Steps to Fix a Broken Nutrition Plan Step 1: Correct Nutrient Deficiencies

I had a recent post based off an article from Precision Nutrition written by John Berardi titled "Steps to Fix a Broken Diet."  In that article the first step was fixing nutrient deficiencies.  Some of those deficiencies that people have when they don't have success with weight loss are as follows:

1. Not drinking enough water
2. Vitamin deficiencies (Listed on the image)
3. Mineral deficiencies (Listed on the image)
4. Not eating enough protein

In the next post I will discuss tools that you can use to figure out how efficient your metabolism is.

Stay tuned!

References:
1.  Article retrieved from:   http://www.precisionnutrition.com/fix-a-broken-diet

Kettlebell Swing: How to Properly Perfrom This Great Exercise

If there something that drives me nuts on the fitness floor it is when I see people perform Kettlebell Swings and allow the bell to travel over their head.  This makes the swing less effective for the following reasons:

First Place Competition Kettlebells[1]

1. When you hold a Kettlebell your hands are usually touching.  As the bell goes above shoulder level it can cause impingement in the shoulder joint.  The higher the bell travels, the more potential damage can happen to the shoulder because the hands are close together.
2. When the bell travels above the head (and you don't let go of it) there is less power generated.  If you want to achieve maximum power by going overhead you would have to let go of it and see how far backwards you can throw it.  This can be done if you are outside, however doing this in a gym isn't a good idea (Unless you want a lawsuit or to get beat up by an angry fitness enthusiast you nearly hit)!
3. When people let the bell travel above the head they usually have to squat (bend at the knees and hips) versus hinging at the hips.  The Kettlebell Swing done RKC style is a great exercise for the butt and hamstrings that are muscles many gym goers miss in their training.

Below is a video of Meredith demonstrating how to properly perform a RKC style Kettlebell Swing.  If you want to learn additional tips and cues of this exercise click on this link.

References:
1.  Image retrieved from:   http://www.kettlebellsusa.com/kettlebells_usa_paradigm_pro_steel_competition_kettlebells_best_kettlebells.html

Steps to Fixing a Broken Nutrition Plan

In a recent blog post on the Precision Nutrition website found here went over steps to fix a broken diet.  The three steps were[1]:

1. Identify and remove nutrient deficiencies
2. Adjust the food amount and food type
3. Fine tune the details

It is a great article and in future posts I will summarize the above points in more detail.  In addition I will add a bonus step that will go over different types of testing you can have done (Metabolic and Lab tests).

Stay tuned!

References: 
1.  Article retrieved from:  http://www.precisionnutrition.com/fix-a-broken-diet
2.  Image retrieved from:  http://dietwebreport.com 

The Most Important Fitness Tip

In the information age that we live in today fitness enthusiasts are often looking for the "Secret Supplement" or "Perfect Diet" or the "Best Exercise."  However, while people on on the quest of looking for one of those they often forget the most important step which is "Getting Started."  In the video below strength coach Martin Rooney explains the importance of this step.

Grenz's Bookshelf: Clean by Alejandro Junger, M.D.

A few months back a client of told me about the book Clean by Alejandro Junger, M.D. At first I was a little skeptical as I thought it was just another “Detox” or “Cleanse” book. However, I found it to be very informative. Here are thirteen takeaways: 

