Boot Camp Review Core Training and Yummy Muffins

Welcome to newsletter issue #55. In part 1 we're going to get into the meat and potatoes of developing a strong and healthy core. In part 2 you'll hear about Day 2 of Your Beach Body Boot Camp from guest blogger Katy Sinha, and in part 3 you'll get my super healthy muffin recipe.

Enjoy!

Part 1

Question:

I’ve had low back pain in the past and I suspect it has to do with my not knowing how to lift properly, and that I have a fat tummy and probably very little abdominal strength. So (1) how do I turn my fat tummy into hard muscles, (2) work my abdominal core, and (3) not hurt my back in the process?

From Steve, Midland, ON

Answer:

Hi Steve,

You’ve listed three great questions there. With respect to not knowing how to lift properly, to fully answer that question is a full article in itself, which I will leave to a future newsletter. So without going in to the mechanics of how to lift properly, knowing how to protect your back when you lift or train your abs or back is vitally important, so let’s get into it.

Protecting Your Back While Training

When you stand with good posture, the natural lordotic curve of your spine is the same curve you should maintain while you lift. When you train your abs, depending on the movement, you want to maintain either the same lordotic curve or a slightly flexed spine.

To make sure your spine is protected when you’re lifting or training abs or back, you need to brace your whole midsection using the Val Salva manouever. Essentially, you take a deep breath, bear down hard, lock up your abdominal muscles and actually apply pressure outward against your abs. Do NOT pull your navel towards your spine as is frequently but incorrectly taught.

Protecting your back while training the abdominals is really not that difficult, but there is so much confusion, and a lot of it really comes from a lack of education as to what the muscle groups are and how they function. So let’s get a little bit of anatomy going here.

First, there are four abdominal muscles.

1. Rectus Abdominus

2. External Oblique

3. Internal Oblique

4. Transverse Abdominus

The (1) rectus abdominus helps you flex your spine like when you do crunches (which is a waste of time by the way). The (2) external and (3) internal obliques help you to twist, and more importantly help you to resist twisting. They can also help you to flex your spine too. The (4) transverse abdominus, when used correctly, braces your midsection making it stiff, solid and able to resist forces that would flex, extend, or twist it, and finally transmit external forces towards the extremities.

The transverse abdominus (TVA) is the muscle that gets people so confused. First, we get silly fitness instructors yelling out “Recruit that TVA!” to their participants. Get real man! Who the heck is going to know how to flex their transverse abdominus anyway?!?

Some smarty-pants then went and looked up the anatomy and function of the TVA and came back with the then-wise, but now-not-so-wise instruction to pull your navel towards your spine.

This is the problem with text-book ONLY education. Yes, the TVA does attach in part in the front to the linea alba, and in part in the back to the thoracolumbar fascia, which means that yes drawing your navel towards your spine does activate the muscle.

But folks, simple “activation” of this muscle is not what we’re after when trying to protect your spine. We’re after an inborn, instinctive, maximum effort recruitment of every single muscle fiber in your TVA. We’re talking about generating massive, life-saving muscle tension if necessary. While it is an instinctive process when needed, the key is to learn how to apply it day-to-day when lifting or carrying heavy objects or, of course, working out.

So whether you’re flipping heavy tires at my boot camp, doing a heavy deadlift or squat in the gym, or picking up your kid, trust me on this one.. do the same thing every time! Brace hard, and use the val salva manouever.

If you’re concerned about the safety of the Val Salva manouever, better not let your wife deliver your baby vaginally, as she’ll be engaging the Val Salva manouever for 10-15 seconds at a time for up to 2 hours to push your baby out.

It’s quite simple. If you’re not using abdominal bracing and the Val Salva manouever, start, or risk injury. Your choice!

Turn Your Fat Tummy Into Rock Hard Muscles

The truth is, unless you’re Jesus, just like you can’t turn water into wine, you can’t turn fat into muscle. But, you can burn off your fat tummy and turn your soft, thin, weak abdominal muscles into slabs of rock hard beach-ready abs!

