Hierarchy Of Fat Loss

Below is a re-post of a blog post I did last year and below that is the expanded version with research citations from the original presenter.

Enclosed is a re-post of a blog entry that I did last year.  Below it is the expanded version including research citations from the original presenter.

I also wanted to address traditional “cardio” vs. intervals and/or strength training. The post below depicts WHY for  the primary goal of FAT LOSS, traditional cardio (long bouts of steady state work) is basically a misuse of your time. In addition, I know that if STRENGTH is your primary goal then long bouts of steady state work will contradict this goal as well because it is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum in terms of muscle fiber type, energy systems and specificity. Basically, you ruin your strength training.

However, if you goal is to compete in an endurance event or you just plain LOVE running, biking, swimming long distances then it can have a place. You just have to use it wisely and train for it accordingly.  This means, you should  get strong enough for those activities, whether it be resistance training or sprinting.    This means you must watch the volume of your training and really LISTEN to your body. IF something hurts   STOP DOING IT, do not just ignore it and chalk it up to “no pain, no gain” or “I’m just getting old.”    That’s like having a check engine light on in your car and  covering it up with a shirt so you can’t see it, or worse,  having a flat and continuing to drive on it.
Big takeaways:

1) Know what your goal is.     Fat loss, building strength, endurance performance, sports performance are ALL very different goals. There is some crossover but you need to know WHAT you are training for.

2) Do the highest return activities that will get you to your goals.

3) listen to YOUR body .   If what you are doing is not working then something needs to change. Do not do the same thing and expect different results.  Remember Einstein… the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results!  (I’d double check that to make sure it’s right!)

SM

Sergiom_personaltrainer@yahoo.com

Re-post:

“Get ripped, lean out”, “lose fat”,  “keep my butt from sagging”…. This is what  I hear everyday when I ask people what their goals are with their fitness regime.   I just watched a DVD  of a seminar I attended last year by a very well respected fitness professional named Alwyn Cosgrove.  The seminar had some great guidelines  for fat-loss which were all PRACTICAL and RESEARCH based. Research based fitness regimes are important, if you follow them closely it is highly likely that  IT WORKS.

We will start with the Hierarchy of Fat-Loss from the most important to the least:

1) Nutrition

2) See #1, yes it’s that important

3) Activities that promote lean body mass, burn calories and raise metabolism

4) Activities that raise metabolism and burn calories

5) Activities that burn calories

Now we understand Nutrition is KEY and if you expect a change in body composition you need to tweak your nutritional habits. (more on this later).

As for the activities here is what number  3, 4 and 5 correspond to in real life:

1) Strength training and metabolic acceleration training (MET). The first part is a progressive strength training routine which promotes lean body mass. Also, in the case that  you are in a caloric deficit ,you can keep or gain muscle with strength training . The second part is called MET, which is what I typically call metabolic conditioning, this includes timed sets, circuits, countdowns, tabatas and “cardio strength” mixed in with intervals. This type of work can elevate your metabolism for up to 36 hours afterwords!

2) Anaerobic intervals, these are intervals done at a pace that leaves you breathing hard by the end of the set above 85% max HR

3) Aerobic Intervals, intervals in a zone where you are left aware of your breathing under 85% HR

4) Aerobic conditioning, includes long distance pace work

If you have:

1-3 hours a week use #1

3-5 hours use 1 and 2

6 plus hours add in 3 and 4

Here is a Nutrition Checklist as summarized by the seminar:

1) Eat a big breakfast

2) Eat at regular intervals throughout the day

3) eat 3-5 meals a day

4) reduce the amount of refined carbs in the diet, basically go low-carb, eat most of your carbohydrates in the form of vegetables, Eat a LOT of VEGGIES!

5) Supplement with Fish Oil as well as protein if you are not eating protein at every meal

6) balance your Glycemic Load, in other words eat carbs, protein and fat during EVERY meal

7) drink tons of water, (a good rule of thumb is to drink 1/2 body-weight in ounces)

All the recommendations above are  backed by research and applied to everyday gym goers, and it works!  (If you want to borrow the DVD let me know!)

Note that strength training has to be progressive and challenging. Just lifting a weight WILL NOT get it done. Become technically sound at a lift then overload it and lift heavy! Also note that the MET type of training should be activities that you are proficient at and can use to get a cardio response as well as strength training. I post videos and articles on this freqently since this is the hardest to “get.”

The bottom line is that you need  to plan what you will eat for the week.

Use these nutriton tips, strength train hard and get in some MET and enjoy the results!

If you have any questions or comments do not hesitate to contact me

Happy training

SM

Sergiom_personaltrainer@yahoo.com

Hierarchy Of Fat Loss

January 26th, 2010

The Hierarchy of Fat Loss
by Alwyn Cosgrove

Time for Fat Loss

“Fat loss is an all-out war. Give it 28 days — only 28 days. Attack it with all you have. It’s not a lifestyle choice; it’s a battle. Lose fat and then get back into moderation. There’s another one for you: moderation. Revelation says it best: ‘You are lukewarm and I shall spit you out.’ Moderation is for sissies.”

— Dan John, legend

I’ve been training people for a long time. I own a gym that has several trainers training several people. Despite all the athletes we’ve worked with over the years, by far the single biggest client request has been fat loss.

