MythNutrition & Training Myths Part 2

Today's myth is going to be "Cardio is the answer to lose weight, get toned, lose inches, yadda yadda yadda"
so, as you have guessed by me writing this, this is a myth. Cardio is NOT the answer. Cardio is one piece to the puzzle, albeit minor.
So then, ladies and germs, what is the answer to "why won't cardio make me thin?" or "why isn't my cardio working? I'm running/walking/roller blading a lot"
Well, here it is.
Your body, as it is, has probably not seen any change in a long time. sure, you strap on your runners (probably dusty, old, or brand new) and head outside or to the fitness equipment piece of your choice. some things happen. you sweat. a lot. then you lose something around the lines of 2-10, maybe even 15 lbs. then.... nothing. so you do some more cardio... nothing. you do harder cardio (incline, running) and... nothing. why?
your body is much, much smarter than you. without cleaning up nutrition, and giving it some stimulus to hold muscle, its going to drop the muscle first, and save the fat.
your body has NO IDEA why you're running/walking/cardioing. it thinks its being chased. so, having the exact same nutrition program that you were on, your body adapts by ditching the muscle you have (little or great amounts depending on how much you have to start)
so then it has shed that bit of weight. now what? the body has lowered your resting heart rate and RMR (how many calories you burn doing nothing) to adjust for this extra activity. what happens when you cardio harder? it drops even more. OR... you're probably no longer burning enough calories to offset the amount you're putting in. ever know someone, or been someone who has gone to the gym only to reward yourself with food x aka. pizza, ice cream, cake, booze etc? how does that make ANY sense? want to know how much calories you're burning while cardioing? not much. 300, MAYBE 500 MAXIMUM? if you're going crazy intense and for a long period of time, maybe.
also, without getting too far into a boring textbook rant, the body will burn as i said muscle first. ever seen someone with an eating disorder? they have skin like a cat... very stretchy. why? thats fat/water. are they weak as kittens as well? sure are. because..... their body has ditched the muscle and kept the fat. the body doesn't need the muscle, so it gets rid of it. Plus, muscle has a greater mass than fat. double reasons to ditch it first.
so, how should it be done, says you?
1) Clean up the eating. "but i eat clean" you cry out to me with tears in your eyes... Banana sandwich you do. that apple you had in the afternoon ain't gonna cut it. Hire someone (myself! shameless plug :D) to clean it up for you, and to have you adhere to it.
2) do some weights in the gym too. you know, that whole other half of the gym? with the scary dumbells, barbells, smartbells... okay I made that one up. yes. get a sound weight training routine by a well seasoned trainer (myself! second shameless plug!)
it does NOT require that much time, but it will require effort. progressive resistance (moving up in weight or reps every time you're in the gym) will yield the best results
this shows the body it needs to KEEP the muscle, not ditch it. so then... it has to get rid of the fat instead. (you will still lose muscle, but at least the amount is minimized). ladies, fat doesn't tone. muscle does.
3) make sure you're getting enough sleep. I'll post about this later
4) how stressful is life/job/everything? I've seen this kill a lot of weightloss clients.

SO there it is kids! the way around!
once you have the nutrition in place (its NOT THAT HARD TO CLEAN IT ALL UP!) and you start a weight training routine. these 2 simple things will enhance the cardio massively. also, DON'T GO CRAZY WITH THE CARDIO!
in the beginning, 3-4 days of 30 minutes of walking is MORE than enough! do not make your body lose its mind right off the bat!

I should hope I get LOTS of questions from this! post or email martymacphee@gmail.com !

Nutrition & Training Myths Part 1

#1 Training With Heavy Weights Makes Women Big.

