Humility

This has to be said.

You've just joined a gym for whatever reason. Maybe a buddy talked you into it. Maybe you've finally had enough with being not in the shape you want to. Maybe you have an end date (trip, wedding etc.) and you need to look your best!

So, you've been working out for a little bit, and you're starting to get some results. you start noticing things tightening up, your weight going down (or up, depending on the goal), you're losing some fat, building some muscle, getting stronger, etc.

A couple people start to tell you that you're looking good! You're doing great! They can tell you've been "working out"!

Awesome! That is very good that people are telling you this, and that your work is paying off. Accept the comment with grace and humility.

Know what isn't awesome? conceit.

"Yeah, I've lost so much fat I look amazing!"
"I've gained 15 lbs of muscle in a month! I should do a bodybuilding show!"
"I cannot believe how ripped I am, all the girls love me!"
"Boys think I'm so hot now, it's insane!"

girls, how many times has a guy picked you up by telling you he can bench press 300+ lbs?
guys, how many times has a girl picked you up by telling you they ran at 9 KMH for an hour on the treadmill?

Let your results do all the talking. ALL of the talking.

Know how there is always the embarrassing photos of girls with their muffin tops hanging out?
Know the guy wearing too tight of a shirt so his gut pokes out?

This is the EXACT verbal equivalent.

I hate to break it to you, but people don't want to hear it. They really, really, really, really don't.

Let them do the talking for you. Let someone who cares tell you that you look great and they notice.
Let someone in the gym tell you they've noticed results from the hard work you've put in. Let the co-worker congratulate you.

Don't congratulate yourself too much.

I see this time, and time, and time and time and time and...

You get the point.

I assess myself. Of course. I look in the mirror, see where I think there is progress, and I have my coach to give me feedback too.

Keep those opinions to yourself. If you're doing great, others will take notice and tell you.

Here's another catch: There is always someone out there, somehow in better shape (running, body, strength etc) than you.

There is always someone out there in better shape than you who ISN'T parading their results around like they've won an Oscar.

I'm not trying to take away you're successes, especially valid successes. Even little ones, like giving up that junk food you thought you never could, doing a squat with your own body weight, or even making it up a flight of stairs without needing to stop to catch your breath.

Want to know how I know this?

I was that guy. I thought I was huge. Thought I was so muscular and that everyone loved how I looked.

I had a real close friend who had not seen me in a while tell me I was fat. Not big.

Think I learned? Nope.

So I leaned down. Thought I was ripped. Thought I was shredded.

Same friend looked at me and told me I was skinny.

Me parading around me "results" and "hard work" was really all for nothing, and the results weren't even worth bragging about.

This is what happens in most cases from what I've seen. The people with the least results brag the most, and the ones with the greatest results don't brag at all.

Take my advice from someone who has been there:

Let the results do the talking. Adopt Humility.

Free Advice...

Free advice is never adhered.

I heard this once, and for the most part, I believe it.

For some reason, when people pay large amounts of money, they either seem to think the product they're getting is good, or better than a free product.

I have been asked questions in the gym, questions from the blog, and questions on my facebook page. Depending on the depth of the question, I'll generally answer it. If someone whom isn't a client asks for a "specific to them" question, chances are I won't.

Why is this?

People don't listen to free advice.

Then why ask?

They're looking for reaffirmation of their original answer, whichever it may be.

"Should I buy the red shirt, or the blue shirt?"
The person will already know which shirt they want you to say. Chances are they'll pick the shirt they want anyway with your input.

This is not being arrogant, or being "all about the money"

I had a client tell me recently "You can't help fix everyone Marty, but take pride in those you do!"

And I need to be reminded of this time and time again. Those who pay are more willing to listen. For one reason or another, they've wound up using my coaching services, and these are the people who I have to give all of my attention to. The ones who want it.

Where am I going with this?

This is directed a lot towards other trainers and other professionals, and they'll understand when they read it, or even made the same mistakes I have.

Recently, I got screwed out of quite a bit of money. Roughly 8 weeks of nutrition coaching, and some training sessions on top of that. Why? Because I once again believed someone when they said they'd pay me later.

Ring a bell?

This is my own fault, I admit it. I should have learned this 4 years ago when it was happening too often. Me being the nice guy, saying "no problem! I'll catch ya next time" and next time never comes.

I'm also trying to say to people out there that when you ask a specific question, or have a LOT of questions, maybe you should look into hiring a coach (MEEEE!)

