Muscle Shark Circuit Training

This past weekend, I attended the Can-Fit-Pro Conference in Toronto, which is probably the largest conference in all of Canada. The whole weekend was an amazing experience, as I was surrounded with hundreds to thousands of fitness enthusiasts from all types of fitness backgrounds. You name it and they were there! I was also able to attend workshops and lectures with some of the most respected fitness professionals in the industry. I learned a lot, and came out with tons of information that I can apply to myself, my clients, and to you!

One of my favorite exhibits of the weekend was the MMA and Muay Thai/Kickboxing demonstrations. I am a HUGE fan of MMA, actually, sometimes I get a little bit obsessed with it. To me, it’s the most exciting sport out there right now. Yes, it’s full contact and can be very violent, but I appreciate it more for the technical aspects of the sport, and the amount of athletic ability, dedication and work that goes into becoming a professional MMA fighter. In my opinion, MMA fighters are the most fit and conditioned athletes on the planet, bar none! Their sport has to incorporate every single aspect of fitness: strength, cardiovascular, power, endurance, core, flexibility, etc. I cannot think of any other sport that has to utilize every single muscle of the body, with as much intensity as MMA does.

I had the pleasure of meeting UFC fighter, Sean “The Muscle Shark” Sherk at the conference. If you don’t know why they call him “The Muscle Shark”, all you have to do is watch one of his fights; he is literally built like a tank! But he also trains to be able to fight a tank!

I’ve always advocated to my clients and boot campers that intensity equals results. Also, I’m a big believer that in order to get fantastic results, it doesn’t matter where you train or what equipment you train with, it’s all about HOW you train. I love MMA training, because a lot of times, they don’t use conventional “gym equipment”. They get fantastic results such as using things like kettlebells, medicine balls, stability balls, sledge-hammers, tractor tires, and their own body weight. In my boot camps, all we use are a few bands, kettlebells, dumbbells, and a lot of body weight exercises, and the results have been phenomenal.

I’ve also always told my clients that the best way to burn body fat is through intense interval training. If you look at the body of any MMA fighter, male or female, they are in amazing shape. I can guarantee that all of them train using various interval training methods, incorporating strength, cardio and core. My boot camps are centered around this training philosophy. It is the most effective and efficient form of training for optimal fat burning results. Training individual body parts and doing cardio at a constant speed for x amount of time just doesn’t get it done as well. Interval training is the way to go!

I wanted to share with you Sean Sherk’s workout. When you look at this video, you’ll notice that he doesn’t use any fancy equipment like a Pec Deck or shoulder press machine. In fact, the only machines he actually uses are the treadmill and UBE, which can probably be substituted with running outside and a few bands. Oh, and you’ll notice that his circuit is interval training based as well! And when I say intensity equals results, just look at Sean Sherk’s intensity level for every single exercise….intense becomes an understatement.

Now I’m not saying to training like Sean Sherk or any other MMA fighter. But the principles of their training can be applied to any individual, with modified exercises to suit their current fitness level.

BOTTOMLINE: Circuit and interval training are the best for fat loss, and to get great results, you have to work for it at your highest intensity.

DISCLAIMER: Please do not try this at home! Seriously, Sean Sherk is a professional athlete, and has professional trainers monitoring his training at all times.

Here it is folks:

Muscle Shark Circuit Training

Warm-up: Jump Rope (5 mins)

Round 1: Battling Ropes (6 mins)

1. Alternating Underhand Waves (2 mins)
2. Underhand Waves (2 mins)
3. Rope Crossover (2 mins)

45 sec rest

Round 2: Plate Round (5 mins)

1. Constant Movement of Plate without putting it down

45 sec rest

Round 3: Hard Cardio Round (7 mins)

1. Incline Trainer - 10 sec, 5.2mph, 50% incline
2. 70lb Heavy Bag Slams – 3 reps
3. Treadmill – 15 sec, 9mph, 10% incline
4. 12lb Dumbbells – Constant Movement, Active Rest

- Repeat cycle 6 times for a total of 7 mins

45 sec rest

Round 4: Ropes/UBE Round (8 mins)

1. UBE (2 mins)
2. Battling 2 Ropes (2 mins)
3. UBE (2 mins)
4. Battling 2 Ropes (2 mins)

Get Fit In The City

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to share with you a video of Bye Bye Baby Fat Boot Camps, that was featured at Get Fit In The City held on July 18, 2009. It gives you a taste of what our boot camps are like, using just a few resistance bands and your own body weight.



The event was organized to bring awareness to health, fitness and wellness, and the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Our boot camp segment was only 20 minutes, and yet, all the participants were pretty spent after the workout. We normally do close to 60 minute boot camps! The point is, if you can dedicate yourself to at least 20 minutes of intense, full body circuit training, 3 times per week, you can still get very good results!

Here's a bonus. This is the exact workout we did that day, try it out!

Do each exercise, as many repetitions as possible for 50s. Rest for 10s, and move to the next exercise. Repeat the circuit 4 times:

Exericse #1: Push-ups
Exercise #2: Squats (Option: Squat Jumps)
Exercise #3: Shoulder Lateral Raise
Exercise #4: Alternating Lunges
Exercise #5: Front Plank

Special thanks to the organizers of Get Fit In the City for being kind enough to feature Bye Bye Baby Fat Boot Camps. It was a beautiful day at Kew Beach, and an amazing experience. For more info on Get Fit In the City, visit their website at http://getfitinthecity.webs.com

Also, to make a donation to the Heart And Stroke foundation, please visit: http://www.heartandstroke.ca

Special thanks to Kevin and Gavin for helping to film and shoot the event!

