Trying to lose the fat around your midsection? Or just trying to get the abs of your dreams? Here are some tips that can help you reach your goals.

The most fat is burned when abs are trained with very little in the stomach. You should also consider doing some type of cardio activity prior to working your abs so you minimize the chances of overexerting your ab muscles.

Between sets, flex your abs. This may help to build definition. Body builders have been known to stretch and flex between sets to increase muscle definition.

Try to only take a 1 minute rest, or less, in between abdominal exercises. This keeps the metabolism high, helping you burn fat at a greater rate.

Cutting calories will also help in toning your abdominal muscles. Excess calories become love handles, hips and butts, so cutting calories minimizes the chances of fat conversion. You can also benefit from reducing the amount of sodium added to food. Salt + Water + Fat = fat around the love handles.

Need a healthy diet snack? The best foods for getting definition in your abs are beans and berries. For example, white beans, blackberries, and dried apricots. They're all high in fiber and make you feel full, and also prevents constipation.

Functional Strength Training for Runners
Jena Walther, MS, CSCS 

When discussing training with runners, we find a similarity: they run, run, and run some more, sometimes throw in a little stretching and lift weights once in a while.  We rarely meet a runner who incorporates year-round strength training into his/her program as a performance enhancer and injury prevention tool.

Runners often fear the words “Strength Training” because they believe they will gain size or that it will take too much time away from running.  Running-specific strength training, however, improves performance and decreases the risk of injury.

Running-Specific Strength Training:

1. Train running movement patterns.  Although it works multiple-joints, the leg press in a gym is not functional for runners . . . if it doesn’t look or feel like running, it probably won’t make you a faster runner. Example: Tray step ups on a box with an exaggerated arm swing.
2. Drive exercises in all three dimensions.  Even though it appears that we run straight forward (the Sagittal plane), to decrease muscular imbalance and overuse resistance training should be completed 3-dimensionally, which includes the frontal (side-to-side movements) and transverse (rotational movements) planes.  Example: Add lateral and rotational lunges to your typical forward lunge.
3. Combine strength training with mobility.  Flexibility and strength can, and must, coexist.  Example: 1) Add some resistance (dumbbells, medicine ball) to stretches you would typically do before or after your run; 2) Perform a body-weight-only routine – include squats and lunges through a full range of motion.  Complete either of these sessions in place of a recovery run for a good dose of injury prevention.
4. Follow a periodization program.  You can strength train year round, but give your body planned periods of rest and do not increase your mileage and strength training volume simultaneously.  Strength training two-three days per week during lighter training phases and one-two days per week during heavy phases is essential for an injury-free and fun race day.

Check out RU Sports Performance Center's "Run-Fit" Program - Running Specific Conditioning and Injury Prevention

(San Diego, CA)

FREE Trial - just stop by and mention this blog post!

 I am very pleased with the thought and don’t feel like adding
anything in it. It a perfect answer.
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Healthy Weight Loss

Train Like a Pro?  Better Think Twice!
Jena Walther, MS, CSCS
Performance Coach/Personal Trainer
RU Sports Performance Center - San Diego, CA

Everyone eventually hurts themselves horsing around with friends - just ask Chris Coghlan of the Florida Marlins, who recently tore his meniscus during a post-game celebration. You may ask - how does a professional athlete, who is expected to land safely after scaling the outfield wall bust up his knee while smashing a shaving cream pie into his teammate's face?

Coghlan's story raises a better question of how injury prevention is being built into the training of professional athletes, if at all. Risk of injury is associated with any sport or activity, therefore you must include an injury prevention program (or "pre-hab") in your training if you plan to avoid the disabled list.

3 Keys to Injury Prevention:

1. Proper Warm-up. There's no better way get injured than going out for a run on cold, tight muscles. Include dynamic stretching in all 3 planes of motion: Sagittal (front-to-back), Frontal (side-to-side), and Transverse (rotational).

2. Prepare for Chaos. Sports are chaotic and unpredictable, so to reduce your injury risk, prepare for anything your sport may throw at you (literally and figuratively). Train your body to develop a "been there, done that" mentality and have the ability to effectively react to unpredictable situations.

3. Follow a Comprehensive Program. Include functional strength training, cardio, and flexibility in any program. Comprehensive also implies that your training is tailored to your specific activity, and once again, is comprised of motions driven in all 3-dimensions!

Injury is certainly inherent with all sports and activities, however, a comprehensive injury prevention program can make you feel safer while training, competing, and the next time you want initiate a friendly pie smashing!

