Straightening Out Your Fat Loss
June 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment
You’ll find a lot of emphasis on corrective exercise and improving posture in the workouts that Bill and myself write for our clients. That’s not an accident. Proper posture can have a multitude of effects from decreasing injuries, improving energy efficiency and even having a role in improved breathing and lung function. Maintaining our posture is one of the fundamental roles of our muscles, and surprisingly it’s also one of the simplest things that you can do to lose weight! By improving posture and muscle balance not only will you feel and move better, but it can help you to use more energy by lifting more weight in your workouts, and therefore lose more fat with every rep.
In order to understand this, you have to know a little bit about how muscles work. You all probably understand by now that muscles produce force through contractions which can either move or stabilize our skeletal system. Muscles are the engines in our cars that get us to where we want to go. But just like a car’s engine whose torque curve changes depending on its RPMs, our muscles have a “sweet spot” in their range where they are strongest as well as points where they are weaker. It’s the reason why as we sweat through a set of bicep curls and become fatigued, for instance, that we start to shorten our range of motion without even realizing it, avoiding the lowest parts of the range where our arm straightens out, or swinging the weight up towards the top where they fully bend. For our biceps, these represent the weakest points in the range of motion. This phenomenon is called either passive insufficiency, where our muscle is lengthened beyond optimal length, or active insufficiency, where our muscle is shortened beyond optimal length, respectively.
While this is a natural result of the way that our muscles contract, let’s imagine a different scenario: let’s imagine that, because of poor posture from sitting at a desk for 40 hours each week typing away at a computer, our shoulders have moved forwards over time and attained a new position away from an optimal posture. This will make some muscles shorten and become tight, changing, among other things, their ability to produce optimal force (similar to what happens in active insufficiency) while others will lengthen and become longer than they otherwise should be, weakening them (similar to passive insufficiency). Along with a host of potential problems to the joints and tissues in our bodies that comes along with poor posture, this will make the muscles weaker and less able to fire properly.
Muscles that are weakened by poor posture will affect your ability to lift heavy weights, which is one of the best ways to improve strength and burn energy…and if you’re trying to lose weight, burning energy is the name of the game! And because of the fact that muscles work together and never alone, a problem with one muscle or at one joint will in turn affect many other muscles in a “group,” known as synergists. Over time, this can add up to a significant amount of potential energy and work not used, meaning lots of fat that could have been shed during your workouts still left on your thighs. So the next time that you find yourself slouching in your chair, sit up straight! Along with an appropriate mobility and corrective strength training routine, paying attention to your posture throughout the day will help to improve your strength, giving you a secret weapon for weight loss.
Fat Loss Essentials: Your Training Journal
June 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I think there’s two things that are essential when beginning your fat loss programming.
A training plan journal and an eating plan journal.
Let’s focus on your training journal and how you can use it to make constant positive progress toward your fat loss goals.
Why start a training Journal in the first place?
You can’t trust your memory. For the last 17 years or so, I’ve had clients, training partners, and friends tell me that they don’t need to write anything down because they can remember how much weight they lifted and how many reps and what exercises they do from week to week. These are also the same clients that make lousy progress and end up doing the same workouts from week to week.
Having a written record of progress instantly stimulates goal-oriented behavior.
For instance, you note in your journal that you squatted 135 pounds for 5 reps last week with 90 seconds of rest between sets. This week as you approach your squat workout, you know that to progress, you either need to squat 135 at least 6 times, 140 for 5 reps, or squat 135 pounds for 5 reps with less than 90 seconds rest to show a progression from last week.
Having a written record of progress tells you when you need to make a change.
Suppose that you note in your training journal that you’ve shown a lack of progress or even regression in your performance over several workouts or even weeks. Your written record will allow you to make decisions as to what changes you may need to make to get progress moving forward again.
Perhaps you’re going through a period where your sleep has been irregular. Perhaps you’ve cut your calories too low to allow adequate recovery. Perhaps your energy systems training has increased recently and it’s cutting into your recovery ability. Perhaps you’ve been on the same program too long. These questions can be answered by analyzing your training journal.
What goes in your training journal?
Here’s a short list of the obvious essentials you should document each workout:
1. The name of the strength training exercises in the order that you perform them
2. How much weight was used for each set of each exercise
3. How many repetitions you performed for each set of each exercise
4. What type of energy system training you performed (aerobic, intervals, circuits, complexes, sprints, etc.)
5. The intensity level (how difficult) of your energy systems training
6. How long you performed your energy systems training
Other stuff I like to include:
1. Subjective Readiness Rating
This is a simple concept of how you’re feeling before you start your workout. I like to keep track of an “overall” score of how ready I feel because it’s the first step to identifying that something may be wrong and changes to my program or other daily behaviors need to be made. Use a simple 10-scale. For instance, a good day would be 8/10 and a not-so-good day may be 4/10.
