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 ;)

3 Foods You Have To Avoid

I’ve been doing this personal training thing for a long time now. The easiest part of my job is getting my clients to follow my exercise programs. They are always willing to bust their butts with the workouts. However, most of the time, the challenge is making the right food choices to ensure that the fat stays off.

Nutrition is by far, the most difficult thing to change, especially if you’re so used to a particular way of eating. But if you want to lose fat, this is the first place you need to make a change. There is unfortunately no way to out-work bad nutrition. The bottom line is: you eat bad, you get bad results, no matter how hard you exercise.

I’ve posted some of his articles before, and it’s only because Craig Ballantyne is one of the world’s most respected trainers when it comes to fat loss. His Turbulence program is one of the best out there. Here is a fantastic article that I personally have experienced with several of my own clients, and applies to the majority of people out there that are on a quest to lose fat:

Turbulence Training for MEN

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Men's Health Expert

When one my best friends came to me asking how to lose fat, the first thing I did was not to put him on a hardcore exercise program (even though he was young and relatively fit), but it was
to take a look at his diet.

These days it is so much easier to eat more calories in 10 minutes than you could possibly burn in 100 minutes, so exercise is only a small part of the equation if you want to know how to burn fat.

Fortunately, or unfortunately for Jack, my buddy, his nutrition couldn't get much worse. It was only the fact that he was young, male, and semi-active that kept him from being more than 30 pounds overweight.

Each day he consumed...

- 8 cans of soda (and not diet soda!)
- eggs and bacon with buttered toast and hashbrowns for breakfast
- pepperoni pizza for lunch
- chicken fingers and fries for dinner

On weekends he would eat even bigger breakfasts, subs and chips for lunch, and pizza and burgers for dinner, and then 12 beers with the boys.

Eventually Jack weighed a chubby 210 pounds at only 5'10".

Each winter he would gain the weight, and then lose some of it in the summer as he became more active.

His diet contained the three foods you must not eat if you want to lose fat and be healthy:

1) French fries
2) Pizza
3) Chips

But this wasn't the right way to live, and he knew it.

Fortunately, Jack was the best client I could have, and he made all the changes I recommended, and loves his new healthy eating diet.

Heck, with the exception of his reward meal pizzas, he almost eats as well as I do!

Jack eliminated the processed carbs and sugar, with his biggest change being the elimination of the soda. He now grabs green tea and water all day long. He's cut out almost all trans fats, getting rid of the fries and chicken fingers (although there are still trans fats in some pizza crusts).

He now eats...

- at least 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day
- power salads with chicken or salmon and spinach, tomatoes,
peppers, broccoli and other vegetables
- salmon, chicken, or steak and vegetables for dinner
- He snacks on apples and bananas

And he's cut down his weekend drinking, replacing it with what he calls the natural highs of being healthy. It's amazing when someone finds out how to lose fat that they are able to appreciate how much energy, vitality, endurance and stamina they can have thanks
to their food choices.

In fact, Jack regularly works 14-18 hour shifts at a hospital and says it doesn't bother him one bit. He's got more than enough energy to work that long - and then go home to his girl!

And he's no longer sleepy at 4pm, like he used to be during his overweight days, when he'd come home from work and fall asleep for 2 hours before getting up and eating another sleep-inducing meal.

And of course, we had Jack start using the Turbulence Training workouts. Other trainers are calling him the "fittest guy at the gym" where there are over 5000 members! He's a legend thanks to his short, burst Turbulence Training workouts.

Avoid processed and fried foods if you want to burn belly fat,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com/GetStarted

Be a “Push-Up Pro”

Be a “Push-Up Pro”

The Push-up. It is probably the most popular exercise of all time. But it’s popularity does not necessarily mean that it’s well-liked. In fact, I think it is safe to say that the majority of people really HATE push-ups (just ask the ladies in my boot camp). More specifically, the push-up tends to be the undying nemesis for people who carry extra body weight and for most females who feel they do not have the upper strength to ever be able to do anything but “wuss-ups,” or modified push-ups on the knees.

