Hello healthy people,
here i am with one more blog, one more information about the fitness and my training world.
next week i am starting to train the Willis boys for they Rugby tournament in may and this year we are going to train twice harder as last year those boys made the quarter-finals, this this we are aiming for the finals and we gonna train for it.
more details about it just send me a email or go to my web: www.toni-personaltrainer.co.uk
peace and love
Toni lopes
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
London marathon
Hello,
To all my friends, clients and friends of the friends, i am very proud to annouce that i will be part of the london marathon 2011. i am not aiming for a particury time finest but that will be a plesure to raise money for "Victa visually impaired children taking action" any sponsor will be wellcome so if you wanna check my donate page: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/fundraiserPortalHome.action
so hope to see you on abril 17th! i will definatelly need some cheers of end line
many thanks
regards
Toni
www.toni-personaltrainer.co.uk
To all my friends, clients and friends of the friends, i am very proud to annouce that i will be part of the london marathon 2011. i am not aiming for a particury time finest but that will be a plesure to raise money for "Victa visually impaired children taking action" any sponsor will be wellcome so if you wanna check my donate page: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/fundraiserPortalHome.action
so hope to see you on abril 17th! i will definatelly need some cheers of end line
many thanks
regards
Toni
www.toni-personaltrainer.co.uk
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
the five princeples of radical fat loss
The Five Principles of Radical Fat Loss
by Toni lopes
"Hey Toni. I want to get cut, and I know that's your department. I'm doing 5/3/1 and seeing pretty decent strength gains. I want to drop about 25 pounds in about eight weeks, though. How can I modify the program and what diet should I use?"
My mouse pointer hovered over the "delete" button for a second, but only as a momentary joke at my own expense. (I answer every e-mail I receive.) And so I typed the same response I'd typed 53 times before:
"If you do nearly everything right, get your diet perfect, and do cardio both frequently and intensely, you can lose fat on nearly any sensible weight training plan."
Then I gave him some specific instructions.
And although I've had a lot of practice answering the question, I just wish I understood it better.
Why on earth would someone want to lose fat that way?
Sure, it's possible, but certainly not optimal. And I'm all about optimal.
A Better Way
I have five principles for fat loss programming—which I'll share with you below—and none are really that complicated. Even less complicated is the over-arching theory of how I design plans for extreme fat loss. It's the Big Idea, if you will. Here it is:
All facets of the program must be geared toward fat loss.
Now, we're talking radical fat loss, none of this namby-pamby I-just-want-to-lose-a-few-pounds stuff. If you want rapid results, it isn't enough to modify your diet and throw in some extra cardio. Heck, if it were that simple there'd be a lot more people walking around with appreciable muscle and visible abs.
Extreme fat loss is what I deal with every day. My clients want to get lean in the shortest time possible, so my programs are designed to do just that. For this to be possible, a complete approach is important. In keeping with the Big Idea I mentioned above, this means all aspects of programming—diet, cardiovascular training, supplementation, and weight training—need to be geared toward that specific goal.
Toni's Recommendations
Diet — Finding the exact balance of macronutrients that'll help you be successful is tricky. Not only are things highly individual, it's important to recognize that no calorie formula is perfect. That being said, in order to achieve radical fat loss with my clients I need to start somewhere. To that end, I give general recommendations to set calories below maintenance.
To determine maintenance caloric intake, I use the following formula:
Current Body Fat Caloric Intake
6%-12% 17Kcal per pound of LBM
12%-15% 16Kcal per pound of LBM
15.1%-19% 15Kcal per pound of LBM
19.1%-22% 14Kcal per pound of LBM
22.1% or above 13Kcal per pound of LBM
The obvious reason for the structure is rate of fat loss. The more fat you have on your body, the faster you can lose it, and the more of it you can lose without sacrificing LBM (lean body mass). Therefore, you can consume fewer calories and still have a pretty decent rate of fat loss without really affecting the metabolic processes responsible for fat loss and muscle gain.
As for macronutrients, protein is set at between 1.15 and 1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. There really is no magic number. As long as you're getting a little bit above one gram per pound of LBM, you'll be fine. The purpose of having a range is to allow for some individual customization, the determining factor for which will be satiety. Simply put, if you start low and find that you're still hungry, increase protein intake up to as high as 1.5g per pound of LBM. This allows you flexibility with meal size and food choices.
In terms of carbs, I limit intake to .5 grams per pound of LBM if you're "carb intolerant" or insulin resistant. On the other hand, you can go as high as .75 grams per pound of LBM if you handle carbs well.
The difference in your total caloric intake is to be made up by fat. Of that fat, I recommend that you take one gram of fish oil per body fat percentage point. That is, if you are 10 percent body fat, take 10 grams. I stole this recommendation from TMUSCLE Bodybuilding expert Christian Thibaudeau a while back, and it's been working out phenomenally.
The main thing here is you don't need a radical reduction of calories to allow for radical reduction of body fat. While starting 400 calories in the hole is not unnoticeable as far as satiety and energy levels, neither is it extreme. For fat loss without sacrificing muscle, it is by far more efficacious to create (or expand) a deficit via increased activity level.
Cardio — High Intensity Interval Training (preferably sprints or jump rope work) or complexes at least once per week. In most cases, I have clients do one HIIT session and one complex session. I consider complexes cardio, not weight training. (For a detailed article about smart complexes, check out this article.)
Supplementation — Flameout™, FA3™, and HOT-ROX® Extreme.
Weight Training — First, why is weight training imperative for fat loss results? I've got three reasons:
• Greater caloric expenditure than most cardio over the same time frame
• Longer elevation of metabolic processes involved with fat loss
• Better for retaining your muscle, which keeps the basal metabolic rate higher
So with the basics covered, let's get more specific about how to set up the perfect fat loss weight training routine.
1) Training Sessions Must be Frequent
If you want to lose fat fast, you need to do work and you need to do it often. In almost all cases, it's more effective to spread your activity over a greater period of time (while still allowing for rest). For fat loss I like training twice per day, splitting it between weight training and cardio.
