6 Rules to Resolve By
Every January it’s the same old thing, I see people buying new gym memberships, supplements and athletic clothes. Some go the distance, but far too many get lost before February even hits. It’s never easy to go cold turkey into a new regimen, but it’s even harder when done blindly.
So let’s not make things harder than they already are. Let’s set some parameters to help you to help yourself. Follow these 6 rules and it will easily compliment your training goals and give you no excuses to fail.
1. Always know what your next meal is.
Far too often I see great routines and diets crushed by poor planning. You will naturally crave fatty foods if you go too long without eating. By always knowing what/when your next meal is, you can eliminate any chances of grabbing that, “convenient” big mac. I don’t care if you have to be that guy/lady who brings a cooler to work. It’s cheaper, smarter and healthier than sooo many of the other options.
2. Always have ________ at hand.
I left the blank there because it really depends on your goals as to what you should always have available. If you’re trying to lose weight, it should be an apple or carrots. Life happens and you need to be prepared if your plans change or if you feel the need to stress-eat. These are both nutritious, low calorie, and full of fiber which will keep you full. Plus they make you poop, and pooping is the number two best way to lose weight…
Now if you’re trying to put on mass or just get stronger, then always keep a protein bar or shake on you. The more calories the better, because you never know when a coworker is going to treat themselves to the clearly marked leftovers in the fridge. Mixed nuts or trail mix are also great. Anything to keep the catabolism at bay.
3. Be in bed 8 hours before to need to get up.
Sleep is another killer to progress. I don’t think that I need to cite the numerous studies that link lack of sleep to obesity, but here’s an article on it anyway. Most of us don’t get the recommended 8 hours, but we should still try. If you find yourself constantly neglecting this rule, then it may be time to re-evaluate your time management or lifestyle.
Now for some, this may be borderline impossible even with perfect time management. This is why I said, “BE IN BED.” Just be relaxed, unwind and be comfortable. Sleep helps to turn down the sympathetic nervous system(fight or flight) and let the parasympathetic nervous system(rest and digest) do it’s job. So if you aren’t sleeping, at least relax to try to get some of the affects. You can also try:
How to battle sympathetic dominance in just 5 easy minutes!
4. Drink a ½- ¾ gallon of water a day
Peeing is the number one way of loosing weight, so let’s get the gears going. Not only does drinking enough water help with recovery, but it has the following effects:
- Helps fight skin disorders
- Removes waste and toxins from the body
- Increases metabolic rate
- Suppresses appetite
- Battles heart disease and certain cancers
- Helps to lubricate your joints
- Provides more energy
The list goes on, but I think you get the picture.
5. Limit alcohol consumption. Seriously.
No one seems to like to talk about this one, but it needs to be said. THIS IS CRUCIAL and don’t give me that, “oh beer is good for your colon,” crap. You need to really limit yourself if you want results. Though you may think that it’s helping you relax, alcohol actually turns up the sympathetic tone and puts your body in a stressed state. This can cause cortisol levels to spike, which is the last thing you want no matter what your goals are. Lets not forget that a gram of alcohol is 7 calories, where as a carbs and protein are 4 and fat is 9.
For those of you looking to get bigger and stronger, it’s even worse. Alcohol has negative effects on testosterone levels, motor programs and general recovery. So my recommendation is to limit yourself to 3 drinks a week and make it red wine if possible.
6. Get Evaluated.
Yes, get evaluated, especially for those of you who plan on training on your own. Most injuries happen in the first few weeks of the routine and will stop you dead in your tracks. A good trainer should be able to evaluate your movement quality and give you corrective exercises to ensure that you don’t pull that hamstring or mess up that rotator cuff. And if they can’t screen you, then find one that can.
Put these rules on your fridge, in your workout log, wherever. Adhere to them and they will be good to you. 2014 can bring it.
"That's A Load of...." Debunking Media "Fitness" Terms
Glance at the front of the magazines at grocery stores and you'll see a variety of "fitness" or "health" claims such as "tone," "fat-blasting," and other such nonsense as that. I find myself rolling my eyes so much that my occipital (eye) muscles are as big as a body builder's biceps. Sorry, strength coach joke.
Moving on, today I'm going to rip through debunk a few of those outrageous claims so that you too can strengthen your occipital muscles as you wait in the grocery check-out line. I can not possibly cover all the silliness out there, but I've narrowed it down to a few of the common ones (that seem to appear month after month on magazines such as "Self" or "Woman's Day"). A lot of these claims are found on women's magazines, mainly because I think we're fed more crap than the fellas, but they apply to both genders.
