Welcome To My Humble Blog!

 Fitness 411 is geared toward anyone willing to do the work in order to get fitness results. There is plenty of diet and exercise advice out there, so much so that it tends to be confusing, yet getting fit, looking and feeling healthy is not rocket science!

My intent is to offer readers sound advice on obtaining a lean, muscular body. A body that not only looks great but also performs; think Tarzan as opposed to the Hulk.

There are plenty of fitness "tips" available all over the web. But people don't need tips, they need a system to make real progress; a system that covers each key component overall fitness.

As a fitness professional, I have found that it is best to develop a fitness "root"; a basis from which to build first, before trying tips and other experiments to improve your program. There are exceptions but most people can reach their fitness goals simply by following these key fitness components (in order).

 

1) A program designed with a logical progression over time

2) Exercise that incorporates strength, cardio, and interval training

3) A sound nutrition plan

Exercises For Buttocks

You may not see your own buttocks very often but you know everyone else does and having a nice rear end is a major reason for many people getting onto the fitness bandwagon. You can have fat or skinny arms and it doesn’t matter all that much but if you have a huge back side (or a nonexistent one) well, you better get to work!

Losing That Big Ol’ Butt

First, you just cannot-- no matter how good it would be if it were true, burn fat off of just your buttocks. In order to shrink that behind, you are going to have to reduce your overall body fat. The best way to accomplish (and sustain) weight loss is to decrease calories and increase exercise slowly over time. However; just because you can’t spot reduce, there is no reason not to make your buttocks rock hard under that layer of fat so that when the fat comes off, a beautiful behind appears like finding a diamond in the rough!

Building a Round, Firm Behind

Nice behinds are not born, they are made; at least for the most part and not necessarily on purpose either! Everyone is gifted with at least some muscle groups that look better naturally due to their genetics but anyone can improve their rear end in both size and roundness through posture habits employed by those gifted with fine behinds.

Buttocks 101

The gluteus maximus muscles or just glutes, that make up most of your rear end are responsible for lifting your legs rearward and for extending or straightening your legs (as in standing from a seated position); in other words kicking like a donkey behind you or climbing up stairs.

Because the butt muscles are extremely powerful the best exercises for building up the glutes are those that straighten the legs such as the king of all glute exercises; back squats. Exercises that use the donkey kick motion are better suited to refining and toning an already developed rear end.

Improve your Butt Building Posture

People who seem to have naturally well developed behinds all share several posture traits that when adopted can lead you to the butt of your dreams. You may notice after reading this article, that the nicest behinds are those sat upon by either ectomorphic or mesomorphic body types in the somatotype system. The reason is simple; these two body types tend to have longer legs when compared to their upper body. Those who tend towards the endomorph body type, who have proportionally shorter legs, usually have flat behinds.

Any time a person with long legs squats down or climbs up, they tend to bend forward at their waist, which calls more glute muscles into the act rather than the thigh muscles. The obvious key to improving the muscles in your behind then, is to use them more; especially when performing butt specific exercises.

A few effective butt exercises you can do at home
 

Squats

Perform squats by using a shoulder width stance and squat down so that your thighs are parallel to the floor making certain that your knees remain in line with your feet and that they do not extend past your toes. To enlist more butt and less thighs, arch your lower back hard and thrust your rear out. If you have access to weight equipment, heavy weights are what glutes respond best to; remember they are VERY powerful, so use enough weight so that you can only perform 6-8 repetitions.

If you don’t have access to weights and your body can tolerate jumping (and landing), perform squats as above but instead of simply standing, thrust upward into the air as high as possible, land, and begin your next repetition. You can also use a sturdy box or staircase to jump up onto.

Sprints

Some of the best developed glutes on the planet belong to track and field sprinters, proving that sprinting is second only to squats for butt building! Sprinting is a power building exercise that has the duel effect of burning a lot of calories and building muscle. They are extremely demanding however; and should be eased into slowly in order to avoid extreme soreness, excess fatigue, or even injury.
Start with several sets of 40-50 yard sprints after a through warm up such as jogging. To ensure that you have plenty of “wind” for each of your sprints, walk back from your sprint to the starting position to get your breath back to normal.