JUNE 2009 - Mom of the Month (well, kinda not really...)

JUNE 2009 - MOM OF THE MONTH - Nick B. (well, kinda, not really...)

Bye Bye Baby Fat Boot Camp's Mom of the Month goes to Nick B. I know I know, he's not a mom. He's a dad. When I first started giving away these "Mom of the Month" awards, I obviously had every intention of giving it out to one of the mom's in my boot camps. BUT, Nick's results were so amazing, that he absolutely deserved to get recognition for it. In fact, Nick is not even in any of my boot camps, he's one of my private clients. But, I trained him exactly the same way I train the women in my boot camp (with some heavier weights, but, the exact same exercises). Therefore, please join me in congratulating Nick B., as the "Dad of the Month". Check out his amazing results:

January 2009:
- Notice his lack of definition, and excess body fat around his waist. Watch Nick's transformation...


March 2009:
- After only 3 months, notice the difference! Much more lean and his body fat around his waist is virtually gone! Here are some of his results: lost 10% body fat. He went from 24% to 14%!! He also went from a 34 inch to a 30 inch waist! And it did not stop there!


June 2009:
- Man, look at him now. He got bigger! Believe it or not, we did this doing the same boot camp exercises, with just a few increases in weight. His body fat is even lower now at 8%!!! I didn't mention that Nick is over 50 years old too! It just goes to show you, male or female, you can get amazing results at any age. We definitely turned back the clock with Nick!



Now ladies, I know you all dread getting bigger when it comes to resistance training. It WON'T HAPPEN! I PROMISE! Without getting into much detail, women just don't have the genetics to gain muscle the way men do....believe me. Nick wanted to get bigger, so we worked on modifying his nutrition and increasing his weights. I am not exaggerating when I say that I trained Nick the same way I train my women in my boot camps, which was based on full body circuit training in combination with interval training, which proves to be the most efficient and effective way to burn off fat!

My boot camps are designed for FAT LOSS, and it applies to women and men. The point is, when it comes to fat loss, my boot camps work! Pictures do not lie! Congratulations Nick!

Need a quick but effective workout?

Summer in Toronto is officially upon us. I don't know about you, but things have been absolutely crazy for me already. I have weddings upon weddings to attend (I have 2 down already!), it seems like there always something to go to, places to be, people to meet up with, bbq's galore, and oh yea....for most of us, we still have jobs to go to.

Usually, the first thing to get pushed to the side is our health. Or, if you are currently exercising, your just not getting the same results you used to, you've hit a wall.

I know it's summer time, and we all get busy. I don't care how busy you are, everyone should be able to exercise at least 3 times per week. If you can't, it's only because you're making excuses for yourself. NO MORE EXCUSES! You cannot neglect your exercises and nutrition. If you're pressed for time, try this workout. It only takes about 30 minutes, it's effective, you can do it at home, and you don't even need any equipment:

Warm-up:

• Jumping Jacks (1 min)
• Knee High Run on the spot (1 min)
• Cross Country Skiiers (1 min)

Workout
- Do each exercise for 20s on, 10s off, as many repetitions as you can. Repeat until you've reached 4 mins.
- Rest for 1 min, and move on to the next station.
- If you don't have weights, you can use a backpack filled with books for added resistance
- If you don't know a certain exercise, you can find it on YouTube

Station 1
1a) Push-ups
1b) Squats

Station 2
2a) Bent-over Row (Use backpack for resistance. Hold the shoulder straps, and pull up towards your body)
2b) Alternating Lunges

Station 3
3a) Step-ups (on stairs/chair)
3b) Dips (on stairs /chair)

Station 4
4a) Mountain Climbers
4b) Scissor Kicks

Station 5
5a) Burpees
5b) Crunches

Station 6
6a) Front Plank
6b) Side Plank

Try it, it's a killer workout. But I know it's summer, and you'd rather be outside, so take the workout outside! That's the great thing with this workout, you can do it anywhere;)

Father’s Day Special: 7 Tips To Becoming A Fit Father

First off, Happy Belated Father’s day to my dad, your dad, your dad’s dad, and to rest of the dads!

Yesterday my family celebrated Father’s Day by having a bbq! It was a beautiful day, everyone was in a great mood, but I couldn’t help but sit back that look at the reality of it all. Most dads today are in some of the worst shape of their lives! I don’t want to be a downer, but if you can’t see it yourself, then you’re either completely oblivious, or just refuse to face this reality.

I didn’t even have to pull up any scientific evidence to support this. All I had to do was look around, and what I saw was a lot of men with “big bellys.” The sad truth is that more and more are suffering from a very scary condition called Metabolic Syndrome.

Please read below for an excellent description of Metabolic Syndrome from www.MedicineNet.com:

What is metabolic syndrome?

An association between certain metabolic disorders and cardiovascular disease has been known since the 1940s. In the 1980s this association became more clearly defined and the term metabolic syndrome (also known as syndrome X or the dysmetabolic syndrome) was coined to designate a cluster of metabolic risk factors that come together in a single individual. In more current times, the term metabolic syndrome is found throughout medical literature and in the lay press as well. There are slight differences in the criteria of diagnosis - depending on which authority is quoted. Regardless, the concept of a clustering of risks factors leading to cardiovascular disease is well accepted.

The main features of metabolic syndrome include insulin resistance, hypertension (high blood pressure), cholesterol abnormalities, and an increased risk for clotting. Patients are most often overweight or obese.

Insulin resistance refers to the diminished ability of cells to respond to the action of insulin in promoting the transport of the sugar glucose, from blood into muscles and other tissues. Because of the central role that insulin resistance plays in the metabolic syndrome, a separate article is devoted to insulin resistance.

