Preventing You From Losing Fat?

Controversial food

When it comes to controversial foods, soy is king. Tofu, miso, and edamame just to name a few are all soy based products. If you are like most of the American population and follow what the government and food industry tell you, you probably still believe that soy has some health benefits.  And you may think it’s a good idea to consume these products. After all, what could be bad about the innocent soy milk or tasteless tofu?

What is Soy Anyway?

 Soy is a legume that is grown and highly chemically processed, even the “organic” versions. Virtually all soybeans grown today are genetically modified. Our body finds it difficult to digest these genetically modified foods, therefore, they are stored as body fat. I know, I know, red meat is bad. It contains too much fat which is bad for the heart and waistline right? Well not so fast my friend. This is so far-fetched and you think you may be following a healthy diet because you are consuming foods such as, tofu, soy milk, and the good ol’ tofurkey.

No!! You are not following a healthy diet because soy contains large amounts of biologically active compounds called isoflavones, which function as phytoestrogens. Plant-based compounds that can activate estrogen receptors in the human body. Which in turn, effectively raises your estrogen levels and therefore lowers your testosterone levels. Those hormones are in competition so more of one means less of the other. Messing up your estrogen levels has devastating effects for men and women.

Harmful to Men?

Improper balance of testosterone to estrogen in men can lead to a lower libido, fat accumulation around the waist, growth of the prostate and loss of energy, stamina and virility and even man boobs (gynecomastia).

Harmful to Women?

Having abnormally high levels of estrogen doesn’t mean you’ll be more of a woman. It could disrupt your periods, fertility and put you at risk for breast cancer.

In conclusion, soy is harmful to the body and could be the reason you are holding on to the body fat that you have been fighting so hard to lose. The isoflavones found in soy can activate and/or inhibit estrogen receptors in the body, which can disrupt the body’s normal function making it impossible for you to shed those extra pounds. For more information on weight training, getting in shape, or if you are frustrated with your current physique and looking to hire a personal trainer,  call us today (505) 261-1253.

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Workout Plan When You Have Limited Time!

1.  Use The Big 3

Three simple exercises should be the baseline of your workout plan when you have limited time.  If you devote 45 minutes three days a week to the big three, you can make some good physique changes to your body. Give each of your three major muscle groups its own dedicated day. One day for squats, another benches, and a third day for dead lifts. To save time cut down on all the extra workouts you are doing. Those eighteen sets of curls aren’t the most important for your gains. I’m not trying to diminish the value of auxiliary work, but for the sake of your time you can cut it out.

2.  Don’t Leave the Squat Rack on Squat Day

On squat day, you don’t need to ever leave the rack. Change up your rep ranges to match whatever your goal maybe. When in doubt four sets of six seem to be a solid choice for all the major muscle groups. When your main movement is done, you continue to squat using variations for your secondary movements.

Front squats, wide stance, narrow, pauses, and whatever other variations you can think of. An additional 3 sets of any two of the previous mentioned movements and you have a recipe for making gains. You have limited time, so no need for running around to five different machines. Simple, effective, hard work.

3.  Stay Basic when Benching

On your bench day, follow the same basic template. You should never have leave the bench. Vary your rep ranges to match what your goals are. Again four sets of six has always been a solid game plan. Following that up with some bench variations. Use some boards, bands, chains, pauses, close grips, wide grips, or whatever other favorite you might have for your secondary movement.

4.  Commit to the Lift

On the third day of your training week, stick to the deadlift. Do them from the floor, from boxes, and various heights. You can do them with verse bands or even with chains if that’s what you like. You can do variations such as Romanians or snatch grips. Always vary your rep ranges based on your goals so you will have a quick effective workout.

After reading these tips I hope you understand that there is still some need to do isolation work, so don’t think that auxiliary work has no value. I am simply saying that you can still make gains on limited time sticking to the basic core lifts. I am also not telling you that a full body workout wouldn’t work. Just from my experience and point of view, I would prefer to see people hit the big three on different days.

I feel like you can focus on moving more weight when given its own day, therefore making more gains. Don’t use time as an excuse. You can make gains, improve your body, and feel better about yourself with even limited time. For more information on a workout plan when you have limited time, changing your physique, losing weight, and living a healthier lifestyle, or if you’re looking to hire a personal trainer,  call us today (505) 261-1253 

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6 Tips to Help You Get In Shape For the Summer!