This service should be invaluable if the coach is worth their salt. Some coaches are expensive for good reason, some not. Some are cheap for good reason, others are not (yes, I've seen GREAT coaches undersell themselves).

We in the fitness industry who put in time and research into what we do will more often than not give responses you don't want to hear to questions. It's not that we're trying to be different, we're trying to be right and give you correct resources. There is a TON of confusing information out there about simple questions.

When should I have carbs?
How much protein should I eat?
How much cardio do I need to do?
How many days should I work out?
How long before I see results?
Why hasn't my weight gone down?
How did you get so handsome?

And so on and so forth.

The ones who seem to get "mad" or rant are seriously the ones that care. Just like me writing this blog, I care. I believe the general population has been screwed over by society, media, beauty magazines, and a lot of other mediums.

The next time someone says "Maybe you should make an appt" or "I'm sorry that's too specific a question to answer quickly", maybe don't shrug them off as rude, a jerk, or "all about the money"

Would you fix someone's car for free?
would you build a deck for someone for free?

I'll give you a free estimate (hence the apt. I ALWAYS give free 30 minute consults, and ALWAYS will) but I won't do the work for free.

I still, as always, encourage general questions. I'll always do that too. But specifics? You need a qualified coach then. You really do.

New School

There is lots of things in the world out today that weren't out 30 years ago. even 20 years ago.

When it comes to nutrition.

A lot of this is going to mystify people, and I'm not going to get super in depth here. I'm going to talk a bit about the myths out there when it comes to food, and hopefully try to dispel some of them.

What people think in general:

1) Calories in equals calories out.

2) You must consume less calories than you burn on a daily basis in order to lose weight.

3) You must feel like junk/tired/moody when trying to lose weight.

4) Losing weight is complicated

5) You can't eat "food you want to eat" while trying to lose fat

6) You must do endless/lots of cardio to lose fat

Those are just some coming to the top of my head right now. There are more out there obviously.

What I think/have seen/have researched:

1) 2000 calories of steak is not the same as 2000 calories of ice cream

2) absolutely not. I just consumed over 10,000 calories of carbs in 8 hours with fat loss being my goal.

3) I feel fantastic and have a whopping amount of energy

4) It is so simple it's scary

5) See #2. I had gummy worms, pancakes with loads of syrup, skittles and oreo ice cream sandwiches.

6) I'm doing very little cardio right now.

Yes, I'm using me as an example, but there are many people out there that are doing what I'm doing with great results.

I've been reading a lot lately on metabolic damage. What is this? Simplified, it is when someone has drastically under eaten calories, done a whopping amount of cardio (hours a day), done too much weight training, or a combination. It is when your metabolism is rebelling against you, and you cannot seem to lose fat or gain weight correctly (aka. all the weight is predominately fat and the fat gain is very quickly.)

I'm not going to talk about this much more because there are others who are authorities on the Subject. Google Scott Abel and Erik Ledin. They know their stuff.

When you consume less calories, your metabolism slows down. and vice versa. If you do this too long, you can shut your metabolism off. This is obviously a bad thing. You want your metabolism working with you, being on fire, blasting through calories and burning them efficiently.

The owner of the gym I work at, Kathy Mack, is a PRIME example of "doing it right".

She does ZERO cardio. consumes a WHOPPING amount of food a day and per week, with roughly 3 ish free meals. She is lean as can be, strong as an Ox, feeling amazing.

How can this be? 

New school nutrition strategies and New School training protocols. 

I love it when people see me either eating my Frosted Flakes or see my Reese's Puffs box in my office. I usually get something along the lines of

"That guy is a certified nutrition? Doesn't look like he knows what he's talking about."

"How can you put that crap into your body? That is awful for you."

"That stuff is going to make you fat."

I just smile and take it with stride. I have to. I understand that the average person, even the above average person in the fitness and nutrition world won't understand and will label it as "bad"

There is actually NOTHING better that I could be consuming after my workout than Reese's puffs or any other kids cereal (See Ken "Skip" Hill for more on PWO cereal).

When my clients trust me, and they see my track record, they might just be crazy enough to follow a New School meal plan. WITH carbs. WITH junk. 

They're not only be insanely healthy, but they'll zip MUCH faster towards their physique and performance goals. 

I hope this blog left you with a LOT of questions. It's meant to poke beehives. It's meant to rattle cages.

I am NOT the pioneer on this form of dieting. I have learned from those better than me and done my homework.

The point is: There is New School Nutrition, and it's awesome. Enough Said.

The Fear

Everyone has "the fear" someway, somehow.

