5 Tips to Maximizing your Workouts at the Gym!

1. Know your Compound Exercises!

A common misconception that most beginners and gym-goers make is focusing all of their weight-lifting attention on Isolation movements such as Bicep Curls and the many (proper and improper) variations.

Isolation exercises are movements that target a single muscle group, and while effective as accessories in the spectrum of a proper workout routine, they fall short in helping people achieve the physiques they have in mind when they first embark on their fitness journey.

Compound exercises, however, are multi-joint movements that target multiple muscle groups all at once during the course of resistance training. They replicate functional movement in the outside world, release more Testosterone and HGH (essential hormones to building lean muscle), improve balance, stability and help reduce your risks of injury.

What are the other perks of compound exercises?

Well, simply put, the more muscles you’re working the more calories you’re burning!

All forms of the following exercises are compound movements, and thus should be provide the foundation for your every workout routine:

Presses (primarily work your Shoulders, Chest, Triceps.)

Rows (primarily work your Rhomboids, Lats, Traps and Rotator Cuff Muscles as well as your Biceps, Triceps and Brachialis)

Pull-Ups/Chin-Ups (primarily work your Rhomboids, Lats, Traps and Rotator Cuff Muscles as well as your Biceps, Triceps and Brachialis

Dips (primarily work your Lats, Shoulders, Chest, Triceps and Rhomboids)

Deadlifts and Squats (primarily work your Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Abdominals and Lower back)

2. Cardio machines at the gym are NOT correctly calculating the calories you’re burning!

The sad reality is, even the machines that specifically have you enter your gender, weight and age to provide you with caloric estimates are usually off by hundreds of calories! They’re not taking into account your conditioning/body fat, the amount of lean body mass you’re carrying, or the amount of calories that your body would be burning regardless of whether or not you are actually on the treadmill.

Fun Fact: The vast majority of manufacturers actually test their equipment on bodybuilders to extrapolate the caloric estimates the machine gives off.

How do we combat this problem and REALLY find out how many calories we’re burning while on the treadmill or elliptical?

Mathematical Science!

Oh, did I lose you there? Okay, fine, use this calculator instead:

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

3. Ladies, Put the 2lb Dumbbells DOWN!

Believe it or not, there is actually NO such thing as toning! In fact, it’s a fitness term that was specifically coined for potential female fitness enthusiasts who feared they’d develop huge, manly bodybuilder muscles and physiques if they were to ever lift heavy weight.

Not at all the case.

In fact, due to the high concentration of the Estrogen hormone in the female body, as well as extremely low levels of Testosterone… barring a hormonal imbalance and/or steroids (umm, yuck.), it would take YEARS of training on a professional bodybuilder’s routine of endless, strenuous hours at the gym to achieve the results women are terrified of. We’re talking excessive lifting, heavy weight, full out exertion and supplementing with high protein, high calorie muscle-bulking dietary requirements!

For all of you budding-female bodybuilders out there, that’s bad news. Having, statistically, 20 to 30 times less Testosterone than men means bulking up to big muscles is WAY harder than you realize.

But putting on a good, healthy amount of lean muscle?

THAT is what you want when you participate in your “toning” workouts, and that is what you’ll get the second you put those 2lb dumbbell’s down and start actually exerting yourself!

Get your calories in order and your workout routine up-to-par. Women who weight-train aren’t manly, they’re strong women.

Jessica Biel, Halle Berry, Maria Menounos… strong women… and they’re all doing it…

4. No pain, No gain? NO truth!

We’ve all heard the moniker… but is it actually true? Must we exert ourselves so profoundly that we fatigue ourselves to the fullest extents?

While it’s true that we should challenge ourselves and extend the limits of our endurance, any type of training that involves inducing pain, risking injury and/or looking for a trashcan to keel over and throw up in is… well, wrong, duh.

Train heavy, but don’t train TOO heavy. Find a weight that challenges you to bang out your predisposed number of repetitions and go from there.

DO NOT pick up a weight because you think the number on it is manly.