Well, If you have had the chance to train with me, you know first hand this is exactly not the case. I EMPLORE YOU! GO TRY TO GET BIG!
Muscular size (Hypertrophy) is just not possible to any great extent in women. the governing hormone for muscular size is testosterone. A man has on average 500 ng/dl of testosterone. The average woman has around 65 ng/dl. having said that, you can see where the lack comes from. now, I usually have a diagram I draw to accompany my lessons, but we'll have to go off this post for now.
when a woman trains, I am a firm believe that you MUST give the muscles the same stimulus a man receives. progressively heavier weights (or more reps up to a point)
I have found that the fluffy stuff after technique coaching and rehabilitation is complete, the weight MUST increase.
Can you get into shape lifting light weights for lots of reps? sure you can... BUT it is not the fastest most effective way by any stretch.
A lot of my ladies in their first month stay around the same weight. why? the muscular conversion is HUGE! their body can borderline simultaneously dropped anywhere from 5-20 lbs of fat, water, glycogen etc and GAINED 5-20 lbs of MUSCLE!
now, this muscle is not the "big, beef" look that you're probably thinking about. its that toned, shapely muscle you see on oxygen magazine. to generate that small, shapely toned muscle, you must give it STIMULUS. and lifting the 3 lb dumbells isn't going to cut it. Fat doesn't "tone". Muscle does. it will NOT grow big (potentially a TINY bit) it will harden, becoming firm.
One day i would REALLY like to see this myth smashed everywhere, and see all ladies out there doing heavy proper squats!
What A Dream that would be!

Green Tea Extract

Green Tea Extract.
I use this with ALL of my clients. Why? The benefits are amazing for green tea. Not only is Green Tea Dirt Cheap, but look at the Health benefits contained:
-high concentrations of polyphenols, which are fantastic antioxidants.
-reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease
-reduces the risk of dental cavities
-reduces the risk of kidney stones
- reduces the risk of cancer, especially breast cancer in women
- improves bone density and cognitive function
- reduces blood pressure.
- Controls cholesterol
And those are just the health benefits confirmed from science and research.
NOW... the BIGGEST problem is the content of what is actually in each green tea extract. The ones my clients use contain the following:
Each cap = 500mg.
>98% polyphenols, >75% catechin, >50% EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) and 3% naturally occuring caffeine.
What does that all mean?
The polyphenols, which provide the great antioxidant support, are plentiful. Nothing is short changed there.
Catechin – specific types of polyphenols, the two terms can be used almost interchangeably
EGCG – a type of catechin, The most powerful catechin of them all, providing all the health benefits
Caffeine- something cheaper versions will try to ram into their capsule. Why? It’s VERY cheap and you “feel” caffeine. This is only 3%. Nice.
Now here is the REAL GOOD stuff!

Fat oxidation is greatly elevated when taking green tea extract. It not only encourages Fat to be used for energy, but will elevate the metabolism, causing more effective usage of food and for your cardio sessions! On top of tons of health benefits, we have fat loss too!??!?! What more do you want!

