We all have stressful lives. We know that. But at the same times, we need some amount of stress in our lives. Otherwise, our lives will be boring as hell. Also, we will have low motivation in lives and thus, cannot fulfill our true potential completely.
However, too much stress in your life can be detrimental to your health. I believe you should know this. I cannot be wrong about this. BUT, what most people don’t know is how stress degrades their health. Even more people don’t know that stress can be the reason your body keeps holding to that stubborn belly fat.
I strongly believe you know that stress contributes to high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease. AND THIS IS TRUE. Here is what actually happens. When your stress level goes up, more free radical compounds are formed in your body. Just as I said in “Cholesterol, VILLAIN or FRIEND?”, these compounds create inflammation within your body, particularly on arterial blood vessels. Consequently, this will require the cholesterol to action as a “band-aid” or a healing substance to cover and heal the inflammation (which also means it gets deposited on arterial blood vessel walls). Finally, this will cause a heart problem and hypertension. Again, don’t blame the cholesterol here, it just does what it does best, healing the inflamed arterial blood vessels.
The one thing to blame here is the formation of free-radical compound, which is caused by many factors, such as STRESS. So, that is one reason why you should limit your stress level. If one reason is not enough you, here is another one. STRESS MAKES YOU FAT, or at least, STRESS PREVENTS YOU FROM BEING LEAN AND/OR MUSCULAR.
Here is what happens when you have a high level of stress (and this is what most people don’t know, so your are privileged to discover this). High level of stress increases the production of, so called, “fat-storing” hormone, Cortisol, in our bodies. This hormone promotes fat storing in the body (which is not what we want to get lean and lose fat, right?).
There is a scientific explanation regarding this “behavior”. In the past, most stress our ancestors had was due to lack of food. Therefore, when they got stressed, their bodies naturally stored more fat by producing more Cortisol hormone, just in case they could not find any more food for a long time. Since we are their descendants and we belong to the same evolution line as them, we have inherited this behavior, although in our case, lacking of food is not the source of our stress for most of the time.
Even worse, not only this hormone promotes fat storing, it also creates “catabolic” environment in your body. Catabolic environment promotes muscle break down and prevents muscle building. Again, there is logic behind this.
Like I said in “How many crunches/sit ups per day is the best -> NOT IMPORTANT”, muscles are the most energy-inefficient to maintain. They require A LOT of energy to maintain. Since Cortisol is produced primarily because the body thinks there is a scarcity of energy (food), it promotes “Catabolic” environment in the body which will cause more muscles to be broken down and make the body more “energy-efficient”.
So, not only that stress causes us to store more fat, it also causes us to lose muscles. Since we lose muscles, we will store even more fat because we lose our fat-burning/calorie-burning machine in our bodies. This will soon become sick cycle.
Therefore, control your stress level. If you feel your work has already given you enough stress or you are stuck somewhere in your work, just stop for a while. Take a walk and relax, do something else for a while. Keep your mind off the work. Then after some time, go back to your desk and start working again with fresh and clear mind. And even better, sometimes, you can actually work more productively when you are relaxed and out of stress and more often than not, once your mind is fresh and clear, you can find that the problem you were stuck with before is actually simple and easy to solve. The key here is just to KNOW WHEN TO STOP, when things already get “TOO HOT TO HANDLE”
That is what often happens to me. Aside from working as a Personal Trainer and Sport Nutritionist, I also work as a full-time software engineer. As a software engineer, the primary task involves programming, which can be VERY VERY stressful when you find some problems in your code/script/program and you don’t know where the problems are (even one single problem is STRESSFUL ENOUGH). You have done everything you can think of but the problems are still there. You are stuck with them. But here is what I do. I say to myself, “OK. It’s time to stop now. This is getting out of hand. Probably, I just should not solve it now. Let’s stop, and do something else.” After that, I take walk (to the toilet most of the time), take some water, go back, try to do other office works (Quite hectic, isn’t it? I have more than one project to deal with sometimes). Once I feel ready, I go back to the “problematic” code and somehow, everything looks clearer and now I can see the problems and solve it.
So, are you stressed out right now? If you are, have courage to say, “OK. It’s time to stop. Let’s do something else.” That is where most people have trouble with, they can’t stop, they don’t know how to stop, and they don’t know when to stop.
Till next newsletter, keep working hard (at office and gym), BUT DON’T GET STRESSED OUT, instead, ENJOY LIFE.
TobiasKG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
Friday, October 23, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
My Dirty Little Secret -> I CHEAT in my DIET
Many people think of diet as a misery or as equal to living in starvation. Even “BETTER”, many people think, to be successful in diet, you have to suffer. The more you suffer the more you will gain from your diet. After all, no pain no gain right? Yeah, right (You should see the smirk on my face when I am writing, “Yeah, right”)
To begin with, diet means “controlled food intake/eating”. It does not mean “eating very little/less than enough” until you starve all the time.
Here is another fact. The wrong conception and mindset I mentioned above is the number one reason why most people give up their controlled diet within the first 3 months. After 3 months enduring starvation and suffering, finally they have had enough pain and decided to quit. Once they quit, their body weights and fats will skyrocket since their bodies are in starvation mode. In starvation mode, your body thinks that food is scarce. Therefore, it will always break down muscles since muscle requires a lot of energy (from food of course) to maintain. Even worse, it will store everything you eat into fat to make sure it has enough stored energy in case “no food is available anymore”. That is what your body thinks if you live in starvation for too long. So, I hope I make it clear here that diet is not equal to be starving all the time, NOT EVEN CLOSE.
That is about “diet is not equal to living in starvation”. How about diet is a misery? Of course when you implement “diet” as “eating very little/less than enough or live in starvation”, diet is a misery. But if your diet is implemented as controlled food intake/eating, it is not as miserable. I have been dieting for more than half a year and I enjoy every second of it. I don’t feel miserable. I don’t think of it as a burden, pain, suffering, or anything like that. I enjoy it. BUT I do feel bored sometimes. I do want to eat food that is different from the one I have in my diet schedule/list. I want to go “wild” sometimes and eat whatever I want without any restrictions. Sometimes, I just want to go away from all the restrictions from my diet and eat “freely”
You might ask, “You feel bored and you continue doing it every day. You deny yourself every day. That is misery right?” This one, I would have to say yes. Just imagine yourself doing a very boring thing everyday again and again for the rest of your life or restricting yourself from doing what you love for the rest of your life. That is misery. BUT, I DO HAVE THE SOLUTION.
Here is my dirty little secret. I CHEAT in my diet. Even “WORSE”, I cheat regularly, once every week. How do I cheat? For one day every week, I allow myself to eat whatever I want in any amount I want as long as it is still healthy food (Junk foods and trans-fat loaded foods are not included here). During my cheat days, I usually overload myself on Carbs such as bread, ice cream, pure chocolate, and rice. I can eat them in any amount I want.
Let me tell you. This is better than just satisfying your cravings and hunger. This also boosts your metabolism, which means more fat will be burned in the subsequent days. When you control your food intake, your body will adjust its metabolism. Cheat day is there to keep your metabolism high. By overloading once in a while, your body metabolism will be maintained at high level. This is what you want to lose fat and improve muscle-building process. But the best part is, it satisfies your cravings for food you don’t normally take during normal days. So, it is a win-win situation, for your cravings and your body-building effort.
So don’t worry, go and cheat once in a while, but remember, stick to the whole and healthy food, and stay away from that junk food corner filled with trans fats.
Till next newsletter, enjoy your diet.
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
To begin with, diet means “controlled food intake/eating”. It does not mean “eating very little/less than enough” until you starve all the time.
