This article says that not only are these foods good for your teeth, they also happen to be good for your health. A colleague of mine once had a great simple way of determining whether a food is good for you or not. He said food that is good for you will stick in your teeth. The key word in that sentence is IN. Good food will stick in your teeth, bad food will stick on your teeth.
So if you're pulling out dental floss out after a meal, you've made good food choices.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Monday, April 30, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Build Your Arms by Doing Squats
You’re probably looking at this topic description and saying to yourself “HUH?”
Well, let me explain.
First, a short little discussion about direct arm work.
Isolated arm work isn’t the best route to take in getting bigger arms. The reason being is that your arm muscles are really muscles that are used for assisting other muscles. Think about it. You go to pull something off the wall. You’re mainly using your upper back muscles, and your biceps are just there to help out. You go to push a large object. Again, your mainly using your chest muscles and your triceps are assisting with the push. So, your arms rarely work in isolation so why concentrate on training them in isolation? You want bigger arms, then work the bigger muscles that the arms help (back, chest, and shoulder muscles).
But how can your legs help build your arm muscles?
When you work your leg muscles doing the big exercises such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, etc., various hormones are released. More specifically, testosterone and growth hormone are released. When these are released, they are not only used as a repair mechanism (thus a muscle builder) for the leg muscles, but, for muscles in the entire body. If you only did direct arm work, because the muscles being worked are so small, a very minimal amount of these hormones are released. So the bigger the muscles that are worked, the more of these hormones are released, thus the bigger all the muscles in the body will grow.
To summarize, work out with multiple joint exercise (bench press, dips, pull-ups, shoulder presses, rows, squats, deadlifts, and lunges) with a repetition range of 6-8 per set and with short rest periods (between 60-90 seconds) and you’ll maximize the hormone release you can get from workout to workout, which will help you increase the size of those guns!
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Well, let me explain.
First, a short little discussion about direct arm work.
Isolated arm work isn’t the best route to take in getting bigger arms. The reason being is that your arm muscles are really muscles that are used for assisting other muscles. Think about it. You go to pull something off the wall. You’re mainly using your upper back muscles, and your biceps are just there to help out. You go to push a large object. Again, your mainly using your chest muscles and your triceps are assisting with the push. So, your arms rarely work in isolation so why concentrate on training them in isolation? You want bigger arms, then work the bigger muscles that the arms help (back, chest, and shoulder muscles).
But how can your legs help build your arm muscles?
When you work your leg muscles doing the big exercises such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, etc., various hormones are released. More specifically, testosterone and growth hormone are released. When these are released, they are not only used as a repair mechanism (thus a muscle builder) for the leg muscles, but, for muscles in the entire body. If you only did direct arm work, because the muscles being worked are so small, a very minimal amount of these hormones are released. So the bigger the muscles that are worked, the more of these hormones are released, thus the bigger all the muscles in the body will grow.
To summarize, work out with multiple joint exercise (bench press, dips, pull-ups, shoulder presses, rows, squats, deadlifts, and lunges) with a repetition range of 6-8 per set and with short rest periods (between 60-90 seconds) and you’ll maximize the hormone release you can get from workout to workout, which will help you increase the size of those guns!
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
All About Muscle Fibers
You may have remembered me mention in the past that we all have different kinds of muscle fibers. The topic today is going to go into a little more detail of what each of those different muscle fibers are and how they relate to the Lean Body Fat Loss Training program.
1. Type I muscle fibers (aka slow twitch muscle fibers) – These fibers develop force very slowly and at the same time, relax slowly and can withstand fatigue for long periods of time. These types of muscle fibers have a high capacity for activities such as a marathon, soccer and distance cycling. Basically, you are going at a sub maximal pace for a long period of time. These fibers are used in what is classically called “endurance” exercises and activities.
2. Type IIa muscle fibers (aka fast twitch muscle fibers) – These fibers can develop force faster than the type I fibers but, also get fatigued faster. These fibers involve activities that are a little more quicker and powerful with intensity than the type I fibers, such as an 800 meter run, some strength training workouts like in Lean Body Fat Loss Training Program and interval training.
3. Type IIb muscle fibers (aka fast twitch muscle fibers) – These are the most powerful muscle fibers that we have. These are the fibers that are able to develop force very rapidly, but, at the same time, they fatigue very rapidly. These include activities such as a 100-m sprint, a maximal lift of a weight, or a vertical jump.
So what does all this mean for fat loss? One other piece about these fibers is they’re recoverability after the activity is complete. Remember, type I muscle fibers don’t fatigue easily. So if you go out for a run at a steady slow pace, you’re mainly using type I muscle fibers and they aren’t “damaged” that much during the process and thus, recover rather quickly after the activity is complete. When using type I fibers, you don’t burn that many calories afterwards in order to “repair” them.
The type II fibers (both types) are a different story. They fatigue very rapidly and they don’t recover as quickly as the Type I fibers. So if you were doing a barbell squat and lifting as much as you can, you should be able to only lift it once. This is very taxing and those high power type II muscle fibers fatigue almost instantly. You’ve caused “damage” to those muscle fibers and your body is going to need to use energy in order to “repair” those muscle fibers.
This is the reason why weight training and intervals and other high power activities are good for fat loss. You will burn more calories after the workout in the repair phase than you would if you were doing longer, less intense activities that only use type I muscle fibers.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
1. Type I muscle fibers (aka slow twitch muscle fibers) – These fibers develop force very slowly and at the same time, relax slowly and can withstand fatigue for long periods of time. These types of muscle fibers have a high capacity for activities such as a marathon, soccer and distance cycling. Basically, you are going at a sub maximal pace for a long period of time. These fibers are used in what is classically called “endurance” exercises and activities.