Read more on RU's injury prevention and training philosophy (Click Here)

July 21 has long been the unofficial "National" Junk Food Day. Many people celebrate this holiday if they know it or not.

Basic National Junk Food Day celebrations

Celebrating National Junk Food Day is relatively simple, compared to some holidays. In many countries, junk food – food with very little nutritional value – is easy to get. Some are using this "holiday" as an excuse for pigging out.

The opposite celebration of National Junk Food Day

National Junk Food Day is the stuff of nightmares for numerous nutritionists. Most people already eat plenty of "junk" food each and every day. Encouraging junk food just seems like a very bad idea for most. Some claim that National Junk Food Day is about awareness of bad choices, not celebration of them.

Why junk food is attractive

Despite the non-nutritional value of junk food, it's a huge industry. There are a number of reasons, but the first is generally cost. It's a simple calculation - a 400-calorie bag of potato chips could be $ 1, when a 400-calorie chicken breast is $ 3, and 400 calories of broccoli is effortlessly $ 5. With stretched-thin food budgets, junk food is the cheaper option. Nutritional value often comes second -- for every person from the regular consumer to school lunch programs.

Making your own Junk Food Day celebration

Making a pan of your own homemade Snickers on National Junk Food Day avoids the additives and stabilizers necessary for a shelf-stable candy bar. Try Instructables for the best instructions on making your own candy bar. A much easier option would be making potato chips. Slice potatoes very thinly, and bake at 450 degrees. You could also try making your own doughnuts, your own coffee or your own candy-coated popcorn.

 

 

As long as its FDA approved your on board right? Really? Not one FDA approved drug is without a side effect. Immune systems are weekend by antibiotics. Pain meds destroying our body's filters (livers, kidneys, etc ,etc). Recently "MAY CAUSE SEVERE LIVER DAMAGE" by one so called wonder weight loss pill on the market.

Everyone is stressed and on

 

anti depressants to deal with stress but don’t realize that what they think is a state of clarity is just a band aid on a bigger problem leaking toxins into that wound it is meant to heal. Maybe when we all wake up to the reality that Pharmaceutical prescriptions ALL have side effects we will seek a better solution instead of a quick temporary fix.

Everyone is looking for that Magic pill and the Pharmaceutical industry is tapping into it through Doctors with prescription weight loss pills that HAVE SIDE EFFECTS. Even in the “Jetsons” they had the one pill source but Spacely Sprocket was still overweight. Go Figure.

Look for Balance in your life.

Balance is as simple as:

• 50% Dietary Eating Habits
• 30% Supplementation to fill in the gaps of what you’re lacking in your foods
• 20% Regular exercise

Implementation of this foundations is the issue at hand. Over 3/5 of Americans are overweight.. And its not getting better. Look around you. And if everyone around you looks skinny to you… Then you might want to look at yourself. What’s even worse is that to deal with the growing girth of Americans they increased the numbers on what is considered healthy so you can be just a little bit heavier without being overweight.. WOW! Don’t believe me ask any life insurance rep about the history of the Metropolitan Standard for BMI for underwriting policies.

 

"Live Long & Heatlhy"

Ron Lashley, Jr.
Wellness Coach & Personal Trainer

Where to start can be the hardest part of any exercise program.

First and foremost, you should consult your physician before starting any exercise program. Once your physician gives you clearance to exercise, what comes next?

This is where many individuals run into problems. Often they join a gym and begin using the equipment without any guidance or direction. This often leads to extreme muscle soreness. It does not have to if done properly.

The following article will give you a guideline for a routine. However, to ensure the best safety and results of an exercise program you should consult a professional for guidance.

I have coined a phrase that I think fits perfectly..."Movement without a goal is chaos!" What this means is if you start exercising and do not know what you want to get out of it you are doomed before you even start.

Once you have a goal, we need to develop an action plan. The action plan is the road map of success. Just because someone starts an exercise program to lose weight does not mean that they are going to start losing weight right away. The proper exercises need to be done in a sequential order to avoid injury.

I like for everyone to follow a basic road map and then make changes based on their individual needs. The first and most important part of any exercise program is the evaluation. During this evaluation an initial fitness level will be determined in order to ensure the exercise intensity is correct for your individual needs.

This will help prevent that extreme soreness that many feel at the onset of an exercise routine. During the evaluation there needs to be a postural and movement analysis performed to determine if there are any muscle imbalances or abnormalities that need to be taken into consideration.

For example, if someone comes in and says they want to lose weight and during their evaluation I notice they have shoulders that are rounded forward this needs to be addressed. What this simply means is that the back muscles are weak and the muscles of the chest are tight. Sounds easy enough...however, if it is not corrected it can lead to shoulder pain and other injuries that will prevent us from reaching our goal.

