Friday Fitness Info Roundup

Friday is a day I usually have some time to relax with a cup of Portland's famously great coffee and catch up on reading fitness information.

1. Listen here to an hour long audio conversation between my friends Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove talking about topics relevant to trainer and fitness lay person alike. Two of the absolute smartest guys in fitness.

2. Women's Health magazine has two good articles in this month's issue (the one with Matt Damon on the cover). The first, by Adam Campbell, is about why women should lift weights, heavy weights, to lose fat. The second is on how jogging to lose weight doesn't work very well, but running (i.e. sprint intervals) does.

3. Anthony Renna, who runs the excellent Strength Coach podcast now has 4 episodes of this StrengthCoach.tv up on youtube. Check out some cool fitness facilities.

4. Dan John in his typical fashion has a witty and informative article on the benefits of kettlebell swings in terms of fat loss and movement quality. I'm convinced it is not possible for Dan to open his mouth or type something that doesn't contain a golden nugget of knowledge.

5. Physical Therapist Gray Cook now has a series of short audio interviews with Laree Draper on his site where he answers common questions about improving how we move. If you are anything like me each episode will require a couple of listens to fully grasp the wisdom of Gray's words.

Alright, time for some more coffee...

New Rules of Lifting for Abs

Lou Schuler & Alwyn Cosgrove are soon releasing the third book in their New Rules series, and since Lou was kind enough to provide me a copy I gladly read it and think it worthy of review.

But first Lou would like to explain the inclusion of 'abs" in the title on this Fitcast podcast.

For your benefit listen to the entire podcast. Some nuggets of knowledge are within.

Right away I loved this book that for no other reason it proclaims no more situps or crunches. Seriously though, Lou pulled in some great research from luminaries such as Dr. Stuart McGill regarding core and back health.

For the lay person that does not dig into research from the Journal of Strength & Conditioning and other such sources (even I find some of it quite boring) much of the material regarding what the "core" is, it's many roles, and how it functions will be quite eye opening.

I read this kind of material all the time and yet got a lot out of the informational chapters. Lou has a knack for connecting the dots and entertaining us along the way.

One part I would quibble with is spinal flexion for fighters. Yes, fighters do need ab armor and do alot of spinal flexion in sport specific training, but according to Dr. McGill that doesn't mean fighters should use flexion movements in the gym. Rather he says they should save those lumbar bends for competition. But I doubt any of you are pro-MMA fighters anyway so lets carry on.

The title of Part 3 "All Training Is Core Training" says it all.

Everything we do affects our core, and so it makes sense to be aware and utilize that fact in every movement we do. Within this framework Lou & Alwyn put together a great library of static, dynamic, and integrated core stabilization exercises, then set them in the context of three phases of strength training programs.

For most people it would take many months to get through these programs, and they should see a good bit of progress along the way. Even for the experienced lifter there are some serious challenges.

The programs are organized so that one can go back and repeat them with heavier loads or other changes such as doing ladder sets, density circuits, or other methods of causing adaptation so that progress will continue.

And as any experienced trainer knows the basics never go out of style.

My favorite part of the book is the last third which deals with lifestyle issues, nutrition, and strategies for developing a healthier lifestyle.

We all know that without adopting better lifestyle and nutritional habits change will not happen, and Lou presents some interesting studies showing how hours spent in front of the computer (yes you may stop reading now and go outside), TV, video games, and other sedentary forms of entertainment kill your abs.

Yep. They shoot them dead.

I tell my clients this everyday but sometimes it takes reading it in print to accept it, which is why I've already been using some of Lou's material to help my own clients. And it works.

So if you are a trainer don't hesitate to recommend this book to clients, as it will help you help them. And if you are a person working out on your own, then you have an excellent guide at your side.

The book is now available for pre-sale on Amazon for $16, and ships out Dec. 30th. Check it out.

Why Can't I Lose Weight?

My friend Lou Schuler, author of The New Rules of Lifting series just wrote a little article intended to answer unanswerable questions for a forum we both contribute to. And out of the kindness in his heart he agreed to allow me to reprint it for you here.

By the way, Lou and Alwyn Cosgrove have a new book in the series, "The New Rules of Lifting for Abs" coming out in January 2011, and after having read an advance copy I can say without hesitation that it is one of the best written, clearly presented, and well researched books on fitness for the general public. In fact I've already stolen some ideas and research out of there for use with my clients. Just don't tell Lou.

So here's Lou:

"Why can't I lose weight?"

Homeostasis is a bitch.

Unless your current weight is an aberration, you’re walking around in an organism that has remodeled itself to be exactly the size you are now. You have muscles and bones that are just the right size to support the load you carry around. You have an appetite that probably isn’t satisfied unless you give it enough food to maintain your weight. If you eat more or less, your metabolism probably adjusts accordingly: it speeds up when you eat more than you need, and slows down when you don’t.

Experts like to say that diets don’t work, but that’s wrong. Eating less always works for as long as you can bear it. Which, admittedly, probably isn’t a very long time. That’s why the best approach includes a combination of three interventions: exercise, diet, and lifestyle modification.

