Clear Your Limiting Beliefs

If you think you can't do something then you are right. There is a trick that I use when I train many women. I don't tell them how much weight they are lifting or I will tell them that they are lifting less weight than they are actually lifting. Why? I don't tell them because many times if the weight is heavy they will start to doubt that they can lift the weight even though I know that they can lift it with no problem. If they doubt that they can lift the weight then they will never lift it. We all have limiting beliefs and these beliefs shape how we go about our daily lives. Another example that I like to use is the new client who comes in and tells me that they always get stuck in their weight loss or muscle gain at a certain point and can't make anymore progress. The reason that this client gets stuck is because he/she thinks that they always get stuck. Clear your limiting beliefs and challenge yourself to break through to new levels. Who says that you cannot get the physique that you desire. You just have to believe that you can.

New Years Resolutions

We are coming up on that time of year again when people try to get themselves into new habits. Every year people make New Years resolutions in which they tell themselves that they will get in shape. What typically happens is that people make some changes and stick with them for a couple of weeks and then all of the sudden something happens and they fail to continue with their New Years resolution. The real key to making good on your New Years resolution is to change your mind set. You have to remember that change always starts in your mind and if you can change the way you think that is the solution to making lasting changes.

Fiber

Most Americans do not get enough fiber and fiber is essential for fat loss. According to Scott Connelly "when fiber is digested, it is fermented in the gut and converted into short chain fatty acids, which can be burned for fuel. The burning of fatty acids from fiber sends a signal to your fat cells telling them to release fat, which your body burns for fuel." Another benefit of fiber is that it makes you feel full and it will help to regulate your bowel movements.

Most people do not get enough fiber because they do not eat enough vegetables. The best way to increase your fiber intake is to increase your vegetable intake. A good number to shoot for when it comes to fiber intake is around 60 grams/day. Just make sure to work your way up to this amount especially if your diet has been lacking in fiber. If you are trying to get leaner you should consider protein and fiber to be the one two punch that will get you lean.

Fructose

Class Schedule for This Week
Monday: Regular Schedule
Tuesday: Regular Schedule
Wednesday: 6am, 9am, 12pm
Thursday: No Class
Friday: 9am

Class Schedule for Next Week
There will be no class at 6pm on Wed. All other classes will remain as scheduled

"The F word in nutrition is not Fat it is Fructose." This is a quote from Dr. Scott Connelly.

So what is wrong with fructose and where do we get it from? When most people think of fructose they think of fruit, but what most people do not realize is that we get most of our fructose today from sugar and processed food. Fructose is found in abundance in our food supply today in the form of high fructose corn syrup. You must remember that fructose is processed in the liver and that our liver only has the capacity to hold about 50 grams of fructose per day. Anything above what the liver can handle is automatically converted into triglycerides(fat) in our bodies. This means that excess fructose is converted into fat. This conversion into triglycerides is also a large cause of many peoples cholesterol problems. There is also another problem with fructose in that it does not elevate insulin levels like many other carbs. If insulin is not elevated then the sugar does not get swept out of the blood stream. The high levels of blood sugar lead to a number of conditions, the most notable is accelerated aging. So how do we control our fructose consumption? First and foremost, try to cut all high fructose corn syrup out of your diet. It is the biggest source of fructose for most people today. There has been a big marketing campaign lately saying that high fructose corn syrup is not that bad for you, but if you look at who is funding those advertisements it is the corn refiners of America. The other big source of fructose in our diet today is sugar. Sugar is 50% fructose, so if you eat 100 grams of sugar then you are consuming 50 grams of fructose which is your limit. The other source of fructose in our diet is fruit and fruit juice. Fruit juice can be dangerous because it is pure fructose without the fiber. Fruit is perfectly fine in moderation but just remember that you can have too much of a good thing. Usually we try to keep most people to around 2 pieces of fruit/day max because that usually puts them at the 50 gram mark. Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to fructose is that the more you exercise at a high intensity the better you will be able to utilize fructose. When you exercise at a high intensity you deplete you glycogen stores which allows you to get away with consuming slightly more fructose. In a sedentary individual the amount of fructose they can handle per day is probably closer to 35 grams/day.

