The Vlog

Many individuals love cardio for weight loss. In fact, cardio is almost synonymous with weight loss for these people. They know it burns calories and the weight obviously comes off. Yes, cardio works. However, the price of cardio comes at a price. The price is muscle mass loss. Why should you care? A couple of reasons: the amount of calories you need per day goes down (which is definitely not a good thing if you’re already dieting) and you will not get the “tone” you need. What can one do to prevent this from happening? Strength training. Strength training combined with cardio is a great way to build strength, cardiovascular endurance, and a great body. The truth is, if you had the choice to only do one or the other, you should do strength training. Why you ask. The reason is that strength training done for the same duration as cardio will actually burn MORE fat than cardio and will preserve all of your lean muscle mass (which means more tone)! But I’m not recommending that you only do strength training, I believe cardio combined with strength training is just too powerful to not recommend for any individual trying to lose weight.

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To many older folks, a good breakfast might consist of some toast with butter and some sort of potato dish (along with whatever else). After eating this type of breakfast regularly for decades, some individuals have been surprised to find out they have diabetes. They rightfully have stated “hey, I’ve been eating whole grains and a vegetable with only a little butter for a long time. How in the hell could I have gotten diabetes?” One has to acknolwedge that these folks followed the advice of the government and most nutritionists. But the advice given by nutritionists to consume whole grains and vegetables must be qualified. Believe it or not, there are some vegetables and some combination of foods which cause high blood sugar and high insulin secretion. One such combination is the potato plus butter (even if its on toast). Insulin after this combination is so high that you might as well be eating jellybeans every breakfast (or dinner if you have a potato for dinner as well).

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You don’t see as many girls with nice abs as you do with the guys. Why not? Is it male genetics? I don’t think so. Is it cultural? Absolutely. Observe that pro-bodybuilder’s training is almost identical for both men and women. Although some of these women look freakish, they could still quite easily obtain what most women would kill for. What can the average women do to get that 6-pack? Most women I know could probably lower their carb-intake drastically. This I know is true: eat too little carbs and it has a neglible impact on your body composition. Eat too much carbs and it has a huge impact on your body composition; you will get fatter. I like low-carb for women. The other big thing women can do is to lift heavier weight and use lower repetitions like in the 4-12 rep range. Most women I know don’t know what it means to “lift to failure.” It simply means lifting to muscular failure, NOT lifting until you feel tired or you don’t feel like doing it anymore. For a normal women, strict adhererance to a low-carb diet with this type of lifting would yield a complete body transformation. But don’t get me wrong, it is intense.

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Everyone’s whose read this blog has heard at least one time in their life to avoid saturated fats. Why? The research points to the fact that saturated fat is implicated in cardiovascular disease. However, many researchers and academics have pointed out that much of the research is questionable because many studies neglected to mention whether the saturated fat was hydrogenated and many studies generalized about all saturated fat after only using one type of saturated fat in their study. These are valid criticisms considering the research-proven cardiovascaular benefits of such saturated fats as coconut oil. While I urge individuals to focus on higher quality saturated fats such as coconut oil and organic butter, I would also caution individuals to avoid high amounts of saturated fats, especially in the evening. But I’m not worried about your heart with saturated fat, I’m more concerned with insulin. Saturated fat has been shown to increase the insulin response to a meal in many studies. If you are eating a large breakfast that includes milk (saturated fat) with a couple of pieces of toast with butter (saturated fat), watch out! In this case, I would consume skim milk and use a organic non-dairy butter spray if you want to minimize your insulin response. Remember, the more insulin your body produces, the more fat you are likely to store. Managing your insulin is especially important to control weight loss and to prevent diabetes.

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If you happen to be overweight (or not), let me ask you a question. If you could lower your blood pressure, increase “feel good” neurotransmitters, reduce your risk of cancer, get stronger, prevent osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, would you do it? The trick is that you must buy into the fact that you want a great body. Do you see what I’m getting at? We all talk about exercising and losing weight, but what would this mean in real life? It means developing a great body composition! Although it’s “vain” to strive towards the six-pack and slim waistline, it actually has tremendous health and life-saving benefits. This is something I don’t want you to forget, so when someone asks you why you’re working so hard and they assume your just doing it to look good, you’ll be educated enough to know that you are doing something great for your body, something that is very purposeful.

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If you’re a bodybuilder, you’ll likely lose in a fight to the skinny and QUICKER boxer. If you’re a powerlifter, you’re likely out of breathe after climbing 5 stories. If you play any particular sport, you’ll likely fall prey to common overuse injuries. What is my point in illustrating these examples? When it comes down to surviving and even thriving in everyday life such as going out the club and having confidence, sprinting from a group of robbers, being able to do a pull-up after hanging off of a cliff, and most important NOT having a knee or hip replacement when you get older, you need different physical skills. If you were a financial millionaire and there was a depression, you know you would be okay. What I’m talking about is becoming a phyical millionaire. What skills are essential to become a physical millionairre? These include raw strength, strength endurance, speed, quickness, agility, coordination, balance, body awareness, good body composition, flexibility, and even education. Basically, what I’m talking about is building a balanced body. One must invest the time and energy to build their body just as much as they build their spiritual or financial lives.

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I used to think dumbbells and barbells were the only way to get strong. Not true! Bands are da bomb. I always have my clients buy them in case they go on vacation. If you decide to do a workout at home, during travel, or out at a park, bands can be one of the most useful and convenient tools around. Plus, they’re light and can fit easily into any gym bag or suitcase. For exercises like push-ups, rows, and overhead presses, the bands will work the end of the range of motion because that’s where the tension is at its highest. And if you think about it, for exercises like push-ups and overhead presses, the end of the range of motion is the easiest part, so bands add in a new dimension to these type of exercises. As far as which bands to buy, I personally like SPRI bands.

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This is more of a product review, but just so you know I have nothing to gain from promoting this little gem. The Gym Boss is a small handheld interval timer with two adjustable clocks and beeps (high and low), and vibrates. It is great because if you are the type of person who talks in the gym or get’s lazy, you just set the rest timer and the work timer and get busy! There’s something funny about the little beeper which cues you in that you have to work out. Do you want to know the best thing about it? People don’t mess with you! They might ask, but you can hastily tell them that it is a small interval timer. It’s awesome and I use it for all of my workouts as well as some of my clients.

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Many things contribute to the support of losing weight. They may be a personal trainer, a group of people in a bootcamp, a food log, journaling, seeking help from a health professional, etc. The point is that without these support systems, one will not succeed in the long run. Many people think the most important thing to losing weight is the actual exercise and nutrition. That’s laughable. It comes down to knowng yourself enough to do the things necessary for you to get the support you need and to quell those things which distract you. Some people already have it setup for them while otehrs will have to restructure their whole lives. It can take some getting used to, but if you work at it long enough, it will “automatically” happen.

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