Here is another fact. The wrong conception and mindset I mentioned above is the number one reason why most people give up their controlled diet within the first 3 months. After 3 months enduring starvation and suffering, finally they have had enough pain and decided to quit. Once they quit, their body weights and fats will skyrocket since their bodies are in starvation mode. In starvation mode, your body thinks that food is scarce. Therefore, it will always break down muscles since muscle requires a lot of energy (from food of course) to maintain. Even worse, it will store everything you eat into fat to make sure it has enough stored energy in case “no food is available anymore”. That is what your body thinks if you live in starvation for too long. So, I hope I make it clear here that diet is not equal to be starving all the time, NOT EVEN CLOSE.
That is about “diet is not equal to living in starvation”. How about diet is a misery? Of course when you implement “diet” as “eating very little/less than enough or live in starvation”, diet is a misery. But if your diet is implemented as controlled food intake/eating, it is not as miserable. I have been dieting for more than half a year and I enjoy every second of it. I don’t feel miserable. I don’t think of it as a burden, pain, suffering, or anything like that. I enjoy it. BUT I do feel bored sometimes. I do want to eat food that is different from the one I have in my diet schedule/list. I want to go “wild” sometimes and eat whatever I want without any restrictions. Sometimes, I just want to go away from all the restrictions from my diet and eat “freely”
You might ask, “You feel bored and you continue doing it every day. You deny yourself every day. That is misery right?” This one, I would have to say yes. Just imagine yourself doing a very boring thing everyday again and again for the rest of your life or restricting yourself from doing what you love for the rest of your life. That is misery. BUT, I DO HAVE THE SOLUTION.
Here is my dirty little secret. I CHEAT in my diet. Even “WORSE”, I cheat regularly, once every week. How do I cheat? For one day every week, I allow myself to eat whatever I want in any amount I want as long as it is still healthy food (Junk foods and trans-fat loaded foods are not included here). During my cheat days, I usually overload myself on Carbs such as bread, ice cream, pure chocolate, and rice. I can eat them in any amount I want.
Let me tell you. This is better than just satisfying your cravings and hunger. This also boosts your metabolism, which means more fat will be burned in the subsequent days. When you control your food intake, your body will adjust its metabolism. Cheat day is there to keep your metabolism high. By overloading once in a while, your body metabolism will be maintained at high level. This is what you want to lose fat and improve muscle-building process. But the best part is, it satisfies your cravings for food you don’t normally take during normal days. So, it is a win-win situation, for your cravings and your body-building effort.
So don’t worry, go and cheat once in a while, but remember, stick to the whole and healthy food, and stay away from that junk food corner filled with trans fats.
Till next newsletter, enjoy your diet.
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
Monday, October 19, 2009
HARD is not ENOUGH. You've GOT TO BE SMART
Every time I go to any gym or fitness centre, I can always find someone who is working hard. Every time I go there at the same time, definitely I find the same guy busting his butt. Sometimes even I can find two or three guys working hard in there every time I go to the gym. Every time here does NOT MEAN everyday. I DO NOT go to the gym everyday. Probably, those guys do, that is why I will always meet them every time I am there (which is not everyday).
Those guys are working hard. I admire their determinations and willingness. I always find them pumping BIG and HUGE iron plates up and down. But one thing in common from those guys. THEIR BODIES DO NOT SHOW RESULTS. Quite sad isn’t it? They work hard, probably everyday, but they do not get the results (be it muscle growth or fat loss) they “deserve”. Yes, it is sad, but here is the fact. When it comes to build muscle or lose fat, WORKING HARD is NOT ENOUGH. You have got to be WORKING SMART TOO. That is the fact.
I worked hard for one a half years at the school’s gym but yet I was just still a skinny guy. Nobody believed that I worked hard at the gym EVERYDAY, nobody believed that I was strong, because my body did not show it. Finally, I decided to WORK HARD AND SMART.
Then I realized that I MUST NOT workout EVERYDAY. This will DEFINITELY lead to OVERTRAINING, unless you are Kryptonian like Clark Kent, the SUPERMAN. In overtrained state, your body WILL NOT BUILD MUSCLE. Even worse, your body will lose its ability to build muscle optimally, which means your muscle growth will be slower than ever. That means, your body will not be able to replace the muscles broken down during your EVERYDAY workout (which means your muscle mass will decrease EVERYDAY). This will affect your strength growth but more importantly, you lose your fat burning machine (see my previous notes, “How many crunches/sit-ups per day is the best?? -> NOT IMPORTANT”) and as a result, you will gain fat more easily. Also, tons and tons of other problems. I think that’s enough to say that OVERTRAIN is bad and must be avoided. Therefore, WORK SMART is needed in addition to WORK HARD.
So now, how to work smart in building muscle and lose fat? First, before you go back to the gym and start breaking down your muscle, you have to make sure that you have recovered from the last workout. How do you know that? Pay attention to your intensity (exercise tempo, resting/workout duration, weights you use). If your resting/workout duration is longer than the previous workout while in fact you do the same movement with same number of sets and reps and same weights, then you might be on the brink of overtraining. If you can’t increase your workout intensity two times in a row, you might want to take a 3-4 days off. The rule here is simple. Try to improve your intensity in each workout. If you fail twice in a row, then take an additional day off.
Generally, for most people, 48-hour recovery time is enough to recover from 45-60 mins high-intensity weight exercise (For workout with duration 2 hours and above, do not need to worry about this standard. You definitely will experience OVERTRAIN, unless you are using STEROID) This recovery time can be longer/shorter depends on your fitness level, nutrition/diet, and sleep. If you don’t have enough sleep (7-8 hours) during your recovery time, it might be good to add another day off. If you do not eat enough or your diet quality is not high enough, your recovery pace will be slower.
This way, your body will start showing results and people will start asking you if you workout everyday. Only this time, the answer is, HELL NO.
So now, let’s go to the gym fully recovered and start pumping up those iron plates. Only this time, do it smartly.
Till the next newsletter, BE HARD, AND BE SMART.
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
Those guys are working hard. I admire their determinations and willingness. I always find them pumping BIG and HUGE iron plates up and down. But one thing in common from those guys. THEIR BODIES DO NOT SHOW RESULTS. Quite sad isn’t it? They work hard, probably everyday, but they do not get the results (be it muscle growth or fat loss) they “deserve”. Yes, it is sad, but here is the fact. When it comes to build muscle or lose fat, WORKING HARD is NOT ENOUGH. You have got to be WORKING SMART TOO. That is the fact.
I worked hard for one a half years at the school’s gym but yet I was just still a skinny guy. Nobody believed that I worked hard at the gym EVERYDAY, nobody believed that I was strong, because my body did not show it. Finally, I decided to WORK HARD AND SMART.
Then I realized that I MUST NOT workout EVERYDAY. This will DEFINITELY lead to OVERTRAINING, unless you are Kryptonian like Clark Kent, the SUPERMAN. In overtrained state, your body WILL NOT BUILD MUSCLE. Even worse, your body will lose its ability to build muscle optimally, which means your muscle growth will be slower than ever. That means, your body will not be able to replace the muscles broken down during your EVERYDAY workout (which means your muscle mass will decrease EVERYDAY). This will affect your strength growth but more importantly, you lose your fat burning machine (see my previous notes, “How many crunches/sit-ups per day is the best?? -> NOT IMPORTANT”) and as a result, you will gain fat more easily. Also, tons and tons of other problems. I think that’s enough to say that OVERTRAIN is bad and must be avoided. Therefore, WORK SMART is needed in addition to WORK HARD.