1. Exercise

Of course this is obvious: burn more calories than you take in, and you lose weight. But exercise by itself rarely induces significant weight loss. Why not? Mainly because you aren’t burning nearly as many calories as you think.

Let’s say you read in a magazine that someone your size will burn 400 calories with an hour of walking at a brisk pace. You do the math: Since a pound of fat contains 3,500 calories of energy, you figure that you’re just 9 workouts away from losing that pound.

It sounds good, until someone explains the fine print. You might burn 200 calories just going about your normal routine for that hour. So exercising at that pace means a net deficit of 200 calories – half what the magazine promised. Then you consider that you might be less active the rest of the day, simply because you’re tired from the workout. That might cost you another 100 calories.

You can try exercising more, or exercising harder, and those are both good ideas. You’ll improve your health and probably speed up your metabolism a bit. If you’re a complete beginner, you might add some muscle to your lower body, and shed some fat. But you aren’t likely to lose a lot of weight, and the idea that you must always “do more” is both self-limiting and demotivating.

2. Diet

All the magazines will tell you this: Cut 500 calories a day, and you’ll lose a pound of fat a week. They’ll even tell you which “empty” calories to cut. You start with the liquid calories (everything except milk) and snack foods. The women’s magazines in particular will show you an infinite number of ways to modify recipes so you can eat fewer calories at every meal, including dessert. (They love to show you elaborate desserts constructed entirely of fruit and air.)

So you try it. And you’re hungry all the freakin’ time. Why? Because your body isn’t stupid. The calories it’s accustomed to receiving from your meals aren’t “empty.” They provide a combination of energy and building materials. The magazine says you don’t need any of the 240 calories in that 20-ounce bottle of Coke. But if your body is used to having them, it’s going to notice their absence.

One solution would be to replace low-nutrient foods, like Coke or potato chips, with high-nutrient foods like lean protein, fruits, and vegetables. And that’s a legitimate strategy. The protein and fiber will help you feel fuller longer between meals. Protein takes more calories to digest, and will help you add new muscle tissue. And, of course, the micronutrients in fruits and vegetables (and to a lesser extent in protein-rich foods) will benefit your long-term health.

Now the net change in calories isn’t as dramatic, but it’s more sustainable, and it makes more sense to your body. The addition of protein and fiber helps mitigate the hunger you’d feel if you’d slashed calories indiscriminately.

On the downside, this slight but sustainable calorie reduction isn’t causing the pounds to melt away. Even when you combine your new diet with your old exercise program, the needle on the scale still swings past your target weight, even if it stops short of your original weight.

3. Lifestyle modification

Nobody wakes up one morning and decides to follow a completely different routine. Well, no, that’s not right. Lots of people think they can flip a switch and go from being a soft, sedentary office worker to a rock-hard gym rat. But it rarely works that way.

Look at that hour before work that you think you’ll spend in the gym: Are you really prepared to get up and moving an hour earlier than you ever have before? Are you prepared to go to bed at least an hour earlier every night, even though it means missing The Daily Show and whatever art-house fare Cinemax is featuring?

That’s just exercise. Modifying your life to accommodate a clean, low-junk, high-nutrient diet is a lot harder than it looks. Most of us don’t eat or drink in isolation. Certain foods are associated with particular events. You associate that 20-ounce Coke with your mid-afternoon break with your favorite coworkers. Most of the chips and dip you consume are on weekends, watching football games with your buddies. And that 700-calorie “coffee” drink you have every morning – that’s your best opportunity to chat one-on-one with the boss, to get a read on her priorities and how she thinks you and your colleagues are performing.

If you’re going to make serious changes that involve regular exercise and a sustainable diet that’s lower in calories, you have to figure out a way to navigate all of this, and more.

4. The combo special

Your time, energy, patience, and motivation aren’t infinite, so the best way to ensure success in a weight-loss program is to start with your limitations in mind. Here’s what I mean:

Exercise: Over time, you’ll burn more calories in a program with built-in progressions, ensuring that you get some variety while doing more total work in the same amount of time. If your progression plan assumes that you’ll be able to expand your workout time, it probably won’t work. You might start with just 2 hours a week devoted to training, and build up to 3 or 4. That’s realistic. Starting a program with the idea that you’ll have the energy and motivation to train 5 to 6 hours a week isn’t. It might work out that way, but I wouldn’t count on it right out of the gate.

Diet: Whatever modifications you make must fit into the parameters of your life. If you’re a skip-breakfast, grab-lunch-on-the-run, eat-everything-in-sight-for-dinner type, you can’t assume that an inversion of that plan is realistic. Aim for the possible: eating something at breakfast instead of nothing; eating real food for lunch, even if you don’t have the time to linger over it; having a mid-afternoon snack to take the edge off your usual late-day hunger; and then having a substantial but not unlimited dinner. Make sure you’re sated by the end of your dinner, and clear your house of the things you tend to eat by the bucket if you aren’t sated.

