 2-3 alcoholic beverages per day could easily result in an extra 500 calories per day that would in theory result in at least one pound of fat gained in a week’s time just from booze alone. Not something you want, especially after working so hard to get it off!
In general, limit, if not eliminate, empty liquid calories since they provide no nutritional value. Rather, enjoy whole foods that actually give your body some nutrients and fill you up. If you must, try to limit alcohol consumption to 1 drink at most per day and at best 1-2 drinks (or ideally less) per week while on the road.
10.) Bring Your Supplements
Not to beat a dead horse here, but again, just because you are away from home doesn’t mean that you should abandon all of those healthy habits you have worked so hard to establish.
Take your daily multi-vitamin and fish oil supplements with you so that I can keep taking them every morning religiously. You may also want to bring protein powder and/or amino acid formulas so that you always have access to some high quality protein every 2-4 hours to best keep all of your hard earned lean muscle mass. This is especially important when traveling to any locations around the world that do not have as much animal protein (which contains essential amino acids) in their diets.
These 10 travel fitness tips will without a doubt allow you to “travel light” so that you can come back from your trip with souvenirs other than blubber and cellulite ;)
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron Tweet This
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Omega-3s vs. Body Fat
When talking with clients about nutrition, no matter what their goals or desires are (weight loss, weight gain, general conditioning, etc.) I ALWAYS recommend they take an omega-3/fish oil supplement.
The response I usually get goes something like this, "Ahhh fish oil, are you serious?"
Absolutely! Out of the 4 essential supplements I recommend, this is number 1!
What people don't understand is that omega-3 fatty acids, apart from the benefits listed below, play a part in fat loss. Yup you read that right. A fat that helps you lose fat! Sounds backwards I know, but hear me out.
Just a few benefits to these oh-so-important oils:
-Decrease systemic inflammation (thus possibly warding of heart disease, asthma, arthritis, macular degeneration, and a host of other diseases or maladies).
-Increase utilization of fat stores from the adipocytes.
-Increase serotonin levels (the happy neurotransmitter). Therefore, fish oils will decrease incidence of depression, anxiety, panic attack, and reduce carbohydrate cravings.
-Fish oils will improve your cardiovascular risk profile by lowering VLDL, triglycerides, homocysteine, fibrinogen, and increasing HDL levels. Combining fish oils with plant sterols will improve lipid levels even more than either alone.
-Fish oils can also decrease blood pressure by several mechanisms. These include increases in the vasodilatory compound, nitric oxide, reducing vascular inflammation, blocking the constrictive elements in the vascular wall such as the calcium channels reducing blood viscosity, and inhibiting a blood vessel constrictor (thromboxane). Lipoprotein (a) is another CVD predictor that can be lowered by fish oils (a 19% reduction was seen with natural, stable fish oils and just 4% with a highly purified fish oil).
-Fish oils are a great stress fighter. Supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids inhibits the adrenal activation of steroids, aldosterone, epinephrine, and norepinephrine (catecholamines) elicited by a mental stress, apparently through effects exerted at the level of the central nervous system. Therefore, for the same amount of stress, one will produce fewer stress hormones if consuming fish oils on a regular basis.
-Decrease muscle soreness.
-Decrease incidence of tendonitis.
-The possible destruction of existing cancer cells, in addition to possibly thwarting metastasis.
-Fish oils turn on the lipolytic genes (fat burning genes).
-Fish oils turn off the lipogenic genes (fat storage genes).
Omega-3s, like those found in EFA Icon, burn body fat in 3 different ways. First off, they allow the body to burn fat in situations where fat burning is turned off, such as after a high-carb meal or after high-intensity exercise (where the body preferentially burns glycogen). Note: although high-intensity exercise leads to a decrease in fat burning WHILE exercising, it does lead to more fat loss AFTER training as your body relies more of fat calories for energy than sugar, which is the key.
Secondly, high amounts of omega-3s increase insulin sensitivity. If your body is sensitive to insulin, less insulin is produced after a meal, which means less fat is stored. Similarly, if the body is sensitive to insulin, and the hormone is properly managed, more stored fat is released and incinerated each day.
Thirdly, omega-3s increase the heat of your cellular "furnaces", which are otherwise known as the mitochondria and the peroxisomes. Omega-3s make these organelles burn more and more energy, thus turning you into a fat-burning machine.
There's also evidence that omega-3s might also increase the amount of leptin produced by the body (high leptin means decreased hunger and an increased metabolic rate).
So don't put it off another day.
Check out EFA Icon by clicking the link below.
http://tinyurl.com/b3ta6n
Don't make it harder on your body to burn fat, let fish go to work for you!
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com
PS. Next boot camp starts Monday March 16, get your FREE week at:
www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com Tweet This
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
For The Bride To Be - Bridal Fitness Workout
This program is specifically designed for the bride-to-be who’s looking to get in the best shape for the day she says “I Do!” Not only will this program do wonders to your midsection but it will also build a pair of sculpted arms and shoulders, the perfect physical accessories for your strapless or sleeveless dream wedding dress.
You will perform 3 total body workouts per week alternating between Workout A and Workout B and taking at least 1 day of rest between workouts (e.g. perform on either Monday, Wednesday, and Friday OR Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday). The beauty behind these whole body workouts is that they use total body exercises that work your arms, legs, and abs at the same time. The result? Maximum fat loss and lean muscle growth so that you lose inches in AND add definition to all of the right places. Plus in the comfort of your home you'll be able to perform the bonus cardio interval training workout using body weight cardio exercises. Time to resurrect your body for the big day!
The Official Bridal Fitness Workout
Workout A
- 5-Minute Warm-up: Perform 10 total reps in a slow, controlled tempo for each exercise in the exact order listed in the prescribed circuit
- 50-10 Interval Five Exercise Total Body Circuit- 20 Minutes: You will alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each exercise in the following five-exercise circuit. Perform this 5-minute circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body fat burning workout.
Exercise
1 DB Curl + Squat to Press
2 Single-Leg Hip Extension Hold + DB Chest Press Combo
3 DB Swings
4 Single-Leg Wall Sit + DB Curl to Press Combo
5 DB Push-up Rows
Note - Be sure to use a pair of sturdy and stable hex dumbbells that don’t roll when placed on the floor. Most females work best with dumbbells ranging from 8-15 lbs. Be sure to start light and work your way up from there while maintaining perfect form and technique.
- BONUS - Cardio Interval Training Finisher- 4 Minutes: You will alternate between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest by performing the body weight cardio exercise listed below. You will repeat this 30-second set up to 8x for 4 total minutes.
Body Weight Cardio Exercise: Stationary Running
For a complete video demo of all of these exercises, please click the link below (or copy and paste it into your browser):
The Official Bridal Fitness Workout
Workout B
- 5-Minute Warm-up: Perform 10 total reps in a slow, controlled tempo for each exercise in the exact order listed in the prescribed circuit
- 50-10 Interval Five Exercise Total Body Circuit- 20 Minutes: You will alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each exercise in the following five-exercise circuit. Perform this 5-minute circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body fat burning workout.
Exercise
1 1-Arm DB Sumo Deadlift + Curl to Press
2 DB Squat Thrust + Push-up
3 DB Alternating Lunges + Curl to Press
4 DB Alternating Single-Leg RDL + Row
5 DB T-Push-ups
Note - Be sure to use a pair of sturdy and stable hex dumbbells that don’t roll when placed on the floor. Most females work best with dumbbells ranging from 8-15 lbs. Be sure to start light and work your way up from there while maintaining perfect form and technique.
- BONUS - Cardio Interval Training Finisher- 4 Minutes: You will alternate between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest by performing the body weight cardio exercise listed below. You will repeat this 30-second set up to 8x for 4 total minutes.
Body Weight Cardio Exercise: Ice Skater Jumps
For a complete video demo of all of these exercises, please click the link below (or copy and paste it into your browser):
Tyron
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com
PS. Just a reminder that our next boot camp starts March 16 so sign-up for your FREE trial at www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com Tweet This
You will perform 3 total body workouts per week alternating between Workout A and Workout B and taking at least 1 day of rest between workouts (e.g. perform on either Monday, Wednesday, and Friday OR Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday). The beauty behind these whole body workouts is that they use total body exercises that work your arms, legs, and abs at the same time. The result? Maximum fat loss and lean muscle growth so that you lose inches in AND add definition to all of the right places. Plus in the comfort of your home you'll be able to perform the bonus cardio interval training workout using body weight cardio exercises. Time to resurrect your body for the big day!
The Official Bridal Fitness Workout
Workout A
- 5-Minute Warm-up: Perform 10 total reps in a slow, controlled tempo for each exercise in the exact order listed in the prescribed circuit
- 50-10 Interval Five Exercise Total Body Circuit- 20 Minutes: You will alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each exercise in the following five-exercise circuit. Perform this 5-minute circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body fat burning workout.
Exercise
1 DB Curl + Squat to Press
2 Single-Leg Hip Extension Hold + DB Chest Press Combo
3 DB Swings
4 Single-Leg Wall Sit + DB Curl to Press Combo
5 DB Push-up Rows
Note - Be sure to use a pair of sturdy and stable hex dumbbells that don’t roll when placed on the floor. Most females work best with dumbbells ranging from 8-15 lbs. Be sure to start light and work your way up from there while maintaining perfect form and technique.
- BONUS - Cardio Interval Training Finisher- 4 Minutes: You will alternate between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest by performing the body weight cardio exercise listed below. You will repeat this 30-second set up to 8x for 4 total minutes.
Body Weight Cardio Exercise: Stationary Running
For a complete video demo of all of these exercises, please click the link below (or copy and paste it into your browser):
The Official Bridal Fitness Workout
Workout B
- 5-Minute Warm-up: Perform 10 total reps in a slow, controlled tempo for each exercise in the exact order listed in the prescribed circuit
- 50-10 Interval Five Exercise Total Body Circuit- 20 Minutes: You will alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each exercise in the following five-exercise circuit. Perform this 5-minute circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body fat burning workout.
Exercise
1 1-Arm DB Sumo Deadlift + Curl to Press
2 DB Squat Thrust + Push-up
3 DB Alternating Lunges + Curl to Press
4 DB Alternating Single-Leg RDL + Row
5 DB T-Push-ups
Note - Be sure to use a pair of sturdy and stable hex dumbbells that don’t roll when placed on the floor. Most females work best with dumbbells ranging from 8-15 lbs. Be sure to start light and work your way up from there while maintaining perfect form and technique.
- BONUS - Cardio Interval Training Finisher- 4 Minutes: You will alternate between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest by performing the body weight cardio exercise listed below. You will repeat this 30-second set up to 8x for 4 total minutes.
Body Weight Cardio Exercise: Ice Skater Jumps
For a complete video demo of all of these exercises, please click the link below (or copy and paste it into your browser):
Tyron
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com
PS. Just a reminder that our next boot camp starts March 16 so sign-up for your FREE trial at www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com Tweet This
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
10 Research Proven Weight Loss Tips
Get your FREE 10 Research Proven Weight Loss Tips E-book by clicking the link below.
http://www.MakersBody.com/WarpSpeedFatLoss.html
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
PS. If you haven't been out to boot camp before, you gotta check it out...and what do you have to lose (except for unwanted body fat ) as you get to try it out for an entire week FREE!