Burning off your fat tummy is simply a matter of expending more calories than you consume. I’ve covered this quite a bit recently so I won’t get into it too much here, but 2-3 good hard sessions of weight training each week, plus 2-3 sessions of metabolic fatigue training such as www.your-beach-body-boot-camp.com will do it.

Turning your soft, thin, weak abdominals into slabs of rock hard beach-ready abs requires the right training.

Before you think we’re going to have you jumping into hanging leg raises, and dragon flags, or any other crazy abdominal exercises, you have to understand the types of contractions you should and shouldn’t be doing and the progressions required to train your abs safely.

Static Contraction

The first exercises that need to be learned are exercises in which you use your abdominal muscles to resist externally applied forces.

Simple examples of Static Contraction exercises include:

- Front plank

- Side plank

- Reverse plank

- 1-Arm heavy dumbbell holds

In these exercises you are using your abdominal muscles to resist the force of gravity. Intra-abdominal pressure is maintained via the Val Salva manouever. Gradually build the length of time you can hold them. Once you can hold each of them for at least one minute, you can move into your first progression.

During any static contraction exercise, obviously you aren’t going to hold the Val Salva manouever for the entire duration. Instead, you allow short but shallow bursts of air to escape, and then you quickly pull it back in. The reason for the short, shallow breaths is to keep at minimum the movement of your midsection. Under a heavy load, if you were to exhale fully, you would be unable to maintain tension in your muscles. By allowing just enough air to escape, and then rapidly pull enough back in you are able to maintain the stiff position of your body.

If you ever feel dizzy from this, rest some, and then try again. Your cardiovascular system adapts quite well to this, allowing for significant and safe intra-abdominal pressure to protect your spine.

Progressions

Your first progression would include using other externally applied forces such as a plate on your back; your training partner pushing sideways on your hips; or even lifting a hand or foot just an inch or two off the floor. Make sure whichever progression you use, you maintain the same strict position as before. Do not let your body sag or shift out of place under the external force.

Stabilizing During Dynamic Movement

Now that you have a pretty good ability to brace your abs and resist externally applied forces, the next stage of abdominal training is to learn to brace your abs during dynamic movement of your extremities.

Simple examples of such exercises include:

- Floorclimbers

- Mountainclimbers

- Farmer’s walk unevenly loaded

- 1-Dumbbell front squats

- Dumbbell suitcase deadlifts

- 2-Arm Kettlebell pulls

These exercises teach you to use your abdominals to brace your spine during fast and forceful movements of your arms, legs, and hips.

Dynamic Stabilization During Dynamic Movement

Finally, exercises in which you actually use your abdominals to create movement as well as to stabilize your midsection are the next ones you will learn.

Simple examples include:

- Hanging leg raises

- Dragon flags

- Incline reverse crunches

- Incline leg raises

- Band crunch-downs to floor

- Blast Strap fall-outs

- Blast Strap oblique planks

- Kettlebell or 1-Dumbbell clean & press

During all of these movements your abdominals are always providing dynamic stabilization while helping to create the necessary movements of the spine. At all times, intra-abdominal pressure is maintained via the Val Salva manouever.

Here’s a sample 8 week abdominal strengthening program that a beginner could use. By the end of the 8 week program, this person will have significant abdominal strength and abdominal muscle thickness. Don’t worry, this type of abdominal muscle thickness, doesn’t make you look “thick” around the waist, instead, when body fat levels drop enough, it gives you the nice etched midsection look.

Sample abdominal Exercise Program

The prescribed exercises would be done 3 times per week, and could be tagged onto the end of your regular exercise routine.

