Category Archives: NUTRITION
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re·bound verb \ˈrē-ˌbau̇nd, ri-ˈ\
Rebound: Return, bounce back, setback, backfire, move backward.
I recently took 18 competitors from my gym, Max Fitness, to compete in the NPC Southeast Classic. The goal was hitting the stage. Not winning a trophy, but using the stage to make us push harder and be our best.
The goal was made, and the goal was met! What we do now defines what we learned on our journey to accomplish our goal. In the “realm” of goal acquisition, focusing solely on the goal can be a tragedy. What I mean is, the goal is just that: “a goal” – a means to an end. How we develop, the wisdom we gain, and the way we develop along the way is the real reward for meeting our goal. Goals are not the real rewards.
Lets think backwards for a second. By creating a goal to shoot for, you are inviting some level of adversity into your life. How much adversity we will endure is measured by how grandiose the goal. The “Goal” only gives reason to validate and hold accountable our hard work, our long suffering, our perilous effort to make our bodies fitter, our will stronger, our bellies hungrier. I have never seen anyone train harder than when they were stretching themselves to reach a new goal. These guys did just that. Josh Gay‘s 60-day before & after picture shows just how hard they worked. Then, they hit the stage, and celebrated, and then they went home…
Score! Now What?
What happens after we reach our goal? It is good after hard training to back down, enjoy the “win” and celebrate the goal acquisition. For me, it was going on a vacation (cruise). We hit the keys, then Mexico and then headed to Disney shortly after we got home. Yes, there was a lot of food involved. But, at some point, we must get back in the game.
We don’t pay off credit cards just to go on some huge spending spree waisting our money, discipline and hard work. It is ok to go charge a dinner, but then we pay it off immediately to avoid getting in the bad position we were once in. Whether the goal was physical or financial, it’s important to remember what you learned along the way and how you felt while you were working so hard.
The best way to prevent rebound is to give yourself a marked amount of time to enjoy your hard work. But after that time is finished, it’s time get back to work. It’s time to make new goals – both long and short term.
Before you even reached this goal, you should already dream about what is next. Don’t take your eye off of the immediate prize. Don’t focus on your future goals until you accomplished the one set right before you. However; you should already be thinking about what is next. This will prevent your downtime from turning into a complete train wreck and a complete rebound.
Doesn’t matter if we are talking about finance or weight loss, enjoy your success but don’t throw away your investment. Remember what you learned along the way. This is what makes you better, stronger, and more patient. Make some goals, so you can push your limits!
Geared Up & Ready
Even something like a new pair of shoes can get you motivated to get back in the gym and hit it hard again. I got these new Reebok ZigCarbons and love them. It was just what I needed to want to do cardio again.
My next new gym toy is Reebok’s Bose Headphone set. They help get my mind focused, shut out distractions and make the most of my time at the gym. Totally what I needed to tune back into my routine.
FitFluential LLC compensated me for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Feed with Purpose
In a “perfect world”, I’d be 6’2″ and ripped no matter what I ate – and I could beat up any 0ne I wanted. Oh yeah, and all slower cars would never ride in the left hand passing lane. BUT, we don’t live in a perfect world. So how does this relate to PFOOD?
In a perfect world, everything we put in our mouths would serve a purpose in regards to our body’s needs. Our body looks at food primarily as a fuel source, but also as building blocks to restore degraded tissue. Lets “digest” this for just a second. Everything we eat should have purpose, either to help fuel or rebuild the body. So the questions we must ask are “What are we fueling for?” and “What tissue is being broken down?”.
FUEL
Our bodies need the proper fuel if we want to perform at our best. If it’s just another day at the office, and you are eating pancakes and Big Macs you may not even notice the havack you are reaping deep inside. But, when you call on your body to perform at its best, you’ll probably see that Big Mac for a second time. Ewwwww! We must decide what our goals are.
Short example: If you’re running at a moderate pace for an extended period of time, and your reason for doing this is to lose stored fat, you might be better served running on an almost empty stomach to force your liver to make glycogen out of previously stored energy (fat). However, if your goal is to do wind sprints to work the legs in an explsoive way and increase your performance in regards to speed, your body will be better served with energy that can be used for this purpose, like carbohydrates. (and I’m not talking about donuts and snickers bars)
REBUILD
Exercise degrades tissues. All tissues and organs of the body are affected in some way, even bone. It is super important that we feed these tissues and organs what they need to not only repair, but also to “rebuild even stronger” post workout.