I’ve made more money from the fat loss market than any other single client group. Over the years my methods have evolved and been refined by what I see in the gym. Simply put, if I can get 20 pounds of fat off a client faster than my competition, I have a higher demand for my services.

I’ve written several articles on fat loss and answered countless questions on the topic. One of the questions I get a lot is:

“I’m <insert something here> and I’m trying to lose fat. How can I do that without <insert losing strength/speed/muscle here.>”

Basically, powerlifters want to keep powerlifting, mixed martial artists want to keep fighting, and recreational bodybuilders want to maintain their muscle mass, all while losing fat. Their massive fear of negatively impacting their athletic performance by not focusing on it for a short time is largely unfounded.

I think whenever we try to pursue two goals at once we tend to compromise results. This is usually because we have a limited resource: time. If our goal is to generate fat loss, then using a periodized training approach with a specific fat loss phase (e.g. four weeks, eight weeks, etc.) where we focus exclusively on fat loss will always yield better results in the long term than trying to juggle two goals at once.

For example, a powerlifter trying to drop a weight class or lean out will be better served by not powerlifting for a period of time. By focusing on getting lean and then going back to powerlifting training, he won’t fall into the downward spiral of trying to maintain his lifts and get lean at the same time. A 16 week program that includes 8 weeks of hardcore fat loss training, followed by 8 weeks of powerlifting work, will likely yield better results than 16 weeks of trying to do both simultaneously.

With our regular clients or with ourselves, we’re usually extremely limited with time. Most of us can only train three to four times per week. With that in mind — with time being our limiting factor — how do we maximize fat loss? Is there a hierarchy of fat loss techniques? I think so.

Before I get into it, I want to share with you something Mike Boyle said when he did a staff training at my facility a couple of months ago:

“The information presented is my opinion based on over 25 years of coaching experience, communication with several professionals in my field, and an incessant desire to better myself and improve the rate and magnitude of my clients’ results. I’m not here to argue my opinion versus your opinion. Please ask questions. I’ll explain my views but am unlikely to change them.”

I don’t have 25 years of experience (only 17), but I feel pretty much the same. Here are my thoughts.

The Hierarchy of Fat Loss

1. Correct Nutrition

There’s pretty much nothing that can be done to out-train a crappy diet. You quite simply have to create a caloric deficit while eating enough protein and essential fats. There’s no way around this.

2. See #1

Yep. It really is that important. Several trainers have espoused that the only difference between training for muscle gain and training for fat loss is your diet. I think that’s a massive oversimplification, but it does reinforce how important and effective correct nutrition is toward your ultimate goal.

3. Activities that burn calories, maintain/promote muscle mass, and elevate metabolism

I think it’s fairly obvious that the bulk of calories burned are determined by our resting metabolic rate or RMR. The amount of calories burned outside of our resting metabolism (through exercise, thermic effect of feeding, etc.) is a smaller contributor to overall calories burned per day.

We can also accept that RMR is largely a function of how much muscle you have on your body — and how hard it works. Therefore, adding activities that promote or maintain muscle mass will make that muscle mass work harder and elevate the metabolic rate. This will become our number one training priority when developing fat loss programs.

4. Activities that burn calories and elevate metabolism

The next level of fat loss programming would be a similar activity. We’re still looking at activities that eat up calories and increase EPOC.

EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption) is defined scientifically as the “recovery of metabolic rate back to pre-exercise levels” and “can require several minutes for light exercise and several hours for hard intervals.”

Essentially, we’re looking for activities that keep us burning more calories after the exercise session.

5. Activities that burn calories but don’t necessarily maintain muscle or elevate metabolism

This is the “icing on the cake” — adding in activities that’ll burn up additional calories but don’t necessarily contribute to increasing metabolism. This is the least effective tool in your arsenal as it doesn’t burn much outside of the primary exercise session.

Let’s put this fat loss continuum together in terms of our progressive training hierarchy.

Five Factors for Fat Loss Training

1. Metabolic Resistance Training

Basically we’re using resistance training as the cornerstone of our fat loss programming. Our goal is to work every muscle group hard, frequently, and with an intensity that creates a massive “metabolic disturbance” or “afterburn” that leaves the metabolism elevated for several hours post-workout.

A couple of studies to support this:

Schuenke MD, Mikat RP, McBride JM.

Effect of an acute period of resistance exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption: implications for body mass management.
Eur J Appl Physiol. 2002 Mar;86(5):411-7. Epub 2002 Jan 29.

This study used a circuit training protocol of 12 sets in 31 minutes. EPOC was elevated significantly for 38 hours post-workout.

Thirty-eight hours is a pretty significant timeframe for metabolism to be elevated. If you trained at 9AM until 10AM on Monday morning, you’re still burning more calories (without training) at midnight on Tuesday.

Can we compound this with additional training within that 38 hours? No research has been done, but I have enough case studies to believe that you can.

Another:

Kramer, Volek et al.

Influence of exercise training on physiological and performance changes with weight loss in men.

Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 31, No. 9, pp. 1320-1329, 1999.

Overweight subjects were assigned to three groups: diet-only, diet plus aerobics, diet plus aerobics plus weights. The diet group lost 14.6 pounds of fat in 12 weeks. The aerobic group lost only one more pound (15.6 pounds) than the diet group (training was three times a week starting at 30 minutes and progressing to 50 minutes over the 12 weeks).