Do NOT pick up a weight if it’s heavy enough to the point where you’ll need someone to spot you, and there is no one in sight who can.

And please DO NOT attempt to squeeze out one last rep after squeezing out what both you AND your body know was your last rep. You’re begging for an injury, and the only thing worse than lifting heavy ass weights is having them drop right on you when your body gives out.

Personally, I train with weights where I can complete 6-10 repetitions. Optimal for muscle growth, and optimal for safety.

5. Abs are made in the Kitchen, NOT in the Gym!

Folks, we can do all the crunches and sit-ups our hearts desire, but sadly, it won’t make a difference if our body fat percentage is over 10-12 percent for the majority of men, and 14-16 percent for the majority of women!

The truth of the matter is we ALL have abs! Whether they’re buried under layers of fat or sticking out profoundly, at the end of the day… it’s all a numbers game as far as how our bodies look! So, while we CAN’T spot reduce, we CAN target all of our muscle groups during the course of our workouts, figure out and/or stick to the appropriate caloric numbers to achieve our goals, and work to lower our body fat percentage to the aforementioned range until we have abs!

In other words, don’t waste your time doing endless amounts of crunches and sit-ups at the gym. Oh, and your money is better spent on all things not John Basedow.

Top 10 Tips to FAST-TRACKING your Health & Fitness Goals!

1. Sugar doesn’t make you fat, and Fat doesn’t make you fat. 

Sitting on the couch all day eating more calories than the little your body actually expends is what makes you “fat.”

Carbohydrates and Fat have taken the brunt of the extremely negative and undeserved flack dished out over the past few years by the vast majority of horrible fad dieting marketing campaigns. I’m here to tell you that you can relax… as there’s absolutely nothing wrong them. Carbohydrates happen to be your body’s preferred fuel of choice, and Fat is essential to healthy bodily function as it serves to regulate a vast majority of hormone production.

When calculating your daily caloric intake, aim to hit 0.4g of fat per LB of bodyweight as your minimum each day, 0.8g of protein per LB of Lean Body Mass (for those who don’t weight train), and fill in the rest however you’d like.

Yes, its that easy. And yes, however you’d like.

2. Measure your food.

Portion control is the #1 issue with basically everyone, fit or not fit, when it comes to healthy living.

Not every slice of pizza is created equal. From the 12 inch slice to the 14 inch slice to the 18 inch variety… pizza, like pieces of chicken breast, bagels, fish and whatever the other types of foods we indulge in on a daily basis… well, they all have different amounts of calories per serving size.

Figuring out how many ounces/grams we’re eating is a tough task when we’re left to eyeball, but guess what? We don’t have to.

Head out right now to your local department store and purchase the following: one digital food scale and your standard, run-of-the-mill measuring utensils. Engage yourself to utilize them daily, the scale specifically, in regards to measuring when at home… and reap the calorie-counting rewards and peace of mind!

But you’re stubborn, you say! Well, I suppose it may be a tad irritating to get used to utilizing these overly convenient tools in the beginning. Who wants to waste 60-90 seconds measuring their meals and cross-referencing the numbers with calorie-counting websites such as www.fatsecret.com? Well, if the alternative is getting used to being overweight, consistently accommodating your expanding waist-line by having to buy new clothes, and having to get used to your newfound back pain, foot pain, hip pain, joint pain, heart irregularities and overall discrepancies in your well-being, it seems the choice here is easier than you realize.

3. Walk more.

Stop taking the car to the local grocery that’s 10 minutes away from your house. Stop taking the elevator up or down 2 or 3 flights of stairs. Stop forcing your kids to walk the dogs. Move yourself, and your body will thank you for it!

No one’s telling you to go run or jog or lift extremely heavy weights, even though hey… they’re far better for you than walking, but guess what? Walking can be your friend too. In fact, consistent walking will increase your cardiovascular health, your conditioning, improve your stress levels, and it’ll even burn some calories depending on your length and pace!

Walking works. And it’ll bring you closer to your dog.

4. Eat.

Can anyone guess what the number one solution to hunger is?