2. Type IIa muscle fibers (aka fast twitch muscle fibers) – These fibers can develop force faster than the type I fibers but, also get fatigued faster. These fibers involve activities that are a little more quicker and powerful with intensity than the type I fibers, such as an 800 meter run, some strength training workouts like in Lean Body Fat Loss Training Program and interval training.
3. Type IIb muscle fibers (aka fast twitch muscle fibers) – These are the most powerful muscle fibers that we have. These are the fibers that are able to develop force very rapidly, but, at the same time, they fatigue very rapidly. These include activities such as a 100-m sprint, a maximal lift of a weight, or a vertical jump.
So what does all this mean for fat loss? One other piece about these fibers is they’re recoverability after the activity is complete. Remember, type I muscle fibers don’t fatigue easily. So if you go out for a run at a steady slow pace, you’re mainly using type I muscle fibers and they aren’t “damaged” that much during the process and thus, recover rather quickly after the activity is complete. When using type I fibers, you don’t burn that many calories afterwards in order to “repair” them.
The type II fibers (both types) are a different story. They fatigue very rapidly and they don’t recover as quickly as the Type I fibers. So if you were doing a barbell squat and lifting as much as you can, you should be able to only lift it once. This is very taxing and those high power type II muscle fibers fatigue almost instantly. You’ve caused “damage” to those muscle fibers and your body is going to need to use energy in order to “repair” those muscle fibers.
This is the reason why weight training and intervals and other high power activities are good for fat loss. You will burn more calories after the workout in the repair phase than you would if you were doing longer, less intense activities that only use type I muscle fibers.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Monday, April 23, 2007
New Diet Summary
In this post I gave you the results of a diet I was on for the past 3-4 months, and in this post I gave you the details of the diet, and here I gave you an example of what I eat that fits within the diet.
Now, we'll go into why exactly this diet works so well.
Back in the original link to the diet guidelines, Adam states that:
I can attest to his statement about other low carb diets. I hated them because I just always seem to feel so flat. Never have had that feeling with this diet.
All day your body is burning fat for whatever you need for energy. But, when you eat a food that increases your insulin, that natural fat burning process slows down, until your insulin level is back down to normal. If you're eating these high spiking insulin foods all day long, it means your body's fat burning system is not being used very much.
So, you eliminate the foods that spike your insulin except for the time period around your workouts. The reason being is that around the workout, you WANT to have a spike in insulin to get that protein and other nutrients to your muscles to start the muscle building/repairing process. Don't be afraid of this time period though and think "but I don't want to stop burning fat." It's a better payoff during this time period because you're building and repairing muscle which over the course of 24-48 hours, is going to result in burning MORE body fat because of the metabolic disturbance that you've created.
Finally, if you decide to try this diet out, give it a few months and let me know how you like it and what your results are. If you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to e-mail me at mike@leanbodyfitness.com
Good Luck!
http://www.leanbodyfitness.com/
Now, we'll go into why exactly this diet works so well.
Back in the original link to the diet guidelines, Adam states that:
The idea is that you'll keep insulin levels low all day long (high insulin inhibits fat loss and promotes fat storage) except during your workout, when you'll use insulin to decrease protein breakdown. You'll also eat protein at the same time, to enhance protein synthesis. Plus, by eating before and during your workout, you can workout as intensely as you desire. So it's the best of both worlds: faster fat loss with more energy. In addition one problem with a pure fat loss ketogenic diet is that although you preserve muscle, you can look "flat" because of the reduced glycogen stores. This plan keeps your muscles looking full and feeling big.
I can attest to his statement about other low carb diets. I hated them because I just always seem to feel so flat. Never have had that feeling with this diet.
All day your body is burning fat for whatever you need for energy. But, when you eat a food that increases your insulin, that natural fat burning process slows down, until your insulin level is back down to normal. If you're eating these high spiking insulin foods all day long, it means your body's fat burning system is not being used very much.
So, you eliminate the foods that spike your insulin except for the time period around your workouts. The reason being is that around the workout, you WANT to have a spike in insulin to get that protein and other nutrients to your muscles to start the muscle building/repairing process. Don't be afraid of this time period though and think "but I don't want to stop burning fat." It's a better payoff during this time period because you're building and repairing muscle which over the course of 24-48 hours, is going to result in burning MORE body fat because of the metabolic disturbance that you've created.
Finally, if you decide to try this diet out, give it a few months and let me know how you like it and what your results are. If you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to e-mail me at mike@leanbodyfitness.com
Good Luck!
http://www.leanbodyfitness.com/
Friday, April 20, 2007
New Diet Part III
In this post I gave you the results of a diet I've been on for 3-4 months and in this post I listed what is actually involved in this diet.
Now I'm going to go over what it is that I actually eat every day to give you a decent example of the types of foods that fit into this diet.
Workout days:
Breakfast
-Apple
-2 egg omelette(with yolk) with with cheddar cheese, mushrooms, carrot shavings, and chopped green or red peppers.
-One Tablespoon on Natural Peanut Butter
Morning snack
-Can of Tuna mixed with Olive Oil and pepper
-Asparagus
-Chunk of cheddar cheese
-Whole hard boiled egg (with yolk)
-3 tablespoons of almonds
Lunch
-Pork chop
-Carrots
-Broccoli
-Pepperoni slices
-3 tablespoons of almonds
Before and durning workout drink
-18 ounces of Gatorade
-20 grams of a protein powder (low carb powder)
-drink half of it 10 minutes before workout, drink the rest equally throughout the workout
Post workout drink
-18 ounces of Gatorade
-20 grams of protein powder (low carb powder)
Dinner
-1 Cup of cooked brown rice
-1 Grilled chicken breast (mixed in with the rice)
-4 cups of broccoli
-2/3rd's cups of carrots
-Olive oil splash over the rice/chicken and the vegetables
-Pear
Before bed snack
-1/2 cup of cottage cheese
-1 tablespoon of Natural Peanut Butter
Non-workout days:
Breakfast
-Apple
-2 egg omelette(with yolk) with with cheddar cheese, mushrooms, carrot shavings, and chopped green or red peppers.
