Quick tips on how to burn the most and best calories during your cardio training!

Hey guys,
      I was talking to a guy today and he asked me about something that I think I should write on.  This is how to get the most out of your cardio sessions and the answer is easier than you think!

        When your heart rate is at or below 70% of your heart rate max (220-age approximately) you are primarily burning stored fats.  This sounds like it is awesome, I mean we are going easy and burning just fat what could be better?  The problem here lies in that you are only burning fats, and slowly.  A more efficient way of burning calories is to train using intervals.  Intervals are when you change your speeds and intensities.  By bringing your heart rate above this 70% you switch into a burning mode where you burn carbs as well as fats for fuel.  Now this sounds inefficient compared to before but remember, carbs store fats, aka carbs are fats essentially so you are actually doing better!  Not only are you burning carbs as well, you are also burning more calories at a higher rate than you burn fats in steady training.  This can get a bit confusing so here it is in an example for simplicity;


          Jenny Gymrat , likes to do her cardio workouts at a slow steady pace for a long duration.  This results in her doing 20 minutes at jogging pace on the treadmill.  When doing this she is only burning fats for a total of (random number) 150 calories of fat!  Sounds good right, but wait a minute.  Let's compare her to Johnny OnceAweek.  Instead if running at a steady pace, Johnny does intervals of 1 minute at 100% intensity sprints on a treadmill to 1 minute steady at 70% pace.  He does this 7 times for a total of 14 minutes.  Johnny has now lost only 50 calories of fat.  But wait, he has also lost 200 calories of carbs in the process.  So he has now lost a total of 250 calories which is more than Jenny!

         This is where people normally have the pitfall.  They buy into the steady cardio burns fat idea.  Not to mention, steady cardio yields repetition.  Repetition also has it's draw backs because you will slowly adapt and lose fewer calories each time you do the same thing.

Here are some good interval workouts that some of my clients use;

Cardiovascular Training Ideas

1 min on/1 min off  

30 seconds on / 1:30 off

Rowing machine. Ex. 3 x 2km, 4km steady, 6 x 500m

1 minute on/ 3 minute steady jog

Steady walk/run on treadmill with incline

Track laps. Ex. Sprint a lap, do an exercise, immediately sprint another, etc

Sprint stairs with treadmill steady jog even walking treadmill in between

Plyometrics. Ex. Jump squats/ lunges/ box jumps on a timer

*steady means jog or about 70%, where off or easy means just keep making the movement, ex bike with no tension, or walking on treadmill

~Remember steady cardio burns fat calories, while interval training burns fat and carbs which leads to a greater net calorie burn in a shorter period of time. 

             So moral of the story here guys!  Workout with intervals with high and low intensities for shorter durations, rather than go steady on the elliptical or bike for 20 minutes!  This will yield better results! Don't be a Jenny Gymrat be a Johnny OnceAweek!

 Cheers!

Ryan Trueman
Ryan.Trueman@dal.ca

Two easy ways to avoid those dreaded hangovers!

We have all been there.  The awful day that follows such a wonderful night.  The HANGOVER. Should you ever come into this issue (daily,weekly,monthly we don't judge here) here is two quick tips to help you get through those rough mornings!

1) Eat Asparagus before or after (I'd say both) a night of drinking, can greatly reduce your hangover  troubles.  Asparagus boosts key enzymes that break down alcohol after a night of drinking and help protect you from the dreaded hangover.  In simple terms, asparagus is your flu shot to protect you from the flu.  MAKE SURE YOU DON'T HEAT IT UP.  Asparagus loses a lot of it's nutrients when it is cooked and fried! Try fresh or barely steamed!

2) A lot of hangover issues come from the dehydration you go through.  Before you go to sleep and in the morning have water or even better an electrolyte drink.  Electrolyte drinks are drinks like gatorades and powerades.  I recommend G2 because it has lots of electrolytes with fewer carbs so you get the benefits of a low carb drink.

Try them out guys, both are documented and backed by science!