How is metabolic syndrome defined?

The definition of metabolic syndrome depends on which group of experts is doing the defining. Based on the guidelines from the 2001 National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel (ATP III), any three of the following traits in the same individual meet the criteria for the metabolic syndrome:

1. Abdominal obesity: a waist circumference over 102 cm (40 in) in men and over 88 cm (35 inches) in women.

2. Serum triglycerides 150 mg/dl or above.

3. HDL cholesterol 40mg/dl or lower in men and 50mg/dl or lower in women.

4. Blood pressure of 130/85 or more.

5. Fasting blood glucose of 110 mg/dl or above. (Some groups say 100mg/dl)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has slightly different criteria for the metabolic syndrome:

1. High insulin levels, an elevated fasting blood glucose or an elevated post meal glucose alone with at least 2 of the following criteria:

2. Abdominal obesity as defined by a waist to hip ratio of greater than 0.9, a body mass index of at least 30 kg/m2 or a waist measurement over 37 inches.

3. Cholesterol panel showing a triglyceride level of at least 150 mg/dl or an HDL cholesterol lower than 35 mg/dl.

4. Blood pressure of 140/90 or above (or on treatment for high blood pressure).

And though Metabolic Syndrome affects more women than men, there is certainly no shortage of men 40 years and older who have that “deadly beer gut” that literally makes them a ticking time bomb for a slew of serious medical conditions.

But there is good news amongst this frightening reality: The most common cause of metabolic disorder is of course a vicious combination of a lack of exercise and poor diet.

See below for the top 7 fitness tips to help save our father’s lives:

1) Lay off the beer

It’s no wonder why our dads have more of a keg for a gut than a six-pack. See below for the best way I know of explaining how detrimental alcohol can be on your body composition:

How Alcohol Makes You Fat

-Alcohol first passes through the esophagus as it travels to your stomach.

-From there, 20% of the alcohol is absorbed immediately by your bloodstream.

-The remaining alcohol travels to your intestines and is absorbed from there.

-The alcohol in your bloodstream then travels directly to your liver. It is here that
the body breaks the alcohol down, something that is absolutely essential since
alcohol is toxic to the body.

-Alcohol brakes down into acetate and acetaldehyde which IMMEDIATELY
signals to your body to stop burning fat. Even worse, another waste product of
alcohol, acetyl CoA, actually starts to make more body fat.

What Does this Mean?

-Your body can only effectively process 0.5 to 1 ounce of alcohol per hour

-How much damage? A 12-ounce beer contains about 0.6 ounces of alcohol. If
you consumed 5 of these, your body would be inhibited from fat burning for up to
6 hours. This is aside from the fact that your body will actually be storing fat
during these 6 hours! The more you drink, the longer your body is inhibited from
burning fat in addition to a greater fat build up from excess acetyl CoA. As you
can see, one day of binge drinking can set you back days if not a full week when
it comes to fat loss!

-What’s the worst-case scenario? Mixing alcohol with sugary beverages
promotes even further fat gain due to the resulting insulin surge that triggers fat
storage (e.g. regular beer or cocktails mixed with regular soda and/or fruit juice)

The Bottom Line

If you want to be lean, you must minimize ALCOHOL consumption!

If you must drink:

a) Choose wine or hard liquor and “light” beer
b) Limit alcohol consumption to 1-2 days per week with a 1-2 drink per day max

References:

Campbell and Volek, “TNT Diet: Targeted Nutrition Tactics”

2) Quit being such wuss and work your lower body

Most dads just want to do the typical meathead workout that emphasizes the upper body only. If you are going for the “tooth-pick-for-legs” look where you are built up top with chicken legs for wheels, then keep doing what you’re doing.

However, it is important to note that strong, muscular legs are the key to torching your gut. After all, the majority of your body’s muscle mass, and thus metabolism, is contained within your lower body. Not working your legs is like going to a gun fight without a gun, and here’s why:

a) Training your whole body (legs included) not only helps you burn more calories each workout, it also maximally depletes your body’s glycogen stores (the sugar in your muscles) to allow for more total body fat burning

b) The more lean muscle mass you have in your lower body the more calories your body will be burning 24-7-365 outside of your workouts

c) Whenever you work your legs you generate the largest increases in natural anabolic hormone levels which translates into more total body muscle and less ugly, unwanted body fat

So if you want better abs, you better start using those legs! This can be easily accomplished with 3 total body workouts per week that train your upper body, lower body, and core within the same workout.

3) Do something besides bench presses and curls

Look, I get why guys don’t want to train their legs. Unless you are wearing a speedo, no one is going to see them! So there is simply not as much motivation to put the time and effort into your lower body as there is for your upper body which is always on full display at the beach or poolside.

However, if you are trying to develop a really nice upper body, you need to start venturing outside the realm of bench presses and curls. Don’t forget, you do have muscles on the backside of your body too!

In fact, your lats (the wings that extend from your arm pit to the bottom of your rib cage) are the biggest muscles in your upper body and when developed they really help promote that V-shaped torso that both makes your waist look smaller and your wife happy ;)

Start doing at least the same amount of pulling as pushing (if not more) unless you want to end up like the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Lastly, only do isolation movements like bicep curls if you have extra time after your main workout. Compound movements like rows and pull-ups work your biceps just as hard and since they allow for the use of heavier loads, they also provide a better growth stimulus to maximize results in minimal time.

4) Don’t eat like those idiots from NutriSystem (Yes, I said Idiots!)

