Overtraining : Don't kick your muscles when they're down!

I recently got a request to touch on overtraining, so here it is.

     Overtraining is when an individuals exercise exceeds their recovery capacity. Overtraining can lead to loses in strength, size, overall fitness, endurance, and is a major problem in athletes, gym rats and everyday people trying to lose weight. The main issue people have is that they want to be in shape so bad they think doing more accomplishes more and this is simply not the case.  Your body has a healing capacity and a capacity to rebuild muscle, and once you pass this threshold, you are now doing more harm than good.  This is all to familiar to me, and I see it at least once everytime I am at the gym.  I even made the same mistake myself starting out.  I have been there, I have wanted those results just as bad as you and I ended up hurting myself.  I had a sprained shoulder, little results, and constant fatigue, and all because I didn't know one principal designed by Tim Ferris, author of the 4 Hour Body.  It is about doing the least amount required to get 100% of the results.   Being at the gym longer, and doing more sets does NOT mean more muscle and better gains.  Often times you will actually see DECREASES in strength and results.  Here are some easy signs that you may be overtraining.  Keep in mind guys, overtraining isn't just doing too much when you are at the gym, it is also caused by not taking enough days off to rest.  Remember, you can't rebuild without giving your muscles the time to do so!

-You are finding it difficult to accomplish workouts you can normally do.  This is normally a sign that you are not getting adequate rest.  Eventually your body will get so fatigued that what was easy in the past may now be very difficult or strenuous.

-You are very tired.  Overall tiredness can come from a number of reasons, however it is a major sign of overtraining.  Your body is always in recovery mode and finds it difficult to do day to day things.

-You are noticing less results even with the addition of more work.  This is the vicious circle of overtraining, and is the one I got stuck in as a young uneducated lifter.  In many instances an individual isn't getting results, so they increase their work at the gym, which ultimately leads to losing gains, and thus again starting the cycle.  Keep an eye on your results all the time guys.  See how your clothes fit and how your body looks, it will tell you a lot!

-An easy way to tell is just looking at what you are doing.  If you are doing high intensity training every day you are often times overtraining.  I only lift 5 / 7 days of the week, and ensure I take an extra recovery day after very intense lifts.  My workouts are always under an hour (before doing abs).  Remember, if your muscles are still sore, don't work them again!  Some exceptions to this are muscles that are hard to fatigue such as core and calves.

-Restlessness- When you are working on high intensity training too much, you can actually leave your nervous system activity elevated.  This can lead to insomnia, and many other restlessness feelings.  Make sure you let your body take a day off like you enjoy one after a stressful week of work.  On the other hand, if you are normally an endurance athlete, the opposite can be felt.  You may feel extra sluggish and tired more often.

-You just plain hurt.  Your body is always trying to talk to you, you just need to look for the signs.  If you are constantly  in pain your body is telling you it is beat up.  It needs the down time because that soreness is actually the process of rebuilding.  Compare your muscles to a car.  If the soreness is still there, the mechanic is still working on the car.  You wouldn't walk in halfway through a tune up take your car and race it full speed again would you?  Give your car a chance to get back to 100% so you can drive it all out again!

- Weakened immune system.  When your muscles are run down, your body is run down.  Your body is trying to constantly repair and this has adverse affects on your immune system.  Much like when you are stressed, your immune system is weakened because your body itself is so weak and overworked.

Ways to combat overtraining

A good protein filled diet can do wonders.  Things like BCAAs are recovery specific proteins and they can help you get back on your feet quicker.  Another great addition are testosterone boosters.  Test boosters not only help with overtraining, but rebuild more muscle and add a little libio to the bedroom as a bonus.  Take note, body builders have a number of substances helping them get to the size they need to be.  These substances also increase their recovery speed and allow them to workout at such a high end level.  The average person would be in a state of overtraining if they were to do what body builders do.  You have to work your way into it and supplement right.
    I often recommend no more than 5 exercises a workout (6 with a superset) and no more than3 sets for more than 2 of those exercises.  Try to keep your routine short, and with adequate rest.  I recommend normally 1-1.5 minutes, and make sure you take at least a day in between working the same body part twice.  If you really feel the need to workout, try doing cardio on your day off, or short circuits with stretching and core at the end.  Make sure you aren't at the gym for extremely long, that often means one of three things, too much rest, overtraining, or you are talking too much!