1.  Drink More Shakes 

When you’re on the go and haven’t taken the time to prepare a meal, drink a protein shake.  Protein shakes are a quick and easy way to get nutrients into your body. And the key word here is “easy”.  When I work with a client on nutrition management, I always keep things as simple as possible.  This makes it more likely for you to stay on track and not be tempted to eat junk just because you didn’t get a chance to prepare a meal.  Just one of my little tricks to help you get in shape fast.

2.  Don’t Cut Out The Egg Yolks

 For a long time it’s been a fad for fitness athletes trying to get in shape to eat a ton of egg whites, but to omit the egg yolks.  This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when you’re trying to get lean.  Egg yolks are just brimming with beneficial nutrients. Fat soluble vitamins, protein, and vitamin A, D, E and K to name just a few. The truth is, adding a little bit of fat to your diet slows down the digestive process and helps your body lose fat.

3.  Eat More Fiber

 Eating more fiber helps slow down digestion, thus keeping blood sugars more steady. Some high fiber foods include fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains. While losing weight and maintaining the weight loss is not easy, adding fiber is the key to keeping you satiated while dieting. Fiber is linked to having a lower body weight because whole grains are usually lower in calories than high-fat foods.

4.  Cut Out Sugar

 The quickest way to increase the number of fats cells on your body is by eating sugar and refined carbs. Eating a higher fat, higher protein, lower sugar and refined Carb diet will speed up your metabolism and curb your hunger. A healthy diet containing unprocessed foods like fresh fruit will give you plenty of sugar in its natural form for energy. The easiest way to cut refined sugar is to avoid highly processed foods. Simply avoiding common sources like sugary fruit yogurt, sweetened drinks, and, of course, desserts will reduce the added sugars in your diet by 75 percent.

5.  Get More Sleep

The longer you’re awake the more likely you are to consume calories you don’t need, which can cause you to gain up to two pounds a week. Not only do you have more energy to take on the day after a good night’s sleep, but your body also burns more calories. Yale University did a recent study of two groups of people: one group was sleep deprived, and the other group got a full 8 hours rest each night.  The amount of calories burned while at rest was five percent higher in the rested group than their sleep deprived counterparts. They also burned 20 percent more calories after a meal versus the sleep deprived group. When you don’t sleep enough, your cortisol levels rise. This is the stress hormone that is frequently associated with fat gain.

6.  Hire Personal Trainer

 If you were to visit a new, unfamiliar city, would you hire a tour guide? A personal Trainer can be looked at as a tour guide for your physique. They can help you individualize a strength training program to get in you shape.  So if you want more tips to help you get in shape fast for summer or you’ve been frustrated with the results you’re seeing in the gym, a personal trainer may be just what you need. Let us help you take your fitness and weight loss goals to the next level. Need a personal trainer? Contact us.

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Ab Exercises You Can Do at Home

You’re tired of the beer belly. You want your love handles gone. You dream of what it would be like to build sculpted abs. On top of being less than attractive, excess belly fat increases your risk of diabetes and heart disease. While your midsection is one of the most difficult areas of the body to trim and tone, it can be done! But it’s going to take some work.  It would be nice to have some ab exercises to do in the comfort of your own home.

If your abs are completely hidden under an oversized belly, it takes more than just crunches to reveal toned muscle underneath. To burn off this extra layer of fat, you’ll need to increase the intensity and consistency of your workouts and follow a better diet. Get 30 to 60 minutes of challenging exercise five days each week. Contact us to make your workouts more effective.

In addition to your regular workouts, include an ab workout every other day. What should your ab-centric workout look like? Check out the exercises below to find what you should add to your ab routine to build those sculpted abs. Choose three to four of the following exercises and perform 15 to 20 reps of each.

The Bicycle

One of the best ab workouts that also works your obliques (side muscles) and back is the bicycle. Lying on a mat, put your hands behind your head and gently support your head with your fingers. Lift your knees toward your chest and lift your shoulder blades up off the floor. Twist your body toward the right, bringing your right elbow toward your left knee as you extend your right leg out straight. Switch sides by bringing your left elbow toward your right knee and extending your left leg. Continue in this pedaling motion.

The Crunch

A classic exercise known for effectively toning abs, the crunch starts as you lie on your back, bend your knees, and keep your feet flat on the floor. Bend your elbows and cross your arms over your chest. Keeping your lower back on the floor, use your ab muscles to lift your head and shoulders off the floor. Hold for three seconds, lower back to the starting position, and repeat.

