Uncategorized

I am not going to lie, I think steady state cardio is a total waste of time. I’d rather watch “Titanic” for a week straight than perform any steady state cardio (I’ll never let go Jack!”) Yet walk into any gym in North America and you will undoubtedly see everyone and their mother on the treadmill or elliptical trainer chugging along while watching their favorite shows on the television in the hopes of shedding that extra body fat. These are the same people who look the same now as they did three years ago. These are the same people who rarely ever get results and will try every fad diet out there. In the end, they will conclude that they’re just genetically predisposed to being fat. On the contrary, they’re just predisposed to being lazy and the REAL reason they never see results is because they don’t want to work hard. Sorry but people need some tough love from time to time.

Have you ever noticed that the leanest people in the gym lift weights, and perform intervals? On the flip side, ever notice where all the “out of shape” people tend to hang out in the gym? You guessed it: treadmills, elliptical trainers, and bikes.

Shedding body fat is NOT about how many calories you burn in a 45 minute session on the treadmill. It’s true, your body burns a greater percentage of fat while doing low intensity exercise (matter of fact your body is burning body fat while you read this blog). But even if you burned 90% fat during these marathon sessions of cardio, the amount of TOTAL calories being burned is insignificant. 90% of nothing, is still nothing.

The REAL secret to shedding body is providing enough of a metabolic disturbance so that the body will be burning calories OUTSIDE of the gym. Like I alluded to above, it’s not about how many calories you burn in an hour at the gym; it’s about how many calories your body is burning while you’re NOT in the gym.

Interval training is simply alternating periods of “work” with periods of “rest.” Yes, it’s that simple. The basic tenets of interval training can be satisfied on the treadmill, stationary bike, stairmaster, or elliptical, but performing outside on a track is probably the most effective. The work component represents the high intensity/sprint component, and the rest component represents the low intensity/active recovery component. For example, alternating 20 second sprints/fast runs with 60 second brisk walks (or jogs) until the desired time as elapsed.

Benefits of Intervals:

1. Greater Energy Expenditure and Resultant Fat Loss

With increasing exercise intensities, the proportion of energy substrate derived from fat decreases, while the proportion of carbohydrate usage increases. However, the predominant fuel substrate used during exercise does not play a significant role in fat loss. Total daily energy expenditure is more important for fat loss than the major fuel used during exercise. Many studies have compared interval training to endurance cardio and concluded that interval training is the most optimal method for fat loss.

One study had subjects engage in either an endurance program (4-5 times per week for 30-45 minutes) for 20 weeks or a high-low intensity program (interval) for 15 weeks.

Neither group was placed on a diet.

The endurance group expended more overall calories during their session compared to the high-low (interval) group. Actually, the endurance group expended almost DOUBLE the calories.

However, the decrease in six subcutaneous skin folds was greater in the high-low intensity group than it was in the endurance group. This is despite the lower energy cost during exercise.

After statistical analysis it was shown that the high-low intensity group experienced nine times the fat loss of the endurance group; even with 5 LESS weeks of total exercise.

This same study found the high-low intensity protocol to significantly increase the activity of an enzyme which is a marker of the activity of ‘fat burning’ over endurance protocol.

2. Improved Cardiovascular Conditioning and Fitness

Interval training has been shown to increase both aerobic and anaerobic capacity whereas endurance cardio only increases aerobic capacity.

It is well established that interval training increases aerobic capacity/VO2 max more than endurance cardio. And in all actuality, the fastest way to improve one’s VO2 max (the standard measure of AEROBIC fitness) is through interval training. How you like dem apples?

As Mike Boyle has stated on several occasions, conventional aerobic training is popular because it’s easy. Interval training is hard and uncomfortable. Ask anyone if they had a choice between going for a 30 minute jog or performing five, 400m tempo runs under 70 seconds, which would they choose? More often than not they will choose the former.

If you want to shed body fat, you need to WORK and work hard. Stop with the drawn out steady state cardio and begin to implement more intervals/sprints into your repertoire. You can thank me later.