          Remember guys.  Your body doesn't always want to be in a state of recovery.  The idea is not to build on torn muscles, it is to build on rebuilt muscles.  Don't send yourself backwards in time!  Only do what is needed, and you will wreak the best benefits.  As Tim Ferris said in the 4 Hour Body, it is about doing the least amount of work required, to achieve 100% of the results, anything more is simply hurting your progress!  Everyone is different, so find your perfect routine and avoid the issues!

EXTRA NOTE!

   Those people who may be using abien as a sleep aid, it can cut your deep sleep by up to 90%  This is the time of night when we do most of our recovering and building.  If you are on abien you may have a feeling of overtraining and fatigue.  This is a very common drug and if you are on something similar you should look into it!

Cheers

Ryan Trueman
Ryan.Trueman@dal.ca

Arm Workout for the Guys!

Hey guys, so I have had a few articles lately that were geared towards the women, so here is one for the guys!  A lot of people around the gym always ask me what I do for my arm routine and how I keep their size up, so here it is.  This is my CURRENT arm workout.   If I put 5/5 beside the exercise this means make sure you are focused on the muscles being worked and take 5 seconds up and 5 seconds down.  This is really important and will be used to generate the most size and strength possible! Light weight the right way guys!

Biceps

Standing alternating bicep curls with dumbbells (5/5) 4 sets x 8 reps.  Technique and control will be your friend during this one.  Make sure you use weight you can control both ways.  The key is to keep your posture straight with your shoulders set back.  Try to keep your elbows still and close to your side.  I use a palm up grip but a hammer curl (thumbs up) could also be used.  Nice and slow guys, and if you can watch your form in a mirror, keep an eye on your shoulders so they are not aiding in the lift.

Seated bicep curls at the same time with dumbbells (5/5) 3 sets of 8 reps.  This one is killer if done properly!  You want to really really focus here and make sure you are taking the ENTIRE 5 seconds up and down on this one.  This will give no rest to your biceps for the entire set and should leave you with a great pump!  The reason we sit down is to try and eliminate the shoulders from helping.  I usually use a slight incline on an upright seat to use gravity to make it a little harder.

Preacher curl on cables alternating (8 seconds down / explode up)  / concentration curls, 3 sets of 10/10 each arm-  This is our first superset of the workout and that means doing one exercise and moving directly into the next.  On the first exercise make sure you lower the weight slowly and then explode up for power.  On the second exercise look at the picture below.  This again helps take the shoulder out of the equation and allows you to focus on the bicep.

Preacher curls ( use the actual preacher bench not shown above)

Concentration curls

Dumbbell dropset 1 set-  This exercise is done to finish off the muscle and waste it.  Whatever you can lift at this point for standing curls is where we will start.  You will do standing curls at the same time for as many reps as possible with this weight and then take a 30 second break (NO LONGER!).  Following this break you will move down 5lbs and repeat this process.  You should go all the way down to a weight that isn't too easy and if it is, try repeating a certain weight for the last few sets.  I normally start around 55lbs and move all the way down to 20lbs and do 20lbs twice.

Triceps

Incline skull crushers 5 sets of 8- These should be done with your elbows facing forward and make sure your elbows aren't pointing outwards.  I use the easy curl bar, and move the weight extremely slowly down and up.  Use an incline that puts you around a 40 degree angle, and ensure you are using a safe weight!

Tricep extensions, 3 sets of 8- These will be done on the cables and again I recommend the easy curl bar.  Make sure you are tucking your elbows in and keeping them still.  This movement should be exclusively the triceps moving the bar, and your abs stabilizing your body still.