Of course, training twice per day is not possible for some people, in which case I allow them to do the weight training and cardio back-to-back, as long as they ensure the weights come first.
The high level of frequency ensures a consistently elevated metabolic rate, a tremendous and constant surge of EPOC (Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption) and the resultant boost in the rate of energy expenditure that accompanies those things.
For the sake of demonstration, here's an actual 3-week schedule for one of my online coaching clients, whose goal was to lose 18 pounds of fat in eight weeks (it wound up taking six weeks).
Week A
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
AM Sprint HIIT Workout 20 minutes steady Jump Rope Work Complexes
No Weights OFF Weight Workout 1 followed by 15 min Jump Rope Anytime
Bodyweight Training OFF
PM Weight Workout 1 followed by 15 Min Jump Rope Weight Workout 2 followed by 10 min Treadmill Walk OFF Weight Workout 3 OFF OFF
Week B
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
AM Weight Workout 2 OFF Weight Workout 3 OFF Weight Workout 1 immediately followed by HIIT Sprint Workout OFF Anytime
Bodyweight Training followed by 15 min Treadmill Walk
PM 20 min HIIT Jump Rope Work Complexes Treadmill Walk OFF OFF OFF
Week C
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
AM OFF Any style of HIIT Cardio Complexes OFF Weight Workout 2 Bodyweight Training followed by 10 min Jump Rope Work OFF
PM OFF Weight Workout 3 Weight Workout 1 20 Minutes Steady Jump Rope Work HIIT Sprint Workout OFF OFF
All told, this client is training 23 times in 21 days, or an average of 7.6 times per week.
In fact, this client is working out as often as five times in a 60-hour period! It sounds crazy, but when you look closely at the schedule you'll see that stretches of back-to-back training are followed up by adequate rest time.
If that still seems like too much, read on.
2) Training Sessions Must be Short
When designing weight training programs for fat loss, it's important to remember that you'll be starting each workout while in a moderate energy deficit created by your diet. Each workout is intended to increase that deficit to the greatest degree possible without killing you.
Long training sessions (anything over 45 minutes) are unsuitable to radical fat loss programs. Given the reduced calories and the structure of the workouts, you'd create a recipe for overtraining, injury, and stagnation. I'm certainly a proponent of pushing hard, but there's a fine line between well-intentioned intensity and stupidity, and that line can be defined by how long you train while on a fat loss program.
In addition, based on what I've seen with hundreds of clients, the level of performance drop-off is high enough toward the end of 45-minute sessions that adding in extra time is essentially pointless. Unless you have an extraordinarily high work capacity (in which case, why the hell are you fat and in need of radical programming?), 35-40 minutes is enough.
Don't believe me? Wait till you try the workout I designed for you a little later.
As I mentioned earlier, since the frequency of training sessions is high, short sessions will still provide enough stimulus to get the job done.
3) Training Sessions Must be Fast-Paced
One of the least talked about aspects of training is workout density, which is the amount of work you do in a given time frame. The greater your density, the greater your caloric expenditure.
To that end, the simplest way to increase density is to shorten rest periods. I generally dislike rest periods, and certainly don't ever prescribe long ones even for most of my hypertrophy programs, but for fat loss it's absolutely necessary to keep rest periods short and sweet, which will make the session itself short and miserable.
Here's how to set it up:
Exercise Types Examples Rest Period*
Between Competing Upper Body Muscle Groups Chest and Shoulders 20 or less
Between Non-Competing "Large" Upper Body Muscle Groups Chest and Back 15 or less
Between Non-Competing "Small" Upper Body Muscle Groups Biceps and Triceps 5 or less
Between Non-Competing "Mixed-Size" Upper Body Muscle Groups Chest and Biceps 10 or less
Between Straight Sets of Squats or Deadlifts Squats, Deadlift (bilateral only) 45-60
Between Squats or Deadlifts Alternated with Lower Body Exercise Squat and Reverse Lunges 30 or less
Between Squats or Deadlifts Alternated with Upper Body Exercise Deadlift and Bench Press 25 or less
Between Non-Competing Lower Body Exercises Lunges and Calf Raises 20 or less
Between Lower Body Exercise Alternated with "Small" Upper Body Muscle Groups Lunges and Biceps 10 or less
Between Lower Body Exercise Alternated with "Large" Upper Body Muscle Groups Romanian Deadlift and Chest 25 or less
Between Straight Sets of Explosive Exercises Cleans, Jump Squats, Push Press 35-45
Between Explosive Exercises Alternated with "Small" Movements Cleans and Curls 15 or less
Between Explosive Exercises Alternated with "Large" Movements Push Press and Lunge 25 or less
*In Seconds
These guidelines are both broad and advanced. Use them as a starting point and try to cut down where you can. If your conditioning sucks, you'll probably have to add some time to all of the above. It also goes without saying you'll need to drop the weight in a lot of your exercises.
Additionally, I'll say that even for my advanced clients, these numbers are really only applicable for the first half of the workout. After that, we generally need to add a few seconds.
4) Workouts Must Center Around the Most Effective Exercises for Fat Loss
Not all exercises are created equal. Just as a deadlift is better than a leg curl for building overall mass in the hamstrings, some exercises are wholly superior for fat loss.
In my programs, we base all of our fat loss workouts around A-list exercises, and then add on to those. Speaking generally, my fat loss workouts consist of two to four circuits, with each one of those circuits being comprised of four to six exercises. At least two of those exercises will be from the A-list.
Without question, the top exercises for fat loss are:
lunges (all variations)
step-ups
push presses
cleans
single-leg squat variations
full body pulling (pull-ups, chin-ups, inverted rows)
These exercises serve as the foundation of each circuit, with two or more A-list exercises making an appearance. The remaining exercises are ancillary compound movements, the occasional isolation movement, and usually at least one anterior or posterior core exercise.
