Solid nutrition, like good training, is simple – learn the basics and practice them consistently. A little knowledge and some discipline is the secret. Apply yourself diligently – don’t look back and don’t look for shortcuts, there simply are not any.

Health and fitness has climbed to the top of America’s popularity list and has become big business. As you’ve surely noticed, there is a gym on every corner and a slew of diet and bodybuilding formulas to pack on muscle and burn off fat. The competition is fierce, the promises are bizarre and most people are all confused, suspicious, and numb to it all. We are bombarded with a billion ways to diet, eat, and approach a life of looking and feeling our best. Let’s clear the air and put a few basic rules that you just can’t go wrong with, on the table to follow in order to start shedding some of those lb’s.

10 Tips to Lose 10 Pounds:

1. Stop consuming sugar (like soda)
2. Engage in weight/resistance training
3. Eat more vegetables, often
4. Do cardio
5. Cook and plan your meals and eat out less
6. Keep a food journal
7. Eat breakfast
8. Drink 6-8 cups of water daily
9. Consume protein/healthy fat based foods instead of carbohydrates outside of post workout sessions
10. Find an experienced and highly qualified personal trainer or good workout partner

Practicing these basic rules in conjunction with a regular schedule of exercise and proper hormonal balance (which will come with better lifestyle habits) will put you on the road to feeling and looking your absolute best!

Living in the “microwave” society that craves instant gratification that we do today, it is more common than not to see people looking for a shortcut or an easy way to achieve their weight loss goals. It is in fact ingrained in us to take the path of least resistance with anything we do just like it is hardwired in us to seek out and consume salt, sugar and fat. Those old, cave man survival instincts are still programed in us.  This article is geared toward helping the person who doesn’t have much direction, is brand new to fitness, a bit overweight and trying to understand the basics to get started in an effective way and has the willingness to put in the work.

As we have evolved, we have developed smarter and more efficient means of doing things such as microwaves, cars, cell phones, computers and the internet. These are just a few things that have wonderfully enhanced our lives for the better. I love that I have over 35 CD’s formerly known as albums, on a tiny little disc that is inserted in my glovebox and I can simply touch a button on a big screen and choose what to instantly play in my car without having tapes or CD’s all over my backseat or on my sun visor. I love that I can sit on my couch, simply touch a few buttons and pull a movie title from hundreds and hundreds available to me on Netflix where as in days past we would have to drive up to movie store on the other side of town, get a VHS tape, drive back home and play it in a VCR and then, not forget to rewind it before taking it back the next day. We can even date and intelligently find a suitable mate online that statistics show has a much higher rate of long term happiness and success than other more traditional and frustrating routes of dating which, I’m a happy statistic here I must admit. Ahh, modern times, technology and path of least resistance works very well to make life better in so many ways…

When Easier Hurts Us

Other areas that have made our lives easier have not necessarily made them better though. One of these areas is the food we eat which just happens to be the most important thing we need to be mindful of. I would even go as far to say that this is more important than anything else in our lives.

Most of us have the common sense and knowledge among the plethora of information available to us that fruits and vegetables are some of the best foods for us while soda pop, candy and fast food are not or at the very least, questionable for our health. Being subscribers to the “I need it now” modern world, most of us want a pill, drink, program or someone such as a personal trainer or doctor to somehow give us the secret answer (least path of resistance) to achieving their weight loss goals with as little effort as possible. I know I can understand this; easier is better, right?

To a degree, the path of least resistance has hurt us. Of all the areas that it hurts the most is with our waist line and health. It seems that we have become so accustomed to doing less and expecting more that this mindset has unfortunately started to hold us back. Now, many of us are our own worst enemy when it comes to trying to accomplish our goals of losing unhealthy pounds of body fat and achieving a better report card on our health and wellness.

Blame Shifting and Not Taking Responsibility for Our Own Actions

It’s the American way to feel entitled and point fingers instead of looking in the mirror and taking a solid look at your foundation. We get a trainer. We buy some pills or supplements. We buy into an HRT program. We buy a gym membership. But we then carelessly don’t apply any effort into addressing and building a solid foundation that is the cornerstone of a successful fat loss transformation and we then want to blame something or, someone else when we don’t see results. It’s time to look in the mirror and be really honest with ourselves.