To get started, click www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com Tweet This
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Quickie Workout for You When Time is of the Essence
So, I am going to lend my expertise in this regard to cut your workout routine by more than half to keep you on track in case any last minute issues may arise. I personally guarantee this will not only help you maintain, if not increase, your current strength and conditioning level. And I am going to go ahead and further simplify the process for you by designing body weight based workouts involving nothing more than resistance bands and dumbbells that can be done in the comfort of your home or office. Furthermore, every workout will start “outside in” by first recognizing how much time you have to workout each day and then matching the appropriate workout for that time frame.
The Quickie Workout When Time is of the Essence
- Perform all strength workouts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
- Perform all cardio workouts on Tuesdays, Thursday, and Saturdays
- Play some recreational activity or go for a brisk walk anytime you can get
If you have 20 minutes to workout:
Strength Workout - Continuous Work: Perform two different 10-minute work zones. For work zone 1, perform max rounds of 10 reps of an upper body pushing exercise (push-ups, dips, presses, etc.) and 20 reps of a double-leg lower body exercise (squats, deadlifts, hip extensions, etc.) for time.
For work zone 2, perform max rounds of 10 reps of an upper body pulling exercise (pull-ups, rows, curls, etc.) and 10 reps/leg of a single-leg lower body exercise (lunges, step-ups, single-leg hip extensions, etc.) for time.
Cardio Workout - Tabata Intervals: Select one body weight cardio exercise (stationary running, jumping jacks, squat thrusts, alternating split jumps, ice skater jumps, etc.) OR one total body exercise (squat to presses, deadlift + curls, lunge + curl to press, swings, etc.) and perform 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for four straight minutes, followed by a one-minute rest. Repeat this five-minute sequence three more times with the same exercise or with the exercise(s) of your choice.
For a shorter 10-minute workout: Cut each workout in half
For a super short five-minute workout: Cut each workout in quarters
Go get 'em!
Tyron
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com Tweet This
The Quickie Workout When Time is of the Essence
- Perform all strength workouts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
- Perform all cardio workouts on Tuesdays, Thursday, and Saturdays
- Play some recreational activity or go for a brisk walk anytime you can get
If you have 20 minutes to workout:
Strength Workout - Continuous Work: Perform two different 10-minute work zones. For work zone 1, perform max rounds of 10 reps of an upper body pushing exercise (push-ups, dips, presses, etc.) and 20 reps of a double-leg lower body exercise (squats, deadlifts, hip extensions, etc.) for time.
For work zone 2, perform max rounds of 10 reps of an upper body pulling exercise (pull-ups, rows, curls, etc.) and 10 reps/leg of a single-leg lower body exercise (lunges, step-ups, single-leg hip extensions, etc.) for time.
Cardio Workout - Tabata Intervals: Select one body weight cardio exercise (stationary running, jumping jacks, squat thrusts, alternating split jumps, ice skater jumps, etc.) OR one total body exercise (squat to presses, deadlift + curls, lunge + curl to press, swings, etc.) and perform 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for four straight minutes, followed by a one-minute rest. Repeat this five-minute sequence three more times with the same exercise or with the exercise(s) of your choice.
For a shorter 10-minute workout: Cut each workout in half
For a super short five-minute workout: Cut each workout in quarters
Go get 'em!
Tyron
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com Tweet This
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Is Cholesterol Really Killing You?
Lets put an end to the whole cholesterol debate and find out what's really going on.
My friend and colleague, Vreni Gurd, BHK, CHEK 3, shares what HDL and LDL cholesterol is and what the real culprits are in heart disease and clogging of the arteries.
HDL and LDL - good and bad "cholesterol"?
High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) and Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) are PROTEINS, not forms of cholesterol, contrary to popular belief. Cholesterol is cholesterol. There are NOT different forms of the cholesterol molecule.
Is it logical to think that our bodies would manufacture a substance in order to give us a disease? Of course not. Yet many of us are worried about our cholesterol levels, something our body manufactures regularly. Cholesterol is a waxy substance that is the precursor to many of our hormones, including testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, pregnenalone and DHEA. Cholesterol is an antioxidant, sopping up free radicals, and is also a very important part of cell membranes, so as our cells die (blood cells, skin cells, bone cells, muscle cells etc.), cholesterol is needed to make the membranes of the replacement cells. Considering we replace about 2 million blood cells each second, it becomes obvious that cholesterol is vitally important, and we would not survive without it. If tissue is damaged, more cholesterol is needed to repair and replace the damaged cells with healthy ones. No wonder it is so important that our liver can easily manufacture cholesterol.
So, if LDL and HDL are not cholesterol, what are they? They are proteins that act as transportation vehicles that carry the cholesterol to the various locations in the body, just like a bus carries people to wherever they want to go. Cholesterol is fatty, and needs to travel in a watery medium (blood), so protein carriers are necessary to make the cholesterol water soluble. The passenger is the same (cholesterol), but the bus (protein) is different, depending on the direction the cholesterol is traveling. Would we call Harry and John "bad people" when they happened to be traveling in a mini-van shuttle, and "good people" when they happened to be traveling on a large bus? The idea is absurd. Yet, this is what we do to cholesterol. LDL proteins (so called "bad cholesterol") carry the cholesterol from the liver out to the tissues, and HDL proteins (so called "good cholesterol") carry the cholesterol from the tissues back to the liver. Contrary to popular belief, HDL proteins do not rid the body of the cholesterol at all - they simply return it to the liver for recycling, so it can make its next trip out on the LDL bus.
The difference between High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) and Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) is the size and density of the molecule, with HDL molecules being larger. The smaller the molecule, the more likely it will get stuck or caught in the gap junctions between arterial cells etc., where they then oxidize, causing inflammation, which begins the artery-narrowing process. Our bodies also make VLDL (Very Low Density Lipoproteins) which also carry cholesterol but in lesser amounts per molecule due to the much much smaller size, and these molecules are far more likely to get caught along the walls of the arteries than LDL. If the LDL molecules are of normal size, they don't get stuck. They just do their job as they should. People are rarely tested for their VLDL levels, yet this along with triglyceride levels are much more predictive of cardiovascular disease than total cholesterol. So, it is not the cholesterol that is the problem, but the size of the protein carrier.
Can you do anything to control the size of the protein carrier? Yes. Diet is very important. And do you think it is lowering saturated fat and cholesterol intake that will make the difference? No. As it turns out, the higher the easily digestible carbohydrate intake (sugar, flour, processed grains - no, rice cakes are NOT healthy!), the more the VLDL proteins made (the smaller ones that are more likely to get stuck) which greatly increase one's risk of cardiovascular disease. Sugar and flour products also increase glycation and Advanced Glycation Endproducts (AGEs), which causes arterial inflammation, also known to increase cardiovascular disease risk, and sugar and flour increase insulin secretion, which increases sympathetic load, increasing blood pressure, another risk factor for heart disease. There is simply nothing healthy at all about quickly digested carbohydrates like processed sugar, flour and processed grains (puffed wheat etc.), and until we stop eating them, the scourge of modern degenerative diseases won't abate.
Please do keep the comments coming on my blog at http://blog.wellnesstips.ca/blog/index.php/.
Tweet This
My friend and colleague, Vreni Gurd, BHK, CHEK 3, shares what HDL and LDL cholesterol is and what the real culprits are in heart disease and clogging of the arteries.
HDL and LDL - good and bad "cholesterol"?
High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) and Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) are PROTEINS, not forms of cholesterol, contrary to popular belief. Cholesterol is cholesterol. There are NOT different forms of the cholesterol molecule.
Is it logical to think that our bodies would manufacture a substance in order to give us a disease? Of course not. Yet many of us are worried about our cholesterol levels, something our body manufactures regularly. Cholesterol is a waxy substance that is the precursor to many of our hormones, including testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, pregnenalone and DHEA. Cholesterol is an antioxidant, sopping up free radicals, and is also a very important part of cell membranes, so as our cells die (blood cells, skin cells, bone cells, muscle cells etc.), cholesterol is needed to make the membranes of the replacement cells. Considering we replace about 2 million blood cells each second, it becomes obvious that cholesterol is vitally important, and we would not survive without it. If tissue is damaged, more cholesterol is needed to repair and replace the damaged cells with healthy ones. No wonder it is so important that our liver can easily manufacture cholesterol.
So, if LDL and HDL are not cholesterol, what are they? They are proteins that act as transportation vehicles that carry the cholesterol to the various locations in the body, just like a bus carries people to wherever they want to go. Cholesterol is fatty, and needs to travel in a watery medium (blood), so protein carriers are necessary to make the cholesterol water soluble. The passenger is the same (cholesterol), but the bus (protein) is different, depending on the direction the cholesterol is traveling. Would we call Harry and John "bad people" when they happened to be traveling in a mini-van shuttle, and "good people" when they happened to be traveling on a large bus? The idea is absurd. Yet, this is what we do to cholesterol. LDL proteins (so called "bad cholesterol") carry the cholesterol from the liver out to the tissues, and HDL proteins (so called "good cholesterol") carry the cholesterol from the tissues back to the liver. Contrary to popular belief, HDL proteins do not rid the body of the cholesterol at all - they simply return it to the liver for recycling, so it can make its next trip out on the LDL bus.
The difference between High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) and Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) is the size and density of the molecule, with HDL molecules being larger. The smaller the molecule, the more likely it will get stuck or caught in the gap junctions between arterial cells etc., where they then oxidize, causing inflammation, which begins the artery-narrowing process. Our bodies also make VLDL (Very Low Density Lipoproteins) which also carry cholesterol but in lesser amounts per molecule due to the much much smaller size, and these molecules are far more likely to get caught along the walls of the arteries than LDL. If the LDL molecules are of normal size, they don't get stuck. They just do their job as they should. People are rarely tested for their VLDL levels, yet this along with triglyceride levels are much more predictive of cardiovascular disease than total cholesterol. So, it is not the cholesterol that is the problem, but the size of the protein carrier.
Can you do anything to control the size of the protein carrier? Yes. Diet is very important. And do you think it is lowering saturated fat and cholesterol intake that will make the difference? No. As it turns out, the higher the easily digestible carbohydrate intake (sugar, flour, processed grains - no, rice cakes are NOT healthy!), the more the VLDL proteins made (the smaller ones that are more likely to get stuck) which greatly increase one's risk of cardiovascular disease. Sugar and flour products also increase glycation and Advanced Glycation Endproducts (AGEs), which causes arterial inflammation, also known to increase cardiovascular disease risk, and sugar and flour increase insulin secretion, which increases sympathetic load, increasing blood pressure, another risk factor for heart disease. There is simply nothing healthy at all about quickly digested carbohydrates like processed sugar, flour and processed grains (puffed wheat etc.), and until we stop eating them, the scourge of modern degenerative diseases won't abate.
Please do keep the comments coming on my blog at http://blog.wellnesstips.ca/blog/index.php/.
Related tips
High Cholesterol does NOT cause heart disease
Cholesterol, heart-disease mortality, and cholesterol-lowering drugs
Another "healthy-heart guide" that got it wrong
Dealing with inflammation and inflammatory conditions
Sugar, the disease generator
How we become over-fat
Obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease - what does history tell us?
Taubes, Gary Good Calories, Bad Calories, Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2007.
Rosedale, Ron MD The Cholesterol Lie: What your doctor doesn't know. YouTube Video
Gardner CD et al. Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN diets for change in weight and related risk factors among overweight premenopausal women: the A TO Z Weight Loss Study: a randomized trial. JAMA. 2007 Mar 7;297(9):969-77.
Kraus R.M. Atherogenic lipoprotein phenotype and diet-gene interactions. J Nutr. 2001 Feb;131(2):340S-3S.