Here’s my take on how NutriSystem was created:

“I’ve got an idea for an incredible product and marketing campaign:

Let’s gather a group of genetically gifted former professional athletes that have put on some pounds since ending their playing days. We’ll have them all get their asses kicked by top personal trainers while following a restricted calorie diet so we lean them out real nicely.

But then we lie to the overweight male coach potato consumer and tell them that they got these results from eating the same food they are currently eating- you know, pizza, lasagna, sweets, etc. Except we’ll make the meals the size of a dime so they can still technically eat what they want and lose weight at the same time.

To make it even better, we’ll pre-package all of their meals for them to buy from us so these lazy bastards don’t have to do anything besides nuke it up and eat it!

We’ll make millions!”

Well, that’s exactly what has happened - thousands of sports-loving, ESPN-watching dads have been swindled to buy into this gimmick that you can eat whatever you want and still lose weight without exercise- because Dan Marino did it!

Listen, if you honestly think you can keep eating the same foods that got you that gut in the first place, then I’m not sure how much more I can help you. And yes, there is portion control within the system, but to me it’s a like a big terd versus a small terd… IT’S STILL A TERD!

5) Accept the fact that you probably need some professional fitness advice



This is one of my superstar clients. His body fat is less 12%. He’s a busy CEO of a company and father of 3 in his 50’s. I’ve known him for a long time, and back in the day, he actually was in great shape. Well, he looked like he was in great shape. He had the classic meathead mentality where he only worked out his “mirror muscles”, while neglecting the rest. He looked good, but, he was not in great shape. He had one of the weakest backs I’ve ever seen.

I interviewed him one time and asked him what his best advice was for people that are in the same position today as he was before he transformed himself and this is what he said:

“What you don’t know will hurt you, but what you think you know will KILL you!”

Ok Dads, quit being so stubborn and macho. It doesn’t make you any less of a man to hire a personal trainer or join a boot camp because your wife and her lady friends do it. In reality, your wife (and women in general) are simply smarter than you because they effectively outsource their fitness needs to an expert whereby you try to re-invent the wheel on your own with little to no results.

If you want to lose your gut, follow the lead of the ladies ;)

6) Make the time for a 5-minute warm-up

You simply can’t afford to NOT warm-up. It’s like pushing the pedal to the medal in the dead of winter in your frozen car- things just don’t work right and you’re not going anywhere.

It only takes about 3-5 minutes to lengthen your muscles and lubricate your joints to best prevent injury and ready your body for a more effective workout, so don’t skip the warm-up!

Below is a great 5-minute body weight warm-up we use in our boot camps:

Alternate between 50 s of work and 10 seconds of rest for each exercise in the following warm-up circuit:

1- Stationary Running
2- Jumping Jacks
3- Lunge, Reach and Twist (left leg)
4- Lunge, Reach and Twist (right leg)
5- Push-up Walkouts

7) The “no pain-no gain” attitude will leave you a bitter, crippled, and grumpy old man

The “no pain, no gain” methodology is quite possible the most abused practice in fitness. Pain is a good thing as long as it’s the right type of pain as outlined below:

When exercise BURNS YOUR MUSCLES that’s a good pain - this means you are pushing past your comfort zone to inspire change, working with intensity to torch calories and build muscle, and burning sugar so your body can burn fat for hours and hours after your workout.

When exercise HURTS YOUR JOINTS that’s a bad pain - it means you are quickly wearing down the structural integrity of your joints and will soon be unable to do anything without pain or stiffness. This is most often caused by a combination of using too heavy of loads, poor exercise form and technique, strength imbalances, and lack of mobility and/or flexibility - more reason to heed Tip #5 and seek professional help!

I have worked with too many dads who have beaten their bodies down and nothing’s more depressing than a dad who can’t play with his kids or participate in recreational activities with his buddies. Do yourself and your family a favor and stop being such a meathead when it comes to exercise. Exercise doesn’t have to hurt to get results and nobody wants another grumpy AND injured old man ;)

That’s it for me. HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

MAY 2009 - Mom of the Month

MAY 2009 - MOM OF THE MONTH - Annie W.

Bye Bye Baby Fat Boot Camp's Mom of the Month goes to Annie W.

Annie is a mother of two, and has had trouble in the past losing the fat gained during her pregnancy. If you are mom and are skeptical about joining the best boot camp for moms, all you have to do is ask Annie, and she can tell how it really works!

Annie takes part at one of my corporate boot camps, and out of all the participants I've had so far, she received the best results. Don't just take my word for it, let her numbers speak for themselves:

• Lost over 16 lbs and 9% of body fat
• Decreased almost 7 inches around her entire body
• Decreased 5 inches off her waist
• Decreased 4 inches off her hips

CONGRATULATIONS ANNIE! Enjoy your gift certificate and buy something that fits you!!! (Because none of Annie's old clothes fit her anymore!)

Check out our boot camps at: www.byebyebabyfat.ca

Special Interview with Holly Rigsby – Fat Loss Expert for Mothers

I’m back! Sorry for being so M.I.A. for the last few weeks. I took off to New York and New Jersey to attend a conference with some of the most successful fitness experts in the world! It was an amazing experience, and I will share some of those experiences with you all throughout the next few weeks.

Today I have a special treat for you, especially for my female readers and the women in my boot camps. At the conference, I met a lot of amazing individuals, including a lot of other fitness experts that I personally look up to and admire.

I had the opportunity to meet Holly Rigsby, who is an expert in fat loss for women, specifically with mothers. In her area of expertise, she is one of the most trusted and knowledgeable fitness professionals in the world, no exaggeration. If you have doubts, all you have to do is visit her website: www.fityummymummy.com

For those of you that don’t know, I run fat loss boot camps for mothers (www.byebyebabyfat.ca), so you can imagine how elated I was when Holly granted me an interview. We discussed various topics such as resistance training for women, spot-reduction, and interval v.s. steady-state cardiovascular training.