But let’s say you’re doing all that and you still aren’t losing weight, or not losing as much as you’d like. That’s when you start looking at the more advanced strategies discussed on our Nutrition and Fat Loss forums: manipulating macronutrients (fewer carbs, more protein), cycling carbohydrates, etc. Most people with a lot of weight to lose will probably need those strategies eventually. And most people who’ve lost weight and kept it off will probably tell you that they work best when you have the three major elements – exercise, diet, lifestyle – under control.

Ab Fixes

A short article I wrote for Men's Health UK regarding correcting perceived abdominal imbalance is now online. For your convenience here it is:

When three should be six

Every body is different and, even if you’re following an intense training plan and flawless dietary regime, six abs popping out from your midriff with West End-worthy choreography isn’t guaranteed. A little variation in the size of your six (or, if you’ve really been gunning your core, eight) is nothing to worry about, of course. But if you find your rectus abdominis developing in a noticeably lopsided way there may be other issues afoot. Personal trainer Chris Bathke explains how to deal with abdominal imbalance.

A question of posture

“Perceived imbalances in the abdominals are complicated, and there may not be one magic movement to fix a three-pack,” explains Bathke. “Your six-pack is made up of one muscle separated by tendons, so it’s doubtful what you see as a deviation has anything to do with the size of the rectus abdominis.” (And you can’t isolate half a muscle, anyway, so don’t go trying acrobatic sit-up variations in the hope of shoring up your symmetry.)

If the problem is with your abs, often the underlying cause will be postural. “It might be an issue in your hips that is causing your torso to compensate with a slight twist, or it might be tightness in one side of your back resulting in a similar postural misalignment – but you’ll need to consult a physical therapist to be certain,” says Bathke.

Not so bleak

If, on the other hand, your imbalance is down to your obliques, there are practical training steps you can take to fix it. “If you feel one side of your stomach is more muscular than the other then first measure how long you can hold a side plank on each side,” says Bathke. “If one side is noticeably weaker then add woodchops into your program and do a 2:1 ratio of reps from the weaker to the stronger side.”

How to do the side plank

Lie on your side with your forearm on the floor under your shoulder. Push your hip up off the floor and hold for as long as you can. People often stick their bum out to take some of the load off the obliques. Don’t. “Your body should form a straight line from your feet through the hips to your head,” says Bathke.

How to do woodchops

For our purposes you will want to do anti-rotation woodchops so that the hips are not working, only the core. To do this grab a cable as in a regular woodchop but resist the twisting of your torso as you bring your arms across your body and back.

In other ab-related news yesterday I received an advance copy of The New Rules of Lifting for Abs from my friend Lou Schuler. This is Lou and Alwyn Cosgrove's third book in the phenomenally successful New Rules series. If you haven't read the other two I highly suggest buying them. As a trainer I still refer back to those books for useful bits of information, and the programs are great for everyone from newbies to people that have been training for years.

I won't reveal too many details about the new book yet other than to say Lou does a fantastic job at presenting core training in a way consistent with the most current and advanced research on the matter. In other words no crunches, sit-ups, or leg lifts, but lots of full body movements that remind us that the core is not just the abdominals, but is really all the muscles that attach to your his, pelvis, and lower back.

So yes, your "core" training should include exercises that work the glutes, adductors, hip flexors, and lats in addition to the usual abdominal muscles.

The End of Overeating

I don't usually write more than 2 blog posts per week but I've come across info so good I think you need it. Now.

Lou Schuler, author of The New Rules of Lifting and many other excellent books on fitness recently recommended The End of Overeating by Dr. David Kessler.

Dr. Kessler, former dean of Yale Medical School and UC San Francisco, puts forth a host of simple yet profound information on how and why America has developed such an obesity problem. But I won't attempt to review the book here, but just draw upon a couple of points. I encourage you to go read the book.

In regards to overeating Dr. Kessler analyzed research on caloric consumption and found that in regards to weight gain and metabolism, diet composition, genetics and many other topics we see bandied about in the media the most important factor, by far is simply the amount of food one eats.

We should all know by now that writing a food log is essential if one wants to lose fat (or gain muscle). In regards to that:

Most people do a poor job of reporting what they eat, and overweight people are particularly innacurate reporters.

I've seen figures in other sources that say most people, especially those overweight tend to underestimate their caloric intake by 40%. That's a lot of calories folks.

You need to know how many calories you should take in to reach your goals, then you need to make sure you aren't going over that by keeping an accurate food log. This is about your health and nobody else will care, so you might as well do it right. Fooling yourself only affects you and those that care about you.

And how about this complicated piece of wisdom from Dr. Kessler:

How much we eat predicts how much we weigh.

Who would've thought? ;)

Of course there is alot more to it than that, including how food manufacturers do everything they can to make sure we eat more by loading our food full of sugar, salt, and fat. So the best thing you can do is limit how often you eat out, don't buy or eat processed or fried foods, and eat more veggies and lean protein sources.

That's it.

Finally, Dan John has released the latest edition of his fantastic free newsletter Get Up. Go read it. It'll take 10 minutes and is full of simple, yet profound advice. Dan has a real knack and cutting through the crap and dispensing simple, quality advice that only someone with 40 years experience can do.