So now, how to work smart in building muscle and lose fat? First, before you go back to the gym and start breaking down your muscle, you have to make sure that you have recovered from the last workout. How do you know that? Pay attention to your intensity (exercise tempo, resting/workout duration, weights you use). If your resting/workout duration is longer than the previous workout while in fact you do the same movement with same number of sets and reps and same weights, then you might be on the brink of overtraining. If you can’t increase your workout intensity two times in a row, you might want to take a 3-4 days off. The rule here is simple. Try to improve your intensity in each workout. If you fail twice in a row, then take an additional day off.
Generally, for most people, 48-hour recovery time is enough to recover from 45-60 mins high-intensity weight exercise (For workout with duration 2 hours and above, do not need to worry about this standard. You definitely will experience OVERTRAIN, unless you are using STEROID) This recovery time can be longer/shorter depends on your fitness level, nutrition/diet, and sleep. If you don’t have enough sleep (7-8 hours) during your recovery time, it might be good to add another day off. If you do not eat enough or your diet quality is not high enough, your recovery pace will be slower.
This way, your body will start showing results and people will start asking you if you workout everyday. Only this time, the answer is, HELL NO.
So now, let’s go to the gym fully recovered and start pumping up those iron plates. Only this time, do it smartly.
Till the next newsletter, BE HARD, AND BE SMART.
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Stronger OR Quicker? How about BOTH???
I find that most people have phobia regarding building muscle because they think it will make them bigger and bulkier, but also slower and less athletic. The first question in their minds usually is, “Is getting bigger going to make me slow and less athletic?” Well, I don’t blame you if you have the same question in your mind. I too had such question before I started bulking up myself. I can say the answer to THE QUESTION is “YES” and “NO”
Here is my story. I play basketball and volleyball. You know how much these 2 sports require jumping ability. Also, in volleyball/ basketball court, I am not a tall guy. I am an average joe (172cm, 5 ft. 7 in.). My “disability” plus the nature of the sports require me to be quicker and be able to jump higher than those taller than me. Otherwise, I won’t be a factor at all. So, I shape my playing style according to my “disability”. I play not with power and strength. I play with speed, agility, and finesse.
BUT around 2 months ago, I reached the crossroad. At that time, I weighted 61.5 kgs with 9% body fat (See picture above). I can say I was muscular enough that I can see my six-pack abs. However, my body frame was just small, slim, and skinny that I could be easily harassed/overshadowed by stronger and bigger players. Also, my game depended too much on my quickness, which might not be there once I got tired. My game was simply limited to “small guys region”. I could not play within “big guys region”. So, in my mind, THE QUESTION came up. “I want to build muscle to be stronger, bigger, but won’t it make me slower?” I came up with this answer, “I think it is OK to be bigger and stronger but a little bit slower and jump a little bit shorter” Later you will know that my answer WAS WRONG.
So, with my mindset ready to sacrifice my speed and jumping ability (WHICH IS NOT NECESSARY), I bulked up myself (see picture above). I went from 61.5kgs to 66kgs in 4 weeks (That’s right. I did it the hard way). My body fat went up a little bit, from 9% to 11% (That is why I am in cutting process now). At the same time, I gained 3kgs of muscles (Wet muscle of course), which means I became bigger and stronger.
Then, came the time for try out. I played my first volleyball game as someone weighted 66kgs. First thing I did was jumping in front of the net to see how much my arms could go above the net. Guess what? My arms went 5 centimeters higher. Here is more, the next week, my first basketball game after bulking up. AGAIN, I did not lose my explosiveness A BIT. I was as quick as before, I did not feel slower or heavier at all. MORE IMPORTANTLY, I could compete in STRENGTH and POWER against “used-to-be stronger” guys, but I still had an edge in SPEED and ATHLETICISM against them.
Now, my game just has expanded tremendously. I can play with speed, athleticism, and finesse like I have always been. ALSO, I can play with strength and power. Now, I play “main spiker” position more often in volleyball (In the past, I was never regarded as “main spiker”). In basketball, I used to be guard, but now, I play forward and a lot of times, I am assigned to guard a center player (which is usually the biggest in any team) more often without being BULLIED or OVERPOWERED.
Here is the reason why I can keep my speed and athleticism in much heavier body frame. During my bulking up process, I did not only keep doing weight training regularly. BUT I also made sure that I TRAINED ALL THE MUSCLES in my body. This is what most people miss when they try to become stronger while maintaining their speed and athleticism. In my bulking up days, I trained my core musculature as well. I trained my lower body as much as my upper body. As a result, YES MY BODY IS HEAVIER (which means my lower body must push harder to jump as high as before), BUT NOW MY LOWER BODY IS ALSO STRONGER. This compensates my heavier body. While now my body is heavier, MY CORE MUSCULATURE strength is also higher, which enables me to move as quick as before during my “harassed-by-big-guy” days. That is why, when you are heavier, you can either maintain your speed or athleticism (by keep training your entire body musculature of course) or lose them (by being obsessed to having broader shoulders and bigger biceps).
So now, for those quick and skinny guys living in big-guys world, don’t be afraid to gain muscle and become bigger. It’s time to make those big-guys think twice before trying to overpower you.
Till next newsletter, be strong, be POWERFUL but also be QUICK and ATHLETIC.
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
Here is my story. I play basketball and volleyball. You know how much these 2 sports require jumping ability. Also, in volleyball/ basketball court, I am not a tall guy. I am an average joe (172cm, 5 ft. 7 in.). My “disability” plus the nature of the sports require me to be quicker and be able to jump higher than those taller than me. Otherwise, I won’t be a factor at all. So, I shape my playing style according to my “disability”. I play not with power and strength. I play with speed, agility, and finesse.
BUT around 2 months ago, I reached the crossroad. At that time, I weighted 61.5 kgs with 9% body fat (See picture above). I can say I was muscular enough that I can see my six-pack abs. However, my body frame was just small, slim, and skinny that I could be easily harassed/overshadowed by stronger and bigger players. Also, my game depended too much on my quickness, which might not be there once I got tired. My game was simply limited to “small guys region”. I could not play within “big guys region”. So, in my mind, THE QUESTION came up. “I want to build muscle to be stronger, bigger, but won’t it make me slower?” I came up with this answer, “I think it is OK to be bigger and stronger but a little bit slower and jump a little bit shorter” Later you will know that my answer WAS WRONG.
So, with my mindset ready to sacrifice my speed and jumping ability (WHICH IS NOT NECESSARY), I bulked up myself (see picture above). I went from 61.5kgs to 66kgs in 4 weeks (That’s right. I did it the hard way). My body fat went up a little bit, from 9% to 11% (That is why I am in cutting process now). At the same time, I gained 3kgs of muscles (Wet muscle of course), which means I became bigger and stronger.
Then, came the time for try out. I played my first volleyball game as someone weighted 66kgs. First thing I did was jumping in front of the net to see how much my arms could go above the net. Guess what? My arms went 5 centimeters higher. Here is more, the next week, my first basketball game after bulking up. AGAIN, I did not lose my explosiveness A BIT. I was as quick as before, I did not feel slower or heavier at all. MORE IMPORTANTLY, I could compete in STRENGTH and POWER against “used-to-be stronger” guys, but I still had an edge in SPEED and ATHLETICISM against them.
Now, my game just has expanded tremendously. I can play with speed, athleticism, and finesse like I have always been. ALSO, I can play with strength and power. Now, I play “main spiker” position more often in volleyball (In the past, I was never regarded as “main spiker”). In basketball, I used to be guard, but now, I play forward and a lot of times, I am assigned to guard a center player (which is usually the biggest in any team) more often without being BULLIED or OVERPOWERED.