1. “Stripping away waste materials from the body without simultaneously carefully replenishing essential nutrients can cause a state in which toxicity is increased, not reduced.”  
2. There are two types of toxins. “Endotoxins are waste products from the normal activity of the cells. Uric acid, ammonia, lactic acid and homocysteine fall in this category. Exotoxins or xenobiotics are human-made toxins that we are exposed to intentionally or inadvertently. Thousands of chemicals are being invented each year. These chemicals, alone or in combination, may cause disruption of the normal cell function.”  
3. “A recent study showed that 41 million Americans drink water contaminated with antidepressants, hormones, heart medications, and other over-the-counter medications that have made it through the water-treatment system.  
4. “Toxins that can’t be dealt with immediately and continue in the circulatory system are soon trapped in the tissues and covered with mucus. This is the way cells defend themselves. Mucus has a dense and sticky quality; it resonates with and attracts dense, toxic thoughts and emotions. The reverse is also true, that dense thoughts and emotions promote mucus production.”  
5. “Mothers who take Probiotics give birth to children who don’t get sick and years later even do better in school. Athletes with healthy intestinal flora recover faster from injury. Meanwhile, taking antibiotics as a kid correlates significantly with having all kinds of diseases later.”  
6. “Good supplements should be thought of as health insurance. For a little extra investment up front they save money over the long term on doctor’s visits, prescription drugs and missed workdays.”  
7. During a detox program, “Take it easy. Your body is doing a lot of intense work during the cleanse, so show it some extra love by resting more than usual. Don’t run a marathon while cleansing, and avoid any intense training, especially in the first few days of the program. Remember, the more you exercise, the more you need to recover. Consider reducing your exercise by half if you are an athlete or have an intense workout routine.”  
8. Mucoid Plaque is a term for, “Mucus that is finally getting dumped out of the cells and tissues, through the blood circulation, and through the intestinal walls into the lumen of the intestine.”  
9. “Many people raise the question of whether it’s better to eat animal products or not. Personally, I believe we are omnivores by nature’s design, and I think it almost requires a doctorate in nutrition to be a healthy vegan or even vegetarian.” 
10. Dr. Junger recommends the following supplements for everyone to use: Probiotics, Vitamin D, Omega-3 Fatty Acids and a Multi-Vitamin.  
11. “Become conscious of all the unnecessary information we find ourselves barraged with on a daily basis (excess media, news, entertainment you aren’t even interested in) and possible toxic communication in your life. Reduce whatever your mind and body tells you isn’t necessary and use that time and energy in more productive and restful ways.”  
12. Dr. Junger recommends everyone should get the following blood work done: C-Reactive Protein, AA/EPA Ratio, Lipoprotein (a), Uric Acid, Vitamin D, Homocysteine, Thyroid Function (Free T3 and TPO Antibodies), Iodine levels, Mercury and other heavy metals and a Organic Acid test.”  
13. There are three cardiac risk factors that aren’t as well known. They are, a high Uric Acid level, high Lipoprotein(a) and high Homocysteine levels.

The Long, Hard Road to Fat Loss Part 4: Losing Fat and Keeping Muscle

February-June 1999: 

My Goal and Why: This time my goal was to get as lean as possible according to skinfold measurements. I was working and training at a pretty good gym in Fargo ND called The Sports Center. It had lots of knowledgeable people. One person in particular was the general manager Doug Duran. He was very knowledgeable in nutrition and was very skilled at measuring body fat using a skin fold calipers. Since past weight loss attempts resulted in losing muscle, I wanted to make sure that I was losing body fat and keeping muscle. That year I was getting interested in getting into physique competitions but wasn’t quite ready. However, two of my classmates were getting married early that summer so I figured I would try to look as good as possible since I had not seen many of the people who were going to be there. Also, I had plenty of summer trips planned so I wanted to look good for those as well. 

What I Did to Achieve the Goal: For nutrition I took my body weight multiplied by ten which was 2,000 calories. I then broke it down into the Zone Diet by Barry Sears which was a pretty popular book then. The Zone is 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat so it equaled 200 grams of carbs, 150 grams of protein and 65 grams of fat. Regarding resistance training, I did a 4-day training split that consisted of Chest/Triceps on Monday, Back on Tuesday, Legs on Thursday and Shoulders/Biceps on Friday. I did cardio first thing in the morning for 45 minutes five days/week at a low intensity. I got my body fat measured every 14-days and if the number went down I had a cheat meal that day. 

What Were the Results: I got to my leanest body comp at that point in my life and it was the best I ever looked. I went from about 200 lbs to 184 lbs in that 16-week time period and my body fat went from 11.4-5.8% according to Doug’s measurements. I got lots of compliments at the wedding and I had the most fun summer of my life. 

Knowing What I Now Know, What Would I do Different: As far as cardio, I would have added 1-2 days of HIIT cardio with sprint type workouts. As far as resistance training I would have periodized it much better. With the nutrition it was simple as I never had to drop the calories, however, I could have got leaner by going lower on the carbs as I got closer to the goal weight.