2. Post-workout comments
These are general comments as to how I felt during specific aspects of the training session. Maybe something was uncomfortable or maybe I set a personal record to note. Again, these comments may provide direction as to how your program needs to be modified.
3. Changes for the next workout
Based on the outcome of your sets, reps, and your overall performance, you should note where changes need to be made. It may be that your working sets (non-warm-up sets) are too easy and loads need to be increased. Perhaps you weren’t compliant to the prescribed rest periods. As mentioned before, you can’t trust your memory to remind you to strive for one more rep or increase the weights or to push harder on your intervals at your next workout. Write it down.
4. Note any other sources of stress
Did the cat puke on the carpet? Tough day at work? Are the kids driving your crazy? Missout on some sleep? All these outside factors may be stressors that affect you negatively and affect your workout performance. Keeping a written record helps you recognize when stress is too high. You may not be able to prevent the cat from puking on the carpet but you can adjust your workout intensity to help reduce your overall stress levels.
5. Your body weight and/or body composition (body fat levels)
This may be something you track in your eating plan journal, but I like to track it in my training journal because I usually weigh myself first thing in the morning before my workout. This is the ultimate measure of success in regards to your fat loss goals. Regardless of where you track your fat loss progress, make note of it somewhere no less than every two weeks. That’s usually enough time to measure significant changes or identify a plateau in your progress to allow you to make adjustments in your plan.
The bottom line is that to be effective in your fat loss training, you have to track your progress. A written record makes you accountable to yourself, motivates you to perform and improve, and rewards you by reaching new levels of performance and lower body fat.
WRITE IT DOWN!
Carboholics Anonymous – Official 5 Step Program
June 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment
“A compelling hunger, craving, or desire for carbohydrate-rich foods;
an escalating, recurring need or drive for starches, snack foods, junk food, or sweets.” – Richard Heller, Carbohydrate Addicts.
Does the above statement describe you? Are you addicted to starchy carbohydrates and sugars? Don’t worry you’re not alone.
Step 1: Environmental Clean-Up – The first thing you need to do is a kitchen cupboard clean out. Cakes, cookies, pies, chocolate, ice cream, breads, pastas, and whatever other sugary starchy foods you may have in your kitchen must be removed. You are allow to keep some starches and sugars in your kitchen – oatmeal, potatoes/sweet potatoes, brown rice, and your sugary workout shake are okay to keep. This may seen a little dramatic but we want to remove all temptations. If your family isn’t ready to give up their carb addiction then relocate all their starches to a single cabinet that you won’t open on a regular basis.
Step 2: Eat Starches Only During and After Workout – In this step we limit your starchy carbohydrate consumption to the workout and postworkout period. We did not remove starches completely because I don’t want you to go through complete carbohydrate withdrawals plus it is unnecessary. Some researchers think that carbohydrate cravings are due to hyperinsulinenemia (e.g. elevated insulin levels). After your workout insulin sensitivity is greatly increased thus this is the idea time to increase insulin levels (through consuming sugars).
Step 2: More Fruits and Vegetables – By limiting your starches you will be greatly decreasing your carbohydrate intake. But we don’t want to drop your carbs too much, thus it is important to increase your fruit and vegetable intake. Increasing your fruit and vegetable intake will prevent you from dropping your carbohydrates too much too fast. Fruit and vegetables are also very satiating. This will help curb your appetite.
Step 3: Increase fats – Fats like fruits and vegetables will help curb your appetite. Fruits and vegetables help dampen your appetite by stimulating the stretch receptors in your stomach, signaling your brain that you have had enough to eat. Fats work via a different mechanism and stimulate hormones and signaling molecules that tell your brain that you are not hungry.
Step 4: Remove Artificial Sweeteners – Artificial sweeteners do not contain any calories but there is some evidence to suggest that they still stimulate insulin (the hormone we are working very hard to control). I also believe that artificial sweeteners “simulate” your sweet tooth preventing you from getting over your carbohydrate craving. So when you are trying to kick the carb craving pass on diet sodas and other artificially sweetened beverages.
Step 5: Never Turn Back – Being addicted to carbohydrates is like any other type of addiction – you are never “cured”. Once you have followed the above 4 steps for 3 solid weeks you can start increasing your starch intake by adding starches to your second solid food post workout meal and breakfast. But you can’t turn back to eating starches all the time, sweets, and/or junk foods. If you do your will have to refocus yourself and kick the craving for a second time.
