Weight Loss Q and A

Q. First off I want to say that your articles and eBooks are great. They are really informative.

I’m 19, 6” 2” and weigh about 215-220lbs. I’ve started to eat healthier, (A LOT HEALTHIER) and I’ve been to the gym everyday for at least an hour. As of right now, my workout consists of 30 minutes of interval training on the treadmill, and some light ab workouts. What are some recommendations you might have for me? I want to lose weight and gain some lean muscle. Any advice would be MUCH appreciated.

A. Thanks for your kind words, flattery will get you everywhere.

Through proper diet and regular exercise create a calorie deficit. This simply means burning more calories than you’re consuming.

Basically there are 3 ways to do this;

1. Diet - Consume more protein, eat 5-6 times a day and reduce your calorie intake by 20%.

Here is the formula to work out how many calories you should consuming...

Work out your maintenance calorie range, to do this multiply your bodyweight (in kg) by 28.

Now take 20% off this no. , this is your new calorie range.

Re-calculate your new calorie maintenance every week as your weight starts to
decrease.

2. Strength Training - Muscle is the only tissue that is metabolically expensive. Therefore increasing muscle mass will elevate your metabolism.

Perform compound exercises such as deadlifts, squats, pushing and pulling exercises and use a variety of combination lifts and circuits. You should aim to strength train 3-4 times a week for 30-45mins.

3. Interval Training - The #1 cardiovascular exercise for weight loss.

You mention that you're already using interval training for 30 mins a session, which is too long, in total you do not need to be performing intervals for any more than 20 mins.

You don't specify which sprint to rest ratios you are using, typically my clients begin interval training with 3 sprints for 1 min, with a rest period of 2 mins.

Every 3-4 weeks we will add another sprint to their program. Once they have completed 6 sprints we begin to reduce the rest time.

These are just general guidlines of what a weight loss prgram should incorporate, if you would like to read more info on how to eat and train for weight loss.

Download my FREE report by entering name and e-mail address in the sidebar.

Wishing You The Best Of Health

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit Personal Training
http://www.personaltrainersydney.com/

Are Swiss Balls Overated?

With the “functional training craze” still in full swing many people are getting too caught up in all the fancy stuff and forgetting what really works.

In the gym last week I watched a guy lifting weights whilst standing on a swiss ball for his entire workout.

Unless he was looking to improve his skateboarding skills (which I doubt) there really is no point spending an entire workout balancing.

Don’t get caught up in the fads, for the average person training on your feet with free weights is a much more functional way to train.

95% of people have one goal – to look better naked, spending an hour balancing on a ball isn’t gonna make that happen.

Unless your No.1 goal is to get better at balancing leave this form of training to the circus acts. Balance training is not the most effective way to make you lose weight, tone up or get stronger.

If you want to change your body you have to force it to change, whether you would like lose unwanted weight or increase the size of your muscles you need to lift a heavy enough to force your muscles to adapt - which will in turn make your muscles become leaner and stronger.

If you are standing on 1 leg or trying to balance on something there’s no way you can lift enough weight for this to happen.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying balance training doesn’t have it’s place, but the majority of balance training should be focusing on working the core. The total time spent swiss/bosu ball should only be a small percentage of your entire workout.

Stick with the basics, Always perform large compound exercises, which are exercise’s that use multiple muscles at one time, use free weights standing up and train movement patterns instead of body-parts.

Incorporate everyday movements into you strength training routine where you;

Bend
Lunge
Squat
Push
Pull
Twist

You'll get significantly better results in a much shorter amount of time!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit Personal Training
http://www.personaltrainersydney.com
http://www.bootcampsydney.com.au

Abdominal Strength Training For 6 Pack Abs

The rectus abdominal's (abs) is the muscle known as “the 6 pack”. When training the abs it is important not to just perform trunk flexion exercises (sit-ups). The rectus abdominal's are just one muscle of a whole group of muscles which is commonly referred to as the “Abs”.

The other muscles are: external oblique's, internal oblique’s and the transverses abdominus.

All movement from the extremities rely on the core for stabilization and force production, it’s the most important area of the body. As the old saying goes “you can’t fire a canon from a canoe”.

