Breakin' it down.......

One of the first things you should do when it comes to nutrition is keep a log of what you are currently eating and get a baseline of how many calories you are taking in along with the percentages of carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Once you do that you need to be honest with yourself and remove all the foods that aren't necessary. Some examples would be processed carbs, sugary drinks, pizza, chicken wings, and anything fried. Now you should add in foods that are necessary- lean protein, healthy sources of fat, and lots of veggies. Notice I didn't say fruit, that is because I once had a co-worker take that statement too literal and she was eating 1,000 calories of fruit for lunch, with no protein! If you are not eating at least 2-3 servings of fruit a day add that to your list and if you are extremely active eat around 3-4 servings of fruit a day (Fresh fruit, not the crap from a can).

Now that you corrected some things, its time to add your calories, fat, protein, and carbs back up and see what your break down looks like (protein has 4 calories per gram, carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram, and fat has 9 calories per gram). Without creating too much controversy , a beginning strategy for body fat loss that I recommend is 12 calories per pound of body weight. So if you are at 200lbs. a daily caloric total would be 2400. If you are at 112lbs. around 1350 calories will be a good starting point on your road to leanness. This should not be done forever, once you drop a little body fat, body weight, or can tighten your belt a little tighter its time to reevaluate your caloric needs. Hopefully this occurs within 4-6 weeks of clean eating.

To shock your system and create a metabolic change I would have a different caloric total for non-lifting (rest/cardio) days and lifting days. I would drop your calories by around 100-300 on non-lifting days. To take it a step further, if bigger changes are needed, I would alter the nutrient breakdowns on days with different activity levels. As far as carbs, fat, and protein, I recommend a 20% carbs/40%fat/40% protein split on non-lifting days and 40% carbs/20% fat/40% protein on lifting days. The percentages don't fluctuate a whole lot, and those extra carbs should be taken in during morning, pre, and post workout meals. Good carb sources would be sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and fruit. Make sure you know what size sweet potato you are eating and measure out your oatmeal.

Trying to put everything in perspective requires a calculator, a food scale, a measuring cup, and a system like fitday (which I mentioned before) would be helpful. Try to eat 5-6 times a day, some meals some and some snacks. If you look at our 112lb. individual taking in 1350 calories a day trying to shoot for snacks/meals in the 200-300 calorie range 5-6 times a day. If you look at the nutrient break down on workout days we have, 100-130 grams of protein/100-130 grams of carbs/and 30-40 grams of fat). That comes to around 20 grams of protein/20 grams of carbs/6grams of fat per meal at 6 meals a day. I don't think that is too much to ask anyone to eat a day, or too little. Obviously, non workout days would have more fat and less carbohydrates, you can figure out the breakdowns.......

This is just a starting point, an introduction on how to set up an eating plan that is realistic and doesn't neglect any food groups. If you look at the big picture keeping a food journal and documenting your caloric and nutrient intake is one of the most basic strategies you could take to improve your physique. When shopping for food try to buy mostly organic (a whole blog altogether), it's a little more expensive but tastes better and much healthier.

Sit down, begin looking at your current food intake, and decide what changes you need to make to achieve your goals with health and leanness. There are more specific and more drastic changes you can make to get rid of the stubborn body fat once you reach and acceptable level (around 18% for females and 10% for guys), those recommendations will come at a later date. Now get to the grocery store!

"What about.......??????" (Part 1- Nutrition)

That is the most asked question I get when I am discussing nutrition with someone. "What about yogurt?", "What about cereal?" , "What about orange juice?", "What about pasta?" Okay, you get my point. I try to point out a few things someone can do to improve their food intake and almost everyone wants to question what I suggest to improve their current nutritional intake. I realize people like to hear what they are already doing is going to get them the results they want. Most people just want me to reinforce their way of eating by saying,"What you're doing with your food is really good, just keep it up and the results will come....." I hate to say it but the majority of people I encounter have no clue on what they should do in terms of proper eating, and the ones who who know what they should do- lack the disciple to follow through.

I can't blame people for not having adequate knowledge on nutrition, we as the American public have been mislead and steered in the wrong direction so many times. We were told to follow the food pyramid- which included 6-11 servings of grain. We were told that red meat has too much cholesterol and saturated fat and that would lead to heart disease. There are commercials for high-fructose corn syrup, letting us know its from corn- it's healthy (WRONG).
So to help people out with some of the questions and misconceptions, I recommend they read some literature from Dr. Johnny Bowden and Michael Pollan. These gentlemen are "wicked smart" when it comes to nutrition and can describe stuff in a way that everyone can understand.

Now, I understand people take recommendations far to literal and use them as the "holy grail". I agree with a lot of these guys say and discuss, but I like to take things and make them my own. I have my own opinions regarding nutrition and what works for me and what can work for others. No one is the same and nothing works for everyone and nothing works forever. Take a close look at these resources and determine what changes you can make to improve your current nutritional plan. Focus on improving your health first and improving your physique second. These improvements can actually go hand in hand but make sure you eating good, quality foods before you drop your calories or drastically reducing or increasing one you your nutrients (dropping your carbs or loading up on protein). Don't forget to drink plenty of water throughout the day and avoid chemically altered food and beverages.