The weight training group lost 21.1 pounds of fat (44% and 35% more than diet and aerobic only groups respectively). Basically, the addition of aerobic training didn’t result in any real world significant fat loss over dieting alone.

Thirty-six sessions of up to 50 minutes is a lot of work for one additional pound of fat loss. However, the addition of resistance training greatly accelerated fat loss results.

One more:

Bryner RW, Ullrich IH, Sauers J, Donley D, Hornsby G, Kolar M, Yeater R.

Effects of resistance vs. aerobic training combined with an 800 calorie liquid diet on lean body mass and resting metabolic rate.
J Am Coll Nutr. 1999 Apr;18(2):115-21.

The aerobic group performed four hours of aerobics per week. The resistance training group performed 2-4 sets of 8-15 reps, 10 exercises, three times per week.

V02 max increased equally in both groups. Both groups lost weight. The resistance training group lost significantly more fat and didn’t lose any LBM, even at only 800 calories per day. (The reason the calories were so low was to really take any dietary variables completely out of the equation and compare the effects of the exercise regime on LBM and metabolism.)

The resistance training group actually increased metabolism compared to the aerobic group, which decreased metabolism. It seems that resistance training is a more significant stress to the body than a starvation diet.

In my experience, full body training in a superset, tri-set, or circuit format (with non-competing exercises) in a rep range that generates lactic acid (and pushes the lactic acid threshold or LAT) seems to create the biggest metabolic demand. It makes sense: training legs, back, and chest will burn more calories and elevate metabolism more than an isolated approach training one of them.

The rep range that seems to work best is the 8-12 hypertrophy range, although going higher will work just as well with a less trained population.

For a powerlifter or an advanced bodybuilder, doing one max effort exercise or heavy, low-rep lift is more than enough to maintain your current strength levels. Examples:

Powerlifter

Exercise One: Max Effort Squat — work up to a 3RM. Transitioning into metabolic work.

Bodybuilder

Exercise Sequence:

1A: Bench press, 2-3 sets of 4-6 reps

1B: Row, 2-3 sets of 4-6 reps
Transitioning into metabolic work

2. High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training

The second key “ingredient” in fat loss programming is high intensity interval training (HIIT). I think readers of T-Nation will be well aware of the benefits of interval work. It burns more calories than steady state and elevates metabolism significantly more than other forms of cardio. The downside is that it flat-out sucks to do it!

The landmark study in interval training was from Tremblay:

Tremblay A, Simoneau JA, Bouchard C.

Impact of exercise intensity on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism.
Metabolism. 1994 Jul;43(7):814-8

This study pitted 20 weeks of endurance training against 15 weeks of interval training:

Energy cost of endurance training = 28661 calories.
Energy cost of interval training = 13614 calories (less than half)

The interval training group showed a nine times greater loss in subcutaneous fat than the endurance group (when corrected for energy cost).

Read that again. Calorie for calorie, the interval training group lost nine times more fat overall. Why? Maybe it’s EPOC, an upregulation of fat burning enzyme activity, or straight up G-Flux. I don’t care. I’m a real world guy. If the interval training group had lost the same fat as the endurance group, we’d get the same results in less time. That means interval training is a better tool in your fat loss arsenal.
3. High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training

The next tool we’ll pull out is essentially a lower intensity interval method where we use aerobic intervals.

Talanian, Galloway et al

Two weeks of High-Intensity Aerobic Interval Training increases the capacity for fat oxidation during exercise in women.
J Appl Physiol (December 14, 2006). doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01098.2006

This study looked at high-intensity aerobic interval training and its influence on fat oxidation. In summary, seven sessions of HIIT over two weeks induced marked increases in whole body and skeletal muscle capacity for fatty acid oxidation during exercise in moderately active women. In layman’s terms, the interval work appeared to “upregulate” fat burning enzymes.

Basically this means we can burn more fat in other activities as a result of this inclusion. In other words, we get some more bang for our buck.

A quick disclaimer though: my colleague Alan Aragon once said, “Caring about how much fat is burned during exercise is equivalent to worrying about how much muscle is built during exercise.” In other words, substrate utilization during exercise isn’t really an important variable in the big picture of fat loss — total calories burned overall is.

4. Steady State High Intensity Aerobic Training

Tool number four is just hard cardio work. This time we’re burning calories — we aren’t working hard enough to increase EPOC significantly or to do anything beyond the session itself. But calories do count. Burning another 300 or so calories per day will add up.

5. Steady State Low Intensity Aerobic Training

This is just activity, going for a walk in the park, etc. It won’t burn a lot of calories; it won’t increase muscle or EPOC.

There isn’t very much research showing that low intensity aerobic training actually results in very much additional fat loss, but you’re going to have to really work to convince me that moving more is going to hurt you when you’re in fat attack mode.

Putting It All Together: Time Management

You’ll notice that this is perhaps the opposite recommendations from what you typically read in the mainstream media. Usually fat loss recommendations start with low intensity aerobics, progress to high intensity aerobics, then intervals. Finally, when you’re “in shape” they recommend resistance training.

My approach to massive fat loss is attacking from the complete opposite of the norm. If you’re a professional bodybuilder, then you typically have extra time to add in cardio and do extra work to get lean. A “real world” client with a job and a family can rarely afford additional time; therefore, we need to look at our training in a more efficient manner and focus on our time available first, then design our programming based on that.