One of the reasons we train, and compete is to get better. Apart from skill aquisition, our perfromance will not increase unless we “rebuild the body” This subject is immence and can be discussed for a very long time, so lets keep it simple. Refuel your body with what it needs to repair and rebuild the tissues you want to make stronger and healthier. If you want to restore fat, eat fat. If you want to restore muscle, eat lean protein. Without a doubt, timing your feeding of certain substrates is of the utmost imortance. See PfitPfundamental blog: Fat vs Muscle Part 1
PERFORM
The above was just a quick explanation as to why I added more carbohydrates into my diet. I have been focussing on creating more explosive power and less focus on leaning out. It’s a sacrifice, but my body needs the calories when I am fighting so I wont “gas” out and fatigue. My purpose for fuel has slightly changed. I need the extra glycogen to fuel me when I am grappling but the risk is.. unused fuel will get stored as fat.
Here’s how I’ve been fueling up lately…
Try some of the Beyond Raw supplements from GNC
and take your training to the next level.
FitFluential LLC compensated me for this Campaign. All opinions are my own.
STEVE EATS: My Meal & Supplement Plan
When it comes to taking your training, performance and physique to a higher level, nutrition, training, rest and supplementation are critical. The amount of information that is available for these “critical” corner stones of fitness is immense. I feel it is important for people who are serious about changing there lives and becoming more fit to have a forum that will share basic principals that are tried and true. No doubt there are many different philosophies on training that actually work. Just like there are many types of diets and nutritional supplements that are proven to bring about results.
What you must do as a “seeker” of a more fit life is look at all these ideals that actually work, and look at everything they have in common. I trust the Beyond Raw line for two reasons. The science behind the products is extensive and sound but, mostly, I trust it because I tried the supplements and they gave the results they boasted. With this in mind I thought I would share my current diet.
This is not an experiment, this is my actual diet I am using as I train for a crazy upcoming schedule of tournaments. Bodybuilding, 1/2 iron man, and a MMA tournament. As I get closer to each event I will tweak the diet, but the core of this eating program will remain the same. The only fluctuation in this that isn’t written below is my coffee intake. Lets just say that it’s absolutely ridiculous. I also included how I would change the intake for a female trying to lean out and maintain muscle mass. Check it out, I hope it is helpful. Feel free to change protein sources, and switch veggies around as long as the nutritional profiles are similar. Enjoy….
NOTE: This is not a prescribed diet. I am not a dietician. I am just sharing with you how I eat to get the results I want for my body.
FitFluential LLC compensated me for this Campaign. All opinions are my own.
Putting Supplements to the Test: Performance Vs. Physique
Here we go again.
The story began 5 months ago when I had an opportunity to try a line of supplements from GNC. It wasn’t a challenge as much as it was an experiment. I used this 90 day experiment to get ready for a few media events that BCX was contracted to complete. If you read my story you already know how aprhensive I was to rely on a new, and unknown, supplement regimine. Any trainer or nutritionist will tell you, training and diet is extremely important – but we were talking about taking it to the extreme. You know, I’m talking about the last little bitty pounds…. the ”miniscule” amount of water and fat that seems impossible to rid our butt and gut of. So, tried and true was the extreme transformation, it was truly “Beyond Raw”. So what now?
Physique vs Performance
I saw my physique change, but what about performance. Aesthetics is one thing, but what could Beyond Raw do to how my body could perform? My “huckleberry”, Alfonso Morreti (AKA “The Angry Trainier”) and I are not afraid to put our phsysiology on the line to give you guys answers. He and I are average Joe’s with a passion for results. We want to know what works – and what is just fluff. No doubt, Beyond Raw can chisel a 42 year old body, but can it take this physique to a level of performance that normal biology would deem, EXTREME?
I want to know if Beyond Raw can increase performance – and if so, in what disciplines. I know I can get leaner and build muscle at the same time – proved that already. Now I want to know, can these supplements make me stronger, more powerful, faster, create endurance, increase repair, and maintain leaness?
I want to know what discipline of exercise, in what arena’s, and what environments, could these supplements be employed to take both aesthetics and performance to a level that is Beyond Raw. (side note… every time I write “BEYOND RAW”, in my head, I say it like an announcer with a really deep voice).