So for anyone out there that believes that women will get “bulky” using weights, that cardio is the best way to burn fat, or that doing 100 crunches a day will help you get 6-pack abs, guess again!

To all women: pay close attention to what Holly Rigsby has to say. Also, keep in mind, Holly Rigsby is a mother herself. So she knows first hand how difficult it is for mothers to lose fat. All you have to do is look at Holly, and you can tell that she is in fantastic shape. Believe you me, Holly Rigsby is the real deal.

Enjoy:

Transformation Contest Winners!!

INVEST IN FITNESS is proud to announce the winners of our Fat Loss Transformation Contest held at State Farm Insurance Head Office. This contest was based on a 6-week fat loss boot camp, and was proudly sponsored by Fame International Salon and Spa in Aurora.

And now on to our winners:



GILLIAN SMITH - Winner of a "Touch of Paradise" (valued at $95)
- Gillian lost 1.5% and 4 lbs of body fat. She also lost a total of 6.5 inches around her entire body, including 2 inches of her waist and hips!!! Congratulations Gillian!

STAN RIGLER - The GRAND PRIZE winner of an "Afternoon Delight" (valued at $175).
- Stan did an incredible job at losing 3% of body fat, which was the most out of all the participants. He also lost over 4 lbs, 4.5 inches off his entire body, which included 2 inches of his waist. If you look below at his before and after pics, you can really notice the difference. Congratulations Stan!




I would also like to congratulate all of my boot campers at State Farm. You all did an amazing job and received incredible results! You definitely are in much better shape now. But it does not end here, I expect all of you to take what you've learned from me and apply them on a daily basis!

For more information on Fame International Salon and Spa, visit: www.famesalonspa.com

My Top 7 Useless Gym Exercises

In the past, I’ve shared my top exercises muscle gain and fat loss, featuring a variety of multi-joint, compound movements for your upper body (e.g. push-ups, pull-ups, rows, dips, etc.), lower body (squats, deadlifts, lunges, etc.), and core (planks and rotational core exercises). These “many muscle” exercises provide the most bang for your buck during your workouts to generate maximum results in minimal time. Even better are total body exercises like a curl to squat to press or a squat thrust variation that takes the meaning of a whole body workout to a whole new level.

But, I think we’ll switch it up a bit today and focus on the worst and USELESS exercises you can add to your training routine. The following list features movements that I wouldn’t be caught dead doing - movements that deliver crappy results and flat our hurt people - movements that have far greater risk than reward:

My Top 7 Useless Gym Exercises of All Time

1) Abs Machine
Crunches and sit-ups only promote excessive flexion of the lumbar spine and tend to cause neck and back pain. What’s worse than crunches or sit-ups? Doing a similar movement with added weight in a machine that only trains your body in an unnatural front to back motion in a seated position!

Yes, abs machines, like crunches and sit-ups, do make your feel your abdominal muscles, but there are far better ways to accomplish this without the high risk of short and long-term injury to your spine.

Remember, the true function of your core is stabilization, both static and dynamic- to be able to maintain a neutral, straight-line position from your hips to your shoulders in all 3 planes of movement (front to back, side to side, and rotational) no matter what the external stimulus may be.

2009 Upgrade: For rock hard, athletic abs focus on pillar stabilization exercises like front, side, and back pillars and ground based rotational core work like chops variations and upper body twists.

2) Back Machine
Well, if I think the abs machine is useless, how do you think I’m going to feel about the back machine? I mean this is just such a stupid exercise for so many reasons.

First of all, people already use too much “back” on most movements because of tight hips and inactive/weak glutes. Thus, I prefer to focus more on hip extension movements that strengthen your butt rather than continually overloading the spinal erectors. Plus, adding in corrective stretching for the hip flexor complex, the hip rotators, and the hamstring complex that opens up your hips and alleviates excessive spinal flexion and compressions is literally exactly what the doctor ordered.

Second of all, just like the abs machine, this bootleg exercise trains your body in one plane of movement in a fixed path and as a results doesn’t work your key stabilizer muscles.

Lastly, the way that most people perform this movement in such an out of control manner for speed just makes me want to vomit. It literally looks like they are trying to lie down for reps- is this the type of movement that we want to get really good at? Wait, don’t answer that ;)

2009 Upgrade: For a strong, stable back focus on deadlift, good morning, and hip extensions variations while simultaneously focusing on the corrective stretching and self-massage of the Lumbo-Pelvic-Hip (LPH) complex. A prone cobra, or airplane as it is sometimes called, is also a great exercise to improve spinal erector endurance while simultaneously improving scapular strength and stability.

3) Leg Extension Machine

This exercise is a personal one for me. When I first started weight training, I did whatever it took to keep pushing my training loads up, I abused this exercise like you wouldn’t believe.

I remember loading close to 200lbs and doing 20+reps at a frantic pace where the whole universal machine that the leg extension apparatus was attached to would shake like it was about to break down. After all of that, yes, my legs would burn, but I remember having sore knees only a short few days after.

Here’s the bottom line with this exercise- it will wreak havoc on your knees! The excessive compressions on your patella will without a doubt results in the brake down of articular cartilage which will in turn results in a bunch of arthroscopic knee surgeries to remove loose bodies and eventually full blown crippling arthritis. Avoid this machine like cancer!

