Training

Build muscle to burn fat

Nutrition, Training, Weekly Motivation

BY Scott Sonnon

We’ve known for years that muscle tissue is highly active
metabolically, and it helps us burn more calories during the day. So
more muscle equals better fat burn, right? Unfortunately that’s only
partly true — and not to the extent we once believed. A pound of
muscle is now thought to burn an extra 6 calories per hour (as
opposed to the 25 or more per hour we once believed). You’d have to
pack on an awful lot of beef to make much difference.

But that’s only one side of the equation. Muscle mass provides a
number of other important benefits, foremost of which is better
management of insulin. Insulin is your “storage” hormone. Its job is
to transport fuel into your cells. The higher your ratio of fat to
lean tissue, the less sensitive your lean tissue becomes to insulin.
Basically, when your body fat percentage creeps too high and insulin
comes knocking, your lean mass stops answering the door. If you see
a vicious cycle in all of this, you’re right!

One way to encourage your muscles to start answering the door again is through resistance exercise aimed at growth. Why is it important to improve insulin sensitivity? Well, if your muscles don’t answer the door, guess who will… Yep, your fat cells are always ready with a warm welcome.

To top it all off, long slow cardio can actually cause you to LOSE
muscle because it increases your level of cortisol. If you focus
instead on short bursts of high intensity effort using exercises
that target the entire body in all its ranges of motion, you can
actually BUILD muscle while you do your cardio! Fat burning just got
easier, and a lot more fun.

Turn Your Body Into A Fat Burning Machine with a program from The ALIVE EXPERIENCE.

Build muscle to burn fat Read More »

Fat Burning Tips with Chad Waterbury

1 Comment / Training

What are your top three fat burning tips? Actually, let’s start with three for training and then we’ll go into three for nutrition.

CW: The first step is to make your cardio training short and intense. Tabata’s research taught us that high intensity cardio is the way to go because you’ll boost your anaerobic and aerobic power at the same time, and you’ll stimulate your metabolism to burn calories long after you leave the gym. Low-intensity cardio only burns calories while you’re doing it. High intensity cardio stimulates your metabolism to keep burning calories long after you stop.

Next, for every other workout it’s important to lift weights that are heavy enough to recruit your biggest, strongest muscle fibers. A 6-10 rep maximum is enough to get the job done when you accelerate the lift. There are two reasons why this is important. First, you’ll keep the muscle you have because you’re recruiting all of your muscle fibers. As I’ve mentioned in my books and articles, when you recruit the largest muscle fibers you’re also recruiting all of the other muscle fibers because of the size principle. As the saying goes: if you don’t use it, you lose it. Second, when heavy weights are performed in a full-body circuit with short rest periods, it drastically increases the metabolic cost of a workout. That’s essential for burning fat. But you can’t do much heavy training while cutting fat, so that’s why the next step is so important.

Third, you must perform cardio and cardio strength exercises at top speed.  There are no typical cardio exercises in my world. Instead of jogging on a treadmill I have my clients perform a circuit of, say, split jacks, jumping jacks, and burpees for multiple rounds as fast as possible. Then I have them do exercise pairings that don’t require a lot of weight, but still recruit all your muscle fibers when performed at top speed. I call this “cardio strength” training. A good example is the kettlebell swing and push-up pairing. Start with 13 swings, then immediately drop to the floor and do 13 push-ups. Jump back to your feet and do 12 swings followed by 12 push-ups. Then do 11 swings and 11 push-ups. Continue with this sequence until you reach one rep of each exercise.

Home

Fat Burning Tips with Chad Waterbury Read More »

A Late Night Snack…Guilt Free?

Training, Weekly Motivation

by Joel Marion of bodytransformationinsider.com

As I sit here and type this, the time reads 11:06 PM. And you know what? I’m eating.

*Gasp*

What?? Eating after 7 PM?! Yes, I know, I’m breaking the rules.

But frankly, that’s what I do.

When rules don’t make sense to me, I simply choose not to follow them (unless, of course, those “rules” are “laws”…not really into the whole illegal activity thing).

But as far as the whole “no eating after 7″ nonsense goes, I break that one just about every day.

And so should you.

Here’s why:

Well, first, let me just say that most general rules of thumb in the fitness world are oversimplifications, and the whole “Don’t eat after X o’clock” is no exception.

The recommendation is based on the idea that metabolism slows in the evening hours as you prepare for bed, and eating during this time should be avoided so as not to have those calories stored as fat.

A good premise, but again, oversimplified.

What we really want to avoid in the evening are foods that give rise to insulin, specifically carbohydrates, and for several reasons.

First, when blood insulin levels rise, fat burning takes a dive and a “storage” environment is created within the body. This is a good thing after exercise or after an overnight fast to allow the body to “refuel”, but not so good when metabolism is falling off in the evening hours.

Secondly, something called insulin sensitivity drops drastically in the evening, which simply means that your body is not as responsive to insulin at night as it is during the day. When insulin sensitivity is low, carbohydrates are easily stored as fat.

Needless to say, we can see why eating carbohydrates late at night isn’t a smart move, but that doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t eat anything.

Just think about what not eating does to muscle tissue.

If you finished dinner at 7 P.M. and then ate nothing until you woke up the next morning at 7 A.M., you just went a full 12-hours without feeding your muscles whatsoever.

This is a sure recipe for muscle loss, especially when dieting and already restricting calories.

Now, you may be thinking “I don’t really care about muscle”, but believe me, you do.

When you lose muscle, metabolism slows, and weight-loss becomes all that much harder. Regardless of your physique goals, you want to maintain as much calorie burning muscle as possible.

Always.

