BULLDOZE YOUR FAT LOSS ROADBLOCKS

I received two emails today from a couple of my online readers and while their questions were both quite different, they were both suffering from the same fat loss roadblocks. The basic underlying problem they both have is meal structuring throughout the day. So in this article I'll go through a typical day and show you how to build each meal for optimum fat loss.

First, if you burn calories all day long, then doesn't it makes sense that your calorie intake should be spread throughout the day to ensure optimal energy levels? Surprisingly few people take advantage of this simple trick which can significantly increase your metabolic rate.

Just think about it for a moment. If you need 1800 calories each day, and you eat 90% of those calories at night when your only energy requirement following dinner is a few chores, making lunches for the kids, and then going to bed, do you really believe that your body is going to magically make all those calories disappear?

Of course not. And believe me this is going on all around us. Just take a look around, its not hard to spot an overweight person these days, and chances are they're making this huge mistake.

The problem when you go all day without eating is that you're teaching your body to conserve calories. The big caloric load that subsequently arrives with dinner is dumped onto a sluggish metabolism that has no way to use it. The result? Increased bodyfat storage.


FAT LOSS ROADBLOCK #1 - POOR CALORIE DISTRIBUTION

Your calories should be divided over your six meals prioritizing meals consumed before and after your workouts. Up to 50% of your daily calories can be consumed in these two meals providing an abundance of energy for your workout and for replenishing your muscles afterwards without risk of storing any bodyfat. After that, earlier meals should contain more calories than later meals.


FAT LOSS ROADBLOCK #2 - POOR MEAL STRUCTURING

Typically, when people are hungry they open the fridge, nothing is prepared, they seek instant gratification for their hunger and they down whatever strikes their fancy. If it's breakfast, a bowl of sugary cereal will do the trick. If it's lunch, heck, who eats lunch these days anyway!!! Well ok, if they do eat lunch then it's a quick peanut butter and jam sandwich or a quick stop at Tim Hortons or McDonalds. If it's dinner, hot dogs, hamburgers, hamburger helper, kraft dinner, all these items are fast to prepare and they very quickly satisfy your hunger, but their consumption is another fat loss roadblock.

Constructing meals should always start with your protein source, then progress to fat source, and finally end with carbohydrate source.

Here's an example of a typical North American breakfast at home:

Cereal w/milk
Juice
Bread w/jam
Fruit

All four items are carbohydrate based foods. Carbohydrate based means that the majority of the calories come from carbohydrates. The problem with this breakfast is that while it will get you going with a bang, it will also stop you like a truck shortly after.

Fast in, fast out! All night you've fasted, and your blood sugar, blood amino acids, and blood fat levels are likely at the lowest they'll be all day. So if you dump all carbohydrate based foods into your bloodstream, your insulin is going to spike like crazy and your energy will drop off just as fast as it came on.


Here's an example of a typical North American Breakfast at a restaurant:

Bacon
Eggs
Sausages
Hash browns
Toast with margarine
Juice
Coffee

IF THIS IS YOUR IDEA OF BREAKFAST THEN YOU'VE GOT SOME MAJOR FAT LOSS ROADBLOCKS TO BULLDOZE!

The solution is to ALWAYS have a mixture of protein, carbohydrate, and fat based foods maintaining a moderate caloric load. And in fact this should be the way you structure all your meals, not just your breakfast. You can modify it as needed depending on what you're doing, but as a general rule, a mixture of all three will always elicit the type of result you're seeking: lasting energy!


Always start by deciding on your protein source. And remember, a protein based food is a food that contains more protein than carbohydrates per serving. Just look at the label and it will tell you.


Here's a list of acceptable protein sources:

Eggs
Organic Yogurt (must have a higher protein than carbs... check the label!)
Cottage Cheese (2%)
Low Fat (2%) Cheese
Beef (steak... trim visible fat)
Beef (ground... choose lean or extra lean and try to drain off a bit of the fat after cooking)
Bison (both steaks and ground are very lean)
Lamb Pork (tenderloin is the best choice)
Bacon (not a great choice, but if you're going to eat it, choose Back Bacon it's lower in fat)
Salmon (Farmed or Fresh... both are low in mercury)
Tuna (Skipjack light tuna from cans... Albacore tuna has higher levels of mercury)
Protein Powders (Natural or plain flavour... use Stevia to sweeten if needed and fruit to add flavour)


Once you've picked your protein source, then you look for your fat source. If you're having eggs, you don't need an additional fat source. Often is the case for higher fat meats too.