Tricep extensions on the machine /dips, 3 sets of 8 / max reps -  These are done in a superset.  On the machine focus on keeping your elbows still.  I realize that there are different tricep machines out there but their overall goal is the same, so feel free to use any one you like.  The dips can be done on a bench or a bar, I use the dip bar.  They will be as many reps as possible and done immediately after the triceps

Machine Ext.

Dips

That is it! Don't over train your arms!
Enjoy!

Ryan Trueman
Ryan.Trueman@dal.ca

Why am I not losing weight? Some key mistakes to weight loss

Some big mistakes you might be making when trying to lose weight!

Here is a few big mistakes I tend to see more and more guys.  They stem from a lot of concepts that society has a little twisted, and hope they help!

1) Cutting calories:  A lot of people think losing weight comes down to calories in and calories out, and this is simply not the case.  Calories in and calories out has a rather huge hole in it's design; and that is the fact that our bodies deal with different calories differently.  Additionally, many people cut the wrong calories or too many calories.
     Cutting too many calories is a major problem that I see far too often with young women.  Some believe that by eating next to nothing they will lose weight and that is simply not the case.  Yes it is true that cutting calories can cause weight loss, but most of this is usually due to a cut in BAD calories. By cutting too many calories you actually put your body into something called ketosis.  Ketosis is when your body reaches a state where it believes you are dying because you haven't eaten enough calories.  This stems from evolution and allows our bodies to survive when food is scarce.  Similarly to you turning your laptops screen brightness down when you are saving energy, your body will conserve energy when you are starving yourself.  Your body will slow down your metabolism so as to not waste any energy and calories you need to run your bodies basic needs.  In simple words, by not eating, your body stops using, which is a vicious circle of slowing down your weight loss.
      Along with this calorie cut comes the cut in essential calories!  Nutrients like protein and fats are essential to your body working to lose fat.  If you look back at my article on carbs, you will quickly realize that most people are cutting out the wrong nutrients (often people cut out fats and not carbs).  By not eating fat your body will not burn stored fats, as well as it will not soak up the essential fat soluable vitamins.  Here is a quick chart to show you what you may be missing!

Table 1: Vitamin facts.
Vitamin	Source	Physiological Functions	Deficiency	Overconsumption
A (retinol) (provitamin A, such as beta carotene)	Vitamin A: liver, vitamin A fortified milk and dairy products, butter, whole milk, cheese, egg yolk.  Provitamin A: carrots, leafy green vegetables, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, winter squash, apricots, cantaloupe.	Helps to form skin and mucous membranes and keep them healthy, thus increasing resistance to infections; essential for night vision; promotes bones and tooth development. Beta carotene is an antioxidant and may protect against cancer.	Mild: night blindness, diarrhea, intestinal infections, impaired vision.  Severe: inflammation of eyes, keratinization of skin and eyes. Blindness in children.	Mild: nausea, irritability, blurred vision.  Severe: growth retardation, enlargement of liver and spleen, loss of hair, bone pain, increased pressure in skull, skin changes.
D	Vitamin D-fortified dairy products, fortified margarine, fish oils, egg yolk. Synthesized by sunlight action on skin.	Promotes hardening of bones and teeth, increases the absorption of calcium.	Severe: rickets in children; osteomalacia in adults.	Mild: nausea, weight loss, irritability.  Severe: mental and physical growth retardation, kidney damage, movement of calcium from bones into soft tissues.
E	Vegetable oil, margarine, butter, shortening, green and leafy vegetables, wheat germ, whole grain products, nuts, egg yolk, liver.	Protects vitamins A and C and fatty acids; prevents damage to cell membranes. Antioxidant.	Almost impossible to produce without starvation; possible anemia in low birth-weight infants.	Nontoxic under normal conditions.  Severe: nausea, digestive tract disorders.
K	Dark green leafy vegetables, liver; also made by bacteria in the intestine.	Helps blood to clot.	Excessive bleeding.	None reported.

 Additionally, cutting proteins out of your diet slows down your rebuilding of muscles.  This means that any gym gains will be slowly diminished in another vicious circle, the protein lacking circle.  When your body is deficient of nutrients, your body will start using itself for energy.  This means that yes you may lose a little bit of fat for quick energy, but you will also be losing your muscles.  Essentially, you are having your muscles broken down, and not rebuilding, and thus you are spiraling downward more efficiently.  