If you have 3 hours per week, use only #1 above: metabolic resistance training

This can be three, one-hour training sessions, or four 45-minute training sessions. It doesn’t seem to matter.

However, once you’re getting three hours per week of total body resistance training, in my experience I haven’t seen an additional effect in terms of fat loss by doing more. My guess is that, at that point, recovery starts to become a concern and intensity is impaired.

This type of training involves barbell complexes, supersets, tri-sets, circuits, EDT work, kettlebell combos, etc.

If you have 3-5 hours, use #1 and # 2: weight training plus high intensity interval work

At this point, any additional work is usually in the form of high intensity interval training. I’m looking to burn up more calories and continue to elevate EPOC.

Interval training is like putting your savings into a high return investment account. Low intensity aerobics is like hiding it under your mattress. Both will work, but the return you get is radically different.

If you have 5-6 hours available, add #3: aerobic interval training

Aerobic intervals wins out at this point because it’s still higher intensity overall than steady state work so it burns more calories. There appears to be a fat oxidation benefit and will still be easier to recover from than additional anaerobic work.

If you have 6-8 hours available, add #4

If you’re not losing a lot of fat with six hours of training already, then I’d be taking a very close look at your diet. If everything is in place, but we just need to ramp up fat loss some more (e.g. for a special event: a photo shoot, high school reunion, etc.) then we’ll add in some hard cardio — a long run or bike ride with heart rate at 75% of max or higher.

Why not do as much of this as possible then? Well, the goal is to burn as many calories as we can without negatively impacting the intensity of our higher priority activities.

If I have more time than that, I’ll add # 5

I think I’m getting into fairytale land at this point. I don’t think most of us have more than eight hours of training time available per week. But if we do, this is when any additional activity will help to burn up calories, which is never a bad thing.

A lot of fighters have used this activity to help make weight. This works because it burns up calories but doesn’t leave you tired for your strength training, sparring, or technical work.

That’s the key with the addition of this activity: just to move, get your body moving, and burn up some additional calories — but not to work so hard that it inhibits recovery and negatively affects our other training.

The research and the real world don’t really show massive changes from the inclusion of this type of activity; however, I think everything has its place. Remember, this is a hierarchy of training, and this is fifth on the list for a reason.

Smart guys call this NEAT — Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. I call it moving a wee bit more than normal.
Summary

Keep in mind that all I’ve said here is that harder training works better than easier training. It really is that simple.

To conclude, I agree with coach Dan John. Attack body fat with a passion and a single minded goal. The best way to do this is with an all-out assault implementing the hierarchy I described above.

Summer is almost here. Shirts are coming off whether you’re ready or not. Attack your body fat with a massive action plan for the next eight weeks!

This article originally appeared at t-nation.com
© 1998 — 2007 Testosterone, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

 

http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fmaxoutperformfit.com%2F&layout=standard&show_faces=true&width=450&action=like&font=arial&colorscheme=light&height=80

Is Doing Abs a Waste of Time?

Here is a post by Mike Boyle that says it all. You can see my thoughts at the bottom, but definitely read this post if you want abs, do crunches, have abs or have ever thought about abs.

I can’t even tell you how often I hear someone at the end of
the workout say something like “I need to do more abs, I
want to get a six-pack.”

The truth is that passing on a six-pack is a better way to
get a six-pack than six hundred sit-ups. The key to abdominal
definition is the visibility of the abdominal musculature, not the
strength of the muscles.

You can do one million sit-ups, crunches or whatever
exercise you want and it will have no effect on abdominal
definition.

When people ask me the best exercise for abs I tell them
table push-aways.

It usually takes a few minutes for them to get it. It’s not a
joke, it’s the truth. If you want better abs, eat less and train
more but, don’t just train your abs.

The idea of working abs to get abs is one of the oldest
misconceptions in training. This goes back to the old idea
of spot reduction. Spot reduction has never and will never
work. The research has been done over and over and the
answer is always the same.

You can’t decrease the fat layer on a particular area by
working that area. That means that the guys doing sit-ups to
lose abdominal fat and the lady sitting on the adductor
(inner thigh) machine are both wasting their time.

Good total body work is, was, and always will be the key to
fat loss.

Want better abdominal definition?

Finish every workout with some hard interval training
instead of extra sit-ups or crunches. Interval training or
what is currently called High Intensity Interval Training
(abbreviated HIIT) is the real key to fat loss and the resulting
definition.

Interval training burns more calories than steady state aerobic
training and because it is s sprint program you get a sprinters
body.

Abdominal training may potentially reduce the diameter of
the waistline but, will very little to reduce bodyfat.

The truth is there are lots of good reasons to do abdominal
work or core training as we now like to call it. A strong core
(strong abs) is one of the keys in the prevention of  back pain.
A strong core will help you look better and improve performance
in a host of sports but, sit-ups or any other abdominal exercise
will not reduce bodyfat.  The fact of the matter is that crunches
will lead to back pain long before they lead to visual abs.

Another good tip.

Don’t do crunches. A good abdominal or core program is
a lot more than crunches. Most of your core work should be
isometric exercises like front planks and side planks or carries
like Suitcase carries.
One of the major functions of the core musculature is the
prevention of motion.
W
hat does that mean? It means that the abdominals are
great stabilizers. Work on the stability function, not on
flexion and extension.