There it is. The official 5 Step Carboholics Anonymous “Lose the Addiction Plan of Action”. If you are hooked on carbs don’t worry or be embarrassed. Your craving for carbohydrates is driven by physiological mechanisms (that has just gotten a little out of control). The above 5 steps will help reign in your physiology, kick the cravings, and shed some body fat while you are at it.
Road Ready – Fat Loss Nutrition While Traveling
June 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment
A major road block for many people in regards to fat loss nutrition is eating while on the go – especially when traveling away from home for an overnight (or more). Recently I took a trip to New Haven, CT and had to make sure that I had the food I needed to get me through the weekend. I wanted to share it with you so you can see what I needed to pack to be successful with my nutrition on the road.
1. Protein Powder – This is a must when traveling. It is convenient and quick. You don’t need to bring a whole tub but having protein powder with me on the road has allowed me to eat “right” even when in a jam.
2. BCAA – As I’ve written about before BCAAs are great when traveling because you can easily add 5-10 grams to a bottle of Gatorade or Vitamin Water and you have great workout shake.
3. Tuna Packets – These tuna packets can come in very handy when traveling. They don’t need to be refrigerated and you don’t need a can opener or anything. Salads are easy to come by when traveling but protein isn’t. This solves that problem.
4. Pre-Cooked Chicken Breasts – Again, when traveling quality protein is usually the problem. As I mentioned above it is easy to find a salad when traveling. I have packed up several seasoned and precooked chicken breasts that I can eat with roasted vegetables (see #7) or with a salad that I purchase.
5. Chicken, Vegetables, EVOO (Ready to Eat) – It is always important to arm yourself with food that you can eat instantly. Here I have a meal all set to go that I could in theory even eat cold (although heated up would be better).
6. Protein Bars – Eating while traveling is all about convenience. Sometimes you never know when you will have a chance to grab your next meal and you can’t always have a cooler with you. I always keep a protein bar in my pocket or in my bag while traveling.
7. Roasted Vegetables – I always like to have some form of non-starch vegetable with me while traveling to go with the pre-cooked chicken or any other meal that might need a veggie boost.
8. Dorothea – This is a delicious sheep cheese that has nothing to do with road ready. It is so good that I don’t eat it with anything else. Yum!
30 Lessons in Leanness
June 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Here is a grab bag of strategies that you can use to up your fat loss as we approach the warm weather. Unlike most of my articles this will not just focus on nutrition but the nutritional, physical, and psychological aspects of fat loss. Use one or use them all (but the more you use the more successful you’ll be).
Eat more protein – Protein is great! Upping your protein intake will help protect your muscles from breakdown when your calories are down. Protein also stimulates glucagon secretion which will help liberate stored energy.
Eat more often – More frequent feedings will provide your body with a constant stream of nutrients, helping prevent catabolism (muscle breakdown) when you are calorie deficient. Plus “grazing” can help curb hunger because you are constantly eating.
Make green leafy vegetables your friend – High protein intake can make your diet acidic but increasing your vegetable intake will help counter act this and make sure your body is running in top condition.
Save starches for after workouts – Low glycemic carbohydrates (green vegetables, fruits, beans, etc) should make up the bulk of your carbohydrate intake but don’t shy away from starches (sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, etc) and some simple sugars (dextrose and maltodextrose) after your workouts.
Eat Volumes – Eating foods that are high in volume but not calories (nutrient dense not CALORIE dense) will keep you full but not fat. Cabbage, spinach, lettuce, and broccoli are great foods that you can eat lots of with out getting a lot of calories. Egg whites expand a lot if you beat them long enough (just don’t make meringue) and make your feel like you are eating a lot more calories than you are.
Drink water – Dehydration is a killer. It makes you tired mentally and physically. Plus drinking water has a thermogenic effect so you can burn some extra calories while you hydrate (See “10 Ways to Gut Out Your Gut” for more).
Don’t cut fats too low – No fat diets or extremely low fat diets are a HUGE mistake. Reduce your saturated fat intake but make sure you get enough monounsaturated (olive oil) and polyunsaturated (fish oil, flaxseed, and nuts) fats.
Cut out unplanned snacks – Calories from unplanned snacking can add up quick and can wreak havoc on your fat loss goals. If you haven’t planned on it, don’t eat it.
Make a meal plan for the upcoming week – This is an essential part to any fat reduction journey. A good food log helps monitor your progress so you can make accurate adjustments to better meet your fitness goals. It has been shown that people who keep food journals also snack less.
Pump up the protein – Consuming adequate protein (1-1.25g/pound of body weight) is so important I had to include it twice!
Remove nutritional vices – Why tempt yourself and test your will power?? Clear all the chips, sugary drinks, ice cream, and other processed physique destroying goodies from your kitchen. If it’s not there then you can’t eat it.