Here's some great fat sources:

Flax seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds
Hemp seeds
Almonds
Pecans
Walnuts
Hazelnuts
Udo's oil


And finally, when you've made it this far, select a carbohydrate source:


Great carb sources:

Oats
Quinoa
Bulgur
Spelt
Brown rice
Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Fruit
Vegetables


There are too many veggies and fruit to list them all, but try combining different veggies when you eat them. Veggies generally don't give you many calories compared to fruit or other carbohydrate sources, so typically you choose your carbohydrate sources based on your energy requirements for the following three hours.


Obviously if you're going to be sitting down and watching television at night, then you don't need many carbohydrate calories so multiple vegetable selections is best. If you're getting up Saturday morning, and you have a long day ahead of you of taking the kids to their sports, groceries, and various chores, you'll want to have a mixture of some starchy carb sources as well as fruit and/or veggie sources. If you have a workout planned for 4pm, then at 2:30pm, a good dose of starchy and fruit carbs will see you through your workout with plenty of energy.


Let's look at a typical day. This example of daily meal structuring must be tailored for each person based on your weight and activity level. If you were to eat this menu exactly day in and day out over a few weeks and you gained weight, then you would simply need to reduce the amount you eat. But the combinations of foods is excellent and shows how you should combine foods to eat for optimal health and fat loss.


Breakfast
1/2 scoop whey protein powder - PROTEIN
1 tbsp Udo's oil - FAT
1/3 cup Oats w/skim milk - CARBS
1/2 banana - CARBS
1/2 cup thawed frozen raspberries - CARBS
1/4 tsp stevia powder (sweetener)


Mid-Morning Snack
Handful of almonds (maybe 10-20) - PROTEIN & FAT
1 apple - CARBS


Lunch
3 oz chicken breast - PROTEIN
7 or 8 walnut pieces - FAT
big handful of spinach (not baby spinach) - UNLIMITED
1 Mandarin orange (put pieces in salad) - CARBS
1tbsp Udo's oil - FAT
1tsp balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper to taste


Mid-Afternoon
1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese - PROTEIN & FAT
1/4 cup chopped fresh pineapple - CARBS


Dinner
6 oz salmon fillet - PROTEIN & FAT
10 asparagus spears (steamed) - UNLIMITED
1 med carrot (steamed) - UNLIMITED
1 small red potato (chopped and steamed) - CARBS
1 tsp butter - FAT
salt & pepper to taste

Salad
Bowlful mixed greens - UNLIMITED
6 halved cherry tomatoes - UNLIMITED
10 cucumber slices - UNLIMITED
small handful pine nuts - FAT

Salad Dressing
2 tsp Renee's Caesar dressing - FAT
1 tsp Udo's oil - FAT
2 tsp Organic Plain Yogurt
mixed well and drizzled over salad


Evening Snack
High Protein Fat Free Butterscotch Cinnamon Jello Pudding
Ingredients: Fat Free Butterscotch Jello Pudding prepare as
directed and add 1-2 scoops protein powder and a half tsp
of cinnamon for improved flavour.

1 serving is 1/4 of prepared product.



FAT LOSS ROADBLOCK #3 - CONVENIENCE FOODS

If you know how to put together healthy fat loss meals, but you don't because you feel like you don't have time, coming to the realization that the time spent preparing healthy meals is an investment is inevitable to smashing your fat loss roadblocks! Convenience or fast foods are always laden in fat and sugar to make them taste good so you always crave them whenever you are in a rush.



FAT LOSS ROADBLOCK #4 - GLUTTONY

Another common fat loss roadblock is just plain old eating too much! Even the healthiest of foods will make you gain body fat if you eat too much of it. Heck, thousands of years ago when there was no unhealthy food, there were still some heavier people. Of course they were the wealthy ones who could afford to eat enough food to actually become heavier.