Here's an example of a single day of training in one of my fat loss programs:
Note: In keeping with the above schedule, this would constitute "Weight Workout 1." There would be two other unique sessions in a given training week.
Circuit A
Set Up — Perform A1, A2, A3, A4 and A5 sequentially, resting as prescribed between exercises and 30 seconds between circuits. Perform this circuit twice. After your second circuit, rest 60 seconds and proceed to Circuit B.
Exercise Reps/Time Rest*
A1) Push Press 12 25 or less
A2) Alternating Forward Lunges 15 per side 15 or less
A3) Narrow Grip Pull-up 10-12 25 or less
A3) Side Plank 25* per side 5 or less
A4) Swiss Ball Rollouts 15 N/A
Circuit B
Set Up — Perform B1, B2, B3 and B4 sequentially, resting as prescribed between exercises. Perform this circuit once, rest 90 seconds, and proceed to Circuit C.
Exercise Reps/Time Rest*
B1) Bent-over Barbell Row 8-10 25 or less
B2) Stiff Legged Deadlift 6-10 15 or less
B3) Jumping Lunges 15 per side 5 or less
B4) Bulgarian Split Squat 10-12 per side N/A
Circuit C
Set Up — Perform C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5 sequentially, resting as prescribed between exercises and 45 seconds rest between circuits. Perform this circuit 3 times.
Exercise Reps/Time Rest*
C1) Step-up onto Bench 12 per side 15 or less
C2) Dips on Bench 6-10 10 or less
C3) Jumping Jacks 15 5 or less
C4) Bent-over Lateral Raises 10-12 per side 10 or less
C5) Superman Hold 20-30s N/A
*In Seconds
Now, what you'll see is that each circuit is short, fast-paced, and intense. The key is to move through it as quickly as possible with good form, all while using weight that you'd find challenging in terms of both strength and strength endurance.
5) Multiple Training Variables Must be Manipulated During a Single Training Week
This is the twist that makes my programs for radical fat loss a bit more fun than any others I've tried. And, to be honest, I think it makes them more effective. The reason for the difference is a long view of training from the perspective of someone who has pretty much done it all ways.
Most fat loss gurus will say the goal of the programming isn't to increase strength, or endurance, or how many pushups you can do. That's all minor stuff, and I agree.
The primary goal is to lose fat fast. However, it's important to me that the trainee finishes the program better than they started. Getting lean is primary, and I insist that all thoughts of strength and hypertrophy be placed firmly on the back burner.
However, I make damn sure I don't send anyone away weaker than they came to me, or with less lean body mass.
Rotating training styles — assuming they're all designed with the same ideas about overall programming kept in mind — has two purposes.
First, it allows you to lose fat faster because you're just getting hit with multiple types of stimulus all the time; it's hard to really adapt to that. The lack of adaptation is what increases the rate of fat loss over other programs.
I hate to call on training clichés and bodybuilding colloquialisms like "keep the body guessing," but the reality of the situation is that staying ahead of the adaptation curve is better for progress. For that reason, I usually add in a secondary lifting protocol into the program. In the above example, it was bodyweight training. By doing this, we keep the training fresh and the client motivated, while concurrently speeding up progress.
Secondly, I like rotating styles during a week because it allows me the opportunity to keep an eye on factors that will be important at the conclusion of the program. Conventional fat loss programs are usually a bit in line with what I've listed above, at least in theory if not in actual style and execution. The problem with such programs is that they fail to address strength in any real way. More specifically, the fast-paced training inherent in fat loss workouts typically dictates use of light weight in order to be effective.
Do you know what lifting only light weight while in a caloric deficit for six weeks does? It makes you really good at lifting light weight, and pretty awful at lifting heavy. And to me, that's unacceptable.
Given that, at least one day per week is dedicated to lifting heavy (85-95 percent of 5RM) loads. This workout will still be fast-paced, intense and horrendously miserable, but it will keep you strong. As just about every gym rat worth his salt knows, heavy training is also vastly superior for holding on to lean body mass while dieting.
I've had discussions about this with a few other coaches who specialize in fat loss, and one argument I hear is that taking time off from the heavy weight during fat loss programs is actually good. They give me the same speech about how it'll de-condition you, so you'll experience more growth when you return to heavy lifting They dress this nonsense up with terms like super-compensation and over-reaching.
I call bullshit. To me, there is no benefit to getting weaker.
To stay strong while on a fat loss plan, lift heavy one day per week. Acceptable programs would include an abbreviated 5x5 workout or something with low reps and heavy weight using the Perfect Rep method.
Closing Thoughts
Forgive me for repeating myself, but I just gotta say it again:
All facets of the program must be geared toward fat loss.
I honestly begin each and every day hoping this message has gotten through to the world.
So let's get your head right. If you're going to go on a fat loss program, really go on a fat loss program.
That means for the next six weeks, you're going to stop worrying about gaining muscle. You're going to stop caring about the amount of weight you lift.
You're going to focus on fat loss, but with the most comprehensive attention to your ultimate goal.
Will you gain muscle? Probably not. Will you get stronger? It's possible, but unlikely. However, you'll get extremely lean, extremely quickly. On top of that, you'll walk away with exceptional conditioning, strength endurance, and some increased work capacity. When you resume training for size and strength, those increases will be of inestimable value for bringing your training—and your physique—to the next level.
If you follow my lead, I promise you'll get lean without losing any muscle, and without turning into a weakened shadow of your former self.
Toni lopes
www.toni-personaltrainer.co.uk
by Toni lopes
"Hey Toni. I want to get cut, and I know that's your department. I'm doing 5/3/1 and seeing pretty decent strength gains. I want to drop about 25 pounds in about eight weeks, though. How can I modify the program and what diet should I use?"
My mouse pointer hovered over the "delete" button for a second, but only as a momentary joke at my own expense. (I answer every e-mail I receive.) And so I typed the same response I'd typed 53 times before:
"If you do nearly everything right, get your diet perfect, and do cardio both frequently and intensely, you can lose fat on nearly any sensible weight training plan."