Read labels – Getting accustomed to reading the nutritional facts is a good habit to get into. But don’t stop at the protein, carbohydrate, fats, and sodium content – read the ingredients. You’ll be amazed at how many foods are loaded with “America’s “favorite nutrient”, high fructose corn syrup.
Don’t forget your BCAA – BCAA before, during, and after your workout (or even throughout the entire day if your calories are really low) will help prevent muscle breakdown and make sure that protein synthesis (muscle growth) is ramped up as high as possible.
Take ZMA before you go to get – Strength training legend Charles Polquin is a huge fan of this supplement. Recovering from your workout can be compromised when dieting. ZMA can help enhance recovery by helping you achieve a deeper sleep and increasing your testosterone levels.
Use a fat loss supplement that increases/maintains thyroid function – During the course of your weight loss journey are you probably going to have to lower your calories to a point that causes your thyroid to downshift your metabolism (See Fine Tuning your Physique II for more on how to avoid this). Hot-Rox from Biotest contains 3,17-dihydroxy-delta-5-etiocholane-7-one diethyl carbonate (also known as A7-E) which can help maintain healthy thyroid function. Don’t jump into using Hot-Rox right off the bat. Save it as a secret weapon to be used when your fat loss seems to have come to a halt.
A little caffeine goes a long way – If you are not too sensitive to caffeine then 200mg before your workout (cardio or weights) can help liberate some of that stubborn stored bodyfat. The extra energy boost from caffeine will also help keep your lifts up as reduced calories can zap your energy levels.
Supplement with fish oil – There has been some evidence suggesting that fish oil (EPA/DHA) can increase you basal metabolic rate (BMR) increase your insulin sensitivity which can help you stay lean and burn fat. Add that onto the boat load of data that shows fish oil decreases your risk of heart disease and you have quite a powerful supplement.
Stay Heavy – The big problem with reduced calorie diet is the loss of lean body mass. Lifting heavy weights can give your body no choice but to hold on to every ounce of muscle you’ve got.
Make Compound Movement Your Foundation – This builds on the previous rule. Compound movements allow you to lift heavier weights, recruit more muscles, and burn more calories. Lose the leg extensions and squat!
Increase NEPA (Non-Exercise Physical Activity) – When you are trying to drop bodyfat every extra calorie you can burn will take you one step closer to your goal. Increase you NEPA and burn more calories. What are some things you can do?
- Park farther away at work or when shopping.
- Skip the elevator and take the stairs
- Don’t drive around the corner to the store – WALK!
Progressively Increase Your Cardio Duration – The biochemistry behind low intensity cardio for fat loss is solid. Slowly increase your duration overtime to 60-90minutes. Increasing your duration is important because your body adapts relatively quickly repeated stimuli.
Start Sprinting – Interval Sprints, also known as High Intensity Interval Training, is another great fat loss strategy. Two or three 30 minute sessions will be a great addition to your training program.
Cut down on your rest between set – You won’t be able to lift as much weight but cutting down on the duration of your rest between sets will keep your heart rate up and have you burning more calories.
Avoid Failure – When your focus is on fat loss, your ability to recovery will be compromised. Training to failure and compromised recovery don’t mix. Make sure to keep one rep “in the hole” to help avoid overtraining.
Set Goals – You need to be on a mission and every mission has a set end point. Determine what you want, write it down, carry it in your pocket everyday, and be accountable.
Find a Mentor – Whatever your goal may be, someone has done it before. There is not need to reinvent the wheel. Finding a solid mentor will save you a lot of time and frustration.
Visualize you success – In order to achieve your goal physically you need to have already achieved it mentally. Visualize yourself the day you reach your goal. What will you look like? What will it feel like? Hold that image in your mind and achieve it!!
Posedown! – Posing is essentially just a series of isometric contractions. Adding a couple rounds of the mandatory poses will help “harden” you up (you’ll have to be pretty lean to notice) and burn more calories. Just don’t forget to breathe!
Don’t Skip Pre/Post Workout Nutrition – Skipping your Pre/Post Workout shakes just because they contain sugar is a bad idea. The simple sugars and hydrolyzed protein peptides found in a solid workout shake will due much more benefit than harm. (Note: If you are trying to get down to “contest shape” (3-5% you may need to replace the simple sugars with BCAA as you get leaner)
Get Micronutrient Support – This is not directly related to fat loss but it is very important. When your calories are low, you are at a much higher risk for vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Taking a multivitamin or supplementing with whole food extracts can help prevent deficiencies from occurring and keep you functioning in top condition.
There you go 30 tips and strategies to maximize fat loss. Don’t just read them, put them into action.
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