May 12, 2012 | Category: Fat Loss |  Losing weight is easy. Keeping it off is the real challenge. Most people do not successfully maintain their weight losses, and some individuals regain even more weight than they lost. Naturally, this is a discouraging scenario, and recent headlines which claim that being overweight or obese is primarily a genetic issue make it seem like there’s nothing you can do about it.
Before you succumb to the dubious doctrine of genetic pre-destination and give up on your weight loss goals, there are a couple of basic dieting principles that you should know about. These are not hard and fast rules, but if you’ve had trouble with weight loss in the past, then you may want to consider adopting a new approach.
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March 31, 2012 | Category: Nutrition |  If you like coffee, chances are fairly good that you don’t have to drink it alone. Over 2 billion cups are poured worldwide each day, according to the International Coffee Organization. In the United States, 2 out of 3 people drink coffee, and 1 out of every 4 U.S. residents consume more than 6 cups per day. Some just like the taste but for many, coffee is used to enhance mental alertness or even improve physical performance. As is typical of most other health and performance topics, there is a wide range of conflicting information available regarding coffee, and separating truth from fiction can be a daunting task. Can coffee really boost your performance? Are there any detrimental side effects to regular coffee intake, such as dehydration or excessive cortisol production? Does coffee provide any nutritional benefit at all, or should it >> Read full article
June 23, 2011 | Category: Running | There are more choices than ever before when it comes to running footwear, and toning shoes are among the recent trends that have gained in popularity. Do they really offer any benefit over traditional running shoes? Obviously, any company selling toning shoes will confidently state that to be the case. They stand to profit handsomely by convincing you, the consumer, that you will be better off with their product. Before you make any decisions, though, consider just a couple of the claims being made by the toning shoe proponents, and whether they stand up to even a basic level of scrutiny.
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February 28, 2011 | Category: Strength Training | In Part 2, we discussed how training volume and intensity may be manipulated to provide optimal strength gains. In order to realize those gains, sufficient recovery is also required and Part 3 will provide some general guidelines for nutrition and rest. Just because I’m presenting these topics last in the series doesn’t mean they are any less important. You can be doing everything right with your workouts, and then sabotage your progress with poor nutrition and/or insufficient rest.
5) Nutrition
Nutrition is a highly complex field, for sure, but the overall principle for losing, gaining, and maintaining weight is very simple. If you want to maintain your current weight, simply eat at caloric maintenance. Want to lose weight? Eat less and/or exercise more. Trying to put on some weight? Eat more and/or exercise less. This holds true irrespective of the macronutrient composition of your diet. For example, if you >> Read full article
February 21, 2011 | Category: Strength Training | Part 1 highlighted the need to develop a plan for making progress with properly chosen exercises that will help you build strength effectively and efficiently. Part 2 will deal with the importance of training volume and training intensity. As you’ll see, it’s hard to separate one topic from the other, as intensity is one factor in determining total training volume. Exercise duration and training frequency also contribute to total volume, and they will both receive a brief mention as they are intrinsic to a discussion on training volume and intensity. Please keep in mind that I am presenting general guidelines, as it will be impossible to cover every possible scenario in a single article.
3) Volume
Most weightlifters in almost every commercial gym are doing bodybuilder-styled routines with the requisite volume in training. Performing 5-10 exercises for 3-5 sets of 8-15 reps to failure on 4-6 days per week >> Read full article
January 7, 2011 | Category: Strength Training | Deciding what to write for my first article wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Where do I start, when there are virtually an endless number of topics and issues to cover? After some deliberation, I figured that since developing a base of strength should be at the foundation of any fitness program, then I might as well write about that and make it the foundation of my article base. Much of my future efforts will be focused on HOW to train for strength, but first let’s try to establish a few reasons WHY it’s important for everyone to engage in some form of strength training, even if strength isn’t the main goal.
I say “some form” of strength training because individual needs and goals vary. If you’re a long-distance runner, for example, then working toward a 600-pound squat will probably not be very high on your priority list >> Read full article
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