Are You Ready For Bathing Suit Season?
Posted on July 2, 2009
Filed Under fitness | Leave a Comment
5 Beach Body Myths (and 3 Steps to Look Amazing)
There’s a good chance that you’ll find yourself in a bathing suit sometime this month. If you are like most people then that realization will
1) bring a grimace to your face and
2) will motivate you to lose some weight.
While I commend your desire to slim down before baring it all, I’m here to warn you of the 5 myths that most people fall for. Don’t waste your time on these:
Myth #1: Starve the pounds away.
Attempting to lose weight by starving yourself is not only ineffective, it’s also dangerous. It may seem that severe calorie restriction would deliver the quickest weight loss, but your body is complex and by doing so you’ll disrupt your metabolism and slow your results.
Tip: Don’t starve yourself - instead eat healthy small meals throughout the day.
Myth #2: Take diet pills to boost your effort.
It’s so tempting! The commercials make compelling claims about the power of diet pills, but don’t fall for it. The ‘magic pill’ has yet to be discovered (it has been discovered - exercise. It’s just not in pill form…). Diet pills are more likely to damage your health and burn your pocketbook than to slim you down.
Tip: Don’t pop a pill - instead burn calories with exercise.
Myth #3: Do extra crunches to flatten your abs.
We all want our midsection to look toned as we stroll down the beach, but excessive crunches aren’t the answer for tight abs. In order to achieve a lean look you’ll have to focus on burning off the layer of fat that is covering up your abs.
Tip: Don’t obsess about crunches - instead focus on fat burning.
Myth #4: Eat packaged diet foods for speedy results.
It is amazing to see the kinds of foods that are packaged as ‘diet’ or ‘weight loss’ aids. More often than not these products are packed with refined sugar and other artificial ingredients that your body doesn’t need.
Tip: Don’t eat packaged diet foods - instead stick with nutritious whole foods.
Myth #5: Avoid all carbohydrates in order to slim down.
Carbohydrates have been given a bad rap, which is unfortunate because you can (and should) eat carbs while losing weight. The key is to stick with whole grains, oatmeal and brown rice while avoiding processed and refined flours and sugars.
Tip: Don’t swear off all carbohydrates - instead stick with wholesome carbs.
Now that you know what not to do in order to look great this summer, it’s time to go over your beach ready game plan. Here’s what you need to know in 3 simple steps:
• Step One: Cut out the junk.
The best way to do this is to start by purging your kitchen. Get rid of sugary, processed and fat-filled foods. Once the junk has been cleared out don’t buy any more of it. Remember that your beach ready abs depend on what you eat - don’t eat junk!
• Step Two: Focus on whole foods.
Replace the junk food in your life with plenty of the following: cooked and raw vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grains, moderate amounts of seeds and nuts, lean meats and low fat dairy. Clean eating really is that simple.
• Step Three: Come train with me.
This is the most obvious step. You’re ready to get into great shape and I’m in a unique position to make that happen for you. Join our website today to get started on an exercise plan that will make you look great on the beach, and all year round.
Proper Nutriton Guide Recommended By Real Trainers.
Posted on June 18, 2009
Filed Under Nutrition | Comments Off
BASIC Nutrition - A Quick, Common-Sense Guide To What You Should Be Eating to Stay Healthy and Get Results Right Now
By Nick Nilsson
Think proper nutrition is complicated? It doesn’t have to be.
Follow these simple principles and you’ll never go wrong.
I would bet that without even thinking, you could name 4 or 5 diets or eating plans that are in the popular media…Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, Atkins, South Beach, etc. Every time you turn around, there’s a fantastic “new” approach to eating. It’s enough to make your head spin!
But it doesn’t have to be that complicated. I’ve got some easy-to-follow nutritional principles that will help keep you on the right track. Beginner or advanced, these will work for you!
