If you've landed on this page, it means that you want to lose fat and build muscle but you’re not quite sure about the best way to do it.
Maybe you feel overwhelmed by all the conflicting advice about what to eat and how to exercise.
Perhaps you've been eating right and training hard, but your results just aren’t living up to that picture you have in your mind of how you want to look.
Or maybe you’ve fallen into the trap of just doing the same thing week in and week out, either because you’ve lost motivation or you’re not really sure what to do next.
I'll explain exactly how to get out of that rut in just a moment.
First, I want you to imagine what would happen if you woke up tomorrow with the kind of body you've always dreamed of having...
Visualize looking in the mirror and actually feeling good about the way you look.
Picture yourself walking down the beach without worrying what other people think of you... and maybe even have them secretly admire the way you look.
Think about wearing your favorite clothes any time you want and know you're looking your best... hearing friends and family you haven't seen for months tell you how great you look... walking into a crowded room and finally getting the kind of attention you deserve... feeling the confidence and self-esteem that may have been missing for years come flooding back.
The benefits don't end there. Like it or not, people with a strong, lean body earn more money. They're more popular and attract members of the opposite sex with an almost "magnetic" ease. They project an aura of self-confidence, charisma and power. They demand respect. In short, they are far more likely to "get on" in life.
Are you suffering from information overload?
The biggest reason most people find it almost impossible to get into the kind of shape they really want isn't that they don't try hard enough.
So many people out there work hard, but just don't see the results they deserve. That's because all the conflicting advice about exercise and nutrition leaves them feeling lost and confused about what to do.
Chances are, you've probably learnt a lot about how to get in shape. But how much of it are you actually USING?
I bet you're running around the Internet reading everything out there about building muscle and burning fat: Should you be doing interval training? Metabolic conditioning? 5 sets of 5? Following a paleo diet? Intermittent fasting?
If information was water, most people would be drowing.
You do a bit of research and think you know what you’re doing... then you end up reading something that says the exact opposite.
The so-called "experts" can never seem to agree on anything.
Truth is, much of what passes for health and fitness news is either meaningless or plain stupid. Most of it is a complete waste of your time.
You don't want empty promises about how to get a summer body in 7 days or a 6 pack in 24 hours. No more "instant ways to get this" and "easy ways to do that." And you don't want any more conflicting advice that leaves you feeling even more confused about what to do.
If nothing you've tried has worked so far, I want you to know that I can help you get the body you want. And you won't have to turn your life upside down to get it. So let’s talk about how to make it happen.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Can Carb Cycling Increase Your Fat Loss?
No Progress (Needs Some Tweaking)
No weight/fat loss or no drop in body fat% lost after 7 days means no forward progress (assuming your weigh in and body fat test was correctly performed).
If you go 7 days with no progress, you must re-analyze your compliance for the last week (did you stick with it? Be brutally honest). Then tweak your approach - chapter 4 in BFFM gives guidelines on doing this - it's called our feedback loop system).
So basically we're not looking for any different kind of results with carb cycling. This isn't "magic." It's not necessarily going to give you better than average fat loss.
The carb cycling is probably most helpful at "end-stage" plateaus when your fat loss has started stalling due to metabolic slowdown. It also helps when you're experiencing poor compliance because you've been deprived of calories and or your favorite foods (carbs). In either case, carb cycling can "increase" your fat loss by getting your fat loss back up to normal.
Also remember that without a calorie deficit, carb cycling doesn't guarantee you will lose fat at all. In fact, think about what happens to your weekly deficit with carb cycling:
If you were on a deficit 4 out of every 4 days and then you go to deficit 3 out of every 4 days, then technically you have a smaller cumulative weekly deficit don't you? So you can see that carb cycling /zig zagging doesn't work by increasing a calorie deficit, it works by restoring metabolism-regulating, appetite-stimulating, satiety-inducing and anti-starvation hormones back to normal levels.
The problem with prolonged deficits, especially after you are already lean, is that your body really does slow down the metabolism a bit, and even tricks you by increasing appetite. Both of these effects can be controlled hormonally.
By raising calories (carbohydrate calories in particular) every 4th day or so, you stimulate hormones like leptin, which is an anti starvation hormone. This tells the body you are no longer "starving" and brings metabolism comes back to normal, at least temporarily.
What carb cycling is really doing is not accelerating fat loss, but allowing you to lose fat like you normally would (or, it helps to prevent those plateaus from happening in the first place).
Carb cycling also has psychological benefits.
When you're on low calories all the time, you get physiologically (hormonally) hungry. But you also get cravings, which can be different than physical hunger. You tend to crave what you cant have (carbs anyone?).
But if you use carb cycling, you know you get to eat more every several days and you get to eat carbs. So even if you do feel some hunger/cravings on the low days, it's easier to hold out. This is how carb cycling also helps most people with compliance.
The end result is you avoid plateaus and falls off the wagon (overeating, binges, "unauthorized" cheating, etc).