Are You Getting Your Vitamin D This Winter

Living in Virginia, we do not get much sun in the winter. This lack of sun increases our needs for vitamin D. Since we cannot get our vitamin D from the sunlight we must look to supplements. There are two easy ways that you can supplement vitamin D. One easy way is to take a quality vitamin D supplement(just remember that you get what you pay for with supplements). The other option is to replace some of your fish oil with cod liver oil. If you go the cod liver oil route then make sure that you do not overdo it because cod liver oil also contains vitamin A which can become toxic in high levels. Being deficient in vitamin D is not only common for us in Virginia but for people everywhere. Many people are deficient in vitamin D because we do not get enough sun exposure and when we do we are wearing sunscreen. Some of the benefits of vitamin D are

• lowered risk of cancer
• improved cardiovascular health
• better bone health
• better absorbtion of calcium, zinc, and iron
• lowered risk of Alzheimers, MS, Parkinsons
• lowered risk of getting the flu
• reduced arthritis symptoms

Men vs Women

I have seen it many times when a husband and wife begin a workout program together. Usually what happens is the male loses a bunch of weight quickly by just adding the exercise and making a few nutritional changes but the female does not lose weight as quickly as the male. Let me offer an explanation for this.

Females carry less muscle mass than males on average which causes them to have a lower resting metabolism(remember that your metabolism is determined by your muscle mass). Since the average female has a lower metabolic rate it is harder to create the caloric deficit that is necessary to lose weight. In order to create a bigger caloric deficit I think that females need to exericise more frequently than men in order to make drastic changes. Females who want to change their physique should be exercising a mimimum of 4-5 hours/week. I have noticed that the women that get the best results from our programs exercise more frequently.

There are some other factors involved as well such as hormones but the point wanted to make is that if you want results you need to consistently workout throughout the week.

Holiday Parties

Since it is the Holiday season I thought I would offer a couple of ways to stay lean or even get leaner during the Holidays. I typically don't condone eating excess sugar or carbs but it is hard for many people to avoid during this time of the year. So if you are going to be eating more carbs then here are a couple of strategies that may help.

1) Eat protein first. Remember that the word "protein," translated in Greek means of first importance. Protein is the most filling of all of the nutrients so if you know that you are going to be around a lot of tempting foods try to eat protein first so you will not eat as much junk.

2) Earn your carbs. If you know that you are going to be around a lot of high sugar foods then try and get an extra workout in that week. When you workout you deplete muscle glycogen which will make it more likely that when you do eat sugar it will go to your muscles. A workout right before your Holiday party may also be a good idea because you will go to the party with improved insulin sensitivity.

3) Bring your fish oil. By taking fish oil with your sweets you will improve your insulin sensitivity. This will also make it more likely that the sugar will go to your muscle rather than your fat.

4) Cycle your carbs. If you know that you are going to be around tempting foods on the weekend then make an effort to eat fewer carbs and calories during the week. This combined with an extra workout or two that week will create a situation in which the sweets can be used by your muscles. This is a trick that has been used by bodybuilders for years and it is very effective but it does require very good discipline and hard work the rest of the week.

Nobody Ever Gained Weight On Survivor

"Nobody ever gained weight on the show Survivor," is a quote that I heard from Alwyn Cosgrove when I was able to spend a week with him earlier this year. For those of you who are not familiar with Alwyn he is known as one of the go to trainers for fat loss. So what is the point of his quote? If you are struggling with your weight stop eating so much. The people on Survivor do not have easy access to food like they normally do. They are forced to hunt and forage for their food and this causes two things to happen. Number one they can't eat that many calories because there is no fridge with food waiting and number two they are forced to eat a natural diet that is low in insulin because there are no refined or processed foods. Couple these factors with more physical activity and it is not to difficult to lose weight. Pretty simple. Many times people take in more than they really need without realizing it. In order to lose weight you must be in a caloric deficit(taking in less than you are burning) and this can be created through eating less and exercising more.