I hate fad diets. Matter of fact, I hate all of those fad diet books more than I hate the Yankees (that should score me some brownie points; I’m from Upstate NY). Why do I dislike them so much? They do absolutely NOTHING as far as setting you up for LONG-TERM success. They’re a crutch more than anything; a quick fix. Lets take The Atkins Diet for example. The Atkins Diet essentially has you remove all carbohydrates from your diet, which for most Americans equates to roughly 60% of total calories. It’s obvious that when “we” reduce our total caloric intake by 60% that we’re going to lose weight. However, what many people fail to realize is that most of the weight that is lost is just water and stored glycogen (stored glucose/sugar); and muscle. It’s not unheard of for people to lose upwards of 8-10 lbs in one week on The Atkins Diet (again a vast majority of that weight is water and glycogen). On a side note: in the long run, many of these fad diets sacrifce lean body mass (muscle) which is the last thing you want to do. Muscle is metabolically active tissue (the more you have, the higher your metabolism). Essentially you make yourself a smaller and weaker version of your original self on most of these diets. Not good. But I digress.

Unfortunately all good things come to an end, and before long, progress stalls. People will lose their 20-30 lbs and then revert back to old eating habits and put the weight back on, and then some. The viscious cycle continues.

Honestly, I could go on and on about why I disagree with pretty much every fad diet out there (even you Dr. Phil), but that is beyond the scope of this blog. In the end people need to realize that all of these diets tend to have commonalities (eat more smaller meals throughout the day, focus on lean protein, eat more fruits and vegetables, etc). And speaking of fruits and vegetables (which are carbohydrates), why ANY diet (specifically Atkins) would advocate that people remove them from their diets because they are in fact carbohydrates, is absurd. Trust me it’s not the apples and carrots that are making you fat people; it’s the daily trips to the local pizza joint and bagels every morning.

Anyways, we need to focus on the commonalities. We need to develop SOUND DAILY HABITS in order to succeed in the long run. It’s not about following this diet or that diet. It’s about developing habits and strategies that you are CONSISTENT with. Then and only then will you succeed and lose that stubborn body fat and keep it off forever.

My good friend (and renowned Nutritionist) Mike Roussell developed one such system that I think will blow any fad diet out of the water. Your Naked Nutrition Guide is a system that I advocate for the bulk of my own clients. What I like about it is that it’s simple and practical and it works! No other book out there will help you set up your own individualized nutritional program. You want permanent results now? Quit following the sheep. You don’t need some looney fad diet which promises 15 lbs lost in two weeks. What you need is to learn the basics. It’s as simple as that.

Not a day goes by where I don’t hear one of the following statements:

“I eat REALLY well…”

“My diet is perfect…”

“I make good nutritional choices…”

“Tony Gentilcore is so good looking…”

If you eat so well, then why are you still 20 lbs overweight? If your diet is so perfect, then why do you always feel sluggish and tired? If you make such good nutritional choices, then why do you have high blood pressure, cholesterol, and type II diabetes? And yes, I am that good looking (kidding……………………………no I’m not).

The fact of the matter is, people flat out lie and delude themselves into thinking that they are making quality nutritional choices; and yes I am talking to YOU. Research has shown time and time again that people have a tendency to OVER report how much they really exercise and UNDER report how much they are reallly eating. Funny how that works huh? It’s funny how people tend to forget that half a tray of Oreo’s they ate earlier in the week or the bowl of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream they had last night while watching “So You Think You Can Dance?” on televison. (Side Note: oh, I CAN dance. The ladies love my “robot”).

Don’t believe me. I give you exhibit A:

(EDIT: I had a nice little chart here that shows people’s PERCEIVED consumption and ACTUAL consumption of starches, fruit, vegetables, protein, fat/sweets…….but it didn’t work (I stink). E-mail me if you really want it, or you can just take my word for it.)

What does this show us?

1. People ARE eating more grains/starches than they think they are. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing per se. I do feel that carbs have a time and place (in short: breakfast and post-training). I am NOT a “carb phobe,” but generally speaking most people would be wise to limit their carb intake to certain times of the day, especially if fat loss is one of the main goals.

2. People are NOT eating nearly as much fruit as they think they are.

3. People are NOT eating nearly as much veggies as they think they are.

4. People are NOT drinking as much milk as they think they are. This is a bit speculative, especially considering the prevalence of lactose intolerance.

5. People are NOT eating as much meat as they think they are. I am a firm advocate of high(er) protein diets (especially for fat loss and body recomposition). My good friend Cassandra Forsythe (soon to be PhD in Nutrition, also writes for Men’s and Women’s Health) always states: “when in doubt, eat protein.” People need to get more protein in their diets. There are a plethora of cute, furry animals out there to eat (my apologies to any vegetarian that may be reading this). And by the way: soy is atrocious.