Then I gave him some specific instructions.
And although I've had a lot of practice answering the question, I just wish I understood it better.
Why on earth would someone want to lose fat that way?
Sure, it's possible, but certainly not optimal. And I'm all about optimal.
A Better Way
I have five principles for fat loss programming—which I'll share with you below—and none are really that complicated. Even less complicated is the over-arching theory of how I design plans for extreme fat loss. It's the Big Idea, if you will. Here it is:
All facets of the program must be geared toward fat loss.
Now, we're talking radical fat loss, none of this namby-pamby I-just-want-to-lose-a-few-pounds stuff. If you want rapid results, it isn't enough to modify your diet and throw in some extra cardio. Heck, if it were that simple there'd be a lot more people walking around with appreciable muscle and visible abs.
Extreme fat loss is what I deal with every day. My clients want to get lean in the shortest time possible, so my programs are designed to do just that. For this to be possible, a complete approach is important. In keeping with the Big Idea I mentioned above, this means all aspects of programming—diet, cardiovascular training, supplementation, and weight training—need to be geared toward that specific goal.
Toni's Recommendations
Diet — Finding the exact balance of macronutrients that'll help you be successful is tricky. Not only are things highly individual, it's important to recognize that no calorie formula is perfect. That being said, in order to achieve radical fat loss with my clients I need to start somewhere. To that end, I give general recommendations to set calories below maintenance.
To determine maintenance caloric intake, I use the following formula:
Current Body Fat Caloric Intake
6%-12% 17Kcal per pound of LBM
12%-15% 16Kcal per pound of LBM
15.1%-19% 15Kcal per pound of LBM
19.1%-22% 14Kcal per pound of LBM
22.1% or above 13Kcal per pound of LBM
The obvious reason for the structure is rate of fat loss. The more fat you have on your body, the faster you can lose it, and the more of it you can lose without sacrificing LBM (lean body mass). Therefore, you can consume fewer calories and still have a pretty decent rate of fat loss without really affecting the metabolic processes responsible for fat loss and muscle gain.
As for macronutrients, protein is set at between 1.15 and 1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. There really is no magic number. As long as you're getting a little bit above one gram per pound of LBM, you'll be fine. The purpose of having a range is to allow for some individual customization, the determining factor for which will be satiety. Simply put, if you start low and find that you're still hungry, increase protein intake up to as high as 1.5g per pound of LBM. This allows you flexibility with meal size and food choices.
In terms of carbs, I limit intake to .5 grams per pound of LBM if you're "carb intolerant" or insulin resistant. On the other hand, you can go as high as .75 grams per pound of LBM if you handle carbs well.
The difference in your total caloric intake is to be made up by fat. Of that fat, I recommend that you take one gram of fish oil per body fat percentage point. That is, if you are 10 percent body fat, take 10 grams. I stole this recommendation from TMUSCLE Bodybuilding expert Christian Thibaudeau a while back, and it's been working out phenomenally.
The main thing here is you don't need a radical reduction of calories to allow for radical reduction of body fat. While starting 400 calories in the hole is not unnoticeable as far as satiety and energy levels, neither is it extreme. For fat loss without sacrificing muscle, it is by far more efficacious to create (or expand) a deficit via increased activity level.
Cardio — High Intensity Interval Training (preferably sprints or jump rope work) or complexes at least once per week. In most cases, I have clients do one HIIT session and one complex session. I consider complexes cardio, not weight training. (For a detailed article about smart complexes, check out this article.)
Supplementation — Flameout™, FA3™, and HOT-ROX® Extreme.
Weight Training — First, why is weight training imperative for fat loss results? I've got three reasons:
• Greater caloric expenditure than most cardio over the same time frame
• Longer elevation of metabolic processes involved with fat loss
• Better for retaining your muscle, which keeps the basal metabolic rate higher
So with the basics covered, let's get more specific about how to set up the perfect fat loss weight training routine.
1) Training Sessions Must be Frequent
If you want to lose fat fast, you need to do work and you need to do it often. In almost all cases, it's more effective to spread your activity over a greater period of time (while still allowing for rest). For fat loss I like training twice per day, splitting it between weight training and cardio.
Of course, training twice per day is not possible for some people, in which case I allow them to do the weight training and cardio back-to-back, as long as they ensure the weights come first.
The high level of frequency ensures a consistently elevated metabolic rate, a tremendous and constant surge of EPOC (Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption) and the resultant boost in the rate of energy expenditure that accompanies those things.
For the sake of demonstration, here's an actual 3-week schedule for one of my online coaching clients, whose goal was to lose 18 pounds of fat in eight weeks (it wound up taking six weeks).
Week A
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
AM Sprint HIIT Workout 20 minutes steady Jump Rope Work Complexes
No Weights OFF Weight Workout 1 followed by 15 min Jump Rope Anytime
Bodyweight Training OFF
PM Weight Workout 1 followed by 15 Min Jump Rope Weight Workout 2 followed by 10 min Treadmill Walk OFF Weight Workout 3 OFF OFF
Week B
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
AM Weight Workout 2 OFF Weight Workout 3 OFF Weight Workout 1 immediately followed by HIIT Sprint Workout OFF Anytime
Bodyweight Training followed by 15 min Treadmill Walk
PM 20 min HIIT Jump Rope Work Complexes Treadmill Walk OFF OFF OFF
Week C
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
AM OFF Any style of HIIT Cardio Complexes OFF Weight Workout 2 Bodyweight Training followed by 10 min Jump Rope Work OFF
PM OFF Weight Workout 3 Weight Workout 1 20 Minutes Steady Jump Rope Work HIIT Sprint Workout OFF OFF
All told, this client is training 23 times in 21 days, or an average of 7.6 times per week.
In fact, this client is working out as often as five times in a 60-hour period! It sounds crazy, but when you look closely at the schedule you'll see that stretches of back-to-back training are followed up by adequate rest time.
If that still seems like too much, read on.
