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Men's Total Fitness Home Page : Men's Total Fitness Blog : April 2006

April 1, 2006 00:05 - A FREE Fitness Resource That You MUST Bookmark

I'm sitting in my hotel room tonight surfing around the Internet looking for some interesting fitness websites. I couldn't find anything worth talking to you about - until I visited the old standby - www.BodyBuilding.com.

For those of you not familiar with the site, it's truly one of the most comprehensive sites on bodybuilding and fitness you'll find. I thought for sure I've talked about this site before but looking back through my blog archives I see that I haven't. Well, actually I did once but I was talking about their site as a resource for cheap bodybuilding supplements.

While it's true they have thousands of cheap bodybuilding supplements to choose from, they also have what's called the "Supersite" section of their website. And it truly is "super!" This section of their site contains thousands of web pages on FREE information on everything you'd ever want to know about bodybuilding, general fitness, and supplements. They also have a forum you can participate in, fitness calculators, and tons of additional fitness resources.

I highly recommend you bookmark www.bodybuilding.com. They're constantly adding new content and resources. For example, right now they are featuring an in-depth report on protein for beginners. If you're new to protein, this report outlines everything you need to know. This is just one small example of the kinds of free resources you'll find by visiting their site. I'll continue to be on the look out for other free fitness resources, but right now www.BodyBuilding.com is still one of the best!

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April 7, 2006 10:43 - Mornings, Afternoons, or Evenings - What's the Best Time for Training?

In an attempt to tackle my eating problems in the evenings, I've been thinking about switching my workouts from afternoons to evenings. My thinking is if I'm in the gym when I normally have cravings, I won't be able to overeat. In the 10+ years that I've been working out, I've never been on an evening routine so this would be a big change for me.

Out of curiosity, I did some research to see if there was an ideal time to be working out. I came across an article written by Tom Venuto titled, Workout Timing - When to Train? The summary of the article is that the timing of your workouts should be secondary to actually doing the workouts. In other words, the important thing is to have a consistent workout and eating schedule. It really doesn't matter when you workout as long as it's consistent and you're actually doing it!

However, he does believe strongly in morning workouts over any other time of the day. Based on his 20+ years of fitness experience and knowledge, he believes there is more potential for fat loss when you workout in the mornings vs. any other time of the day. He admits there is some controversy over this theory as some "experts" believe that mornings are the worst times to workout.

I have to agree with Tom. I've had my best results training in the mornings. In addition, I got a huge energy boost after my morning workouts that lasted throughout the day. I don't get nearly the energy boost from my afternoon workouts. But like Tom says in his article, timing may also be an individual matter. Some guys may be more productive in the mornings while others may get their best workouts in the evenings.

So I guess the bottom line for me is that timing doesn't matter since morning workouts aren't an option for me. If I switch to evening workouts it won't be better or worse than what I'm doing now - as long as whatever I'm doing is consistent. I'm still not sure of the switch, however, because I think I'll have a harder time committing to a regular evening workout than an afternoon workout. There are just too many temptations in the evenings that would stop me from being consistent. I think for now I'll stick with afternoon routines and just try to work on my diet in the evenings!

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April 8, 2006 12:16 - The Best Junk Foods for Fitness

I know it sounds like an oxymoron - "junk foods for fitness" - but there are actually some junk foods that are o.k. (and even healthy) when eaten in moderation. Men's Health magazine has an article titled, Genius Junk Food, and they highlight six junk foods that are actually good for you. Unfortunately, only one of my personal favorite junk foods made the list - alcohol!

The six junk foods that are actually good for you, according to Men's Health, include pork rinds, alcohol, beef jerky, sour cream, coconut, and chocolate bars. I consume three of these on a somewhat regular basis - alcohol, beef jerky, and chocolate bars - but unfortunately I don't consume them in moderation, particularly alcohol and chocolate. I'm holding out for the studies that show drinking heavily once or twice a week and eating chocolate bars on a daily basis is good for you! I know it will never happen, but hey, a man can dream, can't he?