1. Focus your eating on natural, unprocessed foods as much as possible.
While I know it’s not always possible to get fresh fruit and veggies and other unprocessed foods everywhere you go, your body will always respond best when you feed it foods that are not altered through processing. Your body has evolved over thousands and thousands of years to process foods in their natural state - it’s only relatively recently that processed foods have appeared on the scene.
Your body has the digestive mechanisms for efficiently processing foods in their natural state. When you add in the fats, salt, sugar, additives, etc., your body starts having a hard time digesting and coping. Think of it like trying to put regular gas into a vehicle that runs on diesel. It may run, but it’s not going to be very efficient with the fuel and it could cause problems down the road (no pun intended!)
Bottom Line: Eating foods that are not processed allows your body to function more efficiently. You’ll lose fat without even trying.
2. Get plenty of good quality, lean protein sources in your diet
When you’re training, your body has a much greater need for protein. During weight training and endurance training especially, your body is constantly breaking down muscle tissue. Protein is required to rebuild it. By regularly feeding your body good protein sources, you’ll be able to hold onto and build muscle mass easier.
Good sources of lean protein include meats (look for leaner cuts like sirloin), poultry, eggs (while not lean, eggs will not shoot up your cholesterol as many worry), fish, low-fat dairy, soybeans, and various legumes (beans).
As far as how much protein your body needs, this will vary according to how much you weigh and your activity level. A level of around 1 gram per pound of lean body weight is a good guideline (we don’t count total body weight because fat is not metabolically active and doesn’t require protein to sustain it).
3. Don’t be afraid of “good” fats
Fats can be extremely beneficial, even when you’re trying to lose weight! Fats are important in a tremendous variety of bodily processes including hormone production, immunity, joint and organ protection, and even burning body fat. Without the “good” fats, your body will not function as well as it could.
“Good” fats include sources such as fish, nuts, flax oil, borage oil, and olive oil (there are many other good sources as well). Increasing your intake of these good fats can help keep you feeling good and burning your own body fat more efficiently.
Your total fat intake should be around 30% of your daily calories. A good way to go about getting this is to try and keep your focus primarily on low-fat foods while purposefully adding the “good” fats into your diet (like eating a few almonds every day or taking fish oil or flax oil capsules).
4. Carbs are fine
Despite all the talk about carbs being the enemy, it’s important to note that carbs and foods that contain carbs can actually be quite good for you! It’s generally the refined sugar added to foods that is the problem, not the carbohydrate as a nutrient on its own.
5. Non-nutritious foods should be minimized
This is an easy one. More than likely, you already know that you shouldn’t be eating Cheesy-Poofs or chocolate bars 3 meals a day. The calories you get from these foods don’t come with any actual nutrients. When your body is missing nutrients, it craves more food (not to mention the insulin response to the sugar in many of these foods) and you tend to eat more of the poor food that doesn’t have nutrients in it.
It’s ironic to think that many overweight people are actually malnourished! When you eat nutrient-dense foods, your body gets the nutrients it needs and functions much better.
5. Salads, fruits and vegetables will give you lots of fiber, roughage and nutrition
Eat plenty of salads, fruits and veggies every day. This is usually one that everybody already knows yet doesn’t normally focus on. The fiber in the foods helps keep you from getting too hungry and helps keep your digestive system clean.
6. Just do the best you can
It’s not always easy or convenient to follow good eating principles. There are plenty of tasty temptations to be found every time you turn around.
The REAL key to proper nutrition is to focus on trying to do well MOST of the time, not all of the time. It’s what you do most of the time that will give you the long-term results you’re looking for. Determining that you MUST be perfect all of the time is a sure way to set yourself up for disappointment when the time comes that you don’t eat a perfectly healthy food choice.
Sometimes, you just have to eat those Cheesy Poofs and not worry about it.
——————
Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including “Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss,” “The Best Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of,” “Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!” and “The Best Abdominal Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of” all available here. He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.
Is This Really Going To Improve Your Fitness?
Posted on June 9, 2009
Filed Under Training, life | Leave a Comment
Please be aware that what you are about to see in videos below is not going to work for you.