Sometimes it's tough to say no to convenience foods, but if you ever want to shed the fat and see those abs you have to draw the line at some point and just plain not step over. For me personally, I just plain out refuse to eat fast foods except at certain times. If I travel I'll allow some exceptions. Camping is definitely another time I'll break the rule. In fact, I'll even seek out a McDonalds to get a couple McChicken sandwiches when I go camping. But a good 99% of the time I just plain old say no.

Well there you have it folks! Some great meal tips to help you bulldoze your fat loss roadblocks!

Oh yeah, my wife made some Fat Free Butterscotch Jello Pudding tonight... ohhhh... Here I come!

How Many Sets and Reps for Maximum Strength and Muscle Mass?

If you ask a hundred internet gurus how many sets and reps are needed to build maximum strength and muscle mass you'll get a hundred answers. At least that's what I found after doing an online search. No wonder I get so many emails from confused folks asking that exact question. The answer is... unfortunately... that there is no set answer that applies to everyone at all times.

The human body is capable of tremendous adaptation to stress. In fact, in 1936 scientist Hans Seyle, developed his General Adaptation Syndrome, a theory specifically stating that the body will adapt to the stress applied to it up to its physiological limit in a manner that will help the organism survive.

Applied to strength training and bodybuilding, when muscles are exposed to stress in the form of tension and fatigue levels, muscles develop thicker contractile fibers and the brain improves it's ability to recruit more fibers upon demand to improve the ability of the muscle to produce force (strength). The muscles also increase their production of key enzymes which help to maintain higher levels of energy substrates within the muscle tissue.

You basically get bigger and stronger in response to progressively increased tension and fatigue in the muscles. Now if we return for a moment to the original question which is how many sets and reps for maximum strength and muscle mass, the problem is that muscles don't understand sets and reps. They simply respond to tension and fatigue levels. So how many sets and reps is dependent on how much tension you want to produce in the muscles, and how much fatigue you want to accumulate.

We know that with practice, the more tension you attempt to place on the muscle, the stronger it gets. We also know that if you expose a muscle to a certain amount of tension for a long enough time, it gets bigger. So somewhere there has to be an answer right? Well.. still not really.

The answer depends on many factors including but not limited to:

- Training age (how long you have been training in years)
- Motor control development (a history of sports and exercise will allow someone to build strength and muscle mass initially with heavier weights)
- Mechanical leverage of the muscles (Different muscles will respond to different repetition ranges depending on the exercise, for example, nobody will ever build maximum strength of their deltoids with the lateral dumbbell raise using sets of 3 reps... a more suitable exercise would be the overhead press)
- Individual biochemistry (Different hormone profiles allow some people to build muscle more quickly than others)


It is commonly held that the following repetition ranges produce the following effects:

1-3 reps:strength without size
3-5 reps:strength with some size
6-9 reps:size with some strength
9-12 reps:size without much strength
12-15 reps:size without strength
16+ reps:strength endurance

The most important thing to understand is that the concept of repetitions is a way to measure the time spent under the tension produced by the load. It is helpful in that it is easy to give someone instructions to do X number of reps. The problem is that everyone does them differently and consequently results are all across the board and we get well meaning instructions from hundreds of internet gurus that all conflict with each other. No wonder there is so much confusion?

CONFUSED YET?

Ummm... so like... they asked me to come down here and explain to you how many sets and reps are needed for maximum strength and muscle mass gains. And uh, well I'm kinda confused!!?!




Here's an example.

A 16 year old football player wants to start lifting weights in attempt to get stronger. He is 5'10" and weighs 145 lbs. This person would not increase their strength as quickly by strictly adhering to the repetition protocol listed above. If he only does sets of 3 reps, he will have a difficult time getting bigger, although he may get stronger over time and if he really stays with it, he may get as strong as possible at his weight, but the lack of increased muscle size will slow his ability to get strong.