6. People ARE eating more fats/oils/sweets than they think they are. This DOES NOT mean I am implying that “fat makes you fat!!!!” On the contrary, I feel that dietary fat is an intragral component of a fat loss diet. It’s about QUALITY of fat, not QUANTITY. However, I am more concerned about sweets. As alluded to above, people tend to eat more sweets than they think they do.

In the end, most people need to quit lying to themselves and accept the fact that they ARE NOT making solid food choices nor are they following sound nutritional habits. Yes, I am talking to you Mr. “I go 6 hours without eating a meal.” Learn better eating habits and success will be guaranted.

If I had to make a list of the worst things that people do in the gym, it would look like this.

1. Talking on their cell phone while exercising. I will never quite understand this. Seriously, you can’t live without your phone for an hour?

2. Wearing sunglasses. Why?

3. Staring at the tv in between sets (AKA: tv jaw). Are you there to train, or watch tv? Hmmmm, maybe that’s why you still look exactly the same as you did three years ago.

4. Performing endless repetitions of crunches in an effort to get that six pack.

What if I told you that performing endless repetitions of crunches is probably one of the worst things you could be doing in the gym from a postural standpoint? What if I told you that I haven’t had a client of mine perform a crunch in over two years because I think they’re a waste of time? Blashemy you say?

The rectus abdominus (RA) originates at the pubic symphysis and inserts all the way up at the 5th-7th rib cartilage and sternum. What do you think happens when you sit all day at work, in front of the computer with a flexed spine and then go to the gym and perform a bunch of crunches? You end up pulling your chest towards your pelvis, further increasing your already kyphotic (rounded back) posture. Not only does this give the appearance of looking smaller (sternum is depressed), but it also leads to a whole host of other issues such as shoulder, neck, and mid-back problems due to the scapular winging involved (shoulder abduction).

It may surprise you to find out that the main “function” of the RA is not trunk flexion (think: crunch), but rather to PREVENT rotational forces and provide stability. Mike Boyle (boy he sure is smart) has done a great job of applying the work of physical therapists James Porterfield and Carl DeRosa and bringing to light the fact that the RA should be trained as ANTI-rotators, not flexors (crunch). Essentially, I would prefer that people learn to PREVENT unwanted motion and train their “core” with stability in mind. Various planks, Pallof Press, various chopsand would all be a great start and infinitely more conducive

BONUS SECTION (a little case of tough love)

You want a flat stomach or six pack abs? I’ll give you the best movement, results guaranteed. It’s called the push-away method.

It’s simple really. When you feel “full”, push yourself away from the dinner table. Watch out for the dog underneath your chair!! Getting “abs” is about providing enough of a caloric deficit so that your body can burn off body fat, it’s NOT about how many crunches you can do everyday. You can perform crunches till you’re blue in the face, but it won’t matter if you have fat covering them. YOU CAN NOT OUT TRAIN A POOR DIET!!!!!!!

Exercise More (People need to MOVE more in general. Lift heavy things, it will be good for you).

Eat Less (junk)

Repeat

Forever

If I hear one more registered dietician or physician mention that diets high(er) in protein are dangerous, I am going to go postal. First lets make of a list of things that ARE dangerous:

1. Putting your finger in an electrical socket

2. Swimming in a pool full of sharks.

3. Responding “yes” whenever your significant other asks you, “does this make me look fat?”

4. Watching a Ben Affleck movie

Those are dangerous. Diets high in protein are NOT dangerous, as many fitness professionals would have you believe. Many claim that high protein diets will strain or damage the kidneys. Thing is, there has NEVER been one scientific study that has shown that diets high(er) in protein (in this case, upwards of 1 gram per lb of body weight) harm the kidneys in any way in HEALTHY individuals. I’m more likely to date Angelina Jolie than you are in finding a study which says high protein diets cause damage in the kidneys. READ: not going to happen.

And while there are “some” studies which do in fact say that high protein diets cause renal (kidney) dysfunction…..they were done on people who already had some sort of renal disease in the first place. Well duh!!!!

The term “higher” refers to a diet that has people (athletes or active individuals) consuming more than the general populations’ average intake of approximately 15% of energy from protein, e.g., as much as 30%-35%, which is within an Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR). The RDA states that 0.8 grams per kg of bodyweight per day is acceptable for all healthy individuals. However, what people fail to realize is that the RDA’s recommendations are directed to those people who do nothing but sit on their butt all day. 0.8 grams per kg of body weight is what the RDA recommends to stay alive. It’s just enough to stave of deficiency. That’s great, but that amount doesn’t come close to meeting the needs and requirements of athletes and/or those people who consistently workout.