The goal of this blog post is to address everything you need to know about performing the push-up with proper form in addition to learning how to do more push-ups ASAP. Remember, people only hate what they are not good at it. In other words, I am confident that though you may hate push-ups now, by following this program you will finally unveil your true push-up potential. And though you may never be madly in love with push-up, you’ll at least be able to stomach them!

BENEFITS:

Right next to chin-ups, a push-up is the best upper body exercise of all time. I truly believe push-ups to be one of the best total body exercises around.

Push-ups work primarily your chest, triceps, and front shoulders. In addition, they also place a great demand on your core strength and stability. After all, your spinal stabilizers (transverse abdominis and erector spinae muscles) need to have the endurance to maintain that critical straight-line position throughout the duration of your push-ups for optimal safety and performance. In addition, push-ups engage your scapular muscles (shoulder blades) in a way that most pushing exercises do not, thus providing some much needed mid and upper back work that most trainees are missing out on. Furthermore, maintaining the proper push-up position requires that you tense and engage every muscle on the front side of your body from your feet to your front shoulders. Heck, if you squeeze your glutes (which you should as this helps protect your lower back), you even get your booty involved!

Finally, push-ups are the best anywhere, anytime exercise that requires nothing but your body weight and space the size of your frame to perform.

TECHNIQUE:

I’m sure the majority of you out there has attempted a push-up at some time in his or her life, the vast majority of people have never performed a full range of motion floor push-up with perfect form and technique. If this describes you, don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault if no one ever taught you how to perform push-ups properly. I mean, haven’t we all heard this at some point before from an authority figure, whether it be an old school coach or gym teacher:

“Alright 100 push-ups now! No, not like that, get lower! What are you, weak? It’s just a push-up! If you don’t do them right, we’re going to do them all day! I’ve got the time!”

But, what’s done is done. Let’s focus on doing things right for ourselves. Below is a complete list of technique and coaching points regarding how to perform a perfect push-up:

- Simultaneously tuck your elbows to your sides and pull your shoulders blades down and back: It’s critical to keep your elbows close to your ribcage while performing push-ups. Letting your elbows “sprawl” away from your torso puts your rotator cuff at a much greater risk for injury. In addition, since most of us are so upper trap dominant, we tend to shrug our shoulders during push-ups. This scapular elevation can lead to clicking and grinding of the shoulder (known as shoulder impingement syndrome). To avoid these pitfalls, visualize trying to hug your elbows to your ribcage while cracking a nut between your shoulder blades during all push-ups.

- Simultaneously suck in your gut and brace your abs: As mentioned earlier, the push-up is a great core exercise that requires good muscular endurance for your deep spinal stabilizers. By pulling your navel to your spine and bracing your abs as if you we about to be kicked in the gut, you will best activate those key core muscles while performing push-ups.

- Simultaneously tense your thighs and squeeze your glutes: The straighter your legs during the push-up the more stable you will be. This is easily accomplished by tensing your thighs throughout the exercise. Furthermore, tense your butt cheeks- this helps relax overactive hip flexors, thus alleviating unnecessary strain on the lower back.

- Power breathing: In general, seek to focus on inhaling during the lowering portion of the push-up and then forcefully exhaling during the lifting portion of the push-up. By filling your belly with air during the lowering portion of the push-up your make it easier to stabilize your spine, meaning that your core remains locked in thus allowing for a smooth and seamless transition from the down position to the up position.

- Spread your fingers: Many people complain of wrist pain while they do push-ups. This usually stems from a combination of a lack of mobility at the wrist joint and a lack of flexibility of the forearm flexors and extensors. Plus, many people simply have weak wrists from a lack of weight-bearing exercises in their daily routine. Think about it- we do not do as much as we used to do with our hands and are rarely in a position where our wrists our supporting our entire body weight (besides when doing push-ups). One way to take pressure off of your wrists during push-ups is to focus on spreading your fingers as far apart as possible. This expands the surface area and thus dissipates some of the excess strain on the wrists. Furthermore, doing fist push-ups or push-ups with your hands on a dumbbell (or push-up handles) tends to significantly alleviate if not eliminate any unwanted wrist issues. This neutral grip allows you get all of the benefits of push-ups so that your wrists do not continue to be the biggest limiting factor for your push-up goals. In addition, the neutral grip also makes it easier to keep your helps tucked to your sides and shoulders down and back for optimal shoulder safety.