My next experiment:
I plan to test the limits of GNC’s Beyond Raw line beyond aesthetics. To put these supplements to the test, we will see what they can do to take this physique from competing against aesthetics of body building in july, to a ½ Iron Man in September, to a MMA tournament in October. For some, this may not be crazy. But I promise this is already sounding insane to me – “beyond insane”. I havn’t competed in body building in over 6 years, I have no experience with marathons or tri’s (NONE!), and I just started training in mma late last year.
My goal is to “compete and complete” each tournament. Semper Persevera… never give up!!!!
Stay Tuned…
FitFluential LLC compensated me for this Campaign. All opinions are my own.
HOW TO “NOT” START A DIET
So, you wanna start a diet and get skinny. Well hooray for you, good luck with that… nooo, don’t get mad… Just say’n…
OK, I’m sorry. My sarcasm stems from years and years of trying to drive this “how to”, point home. After 3 health clubs, 2 weight loss reality tv shows, thousands of twitter and Facebook friends, and most importantly… my own life, this is what I’ve learned…
ITS HARD AS A “MOFO” TO LOSE WEIGHT!!!!!!!
How do we bear down, draw a line in the sand, and say NO MORE? Wellllll…
The truth is, almost all cold-turkey diets don’t last!
Here is what I mean…
This is what I call “the evolution of a diet”.
1. First, we try purge our house of everything tempting, unhealthy, or non-conducive to a new diet. (most of us now will polish off the rest of our ….fill in the blank… , beer, ice cream, Doritos.. instead of throwing it, or giving it, away)
2. Then we research and grocery shop for the “healthy alternatives”. Try to fill our houses with healthy foods and snacks. (shopping for any and everything that we can eat a dump truck load of and not get fat, instead of realizing, we must learn to eat a little less of everything)
3. Research diets. (Monday, we are going to get a shot of, only god knows what, and eat 500 calories)
4. Join a gym. (We might even hate working out, but all the magazines say we need to workout because lean muscle will burn calories while I sleep)
… Are you getting the point yet? This is a recipe for disaster. Yes, more than likely you will lose weight, maybe even hit your goals, BUT, you will have to change your belief system about food and activity if you ever plan to keep the weight off. 98% of all people, even if they hit their goals, will gain their weight back, and then some.
So what should we do:
Here are some very realistic ways to begin to develop a lifestyle change that will lead to a healthy and successful diet conducive to weight loss and fuelling our performance in or out of the gym.
Week one: Educate and become aware.
As you are eating this week, research your calories; become aware of everything you are putting in your mouth. Decide what really taste good, and decide what you might be able to do without. Also become aware of when you might be eating for taste or actual hunger. Sometimes we just have to suck-it-up-just-be-hungry !
Week two: Purge the naughty.
Only purge the things that you deem a waste. The foods and candies that you know will destroy every attempt at a healthy diet. Continue to research healthy alternatives or substitutions for some of your vices. Try not to binge other foods as a replacement.
Week three: Actual “diet” begins.
I would be surprised if you havn’t noticed a slight change in your waist and a bump in your mood, but even if you havn’t… “STAY THE COURSE” It’s about to get fun… Week three you must begin to look at the amount of food that you are consuming and compare it to what you are burning. This means math… I know I hate math too. The Harris-Benedict Formula will give you an estimate of your Basal Metabolic rate (calories burned at rest).
| BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) – ( 6.76 x age in years ) |
| BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) – ( 4.7 x age in years ) |
Multiply this times our activity level and we can get a close estimate of calories burned per day.
| Little to no exercise | Daily calories needed = BMR x 1.2 |
| Light exercise (1–3 days per week) | Daily calories needed = BMR x 1.375 |
| Moderate exercise (3–5 days per week) | Daily calories needed = BMR x 1.55 |
| Heavy exercise (6–7 days per week) | Daily calories needed = BMR x 1.725 |
| Very heavy exercise (twice per day, extra heavy workouts) | Daily calories needed = BMR x 1.9 |
As long as you eat fewer calories than that number, you will lose weight. Unless you weigh and measure your food (not forever… just until you get a grip on portions and calories) you will never know how many calories you are taking in. After you determine calories out and calories in, you can determine if and how fast you will lose some excess body weight. This is the week you must begin to decrease your portions. Change the way you think! That slight hungry feeling is your body wanting to be skinny, it is the feeling of your beautiful body burning gobs of fat. Please embrace that small hunger feeling, do not chase it away with a burrito.