Here is the reason why I can keep my speed and athleticism in much heavier body frame. During my bulking up process, I did not only keep doing weight training regularly. BUT I also made sure that I TRAINED ALL THE MUSCLES in my body. This is what most people miss when they try to become stronger while maintaining their speed and athleticism. In my bulking up days, I trained my core musculature as well. I trained my lower body as much as my upper body. As a result, YES MY BODY IS HEAVIER (which means my lower body must push harder to jump as high as before), BUT NOW MY LOWER BODY IS ALSO STRONGER. This compensates my heavier body. While now my body is heavier, MY CORE MUSCULATURE strength is also higher, which enables me to move as quick as before during my “harassed-by-big-guy” days. That is why, when you are heavier, you can either maintain your speed or athleticism (by keep training your entire body musculature of course) or lose them (by being obsessed to having broader shoulders and bigger biceps).
So now, for those quick and skinny guys living in big-guys world, don’t be afraid to gain muscle and become bigger. It’s time to make those big-guys think twice before trying to overpower you.
Till next newsletter, be strong, be POWERFUL but also be QUICK and ATHLETIC.
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
Cholesterol: FRIEND or VILLAIN??
In my previous newsletter, “The real criminal in our food chain”, I talked about how bad trans fat is. It can transform seemingly “healthy” or “not so bad” food into “junkier-than-junk” food.
Now, let me talk about another common misconception circling around our society today, CHOLESTEROL. But first, let me warn you, everything you are about to read from this point onward will really shake your belief about cholesterol. You might even have argument with yourself, your friends, or your personal doctor who have been telling you A LOT OF BAD THINGS about cholesterol.
For me, CHOLESTEROL is not that bad. In fact, I am glad that I have cholesterol in my body because simply it is good to have it (I know, I know. After reading up to this point, you will most probably think, “This guy is insane!! He is glad to have cholesterol and now saying it is good!!”). Well, just read on and at the end, I am pretty sure you will AGREE with me.
We all know that heart disease, failure, heart attack, and hypertension have been one of the leading killers in today’s world. THAT IS TRUTH. But blaming cholesterol for all that?? That is not really fair. Here is why.
As science continues to improve, more and more evidence has shown that the ARTERIAL INFLAMMATION WITHIN THE BODY is the root cause of heart disease. The inflammation itself is caused by many personal factors, such as stress, smoking, viruses, consumption of refined/hydrogenated oil (which contains trans fat as I have mentioned), an imbalance of omega-6 polyunsaturated fats to omega-3 polyunsaturated fats in the diet, excess refined sugars, etc.
Although it is true that cholesterol is the one forming plaque/arterial deposit (which is mostly being blamed for heart disease), not so many people understand why it does that. When ARTERIAL INFLAMMATION occurs, the cholesterol acts as a HEALING SUBSTANCE. It responds to arterial inflammation by getting deposited in combination with other substances, forming “arterial deposit” which acts as a healing agent on the artery.
Basically, as long as you have internal inflammation, this plaque will be formed regardless of your cholesterol levels. In other words, if you don’t have any inflammation inside your body, high cholesterol level will just keep circulating in your body without forming “plaque” in your artery. Therefore, it is more important to control your artery inflammation rather than trying to lower your cholesterol level.
You may ask, “If cholesterol is actually good, why are medical industries pushing everyone to lower their cholesterol?” Well, one innocent answer would be because it is based on flawed medical studies from decades ago that have never been validated since it has been there for a long time. Another reason is because with such misconception circling around in society, “cholesterol control” drug companies will be able to sell their products more easily.
Still not convinced? Check these out: “The Hidden Truth About Cholesterol Lowering Drugs” by Shane Ellison and “The Cholesterol Myths” by Dr. Uffe Ravnskov (MD, PhD).
So now, don’t worry about the cholesterol levels anymore. Let’s start worrying about the level of artery inflammation in our bodies. You can check the level of your artery inflammation by CRP or homocysteine tests. More importantly, you can control it by living a healthy lifestyle.
Finally, here is to a life in healthy lifestyle
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
Now, let me talk about another common misconception circling around our society today, CHOLESTEROL. But first, let me warn you, everything you are about to read from this point onward will really shake your belief about cholesterol. You might even have argument with yourself, your friends, or your personal doctor who have been telling you A LOT OF BAD THINGS about cholesterol.
For me, CHOLESTEROL is not that bad. In fact, I am glad that I have cholesterol in my body because simply it is good to have it (I know, I know. After reading up to this point, you will most probably think, “This guy is insane!! He is glad to have cholesterol and now saying it is good!!”). Well, just read on and at the end, I am pretty sure you will AGREE with me.
We all know that heart disease, failure, heart attack, and hypertension have been one of the leading killers in today’s world. THAT IS TRUTH. But blaming cholesterol for all that?? That is not really fair. Here is why.
As science continues to improve, more and more evidence has shown that the ARTERIAL INFLAMMATION WITHIN THE BODY is the root cause of heart disease. The inflammation itself is caused by many personal factors, such as stress, smoking, viruses, consumption of refined/hydrogenated oil (which contains trans fat as I have mentioned), an imbalance of omega-6 polyunsaturated fats to omega-3 polyunsaturated fats in the diet, excess refined sugars, etc.
Although it is true that cholesterol is the one forming plaque/arterial deposit (which is mostly being blamed for heart disease), not so many people understand why it does that. When ARTERIAL INFLAMMATION occurs, the cholesterol acts as a HEALING SUBSTANCE. It responds to arterial inflammation by getting deposited in combination with other substances, forming “arterial deposit” which acts as a healing agent on the artery.
Basically, as long as you have internal inflammation, this plaque will be formed regardless of your cholesterol levels. In other words, if you don’t have any inflammation inside your body, high cholesterol level will just keep circulating in your body without forming “plaque” in your artery. Therefore, it is more important to control your artery inflammation rather than trying to lower your cholesterol level.
You may ask, “If cholesterol is actually good, why are medical industries pushing everyone to lower their cholesterol?” Well, one innocent answer would be because it is based on flawed medical studies from decades ago that have never been validated since it has been there for a long time. Another reason is because with such misconception circling around in society, “cholesterol control” drug companies will be able to sell their products more easily.
Still not convinced? Check these out: “The Hidden Truth About Cholesterol Lowering Drugs” by Shane Ellison and “The Cholesterol Myths” by Dr. Uffe Ravnskov (MD, PhD).
So now, don’t worry about the cholesterol levels anymore. Let’s start worrying about the level of artery inflammation in our bodies. You can check the level of your artery inflammation by CRP or homocysteine tests. More importantly, you can control it by living a healthy lifestyle.
Finally, here is to a life in healthy lifestyle
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
Friday, September 18, 2009
1% is all you need. NOT MORE
I recently found out this “1% rule” for not being in shape from Mike Geary and I wish I had come up with this kind of thinking myself. This makes me realize that most of the reasons people are not in shape or even worse, can not do much effort to be in shape are basically lame and unreasonable
Like I said in my first note, we live in a busy world. So, we often “don’t have time” to plan our meals regularly or to do some workout.
Let me give you different perception on this NUMBER ONE reason. For an effective workout, all you need is basically 30-45 minutes per session. Let’s take the minimum 30 minutes since time is the BIG PROBLEM here. How many times do your workout per week? Probably 3 to 4 times for optimal results (Definitely not more 5. Otherwise this will lead to overtraining, which will be explained in my next note). Again, let’s take the minimum one, 3 times per week for total 90 minutes per week.
If you compare this 90 minutes with the total minutes you have per week (10,080 minutes. That’s right, I calculate it). The total time you spend for your workout per week is LESS THAN 1% of your total minutes per week.
