Posts Tagged ‘Workout’

Are You a Magic Seeker? ->By ChickenTuna

Saturday, March 19th, 2011

I. love. this. Great motivation! For me…and to spread to my clients! When they are quibbling about not seeing results after one workout and one clean meal…or people asking me about how effective L-Carnitine is or anything else…yet their diet is not 100%…I want to say “what’s the point??”…no supplement can counteract an inconsistent diet…Anyway, “ChickenTuna” has been a contributing member of BodySpace (associated with BodyBuilding.com) for many years now and her abs are more than memorable. Yes, I know some of you (esp. gals) would think her body is too much, but personally I think she looks phenomenal. And her message is fantastic. I came across this on her website and I MUST SHARE. Read this and remember this. Everyday.

"ChickenTuna"

"ChickenTuna"

ARE YOU A MAGIC SEEKER?

Are you trying to find the ‘right fat burner’ that will give you a fit body tomorrow while you are still enjoying your cakes, cookies, ice cream and pizza?

Are you looking for the ‘right exercise’ that will make a certain body part look perfect after just one session?

Are you not even concerned with exercise or eating right, and looking for a magical potion, book or scheme to lose weight and be fit?

Are you eating 5 or 6 small healthy meals a day but thinking there is a magical combination of food and eating times? …so after over analyzing food plans for months and months… you think maybe you need one less serving of carbs or an extra serving of protein and then you will wake up the next day with your dream body once you crack this crazy caper of finding the right magical nutrition combination that everyone is keeping secret from you?  Or maybe you’ve been eating right for an entire 3 days and you are wondering why your body hasn’t transformed yet.  There is no secret magical food combination.  In most cases of over analyzing and micro managing food plans, the problem is not the plan.. it’s YOU!  You are not following it or eating lots of crap in addition,  thinking ‘what difference will a little cookie or pizza make’ and you are sabotaging results.

Are you debating if you need to do your weight training in a full body work out style, or a body part split?  Or maybe overanalyzing whether you should do weights first or cardio first?   And once you figure out the right answer you will be in top shape after one session?  Either style workout is fine as long as you do it consistently.

Are you attempting to figure out if eating oatmeal is a better carb than brown rice?  If so, you are seriously seeking some magic.  It doesn’t matter, they are both good carbs to eat.

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you are searching for magic and probably won’t reach your goals until you get real about being consistent, dedicated, and hard working all the time to reach your fitness goals over a long period of time, not 2 days.

Many people are in complete denial that exercising and eating right consistently is required to be fit.   Most problems happen when people are looking for  a scheme to eat all the food they love and also have the best looking body possible.  It comes down to a choice.   I know if I were eating crappy foods I love everyday ( like peanut butter cheesecake) I would not have a fit looking body and would not be happy about that, and nobody would be surfing into my website to find out about being fit because I would be in terrible shape.

Magical exercises don’t exist.  Magical routines do not exist.   If legs are your weak spot, do LEG exercises. Make sense?  If arms are what you want to focus on… do ARM exercises.  If any magic happens, it is when you do your workouts consistently, when you work HARD while working out, and  when you eat right all the time.  There is no magical routine.   Regardless of all the exercising you do, you will no see any defined muscles or have that ‘toned’ look unless you lower your bodyfat.

Magical food combinations don’t exist… All you can do is eat the proper amount of food for your goals and eliminate the wrong food.  Nutrition and workouts can always be improved, but there is no magic formula.   If you want to see any magic happen, stop eating crap for a few weeks and you’ll be amazed.

Progress takes time and only happens when you are consistent,  so don’t give up.

Advice for Success

1.  When you don’t feel like doing your workout, do it anyway.  You’ll feel better afterwards.

2.  When you feel like eating pizza for dinner, eat grilled chicken instead, you will survive.  You’ll feel great about your choice the next day.

3.  Keep doing the above every week consistently.  Consistency is KEY.

You can  keep  searching, hoping and praying there is magical potion, scheme, or pill to get you where you want to be, but you’ll just keep spinning your wheels.  You already know what you need to do… put down the crap and you won’t be wondering where your results are because you will see them for yourself.

It would be really nice if you could go out buy some cream, rub it on your ass, and get rid of cellulite… but its just not going to happen that way.  Cellulite goes away as your bodyfat goes down by eating right and exercising consistently.