      To add to this calorie cut, there are the issues that come when you go back to eating calories.  When you starve yourself and then eat bad calories, your body essentially grabs and stores them like you would store food in your cupboards for later.  Because of this, not only have you slowed down your metabolism, you have also become more efficient at storing bad calories as fat!  Again starting a downward spiral and tougher losses in the future.

2) People don't drink enough water!  By not drinking enough water in a day, your body will do all it can to hold onto it.  Water weight can lead to bloated looks.  By drinking water your body won't feel like it needs to hold onto it for the future.  I know it sounds crazy, but drink water to lose water! 

3)Doing only cardiovscular training is a long slow plan.  Doing cardio will only make you more efficient at doing cardio.  Make sure you also weight train in circuit style workouts.  This will jump start your metabolism as well as burn more calories and tighten your body up!  Why not lose fat and build the body you want at the same time!  Especially when it is a more efficient way of burning calories!  If you must do cardio everyday for your own feel good sake (which I completely support) make sure you switch it up and train with intervals.

4) Eating before bed.  So many people think that eating before bed is bad for you, however, most people have never thought about this too much.  When it comes to eating before bed, the important message is WHAT you eat before bed.  Eating calories that are packed with slow acting proteins allows your body to keep out of ketosis longer, and effectively keeps your metabolism going.  Much like breaking your day into 6 small meals instead of 3 big meals, this will keep your metabolism on it's toes! In fact eating cholesterol before bed with a vitamin d pill, actually boosts testosterone production over night which can lead to more muscle gains!  Don't worry ladies you still have 1/10th of the testosterone us men do, and this will not make you jacked, but simply help firm up those muscles!

5) People just don't get enough protein!  Often times there is one huge barrier to getting through the first couple weeks of calorie cutting.  The issue with cutting calories is hunger, and this is amplified after a workout.  If you are hungry while on a carb reduced diet it is because you are not getting enough protein.  Most people cut calories by eating things like salads, however, salads are not nearly as calorie dense as most food.  Which means you need to eat a lot more salad or you need to add things like legumes to make up this caloric deficit.  

6) Look for hidden calories!  A lot of calories are hidden in foods we think are healthy.  Things like dressings, sauces, drinks, and spreads are all packed with hidden calories like icing sugars and preservatives.  Keep your eyes open!

7) READ EVERYTHING FAT FREE!!!!!! Fat free substances may seem healthy but they are quite the opposite.  Avoid these whenever possible and if you must make sure you check the label.  If you can't read the words or sugar is at the beginning (as in most) play it safe and leave it on the shelf as many fat free products pack their products with icing sugar!

8) Stop trying to target your fat loss to certain areas.  Genetics and gender play huge rolls in where your fat would like to store.  All too many people do abs to lose their belly and this is a bad idea.  I always like to explain fat in this analogy.  Fat is like a winter coat and is stored on the outside of your body.  If a man builds abs underneath his jacket of fat (without working on cutting down the thickness of the jacket), than the jacket will only protrude further out, and add inches to your waistline.  You want to put on a thinner coat as well as build muscle under your jacket.  Losing a belly comes down to diet and exercises, and unfortunately, targeting areas simply just hasn't been proven to be affective.  Stored fat calories are going to be burnt off everywhere, so deal with full body exercises  and focus less on problem areas.  I have seen all too many times women who do abs so much their pants stop fitting and their bellies remain.  Take off that jacket and workout smart!

9) Last but not least, don't give up!  Muscle weighs more than fat, and when first starting out can build quickly.  Many people will live and die by the scale and this is a bad way to track progress.  If you lose 5 lbs of fat but gain 5 lbs of muscle, you have done yourself a 10 lbs favor, however the scale hasn't changed at all.  Keep in mind that gains and losses go both "weighs".  Don't quit because the scale goes up, most people will put on muscle at the start of any weight loss goal, and this can show on the scale

Hope that helped a little more everyone!