Tempo

So how much does the speed of your repetitions affect the results of your weight lifting program. The tempo of your reps plays a large role in determining the results of your program. I will give you a quick example. If person A does a set of 12 squats in which each rep takes 2 seconds the total time of the set(or time under tension) is 24 seconds. If person B does a set of 12 squats and the each rep takes 5 seconds the total time of the set is 1 minute. The results of these two programs will be drastically different in terms of body fat and muscle gain. A total time under tension of 24 seconds with a weight that can be lifted for 12 reps will do little to aid in burning body fat and gaining muscle, while a total time under tension of 1 minute with a weight that can be lifted for 12 repetitions will be very beneficial in burning body fat and building lean muscle. Therefore, on paper people could do the same workout but if the tempo is not accounted for the results will be very different. Just remember that it is vital that you match your total time under tension with the desired result of the program.

When Do You Burn Your Calories

Many people are often caught up in trying to burn a lot of calories during their workouts. You hear advertisements for workouts that burn 600 or 1000 calories per workout, but how many calories you burn during your workout may not really be that important. It is how many calories that you burn during the rest of the day that really matters. So how do we burn more calories throughout the rest of the day.

1) Intense exercise raises your resting metabolic rate for up to 72 hours post workout. Your metabolism will be elevated in order to replenish and repair your exhausted muscles. So your workout can be short and intense and still burn a ton of calories after the workout is over.

2) Carry more lean muscle. One pound of muscle burns approximately 50 calories per day while fat burns around 10 calories per day. So if you add 5 lbs of muscle to your frame you will burn an extra 250 calories per day.

3) Eat small frequent meals. Every time that you eat you require energy for digestion. So the more often you eat the more calories you burn. Therefore you should try to spread your food throughout the day into 5 or 6 smaller meals.

4) Eat more protein. Protein in the most thermogenic of all the macro nutrients. Protein requires the most energy to digest. Each one of your smaller meals throughout the day should contain a quality protein source. By doing this you will burn more calories.

5) Take a high quality fish oil supplement. Fish oil in the correct dosages has been shown to speed up the metabolism by up to 500 calories per day.

Early to Bed Early to Rise

Yesterday I was reading an article by Ian King. Ian is a very well known and respected strength coach. One of the quotes in the article was that "an hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours of sleep after midnight. Our bodies are made to go to bed early and wake up early. If you are constantly going to bed after 10pm then you are not allowing your body to fully recharge your muscles and balance your hormones. Try going to bed an hour earlier for the next week and see if it helps your results you may be surprised.

There Is No Replacement For Hard Work and Discipline

People often ask what they can do to improve their body. The answer for many people lies in working harder and being more disciplined with their nutrition and training. A couple of questions that you can ask yourself are

When was the last time you were laying on the ground following a workout or set?
When was the last time you felt slightly nauseous from your workout?
When was the last time you were really sore from a workout?
When was the last time you went more than a month with good nutrition without deviating?
When was the last time you exercised at least 4 hours/week for 12 continuous weeks?
When was the last time your were anxious about your workout?

These are just some questions to think about. Most of the answers to these questions have to do with discipline and consistency, the others have to do with the intensity of your workouts. If the intensity of your workouts is high and you are not getting results then you must look at your consistency and nutrition. If your nutrition and consistency are good then you should look at your training intensity. Many people think they are working hard but are not really sure what hard work is. Make a commitment to work 20% harder. If you are having a conversation in the midldle of your workout you are not working hard enough. Just remember that there is no replacement for hard work and discipline.