Why is this section here?  Because over the past 17 years while I’ve been struggling each week to squeeze in my workouts on a regular basis, and say no thank you to all the junk food that is offered to me each day… I have seen many people around me try every scheme possible, (anything but eating right and exercising)  from pills to crazy diet schemes, and I have yet to see anyone ever have any success or achieve becoming fit that way.

Please do not write me and ask me about taking pills or any secrets or tips.. if you do, you really don’t get it.  Get yourself a big serving of hard work and sacrifice, swallow it down, and digest it.

>>Awesome, right?! Absolutely perfectly well said, IMO. How do you feel about this?

On a side note, Tiger Muay Thai represent! Check out UFC’s president Dana White rocking the Tiger Muay Thai shirt : http://www.magicalray.com/im-not-gay-but-ufc-president-danawhite-does-know-how-to-dress.html :)

XOXO

~K

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Posted in Figure, Fitness, & Bikini, MMA, Motivation & Mindset, Nutrition / Recipes, Training | 1 Comment »

Best Practices in Fat Loss

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

Endless waves upon waves of good-intentioned fat-loss seekers tie up their running shoes and walk around their neighborhoods, flock to the gym and trod on their cardio equipment of choice, only eat twice a day, and never get their heart rate above their “fat burning zone.” Yet their jeans remain too snug, the zipper gets harder to close, and women and men grow steadily frustrated with how infrequently they eat, how much cardio they do in their low-heart-rate, “fat burning zone,” yet still fail to lose weight.—->What’s the deal?!

…I’ve re-read “The Science of Fat Loss” by Alwyn Cosgrove (only one of the most sought-after fat loss specialists in the industry) and it was a truly invigorating read. I feel passionate about fat loss, and feel compelled to relay and comment on some of his most salient principles for fat loss success…

HOW YOU BURN CALORIES

First of all, let’s talk about energy expenditure. In a day, you may burn, say, 2000 calories. That is contributed in a small way from factors such as the thermic effect of food, lifestyle (e.g. how much do you move in your job? How sedentary or active are you?), and exercise (e.g. 60 min spin class, half hour lifting weights, etc.). The majority of the calories you burn in a day, however, come from how much muscle mass you carry. Your resting metabolic rate is DIRECTLY related to how much muscle you have. Therefore, someone with a lower body fat percentage will automatically be burning more calories at rest than someone at the same weight with a higher body fat percentage.  Do you want to burn fat? Then you want to burn calories, right? So will lifting weights make you “bulky”? No! FOOD can make you bulky- EXERCISE can make you LEAN! Muscle is your fat burning machinery. Lift weights to lose fat!

fat_loss_woman

THE FALLACY OF LOW-INTENSITY AEROBIC TRAINING FOR FAT LOSS

Check out, for example:

Geliebter A, Maher MM, Gerace L, Gutin B, Heymsielf SE, Hashim SA.

Effects of strength or aerobic training on body composition, resting metabolic rate, and peak oxygen consumption in obese dieting subjects.

Am J Clin Nutr. 1997 Sep; 66(3): 557-63.

In a comparison where they burned the same amount of calories during the training session, the strength training group lost significantly more fat than the aerobic training group. Furthermore, the aerobic training group lost significantly more lean body mass than the strength training group (clearly a detriment if muscle is your fat burning machinery).

Why is the myth of the fat burning zone so prevalent? Why do so many women and men think that doing steady state low intensity aerobic training is the way to achieve fat loss? (That’s actually the lowest priority in the hierarchy of fat loss, which I will cover a little later in this entry.) If you look at the chart below, you can see how an individual’s respiratory exchange ration (RER) corresponds to the utilization of either fat or carbohydrate as an energy source for fuel. As you can see, an RER of around .70 or .71 (NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training) uses a maximal percentage of its fuel from fat. So that’s where we want to work out? But an RER of .7 is achieved when we are at complete rest. Is complete rest the way to burn calories and fat? Not so, my friends. If body fat loss is desired, you must expend as much energy as possible. And that doesn’t come from resting.

RER

THE HIERARCHY OF FAT LOSS

What are the best practices in achieving fat loss?