Dreon DM, Fernstrom HA, Williams PT, Krauss RM. Reduced LDL particle size in children consuming a very-low-fat diet is related to parental LDL-subclass patterns. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Jun;71(6):1611-6.
Dreon DM, Fernstrom HA, Williams PT, Krauss RM. LDL subclass patterns and lipoprotein response to a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet in women. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1997 Apr;17(4):707-14.
Dreon DM, Fernstrom HA, Williams PT, Krauss RM. A very low-fat diet is not associated with improved lipoprotein profiles in men with a predominance of large, low-density lipoproteins. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Mar;69(3):411-8.
Samaha FF, Foster GD, Makris AP. Low-carbohydrate diets, obesity, and metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2007 Dec;9(6):441-7.
Sharman MJ, Gómez AL, Kraemer WJ, Volek JS. Very low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets affect fasting lipids and postprandial lipemia differently in overweight men. J Nutr. 2004 Apr;134(4):880-5.
Copyright 2008 Vreni Gurd
To subscribe go to www.wellnesstips.ca
Tweet This
Monday, February 9, 2009
The Valentine's Day Workout for Couples!
For most people Valentine’s Day is an excuse to get together with their hubby and eat some chocolate and sugary desserts. Hey, that sounds good to me too, but why not mix it up a bit and be more creative. Mix it up with this V-Day fun workout you can do in the comfort of your home with your significant other.
Today I am going to demo the concept of partner training. Partner training is essentially a workout that involves performing joint exercises with at least one other person or more. There are a ton of benefits to partner training, including:
1.) Social Support and Accountability
2.) No Equipment Needed
3.) Provides a Ton of Variety
4.) Breeds Competition and Drives Better Results
5.) It’s FUN!
Partner training definitely spices things up in a group training setting like my boot camp. You are simply pushed to the limit to make your body change and break out of a frustrating training rut. The competitive juices start flowing in times like these, great for camaraderie and pushing beyond your regular comfort zone.
But, being that it’s Valetine's Day, let’s make today’s partner training workout a little more intimate if you will.
So grab your luv-ah and try this bad boy out!
The Valentine’s Day Workout for Couples - Tabata Style Partner Training
This 20-minute total body partner workout will consist of all body weight-based exercises. For each exercise at each outlined station below you will alternate between 20 s of work and 10 s of rest. You will repeat this 30-second sequence eight times for four total minutes followed by a one-minute rest and transition before moving on to the next station listed:
Station#1 - Partner Push-up-Row Combo
Partner Push-ups: Hold your partner’s feet from a standing position as they do as many push-ups as they can, then switch roles
Partner Rows: Hold your partner’s hands from a standing position as they do as many body weight rows as they can, then switch roles
Station #2- Partner Resisted Stationary Lunges- Static or Dynamic
Partner Lunges: Drop into a deep lunge position and hold as your partner applies downward force on your shoulders for you to fight against, then switch roles (can also be done with manual resistance in full range of motion reps)
Station #3- Partner Resisted Plank Circuit
Partner Pillars: Get into a plank position and hold as your partner applies downward force with hands on your ribcage, then switch roles (alternate between front and L/R Side Planks)
Station #4- Partner Resisted Squats- Static or Dynamic
Partner Squats: Drop into a deep squat position and hold as your partner applies downward force on your shoulders for you to fight against, then switch roles (can also be done with manual resistance in full range or motion reps)
Now go ask someone to be your valentine and crank it to this V-Day workout! Will this be a ritual you and your hubby do year after year?… might just be the thing that puts the spark back in your relationship ;)
Helping you resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron Tweet This
Today I am going to demo the concept of partner training. Partner training is essentially a workout that involves performing joint exercises with at least one other person or more. There are a ton of benefits to partner training, including:
1.) Social Support and Accountability
2.) No Equipment Needed
3.) Provides a Ton of Variety
4.) Breeds Competition and Drives Better Results
5.) It’s FUN!
Partner training definitely spices things up in a group training setting like my boot camp. You are simply pushed to the limit to make your body change and break out of a frustrating training rut. The competitive juices start flowing in times like these, great for camaraderie and pushing beyond your regular comfort zone.
But, being that it’s Valetine's Day, let’s make today’s partner training workout a little more intimate if you will.
So grab your luv-ah and try this bad boy out!
The Valentine’s Day Workout for Couples - Tabata Style Partner Training
This 20-minute total body partner workout will consist of all body weight-based exercises. For each exercise at each outlined station below you will alternate between 20 s of work and 10 s of rest. You will repeat this 30-second sequence eight times for four total minutes followed by a one-minute rest and transition before moving on to the next station listed:
Station#1 - Partner Push-up-Row Combo
Partner Push-ups: Hold your partner’s feet from a standing position as they do as many push-ups as they can, then switch roles
Partner Rows: Hold your partner’s hands from a standing position as they do as many body weight rows as they can, then switch roles
Station #2- Partner Resisted Stationary Lunges- Static or Dynamic
Partner Lunges: Drop into a deep lunge position and hold as your partner applies downward force on your shoulders for you to fight against, then switch roles (can also be done with manual resistance in full range of motion reps)
Station #3- Partner Resisted Plank Circuit
Partner Pillars: Get into a plank position and hold as your partner applies downward force with hands on your ribcage, then switch roles (alternate between front and L/R Side Planks)
Station #4- Partner Resisted Squats- Static or Dynamic
Partner Squats: Drop into a deep squat position and hold as your partner applies downward force on your shoulders for you to fight against, then switch roles (can also be done with manual resistance in full range or motion reps)
Now go ask someone to be your valentine and crank it to this V-Day workout! Will this be a ritual you and your hubby do year after year?… might just be the thing that puts the spark back in your relationship ;)
Helping you resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron Tweet This
Thursday, February 5, 2009
How To Get Rid Of A Flabby, Weak Stomach...
*If you haven't signed up for The Maker's Body Fitness Newsletter and want to receive your FREE Rapid Fat Loss Starter Kit including workout and nutrition e-books, add your name and primary email to the box directly to your right ==>>
The Anti-Crunch Six-Pack Abs Blueprint:
Step#1 - Lose the fat that is covering your abs so that you can see them
A.) Eat to lose fat and elevate metabolism
- Drink at least 2-4 cups of water immediately upon waking and then drink at least 1-2 cups of water every 2 hours you are awake. Drink 1-2 cups of water for every 15 minutes of vigorous activity.
- Eat immediately upon waking and then every 2-4 hours after that for a total of 5-7 feedings per day (i.e. 3 meals, 2 snacks (half the size of your meals and workout nutrition))
- Focus on a wide range of organic lean proteins, natural fats, and fruit and veggies
Sample One-Day Menu:
Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs, Greens, and Turkey Sausage or Bacon
Mid-Morning Snack - Mixed Nuts and Fruit/Veggie of Choice
Lunch - Chicken, Salmon, or Shrimp Caesar Salad
Mid-Afternoon Snack - Cheese and Fruit/Veggie of Choice
Dinner - Turkey or Beef Meatballs and Spaghetti Squash
Pre-Bed Snack - Protein and Flax Shake
- Take a daily multi-vitamin for your gender, an essential fatty acid (EFA) supplement, a probiotic (good bacteria) supplements, and a vitamin D3 supplement.
- Use The Carb Reduction Blueprint: Use the following step by step process in the exact order listed to breakthrough any plateaus in your six-pack abs quest.
Step#1 - Replace all white carbs with 100% whole grain carbs and all refined sugars with natural sugars
Step#2 - Limit all whole grain starch and natural sugar consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout or immediately upon waking for breakfast
Step#3 - Replace all starches and sugars with fruits and veggies
Step#4 - Replace all fruits with green veggies
Step#5 - Use strategic carb and calorie cycling to take your body to the next level (This is beyond the scope of this article but the success you can achieve from this strategy is powerful)
B.) Train to lose fat and elevate metabolism
- Monday, Wednesday, and Friday - Perform Total Body Circuit Strength Training
Sample Total Body Circuit Strength Workout - 20 Minutes (not including five minute warm-up and cool-down)
50-10 Interval Five Exercise Total Body Circuit - You will alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 s of rest for each exercise in the following five-exercise circuit. Perform this 5-minute circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body workout:
1 Hip Extensions
2 Push-up Variation
3 Single-Leg Wall Sit
4 Body Weight Rows
5 Upper Body Twist Variation
- Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday - Perform Cardio Interval Training
Sample Cardio Interval Training Workout - 20 Minutes (not including five minute warm-up and cool-down)
30-30’s - You will alternate between 30 seconds of maximum effort and 30 seconds of active recovery. You will perform this 1-minute round up to 20x for 20 total minutes. You can perform this workout on your cardio machine of choice (airdyne or spin bike, running, etc.) or by alternating between the following body weight cardio exercises for the ultimate in-home workout:
1 Stationary Running
2 Jumping Jacks Variation
Step#2 - Train your abs based on their true function: STABILIZATION
Below is a core workout that would appear in my boot camp. It involves no crunches or sit-ups by using all pillar stabilization exercises. Once you master these moves and follow everything else I previously listed above, you will have a sweet pair of rock hard abs to show for it… just wait and see!
The Power to the Pillar Workout - Tabata Style
This 20-minute total body core workout focuses entirely on pillar stabilization. The pillar collectively consists of your shoulders, hips, and core. It is your body’s powerhouse, foundational to all movement.
For each exercise below you will alternate between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. You will repeat this 30-second sequence eight times for four total minutes followed by a one minute rest and transition before moving on to the next exercise listed.
For maximum benefits, you must seek to maintain a tight pillar position during all movements by actively pulling your navel to your spine, engaging your glutes, and maintaining a straight line from the heels through the shoulders. The following coaching cues work really well:
"suck in your gut"
"tuck your butt under"
"round your lower back"
"give yourself a wedgie"
"be flat like a diving board.”
Exercise#1 - Front Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Exercise#2 - Left Side Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Exercise#3 - Right Side Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Exercise#4 - Back Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
For a complete video demo of this workout, please see below:
Today is the dawn of a new age in core training and it is my sincere hope that you take this powerful information and run with it.
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com
PS. Send your comments below and let me know what you think. Different than what you normally do in the gym? Surprised crunches and sit-ups aren't the best? Let me know by clicking the comments link directly below. Tweet This
The Anti-Crunch Six-Pack Abs Blueprint:
Step#1 - Lose the fat that is covering your abs so that you can see them
A.) Eat to lose fat and elevate metabolism
- Drink at least 2-4 cups of water immediately upon waking and then drink at least 1-2 cups of water every 2 hours you are awake. Drink 1-2 cups of water for every 15 minutes of vigorous activity.
- Eat immediately upon waking and then every 2-4 hours after that for a total of 5-7 feedings per day (i.e. 3 meals, 2 snacks (half the size of your meals and workout nutrition))
- Focus on a wide range of organic lean proteins, natural fats, and fruit and veggies
Sample One-Day Menu:
Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs, Greens, and Turkey Sausage or Bacon
Mid-Morning Snack - Mixed Nuts and Fruit/Veggie of Choice
Lunch - Chicken, Salmon, or Shrimp Caesar Salad
Mid-Afternoon Snack - Cheese and Fruit/Veggie of Choice
Dinner - Turkey or Beef Meatballs and Spaghetti Squash
Pre-Bed Snack - Protein and Flax Shake
- Take a daily multi-vitamin for your gender, an essential fatty acid (EFA) supplement, a probiotic (good bacteria) supplements, and a vitamin D3 supplement.
