Archive for November, 2008

Holiday heft!

Brian November 28th, 2008

Alright, Thanksgiving just passed and we officially entered the “no restraint zone.” Eating healthy is harder than ever with holiday parties and shopping taking more and more of our time. Below are a few quick and easy tips to keep off the pounds and still have a good time.

Holidays:

  • Stick to eating multiple small meals rather than one large one. You won’t get so lethargic and your body is better able to break down the food you have eaten.
  • Always eat dessert after the meal. Waiting to eat dessert until a few hours after the meal guarantees that you will eat more sweets, and have a higher blood glucose and ensuing insulin spike.
  • If there are appetizers, try to snack on some fruits and vegetables. This will provide some bulk and fill you up so you will be less likely to eat more at lunch or dinner time.
  • Limit alcohol consumption. There is no quicker way to add up empty calories than with beer, mixed drinks and wine!
Shopping:
  • Try to bring some food with you to limit the amount of eating out. You can eat this in your car before you make the next trek into the traffic madness. This also helps save money!
  • Choose a salad with grilled chicken instead of a greasy cheeseburger. Most places offer healthy menu choices.
  • Eat a large meal before you leave to go shopping.
I hope these quick, easy tips help you this holiday season.
In Health,
Brian

Diet makes the training program- part 4

Brian November 25th, 2008

In my last blog entry I outlined two different training programs for fat loss. I have previously discussed the importance of total tonnage and workout density for boosting gH levels. In this post I will give some pointers on diet, which is the most important part of a fat loss program. First, I will lay out which foods to use sparingly and which to include in your nutrition plan for maximum fat loss.

Avoid these foods or use sparingly:

  • Most dairy products- milk and yogurt contain a lot of sugar and most cheeses are high in fat and sodium. Eggs are ok.
  • Wheat, unbleached wheat flour and cereals- as with dairy products, many people are allergic to wheat products and may not know it. This can cause inflammation and water retention. Also, unbleached wheat flour and most cereals break down like sugar in the body which can cause a spike in blood glucose levels.
  • Sauces, soups and condiments- all these products are loaded with sodium, and many dressings, condiments and sauces have high fructose corn syrup and sugar in them. **Mustard is ok, but the sodium content is still high for the serving size.
  • Fatty cuts of meat- these cuts of meat will only add unwanted calories. Choose leaner cuts of beef, pork, chicken and fish to get the protein you need without the added fat.
  • Starchy vegetables- peas and corn fit into this category.
  • Artificial Sweeteners-These should be used sparingly as they can cause an insulin spike in people who are overweight.
Include these foods:
  • Lean cuts of meat and fish
  • Eggs
  • Brown rice
  • Whole oats
  • Beans and lentils
  • Apples, oranges and mixed berries
  • Peppers, celery, spinach, broccoli and yams
I would never recommend eliminating whole food groups, so include some dairy and other fruits and vegetables every week. When restricting some of these food groups it is always a good idea to take and multivitamin/mineral supplement. 
Stay tuned for my next blog entry where I will lay out meal/nutrient timing so you can get the most from your training.
In Health,
Brian Ramage

Diet makes the training program – part 3

Brian November 17th, 2008

In my last blog I talked about the importance of total tonnage for boosting gH levels and increasing fat oxidation. In this edition I will lay out a few weight training templates to use. Please use caution with these programs because they are very intense and can cause nausea and/or low blood sugar. Make sure to have at least 1.5 hours and no more than 4 hours between your last meal and the training session. This will ensure you have enough fuel for the session and will minimize the likelihood of becoming nauseous. If you are over 35 and/or overweight please seek the advice of a physician before starting a program of this intensity.

There are several ways to lay out a training program for fat loss. There are circuit weight training programs, calisthenic circuits and high intensity interval training. A bodyweight, or calisthenic circuit, is great for relieving stress on the joints from heavy weight training in addition to being great for fat loss. A free weight circuit is good for gaining muscle mass while losing bodyfat. Both of these programs will help with metabolic conditioning which makes them perfect for sports such as wrestling and mma.

Free weight metabolic conditioning circuit

Lunge

Bench

Pull-up

Leg press

Standing press

Dips

Curl

Abdominal Russian twist

There are two ways to do the above routine. 1) Pure Conditioning and fat loss: Do a set of ten repetitions on each exercise (through the entire circuit) without rest between sets. Do three circuits with 1 minute of rest between each circuit. Start with a weight that you can handle for an easy 10 reps (approx. 60% of 1 rep max). 2) Strength and fat loss: Do a set of ten repetitions on the first exercise and rest 1 min. Do a second set of 10 reps on the first exercise and rest 1 minute. Repeat for all the exercises listed until you complete the whole circuit. ** Try to shorten the rest periods by a few seconds every training session until you reach 30 seconds of rest between sets or circuits.

Variations:

Make sure to switch exercises every training sessions so the body does not adapt and halt progress. Below are some variations for common exercises:

Legs: Forward and reverse lunges, front and back squats, step-ups, leg press, single-leg squats, zercher               squats

Chest: Barbell and dumbbell flat, incline and decline press, cable flye, dumbbell flye

Back: Conventional, sumo and romanian deadlift (also leg exercises), pull-ups, chin-ups, dumbbell and                   barbell row, lat pulldown

Shoulders: Barbell and dumbbell seated and standing press, lateral raise, rear deal flye

Arms: Dips, dumbbell and barbell curls, close grip bench, skull crushers, preacher curl

Abdominals: Russian twist, hanging leg raises, v-ups, pikes, bridges (side and prone)

Total body: clean and press, kettlebell swings, snatch, squat and press

Check back soon for more.