Carb cycling and body re-composition
A possible third benefit of carb cycling is that it may explain how some people add lean body mass while in a calorie deficit. That's because when you're raising calories every several days you're actually NOT always in a deficit, and your body is given more fuel on "high days", which could be directed into muscle tissue for growth.
The extra fuel also makes for more intense training, and if you can train harder, you can build more muscle and burn more fat.
What if carb cycling isn't working for you?
If you've been carb cycling and it doesn't seem to be working, it's sometimes for the same reason as if you weren't carb cycling - you didn't get your calories quite right and you weren't in a deficit.
That's one reason I'm partial to controlled refeeds or "high carb days" rather than (non-counting) free-for-all cheat days. While the latter approach works for some, it can backfire if you go overboard, and it's quite easy to cut into (or erase) a few days of deficit with one giant binge.
If you hit a plateau (no change for at least 7 days), it's helpful to count calories carefully and weigh/ measure foods. Any time you are struggling with results or simply just working on the last few pounds of fat in the stubborn areas, the attention to detail at that point is more important than ever.
Another thing you might want to do is start tracking a number that most people don't consider: your weekly deficit (or weekly average daily caloric intake). Add up your calories every day for the entire 7 day week and divide by 7 for a daily average. Then make sure you have an adequate weekly deficit to reach your weekly goal.
Getting better results out of carb cycling may require being more strict on the low carb days. When you're carb cycling, in general, the whole idea is that the low carb days ARE very strict "diet" days and sometimes with a fairly aggressive calorie deficit - 30% below maintenance (and sometimes people even push the envelope and go even lower on low days, knowing that they have a big refeed coming up.
Making Sure You've Got Your Calories Set Properly
When you think about setting your calories for both high and low days, I want to refer you to a recent article I wrote about customizing calories for your body size:
1 Reason For Slow Female Fat Loss and 5 Tips To Fix It
http://www.burnthefat.com/how_to_fix_slow_female_fat_loss.html
You may not like the message in this article because it doesn't seem "fair" (to smaller people), but it may also make a light bulb go off that will keep you consuming the right amount of calories for you: Smaller people don't need as many calories. Someone who is 5' 2" and 124, may still want to lose fat, even though she is not a big person.
This would apply to short/ small framed guys too, but it affects women the most, since they are on average, much smaller than men.
Keep in mind, this important point (small women can't eat very many calories or carbs compared to big people), applies whether you are carb cycling or not - you have to get the calories right for your body type / body size / activity level. And if you really want to eat more, the only way is to burn more.
Watch Out - The Scale Plays Tricks On You When Carb Cycling
One last thing to consider: Suppose you are trying to asses your results after day 4, wondering when it is going to start working.
One thing about carb cycling that many people don't account for is the swing in body weight due to glycogen and water. With 3 strict days of lower carb, lower calorie eating, you may actually have already accrued a pound of fat loss. But then you carb up on day 4. Your body composition has improved, but the carb up makes you gain total body weight (water and glycogen).
If you only judge your success by the scale and if you only look at short term (daily) numbers, you may be misled into thinking you were not successful when you really were.
For that reason, you must have patience, watch the trend over time and avoid obsessed with short term fluctuations in body weight especially on high carb day and or the day after high carb day.
Once you have an understanding of all the above factors, and you've been carb cycling without getting weekly results, then do the same things to break the plateau that you'd normally do - including increasing the calorie burn from training/ cardio and or decreasing the calories.
The one thing you'd do that's unique to carb cycling is on your low carb days, a tweak you might make to break a plateau is to simply make the low days even lower in carbs (that means lower in calories, but you are specifically lowering the calories from carbs... leaving the protein, healthy fats and fibrous carbs/veggies alone
No weight/fat loss or no drop in body fat% lost after 7 days means no forward progress (assuming your weigh in and body fat test was correctly performed).
If you go 7 days with no progress, you must re-analyze your compliance for the last week (did you stick with it? Be brutally honest). Then tweak your approach - chapter 4 in BFFM gives guidelines on doing this - it's called our feedback loop system).
So basically we're not looking for any different kind of results with carb cycling. This isn't "magic." It's not necessarily going to give you better than average fat loss.
The carb cycling is probably most helpful at "end-stage" plateaus when your fat loss has started stalling due to metabolic slowdown. It also helps when you're experiencing poor compliance because you've been deprived of calories and or your favorite foods (carbs). In either case, carb cycling can "increase" your fat loss by getting your fat loss back up to normal.
Also remember that without a calorie deficit, carb cycling doesn't guarantee you will lose fat at all. In fact, think about what happens to your weekly deficit with carb cycling:
If you were on a deficit 4 out of every 4 days and then you go to deficit 3 out of every 4 days, then technically you have a smaller cumulative weekly deficit don't you? So you can see that carb cycling /zig zagging doesn't work by increasing a calorie deficit, it works by restoring metabolism-regulating, appetite-stimulating, satiety-inducing and anti-starvation hormones back to normal levels.
