Archive for the 'trainer' Category
A Low-Carb Primer
My friend and LA-based nutrition expert & trainer, Joey Emont, recently posted on his facebook page something he titled, “A Low Carb Primer”. My clients hear me talk about eating low carb all the time but why exactly does it work? Mark Mcdonald, who founded Venice Nutrition, and Gary Taubes, author of “Why We Get Fat” both have helped thousands of people see the light by stating that regulating insulin – stabilizing your blood sugar – is the best and quickest way to lower body fat.
Joey’s short but concise reasoning is a great addition to anyone wanting to know exactly how to start eating low-carb and doing it correctly. With his permission, here is Joey’s “Low Carb Primer” in it’s entirety. Be sure to check out Joey’s Facebook page and let him know what you think!
A Low Carb Primer:
Seems like everyone these days are running to jump on the low carb bandwagon. You must know that for most individuals this WILL be the fastest and easiest way for people to lose body fat. In fact this approach works longterm for about 75% of the general population just based upon genetics, and food commonly available to the masses. Our “crap food” nation has really done a number on our ability to be sensitive to insulin, a hormone that gets elevated by carbohydrates. A travesty that unfortunately forces most of us to swing the pendulum back the other direction in order for there to be balance.
Granted your metabolism is relatively healthy (and I use relatively extremely loosely) ,you are not too toxic, and you have adequate digestive capacity;
Low carb works.
First off there is a 300-500 calorie metabolic (as yet unexplained) advantage in the literature that shows when individuals eat an excess of 300-500 cals over RMR, they still manage to loose bodyfat.
It also trains and forces your body to utilize the fats stored on your body for fuel.
That being said, these nutrition plans still have to be approached in the right way.
1. A low carb diet CANNOT be low fat as well if you want it to be sustainable moderate fat is fine but make sure not to eliminate all of it. Choose healthy fats from this family
2. Carbohydrates in the form of fibrous vegetables dont really count as calories and should be consumed in unlimited amounts.
3. Depending on how low carbohydrate you choose to go will determine how high or low your protein is. the lower the carbohydrate the higher the protein should be set at since carbs are protein sparing, you need the extra protein during this time. Set protein around 1-2g protein per lbs Lean body mass
One thing that will tend to happen on a low carb diet is you will have down regulation of many of the hormones that kept your metabolism humming along quite nicely all along.
For instance, after a while active form thyroid hormone T3 goes down lowering metabolic rate (some argue this isnt a problem because it’s just a sign your body is becoming more efficient). IGF-1 can also down regulate as well as Leptin (the mother hormone) which is the master governor of your metabolism.
This is why high carb “refeeds” must be included every so often. this “every so often” will be very different based upon your genetics, enzyme function, hormonal status, current bodyfat percentage, muscle mass etc… but a good general rule of thumb is this: if you are very lean you could have a refeed day every 5 days but for someone who is very obese a refeed day may not be necessary for a month or 6 weeks. everyone else will be somewhere in the middle (every 2 weeks etc…)
On your carb refeed day: choose to lower fats as much as possible, lower protein by 25% of normal and use starchy carbohydrates in the form of “gluten free” oats or sweet potato (other sources can be chosen as well but for the sake of simplicity…) at the level of 1.5-2g/lbs of bodyweight for the day. so for a 200 lbs male this number would be around 300-400 grams of carbohydrates for the day. for extremely active individuals this number could be even higher, or for heavier individuals this number may have to be a bit lower, experimentation is key.
This will restore metabolic balance and make the rest of your low carb days (which continue immediately the day after) work that much better, and keep your metabolism humming along.
this much controversial way of eating must be done right. but I guarantee you if you put some of these practices into play and really stick to it, you will find that fat loss comes quite easily.
Lithuania Blog Post #3
We have 3 days left of camp. The guys have been so open to this new style of training and have worked so hard they are already seeing results. They all walked to lunch yesterday with their shirts off. Yes, it’s warmer this week but I took that as a sign of confidence that they are feeling bigger & stronger. Klemensas made the comment as well that they all look bigger to him. The coach who was here had to leave yesterday as well and since Klemensas went with our one guy to the tryout it’s just me for these final three days. So I’ll be doing the weight room and basketball workouts. I did the basketball workout last night and it was fun to do that again. As much as I love my job I also miss coaching basketball. And since we lost some players as well (we are down to 9 players from 20 at the highest point) it will be a bit easier to manage by myself.
I just finished my breakfast. I had an omelette with ham, fresh veggies on the side and a (European) latte. It cost me about $4. Ya’ gotta love exchange rates.
I spent last weekend in Klaipeda with my friends Laimas, Mantas & Valdas. Moose (Mustafah), the pro player from France came with me and Bonnie arrived in town on Saturday. Some other of Laimas’ friends joined us and we picked some other friends up over the weekend. All in all it was a great time. We went out each night and both mornings I taught them what a mimosa was. Yes, I am responsible for brining the mimosa to Lithuania. We didn’t take many pictures but here’s one:
You can check out my facebook page for more pictures from the weekend….including Mantas with his shirt off and Lenus in his boxers!
Weekend In Klaipeda Pics
We will be 1RM strength testing the players today and tomorrow to see the results of our training program. Saturday morning will be our last practice and we will be heading to Vilnius that afternoon. I will train the 3 French players there as well as maybe 1 or 2 more players next week. Me & Bonnie will also be able to do some sightseeing.
It’s totally different here than coaching my clients in Orange County for general fitness. I will be with them very soon and will be excited to train with them again. But I will miss these guys. They have all been special to work with and have seen such tremendous gains. I have also had the chance to share my personal story with them which has been a great opportunity as well.
Thanks for reading. I’ll check back in in a few days.