- Be flat as a diving board: Throughout the entire movement, the key is to maintain a straight line from the heels through the shoulders. You must not let your hips sag as this will put undue strain on your lower back in the form of hyperextension. Furthermore, you must avoid raising or “piking” your hips because this not only takes a way much needed core work, but also results in a rounding of the upper back that potentially results in unwanted shoulder issues (impingement, rotator cuff strains, etc.).

The Official “Be-A-Push-Up-Pro” Program

Step#1- Find your current Push-up Total

Assuming a regular floor push-up position, perform as many reps as possible (AMRAP) with perfect form and technique in 60 seconds. Be sure to place a tennis ball or yoga brick on the floor- your chest must make contact with this object to count as a full rep. Record your rep total and then take 60 seconds of rest (no longer). Repeat by performing one more set of AMRAP in 60 seconds and then record your second set total. Add both your set one and set two totals and then divide by two. This is your current push-up total.

Step#2- Follow the custom push-up boot camp program based on your current push-up total:

The following program will systematically take you from level I to level IV six weeks at a time (not including a week of rest between levels). It is important to note that you must be following the appropriate fat loss training (total body strength circuits and cardio interval training) and nutrition plan to lose unwanted body fat that is weighing you down and literally halting your push-up totals in its tracks. In addition, be sure to change up the selected push-up variation at each and every strength workout to best prevent training plateaus. Here’s an example of how to switch things up for one week of training:

Day1- Close-Grip Push-up Variation (to emphasize the triceps and front shoulders to improve push-up lockout)

Day2- Loaded/Band-Resisted Push-up Variation (to improve strength and thus make it easier to perform body weight push-ups)

Day3- Stability Ball Push-up Variation- Hands Ball (to build trunk and scapular strength stability to prevent injury and maximize force output)

Remember, the better you get at every push-up variation the better you will get at regular push-ups. Once you achieve a current push-up total of 30 reps or more, you will notice the focus now will be on getting stronger by mastering the 1-arm push-up. Improving maximum strength automatically improves your muscular endurance, though it doesn’t work the same the other way around.

Please note that you should only follow this program if you have healthy shoulders. In addition, since you will be performing extra pushing movements, it is critical to add in some scapular retraction and depression work to prevent unwanted strength imbalances. Please note the addition of a certain amount of reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats following each set of push-ups for your “Extra Push-up Work” to achieve this end. The Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squat was selected because it simultaneously works your upper back and opens up your chest while working your lower body to boost metabolism. Plus, it’s an exercise you can do anywhere. Lastly, the “Extra Push-up Work” is best performed throughout the day to be fresh and allow for full recovery:

LEVEL: 1
CURRENT PUSH-UP TOTAL: 0-1
PUSH-UP PROTOCOL:
- Main Strength Workout: Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts

- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of negative push-ups with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off):

Week1- 5 sets of 2 reps of 5-second negatives
Week2- 5 sets of 3 reps of 6-second negatives
Week3- 5 sets of 4 reps of 7-second negatives
Week4- 5 sets of 5 reps of 8-second negatives
Week5- 5 sets of 5 reps of 9-second negatives
Week6- 5 sets of 5 reps of 10-second negatives

- Follow each set of push-ups with 10 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats

LEVEL: 2
CURRENT PUSH-UP TOTAL: 2-5
PUSH-UP PROTOCOL:
- Main Strength Workout: Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts

- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of regular floor push-ups with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off):

Week1- 5 sets of 1 rep
Week2- 5 sets of 2 reps
Week3- 5 sets of 3 reps
Week4- 5 sets of 4 reps
Week5- 5 sets of 5 reps
Week6- 5 sets of 6 reps

- Follow each set of push-ups with 20 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats

LEVEL: 3
CURRENT PUSH-UP TOTAL: 6-12
PUSH-UP PROTOCOL:
- Main Strength Workout: Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts

- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of regular floor push-ups with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off):

Week1- 5 sets of 5 reps
Week2- 5 sets of 6 reps
Week3- 5 sets of 7 reps
Week4- 5 sets of 8 reps
Week5- 5 sets of 9 reps
Week6- 5 sets of 10 reps