2) Training Sessions Must be Short
When designing weight training programs for fat loss, it's important to remember that you'll be starting each workout while in a moderate energy deficit created by your diet. Each workout is intended to increase that deficit to the greatest degree possible without killing you.
Long training sessions (anything over 45 minutes) are unsuitable to radical fat loss programs. Given the reduced calories and the structure of the workouts, you'd create a recipe for overtraining, injury, and stagnation. I'm certainly a proponent of pushing hard, but there's a fine line between well-intentioned intensity and stupidity, and that line can be defined by how long you train while on a fat loss program.
In addition, based on what I've seen with hundreds of clients, the level of performance drop-off is high enough toward the end of 45-minute sessions that adding in extra time is essentially pointless. Unless you have an extraordinarily high work capacity (in which case, why the hell are you fat and in need of radical programming?), 35-40 minutes is enough.
Don't believe me? Wait till you try the workout I designed for you a little later.
As I mentioned earlier, since the frequency of training sessions is high, short sessions will still provide enough stimulus to get the job done.
3) Training Sessions Must be Fast-Paced
One of the least talked about aspects of training is workout density, which is the amount of work you do in a given time frame. The greater your density, the greater your caloric expenditure.
To that end, the simplest way to increase density is to shorten rest periods. I generally dislike rest periods, and certainly don't ever prescribe long ones even for most of my hypertrophy programs, but for fat loss it's absolutely necessary to keep rest periods short and sweet, which will make the session itself short and miserable.
Here's how to set it up:
Exercise Types Examples Rest Period*
Between Competing Upper Body Muscle Groups Chest and Shoulders 20 or less
Between Non-Competing "Large" Upper Body Muscle Groups Chest and Back 15 or less
Between Non-Competing "Small" Upper Body Muscle Groups Biceps and Triceps 5 or less
Between Non-Competing "Mixed-Size" Upper Body Muscle Groups Chest and Biceps 10 or less
Between Straight Sets of Squats or Deadlifts Squats, Deadlift (bilateral only) 45-60
Between Squats or Deadlifts Alternated with Lower Body Exercise Squat and Reverse Lunges 30 or less
Between Squats or Deadlifts Alternated with Upper Body Exercise Deadlift and Bench Press 25 or less
Between Non-Competing Lower Body Exercises Lunges and Calf Raises 20 or less
Between Lower Body Exercise Alternated with "Small" Upper Body Muscle Groups Lunges and Biceps 10 or less
Between Lower Body Exercise Alternated with "Large" Upper Body Muscle Groups Romanian Deadlift and Chest 25 or less
Between Straight Sets of Explosive Exercises Cleans, Jump Squats, Push Press 35-45
Between Explosive Exercises Alternated with "Small" Movements Cleans and Curls 15 or less
Between Explosive Exercises Alternated with "Large" Movements Push Press and Lunge 25 or less
*In Seconds
These guidelines are both broad and advanced. Use them as a starting point and try to cut down where you can. If your conditioning sucks, you'll probably have to add some time to all of the above. It also goes without saying you'll need to drop the weight in a lot of your exercises.
Additionally, I'll say that even for my advanced clients, these numbers are really only applicable for the first half of the workout. After that, we generally need to add a few seconds.
4) Workouts Must Center Around the Most Effective Exercises for Fat Loss
Not all exercises are created equal. Just as a deadlift is better than a leg curl for building overall mass in the hamstrings, some exercises are wholly superior for fat loss.
In my programs, we base all of our fat loss workouts around A-list exercises, and then add on to those. Speaking generally, my fat loss workouts consist of two to four circuits, with each one of those circuits being comprised of four to six exercises. At least two of those exercises will be from the A-list.
Without question, the top exercises for fat loss are:
lunges (all variations)
step-ups
push presses
cleans
single-leg squat variations
full body pulling (pull-ups, chin-ups, inverted rows)
These exercises serve as the foundation of each circuit, with two or more A-list exercises making an appearance. The remaining exercises are ancillary compound movements, the occasional isolation movement, and usually at least one anterior or posterior core exercise.
Here's an example of a single day of training in one of my fat loss programs:
Note: In keeping with the above schedule, this would constitute "Weight Workout 1." There would be two other unique sessions in a given training week.
Circuit A
Set Up — Perform A1, A2, A3, A4 and A5 sequentially, resting as prescribed between exercises and 30 seconds between circuits. Perform this circuit twice. After your second circuit, rest 60 seconds and proceed to Circuit B.
Exercise Reps/Time Rest*
A1) Push Press 12 25 or less
A2) Alternating Forward Lunges 15 per side 15 or less
A3) Narrow Grip Pull-up 10-12 25 or less
A3) Side Plank 25* per side 5 or less
A4) Swiss Ball Rollouts 15 N/A
Circuit B
Set Up — Perform B1, B2, B3 and B4 sequentially, resting as prescribed between exercises. Perform this circuit once, rest 90 seconds, and proceed to Circuit C.
Exercise Reps/Time Rest*
B1) Bent-over Barbell Row 8-10 25 or less
B2) Stiff Legged Deadlift 6-10 15 or less
B3) Jumping Lunges 15 per side 5 or less
B4) Bulgarian Split Squat 10-12 per side N/A
Circuit C
Set Up — Perform C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5 sequentially, resting as prescribed between exercises and 45 seconds rest between circuits. Perform this circuit 3 times.
Exercise Reps/Time Rest*
C1) Step-up onto Bench 12 per side 15 or less
C2) Dips on Bench 6-10 10 or less
C3) Jumping Jacks 15 5 or less
C4) Bent-over Lateral Raises 10-12 per side 10 or less
C5) Superman Hold 20-30s N/A
*In Seconds
Now, what you'll see is that each circuit is short, fast-paced, and intense. The key is to move through it as quickly as possible with good form, all while using weight that you'd find challenging in terms of both strength and strength endurance.