Athletes, as well as those people who lead an active lifestyle consistently eat diets that are higher in protein compared to what the RDA recommends. Bodybuilders from way back in the 1950’s and 60’s ate higher protein diets (upwards of 300-500 grams PER DAY) and to my knowledge, there has never been a epidemic of kidney disease in these populations; even to this day. NOTE: I am NOT suggesting that you need to ingest 300-500 grams of protein per day, just trying to make a point.

Of relevance to “active” individuals and those in clinical practice is the fact that higher protein diets have quite consistently been shown to result in greater weight loss, greater fat loss, and preservation of lean mass as compared with “lower” protein diets. A framework for understanding dietary protein intake within the context of weight loss and athletic performance is laid out throughout TONS of literature and is beyond the scope of this blog entry.

All in all, high protein diets DO NOT harm or cause any undue strain on the kidneys. And if I wasn’t convincing enough,

In a review titled, “Dietary protein intake and renal function,” published in Nutrition and Metabolism, September 2005, Martin et al concluded, and I quote:

“While protein restriction may be appropriate for treatment of EXISTING renal disease, we find no significant evidence for a detrimental effect of high protein intakes on kidney function in healthy persons after centuries of a high protein Western diet.”

Here’s a little list of fitness/nutrition concepts, ideas, techniques, habits, etc that I feel EVERYONE should be incorporating into their daily repertoire. If you disagree, tough noogies. This is my blog, so I can say what I want. And of course, I am right…;o)

1. Learn to train MOVEMENT PATTERNS and find structural balance in your overall programming:

Rather than focusing on body part splits such as “chest day” or “arms day,” learn to structure your routines so that you hit ALL movements patterns during the week. Doing so will almost guarantee that you will hit every major muscle group in the body, as well as help to alleviate any postural imbalances you may have.

Horizontal Push: bench press variations (barbell, dumbbell)

Horizontal Pull: seated rows, dumbbell rows, barbell rows

Vertical Push: Overhead pressing (barbell, dumbbell)

Vertical Pull: Pull-ups, chin-ups, lat pulldowns, etc

Quadricep Dominant: Squat variations (back squat, front squat, etc)

Hip Dominant: Deadlift variations (conventional, SUMO, Romanian, etc)***

Single Leg Work: Lunge variations (walking, reverse, dynamic), Step-ups, etc

As well as several other mini-categories that I won’t get into right now (mainly prehab stuff dealing with the rotator cuff, scapulae/shoulder blades, core, etc).

***I realize that not many will know what a deadlift is. Point blank, it’s arguably the best exercise as it works the ENTIRE body at once. Thankfully, Google exists….do a search. Or better yet, read this article: Mastering the Deadlift

2. Seriously, STOP with the body-part splits:

To be blunt, if you currently have a 40 inch waist, you don’t need to be performing an entire training session of bicep curls. Trust me, it won’t get rid of that belly. Additionally, body part splits (ie: chest day, arms day, etc) is just NOT a very efficient way to train (especially if one of your main goals is to shed some fat).

Ideally, one should follow a FULL-BODY routine three times per week (focusing on all the movements patterns, listed above). Doing so will involve more muscle mass, which will burn more calories, which will burn more fat, which will make you think I am awesome for telling you to ditch the body part split routines. It’s a win-win situation.

For more info on why full-body routines are FAR superior, read this.

3. Steer clear of machines:

Personally, I’m not a big fan of machines. I can honestly say that I haven’t had a client of mine touch a leg extension or leg curl machine (to name a few) in over two years. Unless they are preparing to become the world’s best butt kicker, I see no need. The same can be said for pretty much any other machine that puts you in a fixed plane of motion. Real life movement does NOT occur in a fixed plane, so why train that way? Likewise, I also don’t like the idea of people going to gym, only to sit in/on a machine. Most people sit at work from 9-5, the last thing I want them doing in the gym is sitting more.

Long story short, learn to use free-weights (dumbbells and barbells). If you don’t know how, hire a personal trainer to show you how. And if you do work with a personal trainer and all you do is machine circuits……get a new trainer.

That’s all for now. More to come soon.