Cheers

Ryan Trueman

Ryan.Trueman@dal.ca 

How your menstrual cycle affects your workouts!

Hey girls!
This pesky little gift from mother nature can make big changes on your routines and looks, here is some helpful info to help you achieve your look!

Your menstrual cycle has a big affect on your look.  The week before your period your temperature and your metabolism are increased, so essentially your body will burn more calories.  This will be accompanied by an increase in cravings and wanting to eat.  You can have a few more calories than usual in this week but don’t go overboard because the following week will be the opposite.
      The first weak after your period you will have a tendency to retain water and this clearly adds to the bloating look.  Use this week for more intensity in the cardio aspect and focus on not eating salty foods that help aid in water retention.  As crazy as it sounds, it is also very important to stay hydrated during this time as it slows down the retention because your body won’t feel the need to hold onto water because you are supplying it with plenty.  Also note that your pain tolerance is usually higher following your period, and the added water weight can add to the intensity of cardio training.

Hope these quick tips helped!!

Ryan Trueman
Ryan.Trueman@dal.ca

Great Late Night Treat! (Pst. it's gluten free, grain free, dairy free, no sugar added)

Hey guys, I am sitting here craving a late night snack and I decided to share with you my perfect solution!  It is protein waffles with frozen blueberries!  The recipe is quick, easy and  healthy to eat before bed.  Not to mention it is gluten free, grain free, dairy free, and no sugar added!  The trick here (if you want it to work the best) is to use a type of protein called casein protein.  Casein is not as affective for you post workout as at night, and should really only be used before a prolonged time in fasting (long time without eating).  It is a very slow acting protein and will supply your body over a longer period of time with good fuels.  This keeps your body out of ketosis during the night (your body thinks it is dying and slows down the metabolism to save fuel to survive, this is an old evolutionary trait) by having a constant supply of energy!  Another key thing to have with it is a good syrup.  I use a no sugar added E.D. Smith syrup that is in the picture below(not the best possible choice but close enough and all they had) but feel free to try different ones! Here it is the recipe:

2 large eggs
1 large spotted banana
1/4 cup protein powder of your choice (recommend casein unflavoured powder but I used vanilla)
1/4 tsp vanilla

upgrade: try adding cinnamon or no sugar added frozen yogurt on top

I mixed everything together using a handheld mixer and pour that in a waffle maker (pretty cheap units at walmart for around $30-50) and then I put frozen blueberries on top as well (not too many guys keep those insulin levels down).  All that was left was to add the syrup and I was all set!
Eating healthy isn't always eating bad tasting foods! Enjoy a great treat for positive gains!

Cheers!
Ryan Trueman
Ryan.Trueman@dal.ca

ZMA, Is it worth it? Vegans listen up!

This is a supplement I have looked at for a while.  I have gotten a request to touch base on them, so here it is ZMA's and are they worth it!

ZMA:  ZMA consist of zinc, magnesium, and vitamin B6 (often times is B6, can be other compounds depending on brand) and was originally introduced by Victor Conte.  Now Victor Conte is not just anybody and an absolutely awesome podcast between himeself and Joe Rogan can shed some light on the life he has had.  You can see that here.  To bring you up to speed, he was one of the greatest when it comes to supplementation, and that means both good and bad.  He was found guilty in a steroid scandal on a large scale, but has since turned over a new leaf.  He now works with a number of high profile athletes and professional sports teams.  Victor Conte has a machine which can distingish what is wrong with an atheltes diet, training, or physiology, and make recommendations based on an athletes results.  Anyhow, he came up with this supplement stack and it has been questioned on it's affectiveness ever since.  Zinc and Magnesium are needed for a number of bodily functions including testosterone regulation.  Studies have shown that insufficent supplementation leads to lower levels in testosterone.  On the contrary, other studies have shown little to no differences.  While the jury is still out, there is a lot of positive reviews and studies on ZMA, and the truth is, it seems to work a little different for everyone.  The great point here, is many people are deficient in zinc and magnesium, and the two come with a lot of other health benefits.  Here are a few:

Zinc:
Helps regulate testosterone
Helps male fertility
Helps female fertility
Helps boost immune function (especially in treatment and prevention of diarrhea
Improves Cardiovascular functions
Improves how our body deals with insulin
It is in every tissue of the human body and is an essential macronutrient
It is an antioxidant
It improves cognitive function and aids those with ADHD like issues
Elevates mood and decreases depression

Magnesium    
Helps reverse osteoporosis symptoms
Prevents cardiovascular disease
Helps regulate blood pressure
Helps with migraines, insomnia and depression
Helps treat diabetes

What foods provide zinc?
This is where vegetarians need to listen up!  A lot of good sources of zinc are found in meats.  Remember zinc is essential and so for vegetarians I ALWAYS recommend to take zinc in pill form to ensure you don't become deficient.

• Oysters, which are the best source of zinc.
• Red meat, poultry, seafood such as crab and lobsters, and fortified breakfast cereals, which are also good sources of zinc.
• Beans, nuts, whole grains, and dairy products, which provide some zinc. 

What foods provide magnesium?
Here is where vegetarians will have the edge!  Magnesium rich foods are often involved in a lot of wheats, grains and vegetables.  So for you meat eaters out there (who don't also eat fish), and I am one of them who is a big fan of high protein low carbs meals, you must look at supplementing for magnesium or aiming for these foods:

Foods High in Magnesium	Serving Size	Magnesium (mg)
Beans, black	1 cup	120
Broccoli, raw	1 cup	22
Halibut	1/2 fillet	170
Nuts, peanuts	1 oz	64
Okra, frozen	1 cup	94
Oysters	3 oz	49
Plantain, raw	1 medium	66
Rockfish	1 fillet	51
Scallop	6 large	55
Seeds, pumpkin and squash	1 oz (142 seeds)	151
Soy milk	1 cup	47
Spinach, cooked	1 cup	157
Tofu	1/4 block	37
Whole grain cereal, ready-to-eat	3/4 cup	24
Whole grain cereal, cooked	1 cup	56
Whole wheat bread	1 slice	24

Now you may have noticed I did not mention a whole lot on Vitamin B6 which accompanies this supplement stack.  That is simply because, there isn't a lot of information out there on how it works with zinc and magnesium.  Some studies have shown and Victor Conte claims, it helps in the absorption of the macronutrients.  I am still out on this fact, but Victor Conte is a very very intelligent man with a lot of technology at his disposal that can give you a complete body breakdown to the cellular level, so that being said, if I had to chose, I would lean towards taking B6.

In conclusion, the truth is we need both of these nutrients for our bodies to run properly.  They are essential, and they are in my mind worth taking.  If not for the benefits in testosterone production, the lists above should be reason enough to try supplementing with either of these products.  The recommended dosages would depend on the product and you should ask your supplement shops for the serving sizes.

Cheers!

Ryan Trueman
Ryan.Trueman@dal.ca

5 Reasons why you may not be getting results!

Hey guys, I know I posted this morning but I just got in from the gym and a few things were bothering me.  I look around at the gym everyday, and I notice a lot of the same faces, with unfortunately the same shapes.  I see so many people workout everyday that haven't changed.  This makes me feel awful because the initiative is there, but the knowledge isn't.  So here is another few tips to getting the results you want.