IT TAKES ONLY 1% OF YOUR PRECIOUS TIME TO BE IN SHAPE. You certainly can’t get any better than that. It is now just the matter of how you use that 1% time for exercise. If you use it for intense workout, definitely good body shape will be yours
So now, is time really the problem here? Isn’t it ridiculous now to hear someone say, “I don’t have time for exercise”?
Let me tell you how I utilize my PRECIOUS TIME and “somehow” find time to workout regularly.
I work out 3 times per week. Each session is roughly 45 minutes (even longer than the minimum but “somehow” I still can make it). I do my workout during the evening when I have no appointment with any clients. Here is my schedule on my workout day.
I wake up at 7.00am, eat my breakfast prepared the day before, go to office at 7.45am (I work as an engineer during the day), and reach office at 8.30am (quite hectic isn’t it? Just like your life).
I finish my office work at roughly 5.30pm, reach home around 6.30pm. Cook my dinner and eat it, 1 hour gone. It is 7.30pm now. Relax for a while, do some grocery shopping. START MY WORKOUT AT 8.30pm until around 9.30pm. Take a rest for a while in front of TV/PC while enjoying my post workout meal and also chatting with my flat mates. Around 10pm, I start to prepare my last meal of the day while also preparing my breakfast, healthy snack to eat at the office, and my lunch for the next day. Finish everything around 11pm. Sleep around 11.30pm, which means 8 hours sleep (just nice).
Hectic isn’t it? But I still can make it (even I can maintain my relationship with my girlfriend and other friends). It’s all about commitment, discipline, effort, and determination. If you don’t really want to give the effort, certainly you will NEVER HAVE TIME to workout, which means, YOU WILL NEVER BE IN SHAPE.
Till the next newsletter, be discipline and determined and you will find time to move forward on the road to six pack.
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
Like I said in my first note, we live in a busy world. So, we often “don’t have time” to plan our meals regularly or to do some workout.
Let me give you different perception on this NUMBER ONE reason. For an effective workout, all you need is basically 30-45 minutes per session. Let’s take the minimum 30 minutes since time is the BIG PROBLEM here. How many times do your workout per week? Probably 3 to 4 times for optimal results (Definitely not more 5. Otherwise this will lead to overtraining, which will be explained in my next note). Again, let’s take the minimum one, 3 times per week for total 90 minutes per week.
If you compare this 90 minutes with the total minutes you have per week (10,080 minutes. That’s right, I calculate it). The total time you spend for your workout per week is LESS THAN 1% of your total minutes per week.
IT TAKES ONLY 1% OF YOUR PRECIOUS TIME TO BE IN SHAPE. You certainly can’t get any better than that. It is now just the matter of how you use that 1% time for exercise. If you use it for intense workout, definitely good body shape will be yours
So now, is time really the problem here? Isn’t it ridiculous now to hear someone say, “I don’t have time for exercise”?
Let me tell you how I utilize my PRECIOUS TIME and “somehow” find time to workout regularly.
I work out 3 times per week. Each session is roughly 45 minutes (even longer than the minimum but “somehow” I still can make it). I do my workout during the evening when I have no appointment with any clients. Here is my schedule on my workout day.
I wake up at 7.00am, eat my breakfast prepared the day before, go to office at 7.45am (I work as an engineer during the day), and reach office at 8.30am (quite hectic isn’t it? Just like your life).
I finish my office work at roughly 5.30pm, reach home around 6.30pm. Cook my dinner and eat it, 1 hour gone. It is 7.30pm now. Relax for a while, do some grocery shopping. START MY WORKOUT AT 8.30pm until around 9.30pm. Take a rest for a while in front of TV/PC while enjoying my post workout meal and also chatting with my flat mates. Around 10pm, I start to prepare my last meal of the day while also preparing my breakfast, healthy snack to eat at the office, and my lunch for the next day. Finish everything around 11pm. Sleep around 11.30pm, which means 8 hours sleep (just nice).
Hectic isn’t it? But I still can make it (even I can maintain my relationship with my girlfriend and other friends). It’s all about commitment, discipline, effort, and determination. If you don’t really want to give the effort, certainly you will NEVER HAVE TIME to workout, which means, YOU WILL NEVER BE IN SHAPE.
Till the next newsletter, be discipline and determined and you will find time to move forward on the road to six pack.
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
Fast Food is Healthy?? Give me a break -> The REAL CRIMINAL in our food chain
HEYYY!!! It’s been quite some time, eh? I hope you are still on the RIGHT road to six pack., still pumping up the iron and true to the healthy and natural diet. By the way, have you tried my breakfast recipe? It is simple, easy to prepare, but most importantly, it is DELICIOUS, HEALTHY, and FULFILLING. If you haven’t already, give it a shot and let me know what you think.
Now, here is the story I wanna share with you.
Yesterday, on my way back home from my office (that’s right, I have office work too), I took a public train. It was very crowded, which means so many people closely surrounded me. Among them, there was a couple; talking about the food they took that day for lunch (I was not really listening at first, but because they stood pretty close to me, I could overhear them).
As far as I can recall, this is the conversation:
(They were talking about something else before this but their topic was not really interested to me….until….)
Girl: “What did you eat today for lunch?”
Guy: “I ate Subway” (Subway is a fast food franchise. Sandwich is their main product)
Girl: (shocked) “Wah, you ate subway again??”
Guy: “Yeah, no choice” (I don’t know why. You always have choices for food)
Girl: “Yeah but subway is so unhealthy” (This is where it became more interesting)
Guy: “But it is definitely healthier than KFC or McD” (Gotta agree with this one)
Girl: (insisting) “But still it is unhealthy”
Guy: (stay quiet)
Girl: “Try to eat the normal one tomorrow, ok?” (By “normal” I presume any usual food from Asian-cuisine-loaded food court)
(Their conversation continued but I already had something else in my mind after what the girl said)
Here is what was in my mind. You think subway is unhealthy?? Think again. You might not believe this but I eat Subway (tuna, footlong) like almost 2-3 times per week because that is THE ONLY outside food I find “healthy” enough for me. To be more specific, tuna sandwich is the ONLY ONE HEALTHY enough among other choices they have. That’s right, even the “normal” food in Asian food court is not as healthy as that tuna sandwich.
I can say this because I know what most people don’t or they think they do but they are wrong (just like the girl). Don’t blame yourself. This is partly because of millions of misleading advertisement out there, claiming their products are healthy, etc, etc. (Just for example: Check this article, http://www.truthaboutabs.com/the-canola-oil-deception.html, by Mike Geary, an expert in nutrition, about “Healthy” Canola oil)
Let’s think about it. What do you buy in Asian food court? Fried rice? Deep fried meat/chicken/pork/fish? Chicken/beef sausage? Nuggets?
Let’s take a look. Deep fried? Fried rice? It needs cooking oil. For lower cost, CERTAINLY they use the cheapest available cooking oil in market which means, “normal” hydrogenated oil (that is probably why the girl said normal food, because it uses normal cooking oil). Here is the deal with any normal oil. IT HAS TRANS FAT. Trans fat is the real criminal behind obesity, fat gain, high cholesterol, hypertension, heart attack, and the list goes on. That is the truth. Too bad not so many people know about this truth (just like the girl)
How about chicken/beef sausage and nuggets? They are PROCESSED FOODS. That’s it. You never know what have been added to those sausages and nuggets (most probably, harmful chemicals/ingredients that potentially turn to TRANS FAT). That is why I said not all Subway sandwiches are healthy, depends on your choice (To verify if tuna is healthy, just go to supermarket and check the ingredient of canned tuna chunk in water. It is just tuna, water and salt. What is unhealthy about that??)