1. Proper Nutrition

Eat 5+ meals a day. Limit your consumption of sugars and processed foods. Eat plenty of non-starchy vegetables. Drink more water and cut out calorie-containing beverages. Eat lean proteins throughout the day. Save starchy foods for breakfast and/or post workout only.

chickensalad2

2. See #1

You cannot out-train a crappy diet.

Remember, the more exceptional the compliance, the more exceptional the results. The better you eat, the better your results.

3. Activities that burn calories, maintain/promote muscle mass, and elevate metabolism.

  • You can do this through metabolic supersets, tri-sets, and circuits. This is characterized by heavy resistance, 8-12 reps (maybe less for more advanced clients or maximal strength goals, and maybe more for deconditioned individuals), 6-8 total body exercises, time under tension of 45-60 seconds (the actual time exposed to the load), and relatively short rest periods (e.g. 15 sec to 1 min). By sequencing the sets with non-competing exercises, it reduces rest needed per body part before you move on to the next exercise, and you are able to do more total work, so you can burn more calories by working ALL your muscles rather than doing a tricep kickback…resting…waiting to recover…doing another set of tricep kickbacks….rest….wait…and again…and maybe again….and then you’re done with your workout and haven’t burned too many calories, and haven’t elevated your metabolism. With metabolic supersets, tri-sets, or circuits, you are initiating EPOC, or Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption. This is the process whereby the metabolic rate recovers to pre-workout levels. This is AWESOME, because it means you are still burning more calories even after your workout!
FCFTire

4. Activities that burn calories and elevate metabolism.

  • high intensity anaerobic interval training
  • high intensity aerobic interval training
running2

5. Activities that burn calories but don’t necessarily maintain muscle or elevate metabolism.

  • steady state high intensity aerobic training
  • steady state low intensity aerobic training
walking

CONCLUSIONS

Most importantly, you must have a clean diet.  With regards to exercise, resistance training that creates as massive a metabolic disturbance as possible provides you with the most bang for your buck. If you have additional time, go ahead and add some intervals (as hard as you can). If you have even more time, go ahead and bang out some steady state higher intensity cardio. If you have even MORE time to spare, then lastly go ahead and implement some low intensity steady state cardio. The moral of the story is- staying in the “fat burning zone” (e.g. RESTING) is NOT the way to go! Ladies and gents, go out and move with the most vigor you can! Lift heavy weights and WORK! Build your fat-burning machinery- your MUSCLES! The more lean muscle mass you possess, the higher your metabolism will be, and therefore the more fat you will burn!  Follow this strictly and expect to see amazing changes in your physique~

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Posted in Figure, Fitness, & Bikini, Nutrition / Recipes, Training | 9 Comments »

Dynamic Mobility: Reduce Injury & Make The Most From Your Workouts!

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Fascia

What is it?

Dynamic mobility is a great warm up before training. Although there is a bit of semantic confusion in the phraseology, I am referring to “mobility” as contracting your muscles and taking your joints through their ranges of motion actively, as opposed to passively.

What does it do?

  • Increase flexibility
  • Prevent injury
  • Enhance performance
  • Make the most out of your exercises

How does it work?

More and more research has been showing that static stretching before workouts is not the optimal time to do this. When you, say, lay on your back and stay in a stretch for a minute or more, then switch positions and lay down some more and hold it for another minute, and so forth…do you think your nervous system is firing up? Actually, the opposite occurs, and the signal between your muscles and your nervous system weakens, which can result in reduced strength and power output, and less coordination within your body, which can lead to injuries!

When you warm up by actively moving your joints and muscles through their ranges of motion, you are stimulating your nervous system and enhancing the signal between it and the muscles. This leads to an increased power and strength output, greater joint range of motion, and a much more efficient performance. You also get the synovial fluid (fluid in your joints that helps cushions and lubricate) going in your joints, greatly reducing joint friction. Now your body is warm and your joints are ready for exercise!

AFTER working out then, you can perform your static stretching, and by doing so, you will relax your system and prime your body for recovery.

What do I do?

Begin with about 5-7 minutes of continuous moving activity to raise body temperature, increase blood flow to your muscles, and activate your nervous system. Any sort of cardio will do, such as biking, a light jog, or elliptical. Once you have completed your light cardio, continue with dynamic mobility, then your workout (e.g. resistance training), then do static stretching.