1)Lift better, not more-  The main difference between why my clients and I get results, is because of my one main rule; lift better than everyone else, not more.  So many people are going to the gym with the intentions that more weight means more muscle, and this just isn't the case.  The main thing to focus on is the muscle and what is happening to it.  When you lift a lot of weight with sloppy technique the muscle is often aided by other muscles close by because the load outweighs the muscle's capabilities.  This means that you are in essence using different muscles who's origin and insertion (where they attach to bone) may even be over joints and this can make for injuries.  For example, if you use too much weight when curling, your body will aid it by using the shoulder muscles.  The perfect weight (often much lighter than you would think, Kai Greene often does curls with only 30-35lbs so he can feel the muscles tension) and the right slow speed will ensure the most force and tension is on the muscle you want and therefore you will get better growth gains.  Fun fact; you actually build more muscle and strength when moving slower and fighting gravity, so don't just push the bar up on exercises like bench press, also take 5 seconds and control it on the way down!  Technique is SO IMPORTANT.  In addition, please guys, if you do not know the proper technique or you are new, please don't teach other people.  Ask questions, watch online videos, talk to those you look up to, but please please don't give poor advice.  Today at the gym I had to correct someone on how they were teaching their overweight friend how to do a back exercise.  He was telling him the wrong tips and this was leading to an enormous amount of tension and torsion on the lumbar spine and could have led to serious injuries.  I, as well as them, appreciate you wanting to help, but you can potentially do more harm than good.  That is why personal trainers have so much liability insurance, things can go wrong, so let us or someone who knows the mechanics of the body help teach cues.

2) Eat to train, don't train to eat-  Every healthy body comes from the right diet.  Food is essential to attaining the proper body, and should not ever be overlooked.  For some of you that are working out everyday you need to step back and not only reevaluate your workout, but also your diet.  Do NOT say to yourself, "I worked out today I earned this cookie or cheesecake."  Putting on weight is not simply calories in vs calories burned.  If it were that simple all of us would be enormous because it takes around 60 flights of stairs to work off half an oreo!  So eat the right types of foods, in some cultures those who are malnourished are even overweight because the 600 calories they eat a day are bad calories.  (An awesome example out of the book Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes).  For any further diet tips email me.

3) Don't rush it!  You didn't put the weight on overnight so don't think you can take it off overnight.  Don't quit before it's gone, stick with it and work smart and hard not just hard.

4) Too much or the wrong type of cardio-  This is one of my pet peeves for women and overweight males.  Running 10km everyday, will only make you better at running 10km.  Doing the same cardio everyday leads to adaptation and you will end up burning minimal calories.  I know some soccer players who run all the time, and they still are overweight, why? Because their body has adapted to the workout.  In fact cardio often times burns less calories than circuit training and is in my mind a poor cure to getting rid of that extra weight.  When doing cardio you want to have your muscles activated, if it feels easy, guess what, it is.  The best cardio options in my mind (for steady state cardio) would be any ellipticals,  steppers, or walking on an incline.  With the stepper and incline, you are gaining muscle while you burn calories and this helps to burn more overall calories.  When looking at the elliptical I really like it because it mimics the act of running without the impact and strain on your joints.  I feel it is the best and healthiest cardio machine at most gyms, as it gives you the benefits without the injury.  That being said I always recommend interval training when doing cardio.  This is when you manipulate the intensities and time so your body is constantly switching energy systems. For example, hoping on the elliptical and doing 1 minute at 100% followed by 1 minute easy for 10 sets.  Remember that you burn stored fats mostly when your HR max is around 70% and carbs around 80-85%.  When looking at interval training you will actually burn more total calories as you will burn carbs and stored fat.  If you are doing cardio on weight days I recommend doing it after and keep it steady, if it is an off day or a decent amount of time since your last workout (morning to night for ex.) I recommend interval training (unless it was a tough leg day).

5) Too many sets and reps- I see this all the time and this leads into over training.  The ideal per body part (if you are doing focuses such as chest DAY or back DAY) is around 5 exercises of 3 sets.  I often use 4 sets on my first exercise and 3 on the following ones.  By working out with too many sets you over strain the muscle and hinder a lot of the hypertrophy gains (muscle size).  I know this first hand because I did it as a young lifter, and when toning down my workouts put on a lot more gains.  Remember guys, more isn't always better and will actually put you behind schedule.  For the last 3 years, I have only done 3 triceps exercises a workout with the sets and reps being, 4x 8-12, 3 x 8-12, and 3 x 8-12.  You can see my results below (yes it is a selfy at the gym and yes you can make fun of me but I use pictures to track progress and gains so I know what routines and supplements work for me).  So stop doing so many sets and grow! If you are on testosterone boosters, BCAAs and or steroids, you can manipulate these numbers as your recovery times are different, but I will assume many of you are not.

Hope that helps guys !