Week	Exercise	Sets/Reps/Time	Progressions
1	Front plank Side plank	2 x 20 seconds 2 x 15 seconds
2	Front plank Side plank Reverse plank	2x40 seconds 2x30 seconds 1x20 seconds
3	Front plank Side plank Reverse plank	2x30 seconds 2x40 seconds 2x20 seconds	10lbs added
4	Front plank Side plank 1-Arm heavy DB hold	3x40 seconds 2x50 seconds 2x30 seconds x 20lbs	10 lbs added & lift alt. feet
5	Floorclimbers Side plank Reverse plank	2x20 reps 2x60 seconds 2x30 seconds
6	Floorclimbers T-Twists 1-Arm heavy DB hold	2x25 reps 5-10 ea. side 2x45 seconds x 25lbs	Increase weight
7	Floorcilmbers Farmer’s walk	3x25 reps 2x60 steps x 15lbs + 30lbs	Increase weight
8	Mountainclimbers 1-DB Farmer’s walk Reverse plank	3x20 reps 3x60 steps x 30 lbs 3x30 seconds	Add weight

This is just a sample 8 week program, and while it is good and effective, it is far from all inclusive. There is so much more to complete core training than can possibly be covered in just a newsletter.

Last year a client of mine stumbled upon an abs program called Combat Core by Jim Smith, CSCS, and my client asked me if it was any good. Well it was so good, I ended up buying my own copy. If you like the information I’ve provided in this article on abdominal training, but you want even more information and more great abdominal training programs, you won’t find anything even remotely as good anywhere as Combat Core.

Jim Smith, the creator of Combat Core has worked with thousands of athletes of all different sports, and most recently helped prepare UFC competitor Tom Lawlor for his victorious fight at UFC100 last month.

Anyway, if you’re looking to get arguably the best information on abdominal training anywhere, Combat Core is for you.

Go HERE! to grab Jim’s Combat Core product.

Just a quick note: I've had enough people ask me for a really comprehensive product on abs, but putting together something like Jim's Combat Core would take me probably a year with the time I can commit to it. And truthfully, it would be tough to put together a better program myself. So if you don't want to wait for my product, get Jim's.

Part 2

Guest Blogger Katy Sinha on Day 2 of

www.your-beach-body-boot-camp.com

OK! I am impressed. Just finished day 2 of boot camp this morning and 7am did not seem as early as the first day.

The Battling Ropes of Death

As I expected, Shane gave us all a sense of what we can expect in future sessions. Each boot camp session will be getting progressively tougher. He's good... here we are all returning because we're feeling good... at the same time, we're getting tougher, both mentally and physically.

Throughout camp this morning, I could hear cheers of support and words of encouragement when the drills were getting tougher. 'Cause it's true, I wouldn't be doing this alone! Such 'grunty' drills... it's fun to do it with a group though.

I even heard someone mention that we should celebrate the end of boot camp with a martini party! So, we must be having fun!!

More after DAY 3

Katy

Part 3

Awesome Protein Muffins

If you’re expecting the taste of those super heavy, junky, sugar and fat laddened muffins you can buy at commercial bakeries, then this recipe is not for you.

But if you want a muffin recipe where each muffin by itself is a healthy, nutritious snack, that still tastes good even with all the healthy stuff in it, then you’ll love it!

A couple things about the recipe.

1. If you find it a little dry, add a bit of water or milk. Start with an oz at most and then make adjustments the next time depending on your preferences. We had to make the recipe about 4 times before we found the exact combination we liked the most.

2. If you want more protein, add more eggs or protein powder. (protein powder makes it drier, so use less oats and/or add some milk or water to compensate.

3. If you want less carbs, use less oats.

4. If you want less fat, use less butter and/or coconut oil

Wet ingredients

¼ cup of soft coconut oil

¼ cup of soft butter

8-10 ripe bananas

6 eggs

1 tbsp Vanilla extract

3 Dry ingredients

3 cups of oats

7 scoops protein powder

1 cup chopped walnuts

¼ cup ground flax seed (grind in coffee grinder)

½ cup dried coconut (unsweetened)

1 pinch salt

1 tsp magic baking powder

1 cup frozen raspberries or blueberries or 1 cup of chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. In separate dishes, thoroughly mix wet and dry ingredients, then combine.