I am not saying that you can replace your healthy diet entirely with Subway tuna sandwich. I am just saying, subway tuna sandwich is WAY better than “normal food” with “normal” trans fat (that is why it is “normal” to have obesity, hypertension, heart attack, or high cholesterol in today’s world)
I can go all night talking about this “conflicting” statement I have presented here. You might think, “This guy is a nutritionist? I can’t believe it. He actually recommends fast food over usual food. IT’S INSANE.” I tell you this, because I am a nutritionist, I know what you don’t know and I know what is right/wrong when it comes to food and nutrition.
So here is THE POINT here. The real EVIL ENEMY is not the fast food itself, it is THE TRANS FAT hiding behind the processed foods or the cooking oil used (except extra virgin olive oil).
Finally, SAY NO TO TRANS FAT!
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
Now, here is the story I wanna share with you.
Yesterday, on my way back home from my office (that’s right, I have office work too), I took a public train. It was very crowded, which means so many people closely surrounded me. Among them, there was a couple; talking about the food they took that day for lunch (I was not really listening at first, but because they stood pretty close to me, I could overhear them).
As far as I can recall, this is the conversation:
(They were talking about something else before this but their topic was not really interested to me….until….)
Girl: “What did you eat today for lunch?”
Guy: “I ate Subway” (Subway is a fast food franchise. Sandwich is their main product)
Girl: (shocked) “Wah, you ate subway again??”
Guy: “Yeah, no choice” (I don’t know why. You always have choices for food)
Girl: “Yeah but subway is so unhealthy” (This is where it became more interesting)
Guy: “But it is definitely healthier than KFC or McD” (Gotta agree with this one)
Girl: (insisting) “But still it is unhealthy”
Guy: (stay quiet)
Girl: “Try to eat the normal one tomorrow, ok?” (By “normal” I presume any usual food from Asian-cuisine-loaded food court)
(Their conversation continued but I already had something else in my mind after what the girl said)
Here is what was in my mind. You think subway is unhealthy?? Think again. You might not believe this but I eat Subway (tuna, footlong) like almost 2-3 times per week because that is THE ONLY outside food I find “healthy” enough for me. To be more specific, tuna sandwich is the ONLY ONE HEALTHY enough among other choices they have. That’s right, even the “normal” food in Asian food court is not as healthy as that tuna sandwich.
I can say this because I know what most people don’t or they think they do but they are wrong (just like the girl). Don’t blame yourself. This is partly because of millions of misleading advertisement out there, claiming their products are healthy, etc, etc. (Just for example: Check this article, http://www.truthaboutabs.com/the-canola-oil-deception.html, by Mike Geary, an expert in nutrition, about “Healthy” Canola oil)
Let’s think about it. What do you buy in Asian food court? Fried rice? Deep fried meat/chicken/pork/fish? Chicken/beef sausage? Nuggets?
Let’s take a look. Deep fried? Fried rice? It needs cooking oil. For lower cost, CERTAINLY they use the cheapest available cooking oil in market which means, “normal” hydrogenated oil (that is probably why the girl said normal food, because it uses normal cooking oil). Here is the deal with any normal oil. IT HAS TRANS FAT. Trans fat is the real criminal behind obesity, fat gain, high cholesterol, hypertension, heart attack, and the list goes on. That is the truth. Too bad not so many people know about this truth (just like the girl)
How about chicken/beef sausage and nuggets? They are PROCESSED FOODS. That’s it. You never know what have been added to those sausages and nuggets (most probably, harmful chemicals/ingredients that potentially turn to TRANS FAT). That is why I said not all Subway sandwiches are healthy, depends on your choice (To verify if tuna is healthy, just go to supermarket and check the ingredient of canned tuna chunk in water. It is just tuna, water and salt. What is unhealthy about that??)
I am not saying that you can replace your healthy diet entirely with Subway tuna sandwich. I am just saying, subway tuna sandwich is WAY better than “normal food” with “normal” trans fat (that is why it is “normal” to have obesity, hypertension, heart attack, or high cholesterol in today’s world)
I can go all night talking about this “conflicting” statement I have presented here. You might think, “This guy is a nutritionist? I can’t believe it. He actually recommends fast food over usual food. IT’S INSANE.” I tell you this, because I am a nutritionist, I know what you don’t know and I know what is right/wrong when it comes to food and nutrition.
So here is THE POINT here. The real EVIL ENEMY is not the fast food itself, it is THE TRANS FAT hiding behind the processed foods or the cooking oil used (except extra virgin olive oil).
Finally, SAY NO TO TRANS FAT!
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
Saturday, September 5, 2009
MY SECRET right from my PERSONAL DIET PLAN (Part I)
I see SO SO SOOOO many people underestimate the power of breakfast (By breakfast I mean a meal taken within one hour after waking up).
On one hand, it is quite understandable because you need to rush to the office, school, or wherever you need to be early in the morning. Or even worse, because you can't prepare the breakfast yourself, you buy your breakfast in fast food stop you find on you way (which is usually INCREDIBLY UNHEALTHY). You might also have mindset, "Breakfast is so small, so I can skip it. I wont feel hungry until lunch time even if I miss it". YOU ARE DEAD WRONG
This kind of excuses has NO PLACE on the ROAD TO SIX PACK. Breakfast is, in my opinion, the MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY. As far as I know the road to six pack, you can't get six pack without taking breakfast EVERYDAY.
You might ask, "Why? Doesn't taking breakfast increase my calorie intake?". Yes it does. BUT, once you take breakfast, your body metabolism will be stimulated. Your body metabolism will be TURNED ON. You can think of breakfast as an ON/OFF Switch of your body metabolism. If you don't take breakfast, your body metabolism will not be as high as you would like to lose fat. By taking breakfast, your metabolism will be at high level the rest of the day (This fact easily outweighs the calorie you take during breakfast)
On top of that, higher metabolism means more muscle building and repairing going on in your body and as I said in the previous note, muscle is a calorie-burning machine. So by skipping breakfast for the reason to reduce calorie intake is definitely COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE. In short, there is NO BENEFIT AT ALL to skip breakfast
SO HAVE YOU TAKEN YOUR BREAKFAST THIS MORNING? If you haven't, start a habit to take it THE VERY NEXT DAY
Alright!! This is the moment you have been waiting for, MY BREAKFAST, taken directly from my PERSONAL DIET PLAN (3270 calories daily)
1 Banana (25.37gr Carbs, 1.12gr Prot, 0.52gr fat, 100cal)
2 Apples (36.6gr Carbs, 0.46gr Prot, 0.86gr fat, 140cal)
2 Whole Eggs (1.23gr Carbs, 12.19gr Prot, 13.5gr fat, 180cal)
1 tbsp 100% NATURAL peanut butter (2gr Carbs, 5gr Prot, 8gr fat, 100 cal)
2 slices of cheddar cheese ( 3gr Carbs, 8.1gr Prot, 5gr fat, 90cal)
Total = 68.2gr carbohydrate, 26.87gr protein, 27.88gr fat, 610cal)
Sounds plenty of food for breakfast, doesn’t it? Believe it or not, this is equal to typical egg and tuna mayo sandwich (3 slices of white bread, one layer of tuna mayo, one layer of scrambled egg and butter). This explains why the reason “you can't prepare your breakfast, so you buy it on your way” SHOULD BE OUT OF THE WINDOW.
So, till the next newsletter, don’t forget to have your breakfast, and stay on the road to six pack
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
On one hand, it is quite understandable because you need to rush to the office, school, or wherever you need to be early in the morning. Or even worse, because you can't prepare the breakfast yourself, you buy your breakfast in fast food stop you find on you way (which is usually INCREDIBLY UNHEALTHY). You might also have mindset, "Breakfast is so small, so I can skip it. I wont feel hungry until lunch time even if I miss it". YOU ARE DEAD WRONG
This kind of excuses has NO PLACE on the ROAD TO SIX PACK. Breakfast is, in my opinion, the MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY. As far as I know the road to six pack, you can't get six pack without taking breakfast EVERYDAY.