Regards,

Mike Boyle
http://www.FunctionalStrengthCoach3.com

Everyone I train wants either  lose abdominal fat or have better definition in their midsection. More and more the I see the answer is nutrition (80%) and then good training (the remaining 20%), to have better definition (which means you have to lean out!).  If you need anymore guidance, as always contact me.

SM

sergiom_personaltrainer@yahoo.com

Perform Better Part 2- 10 Reasons Why Machines Suck

10 Reasons Why Machines Suck

machines

FREE weights

Functional training is always the giant overlying theme at seminars. It is just a given, this seminar was even called the Peform Better FUNCTIONAL TRAINING Summit. Every GOOD trainer knows that machines are not an effective way to train and may be detrimental for some people. The main reason they are currently used and marketed is because they are simple and people feel isolated body parts working. However, the general population does not get the right information about how the human body actually works, which is as an integrated unit. Although, there may be times that one needs to isolate your body, to function properly and remain pain-free you need to train your body as a whole. In addition, if you are interested in losing fat, lose the machines! Dumbbells or any other implement including your bodyweight will help you burn more calories then doing the same type of exercise on a machine becuase there are more muscles and systems activated. Another reason machines are around is that they are expensive, more machines = more money for the firms that sell them.

Now here are 10 reasons why machines suck:

1) They do not support the body. The current book I am reading Gray Cook’s Athletic Body in Balance refers to this fact. But it is obvious, if you are sitting on a machine you are only supporting the limb(s) that are working. Nothing else is working as significantly as it can, it’s the definition of LESS BANG for you BUCK.

2) If you check Men’s Health 2010 Top 10 Gyms in America and see the videos, what are they doing?  They are not sitting on machines doing “circuit training.” They are swinging Kettlebells, squatting, benching, running through ladders, chin-ups, flipping tires, pushing sleds, they are TRAINING MOVEMENTS. Now if machines were the BEST way to train wouldn’t the BEST trainers and the BEST GYMS use them? Obviously you can tell that they are not an effective way to spend your training time if the best don’t use them at ALL.

3) You can not vary the exercises much. Periodic variation is a key principle in progression.  With machines you are always stuck in the same position which is usually seated. Meaning you will be stuck doing the same exercise forever if you do not learn to lift free-weights. I saw this when I worked at the Y, people would come in day in and day out and do the same routine. With no results, now isn’t that the definition of crazy? I guess you could say they maintained but isn’t there better goals then just STAYING EXACTLY THE SAME. I have seen people in their 90’s progress, so I know you can too.

4) You are sitting! Most people sit at work, sit on the couch, sit in the car and you are going to exercise and SIT! That makes no sense, try not sitting and you will see a whole new world.

5) Many machines only work one joint at a time, some even two, wow! When just the act of sitting down in that machine involves more muscle groups! Use multi-joint movements as your staple exercises (squat, lunge,push, pull, rotate and run).

6) They take up tons of space. From a trainer’s perspective this makes tons of sense to not have machines around. We are trying to help more people not less, so why have a bulky machine that only does ONE thing take up all this space?

7) Exercise machines do not help you improve your posture.  If you are relying on a machine to sit up against your postural muscles do not have to work nearly a fraction as much with many other typical free weight training exercise.

8) Machines are flat out boring.  Their are so many great free-weight, body-weight, med ball… exercises out there that you can have lots of fun with and get much greater results.

9) They do not help you train balance, stability and mobility in the way that other exercises can. In an increasingly sedentary society we need to train all of those aspects just to function in daily life without getting hurt. If not then we are a ticking time bomb.

10) They do not resemble anything you will do athletically in real life. If you like to run, play sports, ride a bike, play with you kids/grand-kids or walk you should train to do those type of activities. Not train how to lift heavy weight while sitting down and reading a book.

If you have any questions, comments, arguments or would like to learn more about training. Always feel free to contact me:

Sergio

sergiom_personaltrainer@yahoo.com

machines suck

Globo Gym Workouts vs. TRX

Every time I step into a “globo gym” here is what I see:

– tons of biceps curls (sitting, standing, machine and even lying down)

-many, many bench press stations and hammer press stations, where they are usually taken up 75% of the time from someone doing 3 sets with 4 mins rest between each set

-besides all the machine based exercises which I do not advocate AT ALL there are a few more random exercises that I see including: shrugs, calf raises, adductor machines and upright rows

These exercises may sound very familiar and normal to you. But let me ask you this question, why do them? Every exercise should have a purpose. The purpose should reach an end goal, right? Then if I want to “lean out” or “get ripped” what is the most effective way of getting there?

Here are some strategies:

-use time efficiently,  if you have an hour in the gym, you should be moving the entire hour. Minimal rest, just pair or tri-set some non-competing exercises, then you will be fresh to do your second set and you will be doing more work in less time.

Example: Dumbell Bench Press then Deadlift followed by Plank for 45 secs, repeat by 3 sets.