3. Bake at 350 for approximately 25minutes

Makes 24 muffins

Nutrition Facts per muffin:

Optional Ingredient:	1 Cup Frozen Berries	1 Cup Chocolate Chips
Total Calories (kcal)	226	296
Protein (g)	13	15
Carbohydrate (g)	18	29
Fat (g)	11	15

So that’s it for issue #55

If you have any questions, or comments, please leave them below in the comment section.

Until next time,

Shane Miller, CPT,CSN

Your Strength and Fat Loss Coach

www.your-beach-body-boot-camp.com

www.your-strength-and-fat-loss-coach.com

Your Beach Body Boot Camp Review Plus Egg Yolks vs. Egg Whites

Welcome to Your Strength and Fat Loss Coach Newsletter. In today's issue we feature a review of Your Beach Body Boot Camp by one of it's participants, and a much needed article on a topic I hear far too much misguided beliefs... Egg Yolks vs. Egg Whites.

Guest Blogger Katy Sinha details her first day at
Your Beach Body Boot Camp.

I made it to the first of 16 boot camp days this morning! It's very exciting to be in my first 'boot camp' and realized that it's as much a mental game as it is physical in GETTING there for 7am!

Looking around the group of 12+ fellow bootcampers, we each have a reason for being there and have expectations for the outcome. I like the group. Everyone seems really supportive of each other.

As far as how i feel 6 hours after my first session, BRING IT ON!!!!

More talk after my muscles start to hurt...

Katy

Whole Eggs vs. Egg Whites

I overheard a conversation at the grocery store the other day between two women, who were discussing whether to buy eggs, or egg whites only. One woman said she preferred to crack the
eggs and dump the yolks down the drain, citing it as costing less than buying just egg whites, while the other woman said she'd rather pay for the convenience of not having to crack the eggs and separate the white from the rest of the "artery clogging garbage in the yolk".

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Right then and there I knew this would be the topic for my next blog post.

This is a perfect example of how confused people are about nutrition. About ten to fifteen years ago, the link between high cholesterol and heart disease was established. You don't have to search hard to find plenty of studies that clearly link a high blood cholesterol level with heart disease.

The problem is that this information was taken and debased and publicized as "Dietary cholesterol intake" being linked to heart disease.

First, understand that having high cholesterol levels is not a diseased state. Heart Disease is as disease, but high cholesterol isn't. In fact, the human body has such a big requirement for cholesterol--as it is involved in the function and formation of so many hormones in the body--that any shortage of dietary cholesterol simply cranks up the body's own production of cholesterol to bridge the gap.

Studies have also shown that it is not whether you have higher cholesterol levels in the bloodstream that causes heart disease, but whether there exists a state of inflammation in the body. A state of inflammation stimulates cholesterol to stick to the walls of the arteries in the body as a protective mechanism. Cholesterol is a healing in nature, and is a key building block for natural sex-hormone production in the body.

Testing for cholesterol levels is fine, as optimal health actually requires that you have a high HDL cholesterol level. A better predictive test as to whether you are developing heart disease would be to measure both c-reactive protein (crp) and homocysteine levels. Both tests when high indicate high levels of inflammation in the body.

What causes high inflammation in the body?

1. High carb, low fat diets
2. Diets low in vitamins, minerals, and fiber (usually from a lack of vegetables, legumes, and fruit)
3. Diets high in junk food (man made trans-fatty-acids are a leading cause of inflammation)
4. Diets high in burned or charred food (if you're going to BBQ your food, DON'T burn it! And DON'T burn your toast)

So next time your doctor says your cholesterol levels are too high, and wants to put you on possibly dangerous statin drugs to lower your cholesterol, make sure he or she has also tested you for both c-reactive protein and blood homocysteine levels.

If your tests come back positive for high levels, then you're definitely treading on thin ice, but the solution does not involve statin drugs, unless you are in life-threateningly poor health to begin with, in which case these drugs can save lives. The take home message about Statin medications is that they are last minute lifesavers. But they should not be used as part of a heart-disease preventative plan.

For most people, the solution lies in cleaning up their diet, and getting regular exercise, and certainly DOES NOT involve dumping the yolks down the drain.