Ryan Trueman
Ryan.Trueman@dal.ca

A great ab routine that gets results in as little as 15 minutes 3-4 times a week and can even be done at home!

Throughout my years of training I have been asked only one question as much as how do I lose weight,  and that is, how do I get abs?  The truth is you can get abs very easily with a low carb diet and as little as 5-10 minutes 4 times a week.

I got abs like these (yes another selfy but it gets the point across) from as little as 5 minutes a day at the end of my workouts.  The key to getting abs, is adding weight and work until exhaustion.  Abdominals are a muscle group that is a primary stabilizer for your posture and therefore have a high tolerance to fatigue, therefore what we can do is exhaust the muscle through either constant tension or little rest!  Now remember, you need to take off the fat jacket before you will get the visual, so keep strict to your diet and exercise and your abs will be there in no time!  Here is one of my favorite ab circuits you can follow easily even at home, and takes as little as 15 minutes!

*ALAP means as long as possible.

All are done on 1- 2 minutes of rest x 3 sets!

Here is a better explanation of the exercises for those who need it!


Leg lifts:  You start laying on your back.  I find it easiest to place your hands under your bum so your tailbone isn't on the hard ground.  You then pull your shoulder blades off the ground (the rest of your back can be flush) and don't pull your neck up to look at your feet as this can cause neck pain.  Your goal now is to not let your heels or your shoulders touch the ground again.  You then lift your legs off the ground until they point as close to the ceiling as possible.  UPGRADE: lift your bum off the ground as well to get added strain on the abdominals.

V Sits: For v sits you start in a similar position as leg lifts however you are not sitting on your hands.  For v sits you hold your shoulder blades up or a weight over your head with your heels off of the ground.  You then move from this hold slowly into a V position.  This should be done slowly and controlled for the most strain on the abs.  This one can be a little tough for beginners so I included an alternate exercise called flutter kicks.  For flutter kicks remain in the leg lift position and keep your heels off the ground, you then kick your feet while keeping your legs straight and your toes pointed.  Your heels never touch the ground again until the kicking is done at the end of 1 minute.  UPGRADE: Do them on the end of a bench so that your legs can go into a negative horizontal angle for a wider range of motion!

Bicycles:  These are also sometimes called 1,2,3's and are awesome at getting nice obliques (just outside your central abs) and serratus anterior muscles (those little abs up by your lats and chest).  What you do is again keep your heels off of the ground.  From there you bring your right elbow to your left knee by rotating and twisting the core around.  Don't reach with your arms, remember to bring your elbow to your knee by using your abs to both stabilize and perform the lift. You then follow by doing this to the opposite side.  Some people like to hold every 3rd one to make sure the motion stays slow and the abs are fatigued  I normally do not include the pause but I make sure each rep takes around 3-4 seconds.  This slow movement will increase tension.  Additionally fast twisting movement put a lot of torque and strain on your lower back and can lead to injury, so remember to slow down and use your abs.

 Plank:  The plank is the staple of any good ab routine.  It does a fantastic job at completely fatiguing the abs as well as build lean muscle without bulky muscle.  You want your elbows directly below your shoulders and nothing but a straight line from your shoulders to your heels.  Make sure you do not let your bum sag down or lift up and maintain a flexed core throughout the movement.  By not flexing your abs some of the tension will be transfered to your lower back and can lead to pain or injury.  UPGRADE: I put my toes on a bench and my elbows on an exercise ball.  This added lateral instability leads to a harder hold for the abs.

 So there it is guys!  Try this routine 3-5 times a week along with a healthy diet and you will see abs in no time!  The proof is in the pictures!


Cheers!
Ryan Trueman
Ryan.Trueman@dal.ca

Your sweeteners and diet pops are still making you fat! Your solution is found here!

Why your sweeteners may be hurting your results!
What a lot of people don't realize is that the world of fat loss is not centered around calories in and calories out.  Without repeating myself too much from previous posts, we must look at so much more.