– Use BIG muscle groups or even better yet train MOVEMENTS (push, pull, lunge, squat, rotate…)

-Do total body training sessions, sorry guys this means triceps, shoulders and rear delt days won’t get you there. If you like to train consecutive days then do a push and hip dominant exercise day. Example: push-ups/overhead presses  paired with deadlifts/hip lifts

-Lift heavy and condition hard. Sounds simple and it is! Get technically proficient at some big lifts (chin-up, deadlift, bench, squat) then start loading them up for  <5 reps to get strong, this will keep you from plateauing and help in boosting metabolism. Ladies you will NOT get big by lifting heavy. Size has more to do with volume (sets x reps adn diet!). If you are doing “cardio,” then do intervals, work hard to elevate your metabolism so you burn calories now and so that you KEEP burning calories hours later.

These are just a few ways to lean out, so instead of curls then do a pull-ups. Mix up your bench days with push-up variations, instead of shrugs, seated overhead press, use your legs the same days you do your upper body routine.

The exercises listed at the beginning aren’t a complete waste of time for SOME but they aren’t the staple of ANY program. Since the #1 reason not to workout is time.  stop wasting your time and learn how to lift well, then lift strong and condition hard 🙂

Here is a great article describing the rationale behind switching your mindset from body part training to movement training:

Bodypart vs. Movements

I use to do calf raises, shrugs, curls and leg extensions too, but that’s simply not how your body works.

Check out this video for the TRX, Kettlbell combo workout: Video

Also check this working out using the TRX

GOOOOOOAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

World Cup just started but that is not what we are talking about today, let’s talk about your GOALS!

The only way to achieve them is to actually set them (duh), make them tangible and they will become real. This is true in fitness just like anything else you have done in your life. Think about the great accomplishments in your life, how did you get acchieve them? It wasn’t by chance, it was by setting a target with milestones and attacking them one by one. If you want a change then you’ve got to be the change, don’t fall into the trap of tomorrow because as we all  know TOMORROW NEVER COMES.

So let’s set some S.M.A.R.T. goals

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Reasonable

Timely or Time line

Goal setting is all about setting S.M.A.R.T. goals — and T stands for “Time line”. Athletes peak for National Championships, Trials and World events. Just because you’re training for fat loss or to look better naked – doesn’t change the fact that DEADLINES are extremely effective tools.

So we’re going to set two this Summer.

Your next goal is Independence Day (for my US readers) – July 4th –

With a combination of a kick start plan, a solid workout and nutritional support program and a healthy dose of motivation – you could easily be 10+ lbs leaner by then.

Your next goal is the end of summer – the Labor Day weekend (first weekend in September).  So if you’re looking a little flabby this weekend or feeling a little embarrassed about your body — you can still make amazing changes. It’s never too late.

This is an opportunity for you to look great by Summer’s end.

But you still need to start now.

Here’s the fat loss basics (if you need more info see below):

1. You need to create a caloric deficit – no two ways about it – you must burn more than you consume. But that doesn’t just mean eat less.
2. The most effective way to create that deficit is to use a combination of diet and exercise
3. Your diet should consist of lean proteins, fruits and vegetables.
   Keep starches and refined carbs to a minimum.
   Keep your fluid intake high (water only), and try to eat at least 4-5 small meals per day.
   This will help maintain blood sugar levels and keep you from blowing your diet.
4. Exercise – interval training and metabolic resistance training will provide the most bang-for-your buck. Steady state aerobic training just doesn’t burn enough calories for your goals right now, and a bodypart training split will be less effective than total body training for fat loss.
5. Try to exercise at least four to six days per week – two to three days of interval based cardio and two to three days of resistance training.

The excerpt was adapted from Alwyn Cosgrove’s blog and is exactly what we do in the MaxOut class everyday, so the programming and exercise part is DONE for you. All you have to do is show up, now you just have to know what your goal is and figure out a nutritional strategy that works for you. Don’t make it too complicated because it is as easy as just eating lean protein, tons of veggies, some fruit and minimizing the starch and sugar intake. Not only will you look better but feel better and perform better in the gym EVERYDAY.

Alright let’s get it done and post some goals to the comments, make them public and hold yourself accountable.

-SM

MaxOut

If you want more, be MORE ! -Martin Rooney

Body-Weight Strength!

Real Strength is Body-Weight Strength

Can you do a push-up? full body-weight squat? Pull-up? How about dips, handstands, plyo-jumps, 1 leg squats?!

Real functional strength shows through in what you can do with your own body. YOUR BODY IS YOUR MACHINE, so use it!

Can’t do any of those yet? Then just start with progressions like an inclined push-up, TRX Row, box squat.

The real proof is in the pudding check this videos out to see real STRENGTH.

Still HOLDING

Proof you don’t need a gym, just will power

and a jungle gym

White people can do it too 😉

Strength vs. Endurance

Who would you rather look like?

So think about how your train, when you think about working out, what do you do?

Run? Lift? Play sports? Walk? or go on an eliptical for an hour?

If you are looking to look closer to the guy on the right then the one on the left, what do you think you have to do?

BUILD STRENGTH, then transfer that into POWER which is just moving things fast.  Including your body, kettlebells, medicine balls ….

Basically unless YOU want to be an endurance athlete, there is no reason to train like an endurance athlete. It will make you a type I fiber type meaning you convert more muscle fibers to endurance based fibers and you will lose muscle mass. If you want to run, then sprint! Or do Intervals. Basically all I am saying is think about the way you train and why.