Pelvic Lifts

Lying flat on the floor with knees bent, lift your hips up off the floor so that a straight line is formed from your knees up to your shoulders and then return your hips to the floor. Repeat. Once you can comfortably perform 20 repetitions, begin performing them with one leg at a time.

Additionally, you can perform pelvic lifts with one or both feet elevated on a block, chair, or exercise ball and/or with additional weight placed upon the hips.

After any and all exercise sessions flex (squeeze) your glutes as hard as possible repeatedly until they are totally fatigued. This will not build them but will make them rock hard. These flex sessions can also be done at other times but don’t forget where you are, some people in the grocery line may frown (or laugh) at seeing you butt being repeatedly flexed…over time they may be impressed however; that’s the goal anyway!

Donkey Kicks (kickbacks)

Donkey kicks or simply kickbacks mimic the natural action of the glutes. They are a great exercise especially for toning and firming the butt and can be performed at home or in the gym, with or without equipment.

Perform donkey kick by holding onto a chair or stationary object and raise the active leg to the front. This completely stretches one side of your glutes and readies it to be flexed. Next, simultaneously lower and begin to “kick” (slowly) rearward, so that your foot moves in a rearward arc. Try to keep your back upright as much as possible as you raise your foot as high as possible behind you and then reverse the motion until your knee is again raised to the front and your glute is stretched. Repeat for the required number of repetitions.

You can increase the intensity and effectiveness of this exercise by adding additional weight. In the gym, a low cable is ideal. At home you can use ankle weights or elastic bands.

How Do I Find My Body Type?

The answer to the question “how do I find my body type” is one of the key questions to ask by anyone attempting to lose weight, transform their body, and for general fitness and the answer can be found with a basic understanding of the somatotype system.

Somatotypes at a Glance

American psychologist William Sheldon (1898-1997) developed a system to categorize people’s general constitution which he called somatotypes. By understanding your body type according to the somatotype system you can arrange your diet and exercise program to suit your body.

The somatotype system classifies the human body into three distinct types however; no one is just one type. Instead, each of us has some of each type but one is usually much more pronounced than the other two. Please note that Dr. Sheldon’s classification system was quite elaborate but the following should allow you to find yours

The “skinny” type

Ectomorph body types are characterized by long, stringy muscles, light bone structures, fast metabolisms and can eat and eat without gaining an ounce. Most ectomorphs have a difficult time gaining weight and surprising to most, many ectomorph body types would like to increase their body weight as much as the majority of people would like to lose it (and they have as much trouble putting on weight as those trying to lose weight do losing it).

Additional Clues:
Ectomorphs usually appear straight up and down, that is, neither their shoulders nor their hips are very broad. In addition, their calf and forearm muscles are often short (the muscle does not extend very far down the bone).

The “Husky” type

Endomorph body types have heavy bone structures, plenty of natural muscle, sluggish metabolisms, and tend to store extra fat. Every ounce of muscle or fat is easily recognized on the endomorphic frame and because of this most endomorphs usually seek weight loss fitness programs.

Additional Clues:
Endomorphs have wide hips and shoulders, appearing “blocky”, or square and in contrast to ectomorphs, their calf and forearm muscles often extend a long distance down the bone. They usually have naturally large calf muscles.

The “Athletic” type

Mesomorphic body types are usually tall, with large, long bones, plenty of muscle, and relatively little body fat due to fast metabolisms. They do not tend to store extra fat; they are the natural athlete and fitness generally comes easy to them.

Additional Clues:

Mesomorphs are usually tall with good proportions: wide shoulders but relatively narrow hips. Their muscles are long but not excessively so; unless excessively overweight they appear aesthetically pleasing without doing any type of exercise.

So now you can answer the question “how do I find my body type” but now what?

Ectomorphs (skinny)

If you are ectomorphic resistance training (weight lifting) should be your primary training method so that the weight you add is muscle rather than fat. The best way to increase muscle size is by using as much weight as possible for low repetitions. Since you have a fast metabolism, in addition to heavy weight you will make your best progress by limiting your number of training days to no more than four per week.