The problem with prolonged deficits, especially after you are already lean, is that your body really does slow down the metabolism a bit, and even tricks you by increasing appetite. Both of these effects can be controlled hormonally.
By raising calories (carbohydrate calories in particular) every 4th day or so, you stimulate hormones like leptin, which is an anti starvation hormone. This tells the body you are no longer "starving" and brings metabolism comes back to normal, at least temporarily.
What carb cycling is really doing is not accelerating fat loss, but allowing you to lose fat like you normally would (or, it helps to prevent those plateaus from happening in the first place).
Carb cycling also has psychological benefits.
When you're on low calories all the time, you get physiologically (hormonally) hungry. But you also get cravings, which can be different than physical hunger. You tend to crave what you cant have (carbs anyone?).
But if you use carb cycling, you know you get to eat more every several days and you get to eat carbs. So even if you do feel some hunger/cravings on the low days, it's easier to hold out. This is how carb cycling also helps most people with compliance.
The end result is you avoid plateaus and falls off the wagon (overeating, binges, "unauthorized" cheating, etc).
Carb cycling and body re-composition
A possible third benefit of carb cycling is that it may explain how some people add lean body mass while in a calorie deficit. That's because when you're raising calories every several days you're actually NOT always in a deficit, and your body is given more fuel on "high days", which could be directed into muscle tissue for growth.
The extra fuel also makes for more intense training, and if you can train harder, you can build more muscle and burn more fat.
What if carb cycling isn't working for you?
If you've been carb cycling and it doesn't seem to be working, it's sometimes for the same reason as if you weren't carb cycling - you didn't get your calories quite right and you weren't in a deficit.
That's one reason I'm partial to controlled refeeds or "high carb days" rather than (non-counting) free-for-all cheat days. While the latter approach works for some, it can backfire if you go overboard, and it's quite easy to cut into (or erase) a few days of deficit with one giant binge.
If you hit a plateau (no change for at least 7 days), it's helpful to count calories carefully and weigh/ measure foods. Any time you are struggling with results or simply just working on the last few pounds of fat in the stubborn areas, the attention to detail at that point is more important than ever.
Another thing you might want to do is start tracking a number that most people don't consider: your weekly deficit (or weekly average daily caloric intake). Add up your calories every day for the entire 7 day week and divide by 7 for a daily average. Then make sure you have an adequate weekly deficit to reach your weekly goal.
Getting better results out of carb cycling may require being more strict on the low carb days. When you're carb cycling, in general, the whole idea is that the low carb days ARE very strict "diet" days and sometimes with a fairly aggressive calorie deficit - 30% below maintenance (and sometimes people even push the envelope and go even lower on low days, knowing that they have a big refeed coming up.
Making Sure You've Got Your Calories Set Properly
When you think about setting your calories for both high and low days, I want to refer you to a recent article I wrote about customizing calories for your body size:
1 Reason For Slow Female Fat Loss and 5 Tips To Fix It
http://www.burnthefat.com/how_to_fix_slow_female_fat_loss.html
You may not like the message in this article because it doesn't seem "fair" (to smaller people), but it may also make a light bulb go off that will keep you consuming the right amount of calories for you: Smaller people don't need as many calories. Someone who is 5' 2" and 124, may still want to lose fat, even though she is not a big person.
This would apply to short/ small framed guys too, but it affects women the most, since they are on average, much smaller than men.
Keep in mind, this important point (small women can't eat very many calories or carbs compared to big people), applies whether you are carb cycling or not - you have to get the calories right for your body type / body size / activity level. And if you really want to eat more, the only way is to burn more.
Watch Out - The Scale Plays Tricks On You When Carb Cycling
One last thing to consider: Suppose you are trying to asses your results after day 4, wondering when it is going to start working.
One thing about carb cycling that many people don't account for is the swing in body weight due to glycogen and water. With 3 strict days of lower carb, lower calorie eating, you may actually have already accrued a pound of fat loss. But then you carb up on day 4. Your body composition has improved, but the carb up makes you gain total body weight (water and glycogen).
If you only judge your success by the scale and if you only look at short term (daily) numbers, you may be misled into thinking you were not successful when you really were.
For that reason, you must have patience, watch the trend over time and avoid obsessed with short term fluctuations in body weight especially on high carb day and or the day after high carb day.
Once you have an understanding of all the above factors, and you've been carb cycling without getting weekly results, then do the same things to break the plateau that you'd normally do - including increasing the calorie burn from training/ cardio and or decreasing the calories.
The one thing you'd do that's unique to carb cycling is on your low carb days, a tweak you might make to break a plateau is to simply make the low days even lower in carbs (that means lower in calories, but you are specifically lowering the calories from carbs... leaving the protein, healthy fats and fibrous carbs/veggies alone
Muscle Building Workout Routines
Today let's talk about muscle and how you can
build more of it.
