Here, I will give you a workout routine I call “Metabolic Boost Workout”. I designed this exercise routine to be equipment free, meaning you can do it anywhere and anytime. All you need is space 3 meters wide and time at least 15 minutes long. That is not too much to ask, is it?
Therefore, this is the workout for you when you are traveling or when you are EXTREMELY busy until you don’t have time to go to gym. You can do it in your own hotel room. Or in situation where you don’t have access to gym, you can always do this in your own home. So now, there is no more excuse not to workout, isn’t there?
WAIT! It gets even simpler and more convenient for you.
To make it even more flexible, the duration of the workout can be adjusted according to your preference. But I personally recommend at least 15 minutes to really make this workout effective.
Unlike weight training, which places great demand on your muscle and thus, requires complete recovery before doing it again, this workout does not place such demand on your muscle. BUT this workout is promised to be as intense as weight training if you really follow it closely. So, you can include this workout on your non-weight training day or in between your weight training days.
Here is the structure of the Metabolic Boost Workout:
Stationary running with your thigh lifted high (30 counts each leg)
Basketball step slide with hand touches the ground on each side (15 counts each side)
Mountain climbers (15 counts each side)
Jumping Jack (15 counts)
Y-squat (15 counts)
Push-up (15 counts)
Just keep doing these 6 exercises as quickly as possible and repeatedly without rest (or as little rest as possible) in between for your designated workout duration. I usually can do this for 7 times in 20 minutes and at the end, I find myself gasping for air and catching my breath.
When you do this workout correctly without any rest in between, you should find this workout very intense. You will find your heart pumping crazily and your lungs insanely demanding for air. Consequently, this will boost up your metabolism that might have dropped due to calorie deficit in your diet.
So, not only this workout will burn fat during the actual workout, it will also promote fat burning after the workout. All this is achieved without any equipment or trouble (can do it anywhere, anytime for FREE) in as quickly as 15 minutes.
Even more, this workout is good to increase your fitness and conditioning level after some time off from gym or weight training, after or during long holiday, or even after sickness. I personally always do this workout 3-5 times during the first week after my long absence from gym to regain my conditioning level and prepare me for the weight training. And it NEVER FAILS to do so.
Go ahead and give it a shot. Let me know how it turns out. If it does not make you gasping for air at the end of 15 minutes, it is either you take too much rests in between exercises, you don’t do it full speed, or you are a robot.
Final words before you start doing this: drink a lot of water and good luck. You’re definitely gonna need them both.
Tobias Kananggar Ganda
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
Showing posts with label fitness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fitness. Show all posts
Monday, April 26, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Confused about eggs? This might be the answer
Have you ever wondered why there are many kinds of eggs at grocery stores? Have you ever been confused on which egg brand to choose? Well, I am not surprised.
With so many egg brands nowadays claiming that theirs is superior among the others, it’s not hard to see why so many people are confused now. One brand claims theirs has higher omega-3. Another one claims theirs has higher omega-6. Another claims less cholesterol level. To make things more complicated, there are regular chicken eggs and kampong chicken eggs, which are usually brighter in color and smaller. Basically, you are faced by choices you do not know how to choose. It is not your fault though.
The food industry has gone wild that everyone can make claims on his own without any proof. Even worse, these claims, not only complicate things, but also allow them to increase the price. Just compare normal eggs without any special claim with the one that has lower cholesterol and you will know how big the price difference is.
So let me try to ease you burden in choosing your food, in this case eggs. Here we go. Lower cholesterol egg? Do you need it? NOPE. You don’t really need it UNLESS you have health history related to hypertension, heart attack, and stroke. If you don’t have any of those and you eat healthy, you don’t need to worry so much about cholesterol (see “Cholesterol, FRIEND or VILLAIN?”)
Egg with higher omega-6? HELL NO. It’s a big NO for this. Obviously, people who make this claim for their eggs really want to ruin their business or simply, they really don’t know anything about food, nutrition, and what people nowadays need from their food. If I happened to meet the people making this claim, I would say, “C’mon people. Don’t you know anything at all?? WE DO NOT NEED ANY MORE OMEGA-6 FROM EGGS OK??”. Yes I am being very emotional now talking about this because it is just SO DUMB (probably the DUMBEST THING TO DO) to offer people more omega-6, while actually, our modern diet has already offered MUCH MORE, I mean MUCH MUCH MORE OF THAT (can be as much as 6 TIMES THE AMOUNT WE NEED). So next time you come across with this kind of eggs, you know what to do.