Every once in a full moon I get someone who fits this description. They are the nightmare client. The one that always has an excuse why they didn’t have time to dedicate 60-90 total minutes over the course of week to working on their fitness. They haven’t followed up with me or prepared any healthy meals. They eat cheap junk food several days out of the week, simply out of convenience for their lack of planning and following direction. They have not taken their prescribed hormones, supplements or vitamins according to their coach or doctor’s outline and suggestion based off their plan to achieve success and, help them look and feel their best.

America’s Goal of Fat Loss & What a Structured Program Looks Like

The topic of fat loss which is a goal millions of Americans have but seem lost with their efforts of being successful with, has 4 basic areas to address and consistently and correctly incorporate on a regular basis in order to start seeing results.

The answer simply put, looks something like this done consistently and correctly:

1. Weight/resistance training 2-5x/week. These exercise sessions should be less than 45 minutes.
2. Cardiovascular training (“doing cardio”). This should be done 3-5x/week. We will cover how long, when and more in this article coming up shortly.
3. Healthy eating done appropriately and correctly 90% of the time.
4. Hormonal balance. This means controlling insulin, growth hormone and more. We will also highlight this a bit in this article too.

In order to do this with ease, having a few helpful tools is very helpful and even considered essential for some of the fittest, healthiest and most well organized fitness buffs out there. You can get some ideas on how to properly prepare in another article I wrote here: “Tools” To Get for Success

Notice Fat Loss, NOT Weight Loss is Mentioned?

There is a big difference between losing weight and losing fat. Although both can be used in the same breath with referencing to the desire to be more fit and healthy, fat loss should really be the emphasis with less on the scale, although this is a tool to gauge progress. Going to extreme measures to drop some fast pounds on the scale often backfires in a very negative way leaving one to gain weight back and in a tougher spot than they were before.

Two people of the same gender and age can be the same height and weight. One weight trains, is active and has a great diet and the other is sedentary and eats horribly.  But again, their weight is exactly the same. What I’m getting at here is that it’s more important what your body composition is. How much fat do you have? How much muscle do you have?

If you are on a diligent resistance training program, you most likely are shedding some body fat off while simultaneously adding muscle over time. This overall weight loss may not be fully reflected in pounds of fat lost on the scale but surely will reflect in the mirror! Losing the right kind of weight is the most important thing to strive for when wanting to look and feel our best. It is critically important to take note of this and learn how to properly go about achieving this.

So, explain a Structured Program to Look and Feel My Best

Strength Training

For most, this should take priority FIRST and it is how most should look to start their workout. Unless you are training for an endurance event or a marathon, weight training needs to come first and be prioritized. A common mistake made by many is doing 30 minutes of cardio first and then attempting a weight training workout of sorts after. 30-45 minutes is all that is needed with your weight training, 2-5 times per week. Yes, you heard that correctly. Many new to working out have a false belief that in order to see results from exercise, they must spend countless amounts of hours every week in the gym. The truth couldn’t be farther from that. One can spend as little as 2- 3 hours a week and if their approach is correct and done with a bit of intensity, it can be very effective in getting results to look and feel one’s best ever!

Most beginners should be looking at incorporating some circuit training or super-setting approach. Circuit training is where you can have 3-6 exercise stations that you rotate through (3-7 exercises) and repeat several times. Super-setting is putting two opposing muscle groups together and doing them back to back with minimal to no rest in between. For example, squats immediately followed by push-ups, then back to squats and repeat. This allows one muscle group to rest while the other is being worked all while getting your heart rate up and working your cardiovascular system at the same time. This approach also prevents overloading of weight on one’s tendons, ligaments and joints in the beginning assuming their body is not quite acclimated to heavy resistance yet. In a short period of time the body will adapt, become stronger and be ready for a more challenging phase of working out though. But for most beginners, this is an easy and effective way to get started with things.

Cardio

This is where you can “kill two birds with one stone” and get not only your strength training in, but also your cardio. So if you do just three or four of these 40-minute weight training workouts a week in this fashion and even throw in a short 10 to 15-minute bout of straight cardio at the end of it, you will be accomplishing both weight training and cardio together! If you’re advanced and capable of doing so, a H.I.I.T. (High Intensity Interval Training) or a Tabata approach to cardio is most effective, especially for fat loss.