You might ask, "Why? Doesn't taking breakfast increase my calorie intake?". Yes it does. BUT, once you take breakfast, your body metabolism will be stimulated. Your body metabolism will be TURNED ON. You can think of breakfast as an ON/OFF Switch of your body metabolism. If you don't take breakfast, your body metabolism will not be as high as you would like to lose fat. By taking breakfast, your metabolism will be at high level the rest of the day (This fact easily outweighs the calorie you take during breakfast)
On top of that, higher metabolism means more muscle building and repairing going on in your body and as I said in the previous note, muscle is a calorie-burning machine. So by skipping breakfast for the reason to reduce calorie intake is definitely COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE. In short, there is NO BENEFIT AT ALL to skip breakfast
SO HAVE YOU TAKEN YOUR BREAKFAST THIS MORNING? If you haven't, start a habit to take it THE VERY NEXT DAY
Alright!! This is the moment you have been waiting for, MY BREAKFAST, taken directly from my PERSONAL DIET PLAN (3270 calories daily)
1 Banana (25.37gr Carbs, 1.12gr Prot, 0.52gr fat, 100cal)
2 Apples (36.6gr Carbs, 0.46gr Prot, 0.86gr fat, 140cal)
2 Whole Eggs (1.23gr Carbs, 12.19gr Prot, 13.5gr fat, 180cal)
1 tbsp 100% NATURAL peanut butter (2gr Carbs, 5gr Prot, 8gr fat, 100 cal)
2 slices of cheddar cheese ( 3gr Carbs, 8.1gr Prot, 5gr fat, 90cal)
Total = 68.2gr carbohydrate, 26.87gr protein, 27.88gr fat, 610cal)
Sounds plenty of food for breakfast, doesn’t it? Believe it or not, this is equal to typical egg and tuna mayo sandwich (3 slices of white bread, one layer of tuna mayo, one layer of scrambled egg and butter). This explains why the reason “you can't prepare your breakfast, so you buy it on your way” SHOULD BE OUT OF THE WINDOW.
So, till the next newsletter, don’t forget to have your breakfast, and stay on the road to six pack
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
Friday, September 4, 2009
How many crunches per day?? -> NOT IMPORTANT
I have received many, many, MANY questions asking me, “How many crunches/sit-ups per day required to get six pack?” Most of the time, it will be followed by a statement similar like, “I have been doing 50/100/200 sit-ups per day but still I don’t see any result. Still, I don’t see my six-pack. I still have this fat-pocket or beer belly.”
Well, this is not a difficult question. I know exactly what the answer is, but I just don’t know how to answer it. Because I don’t want to discourage the person asking the question, but I also feel that I have to tell the truth (that’s right. I’m not like those in health magazine and supplement industries who simply hide the truth for their benefits)
So, here it is. If you want to lose fat and make your six-pack visible, crunches and sit-ups are the least important thing to do. Instead of asking how many crunches per day required, a better question will be, “How many calories per day or how many weight training sessions/cardio sessions per week required to have six-pack?” BUT, DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED. Whatever crunches/sit-ups you have been doing, how many times you do it per day are NOT USELESS. If you do crunches/sit-ups regularly, you should be certain that your mid-section is well trained, your six-pack lies somewhere beneath your belly fat. More importantly, your back is strong and more immune to injury, which is REQUIRED for the real exercise to show that six-pack.
In most cases, people can’t see their six-pack abs not because they don’t have big enough abs muscles. It is because the belly fat covers the abs-muscles. Now you know where I am going. What you need is not to build up your abs muscles. What you need is to REMOVE THE COVER of your abs muscles, the belly fat. You HAVE TO reduce your overall body fat percentage first before you can see the abs you have been dreaming about.
Now, we have come to the ultimate question which anybody with correct understanding and high desire of six-pack should ask. “How do I reduce my body fat?” Surely you have seen many supplements and “miraculous gadget” advertisements promising XX% reduction in body fat in 2 weeks. Again, this is JUNK. If it is so, why are there still so many people live in obesity today?
To reduce body fat, high intensity and efficiency workout routines combined with proper diet IS REQUIRED. No way around it. In general, high intensity and efficiency workout routines should comprise MOSTLY of high intensity weight training/cardio training, since this will stimulate MASSIVE fat burning in your body by putting yourself in high metabolism mode throughout your workout and also 7-8 HOURS AFTER TRAINING (No typo there, it is really 7-8 hours). Crunches/sit-ups should only take MINORITY of your workout time (believe it or not, I only do 100 crunches/sit-ups…..PER WEEK….it is less than 15 PER DAY)
On top of that, high intensity training will force your muscles to grow. Muscle is, the way I call it, a calorie-burning machine. Our bodies require A LOT and I mean A LOT of calories just to maintain the muscles. So, the more muscles we have, the more calories will be consumed. When our bodies need extra calories, where do they go? YES, YOUR STORED FAT (only as long as your calorie intake from food is not too high). Therefore, focus on high intensity training (cardio/weight). FOR LADIES, do not be afraid of weight training. You WILL NOT become like a HULK with just 2-3 times of weight training per week (More on this in the next newsletter).
Till the next “road sign”, stay on the road to six-pack.
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
Well, this is not a difficult question. I know exactly what the answer is, but I just don’t know how to answer it. Because I don’t want to discourage the person asking the question, but I also feel that I have to tell the truth (that’s right. I’m not like those in health magazine and supplement industries who simply hide the truth for their benefits)
So, here it is. If you want to lose fat and make your six-pack visible, crunches and sit-ups are the least important thing to do. Instead of asking how many crunches per day required, a better question will be, “How many calories per day or how many weight training sessions/cardio sessions per week required to have six-pack?” BUT, DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED. Whatever crunches/sit-ups you have been doing, how many times you do it per day are NOT USELESS. If you do crunches/sit-ups regularly, you should be certain that your mid-section is well trained, your six-pack lies somewhere beneath your belly fat. More importantly, your back is strong and more immune to injury, which is REQUIRED for the real exercise to show that six-pack.
In most cases, people can’t see their six-pack abs not because they don’t have big enough abs muscles. It is because the belly fat covers the abs-muscles. Now you know where I am going. What you need is not to build up your abs muscles. What you need is to REMOVE THE COVER of your abs muscles, the belly fat. You HAVE TO reduce your overall body fat percentage first before you can see the abs you have been dreaming about.
Now, we have come to the ultimate question which anybody with correct understanding and high desire of six-pack should ask. “How do I reduce my body fat?” Surely you have seen many supplements and “miraculous gadget” advertisements promising XX% reduction in body fat in 2 weeks. Again, this is JUNK. If it is so, why are there still so many people live in obesity today?
To reduce body fat, high intensity and efficiency workout routines combined with proper diet IS REQUIRED. No way around it. In general, high intensity and efficiency workout routines should comprise MOSTLY of high intensity weight training/cardio training, since this will stimulate MASSIVE fat burning in your body by putting yourself in high metabolism mode throughout your workout and also 7-8 HOURS AFTER TRAINING (No typo there, it is really 7-8 hours). Crunches/sit-ups should only take MINORITY of your workout time (believe it or not, I only do 100 crunches/sit-ups…..PER WEEK….it is less than 15 PER DAY)
On top of that, high intensity training will force your muscles to grow. Muscle is, the way I call it, a calorie-burning machine. Our bodies require A LOT and I mean A LOT of calories just to maintain the muscles. So, the more muscles we have, the more calories will be consumed. When our bodies need extra calories, where do they go? YES, YOUR STORED FAT (only as long as your calorie intake from food is not too high). Therefore, focus on high intensity training (cardio/weight). FOR LADIES, do not be afraid of weight training. You WILL NOT become like a HULK with just 2-3 times of weight training per week (More on this in the next newsletter).