Umm yeah, still eating!

Stop starving yourself to lose weight. Ignore what Dr. Oz, your best friend and/or your mother says about the latest fad crash-diet; They’re wrong. Starving yourself in any capacity (and yes, that includes skipping breakfast every day while over-eating lunch and dinner like the vast majority of people) is not only the unhealthy way to lose weight, it’s also by far the dumbest way and your body will hate you for it, especially whenever you inevitably go off the rails on this completely unsustainable “program” for weight loss.

Find out how many calories you need per day to maintain your weight. Next, find out how to eat those calories daily with the number you end up with.

Need to lose weight? Gain weight?

Adjust your numbers accordingly, and depending on your caloric deficit or surplus… eat those calories.

Or don’t eat. Starve, then cave in after 3 days, 3 weeks or 3 hours and over-eat the absurd amount of food that you’re absolutely going to over-eat. And then gain the 5-15 lbs that are going to kickstart your next horrendous crash-diet with miserable results.

Which brings me to my next point:

5. Don’t plan your life around your diet, plan your diet around your life.

Look, life’s tough as it is. No one wants to be the guy or girl turning down a night out with friends or family because they’re on some self-imposed 1500 calorie per day limit. Even worse is being the guy or girl who heads to a nice restaurant with said friends/family/significant other and asks the waiter whether or not they serve grilled chicken breast.

Look, only having 325 calories left for dinner doesn’t mean anything more than you let it!

Enjoy your night out and understand that weight loss is a MARATHON and not a sprint, and it’s even harder when its the main contributing reason to your developing depression!

Go out, enjoy. Count your calories if it works out for you. If it doesn’t, and you go over calorically without knowing by how little or how much, then either accept that your diet is going to last an extra couple of days or so than you had planned it to, or work harder in the forthcoming days to work it off as best as you can. But in the meantime?

Live your life and be happy.

You have options. Don’t make this stuff any harder than it already is.

6. If you feel hungry all day, you’re not. You’re thirsty.

Research suggests that our brains cannot distinguish the difference in signals between when our body is actually hungry for food or, simply thirsty. As most of you know by now, most doctors since the beginning of time have generally recommended 8 glasses of 8 ounces of water per day to properly hydrate the body. I recommend more, because, honestly… it’s water. It’s great for you. IT’S WATER!

Try this tip: Next time you still feel hungry right after a big meal… drink a glass of water or whatever beverage you prefer and reassess. You’ll be surprised.

BUT…

7. Don’t drink your calories.

Pretty straight-forward. Lets say your daily caloric number to maintain your weight is 2000 calories per day. An 8-ounce serving of Pepsi is 100 calories. Drink 4 servings a day, you’ve now consumed 400 calories. You’ve left yourself 1600 calories left for food.

Or, how about this:

An 8-ounce serving of Diet Pepsi or Pepsi Max is 0 calories. Drink it by the gallon every day, you’ve now consumed 0 calories. You’ve left yourself 2000 calories left for food.

Easy win, no?

Whether there’s any truth to the unsubstantiated claims about sweeteners being toxic… who knows? The jury’s still out, but calorie wise? A calorie is and always will be a calorie!

Sweetener tip: If it helps you hit your numbers, swap out sugar in your tea and coffee for Splenda/Stevia/Sweet’n’Low/Equal or whichever zero calorie sweetener you prefer.

Save your calories.

8. Eat your fruits and vegetables.

Trust me, I’ll be the first person to admit that I’d rather reach for a Hershey’s bar than an apple whenever I want something sweet, and more often than not I do. That being said, through the years I’ve learned to love a wide assortment of fruits not only for their natural sweetness and taste, and not only for the health benefits (vitamins, nutrients, anti-oxidants, fiber) but for their awesome caloric value and satiety.

That Hershey’s bar is 210 calories. An “average” sized apple is 50-60 calories.

Eat your fruits, its a no-brainer.

Same goes for veggies, too. Dice up some onions and peppers into your dinners… not only will you take an extremely small hit calorically but aside from the extra flavor in your meal, the increased sense of satiety/fullness can’t be understated there either.

