Spring has brought many things this year.
As Jodie and I approach our one year anniversary of home ownership we realize that spring is a busy time for us around the house. I've always enjoyed working outdoors, so I welcome the opportunity to create a beautiful landscape that is the envy of all our neighbors.
Yes, that is a porta-john in my neighbors driveway.
Also, its been over a year since I stared my blog. Hard to believe! It has become my little labor of love and I look forward to making improvements as it grows. It has also provided me the opportunity to begin a distance coaching service, which is beginning to grow as well.
Between the house, blog, work, distance coaching, and Game of Thrones starting up again I have been pretty busy lately. The growth of my online presence has also brought growth to my inbox.
So many questions....
As someone who has been in the fitness industry for several years, one might expect I get asked a lot of questions. Whether at a bar, restaurant, farmer's market, gym, or obviously at work, as soon as someone hears what I do for a living their ears seem to perk up a little bit.
Granted, this scares me a little bit as it indicates how readily people will accept information from just about anybody. There are a lot of idiots out there that don't know their ass from their acetabulum. Many fitness "pros" fail to even pick up another book after they complete their entry level certification.
As someone who has spent countless hours expanding my knowledge base over the years, I'd like to think I know a thing or two. So if someone asks me a question, I make sure to give them a well researched answer. Conversely if I have no idea, I'm not afraid to admit it.
I gave some thought to what questions I have heard the most over the years and thought I would shed some light on a few. Being that I have heard all of these more times than I could count, it makes sense that I have spent a lot of time learning the subject matter. While there is always more to learn, I feel I have gained a fairly firm grasp on these subjects.
Bear in mind these answers reflect my own philosophy, research, and experience. The answers to these questions may differ depending on whom you ask.
1. How Do I Get Rid of "this"?
When the individual says "this" they are referring to an area they would like to lose body fat. Usually in the arms, abdomen, or hip area.
I would hope by now we all know one cannot "spot reduce", but I am constantly shocked by the ignorance of the general public. Performing thousands of sit ups and crunches will not only destroy your spine, they are pretty much useless for targeted fat loss in the abdomen. Sculpted physiques are made in the kitchen.
With that being said, regional bodyfat storage does point to certain lifestyle, hormonal, and genetic factors. Charles Poliquin's Biosignature Modulation is a very interesting method revolving around the idea that regional bodyfat stores can in fact be targeted through tailored nutrition and supplementation protocols.
Admittedly, when I first read about these methods I thought it was some sort of voodoo, but after doing some research I found the literature quite intriguing. Basically, over time we develop hormonal imbalances due to lifestyle, genetics etc. These imbalances can cause bodyfat to accumulate in certain areas, based on what hormones are out of whack. For example, if you store excess bodyfat in your abdomen compared to your upper arms, you may be insulin resistant or cortisol levels may be elevated. If this is the case, put the cookies down, eat some vegetables, back off on the caffeine, and get more sleep. It's much more complicated than this, but you get the idea.
I'm not going to go into some long drawn out explanation, but with a 7 site skin caliper and lifestyle assessment, these imbalances can be identified and a proper nutrition and supplementation strategy can be formulated. I've tried some of these recommendations with my more advanced clients and have seen some good results.
Most people will do best with a balanced nutritional approach with an emphasis on clean eating for starters. I'm not ready to begin drinking all the Kool-Aid on this just yet, but the research seems to make sense. Before all of you go changing your diet and supplementation around to target "jello arms", remember you need a proper assessment done by a qualified professional to achieve the desired result.
2. What Do I Do for Cardio?
As with any fitness based question, it depends on your goals and current fitness level.
Beginners need to build an aerobic foundation first. Some basic walking with a target heart rate of 120-150 for 30-45 minutes is a great place to start. Couple this with 2-4 times per week strength training and you have a recipe for success in the first couple months.
After this time the focus should shift from general to more specific.
If the goal is strength development and hypertrophy, the main focus will be in the weight room with a couple days of low intensity aerobic work to aid in recovery. You might have one HIIT day (high intensity interval training) depending on how many days per week you are lifting. This is also assuming you are consuming a lot of calories.
For fat loss, HIIT protocols work best utilizing circuit training, sprints, and finishers to name a few. Aerobic work should be kept at maintenance levels (~once per week) using the aforementioned target heart rate and duration.
Endurance junkies will obviously prioritize aerobic activity and supplement with strength and interval training.
I am often confronted by those who have fat loss goals, but concurrently want to train for a half marathon. This doesn't really work because you can't serve two masters. It's like saying you want to prepare for a hot dog eating contest by eating 5 gallons of ice cream every day. I wouldn't advise it. First of all, you and your toilet will become very good friends (or enemies depending on your perspective) at the end of this. Second, if you want to get better at eating hot dogs, you have to eat......wait for it......hot dogs. Pick one or the other.
This sets me up nicely for the next question.
3. Do I Need to Run to Lose Weight?
The short answer here is absolutely not. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me "trainer x" told me I have to run to lose weight I could finally buy that sweet Vitamix blender I've always wanted. Seriously those things are the Rolls Royce of blenders, but I digress.
I only recommend distance running for competitive runners (ie. your goal is to run x) and those who absolutely, unequivocally LOVE to run. If you are anyone other than that, the cost to benefit ratio of the pavement pounding just isn't worth it. Trust me, I've seen more than a few life long running junkies with knee and hip replacements due to a lifetime of seeking out their next half-marathon.
There is another, even better reason I don't recommend distance running for my fat loss clients.
Frequent distance running (and other long duration aerobic dominant work) leads to an over-reliance on the aerobic energy system. You see, the aerobic system primarily uses the oxygen you consume to break down fat for energy. This might sound like a good thing, but the body is an amazing adaptable machine.
According to the SAID principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands), the body adapts to whatever demand you impose on it.
By using running and other steady state cardio as your primary conditioning modality, the body will store fat to be used as energy needed for those long distance runs.
So distance running makes you fat. Just kidding...sort of. I'm not saying to hang up your running shoes for good, just don't make it your primary source of conditioning unless you have specific goals that require it.
For fat loss, I recommend a regimen that consists primarily of strength training and HIIT as I mentioned previously. You can still log those long runs, but keep them to once per week.
I hope this begins to shed some light on some common questions you might have. Keep your eyes peeled for part 2 where I answer questions about joint pain, lifting heavy things, and calorie counting.
Any thoughts? Questions? Completely disagree? Let me hear about it!