Really,,,
Don’t waste your time and money on it even though it looks sooooo good in those infomercials.
1. Neck Line Slimmer — I just don’t have enough words to describe how stupid this is.
Watch and Laugh.
2. RockandRoll Stepper
Seriously. Are you going to spend your hard earned money on this pieces of crap?
They all end up in garage sale next week after you buy it anyway.
Why don’t you go to the nearby park and workout out using your own body weight or rails that are FREE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here is an example.
Save your money and frustration.
Core and Cardio Workout for Paintballers.
Posted on April 26, 2009
Filed Under Training | Comments Off
This workout is designed to improve your core strength and cardiovascular capacity.
Apply it to your team’s workout schedule at least twice a week 4-6 weeks out before the season.
It’s simple workout but very demanding.Put some hard work into it and your game will be taken to the next level.
Online Personal Training Is Now Listed On Loadedweb.com
Posted on April 23, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Useless Supplements and Training Equipment
Posted on April 11, 2009
Filed Under fitness | Leave a Comment
A Bitingly Sarcastic Look at Useless Supplements and Worthless Training Equipment
By Nick Nilsson
Read hilarious and brutally honest reviews of some of the
worst supplements and exercise equipment on the market today.
Infomercials, stupid ads, terrible products and useless supplements are here to stay. Just because they’re there doesn’t mean we have to buy them. But it does mean we can (and should) have a laugh at their expense…
Please keep in mind, these are my own opinions, with which you might agree or disagree. I may change my mind about these things in the future but I will still be right.
1. Cortisol-Reducing Fat Loss Supplements
Ads for cortisol-reducing pills are all over the place these days. Cortislim, Relacore, CortAid, Cortisyn, Cortless in Seattle, I Can’t Believe I’m Not Cortisolless, etc.
I have nothing but “respect” for a company that shamelessly shames people into buying their product by telling them they’re a “member of the unhappiest club on Earth - the overweight club.” I think it’s wonderful how the cure to stress-related fat gain can be found in a glorified Vitamin C pill. The people peddling this stuff like that need to be knocked on the head WITH an overweight club.
Relacore’s strategy? Herbal relaxants make you less reactive to stress so you don’t secrete as much cortisol and therefore lose weight. Great theory! At least unlike other substances that make you “herbally relaxed,” it doesn’t give you the munchies.
I don’t know about you, but I’m just plain sick and tired of products that say “Let’s treat the symptoms and not the root cause! That way, people will have to stay on this stuff forever or all the weight will come back on because NOTHING ELSE HAS CHANGED IN THEIR LIFE.” What a genius of a marketing technique. It’s like putting a band-aid over your nose when you have a head cold. Sure, it stops your nose from running, but when the band-aid comes off, you’re going to be up to your elbows in it.
2. The Ab Lounge
This is a “fabulous” new ab exerciser that’s making the infomercial rounds. It claims to allow you to develop six-pack abs while lying in a reclined position. Just fold yourself up like a human omelette - it’s just that easy! It’s basically a Craftmatic adjustable bed without the mattress or the motor.
Unfortunately, the function of the rectus abdominus (the six-pack area of the abs) is spinal flexion (curling the spine forward) not hip flexion (bending at the waist like this machine forces you to do). Sit-ups work the abs isometrically (without movement) through hip flexion like this as well.
Don’t waste your money on this unless you want to have somebody you don’t like sit in it and be folded in half as a practical joke. They should have designed this thing with a clothes hanger built in to save everybody the time.
3. Carbohydrate or Fat Blocking Pills
Here’s a newsflash - if you have to block your body from digesting something, maybe you shouldn’t have put it down your gullet in the first place. And besides, what do you think happens to undigested, unused stuff like that as it makes its way through your digestive system? Bingo. Your body puts it out the back door in a “green apple quickstep” hurry.