In order to increase body weight, it is necessary to increase your overall number of calories with an emphasis on increased protein consumption. The best way to do this is SLOWLY. It takes time to learn to eat more both for your body and mind. One of the best ways to begin increasing calories is by introducing protein shakes between meals. Liquids are easier to digest and you can manipulate the number of calories by adding things like bananas, peanut butter, milk, etc. and blending them together.

It is important for everyone to include a post workout protein/carb supplement (best within 30 minutes) but it is imperative for anyone wishing to increase muscle size. Chocolate has a near perfect ratio of protein to carbs but you can also simply plan your training around your “snack” (protein shake).

Endomorphs (husky)

If you have found that you are endomorphic don’t despair. Though you have the body type that most often struggles with diet and weight, there’s plenty you can do. Besides that, under that fat is a bunch of beautiful muscle just waiting to be shown off!

You are probably tempted to jump on the cardio bandwagon but even though you do have plenty of natural muscle, the best training protocol seems to be combination of strength and cardio training; especially effective is training done in a circuit training format.

Circuit training combines strength training and cardio in one work out. Unlike a typical health club work out (based on bodybuilding) where you perform cardio for 30 minutes to an hour and then lift weights by doing a set, resting, and then doing another, circuit training is done by performing one exercise after another, not stopping until the entire body is trained. It is both efficient and effective for weight loss.

Since you already have plenty of muscle, you should keep your repetitions high (12-15 for most body parts). If you are doing circuit training (and you should), do your circuit training three days per week and once your body has adapted to your training, begin adding additional days of strictly cardio of your choice (cycling, walking, running, swimming, etc).

Diet plays a major roll for the endomorph and you should minimize dietary fat and make certain that your carb intake is rich in dietary fiber (3g per serving or more). In addition, since many people simply try to eat less and often skip meals to do so, it’s worth mentioning that eating 4-6 smaller meals, provides energy to be used throughout the day but also prevents becoming overly hungry and gorging later.

Mesomorphs (athletic)

If you have found that you are mesomorphic, congratulations, your job is easy! But being body-gifted often leads to poor habits that can sometimes lead to excess fat or loss of muscle. Generally speaking, if you are mesomorphic, you should include both strength and cardio work outs designed or proportioned according to your specific needs and goals; lower repetitions and heavier weight to increase muscle mass; higher repetitions and cardio to lose fat.

A diet that takes blood sugar control into account is usually all anyone needs to do diet-wise; this is particularly true for mesomorhs (eat 4-6 smaller meals per day, ensure that all carbs contain at least 3g of fiber per serving, and drink only water, 100% fruit juice, plain coffee or tea)

Using Protein Shakes

Using protein shakes should be done by everyone as a post workout supplement at the very least but they are well suited for just about anyone, whether your goal is to lose weight, gain weight, or simply manage your current your weight.

Using Protein Shakes for Weight Loss

When I suggest to people who want to lose weight that they should eat more often (4-6 times per day), they are quite often pleased to hear it since they quite often consider themselves “big eaters”. Many times though, they aren’t so much BIG eaters as they are sporadic eaters who take in too many calories at one time.

Eating frequent smaller meals controls your blood sugar, never allows you to feel like you’re “starving”, and provides enough nutrients to fuel your day without excess it has to store (as fat). Quite often, when people, (even those that call themselves big eaters), attempt to eat 4-6 meals per day; they get sick of eating so much. Using protein shakes for between meals “snacks” is a great way to get used to eating on a regular basis.

Start using protein shakes by getting used to the idea of mixing your own; it’s not only much cheaper but better because you can control what goes into them. Whey is an excellent protein source and should be the basis of your protein shakes. A good quality whey protein will mix easily with just a spoon but later, you may choose to mix other quality ingredients into your shakes to increase nutritional value using a blender or food processor.

I suggest you begin using protein shakes mixed with just water between a regular meal or two and see how it goes. If you find you are too hungry before your next meal, select low calorie, healthy additions to add to your shake. Choose fruit, juice, low or no fat milk, yogurt or other healthy items to blend into your shakes.