Check out the NEW pics on MaxOut Facebook Page

SM

MaxOut Kick-off Event May 8th

MaxOut Kick-off Event

Click Me for MaxOut Info Flyer

Test your fitness with our:

Conditioning Challenge

Outdoor Fitness Activities

Posture and Movement
Assessments

AND MUCH MORE!!!!

What is MaxOut?

Our coached small group and semi-private programs will challenge you to optimize your fat loss and performance results.

OUR MISSION is simple: to help you look better, feel better, and perform better EVERY day!!!

www.MaxOutPerformFit.com

The New Performance Lifts

Re-tested last week on our big lifts: front squat, deadlift, bench, 1 leg squat, and chin-up.

I loved this article I got off the strength coach website and for the large majority of people out there you need to do the new big three: 1 leg squat, chin-up, sled push/pull or at least be striving to achieve them.

Pics are up, happy reading!

SM

The New Performance Lifts

Geoff Girvitz

What are your performance lifts? Part I

When it comes to prioritizing exercises, not all lifts are created equal. The squat towers over the calf-raise, for example. And the military press dwarfs the triceps kickback. Regardless of whether you train for strength, size or performance, there is a hierarchy of movement. With a limited amount of time to spend in the gym, you should know which exercises provide the most bang (see what I did there?) for your buck.

Powerlifters have their own core lifts: the squat, deadlift and bench press. For competitors, everything else is designed to improve performance in this bad-ass triumvirate. Olympic lifters pare down performance to two extremely demanding lifts: the snatch and the clean and jerk. What about those of us who lift to supplement performance? What should we prioritize? Should they be the same things?

We all owe competitive lifters a great debt. These are the people who have — for as long as anyone’s been paying attention — been laying their own asses on the line for performance. Not everything they do is scientific but, then again, science is slow and has a middling deadlift. Motivated men and women have taken more bullets than anyone can count — all in the interest of lifting more. The results are a great deal of expertise within the realms of their own sports. We can learn from their mistakes and triumphs without having to walk down exactly the same path.

As a non-competitive lifter, you’re not obligated to rack up big numbers in any particular lift. Rather, you should be looking at what keeps you, happy, motivated, functional and — above all — pain and injury free. Still, as human beings, we like to have a benchmark for performance. So what types of exercises fulfill those needs on both sides of the coin?

The New Big 3

Single-leg squat
Chin-up
Sled push/pull

Single leg squat

Why: This simple movement requires a great deal of mobility, stability and relative strength. It demonstrates an ability to move your own body through a full range of motion without compensating for left-to-right assymetries.

For those who don’t already have a great (conventional) squat, learning proper form typically requires a fair amount of coaching. The odds on proper coaching coming from a personal trainer at your local commercial gym are poor. There is a long, grizzly trail of damaged knees and spines to attest to this.

For those who do have a decent squat, the question is whether it has to be as heavy as possible. For non-athletes, the answer is no. At the very least, it’s not very often. The risk of injury is simply not worth the reward. Enter the single-leg squat. This exercise does not require a great deal of additional loading to progess from a beginner to advanced level of performance.

An intermediate-level squat (by powerlifting standards) would require upwards of double your bodyweight. For a 180 lb. man, that would put 360 lbs. on his back. I would estimate a comparably impressive single-leg squat to require only 55 lbs. of additional weight.* From the perspective of loading the spine, risk factors diminish considerably.

Before I start receiving any of the hate mail originally addressed to Mike Boyle, I should point out that I’m not calling for an end to squatting. However, I am advocating that those who train for function or athletic performance should perform their heavy (relative) loading with single-leg work and then perform assistance work (meaning lower intensity, but more time under the bar to perfect technique) with squat and deadlift variations.

It is worth noting that not everyone is capable of a single-leg squat (and that includes plenty of big, strong people). That’s ok. We’re going to address some solutions in Part II of this article.

Chin Up

Why: With injury prevention as our primary goal, it’s important to compensate for imbalances — not just in sports, but in life as well. The vast majority of us spend a great deal of time hunched over a computer or document. Unless your nurse is reading this aloud to you, you’re one of those people too. The symptoms associated with typical desk posture, back and shoulder pain, come largely from postural imbalances. Tight, shortened pecs and weakened, stretched scapular retractors increase your likelihood of shoulder impingement and pain. All things being equal, we want our exercises to take you in the opposite direction — ultimately toward structural stability.

While most people default to the bench press as their go-to upper body movement, the bench press can actually exacerbate pre-existing shoulder conditions. As such, we want to move in the opposite direction. Of the remaining options, chin-ups lead the pack.

Chin-ups require a host of functional skills, from scapular retraction and depression to a surprising degree of core stability, Like single-leg squats, chins are a great measure of relative strength and require relatively little external loading to progress them to an advanced level. As a matter of fact, if you’re one of the rare individuals whose external loading for chins meets or exceeds your own body weight, you will be able to progress to the truly amazing one-armed chin. Don’t worry; no one is holding their breath on that one.

Weighted sled push (or pull) for time

Why: As an indispensable tool for conditioning, the sled is simple, brutal, safe and effective. It requires a combination of lower body strength, cardiovascular endurance, core stability and iron will. While the loads and times used are subject to a fair degree of variability, you will always be able to hold yourself to the standards that you’ve already achieved.