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April 11, 2006 08:06 - The Truth about Dieting and the Starvation Response

I got an interesting email the other day from fitness expert and trainer, Christian Finn. He notified me of an exclusive interview he did with another exercise and nutrition guru, Lyle McDonald. I don't know Lyle from a hole in the wall, but according to Christian, he's well known for being controversial, extremely intelligent and very honest.

At any rate, in this exclusive interview, Lyle shares his extensive knowledge of nutrition, exercise, and weight loss. Christian assured me that nothing in the interview was removed or watered down. Intrigued, I thought I would check out the first part of the interview (Christian is publishing it in parts and only the first part is available right now). What fascinated me the most was Lyle's take on the body's starvation response to dieting.

For those of you not familiar with the starvation response, basically it's when the body slows its metabolism in response to a decrease in the amount of daily calories consumed. In short, your body burns less fat if you consume less than the amount of calories your body needs to maintain itself. Almost every nutrition expert will tell you that the last thing you want to do when you want to lose weight is to dramatically cut your daily calories! Specifically, you don't want to consume fewer calories than your body's maintenance requirements. Lyle tackles this argument in the interview.

He basically says that while the starvation response (a drop in metabolic rate) is certainly real, it is somewhat overblown. He cites a study where men consumed 50% of their maintenance calories for 6 months. It measured the largest reduction in metabolic rate - 40% below baseline. Yet at no point did the men stop losing fat until they hit 5% body fat at the end of the study! So basically, these guys starved themselves and lost enough weight to reach 5% body fat!

What Lyle doesn't tell you is if he recommends "starving" or not - or if it's anything to be concerned about when trying to lose weight. Based on his remarks, I get the impression that he's saying it's not as big of a deal as we've been led to believe. He does reference a book he wrote in the interview and he says that in the book he goes into great detail about the starvation response and metabolism in general. To read the entire first part of the interview, click here. I'll let you know when the other parts of the interview are published.

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April 13, 2006 12:28 - Fast Food French Fries Have More Trans Fat Than You Realize

Did you hear about this study that was just released regarding the trans fat content of fast food? They did a study of McDonald's and KFC's products around the world to analyze their trans fat content. Surprisingly, they found remarkably wide variations in trans fat content from country to country, from city to city within the same nation, and from restaurant to restaurant in the same city.

For example, a large fries and chicken nuggets combo was found to contain 10.2 grams of trans fat compared with only .33 grams in Denmark. In another example, a large order of french fries at a New York City McDonald's contained 30 percent more trans fat than the same order from an Atlanta McDonald's. I wish McDonalds and KFC would lower the trans fat content of their foods everywhere - particularly here in the United States. If they can do it Denmark, they can do it here.

I found the study interesting simply because I'm a McDonald's freak and I eat there all the time. What shocked me was that according to the study, eating just 5 grams of trans fat per day increases the risk of heart disease by 25 percent! I probably get 15 grams of trans fat per day the way I've been eating lately. Does that mean my risk of heart disease is a whopping 75 percent? Man, I have to do something about this diet of mine or it's going to kill me!

To read more about the study and its findings, click here.

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April 17, 2006 08:01 - Can You Lose Fat and Gain Muscle at the Same Time?

Last week I talked about Part I of Christian Finn's interview with Lyle McDonald - a nutrition and exercise guru. Today, in Part II of the interview, Lyle explains why it is so difficult to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. However, he says there are three groups of people who can actually lose fat and gain muscle at the same time quite easily. They are:

People just beginning to lose fat for the first time
People coming back from a layoff and regaining lost muscle
People willing to take the right drugs

Outside of these three groups of people, it is very difficult to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. In addition to tackling this issue, Lyle reveals the following in Part II of the interview:

Why women struggle to lose stubborn fat from their hips and thighs, and what you can do to beat this problem once and for all.

Fact or fallacy: Does spending longer than 45 minutes in the gym put you in a catabolic state? Lyle reveals the real facts that nobody else will tell you.

A special diet you can use to gain muscle gradually with almost no fat gain (it's not the easiest system in the world but it does work incredibly well for almost everyone who tries it).

What are the essential supplements that Lyle recommends? Finally, you'll get a straight answer about what really works from someone who isn't trying to sell you worthless pills and options.

Read Part II of the interview.