Muscle Building Workout Routines
I recently got an e-mail from a guy I'll call Joe.
His question is a common one. If you want to build
more muscle, and what you're doing at the moment
isn't working, pay attention.
What I have to say to Joe might give you the
information you need to get better, faster results.
"I am new to the whole bodybuilding thing and
have been at it for almost a year," Joe wrote in his
e-mail.
"I don't have any technical knowledge about
setting up a routine and have just been using the
bodybuilding routines I see in the magazines.
"At the moment, I'm doing my biceps and triceps
on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while my
shoulders and back are trained on Tuesday,
Thursday and Saturday.
"In each workout I do about 25 sets per muscle
group. Does this look like a good workout plan to
you?"
Here's what I told Joe
build more of it.
Muscle Building Workout Routines
I recently got an e-mail from a guy I'll call Joe.
His question is a common one. If you want to build
more muscle, and what you're doing at the moment
isn't working, pay attention.
What I have to say to Joe might give you the
information you need to get better, faster results.
"I am new to the whole bodybuilding thing and
have been at it for almost a year," Joe wrote in his
e-mail.
"I don't have any technical knowledge about
setting up a routine and have just been using the
bodybuilding routines I see in the magazines.
"At the moment, I'm doing my biceps and triceps
on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while my
shoulders and back are trained on Tuesday,
Thursday and Saturday.
"In each workout I do about 25 sets per muscle
group. Does this look like a good workout plan to
you?"
Here's what I told Joe
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
How Much Muscle Can You Gain In A Year... Really?
For anyone who feels trapped in the body of a skinny teenager, putting on weight can seem painfully and frustratingly slow. Some people gain muscle very quickly. Others, however, make little or no progress at all.If you're trying to figure out how much muscle you can expect to gain over the course of a year, the simple answer is that there is no simple answer. There are a number of things that you need to take into account when you're setting your muscle-building goals.
Muscle growth tends to come in a series of "spurts"
No matter how hard you train, how strict your diet is, or how many muscle-building supplements you use, growth will never come at a predictable steady pace. There are so many factors influencing your progress. Not many people can do nothing but go to the gym, eat and sleep for months on end.
Holidays, illness and injury all get in the way. Your partner complains that you go to the gym too often and demands that you spend more "quality time" together. You pull a few "all-nighters" at the office and decide to skip training for a week, vowing to "start fresh" on Monday.
While there are some variables that you can control, such as how you train and what you eat, there are many that you cannot. The most important of these is your genetics.Be realistic. If you have a body designed for long-distance running, it's unlikely that you'll be winning the Mr. America contest in the next few years.Like it or not, some people are genetically predisposed to gaining weight, and will see impressive results after only a few months. Others will build muscle more slowly.
Scientists from the Netherlands, for example, have shown that mesomorphs (those naturally athletic guys who just have to look at a weight in order to gain muscle) build muscle more easily than ectomorphs (the typical "skinny guy" who has an extremely tough time gaining weight) [7].
The researchers used something called the fat-free mass index (shown below) to assign subjects to either a "slender" group (the ectomorphs) or a "solid" group (the mesomorphs).Although both groups put on muscle during the 12-week study, the slender guys gained only 0.7 pounds (0.3 kilograms) versus 3.5 pounds (1.6 kilograms) in the solid group.In other words, the mesomorphs gained muscle FIVE TIMES more quickly than the ectomorphs.Your rate of progress also depends how close you are to the upper limit of what you're capable of in terms of muscle mass, also known as your ceiling of adaptation.
The closer you are to this upper limit, the slower your gains will be. Someone who's been working out with weights for 10 years, for example, will gain muscle a lot more slowly than someone who's just starting out.It's also normal to put on a little fat at the same time.
For every pound of muscle you gain, expect to add some fat at the same time. The amount of fat you gain will depend, in part at least, on how much you eat. But it also depends on how lean you are when you start to overfeed. Studies show that during a period of overfeeding, you'll gain more muscle and less fat if you're naturally lean to start with [6]. Conversely, fatter people tend to lose more fat and less muscle when they go on a diet. The leaner you get, the harder it gets to lose fat without losing muscle.
So, for every 10 pounds of weight gained by someone who is overweight, roughly 3-4 pounds come from lean tissue and 6-7 pounds come from fat. But for every 10 pounds of weight gained by a lean person, 6-7 pounds come from lean tissue while only 3-4 pounds come from fat. I should point out that the term "lean tissue" doesn't necessarily mean muscle tissue, as stored fluid and carbohydrate can also contribute to gains in lean tissue.
The studies on which these estimates are based lasted a minimum of three weeks and didn't include a structured exercise routine. With a good weight-training program you can expect gains with a superior muscle-to-fat ratio.
On a related note, if you're loading with creatine (20 grams a day for 5 days), or you eat a lot more carbohydrate than normal, you can gain lean tissue more quickly.
