The Gospel According to FFC – Glory to your bod!

80% of the people who join a FFC join to lose or maintain weight loss.  The main questions are:

• a. What ab exercises should I do?
•  b. How much cardio do I do?
•  c. How much time do I spend at the gym?

 

The real answer is d, None of the above things really have a bearing on weight loss, singularly.  You know what Damon always says “You can’t outwork poor nutrition”.

So lets talk about a, “What ab exercises should I do” no matter how many crunches or planks you do, ab exercises do not help with weight loss.  No matter what crazy contraption you see on t.v. and what those crazy models say, the twisty chair thing is not going to really give you a six pack in 3 weeks of 10 minutes a day.  In real reality, those people changed their DIET. Period. End of infomercial.

Ok let’s address b, cardiovascular exercise is very important.  Its important to get your body moving and your blood pumping and get out of your chair!  One of the most popular forms of exercise people do is walk.  Walking is great exercise if we are talking about staying healthy, not in terms of weight loss.  One of the things people say is “I walk x amount of miles per day and I just can’t get the weight off”.  Our awesome bodies ADAPT that’s what we were born to do! Once you have walked your trail or loop or whatever it is that you do your body gets used to the distance the speed and it starts to be ready for the movement, and so nicely you adapt and don’t burn as many calories performing the exercise.  Same goes for 45 minutes on the elliptical or treadmill or whatever it is that people do for years and years, same speed, same, same, same, with the same, same, same result, which is looking the same, same, same.

Letter c, finally, some good news people!  You do not have to spend 3 hours a day 7 days a week at the gym to get results!  YEY!   Have a plan so you don’t get caught talking or staring at the t.v. or just milling around doing 400 sets of biceps and calves.  Also, short bursts of high intensity work is great for your burn!  You can get a good interval training workout in in 30-45 minutes (Just ask our bootcampers!).  It’s fun and effective!

Letter d today is brought to your by the dreaded word, diet.  Diet in this instance does not refer to slashing your calories or starving yourself.  This means what you put in your body everyday.  It is my belief that we can have our cake and eat it too!  Not the whole cake, though!  Its really important to put healthy stuff in your body.  Be aware of what you are eating.  I suggest (for your most everyday life) organic grass fed meat, organic chickens that weren’t penned up their whole life and grown without beaks or whatever science experiment they are doing on food these days to make life “cheaper”.  I also suggest vegetables, the more raw the better and yummy healthy fruit.  I would keep the grains to a minimum, opting for whole grains and small quantities.

Now you read my bracketed disclaimer (for your most everyday life), everyday is not your MOST everyday!  Somedays it’s your birthday, or the weekend, or your vacation somedays are AWESOME DAYS!  Most of the time we know when these awesome days are going to be!  I definitely suggest planning on having some fun AT LEAST once a week, that does not include when you are at the gym having fun, it does include eating fun stuff.  Fun stuff that’s worth it, ever gotten something at the coffee shop that looked yummy, but is stale and tasteless?  Just not worth it.  (My advice, no matter how much you spent, throw it AWAY! Save the calories for something better.)

If you love pizza, HAVE it!  If it’s your birthday I say “Let you eat cake!” If its your vacation..enjoy and come to grips with the practice of moderation or be prepared to pay the piper and get back on track (with some extra baggage) when you return.

Its what we always say, its about habits, but its not about feeling sore, or starving or deprived, it IS about planning and being real. AMEN

THE HUNGER

I am obsessed with the idea of being hungry.  I was born in 1972, the dawning of the age of microwave, TV dinners, coca cola and twinkies.  I have always gone to grocery stores with food aisles stocked with EVERYTHING you can imagine.  Fresh foods from all over the world, grapes from Chile, blueberries from Maine, oranges from Florida!  Pretty amazing if you really think about it, yet I am obsessed the topic of hunger.