CLAIM: "Tone," as in "tone those jiggly arms"- First off, let me remind you that everyone's arm jiggles; that's what happens when a muscle is relaxed. The main definition of "Tone" in exercise physiology is: the normal state of elastic tension or partial contraction in resting muscles. For example, the postural are constantly contracting and relaxing to keep you upright (or slouched...stand up straight!). The fitness magazine "tone" refers to the ability to actually see the muscles' shapely form. (So really, they should say "definition" not "tone.")
In order for a muscle group to be defined, say your arms, two things must occur: 1) the muscle is big enough to be seen (so those stupid tricep kick-backs or bicep curls with 5 pound weight ain't gonna cut it when it comes to muscle growth.) and 2) there needs to be less subcutaneous (under the skin) fat. How does one accomplish bigger muscles with less body fat? Why, picking up heavy stuff and eating a vegetable and protein laden-diet! Glance through a women's magazine at those "arm toning" exercises and you tell me if you think they would actually succeed. As for eating healthy, the details look different for each person (i.e. paleo, vegan, omnivore, etc.), however it should be 90-100% REAL FOOD with minimal crap (though a Christmas cookie or two is ok.) 90% of the time.
FACT: "Tone" means: less fat, bigger muscles.
CLAIM: "Fat-blasting" food- The media makes it seems as if these foods (and it's a new one each week!) has heavy artillery and upon entrance to the body, starts blowing up fat cells left and right.
Uh, sorry, that's not how the body works. Fat cells, once formed, don't go away. They do however change size depending on how much fat is stored in them. So, in order to reduce the amount of fat in each cell, the body needs to be in a caloric deficit. This means you need to eat LESS than what you're using up, for the basic metabolic functions, exercise, and other activities. The body will burn it's excess energy, aka stored fat, to make up for the lack of energy intake. Altering body composition is a life style change; I guarantee you that just eating a serving or two of "fat blasting" foods will NOT be enough to reverse years of bad eating habits. There is a wealth of solid (and scientific) advice out there, and there are definitely more details than I plan on elaborating in this post (maybe another time...) however it boils down to this:
Stop eating crap, eat real food, and pick up heavy things. Take note that I put the nutritional advice first. You can not out-train a crappy diet, so clean that up first! There will be a blog post later on this month regarding that whole aspect of fat-loss.
FACT: Eating a whole-foods based diet, with minimal crap, and exercising regularly OVER TIME will reduce body fat levels.
CLAIM: "Target" body part, usually for fat loss- This myth just won't die! It keeps reappearing week after week on the covers of magazines and on the interwebz. People, YOU CANNOT SPOT REDUCE!!! The body doesn't say, "Oh, I see that you are doing thousands of crunches, I should reduce the body fat I store there so you can have a flat tummy." Really, it says, "For the love of all things iron, STOP CRANKING ON THE SPINE ! It HATES that!" Targeting is about as effective as trying to grow eye-stalks.
Oh, if grunting made it so!
For "targeting trouble areas" see the above two points: an overall body fat reduction will promote definition of muscles and those "problem areas" will be not so problematic. Again, it's a life-style change, not a quick fix.
*This is not to say that isolation work has no purpose. How else are you supposed to have guns for the ladies? Some isolation work thrown in to an already compound-movement heavy (lots of multi-joint exercises such as squats, deadlifts, pushups, pull ups etc) work out can provide some extra stimulation to a muscle group that can lead to hypertrophy (growth).
FACT: Compound movements should be the bulk of you training program. That combined with a diet of whole foods will reduce body fat levels and thus reducing the need to "target" certain areas. (anyone picking up on a theme?)
CLAIM: This is an actual quote from a celebrity trainer, who is a disgrace to our industry:
"Oftentimes, heavy weights can tear the muscle fiber causing it to bulk, but using a lighter weight for a longer duration and allowing your body to move in many different ways to target all of the muscles will lengthen them without tearing."
-Tracy Anderson
Multiple other coaches and trainers have ripped into this (and other nonsensical claims that spew forth from her mouth). Sadly, she is not the ONLY trainer out there who thinks this is true, she just happens to profess this poop where more people can read it. I'm not going to touch the first half of that statement except to say, uh, that's the method by which the body grows stronger...by tearing and repair muscles. Oi!
The phrase "lengthening muscles" is also found, unfortunately, in other fitness "experts" mouths and in their writings. It is physiologically impossible to lengthen a muscle without breaking the bones and extending them or altering the attachment points of the muscle. Yes, the muscles lengthen and shorten during normal movements, however, the actual length of the muscle doesn't change. Got a problem with that? Take it up with your parents, they passed the genes along.