Excuses. I hear them all the time. Comes with the job of being a personal trainer I suppose. I am often amused when I overhear someone making excuses as to why they aren’t getting the results they had hoped for. Sorry folks, but going to the gym to walk on the treadmill for 60 minutes, three times per week, while watching Oprah isn’t going to cut it. Nor is restricting calories (read: carbs) to Ethiopian levels (yeah, cause it’s the fruit that’s making you fat). In case you didn’t pick up on it, I was being sarcastic….;o) Consider this a dose of what I like to call “tough love.” Everyone needs it from time to time.

Excuse #1: “I don’t have time to eat breakfast in the morning.”

Riiiigggghhhhttttt. It takes no more than TWO minutes to warm-up a bowl of oatmeal. I defy anyone to prove to me that they don’t have two minutes to prepare SOMETHING in the morning. And while the idea of eating a bowl of oatmeal sounds about as appetizing as a bowl of broussel sprouts to some; throw in a few blueberries or an apple with some cinnomon and maybe a touch of chocolate flavored protein powder, and you have a very scrumptious meal.

Food for thought: There is a plethora of data out there which shows that people who eat breakfat regularily tend to be MUCH leaner than those who don’t. Additionally, eating breakfast has been shown to decrease cortisol (a hormone which tells your body to store fat) levels to a vast degree. All in all, your mother was right…. breakfast IS the most important meal of the day. Make it a priority. Get up earlier and quit making excuses.

Excuse #2: “I don’t have time to train/workout during the week.”

Oh really? But I bet you can tell me who won American Idol or what happened in the season finale of Lost, right? It’s funny how people never have time to train, but have all the time in the world to watch their favorite television shows. To prove my point.

The National Human Activity Survey (n=8000): subjects watched on average 19.8 hours of television per week.

American Time Use Survey (n=58,000): subjects watched on average 21 hours of television per week.

Anyone who tells me that they don’t have time to train/exercise at least five hours per week is totally lying to me.

STOP WATCHING SO MUCH DARN TV, and do more exercise. Watch what happens. Quit making excuses.

The following is an excerpt of an article I wrote that originally ran on t-nation.com, titled Dieting Disasters. To Read the entire article, click here:

Ditch the Calorie Containing Beverages!!!

This is usually the very first thing I tend to “tweak” when I start with a new client. Unless someone is actually trying to put on weight, I’d much rather someone EAT their calories than drink them; especially when dieting. I once worked with a woman who would drink two of those fully-loaded lattes from Starbucks every… ..single… ..day. She was easily ingesting 500+ calories per day from those alone. At first I limited her to one per day and eventually we took them out all together. She made fantastic progress.

If you’re one of those people who’s always had a difficult time losing weight/ fat, try getting rid of all calorie containing beverages from your diet. This includes, soda (diet soda is acceptable in moderation), fruit juice (nothing but concentrated sugar, deficient in the good stuff… fiber), lattes (heavy cream, sugar, etc), and GASP… alcohol.

I actually had a really great conversation with a colleague of mine about the effects of alcohol on fat oxidation (body’s ability to burn off fat) not too long ago. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any significant studies dealing with the topic, but my educated guess is that alcohol slows it down significantly.

Alcohol is basically a poison to the body and when you pound down six drinks (if not more for some people), the liver has to work diligently to process and excrete the alcohol from the body. And since alcohol has to go through the liver to be metabolized, it’s impossible for the body to burn fat during this time. So for those who have a tendency to drink a few times per week, you’re really shooting yourself in the foot in the long run. Not to mention you can only use the “beer goggle” excuse for so long.

I know many of you are thinking to yourself, “what about all those people who claim that drinking a glass or two of wine per night actually improves health?” A person who drinks a glass of wine or beer with dinner normally sits down and drinks it over 30 minutes or so. They relax and unwind. Rarely does someone POUND a glass of wine. So is it the wine consumption that makes them healthier, or the fact that they actually sit down and RELAX and enjoy it every night?

The same could be said for dark beer. Dark beer tends to be similar to wine in the sense that people generally don’t “chug” it. Also, it’s been shown that the flavonoids found in dark beer have the same characteristics as red wine in that it’s very high in antioxidants and helps to reduce the risk of blood clots. Again, is it the dark beer that offers the benefits, or the fact that people sit down to relax and enjoy it?

If I had to choose, I would prefer that people limit themselves to a drink (maybe two) a few nights per week rather than binging on the weekends during $1 beer nights at Hooters. And I would also prefer that people drink more water and green tea.