I went to a buffet tonight. I had lots of seafood, vegetables, and some sugar-free desert. After I was done, it dawned on me that I actually ate relatively good. Do you know what the best thing about it was? No guilt. Cool.
Von
I recently saw my cousin who dropped just over 50 pounds within a couple of months. He didn’t do it the so-called traditional way (which might include eating small frequent meals and hitting the gym all the time), but he did follow the basic principals which are absolutely crucial to lose weight. These are he ate significantly less than what he normally ate. He got in strength training. Finally, he became pretty active (as he is an avid basketball player). So, if we look at his training, we can deduce that his strength training helped him lose pretty much all fat (instead of muscle). His basketball was a form of interval training which helped him burn a lot of calories and kept his metabolism high. Finally, he just ate a lot of vegetables which he nibbled on throughout the day. Vegetables have very little calories and a lot of fiber which can help with hunger. Great job Maverick!
Von
Once in a great while, you’ll get the perfect client. This is the client who finds you and will do whatever you tell them. They’ll follow the exercise plan and nutritional plan to a tee. They are generally easy to work with and they see consistent progress. Results are easy. The problem is, you won’t get these kind of people if you don’t screen. I used to take anybody. You want to lose weight for your vacation? I can help. You want to train for your triathlon? Sure, let’s got for it. You need to lose 100 pounds? I’m your guy. Now, I’m different. I only take individuals who need fat loss or muscle gain and are committed to change, have a good attitude, will and CAN follow an exercise and nutritional plan, and have a history of trying different diets. If you are this kind of person, I will train you. If your not, I will do my best to help you find the best resource to take you to the next level. But I’m not going to train you.
Von
I have actually been reading some internet forums as of late and its worse than high school. At least in high school, you could take someone out into the parking lot and have a go at it. Not on the internet. People tend to express their egotistical power – even the pros. I’ve heard to many stories of the pros unable to sleep at night because their stuff was attacked. That’s unfortunately what these people rely on. If you don’t pay attention to them, they tend to go away and if they don’t, they feel it because their not acknowledged. I recently found out I have some real-life “haters.” These individuals are personal trainers. I can understand why they don’t like me. I have contempt for these people’s methods. I’m actually embarassed to see them train others because I can’t help but feel their clients are getting ripped off. I feel weird associating with them and they pick that up. Thank god.
Von
You’ve inevitably heard that single-joint training is dead – “it’s now how our body is designed to move.” Wow, I guess that means I shouldn’t be drinking a glass of water (aka bicep curl) how I always do. I should probably be doing a overhead press with that water, right? How about when I use pure hip flexion to reach for my shoes underneath my dresser? I guess I probably should have squatted down to get those shoes, right? Single-joint training is fine – just look at powerlifters who do tricep pressdowns and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsue practioners who do sit-ups. Single-joint training still has a lot of applicability in preventing injury (scapular raises), improving performance (ala powerlifters doing pressdowns), and stretching too (as in a DB fly which stretches the pecs).
Von
Russian communism is not dead. Just ask anyone who was in a coma since 1985 and woke up today. They will tell you we have to fight those Ruskies. Unfortunately, the same can be said about people’s opinions regarding creatine monohydrate today. Why? In the 90’s, the media created a sensation about a few extremely dehydrated people who “happened” to be taking CM. But when analyzing the safety of CM, eight studies have found it to be safe. Not only that, thousands upon thousands of athletes have taken it without keeling over and dying right on the spot! What are the benefits of CM? Possible improved brain function, definite strength and muscle mass increase, and no side effect like dying. But think if you would really need it anyways? Is your diet perfect? Is your training perfect? If it is, then CM might not be a bad “supplement” for you.
Von
I was just talking with a nutritional Phd candidate and she told me that a parents education level is associated with their children’s dietary intake. For example, higher parental education is linked to their children having a higher amount of fruits and vegetables. Think of it like this – you trust a school to give your child the best education possible in the hopes that they will become something great, achieve their dream, and make some money. On the other hand, you are the school when it comes to their nutrition. And nutrition has massive implications. It influences their morbidity (quality of life), their weight, and health outcomes related to excess weight such as high cholestrol, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
Von
Have you ever been driving and almost been hit by someone who didn’t turn their head to see if someone was actually beside them? Have you yourself been the culprit? One population I don’t blame for not turning their heads is the elderly. But in a way, they can only blame themselves. If you didn’t turn your head for 30 or 40 plus years while driving, what do you think happens to your cervical or neck mobility? You lose it. This is why if you already don’t have the habit of turning your head to see if someone is behind you, you won’t be able to turn your head by the time you hit 70. Better yet, you probably won’t even be able to turn your hips to get the range of motion you need to see the car beside you. The point is that if you don’t use your joints to their full capability, you will lose that capability. So turn your head.
Von
Sit-ups aren’t as great as they used to be. They still may be the king of ab exercises, but let’s look at how they’re good and not.
The Good: Sit-ups are easy to do; you can do them anywhere. There’s no doubt you are working the abs because you feel the burn.
The Bad: The abs do flex the trunk, but they also resist flexing the trunk and this is what most people need to work on. They don’t need sit-ups, but planks. Sit-ups also promote thoracic flexion (or a hunch-back) appearance. Sit-ups induce high stress on the low back and if you are prone to back pain, this is not good.
Now that you got the goods, you can decide if sit-ups really are appropriate for you.
Von
Is it just me or did it sound kind of funny when you first heard “eat the rainbow?” Maybe it would have caught on more if someone called it “spectral eating” or “eat your crayolas.” The bottom line is one needs to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables consisting of the colors red, yellow/orange, white, green, and blue/purple. But who in the hell does it? I decided last month I would give it a shot and see what I could do. Yesterday, I was able to get in:
Red: Raspberries (fruit), tomatoes (vegetable)
Yellow/Orange: Orange (fruit), pineapple (fruit), and yellow and orange carrots (vegetable)
White: Bananas (fruit), cauliflower mushrooms, ginger (vegetables)
Green: Green apple (fruit), brocolli (vegetable),
Blue/Purple: Blackberries and raisins (fruit), no vegetable
Although I wasn’t 100% successful, I was pretty damn close. At least I have a blue/purple vegetable in my fridge. Although I’m a fan of how vegetarians eat, I don’t know if I see very many get in the 6-10 fruits and vegetables they need. Beat that vegetarians.
Von