- Use The Carb Reduction Blueprint: Use the following step by step process in the exact order listed to breakthrough any plateaus in your six-pack abs quest.
Step#1 - Replace all white carbs with 100% whole grain carbs and all refined sugars with natural sugars
Step#2 - Limit all whole grain starch and natural sugar consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout or immediately upon waking for breakfast
Step#3 - Replace all starches and sugars with fruits and veggies
Step#4 - Replace all fruits with green veggies
Step#5 - Use strategic carb and calorie cycling to take your body to the next level (This is beyond the scope of this article but the success you can achieve from this strategy is powerful)
B.) Train to lose fat and elevate metabolism
- Monday, Wednesday, and Friday - Perform Total Body Circuit Strength Training
Sample Total Body Circuit Strength Workout - 20 Minutes (not including five minute warm-up and cool-down)
50-10 Interval Five Exercise Total Body Circuit - You will alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 s of rest for each exercise in the following five-exercise circuit. Perform this 5-minute circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body workout:
1 Hip Extensions
2 Push-up Variation
3 Single-Leg Wall Sit
4 Body Weight Rows
5 Upper Body Twist Variation
- Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday - Perform Cardio Interval Training
Sample Cardio Interval Training Workout - 20 Minutes (not including five minute warm-up and cool-down)
30-30’s - You will alternate between 30 seconds of maximum effort and 30 seconds of active recovery. You will perform this 1-minute round up to 20x for 20 total minutes. You can perform this workout on your cardio machine of choice (airdyne or spin bike, running, etc.) or by alternating between the following body weight cardio exercises for the ultimate in-home workout:
1 Stationary Running
2 Jumping Jacks Variation
Step#2 - Train your abs based on their true function: STABILIZATION
Below is a core workout that would appear in my boot camp. It involves no crunches or sit-ups by using all pillar stabilization exercises. Once you master these moves and follow everything else I previously listed above, you will have a sweet pair of rock hard abs to show for it… just wait and see!
The Power to the Pillar Workout - Tabata Style
This 20-minute total body core workout focuses entirely on pillar stabilization. The pillar collectively consists of your shoulders, hips, and core. It is your body’s powerhouse, foundational to all movement.
For each exercise below you will alternate between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. You will repeat this 30-second sequence eight times for four total minutes followed by a one minute rest and transition before moving on to the next exercise listed.
For maximum benefits, you must seek to maintain a tight pillar position during all movements by actively pulling your navel to your spine, engaging your glutes, and maintaining a straight line from the heels through the shoulders. The following coaching cues work really well:
"suck in your gut"
"tuck your butt under"
"round your lower back"
"give yourself a wedgie"
"be flat like a diving board.”
Exercise#1 - Front Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Exercise#2 - Left Side Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Exercise#3 - Right Side Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Exercise#4 - Back Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
For a complete video demo of this workout, please see below:
Today is the dawn of a new age in core training and it is my sincere hope that you take this powerful information and run with it.
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com
PS. Send your comments below and let me know what you think. Different than what you normally do in the gym? Surprised crunches and sit-ups aren't the best? Let me know by clicking the comments link directly below. Tweet This
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Get 6-Pack Abs Without Doing A Single Crunch or Sit-up!
OK lets face it - most if not all people want a flat, lean midsection. But for the majority no amount of crunches or sit-ups seems to get the job done. Have you ever heard this or asked this yourself?
“I do hundreds of crunches and sit-ups a day and I still have a flabby midsection. What gives?”
Well, before I reveal your six-pack abs blueprint, let’s first debunk some very important myths about how to get six-pack abs:
Myth#1 - Weight loss is the key to seeing your abs
WRONG!
The key to seeing your abs is fat loss, not weight loss. Seems like semantics but hear me out. Your body consists of fat mass and lean body mass (water, muscle, bone, organs, etc.). You want to minimize your fat mass and maximize your lean body mass to build a roaring metabolism: one that eats away at your fat stores and builds muscle like clockwork. By improving body composition you will put yourself in the best position to obtained that oh so desired six-pack.
So if you lose 17 lbs on the scale at the expense of losing some lean muscle mass in the process you will end up slowing your metabolism, decreasing performance, and losing that good looking muscle tone. But if you lose 17 lbs on the scale and you manage to keep or gain lean muscle mass you will increase performance, see more visible definition throughout your body, and lose primarily body fat.
The scale can be misleading as there are a number of variables to account for that lead to frequent fluctuations such as hydration levels, sodium intake, and for women the menstrual cycle. If you are going to keep a scale at home DO NOT get on it everyday, every other day or even every week. It is such an anchor, particularly for women. Get off the scale and get over the numbers. The true goal is fat loss, not weight loss. Focus on clothing size reduction, digital before and after pictures, and of course the mirror for the most accurate progress tracking. Don't get me wrong the scale has its place and is important but it should not be the thing you put all your faith in.
Myth#2 - Do lots of abs work to preferentially burn off stomach fat
WRONG!
Spot reduction doesn’t work. You can’t just work the muscles of a certain area of your body and expect to have the fat in that region go away. Think about it: almost everyone does crunches but proportionately very few people perform total body workouts. So, with all of these crunches, we’d expect to see nothing but people with flat tummies and fat depots everywhere else on their body (arms, legs, etc.). But think of how many people you know and see on a regular basis whom have more than a few inches to lose in their midsection. See what I mean - spot reduction doesn’t work!
The thing is, your body loses fat in a genetically pre-determined way when there is the appropriate caloric deficit AND hormonal environment created by proper eating and training. So your best approach would be: burn as many calories during your workouts as possible by engaging your whole body each and every training session (not just your abs) so you charge up your metabolism and continue burning an elevated amount of calories AFTER your workout. Compound, multi-joint movements like squats, push-ups, lunges, etc. (or better yet, total body exercises like squat to presses) burn a lot more calories than isolation movements like crunches and sit-ups. So be sure to focus on these movements first and then if you have time, you can do some extra core work.
Myth#3 - Crunches and Sit-ups are the best exercises for your abs
WRONG!
The scientific term for your six-pack muscles are your rectus abdominis. For years now, we have been conditioned to think that the best way to work your rectus abdominis is by doing endless crunches and sit-ups since these trunk flexion exercises make the muscles you want to see in the mirror “burn.” However, the true function of the rectus abdominis is to prevent hyperextension (excessive back bending of the spine), not to flex forward over and over again. Anytime you brace your abs (think slight crunch before you get punched in the gut) and pull your navel into your spine you effectively stabilize your spine into a safe, neutral position. And the moment you relax your abs and lose that braced abs position, your back will begin to hyperextend putting you at greater risk for injury.
To create the best looking and strong midsection focus on stabilization exercises in all three planes of movement (saggital - front to back, frontal - side to side, and transverse - rotational) by using pillar exercise variations (also know as planks). Besides training the true “anti-extension” function of your rectus abdominis or "six-pack" ab muscles, these bridging/stabilization exercises also activate the key transverse abdominus muscle, or your deep abdominal stabilizer, that wraps around your spine and supports your internal organs. Wanting to reduce back pain? Then strengthen these inner ab muscles as its key to optimal posture and performance in addition to injury prevention. Just another benefit to performing pillars over primitive crunches and sit-ups that often cause unwanted neck and back pain.
Myth#4 - Do lots of long-duration cardio to burn the fat covering your abs
WRONG!
Both scientific research and real world case studies show that aerobic training for fat loss alone doesn’t work. Total body resistance training is the true foundation of any solid fat loss plan. In addition, interval training, where you alternate between bouts of maximum effort and active recovery, is scientifically proven to burn more fat AFTER the workout than ordinary exercise. However why not perform both resistance interval training and cardio interval training to combine the best of both worlds? More on this to come!
Stay tuned for my next post where I continue where I left off and reveal The Anti-Crunch Six-Pack Abs Blueprint. The step-by-step process to take to get that tight, lean midsection you desire.
Until next time…
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com
PS. Get your FREE 1-week trial to boot camp by emailing ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp@gmail.com.
Tweet This
“I do hundreds of crunches and sit-ups a day and I still have a flabby midsection. What gives?”
Well, before I reveal your six-pack abs blueprint, let’s first debunk some very important myths about how to get six-pack abs:
Myth#1 - Weight loss is the key to seeing your abs
WRONG!
The key to seeing your abs is fat loss, not weight loss. Seems like semantics but hear me out. Your body consists of fat mass and lean body mass (water, muscle, bone, organs, etc.). You want to minimize your fat mass and maximize your lean body mass to build a roaring metabolism: one that eats away at your fat stores and builds muscle like clockwork. By improving body composition you will put yourself in the best position to obtained that oh so desired six-pack.
So if you lose 17 lbs on the scale at the expense of losing some lean muscle mass in the process you will end up slowing your metabolism, decreasing performance, and losing that good looking muscle tone. But if you lose 17 lbs on the scale and you manage to keep or gain lean muscle mass you will increase performance, see more visible definition throughout your body, and lose primarily body fat.
The scale can be misleading as there are a number of variables to account for that lead to frequent fluctuations such as hydration levels, sodium intake, and for women the menstrual cycle. If you are going to keep a scale at home DO NOT get on it everyday, every other day or even every week. It is such an anchor, particularly for women. Get off the scale and get over the numbers. The true goal is fat loss, not weight loss. Focus on clothing size reduction, digital before and after pictures, and of course the mirror for the most accurate progress tracking. Don't get me wrong the scale has its place and is important but it should not be the thing you put all your faith in.
Myth#2 - Do lots of abs work to preferentially burn off stomach fat
WRONG!
Spot reduction doesn’t work. You can’t just work the muscles of a certain area of your body and expect to have the fat in that region go away. Think about it: almost everyone does crunches but proportionately very few people perform total body workouts. So, with all of these crunches, we’d expect to see nothing but people with flat tummies and fat depots everywhere else on their body (arms, legs, etc.). But think of how many people you know and see on a regular basis whom have more than a few inches to lose in their midsection. See what I mean - spot reduction doesn’t work!
The thing is, your body loses fat in a genetically pre-determined way when there is the appropriate caloric deficit AND hormonal environment created by proper eating and training. So your best approach would be: burn as many calories during your workouts as possible by engaging your whole body each and every training session (not just your abs) so you charge up your metabolism and continue burning an elevated amount of calories AFTER your workout. Compound, multi-joint movements like squats, push-ups, lunges, etc. (or better yet, total body exercises like squat to presses) burn a lot more calories than isolation movements like crunches and sit-ups. So be sure to focus on these movements first and then if you have time, you can do some extra core work.
Myth#3 - Crunches and Sit-ups are the best exercises for your abs
WRONG!
The scientific term for your six-pack muscles are your rectus abdominis. For years now, we have been conditioned to think that the best way to work your rectus abdominis is by doing endless crunches and sit-ups since these trunk flexion exercises make the muscles you want to see in the mirror “burn.” However, the true function of the rectus abdominis is to prevent hyperextension (excessive back bending of the spine), not to flex forward over and over again. Anytime you brace your abs (think slight crunch before you get punched in the gut) and pull your navel into your spine you effectively stabilize your spine into a safe, neutral position. And the moment you relax your abs and lose that braced abs position, your back will begin to hyperextend putting you at greater risk for injury.