-One Tablespoon of Natural Peanut Butter
Morning snack
-Can of Tuna mixed with Olive Oil and pepper
-Asparagus
-Chunk of cheddar cheese
-Whole hard boiled egg (with yolk)
Lunch
-Pork chop
-Carrots
-Broccoli
-Pepperoni slices
-3 tablespoons of almonds
Afternoon snack
-3 tablespoons of almonds
-Pepperoni chunks
-sliced cucumbers
Dinner
-1 Cup of cooked brown rice
-4 oz. piece of broiled salmon (mixed in with the rice)
-4 cups of broccoli
-2/3rd cups of carrots
-Olive oil splash over the rice/salmon and the vegetables
-pear
Before bed snack
-1/2 cup of cottage cheese
-1 tablespoon of Natural Peanut Butter
I'm sure you're wondering a little bit about the protein powder. Here is an example of one that would satisfy the requirements of each scoop. It contains 20 grams of protein and only 4 grams of carbs and 2 grams of fat. That's basically the type of ratio of each serving that you want to see in a protein powder that you use before, during, and after your workout. NOTE: I've never tried this specific protein powder before so I can't verify the taste. But, since you're mixing it with Gatorade, you probably won't even notice it's there. That being said, I'd recommend sticking with the vanilla flavored protein powder as I'm not sure the chocolate flavor would go that well with orange or grape Gatorade...
On the whole eggs, if you have high cholesterol and it's due to genetics (in other words, you've tried treating it with diet and exercise in the past and it hasn't come down), I would advise that you speak with your doctor first before consuming on average 3 of them a day.
Also, make sure you're getting in water throughout the day, including when working out. My recommendation is to go out and buy a 1 liter bottle of water and drink 3 liters on a daily basis. If you're not use to drinking that much water though, work your way up to it.
Now, this may seem like a lot of food and it might be for you. The beauty of this diet is that Adam Campbell calls it "self-regulating," meaning that once you're full (which won't take to long), just stop eating.
So you may find that you can't eat everything that I've listed and that's okay.
Just make sure that you are limiting your carbs outside of fruits (which it's okay to get 2 fruits a day) to no more than 2 servings a day. If you like eating oatmeal, that's fine. Just realize that after that, you only get one other whole grain/legume serving for the day.
Next week I'm going to do a summary of all of this and also give you the theory on why this type of diet works so well, especially if you strength train.
Until then, write out your grocery list and get to the store!
If you've got any questions, especially about whether certain foods are alright to eat on this diet, please don't hesitate to e-mail me at mike@leanbodyfitness.com
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Now I'm going to go over what it is that I actually eat every day to give you a decent example of the types of foods that fit into this diet.
Workout days:
Breakfast
-Apple
-2 egg omelette(with yolk) with with cheddar cheese, mushrooms, carrot shavings, and chopped green or red peppers.
-One Tablespoon on Natural Peanut Butter
Morning snack
-Can of Tuna mixed with Olive Oil and pepper
-Asparagus
-Chunk of cheddar cheese
-Whole hard boiled egg (with yolk)
-3 tablespoons of almonds
Lunch
-Pork chop
-Carrots
-Broccoli
-Pepperoni slices
-3 tablespoons of almonds
Before and durning workout drink
-18 ounces of Gatorade
-20 grams of a protein powder (low carb powder)
-drink half of it 10 minutes before workout, drink the rest equally throughout the workout
Post workout drink
-18 ounces of Gatorade
-20 grams of protein powder (low carb powder)
Dinner
-1 Cup of cooked brown rice
-1 Grilled chicken breast (mixed in with the rice)
-4 cups of broccoli
-2/3rd's cups of carrots
-Olive oil splash over the rice/chicken and the vegetables
-Pear
Before bed snack
-1/2 cup of cottage cheese
-1 tablespoon of Natural Peanut Butter
Non-workout days:
Breakfast
-Apple
-2 egg omelette(with yolk) with with cheddar cheese, mushrooms, carrot shavings, and chopped green or red peppers.
-One Tablespoon of Natural Peanut Butter
Morning snack
-Can of Tuna mixed with Olive Oil and pepper
-Asparagus
-Chunk of cheddar cheese
-Whole hard boiled egg (with yolk)
Lunch
-Pork chop
-Carrots
-Broccoli
-Pepperoni slices
-3 tablespoons of almonds
Afternoon snack
-3 tablespoons of almonds
-Pepperoni chunks
-sliced cucumbers
Dinner
-1 Cup of cooked brown rice
-4 oz. piece of broiled salmon (mixed in with the rice)
-4 cups of broccoli
-2/3rd cups of carrots
-Olive oil splash over the rice/salmon and the vegetables
-pear
Before bed snack
-1/2 cup of cottage cheese
-1 tablespoon of Natural Peanut Butter
I'm sure you're wondering a little bit about the protein powder. Here is an example of one that would satisfy the requirements of each scoop. It contains 20 grams of protein and only 4 grams of carbs and 2 grams of fat. That's basically the type of ratio of each serving that you want to see in a protein powder that you use before, during, and after your workout. NOTE: I've never tried this specific protein powder before so I can't verify the taste. But, since you're mixing it with Gatorade, you probably won't even notice it's there. That being said, I'd recommend sticking with the vanilla flavored protein powder as I'm not sure the chocolate flavor would go that well with orange or grape Gatorade...