2009 Upgrade: For strong, stable knees, focus on both knee-dominant (lunge, step-up, and single-leg squat variations) AND hip-dominant single-leg exercises (single-leg hip extension, deadlift, and good morning variations) to prevent strength imbalances between limbs AND to prevent strength imbalances between your front and back thighs and your inner and outer thighs.

4) Pec Fly Machine

If your goal is tear your pecs and totally ruin your rotator cuff, then I highly recommend that you add this exercise to your routine. I think the chest fly machine actually gets even more play then the bench press, which is considered to be the most popular exercise for men.

Again, the use of a machine versus doing a dumbbell fly alternative eliminates the use of the key stabilizer muscles surrounding your shoulders. Furthermore, the common male desire to use maximum weight to build a chest he can be proud of typically results in overuse injuries like shoulder impingement or biceps tendonitis.

2009 Upgrade: For strong, stable shoulders focus on performing an equal amount of pushing and pulling exercises. In fact, more pulling exercises initially may be a good idea if you find yourself heavily internally rotated and hunchbacked from years of focusing on your beach muscles (chest, abs, and biceps) while neglecting your rear shoulders and upper/mid muscles. The best pushing exercise you can do is any push-up variation as it not only safely trains the entire front side of your body but also engages your upper back musculature in a way that the bench press does not. Furthermore, every year people die from bench pressing, but there has never been a reported death from performing a push-up! (FYI, this is not an exaggerated stat.)

5) Elliptical Machine

Ok fine, if you are really, really overweight and haven’t exercised in over a decade, then I think an elliptical has ‘some’ use. But, other than that, I think it’s relatively useless.

Yes, it is a low-impact alternative to running on a treadmill, but there is very little range of motion during the movement and does not burn nearly as many calories as the machine claims it does.

Furthermore, the elliptical is not a good machine to do intervals on because it promotes excessive hyperextension of the knee. This can easily result in injury at high levels of speed and resistance.

Think about it - what’s the first machine people who are new to cardio exercise jump on? The elliptical! Why? Because it’s so EASY!

At the end of the day, you can read a magazine while on an elliptical, so how much benefit do you really think you will get from this overpriced waste of space?

2009 Upgrade: For optimal results during your cardio training, you must focus on intervals. They burn 9 times more body fat than aerobics and also result in greater improvements in overall conditioning than long, slow, boring cardio. If you are overweight/de-conditioned and/or have joint issues, the best place to start an interval training program is on a spin bike, or better yet, an Airdyne Bike which has both upper and lower body attachments to make it more of a total body conditioning experience. If you need to do your cardio equipment-free and/or at home or on the road, use body weight based exercises like jumping jacks, stationary running, split jumps, etc.

6) Abductor/Adductor Machines (aka. the Sex Machines)
Ah, the sex machine… this one just makes me laugh. It certainly takes me back to the days where my meathead buddies and I would shamelessly gawk at this outrageously good looking gal who did 1,000 reps on the adductor/abductor machine to fit into her “skinny jeans.”

But, I can assure you this machine had nothing to do with her nice bod- rather it was a combo of genetics, a clean diet, and being a tri-sport athlete that did the trick.

Women all over the world seem convinced that this “naughty” exercise can some how help them rid themselves of the thunder thigh/cellulite situation.

How many times have I heard: “What exercises can I do to get rid of this flab inside my leg?” Too many times!

Seriously? You know that spot reduction is a myth by now, right? I’m sorry to say, but, no amount of direct inner or other hip-thigh work will burn that ugly fat covering that sexy toned musculature everyone wants to see, so let it go.

So the first thing you need to do is clean up all of the crappy carbs in your diet and starting consuming lean proteins, healthy fats, and fruits and veggies every 2-4 hours while plugging water like a fish.

Then you need to get off this sex machine and get real with a total body workout!

2009 Upgrade: The best exercises for your inner and outer-hip thigh will come from band-resisted hip walk variations, side pillar variations, and any and all single-leg exercises, especially lateral lunges. My favorite lateral lunge is the Valslide Lateral Lunge that simultaneously stretches and strengthens your hip musculature.

7) Leg Press Machine
It never ceases to amaze me how we all look for the easy way out when it comes to working out. It’s clear why people prefer to leg press - they get to lay or sit on their a$$ depending on the exact type of leg press machine being used.

If you want both nice legs and a flat midsection then you need to squat! How do you expect to squat when you’re sitting down? Please explain that to me.

But squats are tough because they require a whole body effort, an effort most people aren’t willing to put in explaining why they get horrible results form their workouts.

The leg press could very well be a major contributing cause for the rapidly increasing number of bulging and/or herniated discs among exercise enthusiasts. People always use way too much weight and use poor form resulting in brutally compressive forces on the spine.

Seriously, if you are opting to leg press over squatting, then you don’t know squat! (Get it? Haha)

2009 Upgrade: The best (and safest) exercises for your lower body are a healthy combination of double-leg and single-leg exercises using free weights and body weight based exercises. Be sure to perform an equal amount of knee-dominant lower body exercises (e.g. squats and lunges) and hip-dominant lower body exercises (e.g. deadlifts and single-leg hip extensions) to make your knees, hips, and back bulletproof. In fact, most people are very knee-dominant and could benefit to start by performing a greater number of hip-dominant movements to balance out their lower body musculature.

You’ll notice once common trend among all of these useless exercises: they all involve MACHINES!

Get off those useless machines and focus on functional movements using free weights, bands, stability balls, etc. Not only will you ramp up your fat-burning and muscle-building pursuits, but more importantly you won’t end up hunchbacked in a wheel chair by the time you turn 50 ;)

Understanding Metabolism and Caloric Expenditure

So this week I though I’d focus on education. There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to fat loss, and what exactly the body is doing when it’s burning fat. I think it’s really important to understand how the body works regarding fat loss, and what is the best way to accomplish it in terms of training methods.