5) Multiple Training Variables Must be Manipulated During a Single Training Week
This is the twist that makes my programs for radical fat loss a bit more fun than any others I've tried. And, to be honest, I think it makes them more effective. The reason for the difference is a long view of training from the perspective of someone who has pretty much done it all ways.
Most fat loss gurus will say the goal of the programming isn't to increase strength, or endurance, or how many pushups you can do. That's all minor stuff, and I agree.
The primary goal is to lose fat fast. However, it's important to me that the trainee finishes the program better than they started. Getting lean is primary, and I insist that all thoughts of strength and hypertrophy be placed firmly on the back burner.
However, I make damn sure I don't send anyone away weaker than they came to me, or with less lean body mass.
Rotating training styles — assuming they're all designed with the same ideas about overall programming kept in mind — has two purposes.
First, it allows you to lose fat faster because you're just getting hit with multiple types of stimulus all the time; it's hard to really adapt to that. The lack of adaptation is what increases the rate of fat loss over other programs.
I hate to call on training clichés and bodybuilding colloquialisms like "keep the body guessing," but the reality of the situation is that staying ahead of the adaptation curve is better for progress. For that reason, I usually add in a secondary lifting protocol into the program. In the above example, it was bodyweight training. By doing this, we keep the training fresh and the client motivated, while concurrently speeding up progress.
Secondly, I like rotating styles during a week because it allows me the opportunity to keep an eye on factors that will be important at the conclusion of the program. Conventional fat loss programs are usually a bit in line with what I've listed above, at least in theory if not in actual style and execution. The problem with such programs is that they fail to address strength in any real way. More specifically, the fast-paced training inherent in fat loss workouts typically dictates use of light weight in order to be effective.
Do you know what lifting only light weight while in a caloric deficit for six weeks does? It makes you really good at lifting light weight, and pretty awful at lifting heavy. And to me, that's unacceptable.
Given that, at least one day per week is dedicated to lifting heavy (85-95 percent of 5RM) loads. This workout will still be fast-paced, intense and horrendously miserable, but it will keep you strong. As just about every gym rat worth his salt knows, heavy training is also vastly superior for holding on to lean body mass while dieting.
I've had discussions about this with a few other coaches who specialize in fat loss, and one argument I hear is that taking time off from the heavy weight during fat loss programs is actually good. They give me the same speech about how it'll de-condition you, so you'll experience more growth when you return to heavy lifting They dress this nonsense up with terms like super-compensation and over-reaching.
I call bullshit. To me, there is no benefit to getting weaker.
To stay strong while on a fat loss plan, lift heavy one day per week. Acceptable programs would include an abbreviated 5x5 workout or something with low reps and heavy weight using the Perfect Rep method.
Closing Thoughts
Forgive me for repeating myself, but I just gotta say it again:
All facets of the program must be geared toward fat loss.
I honestly begin each and every day hoping this message has gotten through to the world.
So let's get your head right. If you're going to go on a fat loss program, really go on a fat loss program.
That means for the next six weeks, you're going to stop worrying about gaining muscle. You're going to stop caring about the amount of weight you lift.
You're going to focus on fat loss, but with the most comprehensive attention to your ultimate goal.
Will you gain muscle? Probably not. Will you get stronger? It's possible, but unlikely. However, you'll get extremely lean, extremely quickly. On top of that, you'll walk away with exceptional conditioning, strength endurance, and some increased work capacity. When you resume training for size and strength, those increases will be of inestimable value for bringing your training—and your physique—to the next level.
If you follow my lead, I promise you'll get lean without losing any muscle, and without turning into a weakened shadow of your former self.
Toni lopes
www.toni-personaltrainer.co.uk
Monday, January 18, 2010
Our Precious Testicles
by: Toni Lopes
The other day, I was able to wrestle the remote control away from my wife long enough to switch from her beloved Food Network to the Discovery channel for a re-run of their picks of the 25 Greatest Americans of All Time.
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that a PR firm chose the finalists, as it seemed they had attempted to appeal to every age, gender, and political stripe. The end result was 25 famous Americans of varying levels of "greatness," ranging from safe and predictable choices (George Washington), to surprising and satisfying ones (Rosa Parks) to just plain bizarre (Lance Armstrong, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush).
George W. Bush? Anyway.
But despite that the 25 Greatest Americans came from vastly different backgrounds and varying points in history, to me all the choices appeared to have one thing in common: high Testosterone.
Martin Luther King, Neil Armstrong, Abe Lincoln, and Muhammad Ali; these guys couldn't be more different in terms of backgrounds, but each of them seemed to have one thing in common: huge balls. They had the nerve to stand up for what they believed to be right, putting their personal safety at risk to make small steps into a great unknown, steps that would one day translate into giant leaps for mankind.
Hell, even their pick as the Number One Greatest American, Ronald Reagan, had a really high-Testosterone quality about him. He outwitted the Soviets at the ultimate game of high-stakes Nuclear Texas Hold 'Em, and is forever immortalized as standing at the Berlin wall, challenging the Soviet leader to free the Eastern Bloc. "If you seek peace, Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Tear down this wall!"
That's a pretty cool footnote to have in history. Who cares that he starred in Bedtime for Bonzo?
It could be argued that the men (and women) we all revere as "great" likely had high Testosterone, simply because the mythic qualities that we commonly associate with high T are often characteristics of leaders and risk takers.
Strength. Determination. Decisiveness. Aggressiveness.
Testosterone, it would seem, embodies what it means to be a man.
But if America's greatest likely had high Testosterone, I'm afraid that guys in 2009 seem to have a lot of cards stacked against them. In fact, if left to his own devices, I'd be surprised if today's man would have much T floating around at all.
Today’s Batshit Crazy World
According to reports, the number of men seeking treatment for low Testosterone is at an all time high. In his book, The Testosterone Factor, Dr. Shafiq Qaadri contends that much of this is simply due to the fact men are living a lot longer than ever before and are attempting to treat symptoms of what is widely regarded as a natural part of the aging process. "Our bodies are built for only a 45 year journey, not a 80 year lifespan," he writes. "We just aren't geared up for a service warranty that runs so long."