On the whole eggs, if you have high cholesterol and it's due to genetics (in other words, you've tried treating it with diet and exercise in the past and it hasn't come down), I would advise that you speak with your doctor first before consuming on average 3 of them a day.
Also, make sure you're getting in water throughout the day, including when working out. My recommendation is to go out and buy a 1 liter bottle of water and drink 3 liters on a daily basis. If you're not use to drinking that much water though, work your way up to it.
Now, this may seem like a lot of food and it might be for you. The beauty of this diet is that Adam Campbell calls it "self-regulating," meaning that once you're full (which won't take to long), just stop eating.
So you may find that you can't eat everything that I've listed and that's okay.
Just make sure that you are limiting your carbs outside of fruits (which it's okay to get 2 fruits a day) to no more than 2 servings a day. If you like eating oatmeal, that's fine. Just realize that after that, you only get one other whole grain/legume serving for the day.
Next week I'm going to do a summary of all of this and also give you the theory on why this type of diet works so well, especially if you strength train.
Until then, write out your grocery list and get to the store!
If you've got any questions, especially about whether certain foods are alright to eat on this diet, please don't hesitate to e-mail me at mike@leanbodyfitness.com
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
New Diet Part II
In this post, I went into some of the results that I got from a new diet I was testing out since last November.
Well, today we're going to get into the details of the diet.
In this post on a forum I frequent from time to time is a layout of what is involved in the diet.
First, a few things about this forum that it was posted on at www.jpfitness.com. It's a great site put on by Jean-Paul Francoeur, who is a great trainer, an excellent businessperson, and just an overall great guy.
It is frequented by some of the most amazing minds you'll ever find in the diet and fitness world. Some of these people are who I learned from and took that knowledge to build the Lean Body Fat Loss Training program. They include guys like Craig Ballantyne, Alwyn Cosgrove, John Berardi, Lou Schuler, and many many more. Including the author of the post that listed the diet, Adam Campbell.
Adam Campbell is currently the Sports and Nutrition Editor for Men's Health. He has in the past been an editor for Men's Fitness as well. He is also a co-author of a great book called The Testosterone Advantage Plan.
Now let's look at exactly what is involved in the diet:
Sit back and read the above over a few times. In the next couple of days, I'll go into how I've incorporated this into my daily meals and give you exactly the foods that I'm eating to give me the results that I posted here. If you have questions about the diet in the next couple of days, don't hesitate to e-mail me at mike@leanbodyfitness.com and I'll try and clear up any confusion you might have with what is posted above.
Like I stated, this is a great diet and something that I not only think is a great way to lose weight but, is also a great eating plan that you can follow as a healthy lifestyle for the rest of your life.
P.S. This diet is actually going to be coming out into a book in the fall. When it does, you'll be the first to know about where you can get it.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Well, today we're going to get into the details of the diet.
In this post on a forum I frequent from time to time is a layout of what is involved in the diet.
First, a few things about this forum that it was posted on at www.jpfitness.com. It's a great site put on by Jean-Paul Francoeur, who is a great trainer, an excellent businessperson, and just an overall great guy.
It is frequented by some of the most amazing minds you'll ever find in the diet and fitness world. Some of these people are who I learned from and took that knowledge to build the Lean Body Fat Loss Training program. They include guys like Craig Ballantyne, Alwyn Cosgrove, John Berardi, Lou Schuler, and many many more. Including the author of the post that listed the diet, Adam Campbell.
Adam Campbell is currently the Sports and Nutrition Editor for Men's Health. He has in the past been an editor for Men's Fitness as well. He is also a co-author of a great book called The Testosterone Advantage Plan.
Now let's look at exactly what is involved in the diet:
1. Eat as many of these vegetables as you desire throughout the day.
Asparagus, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, corn, cucumbers, egg plant, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, peppers, pickles, spinach, squash, string beans, tomatoes, zucchini. Of course, oil-based, low carb dressings are fine for dipping, steaming is great, as well as sautéing with garlic (fantastic for fresh spinach with olive oil).
2. Eat as much lean meat as you want: 90 percent lean beef, turkey, chicken, tuna, salmon (any kind of fish/seafood really). (You can eat bacon, ham, and fattier meat, too, but just for the sake of being politically correct, limit these to one to two servings a day.) Use low-carb marinades and rubs to add variety to things like chicken and beef.
3. Especially avoid high-carbohydrate snacks. That is, anything that would spike your insulin between meals. Instead eat pepperoni or cheese (or better yet, pepperoni sticks dipped in soft cheese! or tuna, etc. Also, eat at 1-2 servings of peanuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, and pine nuts per day (great snacks).
4. Allow yourself one to two servings (but only at ONE meal) of the following: whole grain/wheat bread, brown rice, sweet potato, oats/oatmeal (In other words, if you want a sandwich for lunch, eat it. If you like oatmeal for breakfast, eat it.)
5. Limit fruit intake to 2 servings a day. Choose from: strawberries, pears, peaches, apples, and grapes.
6. Have as much coffee (with cream or artificial sweeteners), diet soft drinks, and tea as you like.
7. Drink lots of water. Let's say 16 ounces ever two hours you are awake on top of other beverages.
8. Drink (roughly): 15 grams of protein, 45 grams of carbohydrate (high-glycemic like maltodextrin or dextrose) in 12 ounces of water--half 5 to 15 minutes before your workout, and the rest evenly divided every 15-20 minutes of your workout. (This is basically a "Nutrient Timing" principle.)