To create the best looking and strong midsection focus on stabilization exercises in all three planes of movement (saggital - front to back, frontal - side to side, and transverse - rotational) by using pillar exercise variations (also know as planks). Besides training the true “anti-extension” function of your rectus abdominis or "six-pack" ab muscles, these bridging/stabilization exercises also activate the key transverse abdominus muscle, or your deep abdominal stabilizer, that wraps around your spine and supports your internal organs. Wanting to reduce back pain? Then strengthen these inner ab muscles as its key to optimal posture and performance in addition to injury prevention. Just another benefit to performing pillars over primitive crunches and sit-ups that often cause unwanted neck and back pain.
Myth#4 - Do lots of long-duration cardio to burn the fat covering your abs
WRONG!
Both scientific research and real world case studies show that aerobic training for fat loss alone doesn’t work. Total body resistance training is the true foundation of any solid fat loss plan. In addition, interval training, where you alternate between bouts of maximum effort and active recovery, is scientifically proven to burn more fat AFTER the workout than ordinary exercise. However why not perform both resistance interval training and cardio interval training to combine the best of both worlds? More on this to come!
Stay tuned for my next post where I continue where I left off and reveal The Anti-Crunch Six-Pack Abs Blueprint. The step-by-step process to take to get that tight, lean midsection you desire.
Until next time…
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com
PS. Get your FREE 1-week trial to boot camp by emailing ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp@gmail.com.
Tweet This
Friday, January 30, 2009
How To Get Abs Without Doing Any Crunches!
Get your FREE 21st Century 6-pack Abs Training Report by clicking the link below.
http://www.MakersBody.com/WarpSpeedFatLoss.html
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
PS. Next boot camp starts February 9th. I hope to see you there. If you haven't been out before come out for an entire week FREE and give it a try to see if you like it...we know you will :)
To get started, click www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com Tweet This
The 6 Minute Super Bowl Half-time Workout!
For all you football fans, it's a big game coming up on Sunday!
So, just in case the halftime show isn't the best, or you overdid it with the junk food, I put together a 6 minute fat burning workout using only one piece of equipment, a jump rope.
Note: if you don't have a jump rope substitute it for jumping jacks.
Check out the video below to get a detailed description of this workout:
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron Tweet This
So, just in case the halftime show isn't the best, or you overdid it with the junk food, I put together a 6 minute fat burning workout using only one piece of equipment, a jump rope.
Note: if you don't have a jump rope substitute it for jumping jacks.
Check out the video below to get a detailed description of this workout:
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron Tweet This
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Vancouver Personal Trainer Shares Healthier Super Bowl Recipes To Cut Thousands of Calories Come Kickoff!
With Super Bowl Sunday just around the corner, the time is now to start getting your goodies together for the game. However, why not make a couple tweaks to some of your favorite party food recipes to make them healthier and more figure-friendly come kickoff?
Use the following list of both approved food choices and/or healthier substitutes for typical party foods. This list will help to satisfy your taste buds while saving at least hundreds if not thousands of calories in the process. You may even like them that much that you continue using them for parties and social gatherings over the course of the year, you may very well prevent 5-10 lbs of fat gain… easily!
Section I - Appetizers
• Sandwiches (preferably bun-less, only use whole grain bun option if absolutely needed)
• Thin Crust Whole Grain Pizza
• Fruit Salad (throw low carb whipped cream and dash of stevia on top as desired)
• Super Salad Bowl (use unlimited veggies and meats, dip dressing on the side or use low calorie substitutes)
• Sweet Potato Fries
• Tuna or Chicken Salad
• Nut Butter on Celery Sticks
• Mixed Nuts (no sugar, unroasted, low in salt)
• Cheese, Eggs, and Meat Tray
• Caprese Salad
• Raw Veggies (use dip sparingly)
• Grilled/Sauteed Veggies (use extra virgin olive or coconut oil)
• Figure-Friendly Nachos (see “accessories” below for ingredients: tortillas, cheese, salsa, and guac)
• Buffalo Chicken Bites (skinless, no breading, use low calorie buffalo sauce sparingly)
• Pasta Salad (use whole grain pasta and go easy on the dressings, choosing marinara based sauces over creamier versions)
Section II - Accessories
• Natural Whole Grain Tortillas
• Natural Baked Chips
• Natural Cheetohs
• Lipton Green Teas (or other low calorie/carb beverages, sweeten with stevia if you like)
• Water
• Natural Salsa
• Guacamole
• Salad Dressings: Vinegars of choice (apple cider, red wine, balsamic, etc.)
• Other Low Calorie Condiments of Choice: mustard, hot sauce, horseradish, etc.
Section III - Main Courses
• Lettuce Burgers (use extra lean sirloin or bison, preferably bun-less only using whole grain bun option if absolutely needed)
• Rotisserie Chicken (choose “plain” and remove skin and dab off any grease as needed with paper towel)
• Extra Lean Kosher Hot Dogs (preferably bun-less, only use whole grain bun option if absolutely needed)
• Chili (preferably bean-less, only use if absolutely needed and feel free to swap extra lean turkey for the beef version to cut down fat intake)
• Pizza (see “appetizers” above or use whole grain/thin crust options from restaurants or frozen food isles)
Section IV - Desserts
• Prograde Cravers (100% organic chocolate snacks bars) Check them out HERE.
• Larabars
• Garden of Life or Living Fuel bars
• Cocoa Via Bars or Packs
• Low Carb Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory
• Protein Cookies (swap in protein powder for flour)
BONUS - To Save Thousands of Calories on Super Bowl Sunday Use These Top 10 Tips
1.) Go the Naked Sandwich Approach: Replace all buns or breading for sandwiches with a lettuce wrap alternative to cut calories, stabilize blood sugar, and boost fiber and micronutrient intake.
2.) Hydrate: Drink at least two to four cups of water before eating AND one to two cups every 15-30 minutes after you start eating to fill your stomach and prevent overeating that can be triggers by dehydration.
3.) Do Away With Empty Liquid Calories: Minimize or eliminate all fruit juices, regular sodas, and alcohol. Opt for water, tea, or low calorie/carb beverages in moderation to leave more room for whole food choices that have more nutritional value and better fill you up.
4.) No more fasting before a feast as it will turn your body into a famished fat-storing machine the next time you eat. The resulting low blood sugar levels that come from not eating for four hours or more will cause you to crave junk foods high in both fat and refined sugars.
5.) Out with the White and in with the Brown (Or Better Yet... Green!): Be sure to use the whole grain alternatives for any starch you serve at your party (e.g. chips, tortillas, breads, rice, pasta). Whole grains have more vitamins and minerals and are high in fiber which means they won’t have as negative of an impact on your blood sugar compared to its white counterparts. However, if you want to be a nutritional boy or girl scout, go one step further by replacing all brown with green in the form of green veggies.
6.) Focus on eating lean proteins and fruits and veggies FIRST! Use these in unlimited amounts as needed to fill you up and best prevent the typical party “killshot” of high carb and high fat meals (e.g. thick crust pizza with extra full-fat cheese).
7.) Important Tip: never eat directly out of the bag or community bowl but use smaller plates to put your food on while limiting yourself to a pre-set plate total (e.g. four plate maximum during a three-hour football game).
8.) Replace Gold With Green: Go for guacamole over cheese for your salads and chips. Guacamole is high in heart healthy monounsaturated fats and it also has a ton of fiber that will help fill you up fast and prevent overeating. Though cheese is a true super food in moderation (hard cheeses that is), it can be easy to overeat especially when mixed with refined carb sources like white chips and pizza.
9.) Replace Flour with Protein Powder: As strange as it may sound protein powder makes a great cooking or baking substitute for flour (e.g. protein cookies). By adding protein and reducing carb intake you will boost metabolism.
10.) 20 Chews: Eat slowly and chew your food a certain number of times before you swallow to allow your brain enough time to get the “I’m full” signal (e.g. 20 pre-swallow chews).
Resurrect Your Body Back To Life!
Tyron
http://ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com Tweet This
Use the following list of both approved food choices and/or healthier substitutes for typical party foods. This list will help to satisfy your taste buds while saving at least hundreds if not thousands of calories in the process. You may even like them that much that you continue using them for parties and social gatherings over the course of the year, you may very well prevent 5-10 lbs of fat gain… easily!
Section I - Appetizers
• Sandwiches (preferably bun-less, only use whole grain bun option if absolutely needed)
• Thin Crust Whole Grain Pizza
• Fruit Salad (throw low carb whipped cream and dash of stevia on top as desired)
• Super Salad Bowl (use unlimited veggies and meats, dip dressing on the side or use low calorie substitutes)
• Sweet Potato Fries
• Tuna or Chicken Salad
• Nut Butter on Celery Sticks
• Mixed Nuts (no sugar, unroasted, low in salt)
• Cheese, Eggs, and Meat Tray
• Caprese Salad
• Raw Veggies (use dip sparingly)
• Grilled/Sauteed Veggies (use extra virgin olive or coconut oil)
• Figure-Friendly Nachos (see “accessories” below for ingredients: tortillas, cheese, salsa, and guac)
• Buffalo Chicken Bites (skinless, no breading, use low calorie buffalo sauce sparingly)
• Pasta Salad (use whole grain pasta and go easy on the dressings, choosing marinara based sauces over creamier versions)
Section II - Accessories
• Natural Whole Grain Tortillas
• Natural Baked Chips
• Natural Cheetohs
• Lipton Green Teas (or other low calorie/carb beverages, sweeten with stevia if you like)
• Water
• Natural Salsa
• Guacamole
• Salad Dressings: Vinegars of choice (apple cider, red wine, balsamic, etc.)
• Other Low Calorie Condiments of Choice: mustard, hot sauce, horseradish, etc.
Section III - Main Courses
• Lettuce Burgers (use extra lean sirloin or bison, preferably bun-less only using whole grain bun option if absolutely needed)
• Rotisserie Chicken (choose “plain” and remove skin and dab off any grease as needed with paper towel)
• Extra Lean Kosher Hot Dogs (preferably bun-less, only use whole grain bun option if absolutely needed)
• Chili (preferably bean-less, only use if absolutely needed and feel free to swap extra lean turkey for the beef version to cut down fat intake)
• Pizza (see “appetizers” above or use whole grain/thin crust options from restaurants or frozen food isles)
Section IV - Desserts
• Prograde Cravers (100% organic chocolate snacks bars) Check them out HERE.
• Larabars
• Garden of Life or Living Fuel bars
• Cocoa Via Bars or Packs
• Low Carb Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory
• Protein Cookies (swap in protein powder for flour)
BONUS - To Save Thousands of Calories on Super Bowl Sunday Use These Top 10 Tips
1.) Go the Naked Sandwich Approach: Replace all buns or breading for sandwiches with a lettuce wrap alternative to cut calories, stabilize blood sugar, and boost fiber and micronutrient intake.
2.) Hydrate: Drink at least two to four cups of water before eating AND one to two cups every 15-30 minutes after you start eating to fill your stomach and prevent overeating that can be triggers by dehydration.
3.) Do Away With Empty Liquid Calories: Minimize or eliminate all fruit juices, regular sodas, and alcohol. Opt for water, tea, or low calorie/carb beverages in moderation to leave more room for whole food choices that have more nutritional value and better fill you up.
4.) No more fasting before a feast as it will turn your body into a famished fat-storing machine the next time you eat. The resulting low blood sugar levels that come from not eating for four hours or more will cause you to crave junk foods high in both fat and refined sugars.
5.) Out with the White and in with the Brown (Or Better Yet... Green!): Be sure to use the whole grain alternatives for any starch you serve at your party (e.g. chips, tortillas, breads, rice, pasta). Whole grains have more vitamins and minerals and are high in fiber which means they won’t have as negative of an impact on your blood sugar compared to its white counterparts. However, if you want to be a nutritional boy or girl scout, go one step further by replacing all brown with green in the form of green veggies.