I have read books about the potato famine in Ireland, when people only had rotten potatoes to eat, WWII stories, fiction and non, about prisoners of war being starved and worked to death or almost to death and the same with stories about the Jews in camps.  Some of my favorite stories have to do with world annihilation, what happens when Publix isn’t right down the street anymore? People are eating dogs or other unmentionable things to survive, even killing each other over the prospect of a good meal.

I know this makes me sound nutty and maybe I am a little bit! 

I can be “hungry” 30 minutes after eating a healthy, nutritious dinner, and besides the fact that I am a human machine, packed with muscle – what the heck is that feeling?  I can’t be hungry, not like the people in the books I read.  What is REAL hunger like?  Not knowing when you are going to eat next?  I have no idea how that feels.  Probably the longest I ever went without food was when I was “in labor” with my son 17 years ago.  Ask my husband, after 18 hours of ice chips I was hallucinating that he was eating a twinkie.  Anyone who knows Damon KNOWS a twinkie is not on the menu for him!   I couldn’t imagine going hungry for a day or longer.  The THOUGHT of fasting makes me feel dizzy.

However, what about being more conscious of that feeling?  What I mean is really thinking about the feeling before running to the fridge or cupboard or ice cream store.  What IS that feeling if you just ate?  Is it boredom?  Loneliness?  I challenge you to hang out with your hunger sometime.  Sit with it, ask it, “what the heck?”  Journal about how it really feels.  What is the feeling?  You may learn something about yourself.  It might bring you to an understanding about some of the challenges you have with your weight loss goals.  It may inspire you to do something that you have missed doing, enjoying a sunset, painting a picture, reaching out to a friend.  Feed the hunger with action!

CRUNCHES…Good or Detrimental?

We just got back from the Perform Better Summit in Rhode Island. It is a conference where the best of the best in our field present on various topics. It is always awesome to learn from the best. I had the good fortune of listening to Stuart McGill. He is the leading authority on lower back pain. We do not do crunches at our club for various reasons but it is always great to be validated by the best. He basically said if you are doing crunches you are guaranteed to have low back pain in the future.

Face it – we all want a flat, sexy midsection. But for many of us no amount of crunches or sit-ups seems to get the job done. I can’t tell you how many times people have asked me the following questions:

“I do hundreds of crunches and sit-ups a day and I still have a flabby midsection. What gives?”

Most of our clientele is looking for that lean look but before we get into that please keep in mind the core is responsible for so much more than just looking good. It is our “powerhouse” in which everything emanates so if we look good but have low back pain what the heck is the point!

Well, before I reveal your six-pack abs blueprint, let’s first debunk some very important myths about how to get six-pack abs:

Myth #1 – Weight loss is the key to seeing your abs

WRONG!

The key to seeing your abs is fat loss, not weight loss. Let me further explain: your body consists of fat mass and lean body mass (water, muscle, bone, organs, etc.). You want to minimize your fat mass and maximize your lean body mass to build a sexy metabolism: one that starves fat and builds muscle like clockwork. By improving body composition you will put yourself in the best position to rock that coveted six-pack.

So if you lose 17 lbs on the scale at the expense of losing some lean muscle mass in the process you will end up slowing your metabolism, decreasing performance, and losing that good looking muscle tone. But if you lose 17 lbs on the scale and you manage to keep or gain lean muscle mass you will increase performance, see more visible definition throughout your body, and lose primarily body fat.

Myth #2 – Do lots of abs work to preferentially burn off stomach fat

WRONG!

Spot reduction doesn’t work. You can’t just work the muscles of a certain area of your body and expect to have the fat in that region go away. Think about it: almost everyone does crunches but proportionately very few people perform total body workouts. So, with all of these crunches, we’d expect to see nothing but people with flat tummies and fat depots everywhere else on their body (arms, legs, etc.). But think of how many people you know and see on a regular basis that have more than a few inches to lose in their midsection. See what I mean- spot reduction doesn’t work!