Week four: proteins, fats, carbs…
now the most delicate part of this “blog Vomit”. How do I make sure I’m losing fat and not muscle? You have to determine where the calories you are eating are coming from. There are a lot of great sites online for this, but you must still know your portions to get correct data. My suggestion for anyone starting a diet and isn’t sure… if you are trying to decide between High protein, or low carb’s, or no fats, let’s just start with equal amounts (in calories) for all of these. In other words, 33% of your calories coming from every substrate except, of course, alcohol… so on a 1200 calorie diet, you could eat 400 calories of protein, 400 calories of carbs, and yes… 400 calories of fats. Don’t make this crazy hard, or what I call majoring-in-the-minors . Its’s just one meal at a time…
FAT VS MUSCLE PART 1: Weighing It Out
“The excess calories we eat, and how we train, determines if our body is going to store our excess calories as fat or muscle, that can later be used as energy if the need arises.”
MYTH BUSTER
The purpose of this blog is to break down some of the controversy and myths about muscle and fat. I want to clarify the different factors our bodies experience in order to gain, or lose, fat and muscle. Also, we should understand the purpose of muscle and fat as it pertains to biological and metabolic function.
Before we can continue, I want to differentiate between a pound of fat and a pound of human adipose tissue, as well as, the difference in a pound of muscle and a pound of protein. But as we do, lets all agree that a pound is a pound is a pound. Yes? And science will tell us that 1 pound of anything will equal 453.59 grams when discussing gross weight.
FAT
It isn’t fair to say a pound of body fat is equal to a pound of pure fat. Body fat is also called adipose tissue and is comprised of about 80% pure fat. This is where the math finally works out. If one pound equals 453.59 grams, and 1 gram of fat yields 9.3 calories, then 1 pound of fat should yield 4,218 calories of energy. (1 pound=453.59g’ X 9.3-cal = 4218 calories) Yet, we know a pound of fat only gives us 3500 calories worth of energy. This is because the fat we are referring to is truly “adipose tissue” which is composed of other cellular derivatives besides just pure fat.
MUSCLE
Here is why simple math just wont work. Again 1 pound of muscle is 453.59 grams, and if there are 4 calories in 1 gram of protein, 1 pound of muscle would yield 1814 calories of energy, yet it does not. The real numbers are much smaller and very controversial, but we can ball park it close to 1000 calories when talking about striated skeletal muscle. Mostly because 1 pound of skeletal muscle is comprised of more than just pure protein. Just as body fat is only 80% true fat, skeletal muscle is made up of more than just protein. Muscle tissue would include glycogen, fat ,and water. Muscle is also full of a circulatory network, as well as tendons and other structures that wouldn’t fall into “just protein”.
The good news is we don’t have to kill ourselves to figure all of this out. You are kidding yourself if you are trying to dissect your calories down to this microbiological level. Spend your energy on the big picture, which is: What are these two substrates purposed for in our body as they relate to metabolism and building a physically fit physique? FUEL!
FAT/PROTEIN = FUEL
Fat serves many purposes for the body from protecting our vital organs to providing energy, and muscle provides necessary hormones and cellular structures needed to live, even second to second. However, for this discussion, fats and proteins are nothing more than fuel sources. Any and all excess unused calories will be stored in your body. It’s up to you HOW they are stored. The excess calories we eat and how we train determines if our body is going to store our excess calories as fat or muscle, that can later be used as energy if the need arises.
A FAT BODY
When When you see a 250 pound obese person, do you think that extra adipose tissue is vital for his existence? Does his body need 100 extra pounds for warmth, digesting vitamins, or neural and cellular function? The answer is no…
A MUSCULAR BODY
Ok, what about when you see a 250 pound body builder, do you think his body looks at the excess skeletal muscle as vital for life? He surely doesn’t need 20 inch biceps to sustain life. The answer is still no. In each case, their respective bodies have stored the extra calories as either fat or muscle depending on the food and environment that organism has been subject to. And the muscle and fat, when needed, will be broken back down and used as life-sustaining energy… nothing more.
FAT VS MUSCLE: PART 2
My next blog will offer tips on how to make sure you store what you WANT, not what your body wants.
DISCLAIMER FOR HATERS:
This was written with the “big picture in mind and trying to stay under 1000 words, It would be impossible to site and discuss micro metabolic science within these parameters. So unless you find something butt-a#* wrong… don’t be a “douschtard”.