Even if you are just doing “legs” you still need to work on TOTAL BODY mobility. Question: If you pull one section of a spider web, does the whole rest of it remain intact? No! The whole thing will shift. This is the same in your body, due to your fascia, which is an amazing three-dimensional soft-tissue network in your body. If your shoulder girdle is tight, for example, you will not generate the same fluid arm swing you need in running, and this has ripple-down effect to your hips, knees, and ankles. Therefore, understand that tightness in one section of the chain can impact a body part much further away (e.g. arch of the foot can impact the back!) SO, work on total body mobility and watch the positive cumulative effect unfold after a few weeks.

SAMPLE DYNAMIC MOBILITY PROGRAM

Perform each exercise for 6 -10 reps each, in a smooth, continuous manner. Start with smaller and slower ranges of motion and progress over time in amplitude and speed. Note that anatomical distinctions (below) are loose.

Upper Body:

  • Arm swings
    • Overhead/down and back
    • Side/front crossover
  • Forearm stretch
  • Wall slides

Neck:

  • Flexion/extension
  • Lateral flexion
  • Rotation (look R, L)

Trunk and Shoulder Girdle:

  • Flexion/extension
  • Lateral flexion
  • Rotation (hands up, elbows out)
  • Inchworm
  • Knees to Chest
  • SL RDL
  • Bird Dog

Lower Body:

  • Hip circles
  • Hip twists
  • Leg Swings
    • Flexion/extension
    • Cross body flexion/abduction
  • Frankensteins
  • Quad stretch
  • Sumo Squat to Stand
  • Reverse Lunge to Twist
  • Spiderman
  • Scorpion
  • Ankle Bounce
    • Double leg
    • Single leg

I hope to post some video soon. For now, I hope you appreciate the message that we need optimal length-tension relationships in our entire kinetic chain to build our athletic base and prevent injuries. Please feel free to comment or email me if you have any thoughts or questions :)

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Week SIX of Thirteen to kicking ass and taking names…

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

The injury rehab process has been…less than pleasant.

frustrated

Let me think of some things I would rather do than go without my sweaty, fantastically killer workouts

  • eat cockroaches (have already done that, actually, but I digress)
  • have someone burn my flesh (check! still have the marks, what can you say, we were crazy kids)
  • go without my beloved many flavors of protein powder
  • the list could go on and on

My adherence to the program has been a bit spotty lately. Have not been as frequent with my rehab “workouts.” Have not iced. Have not done towel scrunching. Have not taken any group exercise classes, as I had planned, because I feel reluctant to relinquish control to an instructor and would rather be in control of my own exercise. I HAVE been diligent about rolling and stretching my foot, doing single leg balance exercises and tube walking to strengthen the arch, glute medius, and other lower limb infrastructure. I have been doing a montage of my rehab exercises for knee and shoulder (as tolerated), and I have been increasing my jogging mileage (woo hoo!).

Today marks week 6, which is a huge lifesaver for me, because I get to move to my strength cycle, and I LOVE strength training! I get to switch my routine a bit, and already the workout this morning was much more invigorating!

HappyCat

I allowed myself to do whatever I wanted in the gym (within limits) and had a great time testing out my (measly) strength. Wow, what a difference! My left latissimus dorsi and posterior deltoid are weaklings! About two months ago I was popping out 3 set of 15 bodyweight pull ups no problemo (and sometimes even weighted pull ups) and having people come up to me at the gym asking how do I do that, and today…well…today I was struggling to do ONE! What a far cry! And the seated row, and the push ups, and the lunges…I marveled at how my strength has waned in only two months! I am certain, though, that as long as I progress CAUTIOUSLY, I will be back at my previous strength pretty soon.

I will stay in this strength phase for four weeks before I progress to power. At least, that’s the plan.

Here is my outline:

Week 6-9: Strength

Focus: increase the load-bearing capabilities of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints

Massage WEEKLY this cycle  (I am blessed to start a trade with a massage therapist, yes!)