A BIGGER MUSCLE CAN PRODUCE MORE FORCE THAN A SMALLER MUSCLE ALL THINGS EQUAL

So for this athlete to develop maximum strength and muscle mass in the shortest period of time, he would need to work on developing both strength and muscle mass at the same time. If this athlete has exceptional motor control, they may be able to incorporate both some heavier lifting in the 3-5 repetition range as well as some lighter training in the 9-12 repetition range which would help him build muscle more quickly.

If this athlete has a less than exceptional motor control, then they may need to start with training limited to the 3-5 repetition range with very light weights on basic strength exercises while using the 8-15 repetition range for accessory lifts. As the months progress, the 3-5 repetition range would be kept but heavier weights would be used. The accessory lifts might be reduced to the 6-12 rep range for subsequent months as well.

Notice I've mentioned two repetition ranges here that weren't mentioned up above. This is again because there really isn't a set answer. Every person has their own completely unique situation that needs to be addressed and then a plan set forth based on their requirements which will help them build maximum strength and muscle mass.

For argument sakes, here are two sample programs with set and rep protocols that this athlete might follow if they have (1) very good motor control and (2) fair motor control. Both programs are designed to build maximum strength and muscle mass.


(1) Good Motor Skill Athlete Program

Weeks 1-4

3 Circuits with a 1:2 work to rest ratio using between a 20-30 second work interval with the following bodyweight exercises: pushups, lunges, pull-ups, squats, inverted rows, medicine ball throws, hops, jumps.

Weeks 5-8

Squats 3-5 sets of 5 reps. The weight used should be light enough that all reps are performed with perfect technique. With the squat, often the weight cannot be increased very much at all initially due to insufficient flexibility of the hips, glutes, and hamstrings. In such cases, more than 5 sets might be prescribed to help improve the flexibility of the muscles involved.

Bench Press 3-5 sets of 5 reps.

Weighted Pushups 3 sets of 10 with 10 lb plate on back (excellent exercise for developing the anterior kinetic chain)

Pull-ups 4 sets of max-2
Dumbbell Step-ups 3x10

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts 3 sets of 8 reps

Plank 3 sets of 60 seconds
Side Plank 3 sets of 30 seconds

Weeks 9-12

Squats 3-5 sets of 5 reps.

Bench Press 3-5 sets of 5 reps.

Weighted Pushups 4 sets of 10 with 10 lb plate on back (excellent exercise for developing the anterior kinetic chain)

Pull-ups 5 sets of max-1
Dumbbell Step-ups 4x8

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts 4 sets of 8 reps

Plank 3 sets of 60 seconds (add weight on back)
Side Plank 3 sets of 45 seconds

Week 13-16

Squats 3-5 sets of 3 reps.

Bench Press 3-5 sets of 3 reps.

Weighted Pushups 4 sets of 5 with 25 lb plate on back (excellent exercise for developing the anterior kinetic chain)

Pull-ups 6 sets of max
Dumbbell Step-ups 5x6

1-Arm Dumbbell Row 3x10

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts 5 sets of 8 reps


Plank 3 sets of 75 seconds (add weight on back)
Side Plank 3 sets of 60 seconds


(2) Fair Motor Skill Athlete Program

Weeks 1-4

3 Circuits with a 1:3 work to rest ratio using between a 20-30 second work interval with the following bodyweight exercises: pushups, lunges, pull-ups, squats, inverted rows, medicine ball throws, hops, jumps.

Weeks 5-8

Squats 5 sets of 3-5 reps. The weight used should be light enough that all reps are performed with perfect technique. With the squat, often the weight cannot be increased very much at all initially due to insufficient flexibility of the hips, glutes, and hamstrings. In such cases, more than 5 sets might be prescribed to help improve the flexibility of the muscles involved. The range of reps being 3-5 here is because a fair motor skilled athlete may fatigue too much by 5 reps when trying to learn the technique, so a lower number of reps helps to manage fatigue levels.

Bench Press 5-8 sets of 5 reps. A higher number of sets is prescribed to the fair motor control athlete to give them more pratice at the technique. The weight needs to be lower to assure that all reps through all sets is done with strict technique.