• An example of “HIIT” is doing a one-minute all out spring followed by a one-minute walk and repeat 8 times.
• An example of Tabata is doing a 20 second sprint followed by a 10 second rest and repeat 8 times.

If you are not ready for this form of higher intensity cardio YET, that is ok and you can start with a brisk walk, jog or bike. However, you should not stay only walking or doing slow, rhythmic moving for too long if you want the most effective results to come. This is the goal to work up to if you are not ready yet.

Appropriate Nutrition 90% of The Time

Nutrition is critical when it comes to maximizing your efforts to look and feel your best. As the old saying goes, abs are not made in the kitchen but they can be lost there! This doesn’t mean we have to gnaw on broccoli and eat dry chicken everyday either. Healthy and nutritious foods can taste delicious if we learn how to put them together correctly and they fit our lifestyle and schedule. When it comes to eating correctly, think to eat greens and colorful sources of carbohydrates, lean sources of protein and healthy sources of fats all while LIMITING starchy carbs and boxed foods. I like to simply say “eat the rainbow”! Having a cheat meal or two each week isn’t going to ruin things either. It is all about what we are eating 90% of the time that primarily predicts success or failure with our diet.

Does Optimizing My Hormones Really Matter?

The short answer here is, hell yes!!! This can be a lengthy topic of discussion in and of itself but we are going to keep it as short and simple as possible here. There are a few hormones that encourage fat accumulation on the body including insulin, cortisol, estrogen, and also leptin and ghrelin if out of balance. There are also a few that help and encourage fat loss. In short, it is important to have a grip on controllable things that influence hormones and the way they influence our health, well-being and body composition.

Insulin

Controlling insulin by being mindful of sugar and excessive starchy/high glycemic carbohydrate intake is crucial here as this hormone is released by our pancreas in response to excessive amounts of glucose (the most-simple, broken down form of a carbohydrate) in our circulatory system. Insulin acts as a vehicle of sorts that will drive and store this excess glucose somewhere when there is too much of it. As you might guess, too often this gets stowed away as fat on the body.

Estrogen

Excessive levels of estrogen are attributed to many ailments and complaints today. Commonly referred to as estrogen dominance, this is associated with painful menstruations, cramps and endometriosis in women. High levels of estrogen are also associated with gynecomastia (“man boobs”) and low testosterone in men. Estrogen is often associated with excessive levels of body fat, certain processed foods we eat on a regular basis and even external lotions we apply on our skin loaded with parabens that act as “weak estrogens” in body, just to name a few. We can help keep estrogen in check and in optimal zones by getting plenty of DIM and endol-3-carbinol from cruciferous vegetables and sufficient amounts of zinc from either supplementation or by consuming seafood, beef, spinach or cashews. You can read a bit more on this topic in a blog I wrote here: Man Boobs Blog & Insight

Cortisol

Although sometimes easier said than done for many, reducing our levels of stress, if high, is important for not only any fat loss efforts but also for our health and well-being. Excessive levels of cortisol from too much stress is known to encourage weight gain. High levels of stress for prolonged periods of time is also associated with heart disease and many other big health concerns. Yoga, meditation or simply getting a pet may be the ticket to help us in this department here. Oh yeah, and exercise works very well too!

If you are over the age of 30 and suspect a hormone imbalance or simply feel that yours may not be optimized in all the areas, a highly qualified team at Youth-Rx can assist and discuss with you options on how to investigate and help you look and feel your best. Or, you can simply email me personally to set up a consultation here.

Summary:

So there we have it, this is what a snapshot of a successful program should be covering, addressing and incorporating. We may not have every fine detail here, but we can’t succeed without each of these being major areas being addressed. There are no shortcuts when it comes to being your best. However, achieving your best body and feeling as vibrant as you deserve to feel is probably easier than you think. It is simply a matter of learning a little, applying and incorporating your new found knowledge into your daily regimen to make your habits new, healthy ones!