Once the initial evaluation is complete we will begin a corrective exercise program. I like to describe this beginning phase of an exercise program as the "Need" where as the goal is the "Want."

This program is designed to bring the body back into balance in order for it to function properly. It's sole purpose is to correct any abnormalities that arise during the evaluation. Some common situations are rounded shoulders, tight muscles, or other imbalances are addressed. The length of this program segment all depends on the results of the evaluation.

Following the corrective exercise program we then begin the "meat and potatoes" of the routine. This portion of the exercise program focuses on the "goal" that the individual wants to obtain. During this portion of the routine there are several key parts to the routine.


The first part is the warm up. This ensures that the body is ready to engage in physical activity. It lubricates the joints and gets the blood into the muscles to prevent injury. During the warm up one should do a light cardiovascular activity and dynamic stretching (stretching technique that involves moving, I will get into this in a later blog).

Static stretching is not recommended prior to exercise. If you sit there and think about it for a second it makes sense...why would you get ready for movement or exercise by standing or sitting still?

Following the warmup, we then get into the body of the workout. This is where the goals become very important. We are focusing on things that will help us accomplish our goals.

There are many different training techniques that can be used here. The important thing to remember is that there is an order to do things. For example, an individual training for soccer should perform their agility part of their workout before the strength part. For an individual looking to lose weight we would do total body complex exercises prior to simpler exercises.

The final part of the workout consists of a cool down. This is generally static stretching. Static stretching is performed in one place and holding a stretch, NO BOUNCING!

A key part to remember that no exercise program works the same for everyone. After a couple of weeks you notice that you are not making any gains it is possible that the program needs to be adjusted.

Every six weeks you should re-evaluate your progress to ensure you are moving in the correct direction. As you can tell exercise is not as simple as it at first seems. The best way to ensure you are doing it properly is to consult a certified/insured personal trainer for guidance.

If you have any questions regarding this information you can place a post or contact me directly. Bill@BillMcCambley.com

If breakfast is truly the most important meal of the day, why do so many people casually skip it? According to recently published studies, breakfast skipping combined with fast food consumption rapidly and significantly increases weight gain in adults and teens.

Break the fast of your overnight slumber and kick-start your day with these easy-to-prepare meals that are not only hassle-free, but high in energy. Most of these breakfasts contain added protein in the form of powders. Click here to see some of my recommended brands of protein powders.

1. Goji Protein Oatmeal

You will need: Protein powder, goji berries and oatmeal.
How to enjoy: Using 2 cups of oatmeal, pour in just enough water to cover the oatmeal. Microwave for two minutes. Mix in 2 scoops of protein powder (ok to add more water for consistency). Add goji berries.
I recommend: Vega Whole Food Optimizer (protein), Navatis Naturals Organic Raw Goji Berries, organic old fashioned oats (generic is fine).

2. Two Banana Black Coffee with Hemp

You will need: Bananas (buy one week’s worth and separate from stem), coffee, hemp milk
How to enjoy: Drink one full glass of hemp milk; do not mix into your coffee as hemp milk will not blend the way conventional dairy does. Bananas -- and most fruit -- are best enjoyed on an empty stomach, so as to prevent bloating i.e.: gas. Two bananas are ideal as one is seldom satisfying. Also, avoid drinking the coffee on an empty stomach; coffee will affect your blood sugar and might cause cantankerous behavior.
I recommend: Pacific Foods Vanilla Hemp Milk

3. Mulberry Protein Yogurt

You will need: Yogurt, dried mulberry fruit, protein powder
How to enjoy: In a separate dish, mix protein powder and yogurt. Add dried mulberry fruit and stir. This is an ideal “to go” breakfast as you can easily transfer the contents into any covered container.
I recommend: Chobani Greek yogurt, Kopali Organic Dried Mulberry Fruit

4. White Water with Peanut Butter and Apple

You will need: Peanut butter, Granny Smith apples (buy one week’s worth), protein powder
How to enjoy: Blend (or shake) 2 scoops of protein powder and 2 tablespoons of peanut powder with 4 cups of water. Enjoy with the apple. Another portable breakfast.
I recommend: Earth Balance Natural Peanut Butter

5. The Flax Cottage Cheescake

You will need: Low-fat cottage cheese, dried curd variety, flax powder
How to enjoy: Combine flax powder with two cups of cottage cheese. Batter will be thick to lumpy (like cake). Flax is a natural fiber for roughage; cottage cheese provides protein for energy.
I recommend: Flax can be expensive, any variety that is on sale.