So, in order to curb late-night cravings and support muscle tissue maintenance, a small meal consisting of mostly slow digesting protein and fibrous green veggies within a couple hours of bed works best.

Animal protein (chicken, fish, beef, etc) are great choices for a late night meal, as is something like cottage cheese. Both digest slowly over time, providing a mild, but steady influx of nutrients to muscle throughout the night, all while not interfering with your insulin levels.

Or maybe I’m just a rebel who doesn’t know what the heck he’s talking about? 😉

Got a favorite late night meal or snack? Agree? Disagree?

A Late Night Snack…Guilt Free? Read More »

The 12 Best Smoothie Ingredient

Nutrition, Training

You can boost your brain, build muscle, burn fat, and help your heart in less than one minute: Just mix up a smoothie and slurp. It’s that simple—if you include these dozen add-ins that not only pack health benefits, but also make your shake taste even better.

Peanut Butter

Packed with protein, manganese, and niacin, peanuts can help stave off heart disease and, when eaten in moderation, promote weight loss.

Fat-Free Milk

All the calcium and protein, none of the fat.

Blueberries

The huge amounts of antioxidants, such as anthocyanins, in blueberries have been shown to slow brain decline and reverse memory loss.

Low-Fat Vanilla Yogurt

A cache of calcium and digestion-aiding probiotics in every scoop.

Raspberries

An antioxidant powerhouse bursting with fiber, manganese, and vitamin C, these berries will keep your heart and brain in top shape.

Fat-Free Chocolate Frozen Yogurt

Calcium, phosphorus, and none of the guilt.

Pineapple-Orange Juice

OJ has vitamin C, and pineapples contain bromelain, a cancer-inhibiting, inflammation-reducing enzyme

Cherries

In addition to their vitamin C and fiber content, cherries have been linked to reducing arthritis pain.

Bananas

Heavy on potassium, fiber, and vitamin B6, bananas do wonders for your heart and provide good carbs to keep you full and energized.

Whey Protein

Its essential amino acids help pack on the muscle—making whey the best friend of athletes and gym rats.

Frozen Mangoes

To their stock of vitamins A and C, mangoes add a healthy dose of beta-carotene, which helps prevent cancer and promotes healthy skin.

Ice

A little H2O never hurt anyone.

** This is great for a morning breakfast or a Post workout.**

The 12 Best Smoothie Ingredient Read More »

The Hidden Dangers of Your Excess Abdominal Fat – It’s More Serious Than a Vanity Issue!

Nutrition, Training, Weekly Motivation

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat? The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body.

However, what most people don’t realize is that excess abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is also a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has clearly demonstrated that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat.

There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles.

The second type of fat that you have in your abdominal area is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat also plays a role in giving certain men that “beer belly” appearance where their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.

Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal area are serious health risk factors, but science has shown that having excessive visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Both of them greatly increase the risk your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases.

Part of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that it apparently releases more inflammatory molecules into your body on a consistent basis.

If you care about the quality of your life and your loved ones, reducing your abdominal fat should be one of your TOP priorities! There’s just no way around it. Besides, a side-effect of finally getting rid of all of that excessive ugly abdominal fat is that your stomach will flatten out, and if you lose enough stomach fat, you will be able to visibly see those sexy six pack abs that everyone wants.

So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat? Is there actually a REAL solution beyond all of the gimmicks and hype that you see in ads and on commercials for “miracle” fat loss products?

The first thing you must understand is that there is absolutely NO quick fix solution. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster. Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can’t spot reduce your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It simply doesn’t work that way.

The ONLY solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a properly designed strategic exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right.

I’ve actually even seen a particular study that divided thousands of participants into a diet-only group and an exercise/diet group. While both groups in this study made good progress, the diet-only group lost significantly LESS abdominal fat than the diet & exercise combined group.

Now the important thing to realize is that just any old exercise program will not necessarily do the trick. The majority of people that attempt getting into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to really stimulate the loss of stubborn abdominal fat. I see this everyday at the gym.

Most people will do your typical boring ineffective cardio routines, throw in a little outdated body-part style weight training, and pump away with some crunches and side bends, and think that they are doing something useful for reducing their abdominal fat. Then they become frustrated after weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went wrong.

Well, the good news is that I’ve spent over a decade researching this topic, analyzing the science, and applying it “in the trenches” with myself as well as thousands of my clients from all over the world to see what works to really stimulate abdominal fat loss.

The entire solution… all of the nutritional strategies, as well as training sequences, exercise combinations, and more have all been compiled in my Truth About Six Pack Abs Program.

Keep in mind that the point of this whole program is NOT abdominal exercises (that is only a very small portion of it). The main point of this program is showing you the absolute most effective strategies for losing your stubborn abdominal fat, so you can get rid of that dangerous health risk, as well as get a flatter more defined midsection.

If you follow the guidelines, you WILL lose your belly fat that has been plaguing you for years. This is not guesswork… it is a proven system that works time and time again for all of my clients on every corner of the globe that actually apply the information I teach. If you apply it, the results will come. It’s really that simple.

The only reason most people fail in their fitness goals is that they have good intentions at first to adopt a new lifestyle, yet after a few weeks or months, they abandon their good intentions and slip right back into their old bad habits that gave them the excess body fat in the first place.

I want to help you succeed in finally getting rid of that extra abdominal fat that is not only UGLY, but also DANGEROUS.

Don’t waste another day allowing that nasty abdominal fat to kill your confidence as well as contribute to your risk for MAJOR diseases.

Train hard, eat right, and enjoy life!

The Hidden Dangers of Your Excess Abdominal Fat – It’s More Serious Than a Vanity Issue! Read More »