If the focus of your diet is on getting away with as much as possible, you’re simply not going to succeed in the long run. But on the bright side, at least you’ll be able to catch up on some reading by spending half your day in the bathroom.
4. Electric Ab Belts
If you don’t already know how useless these things are, let me be the first to tell you how useless these things are. They won’t even keep your pants UP (at least a regular belt will do that much) much less help you make them looser.
You can’t see your abs unless you burn fat. You don’t burn fat by making muscles twith for a few minutes. If you really want to lose weight using this thing, hook up the electrodes to a metal knife and fork and try and eat with them.
5. Fat-Loss Creams
A topical fat-loss cream that actually worked would be a dream come true for so many people. Too bad they stink and I’m not just talking about the smell.
What would it take to convince me that one of these worked? Have a test subject use it on only HALF of their body. If they look like a stitched-together “before and after” picture, I’d believe something was happening there (heck, that’s a good enough idea that I might just try it on myself someday!).
You want a fat-loss cream that works? Smear some fresh Wasabe (Japanese hot sauce - kind of like biting down a hot chili pepper) on EVERYTHING you eat. I can guarantee you’ll lose fat because soon you’ll hardly be able to eat anything!
6. Massive Weight Gain Formulas
It’s always struck me as ironic that all the “massive weight gain” formulas show pictures of big, LEAN bodybuilders on the front. I guess the big, fat, bloated reality of it just wouldn’t sell. Do we really need 3000 calories in a serving of anything?
If a supplement comes in a 40 pound bag and, if it was taken according to directions, this bag would last you only 2 weeks, it’s no longer a supplement…it’s an alternative source of natural gas (if you or anyone you know has tried these supplements, you’ll know EXACTLY what I mean!).
A number of years ago, the “Weider” supplement company did a research study on its “Mega Mass” weight gainer and saw an impressive increase in body weight. What they didn’t include in their big glossy ads (for obvious reasons) was that people who took an equal number of calories in the form of TABLE SUGAR gained exactly the same amount of weight and muscle mass!
I’ll let you draw your own conclusions but at least Hardee’s restaurant, with their new 1500 calorie fat-burger bomb, isn’t trying to fool people into thinking it’s good for them. I can respect that honesty. If you bite into that hamburger thinking it’s going to do you any good in any way, shape or form, then push the meat back in as it slides out the back of the sandwich and go buy your cardiologist a nice Christmas present.
7. Ready-To-Drink Protein Shakes
I want to shake the hand of whoever it was that first came to the realization that people will gladly pay FOUR TIMES AS MUCH for the exact same protein powder if you just add the water for them. He or she is a marketing genius.
8. “Proprietary” Supplement Formulas
“Proprietary” can be a very “clean” way of saying “we don’t want to tell you how LITTLE there is of anything useful in this product so we’ll call it a ’secret’ and not tell you.”
Granted not all proprietary formulas are like this - some are legitimate and useful. But if a product comes in a small 1000 mg capsule, and has 18 ingredients in it, I suggest you find out the effective doses of each of those ingredients. They may be included and listed just to make the product look good.
For example, Phosphatidylserine is an excellent (and scientifically-proven) cortisol-reducing supplement. It’s included in many cortisol-blocking formulas. But consider this: an effective dose is 800 mg. If you can explain how they can possibly fit an 800 mg dose in a 1000 mg pill that has 17 other ingredients in it, I want you doing my taxes next year. On second thought, maybe not…
9. The Majority of Informercially-Sold Exercise Equipment
Normally, I don’t like to make blanket statements about entire classes of exercise equipment but then again, sometimes I do. Bottom line, much of the stuff sold on TV and infomercials is just simply plastic-and-elastic junk pedaled to desperate people looking for a quick fix.
I’m sure this does not really come as a terribly mind-blowing, earth-shattering shock to you.
Until I watched these commercials a few times, I really never realized how much of an awful hardship it was to lie down on the floor and do a regular crunch. What a fool I was. Wouldn’t our hunting and gathering ancestors be proud.