Many of our clients come to us for fat-loss. What we find is that those who don’t come from an athletic background have never learned to move faster than “fast enough.” When we try to get these people to move at maximum speed for conditioning, there’s often a disconnect between how fast we want them to move and how fast they actually move.

A properly weighted sled will punish you for moving slowly. Just like your car, acceleration takes more fuel than maintaining speed. When you have to get from Point A to Point B, you will quickly learn that your choices range between hard and very hard. Ensure that loading is sufficient to make completing a given task extremely challenging (but doable).

*The formula I use is to estimate a person’s external loading in the single-leg squat is as follows:

Estimate their maximum front squat for x number of reps
Subtract their bodyweight from that number
Divide the result by two

Example A:
A 180 lb. man demonstrates a 288 lb. front squat for 5 reps
288 for five reps
288-180 = 108
108/2 = 54

We can estimate that this man can perform 5 single-leg squats with 54 lbs. of external loading.

Example B:
A 180 lb. man demonstrates a 150 lb. front squat for 10 reps
150 for 10 reps
150-180 = -30

In this case, to reach 10 reps, our subject will need to de-load his squat by using some kind of external assistance.

What are your performance lifts? Part II

Now that we have our lifts selected, you may find that they are too difficult for you to complete. This is not true. You are completely capable of performing these exercises. However, to do so, you may need to de-load them. Here’s how.

Practical Solutions: Single-leg Squat

Many of you who attempted the single-leg squat discovered that it’s not necessarily a walk in the park. However, you may have also come to the conclusion that being able to perform single-leg squats well would be pretty bad-ass. I personally think that the world needs more bad-asses and would like to see you counted among them. Here’s how you’re going to do it:

The de-load

If you’re struggling to complete a single (good) single-leg squat . . . Hell, if you’re struggling to complete less than seven or eight . . . Here’s what you’re going to do:

Perform one of the following de-load variations as your first exercise.
The Smith Machine
The TRX Band (1 and 2 handed)
The band
The Lat pull-down:
Rolling thunder (Pavel style)

The assistance

As I mentioned in Part I, I’m still a fan of bilateral squats and deadlifts. I consider these to be fundamental movement patterns and believe that almost everyone should strive to perfect them within the parameters of safe performance. Contrary to many, I don’t believe maximal loading to be necessary to achieve this goal.

Back squats
Front squats
Deadlifts
Good mornings
Suitcase deadlifts
Rear elevated split-squats
Single-leg Romanian deadlifts
Single-leg squats with the lat pulldown bar
Single-leg squats with the single cable stack
Lunges
Step-ups

Practical Solutions: Chin-up
The de-load
Band
TRX Band (1 and 2 handed)
The double-leg jump to controlled negative
The single-leg jump to controlled negative
Chin/pull-up from seated position

The assistance:

One of the few drawbacks to chin-ups (and all their variations) is that they’re a bilateral exercise. While this is not a bad thing per se, it will not naturally correct for left-to-right imbalances in the same way that unliateral exercises will. Since the human body likes to stick with what it’s good at, it will actually exxagerate those imbalances to an extent. For that reason, it’s important to rely primarily on unilateral work for your assistance exercises. This way, we can ensure that our other priorities don’t get thrown out the window on the way to a heavy chin-up.

Single-leg squats with the single cable stack
Single-arm cable pull-down
Reverse shrugs
Seated row
Planks on stability ball
Roll-outs

Practical Solutions: Sled push/pull

Sled work is the most variable of our three exercises. There is no need to de-load a sled; only not to load it too much in the first place. If you’re in a commercial gym, you won’t have access to a sled. However, you will likely have a group exercise room available to you. A vinyl mat coupled with a 45 lb. plate will get the job done.

Since surfaces and equipment clearly change the difficulty of this exercise, it’s impossible to provide a standard across the boards. However, you can set your own benchmarks. Here are some suggestions for doing so:

Fixed distance for time
Amount of distance covered within a fixed time period*
Number of fixed period sets to cover a fixed distance

* I recommend periods of 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes and 6 minutes

A note on integration

A sudden and dramatic increase in volume will not help you maximize your progress. Take the opportunity to build slowly and consistently. De-load each exercise enough to ensure that your form is perfect. The workout structure adhered to by powerlifters is no fluke; it will maximize your strength in a given exercise. Combining those proven programs with the exercises in this article over the standards will help you acheive your goals and minimize unecessary risks.

— Geoff Girvitz Director: Bang Fitness www.BangFitness.com

Watch me RUN…

Alright, obviously it’s not me. But this is #$%^ing beautiful.

It also brings me to a some points. Running is JUMPING on one leg, BALANCING on one leg, TOTAL BODY COORDINATION, TECHNIQUE, EFFICIENCY  and POWER. If you can’t see that, then take a second look then talk to me.

I hear this a lot in the strength and conditioning community: “You don’t run to get in shape, you need to get in shape to run.” Think about what this means, most people run and probably shouldn’t. Not b/c their body isn’t meant to. But b/c they have DEconditioned their body from its natural state then decide to run a long race or distance and wonder why their __________ hurts.

To run, work on  Reactive training (jumping, plyo, elasticity), Balance (static, dynamic, multi-joint), TBC (just do any variety of strength lifts and drills), Technique (for running, posture, foot strike…), Efficiency (form, core training, neuro-muscular training…), and POWER (Work/Time=move stuff fast)

PS:  the music is AWESOME