A note to the reader: This document is a brief of nutritional and exercise tips that have worked for me and perhaps may be able to help you. The below is based on fact as well as my own opinion. It is always a good idea to consult a physician, best of luck!
Losing Weight
One of the biggest mistakes that people make when trying to lose weight is to starve themselves. It may seem to make sense; the longer you go between meals, the more fat you burn and the more weight you lose. This is far from the truth!
If you deprive your body of food, it slows down your metabolism as a defense mechanism. Then, when you finally eat, you have a tendency to eat too much because your body is telling you it is low on fuel. The next thing that occurs is that your body stores the fat you ingest in the meal instead of breaking it down. In addition, your body takes the carbohydrates and converts them into fat for storage. This storage of fat is because your body senses that it is being starved and is another aspect of your natural defense mechanism to be used at a later time.
But now you have a big problem. First, your metabolism is working in slow motion; therefore, you are more tired and more apt to take a nap instead of being active. Second, your body is storing fat. The final result is you’re less motivated, you feel as if you are in a haze and you gain weight. Not muscle weight, fat weight!
Starving is not the answer. You can speed your metabolism with healthy food and exercise. Instead of eating three times a day, eat six balanced healthy meals per day. Protein intake at optimal times such as right after your workout feeds muscle growth.
Toning the Body
Many people would simply like to “tone” their bodies, and fitness centers capitalize on this fact. The problem is that toning your body means losing fat and gaining muscle. You can gain muscle mass, but unless you burn the fat around the muscle there will be a lack of definition. On that same token, you can burn the fat in your body. But if you lack the attention to your muscles, again, you will be missing part of the equation.
Most people would simply like to appear more fit, and that takes dedication to diet and exercise. Of course, one or the other is just fine, but the best results come from the combination of physical fitness with a healthy diet.
Those Love Handles
Now here is a topic that men in their 30s can relate to. How the hell did these love handles get here, and how do I get rid of them? The older you get the slower your metabolism becomes. That is part of the reason why elder people take naps, fall asleep early and at times have less energy.
It’s just about impossible to lose fat in a particular area. You have to attack the whole body not just the love handles. That means exercise that keeps the heart rate up, the sweat glands burning and the cardio working. To ensure that you do not shovel fat into your mouth that replenishes what you just burned, watch your calorie intake.
The hard fact is that those love handles may be the last part of fat that your body burns. That is because we are men, and that is where the male body stores fat first. So you or someone may notice your face getting thinner, or your pants a little baggier. Maybe your arms will feel tighter or your legs look stronger. The fat around your ribs may be less or perhaps your pecks will look smaller. But do not get discouraged if those love handles are still there. If the change is evident in parts of your body, you are on the right track! Keep it up, love handles will get theirs soon enough.
Gaining Muscle
To gain muscle the body needs food (protein) and proper weight or other training that taxes the muscles. Your muscles will only gain the mass that is required for them to accomplish the tasks that you put them through. In other words: If you go to the gym and bench 100 lbs 5 times every day, your muscles will only grow to the point required to accomplish this task.
There are a variety of ways to instigate your muscles that will result in growth. On the topic of muscle growth I have one personal take “go muscles - not show muscles”. An athlete must have muscles that perform, not big stumps that limit your ability to even wipe your butt.
Protein is muscle food, and at least half of your protein intake should be from the food you eat. The other half can come from a shake supplement. An athlete should have one gram of protein for every pound that he weighs daily. If I weigh 205 lbs, I want to get around 30-35 grams of protein in each meal to equal about 185 to 210 grams of protein per day.
Because athletic explosion is the result I am looking for, I lift weights in supersets. Either working two muscle groups at one time, or hitting the same muscle group back to back. Weight training will burn calories for up to two hours after you finish your workout.
Results
Most of us are not world class boxers training to make a particular weight class. So what is the measure of your hard work? Understanding that muscle mass is more dense and heavier than fat, should your weight be the measure of your success?