9. After your workout, drink 20 grams of protein and 20 to 40 grams of carbohydrate. (These numbers are debatable, but I think they'll do the job quite nicely.)
10. Eat eggs and plenty of cheese. Avoid milk most of the time. (If you love it, limit it to one serving a day.)
Sit back and read the above over a few times. In the next couple of days, I'll go into how I've incorporated this into my daily meals and give you exactly the foods that I'm eating to give me the results that I posted here. If you have questions about the diet in the next couple of days, don't hesitate to e-mail me at mike@leanbodyfitness.com and I'll try and clear up any confusion you might have with what is posted above.
Like I stated, this is a great diet and something that I not only think is a great way to lose weight but, is also a great eating plan that you can follow as a healthy lifestyle for the rest of your life.
P.S. This diet is actually going to be coming out into a book in the fall. When it does, you'll be the first to know about where you can get it.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Monday, April 16, 2007
New Diet Part I
In this post a couple of months ago, I mentioned a diet that I was testing out on myself and was waiting to give my approval or disapproval after I was on it just a little while longer and had some blood work done to make sure there were no harmful effects on cholesterol, glucose, etc.
Well, I'm here to give the results.
First, I've been following this diet 90% of the time (following a diet 90% of the time is the standard that you should be meeting when on a diet. Sorry but if you're only following a diet 50% of the time, then you're not following it) since roughly the middle of November.
Before starting the new diet, my weight was roughly around 170 pounds. I didn't necessarily need to lose body weight but, wanted to lose some body fat since it increased some since I was coming out of a muscle building phase for the 3 months prior.
My new workout consisted of a basic fat loss workout that included strength training 3 days a week for roughly 30 minutes each session and 2 days a week I did an interval workout that lasted roughly 20 minutes a session on a bike.
The results:
Weight: actually dropped to 158 pounds. Lost quite a bit of body fat too as I'm seeing definition around muscle that I've never seen before.
Strength: Has increased quite a bit in all of the big lifts (Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Pullup). I'm creating new records on a regular basis now.
All of these were taken in a fasted state:
Total cholesterol: 146 (down from 166 in June of 2005)
HDL cholesterol (the good stuff): 60 (up from 53 in June of 2005)
LDL cholesterol (the bad stuff): 76 (down from 97 in June of 2005)
Triglycerides: 49 (down from 81 in June of 2005)
Blood glucose: 90 (up from 81 in June of 2005)
Blood pressure: 104/70
Resting pulse: 70
All other blood work was within normal range.
The doctor was happy and I was pretty happy about them as well. These are great numbers for overall health and preventative care for years to come if I continue to follow the healthy lifestyle that I've set out for myself.
So are you ready to strangle me if I don't give you the details of what this diet is all about? Are you anxiously awaiting it's unveiling?
Well, check back in the next couple of days and we'll go over the details. You won't want to miss this.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Well, I'm here to give the results.
First, I've been following this diet 90% of the time (following a diet 90% of the time is the standard that you should be meeting when on a diet. Sorry but if you're only following a diet 50% of the time, then you're not following it) since roughly the middle of November.
Before starting the new diet, my weight was roughly around 170 pounds. I didn't necessarily need to lose body weight but, wanted to lose some body fat since it increased some since I was coming out of a muscle building phase for the 3 months prior.
My new workout consisted of a basic fat loss workout that included strength training 3 days a week for roughly 30 minutes each session and 2 days a week I did an interval workout that lasted roughly 20 minutes a session on a bike.
The results:
Weight: actually dropped to 158 pounds. Lost quite a bit of body fat too as I'm seeing definition around muscle that I've never seen before.
Strength: Has increased quite a bit in all of the big lifts (Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Pullup). I'm creating new records on a regular basis now.
All of these were taken in a fasted state:
Total cholesterol: 146 (down from 166 in June of 2005)
HDL cholesterol (the good stuff): 60 (up from 53 in June of 2005)
LDL cholesterol (the bad stuff): 76 (down from 97 in June of 2005)
Triglycerides: 49 (down from 81 in June of 2005)
Blood glucose: 90 (up from 81 in June of 2005)
Blood pressure: 104/70
Resting pulse: 70
All other blood work was within normal range.
The doctor was happy and I was pretty happy about them as well. These are great numbers for overall health and preventative care for years to come if I continue to follow the healthy lifestyle that I've set out for myself.
So are you ready to strangle me if I don't give you the details of what this diet is all about? Are you anxiously awaiting it's unveiling?
Well, check back in the next couple of days and we'll go over the details. You won't want to miss this.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Friday, April 13, 2007
Why You Need Water
So you hear all the time that you should be drinking water but have you ever gotten the answer as to WHY?
Well, first, two-thirds of our body weight is “water weight.” Blood, muscles, bones and even our brains consist of large amounts of water. So in order to keep those processes functioning we need to constantly be replenishing the water stores in our bodies.
The other benefits of drinking water include:
· Giving you energy (for me personally, that first sip of water in the morning is like my coffee, it’s just perks me up and gets me moving).
· Can keep your skin healthy reduce the amount of dryness you get at various times of the year.
· Flushes out toxins and waste from your body.
· Helps with digestion.
· Can help reduce pain in your lower back (essentially by lubricating the area).
· Helps increase your mental and physical performance at work and at home.
· Can help you lose weight (quick tip: If you drink cold water, you will actually burn calories just by consuming it because your body has to use energy in order to bring the temperature of that water to body temperature).
So how much water do you need? It’s debatable but, what I have found to work best is to go out and buy a liter of bottled water and continue to drink and refill that bottle until you have drank 3 liters spread out over the course of the day. Also, make sure you get plenty of water during your workout. It’ll not only stop you from becoming dehydrated but, it’ll also give you more energy in order to keep your intensity up.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Well, first, two-thirds of our body weight is “water weight.” Blood, muscles, bones and even our brains consist of large amounts of water. So in order to keep those processes functioning we need to constantly be replenishing the water stores in our bodies.
