There are really only 3 variables you need to control to achieve any fitness or sports performance goal.
I have trained a variety of different clientele and the only individuals that are successful at accomplishing their fitness goals are the individuals who master all 3 components. Look to improve all 3 variables and you will be successful.
Train Hard-Train Smart
I have written several blogs about the benefits of interval training (blog 1 or blog 2). Two recent studies have illustrated that high intensity interval training is a great way to increase lipid metabolism. In other words, interval training is shown to burn fat efficiently. In fact both studies concluded that lipid oxidation remains elevated after exercise – burning fat after you’re done exercising!
Sources:
Malatesta, D, Werlen C, Bulfaro S, Cheneviere X, and Borrani F. Effect of high-intensity interval exercise on lipid oxidation during postexercise recover. Med Sci Sports Exercise 41:364-374, 2009.
Perry CG, heigenhauser GL, Bonen A, Spriet LL. High-intensity aerobic interval training increases fat and carbohydrate metabolism capacities in human skeletal muscle. Appl Physio Nutr Metab 33:1112-1123, 2008.
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For your next workout try only doing exercises where you are in an upright standing position. It can be a squat position, lunge, or single leg stance. I don’t care if you are doing a back and bi’s days. Do pull ups, split stance 1 arm carble row and TRX rows. If you are doing a chest/shoulder/tri day – incporporate standing shoulder presses (try single leg stance or a lunge position), standing cable chest press, and TRX push ups. If you are doing legs eliminate the leg press, leg extentions, leg curls, and calf raises.
Be aware of how much more stability and control is needed during your upright workout.
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If you’re looking to put on size – muscle mass – than you need be eating plenty of calories throughout the day. However, there is this myth that you must consume endless amounts of protein in your diet to gain muscle mass. This is simply not true. Yes, you should consume an adequate amount of protein in your diet if you looking to gain size, but it is equally (if not more) important to consume quality carbohydrates throughout the day. You should be planning your diet around consuming whole wheat/sprouted breads, pastas, fruits/veggies, beans, rice, and other nutrient dense carbs. Be careful with over consumption of protein, your body can only handle so much. You will either store excess protein as fat or put extra stress on your body to get rid of it.
These statements are made with the assumption that someone who is looking to gain size is training extremely hard, which is taxing to the body. If you are having one intense workout or multiple workouts during the day with the goal of putting on muscle mass, your body needs extra fuel to grow.
Train Hard-Train Smart,
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Every time I meet with a new client, they are always looking for the miracle diet that will help them shed pounds. They read about these ridiculous diets in a magazine or hear about it on TV and want to replicate them in some fashion. However, my first nutrition tip is pretty standard – Increase the amount of produce in your diet.
I challenge my clients to consume some type of produce (fruit and veggies) with every meal. For breakfast, it may be a piece of fruit, fruit smoothie, or greens foods mix shake. For lunch and dinner, it can be a salad, steamed veggies, piece of fruit, or grilled veggies just to name a few options. I do encourage raw produce as opposed to cooked produce, but when starting out the main thing is just being conscious to add produce to every meal.
If a client can accomplish this first task to increase the amount of produce (hopefully raw) in their diet, then we can start to move onto more specific recommendations.
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I put together a few short clips of some exercises I do on a regular basis. Check out – let me know what you think.
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Be sure to check out the Santa Clarita Seasons Summer Catalog (page 52). It was a great time last year and the kids benefited tremendously.
Train Hard-Train Smart
I was thinking I should become a professional dancer, but once you see these moves from our first dance at our wedding you’ll see why I gave up that thought. It was fun though.
You don’t see this often but once in a while I come across an athlete who tries to replicate their sport movement in the weight room using strength training equipment. There a couple classic examples – replicating a baseball swing, golf swing, or tennis stroke with cables or free weights. Once you add weight to your hands and perform the movement everything changes. The kinematics and kinetics of swinging a baseball bat and replicating your swing with a cable machine are vastly different.
I always tell athletes (and design athletic programs) with rotational movements include in their routine. However, I never ask an athlete to replicate a swing in the weight room. It is very important to develop core strength – especially rotational strength but be smart about choosing your exercises.
Check out the following post about rotational training for sport – Here are some examples on video.
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The gym I work at has just has been remodeled and many of the members are so stuck in there ways that they seem to complain about all the new changes. One women was mad because we didn’t bring the Abmats into the new facility. She said she does ab work on those every time she works out and I guess she felt her workout would be deprived without an Abmat exercise.
Here’s what went through my head while she was complaining:
Check out these previous posts on core workouts – Check this one out, or this one, or even this one, and here’s another.
Train Hard-Train Smart
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