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
Showing posts with label body building. Show all posts
Showing posts with label body building. Show all posts
Monday, October 19, 2009
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
Friday, September 18, 2009
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
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