METABOLISM

The body’s metabolism (or metabolic rate) is what controls how many calories an individual can burn each day. The body’s thyroid affects and controls metabolism, and is a huge factor in your muscle mass.

Let’s do some math:

For every pound of muscle you put on, it takes approximately 50 calories per day to maintain. Quite literally, these 50 calories is the amount needed by the muscle to just sit there. It does not take into consideration the amount of calories expended in training to develop and maintain that muscle.

Therefore, 1 lbs of muscle needs 50 calories per day = 18 250 calories per year (which is the approximately 5lbs of fat).

What does this mean? Well, if you’re able to gain 5 lbs of lean muscle, it will help you burn off close to over 26 lbs of fat over the coming year.

So ultimately, the trick to fat loss is not dependent on how many calories you can burn during a period of exercise; it is how many calories you can get your body to burn all the time. The bottom line: if you increase your lean muscle, you increase your metabolism, thus burning off more fat, even when you are not exercising. This is the KEY to long- term fat loss.

CALORIC EXPENDITURE

Fat loss is essentially simple math: you must burn off more calories than you consume. It’s that simple for the body, regardless of what all the different fad diets out there advocate – high protein, low carbohydrate, low fat, etc., the rule remains the same. As I discussed in the metabolism section, the key to long-term fat loss is to teach the body how to burn calories, even when it is not exercising.

I cannot even remember how many times people have approached me saying: “I barely eat, and I still continue to gain weight!” It is classic, people starving themselves in a futile attempt to lose weight fast. STARVING YOURSELF DOES NOT WORK!!! Was that clear enough? It is only a temporary solution, but most of the time, people gain the weight right back, sometimes heavier than they were before they started some form of a low-calorie diet.

I will say it again and again until it sticks in your head: you must burn more calories than you consume, NOT consume less calories.

What form of training burns the most calories? Aerobic or Anaerobic exercise?

Answer: ANAEROBIC EXERCISE (i.e. resistance and weight training). Why? Because your body’s lean muscle tissue is the most active tissue in the body and requires the most energy to function. Where does the body get energy? CALORIES! Getting my drift?

AEROBIC EXERCISE does NOT produce the best fat loss results. What do I mean by aerobic exercise? For example, steady state cardio such as running on a treadmill/outside, elliptical machines, jogging or walking for an hour. Anyone that tells you that steady state cardio is good for fat loss has not been doing his or her research. If you want to learn more about why cardio does not work, feel free to read my previous blog posts. I want to focus today’s post on Anaerobic training.

Anaerobic training is based upon an EPOC principle: Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (which used to be referred to as oxygen debt). Anaerobic training consumes a lot of calories during exercise, but, your metabolism also stays at a high rate after you exercise. The recovery period of the body to return to pre-exercise levels can take several minutes for light exercise (i.e. aerobic training such as jogging), several hours for very intense exercise (i.e. anaerobic cardiovascular training) and up to 12-24 hours and longer for prolonged exhaustive exercise (interval and/or circuit training with resistance).

In summary: if you want to burn fat and keep it off for good, you need to exercise with resistance. This can come in the form of weights or your own body weight. You also are better off doing full-body programs, because the more muscles you use, the more calories you burn. If you train like this, you definitely will put on enough lean muscle to elevate your metabolism, thus burning off more calories than you consume, for a longer period of time. Intensity equals results – if you work hard, you WILL get results!

Important Fitness Info For Parents and University Students

Today’s post is for any parent who has a child about to enter University, or for anyone who has had a similar university experience for him/herself.

For those that don’t know, I specialize in instructing fat loss boot camps for mothers (www.byebyebabfat.ca). I could not help but keep them in mind this past weekend when I went out with a bunch of high school friends. Almost all of us put on some weight when compared to high school, but I would say that the pounds piled on a lot faster once we entered our first year of College/University.

We are already in May, which means seniors in high school are already knees-deep in the senior slump that typifies the last semester prior to graduation.

But, what they (and their parents) should be most concerned about is fighting the scary trend of gaining 15+ lbs their first year in college/university.

Seriously, they might soon start calling it the FIRST YEAR 50 if someone doesn’t step in right NOW and educate our youngsters about proper training and sound nutrition.

I know firsthand how important this info is and I wish someone shared it with me before I graduated high school.

Before I share my top 10 tips to fight this trend, let’s first identify why this is important, beyond the obvious health benefits:

1. Perception is Reality: Studies show that leaner, more attractive people are more employable and earn higher wages- it’s a fact! If you want a fighting chance of getting and keeping a job, in addition to climbing the corporate ladder, you simply cannot overlook your personal appearance and presentation.
2. Build a Recession-Proof Body: Whenever the economy is struggling and companies are forced to tighten up their budgets, they’ll “trim the fat” from their employee base (both literally and figuratively). If it comes down to two people with equal skills, the leaner, healthier employee will always win!
   

So enough with the politics already, let’s get to the goods:

The Top 10 Tips to Fight the First Year 15

TIP #1 - Invest in a Whole Body Workout

Perform a five-exercise circuit employing body weight-based exercises that’s designed to work your upper body, lower body, and core within the same workout 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 a double-leg (e.g. squat), push (e.g. push-up), single-leg (e.g. lunge), pull (e.g. row), and core (e.g. plank/bridge) exercise.