The other benefits of drinking water include:
· Giving you energy (for me personally, that first sip of water in the morning is like my coffee, it’s just perks me up and gets me moving).
· Can keep your skin healthy reduce the amount of dryness you get at various times of the year.
· Flushes out toxins and waste from your body.
· Helps with digestion.
· Can help reduce pain in your lower back (essentially by lubricating the area).
· Helps increase your mental and physical performance at work and at home.
· Can help you lose weight (quick tip: If you drink cold water, you will actually burn calories just by consuming it because your body has to use energy in order to bring the temperature of that water to body temperature).
So how much water do you need? It’s debatable but, what I have found to work best is to go out and buy a liter of bottled water and continue to drink and refill that bottle until you have drank 3 liters spread out over the course of the day. Also, make sure you get plenty of water during your workout. It’ll not only stop you from becoming dehydrated but, it’ll also give you more energy in order to keep your intensity up.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
The Importance of Protein
Okay, I know in the past I’ve said that weight loss is about calories in and calories out. Meaning, if you take in less calories than you are expending, then you’ll lose weight. But, there’s an important piece that is understated, and that is that your body burns roughly 10 percent of its calories by digesting the food that you consume. This is known as the Thermic Effect of eating.
This is where dietary protein comes in. Protein is made up of various complex chemical bonds. When you eat protein, your body cannot immediately use that protein for energy, so it has to use energy to make that protein into energy. It’s easier for the body to breakdown and turn carbohydrates and fats into energy than it is to do this with protein. In fact, it takes 2 ½ times more calories to break down protein than is does to breakdown carbohydrates.
Let me give you an example. Let’s say you currently are getting 30 grams of protein a day. That equals 120 calories you’re getting a day from protein (side note: 1 gram of protein equals 4 calories, 1 gram of carbohydrate equals 4 calories, 1 gram of fat equals 9 calories). If you take 120 calories and multiply that by the thermic effect of protein (which is .2), you’ll find that your body has to burn 24 calories just to break down that protein.
So if you bump your protein consumption up to 100 grams a day, after doing the calculation, you’ll find that your body has to burn 80 calories a day just to break that protein down.
Bottom line, start increasing your protein intake and you’ll burn extra calories without even trying!
www.leanbodyfitness.com
This is where dietary protein comes in. Protein is made up of various complex chemical bonds. When you eat protein, your body cannot immediately use that protein for energy, so it has to use energy to make that protein into energy. It’s easier for the body to breakdown and turn carbohydrates and fats into energy than it is to do this with protein. In fact, it takes 2 ½ times more calories to break down protein than is does to breakdown carbohydrates.
Let me give you an example. Let’s say you currently are getting 30 grams of protein a day. That equals 120 calories you’re getting a day from protein (side note: 1 gram of protein equals 4 calories, 1 gram of carbohydrate equals 4 calories, 1 gram of fat equals 9 calories). If you take 120 calories and multiply that by the thermic effect of protein (which is .2), you’ll find that your body has to burn 24 calories just to break down that protein.
So if you bump your protein consumption up to 100 grams a day, after doing the calculation, you’ll find that your body has to burn 80 calories a day just to break that protein down.
Bottom line, start increasing your protein intake and you’ll burn extra calories without even trying!
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Monday, April 9, 2007
Why Progression is Important
Remember when you had your first alcoholic drink and by the time you finished it you were, well, pretty much buzzed, and maybe even flat out drunk? And then maybe after a few days you were sitting down for another drink, and thinking the same thing was going to happen with just one drink. What happened? You drank the same thing, but yet, didn’t get that same buzz or drunken feeling after that one drink like you did before. You now had to drink another, and then maybe even another to get that same effect.
Why did this happen? It happened because your body adapted.
The same thing happens when you workout. When you first get into an exercise routine, your body has never had that stimulus before. So you get sore, lose some weight and even build up your bone mineral density. But, after some time, you notice the scale stops moving, and your body image stops changing. Your body adapted to the stimulus and you’re now at a new plateau.
So how do you get to the next level? You change your workout routine. You add more intensity. It’s simple really. In order to continue to see results, you need to have an overloaded stimulus and you need to progress.
This is what the Lean Body Fat Loss Training does. The first phase you go through a preparatory period that helps your body with an overall conditioning. Then it progresses in subsequent phases to changes in intensity and volume. As long as you keep on the path of a continued slightly overload of the system, and slowly progress upwards with your programs, you’ll continue on your journey to your physical goals.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Why did this happen? It happened because your body adapted.
The same thing happens when you workout. When you first get into an exercise routine, your body has never had that stimulus before. So you get sore, lose some weight and even build up your bone mineral density. But, after some time, you notice the scale stops moving, and your body image stops changing. Your body adapted to the stimulus and you’re now at a new plateau.
So how do you get to the next level? You change your workout routine. You add more intensity. It’s simple really. In order to continue to see results, you need to have an overloaded stimulus and you need to progress.
This is what the Lean Body Fat Loss Training does. The first phase you go through a preparatory period that helps your body with an overall conditioning. Then it progresses in subsequent phases to changes in intensity and volume. As long as you keep on the path of a continued slightly overload of the system, and slowly progress upwards with your programs, you’ll continue on your journey to your physical goals.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Friday, April 6, 2007
Intervals vs. Steady State Cardio Part III
So we've gone over intervals and shown why they are superior to fat loss than steady state cardio.