Beyond Raw Journal: The 4-Week Mark
I love this challenge before me… To get shredded abs and not lose any lean mass, while becoming faster, stronger, and harder. It reminds me of the intricacies of training and diet.
So often we train and eat off of feelings and moods, only noticing huge unmeasurable changes. Only when those changes push the confines of our “gross” (meaning large and ambiguous) parameters do we stop and take notice.
For instance, instead of doing a body composition to measure my body’s relationship of size, weight, and fat ratio to muscle, I wake up one day and can’t button my jeans, my shirts are tighter (and not in the biceps), or I am huffing and puffing trying to get through a normal cardio workout. So what gives?
Many of us don’t notice phenomenal changes in our bodies, whether good or bad, until they push past whatever limits we measure “our status quo”, by..ie. tight jeans. By the time your clothes become noticeably uncomfortable, you could have gained 15-20 pounds. Sometimes it’s seeing yourself in a picture that a friend just posted on Facebook and itlooks like you are hiding nuts in your mouth for winter. Depositing a little fat here, and a little fat there, begins to creep up on you until the “DAY OF RECKONING”. The day you take a good and honest look at yourself and say “WTflip”
That day for me ,was 4 weeks ago now. As I prepair for FitStudio’s Mexico Body Camp (which by the way you TOTally need to ENTER to WIN), I decided “enough!“. I researched some ideas for diet and training and supplementation and decided to dRAW a line in the sand. I started by going back to a diet that works, Mostly meats (fish, turkey, and chicken) and vegetables with “measured” occasional carbohydrates in the morning for fuel. I also wanted to take my training up a notch, which in turn, would have to be supported by quality supplementation.
For training, I am leaning on slightly more intense strength training, and four days a week of intense BCx (strenuous conditioning program). But what about supplementation? I am getting my fuel, calories, and training squared away, so the biggest piece of the puzzle is rest and RE-building. What we wreck during our training, must be RE-paired. Understand the way we get stronger, fitter, and faster is by punishing and overwhelming our bodies physically, to the point that “forced adaptation” must occur – if your body wants to survive the carnage you have planned in tomorrows workout. If you don’t push your body past the limits you can already accommodate, there is no primal need for any physiological changes to occur, like fat loss and muscle gain. But after a brutal workout, it is imperative that you RE-feed and rest your body on a physiological level. Taking supplements that will drive your cells to RE-pair, RE-store, and adapt. I believe I can say after 4 weeks, and some trial and error, I am really loving the brand new Beyond Raw products coming soon to GNC.
At first I was hoping to see my weight drop drastically. I did not. I was wanting to see my jeans fall off of me after at least a week of starting my diet. They did not. What is happening is even more interesting. My weight has only dropped 5 pounds. I peaked at 203 and I am down to 197.7. My body fat is at 10% which is only down 1.5%, however, this is the leanest I have ever been this close to 200 pounds. I have gained 3 pounds of muscle and lost 3 pounds of fat. I have 6 more weeks to tweak the diet and come down 10 more pounds of fat, and to start to decrease my waist size again. The biggest change I have noticed is my performance in the gym. I turn 42 this year and I am lifting for more reps and heavier weights than I did in my 30′s. During my bouts at BcX, I am keeping up with guys that I out weigh by 30 pounds.
It feels like I have the strength of a 250 pound gorilla and the agility of a 25-year-old athlete. I have seen this improvement over just 4 weeks. 
The next 6 weeks, as I restrict more calories, I (and you too, if I get the cahonies to post a pic) will see me maintain these adapted gains and decrease my bodyweight to show a body fat % of about 6. The goal is to be able to perform and lift with the same intensity at 6% body fat, as I am now at 10%, with no change in strength or energy. So-far the RAW line has not let me down… 6 weeks to go!!!!
MEXICO OR BUST!
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FitFluential LLC compensated me for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
“TRUTH” – A Closer Look at Metabolism
When it comes to metabolism, the health and fitness community has redefined this term from its original definition. This can be both bad and good. Good as long as we all have a good understanding of how the word is being used in regards to transforming our bodies, bad when we use half of a clinical definition and half of the “en vogue slang” definition.. as this leads to using excuses in regards to weight loss.
Clinically, metabolism is defined as the processes in any organism for cell growth, reproduction, response to external stimuli(environment), survival strategy, sustenance, and cellular maintenance. It includes building up of the cell or organism (anabolism), and the breakdown of substances primarily for energy expenditure (catabolism).