- Perform up to 4 rounds without rest for a killer 20-minute total body workout that you can do anywhere

TIP #2 - 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 24-48 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), for indoor/outdoor running, or for body weight cardio exercises that you can do at home like running in place or jumping jacks.

TIP #3 - Eat AND Hydrate 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.

- Drink 2-4 cups of water immediately upon waking and then 1-2 cups of water every 2 hours, in addition to drinking 1-2 cups of water for every 15 minutes of activity.

- Consume 3 servings of green tea per day.

TIP #4 - Think Fiber When it Comes to Carbs

- Eat an unlimited amount of fibrous, cruciferous green veggies to fill your belly both during and between meals (avoid corn, peas, carrots, beets, and potatoes)

- 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.

The Carb Reduction Plan:

Step 1 - Replace all white carbs with 100% whole grain carbs and all refined sugars with natural sugars

Step 2 - Limit all whole grain starch and natural sugar consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout or immediately upon waking for breakfast

Step 3 - Replace all starches and sugars with fruits and veggies

Step 4 - Replace all fruits with green veggies

TIP #5 - Focus on Stabilization Exercise for Flat Abs

- Integrated total body training and sound nutrition is the key to burning the fat covering your abdominal muscles so you can “see” them- spot reduction doesn’t work!

- Pillar stabilization, both static and dynamic, is the key to developing rock hard abs, preventing injuries, and improving posture- NOT endless crunches and sit-ups!

- The pillar collectively consists of your shoulders, hips, and core. It is your body’s powerhouse, foundational to all movement.

- For maximum benefits, you must seek to maintain a tight pillar position during all movements by actively pulling your navel to your spine, engaging your glutes, and maintaining a straight line from the heels through the shoulders.

TIP #6 - Be a Flexible Eater

- Allot yourself 1 or 2 “reward meals” per week where you can enjoy the indulgences of college life in MODERATION as needed!

- Be sure to plan your reward meals in advance based on your weekly schedule and be sure to earn them with compliance at all other times!

TIP #7 - Take These 2 daily Supplements for Life

- Daily Multi-Vitamin for Your Gender

- Daily EFA/Fish Oil Supplement

TIP #8 - If you Booze, you WON’T Lose!

- How much damage? A 12-ounce beer contains about 0.6 ounces of alcohol. If you consumed 5 of these, your body would be inhibited from fat burning for up to 6 hours. This is aside from the fact that your body will actually be storing fat during these 6 hours! The more you drink, the longer your body is inhibited from burning fat in addition to a greater fat build up from excess acetyl CoA. As you can see, one day of binge drinking can set you back days if not a full week when it comes to fat loss!

- What’s the worst-case scenario? Mixing alcohol with sugary beverages promotes even further fat gain due to the resulting insulin surge that triggers fat storage (e.g. regular beer or cocktails mixed with regular soda and/or fruit juice)

The Bottom Line...

If you want to be lean, you must minimize ALCOHOL consumption!

If you must drink:

a) Choose wine or hard liquor and “light” beer
b) Limit alcohol consumption to 1-2 days per week with a 1-2 drink per day max

TIP #9 - Sleep, Stretch, and Self-Massage

- Sleep: Get at least 6-7 hours (ideally 7-8) of restful sleep per night and take 1-2 hour naps to fill in the gaps. Establish a pre-bed routine and avoid caffeine after 2 pm.

- Stretch: Ideally perform Dynamic Stretching to preferentially mobilize joints BEFORE exercise and perform Static Stretching to preferentially lengthen muscles AFTER exercise

- Self-Massage: Spend at least 30-60 seconds massaging sore and tight areas of the body before and after you exercise to regenerate your muscle and connective tissue in order to prevent nagging aches and pains in the joints

TIP #10 - Build-Your-Own Dorm Room Gym

Mandatory Items (less than $100):
- Foam Roller
- Tennis Ball
- Hex Dumbbells
- Resistance Bands

Premium Set-up (less than $200):
- All of the above
- Door/Wall-Mounted Pull-up Unit
- Stability Ball

It is my sincere hope to you either use and/or pass on these 10 simple strategies to secure yourself a future filled with health, happiness, and longevity.

My Top 2 Tips For Diet And Exercise

For the past few months, I’ve been stressing to all my clients and boot campers various methods of exercise, different suggestions for nutritional intake, tricks to gain muscle and lose fat, and the list goes on and on.

But sometimes, we just have to stick to simplicity. 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!

MY TOP 2 DIET TIPS:

1) Eat Early and Often: Immediately after waking up, eat something, and then eat 2 to 4 hours to starve fat and feed muscle. By continuously fueling your furnace, and eating some animal protein (meat, eggs, cheese, etc.) with every meal, you will also keep your metabolism high and active throughout the day and prevent overeating.

2) When Consuming Carbs, Think Fiber First: Eat an unlimited amount of fibrous, cruciferous green vegetables to fill your stomach 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.

MY TOP 2 EXERCISE TIPS:

1) Invest in a Full Body Workout: This means doing a 5-exercise circuit (designed to work your core, upper body and lower body) AT LEAST 3 times per week with a day of rest between workouts. Alternate between 20-50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each: a push (e.g. push-up), double-leg (e.g. squat), pull (e.g. row), single-leg (e.g. lunge), and core (e.g. plank) exercise. Perform up to 4 rounds without rest for a killer 20-minute total body workout.

2) Harness the Power of Intervals: Interval training is scientifically proven to burn 9 times more body fat than ordinary exercise and elevates metabolism for up to 48 hours after 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 (or for body weight cardio exercise that you can do at home like running in place or jumping jacks.

Live by these 2 training and nutrition guidelines and you will have a body to be proud of... I guarantee it ;)