Till the next “road sign”, stay on the road to six-pack.
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
ATTENTION GUYS: The truth about women
Ever wondered which part of man’s body that woman think is the most attractive??
Too bad for guys who love to face the mirror for hours just to get their hair done, using tons and tons of hair gel and conditioner. Let me tell you, women DO NOT seek “pretty” guy. They seek masculine guys whom they think can protect them. So, hair is definitely not the answer.
I even have more pity for those who love to wear tight shirt or even worse, tight-sleeveless shirt just to show up their chests and biceps, but in the same time, put their stomachs in the spotlight (Those who are big and bulky).
Time for the truth.
IT IS YOUR SIX-PACK ABS
How do I know?? Well, a survey on television once revealed that 90% of women think that ripped abs (that means six pack abs) is the most attractive part of a man’s body. In fact, more than DOUBLE of the number of women voted abs as the sexiest body part on a man compared to biceps and THREE TIMES the number of women voted abs as sexier than chests (ATTENTION TO tight shirt lovers). Seriously, no way I can come up with these statements myself.
That’s it! There is nothing more attractive to women than six pack abs. Come on be honest. Do you really think Brad Pitt will be one of the sexiest men alive of this decade if he has that “beer belly” or “fat pocket” on his stomach? Do you really think Matthew McConaughey will have a huge female fan base without his “ideal beach body”?
You and I know the answer. Let’s face it.
So, I suggest you to stop wasting your time getting your hair done or picking up the right “tight” shirt to attract ladies. Instead, use that time to work on your six pack abs. That’s the way to attract ladies. Let your abs steal the show and be the “woman-magnet” and after that, YOU WILL BE THE MAN.
That’s it for now. Here is for all of us, guys. Let us BE THE LADIES’ MAN.
Tobias
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
Friday, August 21, 2009
Don't get lost on your quest to six pack. Stay on the REAL one
Once you have taken your first step (see the previous post), you might ask, “And then what?”. You might have looked around in the Internet, trying to find the best workout routines and diet to get the abs of your dream. Let me guess, you find that each of them saying different things. Now, you don’t know where to go, which one to believe.
You are at the intersection and don’t know which way is heading towards six-pack abs, which one is the real “road to six pack”.
It is totally common to be confused at this point of time. Let me assure you this, There is actually ONLY ONE road to six-pack. It is with PROPER NUTRITION and CORRECT WORKOUT STRUCTURE. That’s it.
But conspiracy between body-building/health magazine and drug supplement manufacturers, with their multi-million marketing campaigns, keeps you from finding the right way. Even worse, they keep creating new “road to six pack” and claim that it is the only way.
It is their intention to make you confused and frustrated so that you don’t find the abs you want and keep buying their products, thinking their products are the way to your dream abs.
Still don’t believe me? Well, let me ask you this, do you really think professional athletes and coaches read body-building/health magazines and follow the advice in the magazine? HELL NO. If they don’t even follow it, why should you? Still not convinced? I will tell you the ultimate proof personally if that’s what it takes to convince you (because this proof is quite sensitive).
The road to six pack is actually only one and it is easy. But they make it looks difficult for you, INTENTIONALLY. You do not need drug supplement such creatine, DHEA, or liver tabs like they say.
All you need is guidance, so that you won’t step into the false “road to six pack” and I AM READY TO BE YOUR GUIDANCE.
I have been to the false road before, probably just like you. But now, I have found the right one and I will make sure, you don’t take the false one.
The picture above shows you the result of the REAL road to six pack (10% body fat reduction in less than 3 months. ABSOLUTELY NO DRUGS. Now the key is, WHETHER YOU LET ME BE YOU GUIDANCE. And IF YOU DO, LET ME KNOW. If you don’t, I hope you can find other guidance yourself and stay on the true road to six pack.
Till the next newsletter, don’t get lost on your quest to six pack. Stay on the road to six pack
You are at the intersection and don’t know which way is heading towards six-pack abs, which one is the real “road to six pack”.
It is totally common to be confused at this point of time. Let me assure you this, There is actually ONLY ONE road to six-pack. It is with PROPER NUTRITION and CORRECT WORKOUT STRUCTURE. That’s it.
But conspiracy between body-building/health magazine and drug supplement manufacturers, with their multi-million marketing campaigns, keeps you from finding the right way. Even worse, they keep creating new “road to six pack” and claim that it is the only way.
It is their intention to make you confused and frustrated so that you don’t find the abs you want and keep buying their products, thinking their products are the way to your dream abs.
Still don’t believe me? Well, let me ask you this, do you really think professional athletes and coaches read body-building/health magazines and follow the advice in the magazine? HELL NO. If they don’t even follow it, why should you? Still not convinced? I will tell you the ultimate proof personally if that’s what it takes to convince you (because this proof is quite sensitive).
The road to six pack is actually only one and it is easy. But they make it looks difficult for you, INTENTIONALLY. You do not need drug supplement such creatine, DHEA, or liver tabs like they say.
All you need is guidance, so that you won’t step into the false “road to six pack” and I AM READY TO BE YOUR GUIDANCE.
I have been to the false road before, probably just like you. But now, I have found the right one and I will make sure, you don’t take the false one.
The picture above shows you the result of the REAL road to six pack (10% body fat reduction in less than 3 months. ABSOLUTELY NO DRUGS. Now the key is, WHETHER YOU LET ME BE YOU GUIDANCE. And IF YOU DO, LET ME KNOW. If you don’t, I hope you can find other guidance yourself and stay on the true road to six pack.
Till the next newsletter, don’t get lost on your quest to six pack. Stay on the road to six pack
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
PS: If you like this notes, you can pass this to your friends or people you think might find this useful.
Take your first step towards six pack & lean body
We live in a busy world. We all know that. All of us are extremely busy with our things. Family, school, jobs you name it. So busy until we can’t (though we do) care about our health and how our bodies look like. In other words, we give up, we sacrifice our own health just to keep in pace with the world. No wonder obesity keeps increasing as the world getting busier.Well, I was one of those people who give up on personal health just to follow the world (see my picture above, 19% body fat). Guess what? I was no different than any other people. Eating more fast food/junk food, getting fatter, slower, lower in energy, easier to get sick, building up fat, and all that. Not that I did not care about my health, I just couldn’t because of my jobs, schools, etc. At least I thought I couldn’t. And ironically, this is the common believe people have nowadays. They just don’t have time/strength to take care of their health.
The key is not whether you can or you can’t. Everyone can care and do something about their health, given the time/energy constraints. That’s the fact. Now, it’s just the matter of effort, courage, and discipline. It took quite a while for me to have enough courage to say to myself, “Dude, you are getting fatter. It has to stop. Something’s got to change.” There you go. That is the turning point everyone needs. Courage to say to oneself, “I have to make a change”
So now, collect your courage and say to yourself, “I have to make a change. I must not give up on my health and just accept this lifestyle because this is just NOT ACCEPTABLE” Make commitment to yourself, “I am gonna make a change. No more excuse. No more I can’t do it, no more that’s the way it is, no more I have no time excuse, because I CAN do it, and I WILL” And to this I would say, “YES YOU CAN and YOU WILL. Take that first step towards the healthy lifestyle with six pack and lean body as the prize”.
Till the next post, stay on the road to six pack and lean body.
Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
PS: If you like this post, feel free to forward it to your friends or people that you think might find this useful
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