For example, you might put on 4-5 pounds of lean tissue in your first week on creatine and a high-calorie diet. But as I mentioned earlier, lean tissue and muscle tissue aren't the same thing. And you won't keep on gaining weight at that rate indefinitely.
What if you don't want to gain ANY fat?
Although some people try to gain muscle mass while maintaining a very low level of body fat at the same time, this is actually very hard to do.Why? The issue may be psychological. If you've just spent the last six months working your butt off to get a six-pack, the last thing you'll want to do is put the fat right back on again. Someone in this position may simply be reluctant to eat the quantity of food necessary to gain a significant amount of muscle.
Muscle growth tends to come in a series of "spurts"
No matter how hard you train, how strict your diet is, or how many muscle-building supplements you use, growth will never come at a predictable steady pace. There are so many factors influencing your progress. Not many people can do nothing but go to the gym, eat and sleep for months on end.
Holidays, illness and injury all get in the way. Your partner complains that you go to the gym too often and demands that you spend more "quality time" together. You pull a few "all-nighters" at the office and decide to skip training for a week, vowing to "start fresh" on Monday.
While there are some variables that you can control, such as how you train and what you eat, there are many that you cannot. The most important of these is your genetics.Be realistic. If you have a body designed for long-distance running, it's unlikely that you'll be winning the Mr. America contest in the next few years.Like it or not, some people are genetically predisposed to gaining weight, and will see impressive results after only a few months. Others will build muscle more slowly.
Scientists from the Netherlands, for example, have shown that mesomorphs (those naturally athletic guys who just have to look at a weight in order to gain muscle) build muscle more easily than ectomorphs (the typical "skinny guy" who has an extremely tough time gaining weight) [7].
The researchers used something called the fat-free mass index (shown below) to assign subjects to either a "slender" group (the ectomorphs) or a "solid" group (the mesomorphs).Although both groups put on muscle during the 12-week study, the slender guys gained only 0.7 pounds (0.3 kilograms) versus 3.5 pounds (1.6 kilograms) in the solid group.In other words, the mesomorphs gained muscle FIVE TIMES more quickly than the ectomorphs.Your rate of progress also depends how close you are to the upper limit of what you're capable of in terms of muscle mass, also known as your ceiling of adaptation.
The closer you are to this upper limit, the slower your gains will be. Someone who's been working out with weights for 10 years, for example, will gain muscle a lot more slowly than someone who's just starting out.It's also normal to put on a little fat at the same time.
For every pound of muscle you gain, expect to add some fat at the same time. The amount of fat you gain will depend, in part at least, on how much you eat. But it also depends on how lean you are when you start to overfeed. Studies show that during a period of overfeeding, you'll gain more muscle and less fat if you're naturally lean to start with [6]. Conversely, fatter people tend to lose more fat and less muscle when they go on a diet. The leaner you get, the harder it gets to lose fat without losing muscle.
So, for every 10 pounds of weight gained by someone who is overweight, roughly 3-4 pounds come from lean tissue and 6-7 pounds come from fat. But for every 10 pounds of weight gained by a lean person, 6-7 pounds come from lean tissue while only 3-4 pounds come from fat. I should point out that the term "lean tissue" doesn't necessarily mean muscle tissue, as stored fluid and carbohydrate can also contribute to gains in lean tissue.
The studies on which these estimates are based lasted a minimum of three weeks and didn't include a structured exercise routine. With a good weight-training program you can expect gains with a superior muscle-to-fat ratio.
On a related note, if you're loading with creatine (20 grams a day for 5 days), or you eat a lot more carbohydrate than normal, you can gain lean tissue more quickly.
For example, you might put on 4-5 pounds of lean tissue in your first week on creatine and a high-calorie diet. But as I mentioned earlier, lean tissue and muscle tissue aren't the same thing. And you won't keep on gaining weight at that rate indefinitely.
What if you don't want to gain ANY fat?
Although some people try to gain muscle mass while maintaining a very low level of body fat at the same time, this is actually very hard to do.Why? The issue may be psychological. If you've just spent the last six months working your butt off to get a six-pack, the last thing you'll want to do is put the fat right back on again. Someone in this position may simply be reluctant to eat the quantity of food necessary to gain a significant amount of muscle.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Ab workouts and when to avoid them...
Contrary to popular belief, hundreds of sit-ups won't make much difference to the appearance of your waist and stomach if your abs are hidden under a layer of fat.
Fat is stored energy. To get rid of the fat, you have to burn more energy (calories) than you eat on a regular basis.
What's more, a lot of bending exercise first thing in the morning puts a lot of stress on the discs in your back.
Why?
You’re taller when you wake up in the morning than when you go to bed at night.
That's because the discs in your back are hydrophilic (pronounced high-dro-fill-ick). In other words, they suck up water while you sleep.
