Posts Tagged ‘weight training’

10 Ways To Trim Those Pounds And Keep Them Off

Posted: December 4, 2011 by williampower in Behavior Modification, Exercise, Nutrition
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
1

1. Commitment to the cause: Now is the right time. Your life is busy and full of stress and it will probably always be. Ask yourself, if you were sick, would you postpone feeling better for a month or two? Doubt it. This should be alon those same lines of thinking, make the commitment to yourself to start feeling good and lose those extra pounds today. In the words of Terry Guillemets…”tomorrow is disease”.

2. Cardio: Plan three 30- 45 minute aerobic workouts into your schedule each week. Don’t leave it to chance that it will fit in because then it won’t. It can be walking, biking, or even a class. Just get your heart rate to 60 – 75% of your maximum heart rate.

3. Weight Training: Try and maintain two workouts per week into your schedule. This time investment will help you build and maintain muscle. The more muscle you have and the more efficiently they work, the more calories you will burn all day long with less effort. For those of you worried about getting too muscular, stop it. First of all you would need to be genetically predisposed to have large muscles and second you would need to take in a lot of extra calories which is the opposite of what we are trying to do here. But, to play my own devil’s advocate, lets say you find yourself “too muscular”, then that means you succeeded in losing that extra unsightly bodyfat that you were trying to lose, and at that point you could just cut back on the weight training.

4. Hydration: Water is involved in everything the body does from your joints to your liver (which is the organ that metabolizes fat). The rule of thumb is eight, 8-oz glasses of water per day. This sounds simple, but most people that I come across who diet and exercise regularly and still can not lose weight are under hydrated. Best solution, only drink water or tea. Eliminate all those calorie laden bevegaes out your diet (allowing you to cut calories) and replace them with water (increasing your water intake). You know what that’s call…#winning!

5. Eat 5 – 6 Small Meals Per Day: Why? Because this technique will increase your metabolism and energy levels. It will also curb that hungry feeling which leads to cheating. This technique will train your body to stay in a constant food burning mode with a steady, but not overabundant flow of nutrients.

6. Balanced Meals: This means you need to have some protein and fat with carbohydrates at each meal. Both protein and fat reduce the glycemic index of carbohydrates, so you won’t get a big, fat-producing insulin surge. High GI foods (simple sugars, fat-free treats, and highly processed foods) cause a rapid increase in blood sugar levels – which causes a big insulin release to shuttle the excess blood sugar into cells. Remember, whatever isn’t used by the body at that point in time is stored as fat.

7. Limit Fats and Simple Carbohydrates: One way to do this is to eat less processed foods. But, this isn’t always possible, so pay attention to what you are eating. Read labels, if more than 20% of the calories comes from fat, don’t eat it. Eat fiber rich breads (if any…I don’t recommend bread intake) and cereals, they will fill you up faster.

8. Limit Eating Near Bedtime: If possible, try not to eat two hours before turning in for the night. Most people are not as active after their evening meal as they are earlier in the day. It is best to keep the total calorie level, as well as carbohydrate level, lower in your later meals. This will prevent extra fat storage that would occur as we sleep.

9. Eat it. Drink it. Write it.: Write down everything you eat and drink in a log. This will keep you honest, and help you plan. It has been said, “the act of recording history, changes history”? By writing down your food intake, you will see where you have been making mistakes and it will make you think about it before you make that the same mistake again.

10. Reward: Give yourself a reward when you achieve certain goals. Maybe a new outfit (because the other ones are getting baggy). Acknowledge the hard work you have done and the success you are achieving. #Hardworkpaysoff.

Quick Tips To Gain Weight The Right Way

Posted: September 27, 2011 by williampower in Behavior Modification, Exercise, Myth Busting
Tags: , ,
1

1. Weight train only 4 to 5 days a week. If growing is your primary concern then rest is paramount. Schedule breaks between intense sessions. For some, you may only need to workout 4 days and on your off days do absolutely nothing (no cardio or resistance training). Even if the gains don’t come right away this is not an indication that you need to workout more days a week. Be patient, stick to the formula and the gains will come.

2. Cut back on all the reps and sets. As a hard gainer, doing too many reps and too many sets is a recipe for overtraining. Heuristically, it seems better to train bigger body parts (legs, chest, back) with a 3 – 4 exercise per session rate and the smaller muscles (biceps, triceps, shoulders, etc.) 2 – 3 exercises per session.

3. Emphasize compound exercise where more than one muscle group is used at one time i.e. squat and military press.

4. Reduce cardio. Cardio done too often can burn too many calories over time. Use cardio sparingly to control fat stores but keep pace with your calorie intake to insure proper growth.

5. Keep it short and sweet. Hard gainer workouts shouldn’t last more than about an hour. Beyond that, excess cortisol (a catabolic hormone) can be released inhibiting growth of the muscles.

6. Consume more complex carbs to energize your intense workouts. Carbs are important because they provide energy and they control insulin, an anabolic hormone that forces energy into the muscle stimulating growth. Once again complex carbs should be your primary target in carbo-loading. For more info see “Summary of Macronutrients”.

7. Eat adequate high quality proteins. These are the building blocks to your muscles. For a breakdown of quality protein see “Summary of Macronutrients).

8. Use things like Echinacea and Ginger Root to increase appetite. An increased appetite will lead to the consumption of more calories which in the long and short term help you reach your goal.