The core is the link between your upper and lower body and needs special attention, gone are the days when core training meant performing hundreds of sit-ups off the floor, there are much more effective ways to train.

Below are some general guidelines attaining to what a proper core program should look like, apply these strategies to your routine and you will have a shredded 6 pack in no time.

1. Interval Training.

This is short bouts of high intense exercise broken up with periods of low intense exercise. For example sprint for 1 min then rest for 2 min, as you become fitter increase the reps or decrease the rest period. This will ramp up the metabolic rate whilst burning heaps of calories. Everyone has a six pack, it’s just that it’s usually hidden under fat.

2. Wood Chopping Exercises.

The rectus abdominals (6 pack) are designed more for anti-rotators of the trunk rather than trunk flexion (sit up’s). Otherwise the ab’s would look more like hamstrings. Standing sideways to a cable machine, attach a rope to the high pulley. Pull the rope down and across your body, to just outside your left knee. Return the cable to the starting position, finish your reps and then switch sides.

3. Strength Training.

By increasing your lean muscle mass you’ll burn more calories sitting behind your desk and whilst you’re asleep, you will also burn a considerable more amount of energy whilst you’re exercising through greater energy demand from the increased lean muscle. Do large compound exercises working multiple muscles working every major muscle group in the body.

4. Fit-Ball.

By using a fit ball you’ll be increasing the range of motion from a neutral spine to trunk flexion (sit-ups), to trunk extension to trunk flexion. By doing sit-ups on an unstable surface you’ll also increase the amount of muscle fiber recruitment.

5. Diet.

If your diet is poor, no amount of training will work. Eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, nut’s, seeds, wholegrains, beans, legumes. If your eating meat and dairy make sure it’s lean and low in saturated fat. Keep sugar’s and alcohol to a minimum.

6. Train all Movements.

Don’t just do sit-ups, train all movement patterns. A good core program should include trunk flexion and extension, rotation, side flexion, reverse crunches and static holds. It’s not necessary to do them all in one session, pick one or two for each training session.

7. Less is More.

One of the most common mistakes people make is they do too many reps. The abs are just like any other muscle ,so train them like you would other muscles. Doing hundreds of reps isn’t going to do much except give you posture problems. Add more external resistance and keep the reps under twenty.

8. Stretch.

Like any other muscle the Abs need stretching. Lay face down with your hands under your shoulders, push up until your arms are nearly straight whilst simultaneously pushing your hips into the floor. This will increase the range of motion of the muscle and increase blood flow, therefore speeding up recovery between sessions.

9. Static Holds.

To develop a strong core you must incorporate exercises that incorporate the whole mid-section, including the hips. Stuart McGill (leading researcher on lower back dis-function) believes strength endurance is the most important factor in maintaining a healthy lower back. The plank is a good place to start, hold yourself in the press-up position, keeping your abs braced (tightened) and your butt squeezed tight. Start with a 20 second hold and increase this time by 10% a week.

10. Train the body as one integrated unit.

Use strength training exercises that will actively challenge the core. Some of the best core exercises around are ones that are working other muscle groups. By using exercises such as squat and deadlift variations, overhead presses, bent over rows and even push ups you’ll be creating awesome core strength.

If you have any questions regarding this report, any other health related questions, or you would like to book your free consultation, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

If you have any questions please feel free to post them below.

Cheers,

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit Personal Training
www.personaltrainersydney.com
www.bootcampsydney.com.au

Think you're fit? Try skipping for 10 minutes.

Not having time to train is just an excuse, an easy way out.

If you're in a rush try skipping for 10 minutes.

10 minutes of skipping will burn the same amount of calories as doing 30 minutes of jogging.

A 80kg man can burn 225 calories in just 15 minutes, skipping will get your heart rate pounding and give you a great workout in quick time.

Mix up your cardio program and add skipping to your routine, doing rounds of skipping between strength exercises will burn far more calories than resting between exercises.

Skipping will improve your general fitness and will give your legs, butt, forearms, upper arms and shoulders a great workout.

Don’t bother spending thousands of dollars on fancy treadmills and exercise bikes, get yourself a skipping rope for 10 bucks and save yourself some $$!

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit Personal Training
www.personaltrainersydney.com
www.bootcampsydney.com.au