How you measure success will be up to you. But I think that the mirror should be your test. Not vanity, but what you expect from the effort you are making to better yourself. How do your clothes fit? That will be your first noticeable change. Don’t train for the opinion of others, most of us will never be competitive bodybuilders. Train for the results you are looking for. Be disciplined and dedicated; if you fault, you are only cheating yourself.
Meals
Try to eat about six times a day watching your calorie intake. This is just an example of what I mean, and is flexible to fit your schedule and needs:
DOs:
Oatmeal is a great way to start the day. Be careful with the flavored variety, they have more calories. Try dried cereal lower in calories and always drink skim milk.
Eggs, and especially egg white are great food. To cut down on calorie intake, try not to fry them.
Whole wheat grains, breads, and brown rice.
Beans, especially kidney beans (en
Tuna, chicken and fish are always great way to get some good food in your system high in proteins and vitamins.
Vegetables, preferably steamed have lots of vitamins.
Fruits and salads are great foods. Be careful not to eat an abundance of fruits that may be high in fructose and carbohydrates and easy on the salad dressing.
Take a multi vitamin every morning!
DONTs:
Limit sodas; hydrate your body with water. Especially before, during and after workouts. Sodas have lots of chemicals that are not good for your body. Diet sodas are deceiving, what your body truly craves when you are thirsty is water. If you are very active and your urine is yellow, you need more water.
Try to cut down on alcoholic beverages; they are extremely high in calories.
Be careful with salad dressing and breaded meats.
Avoid processed or refined foods. The bread in
Foods such as bagels, donuts, muffins, white rice and pasta are high in carbohydrates. Try whole wheat based products.
When watching calories keep a look out for fat calories and carbohydrates. Drop 500 calories a day and lose a pound a week.
If you love fried food, try frying in olive oil.
Eat slow. It takes time for your stomach to tell your brain that you are full. Studies indicate that it may take 10 to 20 minutes for your brain to get the message. By that time your belly is about to pop (sound familiar?).
Try to cut out junk food. Why put junk inside of a temple?
Superset Weight Workouts:
Superset means you hit repetitions back to back. These are high paced workouts that burn fat and make “go muscles”. Start by working two different muscle groups back to back. After you gain strength and stamina, hit the same muscle group twice to shock your muscles and entice new growth. Then you can go back to two muscle groups with heavier weight. Or you can start to concentrate on building one group at a time.
First set 10-12 reps, second set go up in weight and maintain at least 10 reps, third set go up in weight again and do no less than 8 reps but try to stay at 10. At the very end of my workouts I like to drop weight and do a burn set.
This is an example of a weight training routine. Take each pair of exercises and do them back to back nonstop (ex. chest, biceps, chest biceps, chest, biceps) as stated above, then move on to the next pair:
Day 1 – Chest and Biceps back to back sets:
Flat bench dumbbell twists
Curved barbell curls
Incline barbell bench press
Dumbbell hammer curls
Decline barbell bench press
Seated dumbbell curls
Fly machine
Reveres curls
Finish with a burn set to end with a good pump.
Day 2 – Back and Triceps back to back sets:
Lat pull down machine
Dips (10, 12, 15)
Row machine
Triceps rope pull down
Back machine
Dumbbell skull crushers
Dumbbell bent over pull
Seated triceps behind the neck push
Finish with a burn set to end with a good pump.
Day 3 – Shoulders and Traps back to back sets:
Standing barbell military press
Dumbbell trap shrugs
Shoulder chin rows
Trap chest rows
Straight arm dumbbell raises
Dumbbell circle shrugs
Bent over back flys
Forward dumbbell shrugs
Finish with a burn set to end with a good pump.
Again, modify your workouts to what is best for you. Maybe start with a run or 20 to30 minutes on a stationary bike. Perhaps end every workout with a few sets of abs. You know your body and what it needs, and its up to you to make it happen. Make plan and stick with it!
Visualize where you want to be, and challenge yourself to get there. No one can make you do it; it has to come from within.
Walk strong!
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