It leaves us with kampong chicken egg and higher omega-3 eggs. These are the type of eggs you want to put in your grocery basket. As I said, we don’t need anymore omega-6, but WE DO NEED A LOT OF OMEGA-3 to balance out our omega-6 intake. Ideally, the ratio between omega-3 and omega-6 in our diet should be 1:1 or 1:3 the most (see “EFA Balance and the Consequences” for more on the omega-3:omega-6 balance). But thanks to processed foods and hydrogenated oils, the ratio has now become as crazy as 1:20 in extreme cases according to Dr. Gabe Mirkin, no exaggerating here. So, you know what to do, increase intake of omega-3 and reduce intake of omega-6 from processed food/oil.
I generally prefer kampong chicken eggs than higher omega-3 eggs. Higher omega-3 eggs are produced by a carefully constructed diet on the chicken. However, kampong chicken eggs are produced by a natural diet on the chicken. In this case, the chicken is let to roam free and eat its own natural diet, including worms and bugs that are seldom in the chicken farm diet. So, the best choice for eggs is kampong chicken eggs and if this is not available, the second best choice is higher omega-3 eggs.
So, there you go. You should have better idea now how to choose your eggs to increase you omega-3 intake and balance your omega-3:omega-6 ratio. More on why this ratio has to be balance on another article.
Till then, don’t get lost in your grocery store because when it comes to eggs, you know what to do.
Tobias Kananggar Ganda
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
With so many egg brands nowadays claiming that theirs is superior among the others, it’s not hard to see why so many people are confused now. One brand claims theirs has higher omega-3. Another one claims theirs has higher omega-6. Another claims less cholesterol level. To make things more complicated, there are regular chicken eggs and kampong chicken eggs, which are usually brighter in color and smaller. Basically, you are faced by choices you do not know how to choose. It is not your fault though.
The food industry has gone wild that everyone can make claims on his own without any proof. Even worse, these claims, not only complicate things, but also allow them to increase the price. Just compare normal eggs without any special claim with the one that has lower cholesterol and you will know how big the price difference is.
So let me try to ease you burden in choosing your food, in this case eggs. Here we go. Lower cholesterol egg? Do you need it? NOPE. You don’t really need it UNLESS you have health history related to hypertension, heart attack, and stroke. If you don’t have any of those and you eat healthy, you don’t need to worry so much about cholesterol (see “Cholesterol, FRIEND or VILLAIN?”)
Egg with higher omega-6? HELL NO. It’s a big NO for this. Obviously, people who make this claim for their eggs really want to ruin their business or simply, they really don’t know anything about food, nutrition, and what people nowadays need from their food. If I happened to meet the people making this claim, I would say, “C’mon people. Don’t you know anything at all?? WE DO NOT NEED ANY MORE OMEGA-6 FROM EGGS OK??”. Yes I am being very emotional now talking about this because it is just SO DUMB (probably the DUMBEST THING TO DO) to offer people more omega-6, while actually, our modern diet has already offered MUCH MORE, I mean MUCH MUCH MORE OF THAT (can be as much as 6 TIMES THE AMOUNT WE NEED). So next time you come across with this kind of eggs, you know what to do.
It leaves us with kampong chicken egg and higher omega-3 eggs. These are the type of eggs you want to put in your grocery basket. As I said, we don’t need anymore omega-6, but WE DO NEED A LOT OF OMEGA-3 to balance out our omega-6 intake. Ideally, the ratio between omega-3 and omega-6 in our diet should be 1:1 or 1:3 the most (see “EFA Balance and the Consequences” for more on the omega-3:omega-6 balance). But thanks to processed foods and hydrogenated oils, the ratio has now become as crazy as 1:20 in extreme cases according to Dr. Gabe Mirkin, no exaggerating here. So, you know what to do, increase intake of omega-3 and reduce intake of omega-6 from processed food/oil.
I generally prefer kampong chicken eggs than higher omega-3 eggs. Higher omega-3 eggs are produced by a carefully constructed diet on the chicken. However, kampong chicken eggs are produced by a natural diet on the chicken. In this case, the chicken is let to roam free and eat its own natural diet, including worms and bugs that are seldom in the chicken farm diet. So, the best choice for eggs is kampong chicken eggs and if this is not available, the second best choice is higher omega-3 eggs.
So, there you go. You should have better idea now how to choose your eggs to increase you omega-3 intake and balance your omega-3:omega-6 ratio. More on why this ratio has to be balance on another article.
Till then, don’t get lost in your grocery store because when it comes to eggs, you know what to do.
Tobias Kananggar Ganda
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com
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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
Labels:
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fat loss,
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health,
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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
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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
Labels:
body building,
fat loss,
fitness,
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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
Labels:
body building,
diet,
fat loss,
fitness,
healthy breakfast,
six pack
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
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

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
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