The reason we avoid simple sugars is because of the insulin spike.  This insulin spike is the taxi that drops fat off right at your hips.  The issue I have lies in the fact that sweeteners have no calories, so they must be healthy for us right? You can't get fat off zero calories can you?  The answer is YES.  Most sweeteners do still spike your insulin levels.  This spike leads to an increase in fat absorption the same as a spoonful of sugar would do. It gets worse! Often times, sweeteners can destroy or interfere with the processes of healthy bacteria that works inside of us!
       But wait!  There is still good news to those of you who love your diet pops!  Studies have shown that if you indulge every once in a while and keep it to under 12oz of diet pop you should get away with it.   However, after that 12oz you dramatically slow down your journey to becoming a Skinny Minnie!

EVEN BETTER!

A substitute that I use for things like coffee and tea is called Stevia.  It is a natural plant that has 300x the sweetness of sugar without any affect on your blood glucose levels.  It is extremely sweet and needs only a speck of it added to coffees and teas.  You can buy them in individual packages like sweeteners at local health food stores.  It isn't in many foods on the shelf in North America yet, but it is a big hit over seas (where they are miles ahead of us on citizen health) and should start to show up here shortly.   Try it out and help yourself today! Stay informed, Stay healthy!

Ryan Trueman
Ryan.Trueman@dal.ca

Some of the vitamins and supplements I have used and why!

Hey guys.  A lot of people often ask me what I am on and what I have used.  Here is a list of a few of the things I have used.  Keep in mind guys my article on knowing your products and make sure you run any of these things by your doctor prior to use.  They are mostly everyday vitamins but some can react poorly with certain people.

Cinnamon-  this is simply cinnamon in pill form.  What cinnamon does is slow down the digestion of your food, and the speed at which your food passes through your large intestine.  It is a great way to cut weight by lowering the insulin spike that comes from simple sugars.  To sum it up, if you are going to eat something bad when you shouldn't, try one of these prior to your meal (avoid within an hour of post workout).  I buy them in pill for the simple reason of, have you ever witnessed the cinnamon challenge? A spoonful of cinnamon sucks, but feel free to sprinkle it on anything!

Calcium combined with Vitamin D-  Calcium is just an incredible nutrient that I never want to be low on.  Not only does it aid in bone development, it is a key contributor to muscle contraction and repair. I have two types of vitamin d (just different serving sizes) and I use them prior to going to bed and when I wake up.  By taking vitamin d with cholesterol prior to bed, you increase the amount of testosterone that is created while you sleep, thus giving you an easy testosterone boost!

Mega Men Sport Vitamin-  There are countless nutrients you need to function properly physiologically and I find mega men the best mix of nutrients for it's price.  It is a great product that has many different versions for athletes, as well as women and men over 50.  This is the only supplement I buy at GNC as only they offer it.

Co Enzyme Q10-  This is one of the best antioxidants you can have.  What it does is destroys those free radical cells in your body that lead to the breakdown of your body and aging.  A great one for those who would like to live young for a long time.

Omega 3 fats-  These are essential fish oils and fats that your body needs to stay healthy.  They aid in nutrient uptake as well as keeping joints pain free.  I always recommend fish oils in the morning, and it can make a big difference in how you feel for the rest of the day, physically and mentally.

Glucosamine- This is an awesome natural substance that can be used for anyone with joint pain.  Glucosamine helps aid in the recovery of joint pain and injuries and helps rebuild cartilage.  For anyone who has a prior life of being an athlete and who maintains a healthy lifestyle I always recommend glucosamine.  It also does a great job with those who are aging with lower body joint pain and helped a great deal with a client of mine for her knee pain.

            That brings to an end my day to day vitamins and supplements and brings us to the products in the background I use for the gym.