6.) Focus on eating lean proteins and fruits and veggies FIRST! Use these in unlimited amounts as needed to fill you up and best prevent the typical party “killshot” of high carb and high fat meals (e.g. thick crust pizza with extra full-fat cheese).
7.) Important Tip: never eat directly out of the bag or community bowl but use smaller plates to put your food on while limiting yourself to a pre-set plate total (e.g. four plate maximum during a three-hour football game).
8.) Replace Gold With Green: Go for guacamole over cheese for your salads and chips. Guacamole is high in heart healthy monounsaturated fats and it also has a ton of fiber that will help fill you up fast and prevent overeating. Though cheese is a true super food in moderation (hard cheeses that is), it can be easy to overeat especially when mixed with refined carb sources like white chips and pizza.
9.) Replace Flour with Protein Powder: As strange as it may sound protein powder makes a great cooking or baking substitute for flour (e.g. protein cookies). By adding protein and reducing carb intake you will boost metabolism.
10.) 20 Chews: Eat slowly and chew your food a certain number of times before you swallow to allow your brain enough time to get the “I’m full” signal (e.g. 20 pre-swallow chews).
Resurrect Your Body Back To Life!
Tyron
http://ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com Tweet This
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Is Going To Bed Too Late Making You Fat?
Guest blog post by my friend Vreni Gurd, CHEK Level 3
Is going to bed too late making you fat?
Many of our hormones are intimately related to circadian rhythms, and their function gets thrown off when we completely ignore the fact that night follows day, and day follows night. During the longer days of summer, mammals are hardwired to find sustenance to store as fat, to help them last the shorter days of winter where they will be either hibernating or eating less due to lack of food availability.
In humans, this hardwiring shows up as a desire for carbohydrates. By choosing to stay up with the lights on, watching TV or doing computer work late at night long after the sun has gone down, our hormonal system is fooled into believing that it is still day, resulting in increased cortisol and insulin levels, which makes you want to snack, and most likely on carbohydrates. In today's wealthy countries, winter does not mean a lack of food availability, so late night snacking is often the result.
Even if you do not snack, staying up late regularly causes cortisol to release a nightly dose of sugar into the bloodstream for energy, insulin then rises to store that sugar as fat. Constantly high levels of insulin are an important factor in developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. And if you are insulin resistant, smelling a pastry will make you fat! Therefore, fat storage is largely controlled by the amount of light you are exposed to and the insulin resistance it causes. (note: protein types will often sleep better with a small protein snack before bed.)
Going to bed by 10pm lowers your night-time cortisol and insulin levels, and raises your melatonin levels, which prevents this whole cycle from developing. Now that it is fall, try to go to bed 15 minutes earlier every week if possible. In the winter most of us need about 9.5 hours of sleep.
For those of you in the Vancouver area, I will be presenting a two-hour nutrition seminar on Tuesday Jan. 27th from 7 to 9pm. For more information and how to register, reply to this email and I will forward you the poster and registration information. Hope to see you there!
Please do keep the comments coming on my blog at http://blog.wellnesstips.ca/blog/index.php/. If you want to search for other posts by title or by topic, go to www.wellnesstips.ca.
Related tips
Melatonin, our rest and repair hormone
Light pollution messes with our hormones
Chek, Paul; How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy! Chek Institute, San Diego, CA, 2004.
Chek, Paul; Oliver, Clifford, Remsen, Julie; Optimum Health and Fitness Through Practical Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching Chek Institute, San Diego, CA, 2002.
Formby and Wiley; Lights Out! Sugar, Sleep and Survival Pocket Books, New York, NY, 2000
Smolensky and Lamberg; The Body Clock Guide to Better Health Holt and Company, New York, NY, 2001.
Copyright 2006 Vreni Gurd
To subscribe go to www.wellnesstips.ca
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com
PS. My next boot camp starts up February 9th so claim your FREE 1-week trial and starting losing the weight and body fat you've gained by staying up so late! Tweet This
Is going to bed too late making you fat?
Many of our hormones are intimately related to circadian rhythms, and their function gets thrown off when we completely ignore the fact that night follows day, and day follows night. During the longer days of summer, mammals are hardwired to find sustenance to store as fat, to help them last the shorter days of winter where they will be either hibernating or eating less due to lack of food availability.
In humans, this hardwiring shows up as a desire for carbohydrates. By choosing to stay up with the lights on, watching TV or doing computer work late at night long after the sun has gone down, our hormonal system is fooled into believing that it is still day, resulting in increased cortisol and insulin levels, which makes you want to snack, and most likely on carbohydrates. In today's wealthy countries, winter does not mean a lack of food availability, so late night snacking is often the result.
Even if you do not snack, staying up late regularly causes cortisol to release a nightly dose of sugar into the bloodstream for energy, insulin then rises to store that sugar as fat. Constantly high levels of insulin are an important factor in developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. And if you are insulin resistant, smelling a pastry will make you fat! Therefore, fat storage is largely controlled by the amount of light you are exposed to and the insulin resistance it causes. (note: protein types will often sleep better with a small protein snack before bed.)
Going to bed by 10pm lowers your night-time cortisol and insulin levels, and raises your melatonin levels, which prevents this whole cycle from developing. Now that it is fall, try to go to bed 15 minutes earlier every week if possible. In the winter most of us need about 9.5 hours of sleep.
For those of you in the Vancouver area, I will be presenting a two-hour nutrition seminar on Tuesday Jan. 27th from 7 to 9pm. For more information and how to register, reply to this email and I will forward you the poster and registration information. Hope to see you there!
Please do keep the comments coming on my blog at http://blog.wellnesstips.ca/blog/index.php/. If you want to search for other posts by title or by topic, go to www.wellnesstips.ca.
Related tips
Melatonin, our rest and repair hormone
Light pollution messes with our hormones
Chek, Paul; How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy! Chek Institute, San Diego, CA, 2004.
Chek, Paul; Oliver, Clifford, Remsen, Julie; Optimum Health and Fitness Through Practical Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching Chek Institute, San Diego, CA, 2002.
Formby and Wiley; Lights Out! Sugar, Sleep and Survival Pocket Books, New York, NY, 2000
Smolensky and Lamberg; The Body Clock Guide to Better Health Holt and Company, New York, NY, 2001.
Copyright 2006 Vreni Gurd
To subscribe go to www.wellnesstips.ca
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com
PS. My next boot camp starts up February 9th so claim your FREE 1-week trial and starting losing the weight and body fat you've gained by staying up so late! Tweet This
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Vancouver Personal Trainer Reveals the Best Lower Body Exercise Ever!
As a fitness trainer, it's common to be asked, "What exercises are best for ______” fill in the blank. The most common area of course is the stomach but right behind it are the hips and thighs (specifically from my boot campers).
Today I’m going to give you the inside scoop on one of the best lower body exercise. Get ready for results! I call it the "Bulgarian Split Squat". Want to thunder-thigh proof your body? Master this!
One of the great things about this exercise is you cover a number of muscle groups at ONCE and thus don't need to worry about individual body part training. I am a strong believer in total body training, meaning that we train the upper body, lower body, and core during every single workout.
By training the whole body at once we maximally stimulate lean muscle gain and metabolism and promote total body fat burning in order to effectively eliminate the body fat not only throughout the body but also in those stubborn fat spots. If you want to get any noticeable results (the key is noticeable as you will get stronger and better conditioned but most if not all people want to see change), a diet high in lean protein, fiber, and green veggies and low in unnatural fats and refined sugars and starches is critical.
It is also important to know that you lose fat in a genetically predetermined way. You can do all the crunches you want but without total body training, proper eating habits, and enough time to get to those stubborn fat areas you will never get rid of your gut, jiggly arms, or the junk in the trunk.
Moving onto the main event: one of the world’s greatest lower body exercise. You may want to choose single leg exercises in lieu of their double leg counterparts for a lot of reasons. For people with back issues, single leg exercises allow them to safely perform lower body exercises without putting their lower lumbar spine in jeopardy of hyper flexion or excessive rounding that can cause back spasms in the short run and herniated discs in the long run. Furthermore, I feel there’s often such a strength and/or flexibility imbalance between one leg and the other for most people that it’s critical to address one leg at a time to really shore up the weak links from the start.
Case in point. One of my clients has been having good success with his exercise program, has lost about 10 pounds thus far, and has nearly completely gotten rid of his hip/groin pain that he's had for YEARS. However, I did notice just last week that he displayed a muscle strength discrepancy between his left and right legs while doing single-leg squats, but wasn't evident while doing double-leg squats. So make sure you incorporate single-leg movements and not just double-leg exercises.
Now for the Bulgarian Split Squat. So basically we’re going to elevate the back foot on a chair, bench, box, or any other sturdy foot support, usually about 12-18 inches high. You’ll put your front leg well in front of you in order to make sure that your front knee and ankle are lined up. In general, exaggerate how far you put your front leg forward so that the front knee is almost slightly behind the ankle as this really helps reduce sheer force on the knees. Initiate the exercise by loading the front heel and dropping your hips as low as you can in a pain-free range of motion while staying really tall up top with a proud chest and shoulders down and back. Finish the rep by explosively driving through your front heel to return to the top of the movement. You can start with body weight only in search of front thigh parallel to the floor or lower depth and then progress by adding speed of movement or by adding dumbbells. You can even incorporate some very cool combination movements with this lower body exercise like adding a curl to press at the top of the movement or even by raising dumbbells overhead to really challenge your core and single-leg balance and stability.
See the video below for a complete demo of all of the different variations of the Bulgarian split squat:
This exercise really helps strengthen your vastus medialis muscle, that inner quad muscle that looks like a teardrop, that’s heavily responsible for tracking your patella and keeping your knee caps in line. So if you have a history of overtraining or patella-femoral issues this exercise is phenomenal for keeping your knees as bulletproof as possible.
Also, what’s great about it too is that it provides a very good stretch for the hip flexor of your back leg, an area that is often very tight, especially for those who sit for extended periods of time. Any exercise that allows you to simultaneously stretch and strengthen your body is a goldmine. No more wasting your time with the adductor "squeeze" machine, it's time to crank it with one of the world’s best lower body exercise today!
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com
PS. Get a FREE 1-week trial to boot camp today by emailing ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp@gmail.com. Tweet This
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Vancouver Personal Trainer Shows A Workout To Help You Lose Fat Fast!
Check out the workout of the day for my Vancouver Boot Camp Resurrect Your Body Boot Camp below:
Your body will be supercharged to burn an elevated amount of fat for HOURS AFTER you finish ;)
crank it!
Tyron
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com Tweet This
Your body will be supercharged to burn an elevated amount of fat for HOURS AFTER you finish ;)
crank it!
Tyron
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com Tweet This
Monday, January 12, 2009
Vancouver Personal Trainer Reveals 4 Safe Shovelling Tips To Save Your Back
We’ve just come through one of the biggest snowfalls of Vancouver history. If you are like most people you probably don't like shovelling and you probably like it even less if you hurt yourself in the process. I can just imagine the number of people so far that have tweaked their backs in their zealous attempts to keep a clear driveway. Be prepared the next time you're covered in snow.
