Drop the Quantitative Goals and replace them with Behavioral Goals.
Quantitative
goal-setting is based on an estimated outcome. When it comes to
body-fat loss, this type of goal setting is nothing more than a
guesstimate; an educated guess of what you “should” be able to
accomplish. Predicting the exact rate of fat loss with an individual is
well beyond the abilities of any fitness expert. When a client asks me,
“how much body-fat can I lose in 2 months?” I tell them, “as much
body-fat as your physiology will allow.”
Read More
A well designed strength program can produce a better looking and functioning body; this process is called adaptation.
The
main law of adaptation states that in order to improve strength and
fitness, you must expose the muscles to unaccustomed physical stress.
Once adaptation has occurred and the stress is no longer unaccustomed,
you must present the training stimulus in a different manner. Presenting
exercises in the same manner over extended periods of time will
eventually lose effectiveness and progress will come to a halt; this
biological response is known as accommodation(1).
The law of accommodation states that, the response to a consistent
stimulus will decrease over time. To circumvent accommodation the
trainee must make qualitative (exercise) or quantitative (protocols)
changes to their training.
Read More
“We have found virtually no relationship between the percentage of calories from fat and any important health outcome.”
Walter Willet, MD, DrPH, Chairman-Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health
Conventional wisdom states, “High cholesterol is bad and we must take steps to lower cholesterol by avoiding fatty foods.” You’ve heard this so many times that you would assume this recommendation is based on reliable evidence. But at best, the evidence against saturated fat and cholesterol is shaky and indirect.
Read More
What makes a strength training program good?
Is it good if it makes you sweaty, nauseous and leaves you incapacitated for several hours? Fortunately no, sweat and nausea can be produced by eating tainted Indian food (or any bad food); temporary physical symptoms are not a guarantee of an effective program.
A good program is a well-designed program that achieves a specific goal for the participant; the key word here is DESIGN. Design suggests planning with an end goal in mind. Randomly combining a bunch of difficult exercises does not qualify as design; design requires a specific goal from the participant or participants.
Read More
“Behind every worthwhile curve, there is a muscle.” – Dr. Lynne Pirie “Getting Built”
Every day, countless people embark on exercise programs that promise to make them “long and lean”, “firm and strong,” or “ripped and functional,” all in record time.
Everyone from talk show hosts to hip-hop dance instructors are getting in the mix, pedaling programs that are “scientifically proven” to perfectly sculpt your body or reshape your glutes to perfection.
Read More
We all love sugar. Sweets make us happy; have you ever seen anyone frowning while eating a hot fudge sundae? Sugar is in all the cookies, cakes, and pies that we devour with friends and family during holidays and celebrations. Wherever something fun is happening, sugar is close by ready to provide a short boost of energy.
The problem lies in the quantity and frequency in which most people consume sugar. Humans are well equipped to deal with an infrequent surge of sugar; we don’t do well when it becomes a part of our daily food intake. A little bit of sugar is actually bad for you; a lot of sugar is really bad and will shorten your lifespan.
Here are my top 5 reasons why you should eliminate sugar from your daily menu.
Read More
1) If the vegan/vegetarian lifestyle catches on, it may
reduce the price of grass-fed beef due to decreased demand. This will save me an
ass-load of money and I’m all for saving money.
2) Whenever a new pro-vegan/vegetarian study is published,
it decreases my wait time at the meat counter (I don’t even have to take a
number). Awesome!!!
3) If by lucky chance I happen to be amongst a pack of vegan
males, I feel like a freaking superhero because I have well-defined muscles and
they don’t.
GO VEGANS
Swimsuit weather will be here within weeks. If you have not been diligent with your diet this winter, I’ve designed a simple plan that can jumpstart body fat loss.
This menu is designed for those on a tight schedule and it does not require a lot of planning. If you want to get lean, but you don’t have time to prepare multiple meals or eat 5 times/day, intermittent fasting is an effective way to lose body fat.
Read More
1. Get enough deep and restful sleep. If you can wake up without an alarm clock, you are probably getting enough sleep. For most, 7 -9 hours of deep restful sleep is ideal. When I say deep and restful, that means you get uninterrupted continuous sleep; no bathroom breaks, no tossing and turning, just sleep. The following suggestions may help you accomplish this:
-No food or drink, only water, 2 hours before bedtime
· No caffeine or stimulants after 2 pm
· Take 300-500 mg of a high quality magnesium supplement with you last meal or snack
· Make sure all electronic devices are off and at least 4 feet from your bed
· Room should be pitch black
Read More
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have determined that healthy young adults (18-25 yrs of age) who took an Omega-3 supplement for 6 months, experienced an improvement in working memory.
Read More