But other authorities argue that even young guys have much lower T levels than their counterparts did 100 or 60 or even 20 years ago. Strength coach Charles Poliquin has gone so far as to say it was significantly easier to build muscle even 20 years ago because circulating androgen levels were that much higher.
Considering 20 years is hardly a blip in evolutionary terms, what is supposedly causing this acute drop in T in today's man? The physical causes that medical authorities all agree on are of the obvious sort like testicular trauma, tumors, and castration, as well as some genetic disorders.
But experts are starting to indict various lifestyle factors as causes of pre-maturely low Testosterone. Lack of exercise, unhealthy diet, smoking, and excessive drinking are now widely accepted causes, as is the use of certain prescription or non-prescription medications.
Stress, anxiety and other psychological disorders stemming from trying to cope with today's bat-shit crazy world may also play a part. And those Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI's) the drug companies want you to go on to mitigate those symptoms? While helpful to some, they aren't great for T production either.
But that's just what the starchy lab coats can agree on. Depending how far you care to venture into the fringes of human performance, the suspected causes of low T is one hell of a list.
There's insufficient quality sleep, too much artificial light, insufficient protein, and dehydration, as well as excessive aromatization, phytoestrogens, and xenoestrogens that leached into the Hungry Man chicken pot pie you microwaved for lunch.
There's excessive cortisol and what's referred to as "Pregnenolone Steal." Pregnenolone is the mother hormone of a number of hormones, including DHEA and cortisol, and there's only so much to go around.
Normally the system works pretty good, but in today's world the body's cortisol-fueled fight or flight mechanisms are on overdrive. Considering that in evolutionary terms, escaping a saber tooth tiger attack was more important than making babies, it made sense that the pathway to cortisol production took precedence.
But the system was built to deal with intense but relatively infrequent bouts of stress, not today's non-stop rat race. Today that occasional tiger attack on the savanna has been replaced by a daily 2-hour commute on the 405 stuck behind a Buick Skylark doing 40, driven by an 80-year-old man in a tweed Rex Harrison hat, left turn signal still flashing from when he left the driveway earlier that morning.
Even our precious testicles themselves are taking a needless beating. Those skinny jeans that are all the rage with today's Emo youth? Couple that with a pair of tighty-whiteys and you might as well transport your junk in an egg poacher.
And what about the electromagnetic disturbances from having your Blackberry glued to your person at all times? Hell, at least Plaxico Burress was smart enough to keep his phone in a holster and his Glock by his Johnson, even though it didn't turn out so well.
One Big Conspiracy
It's like the world is conspiring against your hormonal health. Your kid can get a bacon-chili-mozzarella Fat Bastard Burger with extra large fries and a 4-gallon soda to send him on a trans-fat laden hormonal rollercoaster ride for $2.99, and get a free Transformer to boot. But a single free-range chicken at Whole Foods will cost you $80, and a week's worth of groceries from there requires a second mortgage and a signed letter from your banker.
You can buy booze, cigarettes, and "foods" that would make a billy goat puke. You have the government's libertarian blessing to make absolutely horrendous lifestyle choices and render your body a sick, weak, diseased, health care dollar sucking sponge.
But try to get proactive about your health and longevity, Testosterone-wise, and you'll be held back, shut down, and in some cases ordered to do 3-5 years in the iron bar hotel, sharing a cot with a guy doing 18 months for holding the night shift manager at Taco Bell hostage with a toilet plunger.
Of course there are effective, legal supplements that provide support for your natural Testosterone production. But be wary of telling all your friends if anything works too well cause if the last ten years has taught us anything, it's that the FDA will strike down with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to copy the positive attributes of steroids.
With so much against us, it's a wonder we have any T at all?
So if these are all suspected causes of low T, where are the victims? Why isn't every red-blooded guy canceling his NFL Sunday Ticket subscription and auditioning for a part in an upcoming production of South Pacific?
Well, that's part of the problem. The symptoms of low T are pretty insidious. It's not like on Monday you're kicking ass doing covert contract work for Blackwater and on Wednesday you're studying flower arranging.
The first signs for men are subtle, and eerily similar to those seen during menopause in women —increased irritability, inability to concentrate, and depression. The symptoms are subjective and situational, and often the type of thing that if a normal guy noticed it at all, he'd just "man up" and put his head down and grit his way through it. For weeks, months, years...
Until it seems that's how life is just supposed to be.
Naked and Covered in Extra Virgin Olive Oil
This is one occasion when you gotta love bodybuilders. Bodybuilders tend to be much more self-conscious of their T levels. While few actually bother to get formal blood work done, they'll often have all kinds of theories to determine what's going on inside their bodies hormonally, ranging from training indicators (better pumps), to psychological (better mood), to sexual (morning tent poles).
My personal favorite came from a friend of mine. He always "knew" his T was high if he started attracting attention from random women without even trying. His theory was that the fairer sex somehow "smelled" his high T, which subconsciously made him attractive to them due to his apparent ability to be a protector and worthy father.
He even challenged me to watch him stroll through a shopping mall to witness first-hand the bevy of women that would follow him around like a 260-pound pied piper in clown pants. The fact that the 2 grams of test a week he was taking likely rendered him chemically castrated apparently didn't matter.
But I read arguably the best self-diagnosis of low T levels just last week, on the Internet of all places:
"The only way you'll ever know what low Testosterone feels like is if you've ever felt what high Testosterone feels like. And vice versa."
Hmmm. Not bad.
Looking back at my own life, there was a stretch where I'm pretty sure that I might have had low T. It was a time when workouts were unfulfilling, my mood wasn't so hot, and indecision ran high. Not surprisingly, it was also when I juggled school and work, ate inconsistently, stayed up very late and slept very little.
I started to feel better when I was able to get back on track and return to a more bodybuilder-friendly lifestyle of six small meals a day, lots of protein, gallons of water, fish oil, veggies, squats, deadlifts, plenty of sleep and ZMA. Certainly nothing surprising there.