And judging by the demonstrators on TV, some people can’t apparently even do a crunch without wrenching on their neck like they’re trying to pull their head out of something (or someplace - I’ll let you figure out where that might be).
—
Conclusion:
The world will never be without terrible supplements or lousy exercise equipment. As long as there’s a buck to be made off of people’s laziness and insecurity, those things will exist. Your best defense is knowledge, a willingness to do what’s necessary, and a good sense of humor when these things get just too stupid to believe!
——————
Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including “Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss,” “The Best Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of,” “Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!” and “The Best Abdominal Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of” all available at (fitstep.com). He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.
Are you a Terrorist?
Posted on March 20, 2009
Filed Under life | Leave a Comment
Obesity kills more people than terrorism in USA.
Check out the trailer of the movie “Killer at Large”
Paintballer’s Strength and Conditioning Workout
Posted on March 12, 2009
Filed Under Training | Leave a Comment
Strength and Conditioning Workout for Paintballers
This workout has two objectives:
#1 improve your strength endurance, speed and power
#2 spend zero money on equipment
Partner based training routine that can be utilized as part of the pre-season preparation for improving a physical part of the game.
The video shows the sequence of exercises that must be performed at full speed and power.
It’s recommended that prior this routine each participant takes his/her time to properly warm-up using general warm-up exercises (e.g. 1 mile run) and/or stretching exercises.
The Workout Routine:
1. Partner loaded sprints
Sprint with your partner sitting on your back for 25 yards
Turn around jump on his back and let him bring you back to start line
Repeat 4-5 times
2. Pull the rope
Attach the rope to any resistance (cement block, 45 lbs plates, your partner etc)
Stand with wide stance, bend your knees and pull the rope toward you as fast as you can.
Once the attached weight is close to you run with the rope to the opposite site and pull again
Repeat 10-15 times
3. Lateral pull
Place the rope around your waist and face the same directions as your partner.
On signal start pulling him/her using only your legs and core muscles
Do not use your arms
Fight for 30 seconds, switch to the other side, rest for 10 seconds and fight again
Repeat 6-8 times for each side
4. Resistance Sprints
Sprint for 25 yards while pulling your partner. His job is to give you as much resistance as possible by pulling the rope back
Repeat 2 times
5. Partner enhanced push-ups
Get in the push-up stance (plank) facing your partner.
Bring your chest down towards the floor but do not touch the floor.
Your chest should be few inches above the floor. Stay in this position while your partner climbs on the top of you with his hands.
Once he is back to starting point he goes down and you climb on his back with your hands.
Repeat 10 times (2-4 sets)
6. Resistance Sprints
Same as exercise #4
7. Shoulder to Shoulder Lateral Push
Kneel down with your feet and hand shoulder width apart on the floor. Place your shoulder against your partner’s shoulder and on signal start pushing against him for 30 seconds. Switch to the other side and repeat.
Repeat 2-4 times for each side
8. Resistance Sprint
Same as exercise #4 and #6
9. Jump Squats
Squat down and stay down for 5 seconds while your partner applies the force against you. After 5 seconds of resisting his force jump up as high as you can and land back into the squatting position.
Your partner should be applying the force each time from different angle.
Repeat 15-20 times
The purpose of this workout is to increase overall strength and power with emphasis on lower body (legs, abs, and lower back)
The routine should be performed 2-3 times a week.
The entire team can train together at the same time which brings variable resistance to a person performing an exercise (taller, stronger, faster, smaller, slower, lighter, heavier partner can be used with each set)
It’s a great way to improve team’s cooperation on the field and awareness of what your team mates are made of.
All Things Fitness Meetup Event.
Posted on February 19, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Who Needs A Personal Trainer? EVERYBODY! Even Professional Football Player!
Posted on February 18, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Here is the proof that even professional football players could use some of the training that we offer on our site. Maybe it would help them to avoid a need for an oxygen mask after running just 100 yards. Here is what the player himself had to say. (from SNL)