But, i guarantee some of you are saying, "But Mike, I started walking 45 minutes a day and lost 20 pounds over the coarse of 2 months. Don't try and tell me steady state cardio doesn't work."
Okay fine. You got me. Sort of.
If a person who previously was completely sedentary and didn't do anything other than sit at a desk all day and then came home and sat on the couch all of a sudden decided to start exercising, well of coarse they're going to lose weight. They are doing more activity then the previously were doing. They're burning more calories just by doing that new activity. But, I would still argue that if you lost 20 pounds during that 2 month time period with steady state cardio, you very well could have lost more weight using intervals and only doing them 20-30 minutes 3-4 times a week. Again, intervals win out on the exercise efficiency war.
Another question I'm sure someone is asking is "What about the 'fat burning zone?' Aren't you supposed to keep your heart rate in a certain range in order to burn more fat?"
The fat burning zone is a big myth. I mean think about it. Are you really going to try and convince me that someone running their butt off is burning less fat than someone going at a pace that isn't even causing a break in sweat? Using the logic that slower is going to burn more fat, that means you'd burn more fat sitting in front of the television watching Oprah rather than taking some sprints on the bike.
In the end, your net calories burned is going to be higher when using a 20-30 minute interval session rather than using a 45-60 minute steady state cardio session.
Try it. You'll love to hate intervals but, you'll soon get over that when you see the numbers on the scales dropping from week to week.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
But, i guarantee some of you are saying, "But Mike, I started walking 45 minutes a day and lost 20 pounds over the coarse of 2 months. Don't try and tell me steady state cardio doesn't work."
Okay fine. You got me. Sort of.
If a person who previously was completely sedentary and didn't do anything other than sit at a desk all day and then came home and sat on the couch all of a sudden decided to start exercising, well of coarse they're going to lose weight. They are doing more activity then the previously were doing. They're burning more calories just by doing that new activity. But, I would still argue that if you lost 20 pounds during that 2 month time period with steady state cardio, you very well could have lost more weight using intervals and only doing them 20-30 minutes 3-4 times a week. Again, intervals win out on the exercise efficiency war.
Another question I'm sure someone is asking is "What about the 'fat burning zone?' Aren't you supposed to keep your heart rate in a certain range in order to burn more fat?"
The fat burning zone is a big myth. I mean think about it. Are you really going to try and convince me that someone running their butt off is burning less fat than someone going at a pace that isn't even causing a break in sweat? Using the logic that slower is going to burn more fat, that means you'd burn more fat sitting in front of the television watching Oprah rather than taking some sprints on the bike.
In the end, your net calories burned is going to be higher when using a 20-30 minute interval session rather than using a 45-60 minute steady state cardio session.
Try it. You'll love to hate intervals but, you'll soon get over that when you see the numbers on the scales dropping from week to week.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Intervals vs. Steady State Cardio Part II
Previously I went over what intervals were.
Today, I'm going to sum it all up and explain why intervals are superior to low intensity steady state cardio when it comes to fat loss.
The term is known as Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption(EPOC).
When you start working your muscles, your heart rate increases (thus also increasing your breathing) in order to get oxygen to those working muscles at the rate that is needed in order to sustain that activity. Once you are done doing that activity, your body is still going to take in more oxygen than you were before doing the activity for a period of time in order to continue to repair the muscles (as well as other functions) that you just worked.
You can try this yourself. Check your heart rate for 15 seconds. Then run in place as quickly as you can for 30 seconds. Check your heart rate after you’re done for 15 seconds. The heart rate is elevated above your pre-run-in-place rate. Now check it again in a minute, and you’ll still find that it’s above the rate that it was at prior to running in place. That’s EPOC. Your body continues to need oxygen at above the pre-activity rate in order to bring the body back to the pre-activity condition. And during this EPOC time period, your body is still burning calories from the result of that activity.
How does this relate to Intervals?
Let’s say you took a walk at a normal pace for 45 minutes. Let’s say you burn 150 calories during that time. Since the work you perform on the muscles is not very intense, the amount of EPOC needed after the exercise is not that big. You may only need about an hour before your body is back to your pre-walk condition. So the amount of calories you continue to burn from the walk, after the walk is very small.
Now let’s say you get on the bike and do Intervals for 20 minutes. The intervals are intense and require a lot of work of large muscle groups in your legs. The intensity is so much that within those 20 minutes, you may burn 125 calories.
But, the key is the EPOC. Because the intensity of the exercise was high, and large muscle groups in the legs were used, it’s going to take a longer EPOC in order to bring your body back to the pre-bike condition. It may take up to 24 HOURS for your body to get back to that pre-bike condition, and that means that during that EPOC, you are still burning calories. How many calories burned depends on a variety of factors but it could result in another hundred or so calories being burned.
This is not only why intervals are great for burning fat, but also why strength training is a great fat burner as well. When you strength train, it could take up to 48 hours for your body to return to your pre-exercise state, thus meaning 48 hours of calorie burning for an activity that you did 2 days ago!
Bottom Line. Do the intervals. They hurt, but I can tell you with absolutely certainty, if you do them consistently along with a strength training plan, fat WILL fall off.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Today, I'm going to sum it all up and explain why intervals are superior to low intensity steady state cardio when it comes to fat loss.
The term is known as Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption(EPOC).
When you start working your muscles, your heart rate increases (thus also increasing your breathing) in order to get oxygen to those working muscles at the rate that is needed in order to sustain that activity. Once you are done doing that activity, your body is still going to take in more oxygen than you were before doing the activity for a period of time in order to continue to repair the muscles (as well as other functions) that you just worked.
