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      Eat fat to lose fat

      May 18, 2009 /

      Fat is it friend or foe? Well if you ask most, including health care professionals, they’ll say foe. It’s time for people to wake up! The current ways of eating aren’t working. Just a few years ago, for the first time in history the top six books on the New York Times Best Seller list, were about the same subject: diets low in carbs, moderate to high protein, high in fibrous carbs (vegetable), and moderate fat. Why is this topic so popular? They work!

      One of the biggest reasons protein diets work is the consumption of fat. That is, fat minus the abundance of carbs. Fat has many functions outside of being used as an energy source, and certain fatty acids are essential. Without eating them you’d literally get sick and die.

      But how does fat help our diet? Well, fat satiates the appetite, and helps to stop the cravings for sugar. And probably most importantly, fat when combined with a low sugar intake actually aids in burning fat as fuel. That’s right, fat helps burn fat. When fat is restricted, our bodies have a defense mechanism built in through evolution for survival. Our bodies will actually stop using fat as fuel in an effort to preserve our stores for future use.

      Bodybuilders have known this for years through trial and error, while dieting for shows, they would reach a certain body fat percentage and suddenly plateau for no apparent reason. We found that by adding fat to the diet like olive oil, or coconut oil, would jump-start the body to burn body fat. It’s not the amount of food you consume that is the problem. It’s the types of food you’re consuming.

      Sounds bizarre doesn’t it.

      Anti-Aging, Diets, Fat burners, Fatty acids, Food preparation, Foods products, Men's Health and Wellness, Nutrition

      The Two Set Workout

      May 16, 2009 /

      Although I would recommend a lower volume, higher intensity approach, the article below I recently re-read has some great info on getting the job done with quality instead of quantity. I’m glad to see articles in mainstream magazines debunking the myth that more is better.

      There are many ways to grow from just 2 sets. Try each of these and see what works best for you.

      Take the first set to failure:? You should not be able to complete one more rep than the set calls for.? For the second set drop the weight by 5% – 7% and try for the same number of reps.

      Perform your first set with about 90% of the load you can use for the number of reps the set calls for (about 2 reps shy of failure).? Then load up your second set and take that to failure.

      Take both sets to just one rep shy of failure:? This is a good safe option that minimizes risk for injury and overtraining.

      Take both sets to failure:? Use this option sparingly (once or twice a month) and only if ou’ve got a year or more of training behind you.

      “MF Trainer.” Mens Fitness oct. 2007:127

      Bodybuilding, General fitness, General training, Specific workouts, Weight training, Workout programs

      Training Past 40

      May 15, 2009 /

      If you are approaching 40 years of age or beyond, you are probably starting to realize you can no longer train like you did in your twenties.? I learned this lesson the hard way.? At 36, I tore both quadriceps in seven places.? Thank God?the MRI revealed they were mainly fascia tears not requiring surgery.? None-the-less, I had to walk with crutches for a week. 18 weeks later, I tore my right hamstring.? At 38, I had to have my triceps reattached.? At 39, I partially (20%-25%) tore my right pec, but opted not to get surgery.

      After that last injury I finally threw in the towel.? I thought my days of pushing my body with high intensity workouts were over.? Although, all the areas had been injured in previous years, I still trained in fear because none of these injuries had any preceding symptoms.? Consequently, my training?took on?a very slow tempo?with insufficient loads.??This type of training left me?feeling like shit, physically and mentally.? Why train at all if I can’t train hard.? Instead of training smart and doing what I should do for my body, I was too concerned with how I wanted to train.?

      Almost to the day, a year after I tore my pec, I was so frustrated with my lack of progress, I decided something had to give.? I ended up going back to the basics.? I came to the realization I had to train myself as I would any other client.? I had to concern myself with what my body could and needed to do.???

      The first thing I did was give up exercises that caused me pain no matter how much I loved performing them.? One of these, unfortunately, was the barbell squat.? With 3 bulging disks it’s not worth the pain or the risk.?? The second change I made was incorporating more functional exercises into my workouts.? These mainly included unilateral exercises and a few stability exercises.?

      Perhaps the biggest change I’ve made is the way I approached my work sets.? Since I am no longer competing, there is no need for me to walk that tight rope between training with 100% intensity and injury.? Don’t get me wrong, I still perform my sets to failure, but will not train through pain.? I also stopped doing any kind of cheating at the end of my set to push the limits.

      In order to make gains one has to pushing the limits, but it has?to be wrangled in.? For this to happen, the goals you set that govern drive must be adjusted to your current capabilities.? I have reached a point where I take my time with my goals by practicing wisdom not ego.? Through training smarter, I found a renewed vigor and enjoyment I had 20 years ago.

      Bodybuilding, General training, Motivation, Weight training, Workout programs

      Lose weight faster by doing cardio between sets

      May 12, 2009 /

      Men?s Fitness.com has three tips to how you can shed pounds in a quicker amount of time:

      1.) TRY CARDIO BETWEEN SETS
      Go about your weight workout as normal but instead of resting between sets, perform light cardio such as jumping rope, doing jumping jacks, or hitting a heavy bag for between 60 and 90 seconds.

      2.) ALTERNATE INTERVALS
      Perform a set and then do some highly intense activity for 15 seconds, followed by a 45-second easy bout for recovery. Then go back to the weights for another set. You can pair your lifting with any kind of cardio ? a treadmill sprint, intervals on an exercise bike, or with a jump rope, etc.

      3.) TRY A CIRCUIT
      Start with compound movements, followed by isolation lifts. For instance, do a squat, followed by a lunge, hamstring curl, and leg extension. Do not rest until after the last exercise and then rest two to three minutes. You’ll get an awesome pump while burning lots of calories.

      To read the entire article, click here.

      The most important thing to remember is that your diet must be sound. You can run 100 stairs in between every set on the bench, but if all you?re consuming outside of the gym is fatty, processesed foods, you?re not going to drop the weight.

      That said, the article does highlight a couple of nice techniques to try if you?re getting tired of your current routine and can?t seem to lose that stubborn weight. I would warn, however, that if you?re trying to pack on size, continuously doing cardio between sets will zap your strength and therefore gaining muscle will be a challenge. For hard-gainers, resting between sets is the better way to go if you?re trying to bulk up.

      Exercise, General fitness, General training, Running, Specific workouts, Sports Health and Fitness, Weight training, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

      Did you know…

      May 9, 2009 /

      In my latest “Did you know…” column I discuss more sunshine vitamin benefits (below); the link between obesity and bad sex; the relationship of soy foods and low sperm counts; decreasing your risk of infection in the gym, and cardiologist’s admissions.

      … there are more than 800 scientific articles showing the effects of vitamin D on cancer? Some researchers point out that increasing vitamin D levels world-wide could prevent numerous diseases that claim nearly 1 million lives per year. Vitamin D, or the ?sunshine vitamin,? is really not a vitamin, but a powerful hormone precursor that has an enormous influence on our bodies. Receptors that respond to the vitamin have been found in almost every human cell. Researchers have found that vitamin D has a direct influence on 3,000 of your 30,000 genes.

      The health benefits of optimal vitamin D levels are absolutely extraordinary. The main reason it?s not more widely promoted is there is no money to be made from it by the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

      Anti-Aging, Cancer, Heart disease, Medical Issues for Men, Men's Health and Wellness, Supplements, Vitamin D, Vitamins/Minerals

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