But what was surprising was, without even noticing it, I found myself going out more, traveling more, and enjoying life more. People even told me I looked younger and healthier.
The change for the better was subtle, and nothing like a light switch being turned on. Just an overall enhanced feeling of well-being that you don't even notice, until one day, you walk by the television to see Food Network darling Rachael Ray making a 30 minute beef Stroganoff and say to yourself "Ya know, if she was butt naked and covered in E.V.O.O., I might just take a serious end-run at her."
Then it hits you like a ton of cookbooks: You've been away for a while. Now you're back.
The obvious question in my own little example is, was my Testosterone actually low or was I just overwhelmed by a high stress, high demand period in life? Honestly, given my age, my lifestyle was more likely to blame. But that doesn't mean I'm ready to write off any connection between the little things we can do every day and our T levels.
I suggest to at least err on the side of caution. Ditching your cell phone and quitting your job may be out of the question, but you can try at least to get to bed earlier, eat more protein and good fats, and avoid trans fat.
You can attempt to minimize the stress by asking yourself "how important is this in the grand scheme of things?" and practice better time management. But most importantly, you can make sure to take time to just chill. Have fun with the guys. See more strippers. Play sports. Train heavier. Watch UFC (actually, watch Arianny). See more strippers. Take ZMA. Try Alpha Male. See more strippers.
I seriously doubt any of this is the key to long-term happiness. But if what I felt earlier was low T, then given the choice between low T and high T? Shit, I'll take the high road every time.
And at this rate, if Rachel Ray is starting to look good enough for a romp, what about fellow Food Network stars Giada De Laurentiis? Or Padma Lakshmi? Or Nigella Lawson?
You can keep the remote, honey. I'm starting to dig this channel.
Allez cuisine!
Monday, January 11, 2010
dieta para corredores!
Café da manhã
Opção 1
• 1 fatia de pão integral untada com azeite + 1 fatia de queijo branco + ½ copo (100 ml) de leite desnatado com 2 col. (sopa) de granola
Opção 2
• 2 fatias de pão integral com requeijão light + 1 xíc. (chá) de leite com café adoçado com 1 col. (chá) de açúcar demerara
Opção 3
• 1 pote de iogurte 0% de gordura com 4 col. (sopa) de aveia em flocos
Opção 4
• Mingau preparado com 4 col. (sopa) de aveia e 1 copo (200 ml) de leite desnatado adoçado com 1 col. (sobremesa) de açúcar demerara
Lanche
Opção 1
• 5 biscoitos maisena + 1 banana
Opção 2
• 1 barrinha de cereal + 1 maçã ou 1 pera
Opção 3
• 1 laranja + 2 bananas passas
Opção 4
• 2 torradas integrais + 1 maçã ou pera
Almoço
Opção 1
• 1 prato de salada de folhas, tomate e cenoura crua + 4 col. (sopa) de arroz integral + 2 col. (sopa) de feijão + 1 filé de frango ou de carne vermelha grelhado + 2 col. (sopa) de berinjela refogada com alho, cebola e pimentão + 1 laranja
Opção 2
• 1 prato de salada de folhas, tomate e chuchu cozido + 4 col. (sopa) de arroz integral + 2 col. (sopa) de milho cozido (congelado ou na espiga) + 2 col. (sopa) de espinafre cozido + 1 coxa de frango cozida + 1 fatia de abacaxi
Opção 3
• 1 prato de salada de folhas, tomate e brócolis cozido + 4 col. (sopa) de arroz integral + 2 col. (sopa) de ervilha fresca ou congelada + 2 col. (sopa de milho cozido (congelado ou na espiga) + 2 col. (sopa) de atum light + 1 fatia de abacaxi
Opção 4
• 1 prato de salada de folhas, couve-flor e cenoura crua + 2 batatas médias cozidas com legumes (cenoura, pimentão e abobrinha) + 1 ovo + 1 laranja
Opção 1
• 1 fatia de pão integral untada com azeite + 1 fatia de queijo branco + ½ copo (100 ml) de leite desnatado com 2 col. (sopa) de granola
Opção 2
• 2 fatias de pão integral com requeijão light + 1 xíc. (chá) de leite com café adoçado com 1 col. (chá) de açúcar demerara
Opção 3
• 1 pote de iogurte 0% de gordura com 4 col. (sopa) de aveia em flocos
Opção 4
• Mingau preparado com 4 col. (sopa) de aveia e 1 copo (200 ml) de leite desnatado adoçado com 1 col. (sobremesa) de açúcar demerara
Lanche
Opção 1
• 5 biscoitos maisena + 1 banana
Opção 2
• 1 barrinha de cereal + 1 maçã ou 1 pera
Opção 3
• 1 laranja + 2 bananas passas
Opção 4
• 2 torradas integrais + 1 maçã ou pera
Almoço
Opção 1
• 1 prato de salada de folhas, tomate e cenoura crua + 4 col. (sopa) de arroz integral + 2 col. (sopa) de feijão + 1 filé de frango ou de carne vermelha grelhado + 2 col. (sopa) de berinjela refogada com alho, cebola e pimentão + 1 laranja
Opção 2
• 1 prato de salada de folhas, tomate e chuchu cozido + 4 col. (sopa) de arroz integral + 2 col. (sopa) de milho cozido (congelado ou na espiga) + 2 col. (sopa) de espinafre cozido + 1 coxa de frango cozida + 1 fatia de abacaxi
Opção 3
• 1 prato de salada de folhas, tomate e brócolis cozido + 4 col. (sopa) de arroz integral + 2 col. (sopa) de ervilha fresca ou congelada + 2 col. (sopa de milho cozido (congelado ou na espiga) + 2 col. (sopa) de atum light + 1 fatia de abacaxi
Opção 4
• 1 prato de salada de folhas, couve-flor e cenoura crua + 2 batatas médias cozidas com legumes (cenoura, pimentão e abobrinha) + 1 ovo + 1 laranja
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
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