You can try this yourself. Check your heart rate for 15 seconds. Then run in place as quickly as you can for 30 seconds. Check your heart rate after you’re done for 15 seconds. The heart rate is elevated above your pre-run-in-place rate. Now check it again in a minute, and you’ll still find that it’s above the rate that it was at prior to running in place. That’s EPOC. Your body continues to need oxygen at above the pre-activity rate in order to bring the body back to the pre-activity condition. And during this EPOC time period, your body is still burning calories from the result of that activity.
How does this relate to Intervals?
Let’s say you took a walk at a normal pace for 45 minutes. Let’s say you burn 150 calories during that time. Since the work you perform on the muscles is not very intense, the amount of EPOC needed after the exercise is not that big. You may only need about an hour before your body is back to your pre-walk condition. So the amount of calories you continue to burn from the walk, after the walk is very small.
Now let’s say you get on the bike and do Intervals for 20 minutes. The intervals are intense and require a lot of work of large muscle groups in your legs. The intensity is so much that within those 20 minutes, you may burn 125 calories.
But, the key is the EPOC. Because the intensity of the exercise was high, and large muscle groups in the legs were used, it’s going to take a longer EPOC in order to bring your body back to the pre-bike condition. It may take up to 24 HOURS for your body to get back to that pre-bike condition, and that means that during that EPOC, you are still burning calories. How many calories burned depends on a variety of factors but it could result in another hundred or so calories being burned.
This is not only why intervals are great for burning fat, but also why strength training is a great fat burner as well. When you strength train, it could take up to 48 hours for your body to return to your pre-exercise state, thus meaning 48 hours of calorie burning for an activity that you did 2 days ago!
Bottom Line. Do the intervals. They hurt, but I can tell you with absolutely certainty, if you do them consistently along with a strength training plan, fat WILL fall off.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Monday, April 2, 2007
Intervals vs. Steady State Cardio Part I
I've gone over why lifting weights is an important part of a fat loss program, as well as why keeping your eating line is also essential.
But now I'm going to go into over the next few days why intervals are much more effective to fat loss than steady state, low intensity cardio.
First I'm going to go over what intervals actually are and how to do them.
An interval session normally starts with a warm up at a moderate pace. Intervals can be done on any exercise equipment such as the treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical, etc. Note though, you're going to get the most bang for your buck running, second choice would be the stationary bike. The elliptical, well, it'll work but, in my opinion, just avoid it.
After the warm up, you then go at 90% of your max pace for a short period of time. Might be 20 seconds, might be 30 seconds, or 45 or maybe a full minute. If you're on the bike, it's more important to increase the resistance first, then be concerned about the cadence. You want to keep the resistance and speed at a pace where you could really only pedal between 80-90 RPMs. If you're spinning really fast at a cadence of over 100 RPMs, then you need to increase the resistance you're using.
After the high resistance/high speed pace, you then reduce the resistance and the speed for a period of time down to the rate you were going at during the warm up. This really depends on the amount of experience with intervals. If a beginner, take about 60-90 seconds at the lower rate. If more experienced, you could use twice the amount of time for the rest as you did for the high intensity part (example, if you were going 30 seconds hard, take 60 seconds at the lower pace).
Once time is up on your active rest period, increase the resistance and speed again and go at it for the recommended amount of time. Keep doing this until you've done 6-12 of the high intensity intervals (again, based on your experience with intervals).
After you've completed the number you're going to do, slow down and do a cool down for 3-5 minutes at a nice easy pace. In the end, you're interval workout is probably going to be 20-30 minutes.
Important point to remember though. When I say 90% of your max pace, I mean based on your subjective max pace. If you're in good shape, been working out for a number of years, a max pace for you might be a full blown sprint. For someone just starting out, it might just me a faster pace walk and as you get more experienced with it, progressively increase your pace a little faster.
Next up, what this all means and why intervals are better for fat loss than low intensity steady state cardio.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
But now I'm going to go into over the next few days why intervals are much more effective to fat loss than steady state, low intensity cardio.
First I'm going to go over what intervals actually are and how to do them.
An interval session normally starts with a warm up at a moderate pace. Intervals can be done on any exercise equipment such as the treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical, etc. Note though, you're going to get the most bang for your buck running, second choice would be the stationary bike. The elliptical, well, it'll work but, in my opinion, just avoid it.
After the warm up, you then go at 90% of your max pace for a short period of time. Might be 20 seconds, might be 30 seconds, or 45 or maybe a full minute. If you're on the bike, it's more important to increase the resistance first, then be concerned about the cadence. You want to keep the resistance and speed at a pace where you could really only pedal between 80-90 RPMs. If you're spinning really fast at a cadence of over 100 RPMs, then you need to increase the resistance you're using.
After the high resistance/high speed pace, you then reduce the resistance and the speed for a period of time down to the rate you were going at during the warm up. This really depends on the amount of experience with intervals. If a beginner, take about 60-90 seconds at the lower rate. If more experienced, you could use twice the amount of time for the rest as you did for the high intensity part (example, if you were going 30 seconds hard, take 60 seconds at the lower pace).
Once time is up on your active rest period, increase the resistance and speed again and go at it for the recommended amount of time. Keep doing this until you've done 6-12 of the high intensity intervals (again, based on your experience with intervals).
After you've completed the number you're going to do, slow down and do a cool down for 3-5 minutes at a nice easy pace. In the end, you're interval workout is probably going to be 20-30 minutes.
Important point to remember though. When I say 90% of your max pace, I mean based on your subjective max pace. If you're in good shape, been working out for a number of years, a max pace for you might be a full blown sprint. For someone just starting out, it might just me a faster pace walk and as you get more experienced with it, progressively increase your pace a little faster.
Next up, what this all means and why intervals are better for fat loss than low intensity steady state cardio.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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