Lithuania Trip Day 1
My first weekend in Lithuania is almost complete. It’s already been a fantastic trip. I stayed with Klemensas in his apartment in Vilnius the first night here. My flight was delayed from Frankfurt which made the total time of my trip here over 29 hours! Here is a picture out front of his apartment in old town Vilinius:
“I love this town!”
I was surprised with the fact that the U17 Boys Basketball World Championships is going on right now in Kaunas, Lithuania. This is where we spent the night last night. I had the opportunity (and took it!) to watch Argentina play the Czech Republic then the two semi-final games: USA vs Spain & Croatia vs. Australia.
It was great to see how athletic our players are.
Spain held close till midway through the 3rd quarter and we ended up winning by 30. We play Australia in the final today.
It has been years since I’ve been able to watch 3 basketball games in one day – even on TV! It was a great experience. I will miss the title game today as we are leaving for Klaipeda soon. I also made connections with another Lithuanian agent, a sports psychologist from Ireland and a basketball coach from Romania.
My jet lag is in full effect. It’s now 9:35a and I’ve been up for 4 hours already. It’s been great though because I had a great breakfast, had my devotion/meditation time, read the news online and am now blogging! I need to do more research into the food as my stomach does not mind the food or coffee here as it does in the states. I already knew there was differences from traveling in the past but now being PICP, CHEK and BioSig trained my level of curiosity is heightened.
I will find out later today what type of equipment I will be dealing with while working with the players. I asked several times but my connection here was unable to get confirmation of gym equipment before I came. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. This day is off to a great start and I can’t wait to see what else it will bring!
Healthy Fat loss – The Scientific Way
The Challenge…
A Quick Thought About Drinking Water
The magic potion for losing that excess body fat is all around you! If you eat right and exercise at the intensity, frequency and duration proper for you, but still can’t get rid of a little paunch here and there, you’re probably just not drinking enough water. Most people do not drink enough water and most people are carrying around a few more pounds than they would if they drank enough water throughout the day.
One recent finding that caffeine increases the body’s fat-burning potential has many people loading up on coffee before going to the gym. This finding may hold some degree of truth in it, but caffeine is, in essence, a diuretic, and diuretics dehydrate the body. Caffeine may increase the heart rate, causing a few more calories to be burned, but this is at the expense of the muscles, which need water to function properly. This isn’t doing your heart any favors, either. It’s already working hard enough during your workout. Never mix caffeine and exercise. In fact, your best bet is to stay away from caffeine all together. It’s a big bully that pushes your friend water out of your system. Not to mention it affects cortisol levels which, when elevated, can lead to excess belly fat!
Eight glasses a day? Are you kidding?! It really isn’t that much. I personally challenged myself to carry around a water bottle to class, to work, etc, and it was not difficult to drink 5 12-ounce water bottles in the day. This is okay if you’re 120lbs. Why?? Because as a general rule of thumb you NEED TO drink half of your bodyweight in ounces of water per day.
Yes, that much.
So if you weigh 150lbs, you should be drinking 75oz per day. 200lbs – 100 oz. You get the idea. You also need to increase your intake if you live in a hot climate and/or on days you exercise.
When you drink enough water throughout the day, you will very quickly notice a decrease in your appetite. If you are serious about becoming leaner and healthier, drinking water is an absolute must.
And don’t drink out of plastic. I know I know, It’s easy to grab a bottle and go…but DON’T DO IT! Invest in a metal or glass water bottle to keep at your desk, with you in the car, or wherever you spend your time during the day.
Golf, anyone???
Hi everyone! I hope February has been a great month for you so far. Dr. John DeWitt has graciously offered up another great post for this blog. Since he works with a lot of golfers he thought golf correction would be a great topic for this post.
If you are a golfer or know a golfer, read on, pass it along and enjoy!!!
Improving your golf game by addressing 4 common problems
By Dr. John DeWitt DC
Golf Injury Certified, Advanced Sports Nutrition Specialist
“Coming over the Top”
How many golfers do you know that top the ball? This problem is often believed to be caused by not keeping the head down during the swing. What causes the head to lift prematurely? It may be an anxious golfer eager to see his shot or it may be something else. Adductors muscles in the legs are activated during the transition of weight transfer from the top of the backswing to the start of the downswing. These help pull the hips through while the upper body follows behind. Tight adductors will cause the golfer to be unable to pull his hips through and force the swing around prematurely which results in “topping the ball”.
“The Slice”
One of the most common problems in golf is the slice. Golf Pros often point out that the back foot should be perpendicular to the plane line of the ball. An “open stance” causes the club head to stay open on contact leading to the shot going right of target. Sometimes golfers aren’t able to comfortably keep their foot in the correct orientation due to tight external hip rotators.
“Narrow Swing Arc”
Almost all golfers want more power and distance in their drives. They mistakenly believe that swinging harder at the ball will achieve this. The actual power of a golf swing comes from the physics of it. This involves lever arms and swing arcs. A golfer with a wide swing arc doesn’t have to swing hard because of the longer lever involved. A nice smooth stroke with the proper arc width will actually cause the club head to move at a higher velocity than a “muscled” swing with less accuracy. Narrow swing arcs are most commonly caused by shoulder tightness leading to the forward elbow bending which narrows the swing arc. The four muscles of the rotator cuff (Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor and Subscapularis) must all be working in conjunction with each other for a wide swing arc to be possible.
“Inconsistent Spine Angle”
The angle of the spine at address should remain constant throughout the stroke. Lack of flexibility will cause this to be impossible. The spine itself must be flexible to allow the rotation, extension and flexion necessary to maintain the spine angle. Even the muscles of the lower leg (calves and soleus) must be flexible in order to allow the spine angle to remain constant.