There are a couple different types when it comes to fitness, so I'm going to try and cover the ones I have encountered and share my thoughts.

People generally aren't ready for change. They may want to change, but they aren't ready. People aren't ready to give up some things from their live (see my sacrifice vs suffering blog). This is usually a coping mechanism, and is why people are scared. There are NUMEROUS excuses out there people use. "I can't afford healthy food" "I don't want to give up my social life." "I'm meant to be overweight" and the list goes on. A lot of it, my clients don't even believe themselves when they say it.

I've been doing this for a while now, and I notice trends. People tend to share everything down to the last detail, or share nothing at all.

What are you scared of?

When people come into my office for the first time I completely understand why they don't want to divulge their secrets to their past failures. It's embarrassing. When we get down the road, aka. when a client has been working with me for a while, more patterns emerge.

If I ask them something, such as to give me a food journal, or as to how their mental health is (life, work, home life etc.) it can provoke hostility. I have come to the following conclusion.

They either think I am attacking them, or they know they've been doing something wrong/slacking off, and are trying to push it aside or make more excuses.

This has to stop.

This isn't meant to be easy. This is one of the fears I'm talking about. Your trainer/coach/nutritionist should be there for NOTHING but help. If all they are concerned about is money, I would look in a different direction.
The coach should reassure you that through their experiences, they have found lots of people like yourself and that you're not alone. This fear can be overcome. It will take varying degrees of work, of course it will. But, once broken, the benefits can be endless.

Don't let yourself be your own worst enemy. I know I have been before and will be again. That is why I have coaches myself. I have stated this numerous times and don't plan on stopping.

The other fear is the fear of success. Yes, that's right.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us..." -Marianne Williamson


This rings very true in the fitness business. I have seen people that swear up and down they could never be at body fat X or lift weight Y, then surpass both of these expectations (these are just two examples). I love seeing the look on someones face after they have given it their all, and come back immensely surprised at how far they've blown by their own expectations, let alone my expectations for them.

Everyone will get the fear. Make sure there is support within yourself and others to help you scare the shadows away, and surpass your goals.

Sacrifice vs suffering aka "How hard are you willing to push?"

Been a while. I know

So, I have been talking about a very important topic lately with quite a few clients.

Balance. This is key for most people. I train people all over the map when it comes to gym adherence. This means:
A) going to the gym and doing workouts I instruct (easy for most)
B) doing the prescribed cardio that I want (harder, but still easy for most)
C) eating the prescribed meal plan (usually the most challenging)

There will be other factors, but these are the ones I want to touch on the most.

When first starting at the gym, as I have stated numerous times, it will be and should be relatively easy to do so (factors depending)

But then there will come a point where you want more results, or will inquire about obtaining better/faster/more results. I always pose the question:

"How hard are you willing to push?"

It will be in different forms. Sometimes it means implementing a new dietary tactic. Maybe a new cardio strategy. Maybe a new workout decision. Maybe all the above.

What I'm getting at is that you can't turn sacrifice into suffering. This will be different for everyone. Some people can stay on a very strict perfect meal plan all year round. Some can't.

Some have very flexible schedules and more free time than others. Some don't.

I will tell you your options, and what you need to do. People then either opt to go for it, or not.

I have seen it time and time again when people pick fitness and end up going backwards. This means that now that their food is better (an example), now they don't see friends anymore and miss events or resent the gym because it's taking up all their time. This then leads to back pedaling even though their gym goals are "more strict" or "better".
Remember, the brain almost always leads the body. If the brain is happy, body will follow.

Where I'm going with this is that not everyone is a slob, but also not everyone is a professional bodybuilder/fitness model.

You have to be able to choose your blanance with the help of your trainer/nutritionist.

Life should be lived, and that is going to be different for everyone. I'm not saying go get wasted drunk because that is your "balance",
But what I am saying is sometimes when events come along, maybe you shouldn't pass them up.

There have been events/times in my life where I've picked fitness and health over everything. And guess what? Me being an authority on these things (nutrition and fitness), I regret those decisions.

When I have a end date aka. a competition or some other event, yes I'm going to be much more strict. I eat very good almost all of the time. I going to give you a perfect example.

My cousin is getting married this summer, and yes, I am going to be having some alcohol. Why? There are numerous reasons but I'll give you examples.

1) I work hard and pass up many opportunities so that I can enjoy things like this without regret.
2) I don't want to be "that guy" at the wedding being one dimensional, talking about nothing but the gym and food looking like I'm condemning anyone/everyone enjoying themselves.
3) I'm Nova Scotian and incredibly witty and hilarious when alcohol is involved.