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April 18, 2006 12:46 - Do Organic Foods Make a Difference When Trying to Get Fit?

I was at the grocery store the other day and I picked up a package of free-range, organic chicken. I've been buying this kind of chicken for a few years now. Free-range chicken isn't cheap. I pay around $8 for just three boneless skinless chicken breasts. For about the same price, I can pick up one of those family packs of non-organic chicken that has at least three times as many chicken breasts! Are organic foods really worth the extra cost?

Tom Venuto had a recent article about organic foods and its effects on fitness titled, Organic Food and Grass Fed Beef - Worth it or Not? In the article he gives his personal opinion on whether or not the extra cost is worth it. After reading through it, I found myself agreeing with Tom on every point - although I don't eat nearly as much organic food as he does.

He says that after eating mostly organic foods for the past several years, he hasn't noticed any difference in his fitness or overall health - at least not yet. Despite that, he's still a strong proponent of organic foods. Eating organic foods is analogous to taking vitamin supplements. How do you know they really work? The answer is - you really don't. Like vitamin supplements, eating organic foods provides a little "health insurance." You'll probably never really be able to tell just how effective they are, but certainly it makes sense to provide your body with the healthiest fuel possible.

Consider these facts Tom shares in his article:

The Food and Drug Administration lists more than 3,000 chemicals that can be added to our food supply.

1 billion pounds of pesticides and agro-farming chemicals are used on our crops every year.

Depending on what source you quote, the average American consumes as much as 150 pounds of chemicals and food additives per year.

Do you think these chemicals are good for your body? Even if they don't harm your body, wouldn't it make sense to avoid them anyway - even if it cost a little more to do so?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not an organic, "tree-hugging" type of guy. Heck, if you've been reading my blog entries lately, you know how bad my diet has been lately. I eat McDonalds and junk food like there is no tomorrow! My primary point of this blog entry is that it probably makes sense to eat as much organic food as possible - even if it just one or two foods in your diet.

In my case, the only organic foods I eat right now are chicken and occasionally fruit. Otherwise, everything else I eat is non-organic. Tom's article provides a good reminder of why we should incorporate as many organic foods in our diets as possible.

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April 19, 2006 08:41 - Improve Your Fitness by as much as 28 percent in 6 Weeks

I've been hearing a lot lately about the benefits of body weight exercising. This is when you perform exercises using only the weight of your own body. You don't use any machines or free weights when you perform the exercises. The military uses body weight training almost exclusively.

I found an article on the Men's Health magazine website titled, Push Your Limits, and it addresses body weight training. The article references a Japanese training technique called Tabata Protocol. This is a technique using body weight exercises and it's been shown to improve aerobic and anaerobic fitness by as much as 28 percent in 6 weeks!

In the article, the author provides three specific exercises (chinups, prisoner squats, and pushups) that use only your body weight. The article suggests a routine that consists of doing chinups for 20 seconds, resting for 10 seconds, and then repeating the sequence for 4 minutes. Then you rest for 60 to 90 seconds and follow the same procedure with the prisoner squats and pushups. The article suggests you do this workout 3 days a week, with a day's rest between sessions.

To see pictures of these exercises and specific instructions on how to perform them correctly, read the article, Push Your Limits.

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April 21, 2006 07:59 - Put that Diet Soda Down - It Might Make You Fat!

Jon Benson, author of Fit Over 40, wrote a recent article titled, Do Diet Sodas Make You Fat? The article doesn't really apply to me because I don't drink diet sodas. I think they taste awful and there's just something weird about drinking something that has no calories, no caffeine, no sugar, no anything! At any rate, Jon admits to being a diet soda fan in the article and then references a study by researchers at the University of Texas San Antonio that shows middle-aged adults who drink diet soft drinks may be drastically increasing their risks of gaining weight later on.

The study doesn't address the metabolic reasons why diet sodas make you fat, but Jon addresses those reasons very briefly at the beginning of the article. For example, Jon talks about how diet sodas can trigger the exact hormonal mechanisms that regular sodas trigger (i.e. a spike in insulin). To read about the results of the study and the metabolic reasons why diet sodas make you fat, click here.

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