Pushups 3 sets of 10 (excellent exercise for developing the anterior kinetic chain)

Pull-ups 3 sets of max-3
Dumbbell Step-ups 2x10

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts 4 sets of 6 reps (again lower reps to prevent accumulation of fatigue, and not indicative of a heavier weight which is normally the association)

Plank 3 sets of 60 seconds
Side Plank 3 sets of 20 seconds

Weeks 9-12

Squats 3-5 sets of 5 reps.

Bench Press 3-5 sets of 5-8 reps.

Pushups 3 sets of 10 with a 5 lb plate on back(excellent exercise for developing the anterior kinetic chain)

Pull-ups 4 sets of max-2
Dumbbell Step-ups 3x8

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts 5 sets of 6 reps (again, lower reps to manage fatigue, but not to handle a heavier weight than the higher motor skilled athlete and an additional set to maintain sufficient time under tension to elicit the growth response)

Plank 4 sets of 45 seconds (add weight on back)
Side Plank 3 sets of 40 seconds

Week 13-16

Squats 5-8 sets of 3 reps. (A lower motor skilled athlete will not be able to control as heavy of a weight, so lower weight is used, but more sets are employed to continue to refine the technique and elicit a higher growth response)

Bench Press 5-8 sets of 3 reps. (same rationale as above)

Weighted Pushups 4 sets of 5-10 reps with 10 lb plate on back (excellent exercise for developing the anterior kinetic chain)

Pull-ups 5 sets of max-1
Dumbbell Step-ups 4x6

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts 5 sets of 7-8 reps (increased reps with same weight as previous 4 weeks)

Plank 4 sets of 60 seconds (add weight on back)
Side Plank 3 sets of 50 seconds


With all programs, the athlete should always strive to lift the maximum weight possible for the given repetition range so long as they can do so with strict exercise technique. From week to week within a four week phase, the athlete can increase the weight if they are able to. And from one four week phase to the next four week phase, if the repetition range stays the same for a particular exercise, the athlete still tries to use the maximum weight possible. It may increase, or it may not. If the repetition range increases from one four week phase to the next four week phase, this may indicate lowering the weight if the athlete was at their limit in the previous phase. On the other hand if the athlete feels that they can still manage the same weight for the indicated increase in reps, then they should do so.

All of these if's are due to the requirement of individualization of a program.

Generally with assistance and accessory exercises, the higher motor control athlete will be able to manage higher levels of fatigue with a given weight than the lower motor control athlete, and so will often be prescribed either more reps, or the same reps but more sets.



One final word, variety, although it sounds so un-scientific, contributes significantly to long-term progress towards building maximum strength and muscle mass. If you have spent the past 3-4 months working within a specific sets and reps range with a specific goal in mind, and you find that you are not progressing as much anymore, try a different set and rep scheme for a few weeks and then return to your previous set and rep scheme and you may notice that you begin progressing again towards your goal.

I hope you have found this article useful. As you might now understand there really is no perfect answer that will satisfy every situation for how many sets and reps for maximum strength and muscle mass. If you require specific answers for your individual needs, please don't hesitate to contact me at shane@spectrumfitness.ca

Introducing Alexava Nicole Miller!

Hi Guys...

Very sorry to have been absent for nearly the past three weeks, but as you may or may not have known, my wife Tanya and I were expecting our first baby on Feb 12 (today), and without warning on Jan 28, Tanya's water broke. So Alexava was born on Friday, Jan 30th at 1:36am.

Alexava's birth was not without some complications. Firstly, her growth slowed from week 30 on. She was born at 38 weeks, so she is full term, but with Intra-Uterine growth retardation (which is what they call it when the baby's growth slows), she was much smaller, similar to a premie. Tanya's labour was 18 hours long including two full hours of pushing to bring our little darling into this world.

Alexava was born with hypotonia (low muscle tone). Tanya had a high fever during her labour, so Alexava was kept in the Special Care unit at the Civic for 5 days on antibiotics and then transferred to CHEO for further investigations into her low muscle tone. Another 8 days later after an ultrasound, EEG, MRI, blood work, metabolic work-ups, genetics and neurological testing, the doctors found no underling pathology for her condition and have sent her home with us today! They presume at this point that her slowed growth is the cause for her low muscle tone and that with time it will improve and that there's no reason it shouldn't completely resolve itself.