In health,

Brian Ramage

Diet makes the training program-part 2

Brian November 13th, 2008

In my last blog entry I talked about the importance of nutrition for weight/fat loss. In this segment I will discuss some tricks you can do with your training to maximize fat loss. Keep in mind that the effectiveness of this program is predicated on how diligent you are with your nutrition planning.

The trick to designing a weight training program for fat loss is maximizing the growth hormone (gH) spike from training. An transient increase in growth hormone will not have much of an effect, but an increase over time with multiple training sessions can have a substantial impact. Aside from its role in growth and maturity through adolescence, growth hormone increases fatty acid oxidation (lipolysis). Growth hormone levels can be increased from a variety of stimuli. Exposure to cold, starvation, naps, certain supplements, aerobic training and high density weight training can all lead to higher gH levels in varying degrees. For the remainder of this article we will focus on weight training density. 

High training density causes a stress to the body which in turn causes a gH spike. Training density is simply how much work you do in a given amount of time. Let’s say your total tonnage (reps x sets x weight) for a training session is 2,000 lbs. If it took you 60 minutes to complete this session you would have lifted only 33 lbs. per minute (this is a rudimentary way to look at it, but you get the point). Now, if your total tonnage was 4,000 lbs. in the same time frame your training density would be twice as high. The main ways to increase training density are to lift a higher tonnage in the same amount of time or lift the same in less time. An example would be to have a base tonnage of 2,000 lbs. which is done in 50-60 minutes. By making your rest periods shorter you could make the session last 30 minutes, thus increasing the density of the training session. Other training variables can affect gH release such as the types of exercises performed and the speed at which they are done.

This should give you a basic template for what you need to do. Stay tuned for more in this series where I will discuss interval training, weight training exercises that need to be included in your program and some nutrition planning guidelines.

 

In Health,

Brian Ramage

Diet makes the training program

Brian November 8th, 2008

I see too many people come into a health club and log hours upon hours on elliptical machines, treadmills, bikes or whatever the latest, greatest fad is. Inevitably, I hear their story about how much time they spend doing aerobic training and still haven’t lost weight. I am going to say something blasphemous to the fitness community; you DO NOT need to do tons of cardiovascular/aerobic training to achieve fat/weight loss.

The cardiovascular/aerobic training craze began in the 1970′s with Dr. Kenneth Cooper (he has a clinic in Texas to this day). This mode of training was promoted as the best mode of exercise for health and weight loss. Now, it may be the best mode for cardiovascular (heart, lungs and vessels) health, but not for weight loss. This dogma is still pervasive in todays exercise culture, which is why there is no limit to the number of exercise machines on the market.

Weight loss is simply calories in versus calories out. However, the quality and timing of those calories makes the difference between being successful and not. Research has shown that athletic performance improvement is 50% genetic, 30% training and 20% diet with a small percentage being psychological. Now, weight loss probably looks something like the following: 80% diet, 10% training and 10% psychological (willpower). Exercise should be something that complements your diet, not the other way around. People can lose weight without ever increasing their activity level. Look at it this way, there are 168 hours in a week, and most dedicated exercisers may spend 5 hours of that training. It is what you do in the other 163 hours that makes the biggest difference!

Note: People looking to change their physiques need to differentiate between weight loss and fat loss. The goal of all exercisers is fat loss, and not simply losing weight. Weight loss can include water, glycogen, fat and muscle. The primary goal should always be losing fat and retaining as much lean tissue as possible. Women in particular are only focused on what the scale says, and not what is happening to their body composition. 

The take away point from all of this is that cardiovascular exercise is important for health, but not necessary for fat loss. Stay tuned for tips on how to lay out your diet and strength training program for maximum fat burning.

In Health,

Brian Ramage

Training Do’s and Dont’s

Brian November 4th, 2008

Here is a simple list of movements you need to include in your exercise program and some that you may want to rethink. The Do’s list contains exercises that give you great results along with a favorable risk/benefit ratio. The Dont’s list contains exercises that may work for some, but the risk/benefit ratio is not favorable. I give alternatives to the exercises on the “Dont’s” list.

Do’s

• Bench Press
• Squats
• Lunges
• Pull-Ups
• Standing Barbell Press
• Deadlifts
• Bent Over Rows
• Dips - these can go either way; only go to a 90 degree angle at the elbow

Dont’s

• Behind the head pulldowns - doing these to the front is just as effective. (Replace with: chin-ups or pull-ups)
• Behind the head presses (Replace with: military presses to the front)
• Stiff-legged deadlifts (Replace with: Romanian deadlifts)
• Leg Extensions (Replace with: squats, step-ups, lunges)
• Machine Pec-flye (Replace with: dumbbell flyes instead; start in a contracted position)

In Strength,

 

Brian Ramage

Welcome to the Model A Fitness Blog

Brian November 4th, 2008

Come here to discuss all things fitness, training, strength, weight loss, supplements and nutrition. The purpose of this blog is for fun and information.