First thing in the morning, these discs are like a balloon full of water. And, if you do a lot of bending (like ab workouts that involve sit-ups or touching your toes), there's a lot of stress on those discs. In fact, the stresses are three times higher than when you perform the same exercise two or three hours later.
That's one reason why putting on your socks in the morning feels a lot harder than taking them off at night.
"Researchers have documented the increased annulus stresses after a bout of bed rest," says Professor Stuart McGill, an expert in spine function and injury prevention and rehabilitation at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
"Yet many athletes and laypeople alike get up in the morning and perform spine stretches, sit-ups, and so on. This is the most dangerous time of day to undertake such activities."
Some evidence for this comes from research published in the journal Spine [1]. The study shows that controlling lumbar flexion in the morning is an effective way to reduce back pain.
A group of 85 subjects with persistent or recurring low back pain was assigned to one of two groups.
One group was told to restrict the amount of bending they did in the early morning. The control group received a "fake" treatment consisting of six exercises shown to be ineffective in reducing low back pain.
After six months, back pain was reduced in the group told to restrict bending activities in the early morning.
A follow-up study shows that participants who continued to restrict bending activities in the early morning enjoyed a further reduction in back pain [2].
The bottom line is that doing your ab workouts — or any type of exercise that involves a lot of bending — is one of the worst things you can do for your back first thing in the morning.
After you get up, just walking around helps to "squeeze" the fluid out and compress your spine. If you want to do your ab workouts early in the day, wait for an hour or two after getting out of bed. Your back will thank you for it.
Fat is stored energy. To get rid of the fat, you have to burn more energy (calories) than you eat on a regular basis.
What's more, a lot of bending exercise first thing in the morning puts a lot of stress on the discs in your back.
Why?
You’re taller when you wake up in the morning than when you go to bed at night.
That's because the discs in your back are hydrophilic (pronounced high-dro-fill-ick). In other words, they suck up water while you sleep.
First thing in the morning, these discs are like a balloon full of water. And, if you do a lot of bending (like ab workouts that involve sit-ups or touching your toes), there's a lot of stress on those discs. In fact, the stresses are three times higher than when you perform the same exercise two or three hours later.
That's one reason why putting on your socks in the morning feels a lot harder than taking them off at night.
"Researchers have documented the increased annulus stresses after a bout of bed rest," says Professor Stuart McGill, an expert in spine function and injury prevention and rehabilitation at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
"Yet many athletes and laypeople alike get up in the morning and perform spine stretches, sit-ups, and so on. This is the most dangerous time of day to undertake such activities."
Some evidence for this comes from research published in the journal Spine [1]. The study shows that controlling lumbar flexion in the morning is an effective way to reduce back pain.
A group of 85 subjects with persistent or recurring low back pain was assigned to one of two groups.
One group was told to restrict the amount of bending they did in the early morning. The control group received a "fake" treatment consisting of six exercises shown to be ineffective in reducing low back pain.
After six months, back pain was reduced in the group told to restrict bending activities in the early morning.
A follow-up study shows that participants who continued to restrict bending activities in the early morning enjoyed a further reduction in back pain [2].
The bottom line is that doing your ab workouts — or any type of exercise that involves a lot of bending — is one of the worst things you can do for your back first thing in the morning.
After you get up, just walking around helps to "squeeze" the fluid out and compress your spine. If you want to do your ab workouts early in the day, wait for an hour or two after getting out of bed. Your back will thank you for it.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
How to Burn More Fat In Less Time
Many people point to a lack of time as the reason why they can't stick to a regular exercise routine. That's why books such as 8 Minutes in the Morning or The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution have become so popular. They promise to help you get in shape in less time and with less effort.
One simple way to cut down on the time you spend in the gym is to increase the density of your workout. Workout density is a measure of the amount of work performed in a specific time period. Don't worry if it sounds too complicated. Increasing workout density is actually quite easy when you use supersets.
Most weight-training routines require that you perform one set of a given exercise, rest for a minute or two, then return to the same exercise. And it's this rest period between sets that takes up a lot of time.
With supersets, you move quickly from one exercise to another, with little or no rest between. In other words, rather than resting between sets, you perform an exercise for another muscle group.
Depending on who you talk to, you might also hear supersets called compound sets or staggered sets. They're all variations on the same theme.
Supersets usually involve several sets of two exercises for opposing muscle groups, such as the biceps curl and triceps dip. A compound set is a superset for the same muscle group (such as two back-to-back exercises for your biceps).
With staggered sets, you do an exercise for one muscle group and then, with little or no rest, perform an exercise for a muscle group (usually a smaller one) in a different part of the body. As an example, you might alternate squats with dumbbell curls.
One of the main benefits of a weight-training routine that includes supersets is that it raises your metabolic rate in the hours after exercise. Studies also show a shift in substrate oxidation, which means that you're also burning more fat.
Some evidence for this comes from a study by researchers Kristin Osterberg and Christopher Melby [1]. A group of seven young women (aged 22-35 years), all of whom were physically active and lifted weights 3-4 times a week in addition to regular cardiovascular exercise, took part in the study.