So, without further adieu, here are my top four safe shovelling tips for the next snowfall:
1.) Perform a Proper 5-Minute Warm-up Before Shovelling
As is common before intense exercise, many people fail to properly warm-up and get their bodies ready for the rigors of shovelling snow. Let’s face it, when the snow is wet, it's real work moving it around. And if your body is tight and cold then you will dramatically increase your chances of short or long-term injury.
Below is a great shovelling specific five-minute warm-up to get your body ready to rock. There is a special emphasis on opening up the hips and chest to save your back and shoulders, the two most commonly injured areas of broken down shovelers:
Perform each exercise in the following warm-up circuit at a slow, controlled tempo for 50 seconds with a 10 second rest and transition between exercises. Do this warm-up indoors to better increase core temperature and total body blood flow:
Exercise#1- Stationary High Knee Run
Exercise#2- Jumping Claps (modified jumping jacks with arms moving across chest level, palms facing)
Exercise#3- Alternating Reverse Lunge, Overhead Reach, and Twist
Exercise#4- Alternating Lateral Lunge with Opposite Hand to Toe Touch
Exercise#5- Prisoner Squats (hands behind head with finger interlocked)
2.) Split Your Stance When Shoveling
Amongst avid shovelers, back pain is probably the biggest complaint. A sore or tight back usually stems from restriction at the hips (see the warm-up above to best remedy this). There is a greater risk of lower back injury when using a parallel stance as there's a greater likelihood of excessive flexion of the lumbar spine that often leads to back spasms in the short run and herniated discs in the long run. However, by simply switching to a split stance while shovelling, where one leg is forward and the other leg is back, will not only significantly lessen this hyper flexion while bending over, but will also help actively stretch those tight hips at the same time. To create an even balance in the muscles that are worked, do an even number of shovel strokes with both legs forward by alternating every 10 reps or so.
3.) Point Your Toes In Same Direction of Shovelling
This is a continuation of the last tip. Even when you split your stance, you can still be susceptible to injury when tossing snow behind you. So, to further prevent injury, be sure to always shovel snow in the direction that your toes point to minimize excessive spinal rotation that can literally wrench your back.
4.) Shovel EQUALLY to BOTH Sides
This is a further continuation on the last two tips and one I am guilty of. A mistake people make is always shovelling to their strong sides causing further strength and flexibility imbalances that can put your body at greater risk for injury. So in the split stance position with your toes pointing in the same direction, be sure to do an equal amount of shovel tosses to your left AND right. Do 10 shovel tosses to your left with your left leg forward and then do 10 shovel tosses to your right with your right leg forward. Repeat until your driveway or sidewalk is crystal clear.
The aforementioned tips will go a long way in keeping your body as bulletproof as possible during the next blizzard. Seriously, it’s not cool getting hurt while shovelling. It’s a sign of an even bigger problem: being overweight and/or highly de-conditioned. So feel confident about picking up your shovel, getting some exercises and stay injury-free in the process.
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com Tweet This
So, without further adieu, here are my top four safe shovelling tips for the next snowfall:
1.) Perform a Proper 5-Minute Warm-up Before Shovelling
As is common before intense exercise, many people fail to properly warm-up and get their bodies ready for the rigors of shovelling snow. Let’s face it, when the snow is wet, it's real work moving it around. And if your body is tight and cold then you will dramatically increase your chances of short or long-term injury.
Below is a great shovelling specific five-minute warm-up to get your body ready to rock. There is a special emphasis on opening up the hips and chest to save your back and shoulders, the two most commonly injured areas of broken down shovelers:
Perform each exercise in the following warm-up circuit at a slow, controlled tempo for 50 seconds with a 10 second rest and transition between exercises. Do this warm-up indoors to better increase core temperature and total body blood flow:
Exercise#1- Stationary High Knee Run
Exercise#2- Jumping Claps (modified jumping jacks with arms moving across chest level, palms facing)
Exercise#3- Alternating Reverse Lunge, Overhead Reach, and Twist
Exercise#4- Alternating Lateral Lunge with Opposite Hand to Toe Touch
Exercise#5- Prisoner Squats (hands behind head with finger interlocked)
2.) Split Your Stance When Shoveling
Amongst avid shovelers, back pain is probably the biggest complaint. A sore or tight back usually stems from restriction at the hips (see the warm-up above to best remedy this). There is a greater risk of lower back injury when using a parallel stance as there's a greater likelihood of excessive flexion of the lumbar spine that often leads to back spasms in the short run and herniated discs in the long run. However, by simply switching to a split stance while shovelling, where one leg is forward and the other leg is back, will not only significantly lessen this hyper flexion while bending over, but will also help actively stretch those tight hips at the same time. To create an even balance in the muscles that are worked, do an even number of shovel strokes with both legs forward by alternating every 10 reps or so.
3.) Point Your Toes In Same Direction of Shovelling
This is a continuation of the last tip. Even when you split your stance, you can still be susceptible to injury when tossing snow behind you. So, to further prevent injury, be sure to always shovel snow in the direction that your toes point to minimize excessive spinal rotation that can literally wrench your back.
4.) Shovel EQUALLY to BOTH Sides
This is a further continuation on the last two tips and one I am guilty of. A mistake people make is always shovelling to their strong sides causing further strength and flexibility imbalances that can put your body at greater risk for injury. So in the split stance position with your toes pointing in the same direction, be sure to do an equal amount of shovel tosses to your left AND right. Do 10 shovel tosses to your left with your left leg forward and then do 10 shovel tosses to your right with your right leg forward. Repeat until your driveway or sidewalk is crystal clear.
The aforementioned tips will go a long way in keeping your body as bulletproof as possible during the next blizzard. Seriously, it’s not cool getting hurt while shovelling. It’s a sign of an even bigger problem: being overweight and/or highly de-conditioned. So feel confident about picking up your shovel, getting some exercises and stay injury-free in the process.
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com Tweet This
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Turning Resolutions into Results Continued...
Step Two - The What and When: What do you want to accomplish and when do you want to accomplish it by?
Last day we figured out the "Why": you want to look better and maximize your sexy! (that's motivating isn't it?) Now from this we need to establish what objective goal(s) need to be met so this resolution goes from fantasy to real world results.
There are three major ways you can track “look better” progress and these are ones I use with my clients, in order of importance from least to most important:
1.) Scale Weight: Although the least important of the three, albeit it does give us a number that’s worth tracking. Though body fat percentage through skinfold measurements (what I use with my clients) would be a much better method of tracking progress, it is not possible to do it by yourself and other forms of body fat measuring such as DEXA scans, althought not expensive, do have a cost associated with them. The key is to taking your initial weight before you start and then not weighing more than every 2 weeks. However you may find it better with tracking your weight every month. There are simply too many variables for controlling your body weight and the natural fluctuations based on diet (and for women, their menstrual cycle), means the less frequently you do this the better. If the scale is just too de-motivating for you in general, then just skip this one altogether if you must, because the next two markers are far more important.
2.) Dress/Pant Size: Simple but profound. Would it be safe to say that if you are dropping dress and/or pant sizes that you will be looking better, right? Want to know a good motivator? Select one dress or one pair of pants that you really want to get and keep it out in view and once a week or once every two weeks try it on, as this is the goal in mind. I encourage my clients to assess how they are fitting in their clothes and whether they are feeling looser and their bodies are feeling tighter. If you are following the right program it is not atypical to lose a dress and/or pant size every month (until you get to your ideal dimensions). Check out what results others are getting at http://www.makersbody.citymax.com/testimonials.html. It's powerful to literally be able to feel yourself comfortably get into clothes that use almost rip when you put on!
3.) Digital Pictures: As much as people don't like this, pictures don’t lie, that’s the bottom line. If you want to look better, what better way is there to assess this than pictures? I cannot begin to tell you how important this is. Taking a before picture is essentially you telling the whole world that you are ready to change and that you are ready to do whatever it takes to make those changes. What you may want to do is take pictures wearing exactly what you want to look your best in. What a powerful motivator! Maybe it’s taking pictures of you in the dress or pair of pants that you are using to track your dress or pant size. Or maybe it’s a sleeveless shirt and tank top that you want to wear during the summer. And if you want to see your abs and a flat stomach, then you best believe that you need to take pictures of your stomach to track how much more definition you get. Take a front, side, and rear view picture and be sure to note the exact conditions in which the picture was taken (lighting, distance from camera, time of day/week, etc.) to be as accurate as possible in your assessment. I assuming most clients don't like the picture part (from their slight complaining) however once their body transforms into what they desire, they'll be sure glad those pictures were taken. Your before pictures will become your trophy and they are an absolute must if you really are serious about getting results that count. You may want to take new pictures either bi-weekly or monthly until you reach your goal(s).
Step Three - Planning and Preparing for Roadblocks: What are the big obstacles that will prevent you from having the success you desire? What’s contributed most to past failures?
We've discovered what you want to accomplish and why, now it’s time to plan and prepare for any obstacles that might get in your way of getting the job done based on your own personal schedule.
In general, the number one thing that most people will say is, "I'm just too busy and tired and don’t have enough time to workout or make meals." Does that sound like you? If you're honest with yourself you'll agree that there is always hidden time throughout the day and week that can be freed up if you re-prioritize. Again, think back to why you wanted to do this in the first place and then examine what’s most important to you. What I like to tell clients is make your workouts and your meal times just like work appointments. Either you make the appointment or you don’t. And if you want to keep your job (or get your dream body) then you better make that appointment.
Another big obstacle is alcohol. Sorry it had to be brought up. People like to drink and unfortunately alcohol is about as detrimental to burning fat as it gets. Again, what’s more important to you, looking your best or having that extra beer or glass of wine? The choice is yours. Of course I'm not saying you have to avoid alcohol altogether but it would be a good idea until you achieve your goal(s). Remember, once you achieve your goal(s), alcohol can be added back in with moderation. Low to zero alcohol consumption is needed if you want to look your best year round and that’s a fact.
Lastly, many people deal with boredom eating or emotional eating. Boredom eating means just that, eating to fill up dead time when you have nothing better to do. The best way to deal with this is, you guessed it, to do something! Find an active hobby to keep your mind off of eating when boredom strikes and you can beat this trend. Emotional eating describes the use of food to cope with stress or to reward for accomplishment. Food is not unlike drugs or alcohol in this regard, it can be very addictive. There is no quick fix for emotional eating other than avoiding trigger situations (bars, parties, etc.) and trigger foods (starches, sugars, fast food, etc.) in the short term to break bad habits.
At the end of the day, whether your roadblocks are very individual or if they fall in line with the general roadblocks clients encounter on a regular basis, the key is to be honest about them and to plan and prepare for them. And that’s where social support and accountability come into play. Clients that have the most success have undergone their transformation with the support of other friends or family members. Support is so crucial, as it's too easy to rationalize a food or drink to yourself. Also, most of the poor food and drinking choices that sabotage one’s progress occur on the weekend, when most people hang out with their friend and family. If they (your support team) are committed with you and your goal to get fit and look better, you can put yourself in a much better position to realize the success you desire and deserve. The last thing anybody needs is sabotage or peer pressure from those closest to you, so get them on board and get them on board early.
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
PPS- Grab a FREE 1-week trial to Resurrect Your Body Boot Camp and turn those resolutions into real world results...that last!
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com Tweet This
Last day we figured out the "Why": you want to look better and maximize your sexy! (that's motivating isn't it?) Now from this we need to establish what objective goal(s) need to be met so this resolution goes from fantasy to real world results.