I think that term is really just "tone" said in a different way. Ultimately, the phrase is intended to indicate "definition" just like the word "tone." If a trainer says/writes that claim, it's a pretty solid indication that the trainer/coach has absolutely NO idea how physiology works and therefore you should turn and flee. I'd also like to note her splendid use of the buzzword, "target."
FACT: "Lengthening" a muscle is impossible, and the intended implication is "definition" which is attained via the methods described ad nauseam above.
Now, my SAPT readers, you are armed with the knowledge to see through the baloney that fitness magazines and products proudly display and you have the ability to recall the truth: a great, healthy body is created by... do I really need to say it again? Don't allow the stupidity of the outrageous claims dissuade you from thinking that anything but consistent hard work (both in the kitchen and in the gym) will accomplish your performance and/or physique goals.
The Fallacy of More Is Better
Let us travel back in time... not that far, just to Monday's post. Building on the theme of "Magic Bullet" fitness, there's another fallacy that runs alongside Magic Bullet, kinda like those weird fish that attach themselves to sharks:
It's the mentality that more is better, if you're not gasping for breath and barely able to stand after the workout, then all is for naught! Oh, ho my friends! How far from the truth does that little fish swim.
This is not to say that I don't enjoy a good heart-pounding, sweat-pouring workout now and again (they're fun) or that you should never push yourself beyond your comfort zone. What I am saying is that progress and the value of a training session should not be measured on a) soreness b) tiredness c) vomiting. Matter fact, if the last one does occur, that's the signal your body gives you that you were an idiot and pushed it beyond it's ability to recover (both during the session and possibly after, depending on other stressors). Way to go, bucko.
Let's clear the air a bit and distinguish between soreness that leads to progress and soreness that leads to poop. (that's a technical term by the way.)
Most people, at some point or another, have experienced DOMS (the "Jaws" theme always plays in my head when I hear "DOMS"). DOMS is delayed onset muscle soreness. It usually manifests any where from 12-72 hours after a training session. There's a couple different theories on what contributes to DOMS but for the most part, it stems from microtrauma (itty bitty tears) to the muscle fibers during movements. The body repairs these tears to be more resilient to tears in the future, thus the muscle becomes bigger and stronger. It's similar to forming a callus: the skin is sore and tender, but eventually toughens up to prevent future damage.
This type of soreness is the kind we want for it leads to progress. Think about when you first start training again after a break or introduce a new exercise, at first whoooo buddy! Your muscles are pretty tender, but after a couple more sessions, those same exercises no longer leave you incapacitated afterwards. Those who train regularly, be it lifting, running, lightsaber dueling, will rarely be sore after a workout. This is a sign of progress since the muscles are now more resilient to the training stimulus (and they're stronger to boot!). Do you see how gauging a good workout on soreness is a rather inaccurate measure? The opposite is in fact true: the lack of soreness (over time) is an indication that the training program has a stellar balance of tearing the muscles and repairing them.
In contrast, workouts that cause soreness (or, one step further, real pain) either during or immediately after, are NOT ideal. Immediate soreness/pain is an indication that the body has been pushed too far, and potentially incurred more serious damage to the muscles, joints, or tendons that in can recover from. Over time, if the body isn't allowed to fully recover between training sessions, this could lead to actual injuries. This is bad. Instead of spending energy to repair the microtrauma of the muscles, the body is going to direct resources to repair the more serious damage.
For example, let's say you do a workout of 100 burpees, 400 m sprints, and 100 pushups. Your muscles will incur the microtrauma mentioned above (the kind that leads to strength gains), but you probably also had some damage done to the muscles and tendons surrounding your shoulders, elbows, ankles, and spine. All of which the body will prioritize in healing before dealing with the smaller tears in the muscles. Overall, you're probably not going to get much out of this workout in terms of strength and/or performance gains as your body is spending it's time with emergency repair crews at the joints and tendons (which, from your body's standpoint, are more important).
Therefore, if a workout that causes immediate soreness that's an indicator that the body has been pushed beyond it's limits (either at the muscles or joints or both) and will have a harder time recovering from the workout. As we learned from above, the recovery process is KEY to growing stronger and increasing performance. Thus, if recovery is impaired...fill in the blank, folks. (hint: progress is impaired)
So if you're feeling beat-up, exhausted, and shaky after each workout, I would say it's time to reevaluate your training. Sessions that lead to that are not sustainable over time. If the body can't recover, stress will pile up (even if you don't feel mentally stressed) the physical stress can actually inhibit your fitness goals by either a) cortisol, a stress-related hormone, is jacked up which hinders overall recovery (if it's too high. A little coritsol is part of the recovery process, but chronically high levels can eventually mess everything up). b) injury. Your poor body is just pooped. Bummer.