See, your body loses fat in a genetically pre-determined way when there is the appropriate caloric deficit AND hormonal environment created by proper eating and training. So your best bet is to focus on burning as many calories during your workouts as possible by engaging your whole body each and every training session (not just your abs). Compound, multi-joint movements like squats, push-ups, lunges, etc. (or better yet, total body exercises like squat to presses) burn a lot more calories than isolation movements like crunches and sit-ups. So be sure to focus on these movements first and then if you have time, you can do some extra core work to please the abs training Gods.

Myth #3 – Crunches and Sit-ups are the best exercises for your abs

WRONG!

The scientific term for your six-pack muscles are your rectus abdominis. For years now, we have been conditioned to think that the best way to work your rectus abdominis is by doing endless crunches and sit-ups since these trunk flexion exercises make the muscles you want to see in the mirror “burn.” However, the true function of the rectus abdominis is to prevent hyperextension, not to flex forward over and over again. Anytime you brace your abs (think slight crunch before you get punched in the gut) and pull your navel into your spine you effectively stabilize your spine into a safe, neutral position. And the moment you relax your abs and lose that braced abs position, your back will begin to hyperextend putting you at greater risk for injury.

So, we focus on stabilization exercises in all three planes of movement (saggital- front to back, frontal- side to side, and transverse- rotational) by using pillar exercise variations (also know as planks). Besides training the true “anti-extension” function of your superficial ab muscles, these bridging/stabilization exercises also activate the key transverse abdominus muscles, or your deep abdominal stabilizers, that wrap around your spine and support your internal organs. Strengthening these inner ab muscles is the key to optimal posture and performance in addition to injury prevention, yet another benefit to performing pillars over primitive crunches and sit-ups that often cause unwanted neck and back pain.

Myth #4 – Do lots of long-duration cardio to burn the fat covering your abs

WRONG!

Both scientific research and real world case studies show that aerobic training for fat loss alone doesn’t work. Total body resistance training is the true foundation of any solid fat loss plan. In addition, interval training, where you alternate between bouts of maximum effort and active recovery, is scientifically proven to burn nine times more fat than ordinary exercise. Please note that you can perform both resistance interval training and cardio interval training to combine the best of both worlds. More on this to come!

The Top 2 Exercise & Diet Tips of All Time

I want to share some tips with you today that pretty much sums up what all of us need to do to get lean and stay lean for life.

It doesn’t get any simpler than this…but simple works!

TOP 2 EXERCISE TIPS

* Invest in a Whole Body Workout: This means doing a five-exercise circuit (designed to work your upper body, lower body, and core) at least three times per week with a day of rest between workouts. Alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each exercise:

double-leg (e.g. squat)
push (e.g. push-up)
single-leg (e.g. lunge)
pull (e.g. row)
core (e.g. plank)

Perform up to 4 rounds without rest for a killer 20-minute total body workout.

* Harness the Power of Intervals: Interval training is scientifically proven to burn nine times more body fat than ordinary exercise and elevates metabolism for up to 48 hours following your workout. Perform cardio intervals on non-strength training days three times per week. Selecting your cardio exercise of choice, alternate between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest and repeat this 30 second interval eight times for four total minutes followed by a one-minute rest. Repeat for up to 20 total minutes. This routine works best on a stationary bike (airdyne) or for body weight cardio exercise that you can do at home like running in place or jumping jacks.

TOP 2 DIET TIPS

* Eat Early and Often:  Eat immediately upon waking and then every two to four hours to starve fat and feed muscle.  By continuously fueling your furnace and eating some animal protein (meat, eggs, cheese, etc.) at every feeding, you’ll also keep your metabolism revved up throughout the day and prevent overeating.

* Think Fiber First When Consuming Carbs:  Eat an unlimited amount of fibrous, cruciferous green veggies to fill your belly both during and between meals.  For optimal fat-burning, try to limit fruit and other carbohydrate consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout when your body best tolerates starches and sugars.

Live by these 2 training and nutrition rules and you will have a body to be proud of… I guarantee it!

HEALTHY Fast Food?!….You have GOT to be kidding me!