So Tanya, Alexava, and I are all at home now relaxing and just enjoying spending some quiet time together.

Interesting that as a strength and conditioning coach, my daughter's condition is low muscle tone! Who better equipped to help her with whatever challenges she faces!

Thanks to all my readers for your support and some very kind wishes we received.

:)
Shane

Awesome Nutritious Shake

I was getting my hair cut the other day at www.destinationhair.com (they're awesome!) and they made me this fantastic nutritious shake while I was waiting. I figured it would taste awful because it was green, but it was amazing. I knew right away I had to pass this on to my readers.

Here's the recipe.

In blender:
1/2 apple
1/2 banana
1/2 cucumber
1 stalk chopped celery
handful of spinach
1 tsp greens (optional)
1 heaping tbsp hemp protein powder (can substitute a non-sweetened whey protein)
1-2 tbsp ground flaxseed
2 chopped dates
1 tsp maple syrup


Add a bit of water to get it mixing, then add water to achieve desired thickness. To make it a cold treat add a couple ice cubes!

This shake is certainly not a high-protein low-carb shake, but it is made with all natural, healthy ingredients. And if you don't like spinach, you'll be pleasantly surprised by how good this is. If you didn't know it contained spinach you'd never know. So it's good for those who want a way to get spinach in your diet if you don't like the taste!

Best of all it's highly nutritious, has lots of fibre, and tastes soooo good!

Enjoy!

:)
Shane

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year to everyone!

If you're like me you enjoyed possibly a bit more food and drink than planned for. Yes, I always say that I won't eat and drink so much over the holidays, but when they arrive... all that's out the door.

Additionally, with fewer client hours booked over the holiday, I think I'll have more time to exercise, but it seems like I have even less. It's the family commitments, catching up on chores at home, office work, and of course, Christmas shopping. I think I only managed about four or five workouts from Dec 20 - Jan 4th. This is the period that I'll officially call "the holidays".So with fewer hours spent exercising, and way more food and drink consumed, I'm left with a pound, maybe two at most to get rid of.

Ok, so my pound or two of body fat hardly seems interesting enough for a blog post, so why am I writing about it?

Well actually, its just my segue into the content of my blog post. The thing is, I've received probably twenty or thirty emails in the past two weeks from folks who've gained the "typical" 10-15 lb holiday fat, and they want to know how to get rid of it.

I Want To Know How They Gained It???

My concern is that I really ate and drank way more than I should have. In fact, thanks to my brother in-law Eric's amazing cheesecake, I ate to the point of discomfort because the damn thing tasted so good!

But I only have a few extra pounds to lose. Whereas the emails I'm getting are from people who say they've gained 10-15 extra pounds.

So somewhere here there's a disconnect. And the solution lies in the disconnect. Let's take a closer look.

Oh by the way, I got this cool watch for
Christmas, so now I can calculate
all my calories on the fly!

With each pound of bodyfat containing about 3,500 calories, at the high end of the scale at 15 lbs gained, an accumulation of 52,500 calories is what we're dealing with.

Divide that into the 14 days (Dec 20-Jan4) that I consider holiday time, and you have 3,750 calories that must be consumed above and beyond your normal caloric intake.

Now without getting to specific here, if you need between 1500-2500 calories a day to maintain your weight, we're talking about 5,250 - 6,250 calories that must be consumed daily over 14 days to give you enough overall additional energy to have you store 15 lbs of body fat.

I would definitely say that there were probably 2 or 3 days when I hit those numbers, but for all 14 days? No way! In fact, usually the day after eating so many calories, my body just felt stuffed and I ate much less the next day.

If you want an idea of how much food this is.. here's a quick sample menu for 6,000 calories:

Breakfast

6 eggs
4 toasts with butter
10 pieces bacon
1 butter croissant

Lunch

Fettucini Alfredo
2 glasses wine
1 piece cheesecake

Dinner
10 oz steak
2 baked potatoes with butter and sour cream
1 complete tub Hagen Daaz
2 cups milk


If you're coming even close to this on a daily basis, there's your first clue! So how come so many people are gaining so much weight over the holidays?