- Follow each set of push-ups with 30 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats

LEVEL: 4
CURRENT PUSH-UP TOTAL: 13-20
PUSH-UP PROTOCOL:
- Main Strength Workout: Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts

- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of regular floor push-ups with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off):

Week1- 5 sets of 10 reps
Week2- 5 sets of 12 reps
Week3- 5 sets of 14 reps
Week4- 5 sets of 16 reps
Week5- 5 sets of 18 reps
Week6- 5 sets of 20 reps

- Follow each set of push-ups with 40 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats

LEVEL: 5
CURRENT PUSH-UP TOTAL: 21-30
PUSH-UP PROTOCOL:
- Main Strength Workout: Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts

- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of regular floor push-ups with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off):

Week1- 5 sets of 20 reps
Week2- 5 sets of 22 reps
Week3- 5 sets of 24 reps
Week4- 5 sets of 26 reps
Week5- 5 sets of 28 reps
Week6- 5 sets of 30 reps

- Follow each set of push-ups with 50 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats

LEVEL: 6
CURRENT PUSH-UP TOTAL: 31 +
PUSH-UP PROTOCOL:
- Main Strength Workout: Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts

- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of a 1-arm push-ups variation with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off). Progress from stage 1 to stage 3 in choosing the appropriate 1-arm push-up variation:

Week1- 5 sets of 1 rep
Week2- 5 sets of 2 reps
Week3- 5 sets of 3 reps
Week4- 5 sets of 4 reps
Week5- 5 sets of 5 reps
Week6- 5 sets of 6 reps

Stage1- Modified 1-Arm Push-ups on Knees/Inclined

Stage2- Regular 1-Arm Push-ups 5-secondNegatives

Stage3- Regular 1-Arm Push-ups

- Follow each set of push-ups with 60 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats

Step#3- Re-Test Your Current Push-up Total

At the end of each 6-week training block, take 5 full days of rest before re-testing your new push-up total exactly as previously outlined in step one. Record your new push-up total and then take the rest of the week off for recovery before moving on to the next level of push-up boot camp.

Well, you now know everything you need to know to safely and effectively perform more push-ups than 99+% of the world. Remember, the leaner you are the better you will be at push-ups and the more push-ups you can do, the better you will look- time to master the push-up!

Top 10 Basic Nutritional Guidelines

Back to basics. As a trainer, I am on my clients on a daily basis talking about nutrition. I have to because this is always the thing that holds people back from truly reaching their fitness goals. I see it all the time: people are strong in their workouts, but weak in the kitchen.

Remember those goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year? Well, I want you to look at that list and ask yourself if you’re doing everything you can to reach your fitness goals. Most of you will probably say no. So let’s get back to basics and refocus on why you made the decision to get fit in the first place.

Here are 10 Basic Nutritional Guidelines that everyone should follow on a daily basis:

1. Get used to the taste of food without dressings, sweeteners, etc. Ultimately you'll grow to like the natural taste of foods that you once thought tasted bland.

2. Try to eat more like a true vegetarian (i.e. the bulk of the diet should come from fruits, veggies, unprocessed and unbleached food). But don't get me wrong; I don't want you swearing off meat.

3. "Supplement" your unprocessed vegetarian-like diet with the high-protein foods such as chicken breast, lean meats, and fish.

4. Add healthy oils to your foods such as fish oil and milled flax seeds.

5. Drink only calorie-free beverages (green tea, water, etc.).

6. Unfortunately the worst foods usually are the most convenient and the most processed foods. Avoid eating for convenience alone. Stay away from any and all kinds of microwaveable dinners.

7. Avoid any easy-to-prepare breakfast foods (waffles, french toast, etc) as they're loaded with fattening trans-fatty acids.

8. Avoid products containing the ingredients or words "partially hydrogenated," "high fructose corn syrup," etc.

9. Avoid fast/fried food.

10. Avoid foods or meals that are high in both fat and carbohydrates.

It is not enough to adopt just 1 or 2 of the above. You have to commit yourself to make these changes. I hate to tell you, but if you can’t handle these simple guidelines, it will be tough to reach your fitness goals. So as Nike says: JUST DO IT!