By far, the number one excuse I hear when training a client for weight loss is… (drum roll… wait on it… waaaiiiit) yep’ you guessed it… “I just have a slow metabolism)
Let’s Dig In
What they are really saying is “Steve, I’m eating more calories than
I burn”. The words that actually come out of their mouths are, ”I barely eat anything at all, and I still can’t lose weight”… Of course I reply in compassion and love and say “so, if I drop you off on a deserted island with no food, and come back in two weeks, you will be the same weight or even a little heavier?” At this point, If they don’t walk out of my office shooting me a bird then I know I might be making headway.
Allow me to give you a real world look at metabolism. If two people are walking on a treadmill at the same speed and incline, and they weigh exactly the same, the amount of energy required to move their masses is significantly similar regardless of a fast or slow metabolism. The deviation of calories burned would be negligible. You might ask, what about heart rate? I’ve heard many clients say, “the girl next to me burned a thousand calories in spin class and I only burned 250. Is it because I have a slower metabolism?” Of course not. So what is going on?
Heart Rate Monitor vs Calories Burned
Heart rate monitors are being used as calorie counters because heart rate is a decent measure of effort. However, it is only accurate in regards to the law of averages. Heart rate monitors use certain statistical data based on age, weight, sex, height, and heart rate, to give the user an average number of calories expended as compared to other people who are statistically similar. This is not accurate for people with higher than average (tachycardic) or slower than average (bardycardic) heart rates.
For example, if I sit on the couch with my twin brother (hypothetical brother) and we are both the same weight, as we sit, our average caloric expenditure is going to be relatively the same, regardless if I just drank coffee and my heart is beating faster than his. A faster heart rate doesn’t magically make an individual burn more calories. Yes, on a miniscule non-significant scale their will be slight deviations in our basal metabolic rate, but negligible when compared to actual movement, and calories burned. Movement will require the expense of a certain amount of energy, regardless of the “metabolism” of that mass. It takes energy to move, period.
Thyroid Myths
What if I do have a thyroid problem? If that is the case, the amount of calories it takes to move a 200 pound mass still doesn’t change. You may be prone to move your mass slower, or require more rest, but the mass times the distance, still dictates (more or less) the amount of energy required to move. Science doesn’t discriminate. Calculating the metabolic differences in individuals with slower metabolisms is miniscule when looking at the bigger picture.
When a client tells me they have a slow metabolism, knowing it or not, they are usually referring to their basal metabolism. Basal metabolism can clinically be defined as the amount of energy needed to maintain essential body functions, such as respiration, circulation, temperature, peristalsis, and muscle tone., usually while at rest. The “en vogue definition” and the way I see this term abused, has come to mean something entirely different. What is meant by “metabolism” is simply this “metabolism is the measurement of how prone we are to do work”.
Indeed, certain processes in humans exist at different rates. One person’s hair and nails may grow faster than another. Thus, increasing that individual’s metabolism – but this would lead to insignificant variation in caloric expenditure throughout the day. Persons with lower 
metabolisms will burn just as many calories when there bodies are in motion as another. The problem being, people with slower metabolisms are less prone to desire to move, workout, or take part in physical activities. They are more prone to a sedentary lifestyle that leads to even more weight gain.
Even at rest, if someone with a slower basal metabolic rate does not exceed their caloric expenditure, weight gain will not occur. If they eat below their caloric expenditure they will lose weight. It’s just science. So, if you have not lost weight in the last week, (regardless of your math and how great you think you eat) your average consumption has equaled, or exceeded, your expenditure.
Stimulate Your Metabolism
We can alter your metabolism two primary ways. Chemically, with food and drugs, or mechanically, with movement or exercise. Both will produce the breakdown of substrates and cells for energy (catabolism). For instance, after sleeping all night, when you wake, your body is in a fasting state and your metabolism is at an all time low. We need to either break the fast (breakfast) or start moving (morning jog). Either one of these choices are very effective in stimulating your metabolism (being prone to to want to move). If our goal is weight loss, feeding ourselves to increase our metabolism may be counter-productive.
If you are one that is struggling with your metabolism, please just start moving. The best way to stimulate your metabolism is to just get going. Movement is addictive and coupled with eating less, movement is the most effective way to lose weight and change your life style forever. Let’s get going!!!!