There are three major ways you can track “look better” progress and these are ones I use with my clients, in order of importance from least to most important:
1.) Scale Weight: Although the least important of the three, albeit it does give us a number that’s worth tracking. Though body fat percentage through skinfold measurements (what I use with my clients) would be a much better method of tracking progress, it is not possible to do it by yourself and other forms of body fat measuring such as DEXA scans, althought not expensive, do have a cost associated with them. The key is to taking your initial weight before you start and then not weighing more than every 2 weeks. However you may find it better with tracking your weight every month. There are simply too many variables for controlling your body weight and the natural fluctuations based on diet (and for women, their menstrual cycle), means the less frequently you do this the better. If the scale is just too de-motivating for you in general, then just skip this one altogether if you must, because the next two markers are far more important.
2.) Dress/Pant Size: Simple but profound. Would it be safe to say that if you are dropping dress and/or pant sizes that you will be looking better, right? Want to know a good motivator? Select one dress or one pair of pants that you really want to get and keep it out in view and once a week or once every two weeks try it on, as this is the goal in mind. I encourage my clients to assess how they are fitting in their clothes and whether they are feeling looser and their bodies are feeling tighter. If you are following the right program it is not atypical to lose a dress and/or pant size every month (until you get to your ideal dimensions). Check out what results others are getting at http://www.makersbody.citymax.com/testimonials.html. It's powerful to literally be able to feel yourself comfortably get into clothes that use almost rip when you put on!
3.) Digital Pictures: As much as people don't like this, pictures don’t lie, that’s the bottom line. If you want to look better, what better way is there to assess this than pictures? I cannot begin to tell you how important this is. Taking a before picture is essentially you telling the whole world that you are ready to change and that you are ready to do whatever it takes to make those changes. What you may want to do is take pictures wearing exactly what you want to look your best in. What a powerful motivator! Maybe it’s taking pictures of you in the dress or pair of pants that you are using to track your dress or pant size. Or maybe it’s a sleeveless shirt and tank top that you want to wear during the summer. And if you want to see your abs and a flat stomach, then you best believe that you need to take pictures of your stomach to track how much more definition you get. Take a front, side, and rear view picture and be sure to note the exact conditions in which the picture was taken (lighting, distance from camera, time of day/week, etc.) to be as accurate as possible in your assessment. I assuming most clients don't like the picture part (from their slight complaining) however once their body transforms into what they desire, they'll be sure glad those pictures were taken. Your before pictures will become your trophy and they are an absolute must if you really are serious about getting results that count. You may want to take new pictures either bi-weekly or monthly until you reach your goal(s).
Step Three - Planning and Preparing for Roadblocks: What are the big obstacles that will prevent you from having the success you desire? What’s contributed most to past failures?
We've discovered what you want to accomplish and why, now it’s time to plan and prepare for any obstacles that might get in your way of getting the job done based on your own personal schedule.
In general, the number one thing that most people will say is, "I'm just too busy and tired and don’t have enough time to workout or make meals." Does that sound like you? If you're honest with yourself you'll agree that there is always hidden time throughout the day and week that can be freed up if you re-prioritize. Again, think back to why you wanted to do this in the first place and then examine what’s most important to you. What I like to tell clients is make your workouts and your meal times just like work appointments. Either you make the appointment or you don’t. And if you want to keep your job (or get your dream body) then you better make that appointment.
Another big obstacle is alcohol. Sorry it had to be brought up. People like to drink and unfortunately alcohol is about as detrimental to burning fat as it gets. Again, what’s more important to you, looking your best or having that extra beer or glass of wine? The choice is yours. Of course I'm not saying you have to avoid alcohol altogether but it would be a good idea until you achieve your goal(s). Remember, once you achieve your goal(s), alcohol can be added back in with moderation. Low to zero alcohol consumption is needed if you want to look your best year round and that’s a fact.
Lastly, many people deal with boredom eating or emotional eating. Boredom eating means just that, eating to fill up dead time when you have nothing better to do. The best way to deal with this is, you guessed it, to do something! Find an active hobby to keep your mind off of eating when boredom strikes and you can beat this trend. Emotional eating describes the use of food to cope with stress or to reward for accomplishment. Food is not unlike drugs or alcohol in this regard, it can be very addictive. There is no quick fix for emotional eating other than avoiding trigger situations (bars, parties, etc.) and trigger foods (starches, sugars, fast food, etc.) in the short term to break bad habits.
At the end of the day, whether your roadblocks are very individual or if they fall in line with the general roadblocks clients encounter on a regular basis, the key is to be honest about them and to plan and prepare for them. And that’s where social support and accountability come into play. Clients that have the most success have undergone their transformation with the support of other friends or family members. Support is so crucial, as it's too easy to rationalize a food or drink to yourself. Also, most of the poor food and drinking choices that sabotage one’s progress occur on the weekend, when most people hang out with their friend and family. If they (your support team) are committed with you and your goal to get fit and look better, you can put yourself in a much better position to realize the success you desire and deserve. The last thing anybody needs is sabotage or peer pressure from those closest to you, so get them on board and get them on board early.
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
PPS- Grab a FREE 1-week trial to Resurrect Your Body Boot Camp and turn those resolutions into real world results...that last!
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com Tweet This
Monday, January 5, 2009
Resolutions into Results - The Fitness How-to
Over the last several years of running my personal training and boot camp businesses, I have helped people markedly improve their overall health, performance, and body composition. I know what it takes to help people lose ugly, unwanted body fat FAST and keep it off! My integrated rapid fat loss training and nutrition system is part of what has helped these clients, however its not the only thing. So lets delve into something powerful; something that must be set in place before you can even start to think about following a fitness program.
What do you think is the real secret behind a fitness enthusiast's success? Well, if your answer is a sound training and nutrition system, then your answer is wrong. Of course it is necessary and of importance, BUT unfortunately it’s meaningless if someone is unwilling to start it AND stick to it, right? The key is sticking to it.
So, it appears one of the most important components of changing your body is finding the motivation to achieve your goals, and that’s the main focus of this article today. I am going to literally walk you through a three step goal setting process. This is key to weight loss success and I go through it with clients and its part of my initial consultation process with clients.
Before I get into this goal setting process, I just want to mention something. I know a lot of people think goal setting is just a cheesy, useless thing. The bottom line is that the most successful people out there, and I mean not just weight loss success, I am talking business, lifestyle, etc., are shamelessly goal driven. They know exactly why they want to do something and harness that super motivation to figure out what and by when they want to go about accomplishing that. Furthermore, they plan and prepare for every possible roadblock they will encounter in their path to success. This is what I want to teach you how to do today, so let’s get to it!
Step One - The Why: Why do you want to do this?
This is where it’s time to get real. In an average initial consult I do, when I ask why they have contacted me today, here is the typical blanket response that I first hear:
“Well, I just want to get healthy and lose weight I guess.”
In the long run that won't do it. It's a good thing to want to lose weight and be healthy, I mean who doesn’t, but really WHY do they want to do this? I mean, what is it that’s going to keep them committed every week to workout and stick with it (this is an area where people really miss it) or take a couple of hours on Sunday to plan and prepare their meals for the upcoming week? It sure isn’t “being healthy” because for some reason this just isn’t a very powerful motivator for most people (though it should be).
Ultimately everybody, including YOU, wants to look better. You know it’s true and frankly that’s okay because the desire to improve one’s appearance is a powerful motivator.
So, after a little digging, I find out the real reason why they want to do this; I find their past or pain and then establish their current and future ambitions. Some people want to be able to mow the lawn in the summer with their shirt off and not feel self-conscious. Others want to get back into their favorite pair of pants that they haven’t been able to get one leg into for the last five years. Then there are those who want to look and feel more attractive to ignite some passion back into their relationships and/or put forth their best image at work. And of course, preparing for big events that have built in deadlines is an excellent one. Wanting to get as lean and tight as possible to rock that dream bathing suit in Argentina, or get off the plane in Texas when visiting family you haven’t seen in two years to blow them away with your new body, or being a classic beauty in your wedding dress on the big day, it all works! This is the stuff that gets people jacked up and ready to commit to making some real changes. How do I know? Well, this is what I do with my own clients and I know I know from past experience if I want a client to see their goals reached, its got to be more than just "I want to lose weight and be healthy".
So, the first thing you have to figure out is your personal WHY. To make this even simpler for you, just answer this question: what are your physical dreams? Once you establish this, everything else is much easier.
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com
PS- Stay tuned for steps II and III later in the week...
PPS- Grab a FREE 1-week trial to Resurrect Your Body Boot Camp and turn those resolutions into real results...that last! Tweet This
What do you think is the real secret behind a fitness enthusiast's success? Well, if your answer is a sound training and nutrition system, then your answer is wrong. Of course it is necessary and of importance, BUT unfortunately it’s meaningless if someone is unwilling to start it AND stick to it, right? The key is sticking to it.
So, it appears one of the most important components of changing your body is finding the motivation to achieve your goals, and that’s the main focus of this article today. I am going to literally walk you through a three step goal setting process. This is key to weight loss success and I go through it with clients and its part of my initial consultation process with clients.
Before I get into this goal setting process, I just want to mention something. I know a lot of people think goal setting is just a cheesy, useless thing. The bottom line is that the most successful people out there, and I mean not just weight loss success, I am talking business, lifestyle, etc., are shamelessly goal driven. They know exactly why they want to do something and harness that super motivation to figure out what and by when they want to go about accomplishing that. Furthermore, they plan and prepare for every possible roadblock they will encounter in their path to success. This is what I want to teach you how to do today, so let’s get to it!
Step One - The Why: Why do you want to do this?
This is where it’s time to get real. In an average initial consult I do, when I ask why they have contacted me today, here is the typical blanket response that I first hear:
“Well, I just want to get healthy and lose weight I guess.”
In the long run that won't do it. It's a good thing to want to lose weight and be healthy, I mean who doesn’t, but really WHY do they want to do this? I mean, what is it that’s going to keep them committed every week to workout and stick with it (this is an area where people really miss it) or take a couple of hours on Sunday to plan and prepare their meals for the upcoming week? It sure isn’t “being healthy” because for some reason this just isn’t a very powerful motivator for most people (though it should be).
Ultimately everybody, including YOU, wants to look better. You know it’s true and frankly that’s okay because the desire to improve one’s appearance is a powerful motivator.
So, after a little digging, I find out the real reason why they want to do this; I find their past or pain and then establish their current and future ambitions. Some people want to be able to mow the lawn in the summer with their shirt off and not feel self-conscious. Others want to get back into their favorite pair of pants that they haven’t been able to get one leg into for the last five years. Then there are those who want to look and feel more attractive to ignite some passion back into their relationships and/or put forth their best image at work. And of course, preparing for big events that have built in deadlines is an excellent one. Wanting to get as lean and tight as possible to rock that dream bathing suit in Argentina, or get off the plane in Texas when visiting family you haven’t seen in two years to blow them away with your new body, or being a classic beauty in your wedding dress on the big day, it all works! This is the stuff that gets people jacked up and ready to commit to making some real changes. How do I know? Well, this is what I do with my own clients and I know I know from past experience if I want a client to see their goals reached, its got to be more than just "I want to lose weight and be healthy".
So, the first thing you have to figure out is your personal WHY. To make this even simpler for you, just answer this question: what are your physical dreams? Once you establish this, everything else is much easier.
Resurrect your body back to life!
Tyron
http://www.ResurrectYourBodyBootCamp.com
PS- Stay tuned for steps II and III later in the week...
PPS- Grab a FREE 1-week trial to Resurrect Your Body Boot Camp and turn those resolutions into real results...that last! Tweet This
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)