The Long, Hard Road to Weight Loss Part 3: Seeing my Abs for the First Time

Late May-Late August 1996: 

My Goal and Why: This time I only wanted to lose about five pounds. I went to school that fall at 195 and now I weighed 200. Since I was lifting 5-6 days/week of course it was all muscle (It wasn’t because there were too many 12 oz arm curls). I just wanted to get a bit leaner. 

What I did I do to Achieve the Goal: I ate Mom’s cooking but I didn’t have seconds. I also didn’t avoid fat. Finally, I didn’t run because I had lost the weight I wanted to lose the previous summer. 

What was the Result: I went back to college late August and was looking forward to hitting the gym since I had limited access to one when I was at home. The first thing I did was step on the scale to see if I met my 195 weight goal and to my disbelief I weighed 177. At first I thought the scale was off because I thought there was no way I could have lost that much weight. After I put 25 lb weights on the scale to make sure it was correct I was actually crushed because I thought I lost all muscle since the last time I weighed 177 was when I was a freshman in college. My frustration quickly changed as many people I knew were asking me what I did to lean up so much. The term “Ripped” actually came up. Also, since the lighting was poor in the mirror at home, I saw in the mirrors at the gym and in my Fraternity I had abs for the first time. I actually walk around without a shirt with confidence and get compliments as well. In about four hours I was on cloud nine! 

Knowing what I Know Now What Would I do Different: Nothing except make sure I got resistance training in at least with body weight. It would have been simple to do chin-ups and pull-ups.

The Long, Hard Road to Weight Loss Part 2: The Initial 30 lb Drop

Late May-Late August 1995: 

My Goal and Why: My first weight loss goal after I came home from spring break and rather than my Mom giving me hug when she saw me, her exact words were, “Who the hell knocked you up? I expect my daughter to get pregnant, not my son!”  Then instead of giving me a hug she turned her back and walked away. I realized that the weight I was gaining for college football wasn’t muscle at all. About two weeks later I realized it was true as I lost two tenths of a second off my forty yard dash time. I saw the writing on the wall and realized that my college football career was going to have to end. Although I was mad that my playing career was over, I figured I could at least look good enough to be able to go on more dates since I had been on only one my freshman year. So I made the goal to lose thirty pounds over the summer I was at home. I made a goal to lose thirty pounds or get into a pant size with a waist of 32”. It didn’t really matter which one happened first, just so one of them happened and if it was both, awesome. 

What I Did to Achieve the Goal: Regarding nutrition, it was the mid-nineties and the idea was to go low fat so that was what I did. Basically I tried to avoid anything with fat in it. Since I was living at home I also cut the food down to one serving at breakfast, lunch and dinner. As far as exercise I ran three miles/day and did “Abs of Steel” to a VHS video featuring Tamilee Webb. I did this exercise program 5-6 days a week in the evening after I was done working on the farm. 

What Was the Result: I will admit I didn’t use a scale much because the only one I had was a crappy spring scale my Mom had. I was able to use the balance scale at school three or four times that summer when I visited my friend Matt to help him train when I got out of farm work (He was playing football for Northwestern and was home that summer). I was able to weigh in at the beginning (225 lbs) the end (195 lbs) and there was one or two mid points (around 218 once and 210 the other time if I remember right). By accident I also started to use different pants I owned to assess progress. I noticed that they were getting more loose so I figured if I didn’t meet my weight loss goal I would at least meet my jean size goal. My main pair or work jeans were tight when summer started and I was able to pull them past my hips when summer was over. When I got back to college I weighed 195 and bought my first pair of size 32 jeans so both goals were met. Also, in addition to getting some pretty cool compliments from nearly everyone I knew (Most were along the lines of “Holly S***!”) finding dates was now easy. Sorry if that offends you but I have a hard time believing anyone who wants to lose fat but doesn’t have ANY vanity reasons behind it! 