I hope all of you understand this and don't take it the wrong way. I am all about proper meal planning and fitness. But I'm also all about my family and having fun when it is deserved.

Mood

First Blog in a long time. I know.

It seems I've been talking about this a lot lately to my clients, and I want to go more in depth with it.

Mood takes over control of everything.

Mood is controlled by stress as well.

Your meal plan can and will change your mood.

People ask a lot; what is the perfect diet? My answer is always "The one you can adhere to."

Most people, when on an "ideal/perfect" diet, their mood isn't changed TOO much. However, when people start pushing the limit, or really let their body goals become their #1 goal, they can bite off more than they can chew.

Now they're cranky. They're making others around them cranky too. They're tired. They're hungry. They're starting to scowl. They realize their social life is impeded more than they like. They're...etc.

Watch for this. Not everyone is a superhero and can follow a "perfect/ideal" meal plan forever, let alone for long.

I've talked about social circle, that's huge. If others are doing it with you, you're more opt to succeed because you're on the same team.

However, the reverse works too. Aka emotional eating or things along those lines. People get stressed out, or something else starts effecting your mood (break up, job loss, tragic situation) and now your meal plan suffers too. You might either revert to old ways (ie. eating badly, not eating at all, timing varying) or lose sight completely.

THIS HAS TO BE WATCHED FOR.

You can watch for this yourself, or have some close friends watch it for you.

Mood is everything. When you're in a bad mood, you won't be performing optimally in all aspects. If you are, email me and a lot of others your secret.

Mood Controls Success.

The Quick Fix

I've been meaning to do this for a while now, I've talked about it briefly before seeing as my views are very clear for the main part. I'm going to go in more depth today.


This was sparked mainly by the new Body by Vi and their product Visalus.

I'm not picking on Body by Vi in particular, but it happens to be the most prominent and dominant of these types of products out there.

First and foremost, Body by Vi is a network marketing scheme. What this basically means it is a product/service sold by people (mainly your friends) in order to get money out of you. Sounds fantastic, doesn't it?
I had some of my clients and some of my clients friends/family ask me about the particular product Visalus. So I googled the info.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 2 rounded scoops (26g)

Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat 10Calories 90

% Daily Values*
Total Fat 1g 2%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 15mg 5%
Sodium 75mg 3%
Potassium 125mg
Total Carbohydrate 7g 2%
Dietary Fiber 5g 20%
Sugars 1g
Protein 12g

Vitamin A 30% Vitamin C 30%
Calcium 30% Iron 5%

This is what I found.

Now, to most of you, this might seem "sound" enough.

Let's look at it a bit closer.

Most competing protein brands are around 22-27 grams of protein per 30 grams.
This is 12 grams of protein per 26 grams. What the HECK is that other 14 grams?
Well, 5 are fiber according to the nutritional info. 7 grams of carbs total. 1 gram of fat.
The protein comes from 3 sources. Soy Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Hydrolysate, and whey protein concentrate.
This is not an ideal source of protein (soy) for a lot of reasons. They Hydrolysate is a fantastic expensive source of protein, and concentrate is one of the cheapest you can find.
But, at only 12 grams per 2 scoops, I wouldn't expect miracles as it is.

So there is also "fibersol" in here, which looks to be a form of metamucil. I could be wrong, but that seems to be the brunt of the carbs.

So long story short, we're looking at a tiny bit of protein with a lot of fiber.

Why does this work then? Because everyone is under dosed on mainly those 2 things. Fiber and protein.

Put out a product with both, make up some hilarious "it's better than X" claims, market the hell out of it, get some people to lose weight on it, and POW! success!

I have a beef with products like this because:
1) it is overcharging customers big time
2) it is an inferior product in most cases
3) people attribute the success to the product instead of the nutritional clean up.

This means that if you were eating junk, and you even replace it with something less crappy, you'll get results! It really is that easy !

If these products would help set people on the right path, aka a non-crash diet plan with sustainable results, then there really would be nothing wrong.
People become dependant on these products and don't grasp the basic nutritional background as to why they're working.

My recommendation:

1) up your vegetable intake or buy some metamucil
2) buy a cheaper, higher quality protein supplement aka. Isoflex
3) replace these with one or two of your junk meals you usually have.

Watch what happens. Same or better results with more money in your wallet.



As always, if you have more questions, ask away. I'll be more than happy to answer them !