9. Use the scale, but trust the mirror.

Weight loss isn’t linear. Your weight-related program mathematically promises to net you a loss of 2 lbs per week or a gain of 2 lbs per week, everything is on point with your activity level and calorie consumption… yet your weight scale doesn’t reflect it. What happened?

Well, there’s a ton of reasons as to why. Be it over-hydration of water, under-hydration, a carb-heavy day (carbs hold water in our glycogen stores), a low-carb day mixed in with heavy activity and water loss, or simply even the mobilization of fat cells not having fully left the body yet… your body has indeed LOST or GAINED the weight you worked so hard to lose or gain, it’s just not translating over to the scale as quickly as it is to the mirror.

That’s why it’s important to trust the mirror!

Trust the visual changes… trust the way your body feels in your clothes. I think we’d all agree that at the end of the day, that’s where the results truly matter.

Your scale’s important for having an idea of where you’re at… a baseline… but how you look and feel is all that matters, right?

And finally…

10. You’re not different than anyone else.

This is a big one guys… you’re not different than anyone else. Your metabolism isn’t faster or slower (unless you have a thyroid condition), you’re not overweight because its hereditary, “jacked” people aren’t in shape because of genetics, and YOU don’t specifically gain weight when you eat carbs and lose weight when you don’t.

Figuring out your daily numbers, assessing your goals and then counting calories can be a hindrance to your laziness… but in the long run, your health and well being are more than worth it!

You can eat ANYTHING you want for your numbers, at whatever time of day you want it. No more stupid “grilled chicken-only” diets, no more “no bread” diets… no more “no sugar” diets.

You can eat it all, and you can eat it all on a deficit. If you know your numbers, if you watch your portions, and if you’re motivated enough to stick to it… you WILL see results.

An Introduction…

Before and After!

I’m often asked how I did it. 366 lbs, size 48 waist, 5XL shirt size…  down to 184 lbs, size 31 waist and a M on my shirt tags…

What were the “secrets” to my transformation? Having lost over 200 lbs of fat in the process… there must have been some fad-diet, or some combination of popular weight-loss and fitness methods that I incorporated into my daily routine in order to achieve my results, right?

When people inquire, I rarely have a chance to inform them before being subjected to a vast majority of educated guesses…

Was it eating once a day, twice a day or three times? No, no… he probably ate six fistfuls of food a day to really burn the metabolic fire. Unless it was a liquid-only diet… you know like the one Beyonce did!

Wait… Low fat or no fat? Low carbs or no carbs? Just whole grains? An FDA Food Pyramid approach to fruits, veggies and lean meats?

You probably hit the gym 7 days a week, right? Cardio every day? Protein shakes pre-workout, post-workout and before bed?

I pause, smile, and divulge my answer: None of the above.

I eat whatever I want, whenever I want. I don’t drink protein shakes. I eat ice cream and/or chocolate every day. I don’t count my carbs, I don’t lower my fat intake and I don’t consume some astronomical number of protein that ridiculous bodybuilding websites have been proponents of for years. Could be because I like my kidneys, but yeah…

Having experimented with each and every one of the aforementioned approaches to weight loss and fitness, I can confirm that NONE were relevant, necessary, responsible and/or even a part of my routine long before I passed my self-imposed fitness finish line of 175 lbs at under 10 percent body-fat.

As an Ace-certified Personal Trainer and workout enthusiast, I can also confirm that the proper, balanced lifting routine to compliment your weight loss and/or strength-gain goals is just as pivotal, and something that you can look forward to me touching upon in future entries.

What can I confirm?

Well, that the vast majority of all the diets in the public limelight since the dawn of time are complete and utter crap. Beautifully marketed crap, but crap nonetheless.

Know your numbers (your daily metabolic rate and caloric maintenance) and you can achieve ANY weight loss or strength-gain goal you put your mind to.

COMING SOON:

A lot of articles. A lot of nutrition and weight-training myths. A lot of illumination to help us all achieve our fitness goals!