Knowing What I Now Know, What Would I Do Different (With What I Had Access to at the Time): The big thing I know now is low fat WAS NOT the way to go. I was successful because I had tremendous will power as the cravings were bad. It was very much mind over matter. Looking back when I lost weight the second time I learned fat wasn’t bad for weight loss. If I had to do it all over again I would have used more of a mixed diet approach (Dan Duchaine’s Iso Caloric or Barry Sears's Zone or any of the Paleo plans). A second thing that would have been nice would have been resistance training. Even if it was body weight, it would have made a difference as I would have kept more lean mass (Of the thirty pounds, I lost at least ten pounds of muscle).

The Long, Hard Road to Successful Fat Loss Part 1: The Begining

A recent post on Flourish titled Five Reasons Why You Should Enter a Weight Loss Competition got me thinking a bit. The first thought was it was kind of an odd time to release an article on weight loss competitions going into the summer months. In my experience most people want to lose weight prior to summer so they look good in shorts or in a bathing suit. However, I realized the majority of Americans need to lose body fat regardless of the time of the year. As I thought about it more I realized that the personal success I had in my weight loss journey started in the summer of 1995 when I successfully lost thirty pounds in three months. In addition to that I have also had other successes with weight loss so the purpose of this post is to explain when and why I lost weight, what I did that was successful and how you can do the same. In addition I will discuss the tools I had access to as well as what I wish I had that didn’t exist at the time. Finally, there may even be a way to find social support to make your goals a reality.

Grenz's Bookshelf: Relentless by Tim Grover

Tim Grover is the Personal Trainer of NBA stars Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade and Michael Jordan.  After Kobe injured his Achilles tendon I heard Grover being interviewed on a sports talk show and he really emphasized the psychology of training.  Because of that I thought I would order and read his book Relentless:  From Good to Great to Unstoppable.  Here are seven takeaways: 

1. “Success isn’t the same as talent. The world is full of incredibly talented people who never succeed at anything. They show up, do what they do, and if it doesn’t work out, they blame everyone else because they believe talent should be enough.” 
2. “The fact is you can’t train your body – or excel at anything – before you train your mind. You can’t commit to excellence until the mind is ready to take you there. Teach the mind to train the body.”
3. “Do. The. Work. Every day, you have to do something you don’t want to do. Every day. Challenge yourself to be uncomfortable, push past the apathy and laziness and fear. Otherwise, the next day you’re going to have two things you don’t want to do, then three and four and five, and pretty soon, you can’t even get back to the first thing. And then all you can do is beat yourself up for the mess you’ve created, and now you’ve got a mental barrier to go along with the physical barriers.”
4. “There are no secrets. There are no tricks. If anything, it’s the opposite: Whether you’re a pro athlete or a guy running a business or driving a truck or going to school, it’s simple. Ask yourself where are you now, and where you want to be instead. Ask yourself what you’re willing to do to get there. Then make a plan to get there. Act on it.”
5. “Most people are the lion in the cage. Safe, tame, predictable, waiting for something to happen. But for humans, the cage isn’t made of glass and steel bars; it’s made of bad advice and low self-esteem and bullshit rules and tortutred thinking about what you can’t do or what you’re supposed to do.”
6. “Lots of people start things; few are able to finish. Why? They don’t trust themselves to get to the end. They start thinking about everything that cold go wrong, second-guessing their choices, listening to others instead of listening to themselves.”
7. “Everyone can handle pressure. Most people choose not to because it’s easier to stay safe in the comfort zone.”

The Chin-Up: How to Properly Do It

In my experience the chin-up is one of the most effective upper body exercises there is.  Very few upper body exercises can develop the muscles of the upper body like the chin-up.  There are many variations of the chin-up.  In the video Meredith demonstrates how to properly perform a chin-up with a shoulder width grip.  This variation offers the greatest range of motion for the lats and biceps[1].

Important Note:  As great as the above exercise is if done properly, very poor form is often seen.  The most common form breakdowns are the following:

1. Not clearing the bar with the chin on the top of the exercise
2. Not fully extending the elbows on the bottom of the exercise
3. Swinging the body excessively

Give this exercise a try and see what happens!

References:
1.  Poliquin, C.  2013.  Poliquin Principles.  Providence, RI: Poliquin Performance Center.