Tomorrow is a new beginning and we all have choices to make every day. Make the right one for your body, your health, your family and most importantly for you!

Cheers,

Roger Bowman, CPT

With the assumption that you’re a middle-aged guy or gal and newly engaged in a workout program with goals to lose fat, gain a little muscle (which raises your metabolism to help burn fat), look better and be healthier; then this article is for you.

Gym Mistake #1: You’re Just Moving Weight Instead of Engaging the Targeted Muscle(s)

I see this without fail, every time I walk into the gym. It’s one thing if you’re an athlete and training to improve in your sport, if you’re a CrossFit athlete or ready to be conditioned to be one or similar. In other words, there is a training style and approach for everyone’s goals. But, for here and the unconditioned newbie or middle aged person who is striving for a more aesthetic body while keeping safety in mind with an aging body, this isn’t your best approach.

Instead of just swinging or jerking the weight, think about and engage the targeted muscle(s).

Gym Mistake #2: Your Tempo Sucks, with No Time Under Tension

What I mean here is referencing to how fast you allow the weight to move concentrically (the “positive”), peak contraction of movement and then the eccentric portion (the “negative”). Fighting the resistance back to the starting point during the eccentric phase is often ignored completely.

Envision a guy on the bench press who essentially almost drops the barbell onto and bounces it off his chest, has zero squeeze of his pectoral muscles at the top of the movement and proceeds to freely drop the bar with little to no resistance given during the eccentric lowering phase, over again and again.

Of the three said phases of a movement, the lengthening/eccentric is the most important one to control and emphasize. Instead of the example above, this said person would gain much more by lowering the bar with a controlled decent, fighting the resistance as it comes down to the chest with a full controlled stretch at bottom while after fully engaging the front deltoids and more so, pectoral muscles going back up with a strong squeeze finishing into the top of the press.

Repeat in this controlled fashion with a steady “1-2” count coming down, and a “1 count” going back up and at peak. 2:1:1 count tempo.

This is also referred to as time under tension. Keep the targeted muscles fully and constantly engaged through each repetition. Having complete focus on this versus the amount of weight you’re moving can go a long way.

Gym Mistake #3: Your Muscles Don’t Know Numbers or Math

Is it good to have a repetition scheme and number of sets to get in? Absolutely! But, if you are one of those hell-bent “numbers people” and you’re supposed to get 10 reps based off your program you’re following or per your trainer’s suggestions and you get exactly that number each time, this may be the slap in the face you need!

To me, the amount of reps is a guideline to follow for the most part. What do I mean? Well, if say you are following a hypertrophy program that calls for 8 reps for 3 sets and you get to rep #6, then 7 and finally 8 but you know damn well you could do 3 or 4 more, then this is where you break the rules and do another 4 reps. Then, you know you need to increase your weight for the next set.

Stopping short of failure is a sure way to NOT optimize your workout efforts. Your last 2 or 3 reps should be almost near impossible to complete while displaying your “ugly face” gritting some teeth and grimacing. Failure here is okay and acceptable. Not rushing these last few reps, but instead slowing down for brief pause and extra breath to finish strong and with focus can go a long way with finishing the set with purpose.

In short, don’t be a super strict counter. Don’t over think, short change and de-value your workout. Go to failure every time, whatever that repetition number ends up being. You can always modify the weight on the next set to keep your rep range in the right zone, if needed.

Gym Mistake #4: Your Priorities Are Backwards

Traditional rookie mistake; Loads of cardio first with “a little bit” of isolated weight training second. Any gym, anywhere will always have the bulk of the treadmills and elliptical machines being occupied. These are what I call hamsters on a wheel. You ever see one? They are spinning away, but getting nowhere!

Assuming your goals are fat loss, more attractive body composition, better hormonal picture and health, then challenging weight/resistance training must be prioritized. Excessive amounts of cardio with lack of resistance training works against these goals. Envision for a moment a long-distance runner; “skinny fat”, no muscle, no shape and often bad posture. Now imagine a sprinter; Nice muscle definition and shape, low body fat, good posture.