Tomorrow I will give some calorie and nutrient recommendations and breakdowns. Once again, these are just somethings that have worked for me and for my clients. When it comes to nutrition and exercise, everyone claims to be an expert. I just claim to know a little bit, and that little bit can get big results!

What makes my stomach turn.....

I really didn't want to be negative on a Friday, but I honestly can't keep the filter working anymore. Personal Training has turned into a disgrace. There are trainers out there who don't know their ass from their elbow and they are stealing peoples hard earned money. I witness it everyday and it really pisses me off! I wrote a blog "3 reasons your trainer sucks" and I will soon elaborate on that list, but for now I'm going to describe some things to look for when hiring a trainer.
1) Watch them train someone else. I know you might look like a stalker, but get on a treadmill or bike and act like you are exercising and keep your eyes glued to the trainer or client. If they are doing something stupid, such as endless sets of leg extension or performing one leg squats while doing tricep kickbacks on a bosu ball, run for the hills!
2) Check their certifications. There are so many bogus personal training certifications out there. I actually heard of a top strength coach getting his dog certified through an online course. Look for NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association), ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine), NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine). The first two are a little more reputable, once you get the NASM CPT the more advance certs can be taken online (which means someone smart can take them for you).
3) Do they have a college degree? I know there are good trainers that majored in Business or Finance in college, but at least they graduated college which shows a level of intelligence and dedication. Preferably you would look for someone with exercise science, exercise physiology, human movement, physical/health education, or kinesiology.
4) What was the last book they read pertaining to health/fitness/nutrition? How many seminars and conventions have they attended? Continuing education is extremely important. If someone tells you they read Muscle and Fitness every month, that does not make them a fitness professional. If you are serious about your profession and making yourself and your clients better you will try to learn from people smarter than you. Pick up a book by Dr. Mel Siff, Gray Cook, Dr. Stuart McGill, or Mike Boyle if your trainer doesn't know who at least one of these people is- walk away.
5) Ask them about their training philosophy. Yes, it might seem a little odd, but a good trainer will be able to describe why the personal train and what they would like their clients to achieve. If a personal uses the fancy terms "functional" and "core" ask them to describe these in detail and how will it relate to your results.
Extra Credit- *Ask them to name 3 of the 4 muscles in the rotator cuff. *Ask them to describe the mobility/stability continuum *Ask them to explain reciprocal inhibition.

I have to admit I'm not "World's Best Trainer" and I don't claim to know it all, there are a lot more people smarter then me out there- that's who I steal and learn from......

I want people to think twice on who they pay to try to improve their body. It could be dangerous and you could get injured if you are working with someone with the intelligence of a box of rocks. Most importantly if you are getting training for your children be extremely cautions on who you hire. I've seen trainers doing ridiculous things with teenagers that could lead to movement problems later on in life. I try to educate myself to be best of my ability and I wish other people in my profession would do the same, clients would get in better shape, move better, and be healthier if trainers held themselves more accountable and became more professional.

Have a great weekend everybody!!!

3 weeks away........

Thanksgiving is only 3 weeks away! Where did 2010 go? I can't believe it is almost turkey time and in around 8 weeks we will be celebrating the holiday's and the new year. A lot of people set goals for themselves every new year, the resolution people. I would say many of those people set goals in fitness, health, and weight loss. As you can probably imagine most people don't achieve their goals, not trying to sound too negative, but many people go ass backward. They actually look worse and are less healthy then they were a year ago.
There are many reasons for people failing to achieve their goals, and that will be another topic entirely. Here is a suggestion on how you can "kick start" your path to a leaner healthier life. Start now! From now to the new year have 3 "binge" days. Eat clean, maybe not perfect, but clean from now until December 31 with 3 days set up for eating whatever you want.
I suggest those 3 days are Thanksgiving, Christmas or a day during Hanukkah, and New Year's eve. Everyday except for those 3 days are "crap free" no pizza, chicken wings, ice cream etc. Keep high intensity exercise to a maximum and try to achieve great things during this time period in terms of strength/endurance gains and body fat loss. Later in this blog I will discuss ways to make that those "binge" days work in your favor, by doing post binge warfare. Stay tuned....

Some calorie burning ideas.......

If you've been exercising for a decent amount of time and you are ready to step up your "cardio/interval/metabolic" training, try one of these workouts. They are fun, challenging, and you can do them in the gym or outside at a park or track. Now that the weather in South Florida is finally gonna cool down, I suggest you get at least 1-2 days outside a week to break up the monotony of the gym.
Track/Park Workout:
-Perform a dynamic warm-up (Jumping Jack, Mountain Climbers, Seal jacks)
-Do some form running for about 10 yards (high knees, butt kicks, skips, dynamic lunges)
-Mark off a distance of 100 yards and 60 yards. If you're at a football/soccer field it should be pretty easy to do, if you're at a track- the straight area is about 100 yards.
-Run these at about 80-90% the first few times to get used to the distance
-Run 3 100's with 45 seconds rest between each one, Run 3 60's with 30 seconds rest
-Run 2 100's (same rest) Run 2 60's (same rest)
-Run 1 100 (same rest) Run 1 6o (Done!)
As this gets easier and you get in better shape there are a few things you can do to increase the difficulty. You can add 1 series of sprints to each distance (start with 4 100's and 4 60's). You can also stay with 3 and go back up the ladder (Instead of finishing with one 100 and one 60 you work back to finish with three 100's/60's).