They reported to the laboratory at Colorado State University early in the morning. At 1.30pm they began the workout, starting with 10-15 repetitions of the bench press. Without resting, they went straight to the bent over row. Each superset was followed by 2-3 minutes of rest. They repeated the process four more times, before moving to the next set of exercises. In total, the workout lasted 100 minutes.
The routine included several compound exercises, such as the bench press, bent-over row and overhead press. The women also trained hard, with the last two sets of each exercise taken to the point of muscular failure.
Measurements taken 16 hours later show the rate of fat burning had increased by over 50%. Resting metabolic rate was also up by about 4%. In other words, the women were burning more calories and more fat.
In a previous experiment from the same laboratory, in which men followed a similar program, resting metabolic rate was almost 10% higher the next morning [4]. When longer rest periods between sets were used (4 versus 3 minutes), the rise in metabolic rate after exercise was less pronounced (4.7%).
So, one of the ways to make sure your metabolism stays elevated after exercise is to keep your rest periods between sets relatively short.
The fact that the workout in this study lasted 100 minutes does limit the conclusions we can draw. Most people don't have the time or motivation to train for so long. However, at least one other trial shows a post-exercise rise in metabolism lasting for at least two days, despite the fact the workout took just 31 minutes [5].
If you find it hard to fit weight-training into your day, try increasing the density of your workout by using supersets or staggered sets. It's a very simple way to boost your metabolic rate and burn fat faster without spending longer in the gym.
In this video you can see medicine ball push-ups paired with reverse lunges. Although this is actually a staggered set rather than a superset (because it doesn’t use opposing muscle groups), the fat-burning benefits will be much the same.
One simple way to cut down on the time you spend in the gym is to increase the density of your workout. Workout density is a measure of the amount of work performed in a specific time period. Don't worry if it sounds too complicated. Increasing workout density is actually quite easy when you use supersets.
Most weight-training routines require that you perform one set of a given exercise, rest for a minute or two, then return to the same exercise. And it's this rest period between sets that takes up a lot of time.
With supersets, you move quickly from one exercise to another, with little or no rest between. In other words, rather than resting between sets, you perform an exercise for another muscle group.
Depending on who you talk to, you might also hear supersets called compound sets or staggered sets. They're all variations on the same theme.
Supersets usually involve several sets of two exercises for opposing muscle groups, such as the biceps curl and triceps dip. A compound set is a superset for the same muscle group (such as two back-to-back exercises for your biceps).
With staggered sets, you do an exercise for one muscle group and then, with little or no rest, perform an exercise for a muscle group (usually a smaller one) in a different part of the body. As an example, you might alternate squats with dumbbell curls.
One of the main benefits of a weight-training routine that includes supersets is that it raises your metabolic rate in the hours after exercise. Studies also show a shift in substrate oxidation, which means that you're also burning more fat.
Some evidence for this comes from a study by researchers Kristin Osterberg and Christopher Melby [1]. A group of seven young women (aged 22-35 years), all of whom were physically active and lifted weights 3-4 times a week in addition to regular cardiovascular exercise, took part in the study.
They reported to the laboratory at Colorado State University early in the morning. At 1.30pm they began the workout, starting with 10-15 repetitions of the bench press. Without resting, they went straight to the bent over row. Each superset was followed by 2-3 minutes of rest. They repeated the process four more times, before moving to the next set of exercises. In total, the workout lasted 100 minutes.
The routine included several compound exercises, such as the bench press, bent-over row and overhead press. The women also trained hard, with the last two sets of each exercise taken to the point of muscular failure.
Measurements taken 16 hours later show the rate of fat burning had increased by over 50%. Resting metabolic rate was also up by about 4%. In other words, the women were burning more calories and more fat.
In a previous experiment from the same laboratory, in which men followed a similar program, resting metabolic rate was almost 10% higher the next morning [4]. When longer rest periods between sets were used (4 versus 3 minutes), the rise in metabolic rate after exercise was less pronounced (4.7%).
So, one of the ways to make sure your metabolism stays elevated after exercise is to keep your rest periods between sets relatively short.
The fact that the workout in this study lasted 100 minutes does limit the conclusions we can draw. Most people don't have the time or motivation to train for so long. However, at least one other trial shows a post-exercise rise in metabolism lasting for at least two days, despite the fact the workout took just 31 minutes [5].
If you find it hard to fit weight-training into your day, try increasing the density of your workout by using supersets or staggered sets. It's a very simple way to boost your metabolic rate and burn fat faster without spending longer in the gym.
In this video you can see medicine ball push-ups paired with reverse lunges. Although this is actually a staggered set rather than a superset (because it doesn’t use opposing muscle groups), the fat-burning benefits will be much the same.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Lose Belly Fat
So, if you want to lose belly fat, what should you do?