Glutamine- This is one I do recommend to everyone who is physically active.  Glutamine (not to be confused with glucosamine above) is one major BCAA (branched chain amino acid).  What BCAAs do is aid in recovery and muscle building.  Better yet, glutamine is the primary one, and about 70% of skeletal muscle is built from glutamine.  It is naturally occurring in your body but can be as low as 50% of its original concentration after a workout.  You should take glutamine everyday and I take mine prior and during my workouts to achieve the best affects.  I buy flavorless powder and add it to anything like G2 during workouts or pre-workouts.

Swollen by Nutribolic-  Swollen is a pre-workout offered by a company out of western Canada.  It for me is the best pre-workout for me as it does not have any nitric oxide (NO) in it.  If you can recall NO expands blood vessels and leads to increases in blood flow which makes me feel to light headed and spacey at the gym.  Many people like it, I just prefer not to use it.  I find Swollen gives me a great pump feel and has substances to aid in blood flow and muscle growth inside it.  Additionally it does have a bit of caffeine that isn't enough to put your head in the clouds.

Tribulus by Allmax- Trib is a natural herb and it boosts testosterone levels.  The Allmax product I always recommend as it has been shown to be almost twice as affective as some other trib products on the market. Keep in mind this just helps your body boost it's own testosterone production and does not put any additional testosterone in the body and therefore is not an anabolic.  This is perfectly legal and I find it just helps me bulk up and has it's additional benefits in it's libio affects as a bonus.  I do however don't feel many people under the age of 21 needs to use something like trib as your test levels are still fairly elevated, as I am sure all you can all see at any nightclub.  One great stack for trib is to take it with standard creatine monohydrate for putting on quick size.

All of these products are completely legal and approved and can be purchased over the counter at many local stores.  

Hope that helps answer any questions and feel free to email or comment if you have any further questions!

Cheers!

Ryan Trueman

Ryan.Trueman@dal.ca

3 Fat loss secrets to getting quick results!

Hey guys, so I have had a lot of questions regarding fat loss lately but I want to take a step back from the conventional, and introduce you to some tricks and secrets that will help aid you in your journey.  These are 3 simple small changes that all have scientific evidence for their results.

1) Find accountability.  This one is awesome guys and I have used it with friends and it does work.  What you do is find a friend or team that all has goals of either eating healthier or to lose weight.  Now here is the fun part, everyone takes a before picture.  This picture is kept to yourself if need be.  The goal after this is for the next month, take a picture of every bit of food you eat and liquid you drink and this will be shown or sent to the group.  Many things in life fail when their is no consequence to your actions.  What this does however, is hold you and your friends accountable for your diet.  It is really easy guys and I recommend a closed facebook group for it's ease.  If you are feeling extra bold, leave yourself subtle reminders in problem areas.  If you don't like your "muffin top" maybe write the word muffin and tape it to the fridge door!

2) 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up.  This makes drastic changes to fat loss.  In one study changing nothing but adding this step caused an individual to lose 19lbs in one month with only 4 hours of exercise! (the whole month)

3) Glass of cold water as soon as you wake up and before bed and cinnamon before any bad foods.  Your body will burn calories to heat the water up for you to process it, and as well will jump start your metabolism for the day!  With the addition of cinnamon you can slow down your food and your insulin spike!

May I recommend capsules.. for anyone who has done the cinnamon challenge.

Feeling low on energy from dieting?  Try two teaspoons of almond butter before bed.

These are three easy small tips to follow!  By doing these basic changes and avoiding white carbs and sugars, you can be on your way to skinny faster than ever!

Cheers

Ryan Trueman
Ryan.Trueman@dal.ca

How to lose 20lbs in 30 days with Tim Ferris!

Hey guys, I was on route to write another blog this morning (I will still try and do another one up), and I came across an awesome article posted by Tim Ferris.  This should help everyone in their journey to fat loss.  It was developed by one of the smartest guys in the industry and someone who I personally have great respect for.  I love how a lot of concepts he mentions overlaps with ones I have stated before too!  Enjoy guys, it is a great article!

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any-exercise/

Ryan Trueman
Ryan.Trueman@dal.ca