I think the disconnect is in people's ability to be honest with themselves. Folks don't start off on December 20th, eat lots and by January 4th end up with 15 lbs of extra body fat. I think it starts back in September or October, when the weather starts to get colder (at least up here in blistery cold Canada). People's kids are back in s

chool and few people maintain the same energy expenditure over the colder months as they do during the warmer months.

Here's a likely scenario:

Starting October 1st, energy expenditure drops by around 300 calories per day on average (a fast 40 minute walk). And beginning at Thanksgiving, which in Canada is in October, people start eating more. Let's say about 300 calories more each day (a measly single doughnut or bagel). These numbers are just on average and may be more or less depending on the person, but they'll prove my point.

The sum is 600 calories of additional energy that is available to the body on daily basis. If it's not burned off, it's stored, since this is above your daily caloric requirement. So over the course of 90 days, you have 90 x 600 = 54,000 calories. Which is basically the same number as we started with.

The weight comes on slowly, and for most people who aren't very aware of their bodies or who are already carrying enough bodyfat to blur muscle definition, they won't notice until they've gained a full ten pounds or so. But by the time December comes around, the sluggish feeling is already upon many people, and they seek out quick

bursts of energy that come from sugary foods. This of course only makes the problem worse and they certainly gain that last five pounds by the time January 4 comes around.

Ok... so what have we learned here?

Causative factors:

1. Less energy expenditure (less movement)
2. More energy consumption (more food)


The Solution?

1. Although for some in practice it seems pretty tough, the solution is really quite simple. Move more!

The type of movement we're talking about is really just enough to get a decent sweat. A brisk walk after dinner or in the morning before work, or even on your lunch break. Take your dog for out for some exercise while you run or walk. Of course going to the gym is great too, but that takes extra time, so for some it may not be an option.

If this is your idea of taking your dog for a walk... just quit now!

The point is that you have to make a commitment to forming the habit. Without the habit, you won't do it frequently enough for it to make a difference. The 300 calories you'll burn in 20-60 minutes each day (depending on the exercise intensity) is practically impossible to "catch-up" if you only get out twice a week. Even though you can burn off the same number of calories during the exercise if you exercise for long enough on those two sessions, the effect on getting rid of fat will be nearly impossible to match. Remember, the longer you exercise at a time, the more efficient your body becomes. So shorter, more intense activity but more frequently will keep your body relatively inefficient at using calories to get the work done. This is a good thing, since an inefficient machine uses more gas to do the same amount of work.

2. When it comes to eating, being honest with yourself about how you eat is something more people need to work on. I've known so many people who say they don't eat badly, but who I see eating tons of stuff on a regular basis that I would only eat on my cheat days.


Draw The Line

I call it drawing the line. For me, I'll eat big at Thanksgiving. But folks, we don't have Thanksgiving "holidays", we have "Thanksgiving". It's one day only! Yes, I know there's leftovers, but that's fine. I'll consent to a day or two of eating some additional leftovers. This brings up the calorie intake, but it won't do anything to you long term if you draw the line at 3 days... Thanksgiving, and two days of leftovers. After that, I return to my normal eating habits. And they pretty much stay that way until Christmas. Which for me as I say is December 20th until January 4th. That's a whole two weeks, of delicious, yummy, anything goes.

If you can draw the line and not cross it, and form some good exercise habits, you won't end up with 10-15 lbs of fat to lose come January.

But if you do have some fat to lose, don't make resolutions to train 2 hours a day and eat 1200 calories a day to lose it in just 6 days, instead, work your way backward. Move more (300 calories of expenditure) and eat a little less (300 calories less to burn off), and a couple months will go by and you'll be back in shape.

Put it this way folks, 3 months will go by regardless of what you do, and when you get there, either you'll still have your "holiday" fat, or you won't. If you've been unsuccessful in the past with lofty goals of losing it faster (as the media and supplement industry so push on us), then why not try something different. Pick small changes that you can apply consistently and when those 3 months have come and gone, only you'll know it took 3 months... everyone else will just be impressed!