By now, I am sure you have heard all about the new Kentucky Grilled Chicken.

And while I have no doubt that this is a better option than the fried chicken alternative, it’s still nowhere near an ideal food choice.

Congratulations! You are eating “grilled” chicken with a bunch of garbage on the side. Lord knows that mac & cheese, mashed potatoes & gravy and biscuits aren’t going help you look any better at the beach this summer!

KFC says the grilled chicken has significantly fewer calories and fat, plus much less sodium, than its Original Recipe fried chicken that launched the brand more than a half-century ago.

Just as damaging to our waistlines, if not more, are the high calorie side dishes accompanying the chicken, which are filled with refined starches and sugars and unnecessary amounts of saturated fat.

For too long now the fast food industry has made a killing on misinforming consumers about what is and isn’t healthy.

KFC claimed that it recently switched cooking oils to eliminate all trans fats from their products – a noble effort indeed.

But upon further review, this does not look to be the case…

Here are the ingredients directly from their website:

KFC ® Grilled Chicken

Fresh Chicken Marinated with: Salt, Sodium Phosphate, and Monosodium Glutamate Seasoned with: Maltodextrin, Salt, Bleached Wheat lour, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil, Monosodium Glutamate, Spices, Palm Oil, Natural Flavor, Garlic Powder, Soy Sauce (Soybean, Wheat, Salt), Chicken Fat, Chicken Broth, Autolyzed Yeast, Beef Powder, Rendered Beef Fat, Extractives of Turmeric, Dehydrated Carrot, Onion Powder, and mot more than 2% Each of Calcium Silicate and Silicon Dioxide Added as Anticaking Agents.

Contains Wheat and Soy

I don’t know about you, but this certainly doesn’t sound like a nutritional powerhouse. First of all, “Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil” is not good for you and is a form of trans fat.

Trans fats are synthetic fats that are essentially foreign agents in our bodies. There is truly no room for them in a healthy diet.

Plus, a great rule of thumb is that the fewer ingredients in a food item, the better it is for you, ideally less than 5 ingredients being a good marker. Well, if you count the ingredients in this “health” food, there are well over 20!

Fast food and convenience store marketing campaigns make it very hard for us trainers to do our jobs.

When a company says:

“Our (name of product) is good for you because it’s low in fat or fat-free”

OR

“Our (name of product) is good for you because it’s got no sugar”

OR

“Our (name of product) is the perfect snack because it’s only 100 calories.”

In general, here are some great user-friendly guidelines to cut through all of the BS these money-hungry SOB’s are sending our way:

Beware of “Fat Free or Low Fat” Foods:

These food choices are often high in sugar or contain added sugar to make up for taste lost, which wreaks havoc on your energy levels and prevents fat loss.

Look Out for “Sugar Free” Products:

These food choices are typically made with artificial ingredients and sweeteners, are sometimes higher in fat to make up for taste lost, and often contain sugar alcohols that tear up your digestive system.

Stay Away From “100 Calorie” Items:

These low calorie bags contain ZERO nutritional value with little to no protein and are low in fiber and natural, healthy fats. Plus, these weight-gainers by another name do not fill you up between meals.

Probably the most infamous “healthy” marketing campaign is 100-CALORIE SNACK PACKS.

Which is better for your body: 100 calories of broccoli or 100 calories of mini-muffins?

GET IT?

I know I could easily eat 10 of these packs without getting stuffed – I guess that would be a 1,000-CALORIE SNACK PACK!

Unfortunately, we live in a calorie-conscious society, and marketers truly take piggyback on this.

But you don’t need to be a dope like the rest of them.

Educate yourself.

Educate your friends.

Educate your family.

Remember, the market determines the direction companies will go. If we choose not to put this garbage into our bodies anymore, they will make less of it.

Yours in Health,

Damon

P.S. – I just know you have something to say about this hot button issue. Please make a comment to this blog post about what pisses you off the most about this KFC Grilled Chicken, or any other fast food marketing campaign for that matter!

« Previous Entries