Healthy fats (e.g. chia seeds or olive oil) & healthy nutritional choices daily

Wellness Visualization x1/day

Incorporating total body exercises, including:

Shoulder:

8-12 reps, 3-4 sets, minimal rest

DB OH press

DB bent arm lateral raise

DB I, T, Y

Foam roll: Lats

Stretch: Pendulum, posterior capsule stretch, external rotation, internal rotation, lats, pecs, biceps, supraspinatus, neck

Foot: Roll bottom of foot w/tennis ball

Knee:

8-12 reps, 4 sets

DB lunge matrix

Multi-planar step ups

Step downs

Foam roll: quads, IT band, adductors, piriformis, calves

Stretch: glutes, quads, hip flexors, piriformis, adductors, achilles

Cardio: Try jogging 30 min a day, 3 x wk (to be increased by 5 min weekly)

~Each week I will increase the resistance training load, reps, complexity, plane of motion, or other variable to slowly and progressively overload my muscles.

Will keep you posted on my progress.

Lots of love to you all**  <3 <3 <3

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Injury Rehab Week 5 of 13

Sunday, February 14th, 2010

Rehab/Stabilization continues to be a challenge. I just love lifting super heavy weights, sweating bullets, sprinting, dancing, and all that…and to not be able to do that…sometimes makes me not so excited to “work out.”

I just started week 5 of my program- last week of stabilization. My knee and feet feel good, my shoulder feels not so hot. I have not given up, just acknowledging that I am on week 5 of my program, and I still have time to rehab it. Boo suggested to me that I need to stop supporting myself on my left side, and not sleep on my left shoulder (I cuddle up to him that way). So, sadly, I will stop cuddling up and start sleeping on my back. And not slouch over or crunch myself in a strange position while on the computer, which is my habit. He is encouraging me to change these habits, and since he suggested these changes (last week) I have implemented them. I hope they will contribute to my recovery.

I am following the specifications of my program, except for taking group fitness classes and icing. Exercises are slowly increasing in difficulty, reps, and/or weights. Last week I held plank for a minute at a time for a few times, which is definitely the first time I have tried that in ages. It was okay. This week my program called to start push ups. I gingerly tried a few. Felt okay. Just a stark contrast from whipping out 30 or 40 five months ago or so, and then now just being uncertain about a few push ups. And today I tried single arm dumbbell rows. I used to lift 45 or so pounds no problem!! Today I did a set of 15 with a 10 pounder and wow I felt it!! Now I understand how my clients feel!! ;P

Positive affirmation:

Onward I go.

Today I will end with a quote from James Allen As A Man Thinketh: “A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances.”

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Week 3 of Injury Rehab update

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Today marks the end of week 3 of my 13 week program to healthy, lean and mean goodness. This past week I have been dealing with a cold, so have not been working out much…This week I jogged twice for 15 min as opposed to three times this week, and did shoulder rehab twice and knee rehab once instead of twice…I have not been icing…but have been stretching and all that good stuff. Knees and foot feel good, shoulder feels eh.

Sucks to not work out. Sucks to have a cold. But must stay in positive spirits, eye on the prize.

Happy Saturday to everyone!

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Week 2 of 13 completed…

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Week 2 (the first official week of stabilization/rehab training) is done. I did all my specified shoulder, foot, and knee exercises, stretches, etc. I got my massage for this cycle (omg soo soo good…can be on that massage table for.ever.).

Where I did not follow the program exactly was: I again was not as diligent with daily icing. And I did not take a spin class. Because my shoulder was hurting, I didn’t want to brace myself against the bike the whole time, especially if standing, so I didn’t take a spin class. I will probably make it up later on during the program. There, I said it.

Yesterday I felt twinges of feeling sorry for myself, despair, resentment, etc for not being able to participate in the activities I love and being around some fabulously fit people. Today I am manifesting a much more positive day by empowering myself instead of victimizing myself. I am listening to Tony Robbins non-stop and reminding myself to use the power of my emotions as action signals and ask myself “How would I rather feel?” and change my perceptions and my procedures to make it happen.

By committing to staying positive and motivated rather than succumbing to despair even if things don’t go my way is the key to my rehab and the key to success. This is what I must do if I wanna rock the stage. Which I do. B-girl fun-ness here I come. Figure stage here I come…you inch closer as the weeks get scratched off. 2 down, 11 more to go…

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