Here's a few nutrition facts you might be surprised to see.

Egg yolk vs. Egg white Nutrient Units One Yolk One White Water g 8.89 28.90 Energy kcal 54 16 Protein g 2.70 3.60 Total lipid (fat) g 4.51 0.06 Carbohydrate, by difference g 0.61 0.24 Sugars, total g 0.10 0.23 Minerals Calcium, Ca mg 22 2 Iron, Fe mg 0.46 0.03 Magnesium, Mg mg 1 4 Phosphorus, P mg 66 5 Potassium, K mg 19 54 Sodium, Na mg 8 55 Zinc, Zn mg 0.39 0.01 Copper, Cu mg 0.013 0.008 Manganese, Mn mg 0.009 0.004 Selenium, Se mcg 9.5 6.6 Vitamins Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid mg 0.0 0.0 Thiamin mg 0.030 0.001 Riboflavin mg 0.090 0.145 Niacin mg 0.004 0.035 Pantothenic acid mg 0.508 0.063 Vitamin B-6 mg 0.059 0.002 Folate, total mcg 25 1 Folic acid mcg 0 0 Folate mcg 25 1 Choline, total mg 116.0 0.4 Betaine mg 0.2 0.1 Vitamin B-12 mcg 0.33 0.03 Vitamin A mcg 65 0 Retinol mcg 63 0 Carotene, beta mcg 15 0 Carotene, alpha mcg 6 0 Cryptoxanthin, beta mcg 6 0 Vitamin A, IU IU 245 0 Lycopene mcg 0 0 Lutein + zeaxanthin mcg 186 0 Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) mg 0.44 0.00 Tocopherol, beta mg 0.01 0 Tocopherol, gamma mg 0.23 0.0 Tocopherol, delta mg 0.01 Vitamin D IU 18 0.000 Vitamin K (phylloquinone) mcg 0.1 0.000 Fats Fatty acids, total saturated g 1.624 0.000 Fatty acids, total monounsaturated g 1.995 0.000 Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated g 0.715 0.000 20:5 n-3 g 0.002 0.000 22:5 n-3 g 0.000 0.000 22:6 n-3 g 0.019 0.000 Cholesterol mg 210 0.000 USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 21 (2008)

More Proof That Egg Yolks Trump Egg Whites In Every Nutritional Category

I invite you to check carefully the two columns above listed as One Yolk and One White. Note how through all the vitamins and minerals, the egg white is virtually devoid of any nutrients in comparison to the egg yolk. Additionally, when it comes to the fats, there is only 1.6 grams of saturated fat per yolk.

Most health professionals will tell you that your diet should contain about 10% saturated fats. So if you do the basic math, if you require 1800 calories per day, 10% of that is 180 calories, and divided by 9 calories/gram, gives you 20 g of saturated fat. So you're fine to consume 3, 4, or 5 yolks a day or more plus enjoying some steak at dinner.

These numbers are only for an 1800 calorie a day diet. If you're doing any serious physical exercise such as www.your-beach-body-boot-camp.com or weight training, or playing any sports, then your calorie requirements may be much higher, resulting in an even higher upper limit for how many yolks per day you can eat safely.

The same doctors and so called nutrition gurus that tell you to eat fewer egg yolks, espouse the benefits of "heart healthy" monounsaturated fats such as oleic acid, which is found in olives and almonds. Yet they fail to notice that each egg yolk delivers nearly a full 2 grams of the same monounsaturated fat.

Finally, the big one, omega-3 fatty acids that have all the current research to back up their health benefits are contained ONLY in the yolks. There is none at all in egg whites.

Clearly, egg yolks are nutritionally superior in every single category.

So next time you're going to make an omelette or scrambled eggs, go for a few whole eggs instead of one whole egg plus 4 or 5 whites. Not only will it taste better, it is far more nutritious, and it's way less of a hassle.