Tips:

• Create a full blender of protein shake in the morning and separate it into two or three sealed bottles to take with you to work, school, or wherever you go.
• If you are the type that likes to piddle around for an hour or more in the morning, drinking coffee and reading the paper for example, try drinking a protein and water shake immediately upon rising to jump start your metabolism (read: start burning calories)

Using Protein Shakes for Weight Gain

Using protein shakes to gain weight is ideal because liquid calories are easier to digest and those wanting to gain weight simply are not consuming enough calories. It’s a good idea to start with a quality whey protein mixed with plain water to start. This doesn’t add too many additional weight gaining calories but it will get you into the habit of consuming between meal foods and allow your body time to adjust to the new regimen.

Take your time! You want to increase your overall calorie consumption but you also want your body (and mind) to adapt them. After a week or so, begin adding ingredients to your shakes. Start with milk or juice and over time add higher calorie ingredients such as peanut butter, additional protein, bananas, yogurt, etc.

Tips:

• Use high nutrition ingredients to build up your calories rather than junk that will just become fat to remove later.
• Include strength training to increase lean body mass rather than body fat and NEVER miss drinking a post training shake (see below).

Using Protein Shakes for Post Training

Most people today know that training tears your body down and rest, coupled with good nutrition, builds it back up. Whether your goal is to lose weight, gain weight, or simply to maintain it, using protein shakes after your workouts is the best way to begin the recovery process.

There is about a three hour window following exercise where your body is open to shuttling in nutrition for repair but the ideal time is within the first thirty minutes afterward (this goes for endurance athletes like runners, cyclists, and Zumba stars, as well as for strength athletes like bodybuilders, power lifters, etc).

Diet

“Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym”

Diet is responsible for a whopping 70% of your weight management success! For this reason it only makes sense to develop a nutritional plan to complement your hard training. Let me tell you right here and now though, that I am opposed to a super strict regimen that literally takes over your life. My approach is, and always will be, to try and keep my client’s (and my own!) way of eating realistic—meaning that we can still have a life AND make great strides in fitness!

KNOW What You Eat

As a personal trainer my first step in helping a client with their eating habits is to always require them to create a diet log. This is done so that I could get a glimpse into their lives and to see what area of their diet needs the most attention. As it turns out, every person that I ever worked with was astonished by what they “thought” they ate and what they really did!

I know (because I’m a human too) that you are compelled to “get started” and that you are tempted to scroll down…don’t…create a dietary log first!
Simply write down EVERYTHING that goes into your mouth for 48-72 hours; that includes food and drink (even water). Be sure to log the following:

1)      Time that you eat or drink
2)      Amount you eat and drink (more detailed the better)
3)      Preparation cooking (fried,baked,broiled, etc)
4)      Extras include everything added (condiments, dressing, etc)

It is important to log both work days and days off because we all eat differently on these days. The diet log is strictly for your own insight but as I stated before, you will probably be surprised and quite often, just seeing some of your deviations will lead to immediate improvement!

3 Steps That Almost Always Lead To All The Weight Loss You Will EVER Need (pain free!)

If you were to get diet advice from a health professional, whether that is a doctor, nutritionist, or even a personal trainer, though some of what they say may differ slightly, all of them will insist on the key elements that control your blood sugar because each of them lead to unhealthy weight gain or retention. Most people that apply these do not need to take another dietary step to successfully reach their goal body weight; especially when accompanied by a sensible exercise program.

It's really interesting that the following information addresses all of the dietary advice and issues we hear about like to eat or not to eat carbs, how much or how often we should eat, the role of sweets, etc. In fact, you might notice after reading (and especially applying) the following concepts, why some popular diets really do work and why!

Blood Sugar 101

The glucose index (GI) was developed to help those with diabetes control their symptoms through dietary means. Simply put, the GI rates foods affect using a numbering system to indicate how much or how fast, particular foods will raise your blood sugar. For those interested in weight management, understanding and controlling these elements in your diet is critical.

When your blood sugar rises quickly your body reacts by releasing insulin. Insulin’s job is to clean up that excess sugar…and it stores this excess as body fat! So for most people, once they learn how to control their blood sugar, they never have to look back!

In my practice as a personal trainer, I always introduce these elements to a client one at a time, beginning with the most problematic after reviewing their diet log. You will in all likelihood be tempted to attack them all at once. This CAN work depending upon your current eating habits but I suggest that you apply one at a time for two weeks, let it take hold and then move on to the next one. It’s your choice.

