Researchers at Tufts University in Massachusetts released results this month that might interest you. So let me see if I can walk you through their study. Bottom Line: Low carb diets, especially in the initial stages where they are basically “no carb” diets, end up starving your brain. So the key is you need some carbs, even in a low-carb diet. Here’s the explanation. The brain uses glucose (sugar) as it’s main fuel. Since (more…)
Looking to burn fat with weight training? Tired of typical routines?
Get my metabolic routine here: Fat Burn Furnace!
Last week Mike Geary had a post and we had a lot of interest, so I got Mike to give away his original e-book, Training & Nutrition Secrets For a Lean Body. Just for being a WFN subscriber, you can download it by clicking the link (the title itself in the previous sentence!) or the picture to the right: PLUS – if you’re interested in discovering some areas where you may be going wrong in your abs training and your attempts at losing stomach fat, I have an interview for you below that you’ll want to read. In it, Men’s Health Magazine writer Craig Ballantyne, grills Abs-Expert Mike Geary, author of the internationally popular book, The Truth about Six Pack Abs, on the topic of abs training and the biggest myths and mistakes he sees in this field. Here’s a copy of the first half of the interview below (of course, I got permission to republish it). In this part of the interview today, we’ll just deal with training aspects. In a couple days, I’ll send out the rest of the interview, which Craig and Mike covered the nutrition aspects we need to consider to lose stomach fat and get those hidden abs to show. Enjoy! =============================================== CB: Okay Mike, so where does the (more…)
Editor’s note – There is so much monthly science news when it comes to muscle fitness, that it’s probably hard for you to keep up. In these occasional posts, I’ll summarize various items of research in the past 90 days or so. I’ll cite the official reports so that the hard-core of you can read the science for yourself. But for the rest of you, these summaries should save you some time…
More News on Caffeine
Two new studies reconfirm the benefits of mild amounts of caffeine to performance. Sprinters were shown to increase performance by 1.4% after only 385 mg of caffeine and their fatigue was delayed by 1.2. This, per Medicine Science Sports Exercise, 40; 1835-1840, 2008. Might not seem like much, but in sprinting, milliseconds count. The second study, from International Journal Sports Nutrition Exercise Metabolism, 18: 412-429, 2008, showed that 440 mg of caffeine taken before a workout increased bench-press strength and sprint tests, but had no effect on leg press strength.
Failure Training – Science Behind the Trend
You’ve probably heard a lot about weight training (more…)
Continue reading about Science News For Building Lean Muscle – Jan 25 2009
Below is an article contributed by Mike Geary, the founder of TruthAboutAbs.com. I thought this was an important topic to share with you because the reality is that most people simply don’t realize how dangerous their excess abdominal fat really is to their health, nor do they know what they can do about it. Mike’s book is the #1 ab training book on ClickBank. He and Tom Venuto have a lock on the top positions there! I think Mike’s also got a free e-book that I’ll see if I can get him to let me share with you all… Stay tuned on that!
The Hidden Dangers of Your Excess Abdominal Fat – It’s More Serious Than a Vanity Issue!
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat? The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body. However, what most people don’t realize is that excess abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is also a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has clearly demonstrated that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat.
Two Types of Abdominal Fat
There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles. The second type of fat that you have in your abdominal area is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat also plays a role in giving certain men that “beer belly” appearance where their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it. Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal area are serious health risk factors, but science has shown that having excessive visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Both of them greatly increase the risk your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases. Part of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that it apparently releases more inflammatory molecules into your body on a consistent basis. If you care about the quality of your life and your loved ones, reducing your abdominal fat should be one of your TOP priorities! There’s just no way around it. Besides, a side-effect of finally getting rid of all of that excessive ugly abdominal fat is that your stomach will flatten out, and if you lose enough stomach fat, you will be able to visibly see those sexy six pack abs that everyone wants.
So What Do I Do?
So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat? Is there actually a REAL solution beyond all of the gimmicks and hype that you see in ads and on commercials for “miracle” fat loss products? The first thing you must understand is that there is absolutely NO quick fix solution. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster. Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can’t spot reduce your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It simply doesn’t work that way. The ONLY solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a properly designed strategic exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right. I’ve actually even seen a particular study that divided thousands of participants into a diet-only group and an exercise/diet group. While both groups in this study made good progress, the diet-only group lost significantly LESS abdominal fat than the diet & exercise combined group. (more…)
Ok, this site is a little addictive: http://www.nutritiondata.com .
You can type in various food categories, and it will then give you not just the standard “Nutrition Facts” label, but also some highly detailed analysis of the quality of the food. Because proteins, carbs, etc. have subtleties beyond the standard label, I think if you play with this site a bid, you’ll be as addicted as I am!
Let me walk you through an example…
I was curious about why so many body builders put pumpkin in their home-made protein bars. So rather than drive to the store, I went to nutritiondata.com and found that they have various options to choose from:
I figured “vegetables and vegetable products” made sense.
And then, drilling down one more level, I checked out “pumpkin, canned, without salt”. Here are a few screen shots (way too long of a page to show you all of them):
But here’s my take away: pumpkin is low fat, decent omega-3 and -6 fatty acids, high dietary fiber, moderate sugar, and a little protein. Because I do a lot of running in addition to weight training, pumpkin is looking like the perfect food to work in around my 8-mile runs.
In contrast, here’s part of the screen for Snickers’ protein performance bar: (http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/snacks/9963/2)
Not surprisingly, it has a ton of sugar. Yeah, it’s got a lot of protein, but this is essentially a candy bar with a scoop of protein powder mixed in. Better than a regular snickers, but something you should consider as a treat outside your regular diet. [If you crave protein bars, make these yourself.]
What do you think of nutritiondata.com? Do you have other sites you’d recommend? Chime in!
Continue reading about Nutrition Data – Easy As (Pumpkin) Pie
Article by Leo Babauta of zenhabits If you’re like me, you can eat healthy much of the time, exercise a lot, and still find your fat-burning efforts at a plateau. It seems easier to lose the first 30 pounds than the last bit of fat around your middle. (more…)
Continue reading about 7 Fail-proof Ways to Rev Up Your Fat Burning and Get Lean
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