:)
Shane Miller, CPT, CSN
Your Strength and Fat Loss Coach
www.your-strength-and-fat-loss-coach.com
www.your-beach-body-boot-camp.com

UFC George St Pierre Conditioning Training

The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), whether you like it or not, is the most physically demanding sport there is. Athletes such as Georges St Pierre of Montreal (Canada), the current welterweight champion, have strength and conditioning programs second to none in the world.

The Incredible Physique of Georges St. Pierre

Nothing produces fatigue as quickly as wrestling and swinging punches and kicks, not to mention taking punches and kicks, and being thrown to the ground.

So without signing-up for my UFC-Style Beatdown Bootcamp, where the old saying, "Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger" is quite literally the truth, how are you supposed to get the best possible strength and conditioning work in the least possible time, and for the least cost?

Easy! You go to www.your-beach-body-boot-camp.com where I will put you through the most intensive training you've ever experienced bar none!

Here's my guarantee: If you come to my camp, give it 100% and you don't significantly improve your strength and conditioning, not only will it be free, but I will pay you for your wasted time!

You might think I'm crazy to give this kind of an unconditional guarantee, even at the risk of losing money. Heck, I might even get a few people out just to make some money. But I know by the time they make it through, they won't ask for a dime. Rather, they'll probably be signing-up for the next camp.

Don't believe me? Call my bluff if that's what you think it is.

What have you got to lose?

Nada!

So head on over to www.your-beach-body-boot-camp.com and sign-up today!

We start Monday morning at 7am!

Have a great weekend!

:)
Shane Miller
Your Strength and Fat Loss Coach
www.your-strength-and-fat-loss-coach.com
www.your-beach-body-boot-camp.com

Burn More Fat At Your Beach Body Boot Camp

The last few weeks I've been hard at work putting together the best possible fat burning workouts I could think of. They're ready. I've also been hard at work getting a website up so you can find out how you too can burn more fat at Your Beach Body Boot Camp!


So bust on over to www.your-beach-body-boot-camp.com and find out for yourself why my email inbox is overflowing with sign-up forms since we went live at noon today!

Don't miss it!

Shane Miller, CPT, CSN
Your Strength and Fat Loss Coach
http://www.your-beach-body-boot-camp.com
http://www.your-strength-and-fat-loss-coach.com

Fat Loss Quite Possibly The Most Effective Program Ever

Do you need to lose weight fast? Have hours of boring cardio on that painful bike seat finally brought you to your senses? Are you sick of all the silly fat diets and completely ridiculous claims of the next miracle weight loss pill? Are you looking for what just may be the most effective fat loss program anywhere?

If so, you're going to love what I've got in store for you. I've put together a fat incinerating workout using completely unconventional equipment that is loads of fun to use, and I guarantee you will never work so hard and have so much fun at the same time. I developed Your Beach Body Boot Camp to help you burn more body fat faster than quite possibly any other workout ever devised.

Here’s why it is so effective:

1. Every exercise requires an all out effort. There is no medium, no low, only high! The more effort the workout requires, the more calories are needed to fuel it. Do you see where I'm going here?
   
2. Proven, and well established in the literture**, High Intensity Interval Training has been shown to be the single most effective method of rapid fat loss compared to other forms of exercise.
3. Producing a significant increase in excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), High Intensity Interval Training causes a whopping boost to your 24-hour energy expenditure. This means you burn way more calories all the time. Who doesn’t want that?
4. Group training environment promote encouragement and teamwork from your peers, which always helps you to find energy you didn't know existed.
   
5. When your fatigue level is second only to your level of excitement, hard work doesn't seem so hard. I guarantee you haven't done these exercises! After making it through your first workout at Your Beach Body Boot Camp, I can't imagine you'd ever do someone else' bootcamp.
6. Come at your own risk, your risk losing fat fast, getting in crazy shape, and loving every minute!

Here's an example of what we'll be doing...

The Battling Ropes of Death

The website is almost done, so stay tuned as we go live, ready or not, tomorrow at noon.

** Tremblay, A., J. Simoneau, and C. Bouchard. Impact of exercise intensity on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism. Metabolism. 43:814-818, 1994.