Gym workout
-This is a great finisher which can be interchangeable with lots of different exercises. I'll use push-ups and squats for this particular workout.
-Perform 10 squats then 10 push ups, then drop down to 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (ok, you get it)
-Perform these with no rest, back to back, and try to keep respectable form on each exercise
-Ready to challenge yourself? Start with 5 plyometric (clap) push ups and 5 squat jumps and work down to 1. Now, go from 1 up to 10 with regular push up and squats. You'll love it!
-You can change the exercise to things like Inverted Rows (TRX rows), Lunges, Lunge jumps, Burpees, and if you're really strong good old pull-ups. Pick one upper body exercise and one lower body to give your body parts a little recuperation time.
Have fun with these workouts, make them your own. Make sure you challenge yourself each time you exercise and you will be impressed with your results.

The 180 Principle

I heard about Charles Staleys 180 principle a while back, and now I can honestly say I am a true believer in that theory. Charles is a very successful strength coach who practices what he preaches and has written a ton of educational literature in the areas of weightlifting and conditioning. The 180 principle focus on the opposite, when you walk in to the gym do a 180 of what everyone else is doing (get it-180 degrees). Basically, do the opposite of everyone else in the gym. Why? Most people don't have a clue what they are doing! Okay maybe that was harsh.... But, honestly what exercises do the majority of people perform- the easy ones, the isolation ones, and the ones they can see working in the mirror.
When I walked in my "commercial gym" to lift yesterday about 80% of the members were doing upper body exercises (Monday= "International Chest Day"), 10% were doing lower body machine based exercises, and 10% were doing steady state cardio. So for me it was easy, I programmed my deadlifts on Mondays and focus on my posterior chain. While I was in the gym, from 5:15 to 6:20 pm I was the only person in the entire gym that actually performed a deadlift. Now that I think about it, I did not witness another member doing any form of "free weight" compound lower body exercise (squat/deadlift/split squat). To be honest for as long as I've been a member at this gym I can count the number of people on my hand that can squat and deadlift correctly and actually train hard doing these exercises.
So what's the point? Next time you go to the gym and you see everyone working chest, train your back- pull some weight! Next time you see someone on the leg press, hit the squat rack- it actually will strength your lower back instead of taking it out of the equation. If you strengthen your "pull muscles" you will have healthier shoulders, and if you strengthen your hamstrings- you will have a healthier lower back. Don't fall in the trap of doing 25 sets of chest, 20 sets of biceps, and performing countless reps on the leg extension. Unfortunately, that's the way the majority of people train, dare to be different- you will soon see the benefits.

"It works for me.........."

Last week I mentioned the importance of having and achieving a goal in the areas of health and fitness. There are some people that are just satisfied with average. They go to the gym, do the same routine, and basically just "maintain". I don't see the fun in that! Why be complacent? There are so many ways to improve your strength, endurance, and body composition. So when someone says "It works for me......." what do the really mean? To be average, to maintain, to be the same person they were a year ago?
Here are a few tips to avoid getting stuck in "Average Land". Try total body workouts 3 days a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday would be ideal. Vary your rep ranges and try metabolic circuits at the end of the training session. Get outside and do a different type of cardio routine, run hills, do sprints, go to a park and perform body weight exercises. Get outside and enjoy the weather this time of year.
Here is an example of a basic total body routine to follow:
Monday
1a Alternating Lunge 4 sets of 8 on each leg
1b Push-up 4 sets of 10

2a RDL (Straight Leg Deadlift) 3 sets of 12
2b Seated Rows 3 sets of 10

Wednesday
1a Front Squat 3 sets of 6
2b Shoulder Press 3 sets of 8

2a Lat Pulldown 3 set of 12
2b Plank 3 sets of 45 to 60 seconds

Friday
1a Deadlift 3 set of 5
1b Dumbbell chest press 3 sets of 12

2a Walking lunges 3 sets of 8 steps each leg (8 steps in one direction and 8 steps back)
2b One arm dumbbell Row 3 sets of 10 each arm

Rest around 30 seconds between exercises a/b. Rest around 60- 90 seconds between exercises 1/2. This is not the "end all be all" or "the holy grail" workout routine. Just a simple routine that can incorporate total body training into your routine. Try it for 4 weeks. Try to increase the weight each week. Some exercise such as push-up and walking lunges are more for a metabolic factor then strength factor. However, Deadlifts, Front squats, Rows, and Dumbbell presses are there for you to really move some weight.
In my upcoming posts I will show you how to develop a program like this with a goal in mind. I will also discuss metabolic training and some ideas for interval training and sprinting. Don't settle for average, sometimes all you need to do is change what you're currently doing to be exceptional.