Take-Away:
1. Soreness is ok, especially in a new program or after a new exercise is introduced. Over time, the soreness will decrease and that's a mark of progress (the body becoming stronger and more resilient).
This is not to say that you should NEVER be sore; part of progressing is stressing the system a bit beyond what it's used to. There should be days throughout your lifetime of training that soreness occurs. But, it should not be....
2. Immediate soreness/pain, particularly around joints or the spine. This means the workout was perhaps more than the body could handle and, despite no actual injury you can see, the body IS injured and will require a longer recovery period. If that recovery time is absent, eventually injuries will manifest.
3. Basing the effectiveness of a workout on "soreness" or "tiredness" is not a fair gauge and often the wrong measuring stick. Instead, one should track progress by strength goals, clothes fitting (or not fitting. Growing some hamstrings can cause pants to be tighter), aerobic markers (such as, running a 100m faster, or the ability to rest less during a weight circuit), and other such performance markers over time.
A witty remark escapes me at the moment, therefore, just assume I said something that would be of a high caliber wit.
Post-Holiday Physique Quick Fixes
I apologize. I have no intention of giving you a "quick fix." Why? Because they don't exist. Yup, the media and fitness "experts" have lied to you. There is no such thing as "10 Minutes to Abz" or ,"Cleanse Food of the month" or any other such nonsense as that. Want to know the secret? 1. Consistency- eating well 90% of the time (you can have treats. But remember they're once-in-a-while occasions. That's why they're "treats.") and exercising regularly (not just in January).
2. Consistency
3. Consistency
Notice a trend here? This month we're going to be dispelling some of the proliferous myths of the fitness world as well as offer solutions to maintaing a healthy lifestyle, and your sanity, that actually work.
Below is a post I wrote a couple months ago in a fit of anger but drives the point home that a healthy, strong body takes time, effort, and consistency.
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While enjoying some quiet time, an advertisement blared over my classical music station (I was peacefully enjoying some Rachmaninov):
"No time for exercise? Tony Horton's 10 Minute Training makes blasting fat and building muscle easier than ever!"
The 10 Minute Trainer DVDs employ:
-"Super Stacking Technique" to combine cardio and strength training (Is that new? Uh, you mean like super-setting and circuit training?)
-Resistance bands and the "most effective moves" (Riiight because 5lbs of resistance is going to build muscle...SAPT-ers, is this correct?)
-A "10 minute" meal plan, not sure what that includes but somehow it helps.
-You're supposed to do 3 workouts/day (so really 30 minute trainer would be more appropriate) selecting from: cardio, total body and lower body workouts. (and the bonus of the Abs DVD...cause that's really what working out is all about... the ABZ)
Ahem, shall I?
Training methodology, professional opinion on the safety of these "moves" for untrained individuals, and lack of feedback on proper exercise technique aside, what angers me the MOST about these kinds of products is the "magic bullet" mentality. They make it sound like it's so easy, so fast and utterly mindless to develop a head-turning physique and/or jaw-dropping strength.
Here's a picture of me from my old bodybuilding days:
Any guesses on how long it took to look like that? (hint: more than 10 minutes)
4 YEARS.
Read that again and let it sink in.
4 years of HARD work, busting my butt in the gym 5-7 days/week, picking up heavy things (many, many times for a lot longer than 30 minutes), following a strict diet year-round (not to mention the restrictive competitive diet I stuck to for 12 weeks prior to a competition. Helloooo broccoli and chicken...every...meal...) Each work out and meal was meticulously planned and well thought-out; I tried my hardest every workout to focus all my thoughts on my training. Anything else, was put inside the "Not Work Out Box" in my head and every rep, every set had my undivided attention.
Did I mention that it took 4 years?
Things like this disgust me. I ABHOR how many products out there preaching the the "'body you want" is only "minutes away,"preying upon our society's collective impatience. Training for strength and or physique goals should require a lot of thinking (not necessarily in the sense that you write your own program, but you should be focused during your session); training sessions shouldn't be executed casually if you expect to reap any benefits. Remember my Iron Brethren, many things in life are fast an easy, strength and a healthy body are not one of them.
At SAPT, we "cook 'em slow" because we know that strength gains and physique changes take time and hard work. Check out two of our champs, Ron Reed and Ryan Dickt. Both have been training with us for years and working their tails off in the gym 3-4/week and gettin' AFTER it!
Heard of the workout "Insanity?" How 'bout try some INTENSITY?
THAT is what training looks like, even with the "little" stuff. Or this:
3 years of consistent training = 425 deadlift... and he's only a junior in high school.