Regarding challenging weight/resistance training, the foundational pieces of a successful program should include and emphasize big movements such as squats, bench press/push up, pull down/pull up, deadlifts, overhead presses and rows. These are compound movements moving more than one joint while working large muscle groups. These should be learned and performed correctly early on and done on a regular basis moving forward.

If you don’t know these exercises, their correct planes of motion, safely starting and finishing each rep and set, breathing and more, then invest in a qualified personal trainer to help you. If money is an issue, simply hiring one to teach just these movements over a small handful of sessions and moving on from there to learn more on your own is fine. Don’t be a hamster on wheel.

Gym Mistake #5: You Lack Structure and Progression with Workouts

Assuming you’re seriously trying to do more than just sweat a little and lose a couple pounds at first with no results following, you will want to have a structured and progressive workout program as your weeks and months go by. Doing the same exercises with the same rep and set scheme with no change in your rest periods will surely have any motivating progress coming to a halt.

Incorporating macro cycles to change up your repetitions and rest periods between sets every so often can be a nice and shocking, new change to your workouts.

Gym Mistake #6: You Blindly Pay for a Bad Personal Trainer

Unfortunately, I see this too often. Fortunately, there are plenty of great fitness trainers out in the gym worlds, but there are trainers that obviously (to me anyways) lack experience and professionalism. And if you’re seeking out a trainer primarily with fat loss and improved body composition goals as discussed earlier, you’re most likely foolish for hiring the trainer who is overweight and out of shape.  If they don’t know how to do it for themselves, chances are high they will struggle showing you how to do it.

A few signs of an under qualified trainer:

1. They’re a “counter” versus an educator and motivator to get “2 more”. They count – “13, 14, one more… 15, good job”. This is when the client should be moving 20+ more pounds or doing 3 more reps. Muscles don’t know math, remember?
2. Unnecessary touching when the client should be learning to move the weight on their own with proper guidance and examples. Sometimes touching is necessary, other times its inappropriate.
3. They don’t have a structured plan for you, each workout. They don’t ask you relevant questions as to your efforts towards your goals outside of your time with them. They don’t communicate with you outside your gym time.
4. They talk on their phone, with other people or often have their attention on things other than you and your paid time together. You are paying for you trainer’s time and you should get 100% of their attention.
5. They lack any track record of client success stories. Being a new and upcoming trainer is fine, we all have to start somewhere. If that is the case, interview them. Ask of their educational background thus far. Are they in shape themselves? Assuming they’re young & passionate about health and fitness, they should at least have this going for them. This is TOTALLY FINE to work with a new trainer, just don’t pay top notch prices. A lower priced but “up and coming” trainer is a great match for many, don’t count these ones out! They may be able and willing to put in a lot of extra time and effort for you if their heart is in it…

Hiring a personal trainer is a relationship. They need to be the expert. They should be a constant educator for you every time you see them. Would you hire a broke guy living on the streets to manage and invest your money if he claimed to be a “highly certified” stock broker?

Be wise and look for reviews or testimonials from trainers. Ask them who they are certified through, their experience/background or what degrees they have relevant to your goals.  NASM, ACE, ACSM, and NSCA are all accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). NCCA accreditation is known as the standard for the field—certifying bodies must undergo comprehensive evaluation and regular renewals to keep this accreditation.

A great resource to not only find and investigate personal trainers near you but also see if they are verified to be certified and through whom, is a site called Idea Fitness. You can go here and put in your zip code to find a suitable trainer near you: Find a Trainer Near You Here

Maximize Your Efforts in The Least Amount of Time

Learning how to effectively get the most out of your time in the gym is important. We all have life’s obligations and our time is valuable and for most, scarcely available. Invest a little now to save a lot moving forward. Avoid some of these common mistakes and learn how to maximize the efforts of your workouts!

Best regards,

Roger Bowman, CPT

Having good gym etiquette is unfortunately not practiced by every gym goer these days. All too often, having respect for other people, places of business and borrowed property are not given where most do so out of good habit without much thought given. Of all places where proper etiquette is important, the gym is at the top of the list.

 
In this article, we are going to cover some of the most important etiquette rules all gym goers should follow. Whether you’re young, old, male, female, a paying member or on a day pass at a gym, these rules should always be practiced respectfully alongside fellow patrons.