Firstly, you will need to exercise. And a feeble 30 or 40 minutes of cardio in your so-called "fat-burning zone" two or three times a week isn't going to be enough. As you've learned, a full-body training program that includes both cardiovascular and resistance exercise will deliver better, faster results.
Forget about doing hundreds of crunches, sit-ups, or any of the various "drawing in the belly button" exercises. They're virtually useless for most people when it comes to losing belly fat.
As Mike Geary, author of The Truth about Six Pack Abs, points out: "Let's get this straight right now. Abdominal exercises do NOT burn fat away from your abs! This can only be accomplished through a much more effective full-body training routine that maximizes both your metabolic response and your hormonal response to your workouts."
Remember, belly fat is stored energy. To get rid of it, you need to burn more energy (calories) than you eat. And these exercises don't burn enough calories to make much of a difference to the appearance of your waist and stomach.
"The truth is, getting six-pack 'killer' abs has almost nothing to do with training," adds Tom Venuto, author of Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle. "It has everything to do with low body fat."
If you've seen pictures of Tom, you'll know he has some of the best abs in the business. "Some people might argue that I was just blessed with good genetics in the ab department, which may be true," says Tom. "But based on my experience with others who have less favorable genetics, I still believe that developing the abdominal muscles is easy. The hardest part is getting your body fat low enough for your abs to show."
You'll also need to eat the right foods. I know it's a cliché, but a flat stomach is made in the kitchen and not the gym. Deciding what to eat can be difficult, especially with the mass of conflicting and confusing information out there. When it comes to nutrition, most people have been given only half the story. Usually, it's the wrong half!
Ultimately, while there are a few basic principles to keep in mind when it comes to nutrition and weight loss, losing belly fat requires that you take in fewer calories than you burn. Don't be seduced into following an overly complicated diet masquerading under the guise of a "new and revolutionary" approach to weight loss.
Finally, you'll need to be consistent. To lose belly fat, eating right and exercising regularly needs to become a habit, not just something you do when you can be bothered or when you "have the time." If your current schedule makes it difficult to find the time for exercise, change it. Get out of bed earlier. Turn off the TV. Stop wasting time on Facebook.
If you're looking for a highly effective fat-burning exercise routine that will help you burn off belly fat and lose the love handles, the Fight Fat and Win program (FFW) is the one I use myself and recommend to others. Based on some of the latest nutrition and exercise research, FFW is designed to help you quickly burn belly fat while preserving valuable muscle tissue.
Firstly, you will need to exercise. And a feeble 30 or 40 minutes of cardio in your so-called "fat-burning zone" two or three times a week isn't going to be enough. As you've learned, a full-body training program that includes both cardiovascular and resistance exercise will deliver better, faster results.
Forget about doing hundreds of crunches, sit-ups, or any of the various "drawing in the belly button" exercises. They're virtually useless for most people when it comes to losing belly fat.
As Mike Geary, author of The Truth about Six Pack Abs, points out: "Let's get this straight right now. Abdominal exercises do NOT burn fat away from your abs! This can only be accomplished through a much more effective full-body training routine that maximizes both your metabolic response and your hormonal response to your workouts."
Remember, belly fat is stored energy. To get rid of it, you need to burn more energy (calories) than you eat. And these exercises don't burn enough calories to make much of a difference to the appearance of your waist and stomach.
"The truth is, getting six-pack 'killer' abs has almost nothing to do with training," adds Tom Venuto, author of Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle. "It has everything to do with low body fat."
If you've seen pictures of Tom, you'll know he has some of the best abs in the business. "Some people might argue that I was just blessed with good genetics in the ab department, which may be true," says Tom. "But based on my experience with others who have less favorable genetics, I still believe that developing the abdominal muscles is easy. The hardest part is getting your body fat low enough for your abs to show."
You'll also need to eat the right foods. I know it's a cliché, but a flat stomach is made in the kitchen and not the gym. Deciding what to eat can be difficult, especially with the mass of conflicting and confusing information out there. When it comes to nutrition, most people have been given only half the story. Usually, it's the wrong half!
Ultimately, while there are a few basic principles to keep in mind when it comes to nutrition and weight loss, losing belly fat requires that you take in fewer calories than you burn. Don't be seduced into following an overly complicated diet masquerading under the guise of a "new and revolutionary" approach to weight loss.
Finally, you'll need to be consistent. To lose belly fat, eating right and exercising regularly needs to become a habit, not just something you do when you can be bothered or when you "have the time." If your current schedule makes it difficult to find the time for exercise, change it. Get out of bed earlier. Turn off the TV. Stop wasting time on Facebook.
If you're looking for a highly effective fat-burning exercise routine that will help you burn off belly fat and lose the love handles, the Fight Fat and Win program (FFW) is the one I use myself and recommend to others. Based on some of the latest nutrition and exercise research, FFW is designed to help you quickly burn belly fat while preserving valuable muscle tissue.
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