And this:
Yup... guess what? Another consistent SAPT trainee. 300 lbs!
Don't fall for the short cut and train like you mean it.
Cleaning Up Holiday Faves: Desserts
Wanna know how to remember to spell"desserts" versus "desert"? You always want two desserts and only one desert ( in regards to the number of "'s" in each word).
Oh, the desserts are always the tricky ones to navigate during the holidays! They're so tasty yet can also, if you're not careful, leave you in an insulin coma afterwards. (Note: I'm NOT saying you CAN'T have dessert. Desserts are awesome and can be enjoyed in MODERATION during special occasions, such as a holiday. However, it's that whole "moderation" thing is usually the portion of that advice that is ignored.)
Today's post is a two-fold of excellence: 1. two quick dessert recipes that are for "oh crap, I was supposed to bring something!" moments and 2. links to recipes of delicious and healthier versions of desserts. Baking is really not my strong point, mainly because baking requires the cook to follow the recipe to a T. I do not do such things; I prefer just to throw stuff haphazardly around in my mixing bowls and see what happens. Baking like this generally results in disastrous, inedible food.
First quick recipe:
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter (or any nut butter) Cups (adapted from Joshua Weissman over at Slimpalate.com)
Ingredients - 7-8 ounces high quality dark chocolate - note: Do NOT use this. It was a messy disaster.
- ½ cup peanut butter (or any nut butter you prefer) - 1 tablespoon honey (you can also use stevia if you prefer, but honey gives it a gooey and delightful texture) - 1 tablespoon coconut flour (or regular flour. Actually, depending on the PB, if it's a thicker consistency, you probably won't need it.) - smoked sea salt for sprinkling (I skipped this, and it still tasted great. However, if you like the sweet-salty contrast, this will be fabulous) 1. Line a mini muffin tin with mini muffin cups.
2. In a small bowl add peanut butter, honey or stevia, coconut flour (if needed) and stir until well combined and place to the side.
3. Chop up the chocolate into pieces and melt it in a double boiler or place it in a bowl and microwave at 10 second intervals stirring in between each interval until melted. Just beware the cheap Trader Joe kind! I used their higher end chocolate, and it worked just find.
4. Using a tablespoon, spoon the melted chocolate carefully into the cupcake cups, enough to line the bottom of the cup and fill it about 1/2 inch.
5. Now scoop a teaspoon-ish size amount of peanut butter into each cup. Also perform this carefully. I had one (maybe two) instances of spilled chocolate... Not good. 6. Using the remaining chocolate, drizzle melted chocolate over peanut butter filled molds with just enough chocolate to cover completely. Or, if you're like me, I didn't seem to have enough chocolate so I had some peanut butter peeking out the top. They were still delicious.
7. Sprinkle smoked sea salt over each finished chocolate (optional)
8. Place lace in the fridge until hard, roughly 30-40 minutes.
Quick Pumpkin Cookies
- 3/4 -1 cup pumpkin puree (should you not have pumpkin on hand, dried fruit works well too. I've experimented with apricots and prunes with tasty success. The latter version was very helpful in the bowel department.)
- 1/2 cup peanut or almond butter
- 3/4 cup oat flour (just pulse oatmeal in a blender and ta-da! You can swap this out for 1/2 cup coconut flour if you need this to be a gluten-free recipe)
- 1 tsp vanila
- 1.5 tsp of pumpkin spice
- 1-2 Tbs honey
- 1-2 handfuls of chocolate chips or raisins (optional)
- Enough milk to thin it out a bit (roughly 1/2 to 1/3 cup)
PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 350 (I always forget this part).
1. Throw all ingredients, except the milk at first, into a food processor and pulse until fairly smooth.
2. Slowly add milk until the consistency is not super, super thick. Just slightly thick and sticky.
3. Toss in the chocolate chips, if you're using them, and scoop tablespoon (or slightly larger) size balls onto a cookie sheet.
4. Bake roughly 10 minutes and enjoy!
Now for some dessert links from ladies who are fantastic and innovative cooks. I hope you enjoy!
Raw Pumpkin Caramel Bars from Cara Lyons at carascravings.com
Gingerbread Cookies (gluten free) from Maggie Savage from sheletthemeatcake.com
Pumpkin Cake with Maple icing also from Maggie Savage
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp from the Balance Platter
Black Bean Brownies from Yours Truly
Ta-da! I highly recommend trolling around on those blogs too for other dessert ideas (there are a TON). Remember, moderation is key. You can have your cake an eat it too, just don't eat the whole thing. :)
In-Season Training Considerations for Wrestlers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iss4jIw-3Y8