Intensity Versus Insanity

Now, Some of you whom I've talked to know I wanted to make this post.
Its going to be as "off the cuff" as possible so the integrity of the "meaning" and trying to have to words come out of my mouth is saved.
Intensity, which is what should be called intensiveness, is something that I have found VERY hard to teach. Not only do people just flat out not get it, its not really desired by most people. to reach maximum results, I believe the person needs to develop intensity when lifting. What do I mean and where am I going with this? let me try to tell you.
starting out, with not only myself by with numerous/all clients, we need to learn proper technique. some of you will have heard me talk about how when you first start movements that are challanging, you'll squirm around. shoulders will buckle, legs will fly around etc. your body doesn't know that its not being crushed by a car, or that if you don't pullup (or lat pulldown) that you will far off a ledge and die.
we are inside a gym. this isn't going to happen. but none the less, our bodies BELIEVE this is going to happen. through proper instruction, this will and should diminish QUICKLY. once this is gone, proper technique is there, THEN we can start adding some weight to the bar/machine/exercise you're preforming. so now, once the weight becomes challanging, people will want to give up. of course, why not? i got my reps, put it down I'm done. WRONG. when you think you're done, get 2 more. get 3 more. get 12 more. how? this is that intensity/intensiveness I'm talking about. as dumb as it sounds, you have to want it. if you want to achieve your goals as badly as i do, you will go beyond failure yourself, not with spotted/forced reps, but by yourself. If the machine/bar is moving (provided proper technique is there) then DO NOT stop shoving/pulling until the bar/machine goes in the opposite direction you're tugging. I refer to there as the "magic reps". Unless otherwise instructed, take a couple nice big deep breaths at the top/lockout position, and guess what? do it again. make that same magic rep happen all over again. UNTIL YOU GET TO COMPLETE POSITIVE FAILURE, KEEP SHOVING/PULLING !!! whether your goal is to lose weight or build muscle or ANYTHING in between, this is your answer. does it hurt? or course. its it hard? harder than hard. will you want to give up? of course. BUT. to get better, to get closer to your goal, you MUST push yourself way passed your limits. This is why i use log books with everyone including myself. if you got 100 pounds for 7 reps last time, and it was hard, you had best get 8 this time. this is it. what that extra answer you've been looking for is. something i personally thing about, is that when im about to give up, i know someone else took a big, deep breath and did at LEAST one more rep than me. I am NOT going to shortchange my results. I'm going to walk away with everything on the table.
So, what's Insanity. well... If you have seen me in the gym, you'll notice I have "Freak" written on my weight belt, and on some of my water bottles. The reason why this is, is due to some of my clients observing my own training. They noticed i was shaking and struggling from rep 3 or 4. then I got to 20. These are something others have coined as "widowmakers". A gigantic, ridiculous, insane set of 20 with a weight that you should be able to get 10 reps with. so whats insanity? taking the technique, and intensity/intensiveness to an absolute maximum. In my weight career, which is currently over 8 years and running, this is something i have developed. I cannot teach it, I can only tell you that this single handedly has produced the best results. I have never injured myself in any way because of this. I did not pass out of bleed because of it. But i did leave the gym/rack/machine/bar COMPLETELY out of gas. nothing let in the tank. zero. knowing that i could not have made a better effort. know what the worst and best thing is at the exact same time? That I'll have to do it again. with either more weight or more reps, the next time i see this workout day. because this, ladies and gentlemen, is what produces the best possible results. developing intensity/intensiveness, then, attempting to generate insanity...

White Flood

So, my review this time is going to be on Controlled Labs' White Flood.
Controlled Labs is in my Top Companies due to their no-frills approach to the supplement business.
category: Pre-workout
claims: Fast absorbing and fast acting
Synergy, strength and stamina
Endurance and extreme pumps
Nutrient delivery and recovery
Carb Free
Ephedra / Ephedrine Free
Stimulate neurons
Enhanced creatine utilization

Mega Marty's Thoughts:
Effects: Through my own usage of this product, I have found this product to be one of the best in terms of flat out energy. White flood really delivers when it comes to that department, especially since the serving size is much smallar than that of its competitors.
For Pump/vasodilation, It is DECENT, but not quite as extreme as others in the same category I have seen, but still great none the less.
Taste: one thing that still needs to DRASTICALLY improve is the taste of White Flood. I personally don't care too much when it comes to the taste of my pre-workouts, but this one isn't very good at all. 4/10 for both the lemonade and the White Raspberry. I have yet to try the Fruit Punch.
Mix ability: Very good. no issues with mixing at all.
Value: Incredible. Around town (or in Alberta) I have been able to find white flood for around 70$, which is incredible. there are 100 scoops in the tub, the average serving being 2 scoops. 10/10
Ingredient profile: Very impressive. Controlled labs have a thing for showing their compounds and how much they're putting in of each ingredient.
The arginine and the Ornithine are in GREAT doses (2 scoops)
The beta alanine is a LITTLE bit weak falling into the 1.7 gram mark. 2.5+ would have been better.
Tyrosine, in my opinion, should be MUCH higher, to the tune of 3g's +
The "Energy and Antioxidant Flood Complex" looks VERY impressive, being the highlight of the product. Caffiene is NOT the first ingredient, making is all the more impressive.
Best features? NO CREATINE! so you don't have to worry about creatine, a VERY cheap effective product that can/should be purchased on its own, sneaking in and making your tub sink much quicker.
so, even at 3 scoops per workout, you're then getting beefy amounts of NO2, Beta Alanine, and energy/antiox complex.

Final Thoughts: This is one of my FAVORITE pre-workouts. I recommend this product to almost all of my clients and friends.
Very good for women who don't want the bloat/effects of creatine.
http://www.controlledlabs.com/product_desc.php?id=73