Of course so will you!

Here's to small but consistent changes for 2009!

:)
Shane

How to Build Your Chest...

Q: I've been really pushing my bench press for the past 6 months, and I've made pretty good strength gains but my chest hasn't grown much? What can I do?

A: This is a common complaint that I have heard frequently. Often when someone is able to make good strength gains and yet their chest still remains largely undeveloped to any significant degree, a certain genetic predisposition can exist which makes it pretty hard.

One of the things to look for is bigger shoulders and big arms. If this is you, then the way your muscles and skeleton are put together, when you train the stress falls primarily along the muscles of your arms. People in this situation generally have very little difficulty building up their arms. But their chest and back muscles generally seem to lag far behind.

In cases like this, exercise selection and exercise order become extremely important. Bench press, while it can remain part of your training arsenal, should be left for strength phases. For you folk, the bench press will likely never do anything to help you build your chest.

Dumbbell work, presses, and flyes will both provide significantly greater recruitment of the pectoral muscles than the bench press will. So these exercises along with other isolation movements such as cable crossovers will allow you to strongly recruit the pecs, which is ultimately required for growth.

Next you have to put them together into an intelligently planned training program.

Lets presume you're following a three day a week, full body program, or a four day a week, split routine.

With three training days per week, you'll want to be sure that at least two of your training days have a good section of chest work. With four days per week, again, at least two training days should have significant chest work in order to really get the chest to grow.

Here's a sample chest training that could fit in with the rest of your training template:

Flat dumbbell press 4x5
work up slowly with low reps until you reach a weight heavy enough that it's a challenge for 5 reps, but make sure it's not too heavy for you to get all four sets with good form.

Dips 3x8
Again, start off with your bodyweight, and as you're able, add weight with chains or by attaching a plate with a small chain and weight belt. Be certain to lean forward on this exercise as it facilitates the contraction of the pecs.

Cable crossovers 3x12
Make sure you get a good stretch on each rep and a full contraction at the peak position.

Starting off with sets of five allows us to get a decent weight which recruits some of the bigger fast twitch fibres which have the greatest potential for growth. Next we hit dips for sets of 8. With 8 reps we're getting into some of the more glycolitic fibers, and finally with the cable crossovers, at 12 reps, we're thoroughly fatiguing everything else.

Each week try to make an increase in how much weight you can use for good form. As part of your whole program, every 4-5 weeks should be an easier week where you drop the weight and the overall volume. This just allows for better recovery. When you get back into it the following week, you'll appreciate the reduced week.

Additionally, depending on your training age (how long you've been training) you can vary the rep ranges for each exercise from week to week or every 2nd or 3rd week or after each reduced week. Of course, keeping the general structure is adivsed... I don't think I have to say it, but cable crossovers aren't very useful at sets of 5 reps. Likewise, dumbbell presses become less useful going much higher than 10 reps. Each type of exercise has it's preferred repetition range and place in a program.

So give this post a re-read, and then hit the gym and give it your best! I think you'll notice an immediate difference in the way your muscles feel during the workout. That "feeling" is what's required for growth. Significant fatigue!

Numbers Never Lie!
:)
Shane

2008 Ottawa & Eastern Ontario Bodybuilding, Fitness, and Figure Championships

On Saturday I had a client, Lysa Gubbels compete at the Eastern Ontario Figure competition.

Congratulations need to go out to Lysa. I'm not sure of the final placings, although she didn't make the top 3. This competition was very difficult, there were over 40 girls in the competition, and there were 6 girls in her class.

Regardless of the final placings, Lysa looked better this year than she has ever before.

Lysa trained for this competition over the past year following a couple different programs that I'd planned out for her. She dieted for a solid 5 months on a very difficult macronutrient and calorie rotation diet.

Here's a few pics so you can see for yourself.

Lysa pics 1

Lysa pics 2

Thanks to Blair Gable Photography for really capturing Lysa's physique so perfectly with his lens!

Once pics are posted on the Ontario Physique Association website I will post a link to them.

:)
Shane