#1 Eat 4-6 Smaller Meals

When you go long periods without eating, once you eat again your blood sugar will spike, regardless of the quality of food. Never go more than three hours without eating a small MEAL ( A bag of chips is not a meal).

Start your day with a good breakfast and then mid-morning have a healthy snack such as half of the sandwich you packed for lunch, some yogurt, nuts, and/or fruit, or a quality protein based drink or fruit smoothie. Have a similar type snack mid-afternoon and then a healthy dinner.

If you snack before bed, do so with a couple hours to spare so there is time for digestion (we don’t burn a lot of calories while we sleep...like none!). Also, though this has yet to be proved, from my personal and professional experience, it is wise to omit carb based snacks before bed. Instead, eat protein/fat based foods (nuts, cheese, milk, etc). 

This is logical as carbohydrates are used for energy and our body limits itself to providing glucose to fuel brain activity while we sleep and pretty much nothing else.

#2  Eat Carbs with 3g of Fiber per Serving  (or more)

Carbohydrates with little or no fiber are treated by your body much like table sugar; your blood sugar spikes and in comes the insulin to clean it up (read: fat storage!). You MUST read your labels on pasta, rice, bread, and other carb sources because “they” know the buzz words we are looking for…wheat, whole wheat…once, I nearly bought a loaf of “stone ground, 100% whole wheat” bread without looking but I did look and it had 1g of fiber per serving! I’m not sure how this is possible!!!

Fresh vegetables and fruits that are also carb sources and most (not all) contain plenty of natural fiber and because they are incredibly good for you, don’t worry about them; eat all you want…and more!

#3 Drink ONLY Water or 100% Fruit Juice

You can get away with plain coffee and teas as well but generally speaking, sweet drinks are one of the main culprits of blood sugar spikes. It’s no coincidence that an otherwise skinny person can carry around a “beer” belly and no surprise either that since parents often consider sports drinks as “health” drinks, that there are more than a few sport drink belly’s out there as well.

Water is the number one nutrient we consume and every single part of our body requires it for us to function at our best; right down to how our cells communicate. So base your drinking around water…whether you like it or not!

Drastic Measures!

After you have faithfully applied the above and are still not happy with your results there's still hope. By hope I mean that there is still hope of living a "normal" life without having to become a fanatic. Before applying the following, I suggest reevaluating your current diet first.

Start by dragging out the good 'ol food log again and tracking everything to consume. Analyze your food diary for gaps between meals longer than three hours, carbohydrates that do not have 3g of fiber (you should assume that all carbs at restaurants are "bad" carbs), and of course, that you are consuming mostly or only water. When you are satisfied that you doing everything right, apply the following (one at a time for several weeks)

1) Increase Your Activity. Successful weight management is a question of balance; the ratio of how much energy we take in compared to how much energy we use. You CAN get on the treadmill for endless hours but first, try increasing the little things first.

Find ways to move more: things like parking farther from stores and using the steps instead of the elevator don't burn a whole bunch of calories but by being more active your metabolism increases so that your system works more efficiently.

2) Make Small Cuts in Your Eating (especially regarding fats). Choose reduced calorie condiments or train yourself not to have any. Reduce your portions at meals. An easy (and smart) way to get started is to use smaller plates so that you get less food to begin with. But also consider rearranging your plate so that there is an abundance of veggies or other healthy foods compared fattier foods such as meat. Remember that a healthy serving of meat should fit in your hand.

3) Prepare Most (if not all) of Your Meals. Most restaurants are in business to serve "good" food not necessarily healthy food!  Expect more salt, sugar, fat and other diet no-no's when you eat out. On the other hand, when we go to the trouble of preparing our own meals, we tend to add only healthy ingredients plus, it's cheaper!

4) Count Calories. This is where nutrition hurts! But as stated before, weight loss is a matter of how much we take in compared with how much we use. If your body weight is stable (neither losing or gaining) then you will need to cut out 500 calories per day to lose a healthy one pound per week (please do not try to lose faster...please, it just doesn't last long term!).