Majoring in the Minors
Yesterday I saw this young guy with a completely trashed car that barely ran, and he put at least $2000 dollars worth of “spinner” rims on it? I even saw someone wearing target jeans, and when I looked down they had on $200 dollar shoes?… Okay, bad example, cause I do that… but you get what I mean.. right?
What does this have to do with fitness? (Insert soap box) I can’t tell you the countless times I’ve been at the gym and have seen the meticulous biomechanical strategies that some people come up with to make their lifting routine more effective, or the countless times I’ve listened to people who are extremely overweight, discuss food on a totally microbiological level. Instead of looking at calories, they are “buggn” about if it is free range or not. I am not arguing that biomechanics and microbiology doesn’t have a place in training and nutrition, but by god-man, look at the bigger picture.
I call this “majoring in the minors”. As a trainer, blogger, or just exercise enthusiast, it is so vital that we realize the importance of fundamentals. My back ground is very clinical, but I have never deviated from the application of fundamentals. I am not saying that details are not important, however, $2000 dollars worth of wheels and tires on a $300 dollar car is a waisted investment.
Biomechanics: When you evaluate your body and decide you want to tone and tighten specific areas, start with the basics. There is no need to do complicated movements when your time and energy will be better suited using fundamentals. i.e. you want to tone your glutes. Let’s begin with squats,lunges, and maybe straight leg dead lifts. Why begin with 1 legged Romanian dead lifts or cook hip lifts, when simple basics will reach deep fibers at rich angles and are superior to intricate complicated movements. Do these other exercises have their place?… Of course, but after exhausting the basics!
Take home: When you sit on a machine for the first time, do it as designed. Do not begin to invent your own way or make up a complicated movement to target some erroneous area of musculature.
Nutrition: Many people, in there quest to find the “right diet”, dissect micro-nutrition to a fault. At the end of the day (listen Paleo Freaks) no matter how clean you eat, if your caloric intake exceeds your out put, you are going to store energy. Your body prefers to store energy as fat because, for the same amount in grams stored, your body can yield twice as much energy from fat as glycogen or lean muscle. This my friends is MACRO-nutrition. It is the science of metabolism of four general substrates: Carbohydrates, Proteins, Fats, and Alcohols. If you are eating more calories than you burn, regardless of your “blood type’, “zone”, “points” or any other thing else you measure… LISTEN… YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT!
Take home: Before you get involved in vitamins and minerals, the ph of your blood, even the glycemic index of foods, first figure out how many calories you burn per day, and eat less than that. It’s just science. Anyone who challenges this statement (Dousch-tard) would be saying, “if you are dropped off on a deserted island for two weeks, with nothing but water, and luckily found, you would have not lost any weight”.
Fitness is simple guys… Our industry makes it complicated. Quit looking for the magic bullet, trying to find the “little pill”, or doing the perfect gluteal exercise for 30 seconds every morning. You give me fundamentals, hard work, and discipline… And I’ll give you your magic bullet!
“The magic bullet IS fundamentals, hard work, and discipline.”
Muscle Head Flap Jacks
Late wednesday night I was laying in bed, going through my twitter feeds. I saw a short tweet about perfect protein pancakes and, like a moth to a flame… I was intrigued. I clicked on @bridgetnicole26 (awesome pfollow might I add) and it took me to Bridget Nicole’s site among all the kick-butt pics and info I saw two amazing things…
One was a protein pancake recipe, and the other was a promo I shot for my very own treadmill video. Yessirreee, Pfiester was on Bridg’s “Sweatandsavor” blog. (Cue running man music!) OK, sorry. Even though my own narcasism was severly disturbed getting to see the treadz promo, my apetite won out and I intensly studdied Bridget Nicoles protein pancake recipe as if it was a lost dead sea scroll. All the rope memorization does no good in a recipe unless the Lab Tech or ”cook” is willing to follow said recipe. The video that follows shows the chaotic carnage… Enjoy
There were no animals or humans hurt or injured in the making of this video…
Bridget Nicole’s Perfect Pancake Recipe (the REAL one!)
-one scoop of vanilla protein powder (we use GNC’s Amplified 60 Whey)
-one Tbsp of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pancake mix
-3/4 tsp of baking soda
-half banana mashed
-1/2 tsp of cinnamon
-1 tsp of vanilla extract
-about 1/4 cup of egg whites
-about 1/8 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