Gym Etiquette Rule #1: Don’t Drop the Weights

 
Dropping dumbbells in an uncontrolled, ballistic manner on the floor may increase odds of injury, especially with your shoulders. Furthermore, and more importantly, they damage the weights which are expensive to replace. If you can’t lift and set down the weights with some control, you’re probably lifting more than you can handle.

If this applies to you, consider setting your macho man ego aside with a better emphasis on controlling the weight and tempo of the movement while engaging the targeted muscles instead.

 
If you allowed someone to use your car, you wouldn’t want them to carelessly and aggressively drive it, grinding on gears and hitting every pothole or more, would you? Respect & help take care of the gym’s shared equipment.

Gym Etiquette Rule #2: Remove or Return Weights When You’re Finished

 
This is a simple matter of courtesy to the person using that piece of equipment after you. Nobody wants to pick up after you and re-rack all your 45-pound plates that you left on the leg press machine. And, when you’re done using any dumbbells, put them back in their proper spot on the weight rack where they belong.

Gym Etiquette Rule #3: Wipe Off Your Nasty Sweat

 
This is another courtesy that should be given to the next person using the bench or piece of equipment that you just smeared your bodily fluids all over. If you’re a lighter sweater, you can also simply lay a dry towel down on the equipment that you use as an alternate option here. Just like you don’t want to sit in someone else’s sweat, the next person after you doesn’t either.

Gym Etiquette Rule #4: Don’t Be Excessive with Your Noisy Non-Sense

 
Okay, we get it that you’re in “beast mode”. But honestly, everyone else in the gym is not impressed with your excessively loud grunting and screaming like you’re in labor with a baby about to come out of you.

 
We also get really annoyed when you slide all your 45-pound plates on the bar with the loudest clanking noise humanly possible and then ear piercingly dropping the bar on the rack after your every set to let everyone around you know how much you just did.

 
If you’re this guy, you are looked at the same way most look at the disrespectful person at the library or in the movie theatre who gets 6 phone calls on their cell phone with all to hear their annoying ring tone song. All because they have zero respect for those other patrons trying to watch the movie and didn’t put their phone on silent. Nothing wrong with some heavy breathing and a little natural grunting in the gym, this is great! We are NOT in church or the movie theatre after all by no means!

 
But, if you really want to throw weights and drop them as loud as possible, there is a place for this type of activity and they are called Cross-Fit gyms. If this is your thing, great! Just know and respect where you’re at and what gym you’re in before lifting like a wild & angry caveman.

Gym Etiquette Rule #5: Don’t Block Mirrors or Access to Dumbbell Racks

 
In a crowded gym, people need access to dumbbells to get their lifts in. Most prefer to use mirrors to monitor their lifts safely and properly when performing exercises. Being mindful of your surroundings and those in them, is a big etiquette rule to be followed here.

 
Gym goers get really irritated when Mr. Norespect decides he is going to rudely stand in front of someone and their view of the mirror, directly in front of the dumbbell rack blocking anyone else’s ability to grab weight they need, while he does his standing curls for the next 2 minutes there.

 
There are probably 5 other places you can step aside to do your standing curls, Browski. Be mindful and respectful of those around you when working out.

Summary

I few other honorable mentions:

 
• Allow others to work in with you, especially if you are super-setting.
• Do not set up a circuit training workout during busy hours at the gym.
• Always ask first, if it looks like someone may be using something and they are taking a short breather in between sets, before jumping on a station to take it over yourself.
• Do NOT douse yourself in cologne or perfume before going to the gym; it’s extremely offensive.
• Always be nice to fellow gym members and kindly offer to spot someone if they ask, and chip in to re-rack a few plates in between sets if you can to help keep your gym organized.

 
Although quite simple, these top etiquette rules are often neglected. If you’re a new gym goer, you may have committed a few of these “crimes” before and innocently didn’t realize it. Many of us seasoned gym rats have committed these ourselves at least to some degree, at one time or another-from simply not knowing or being alerted, to be more aware and respectful.

 
Hopefully, you have taken away a little bit of good insight or at the least had a good laugh reminiscing at these things that you have witnessed countless amounts of times yourself.

 
-Roger Bowman