Reverse Crunch

Targeting a tough area to tone—your lower abs—the reverse crunch is another great abdominal muscle workout. Lying on a mat, keep your arms at your sides with your palms facing down. Lift your knees up toward your chest until your knees are bent 90 degrees. Using your abs and avoiding a rocking motion, curl your hips and lower back up off the floor, lifting your legs toward the ceiling. Hold for several seconds and then lower your hips down. Repeat.

Trunk Rotation

To do a trunk rotation, you’ll need a dumbbell or medicine ball. While sitting on the floor, hold the weight near your body, lean back slightly, and bend your knees so your heels touch the floor. Twist your body to the right, hold for a second, twist to the left, and then repeat, twisting to the right next.

Front Plank

Planks work your abs as well as your back. Lying face down on the floor, place your forearms on the floor. Lift your body up on your forearms and toes, keeping your elbows under your shoulders. Using your core muscles, hold yourself up for as long as you can until lowering to the floor. Practice your planks until you can hold yourself up for 60 seconds or longer.

Bird Dog

Another exercise that works both your abs and back is the bird dog. In a kneeling position with your hands and knees on the floor, raise your left leg up behind you until it’s parallel to the floor. At the same time, lift your right arm up in front of your until it’s parallel to the floor as well. Hold for a second, lower your leg and arm back to starting position, lift your right leg and left arm, and repeat.

Remember that your diet plays a huge part in getting flat, sculpted abs. Cut out all the junk from your diet by eating wholesome, real foods and drink plenty of water.

Want flat abs faster? Contact us today and we’ll get you on the fast track.  For more information on losing weight, ab exercises, or if you’re just frustrated with the results you’ve been seeing in the gym and are thinking about hiring a personal trainer, call us today (505) 261-1253.

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What to Eat After A Workout To Build Muscle!!

Sugar is bad! Stay away from sugar! Sugar will destroy your physique and sabotage you fitness goals. Wait a minute….If this is the case why do you see some athletes walking out of the gym with handfuls of gummy bears, jelly beans, or a bag of skittles?

Well, have you ever stopped to ask them? Don’t, because they probably couldn’t tell you why they are doing it. You would probably get a response like…”because I saw that one guy with big muscles doing it..or..because Milton told me to”. Well my friends, Coach Korbie here is going to answer the question of what to eat after a workout to build muscle.

What Happens to Your Body During a Workout?

Let us examine the process for muscle growth and making changes to your physique that will help you reach those fitness goals. You must first comprehend what happens to the body during an intense workout. During exercise, cortisol levels will elevate as you burn fat and break down muscle tissue. This enables your muscles to rebuild and grow bigger during the recovery process.

During a workout, cortisol and energizing hormones like the adrenaline hormones and growth hormone are released. This allows the body to free fat stores so the we can utilize them for energy. Insulin, a storage hormone will then decrease at this time.

Why is it a Good Idea to Spike Your Insulin After a Workout?

Now that you have a basic understanding of what happens to your body when working out, let’s make it clear as to why an insulin spike post workout may be favorable. As previously mentioned when cortisol levels are elevated, insulin levels are low. After an intense workout, cortisol levels have increased to get you through that heavy lifting session. In addition your glycogen stores are depleted, and you have torn down your muscle tissue.

To start that recovery process and repair and build muscle tissue, you must spike your insulin. To create an insulin spike after training, a simple carbohydrate (sugars) should be consumed. Insulin transports nutrients to the organs in the body, including muscle cells. While insulin is driving amino acids and glucose into muscle cells, it also prevents the ‘leaking out’ of these nutrients from the muscle cells that usually occur in response to training.

What Exactly Should I Eat After My Workout?

You made it through a heavy lifting session. You maxed out and surpassed all your reps. Now what? Does this mean you reward yourself and go for a king size Snickers bar? After all, you just experienced major muscle breakdown and you want those quads to grow. Not so fast. Yes, insulin does promote muscle growth. However, you must take into consideration what your fitness goals are. What exactly are you trying to achieve?

To reach those fitness goals and build the physique you strive for, you must eat according to your body type and your goals. This is where I come in. You will see the best results when you seek professional help from a nutrition management specialist like us here at Training Innovations. For more information on what you should eat after a workout to build muscle, or if you’re looking to burn that stubborn belly fat and get in shape for summer,  contact us today!!

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5 Obstacles to Your Fitness Success

You want to be fit. You know how much you should weigh. You know your ideal pant size. You can even picture how great those skinny jeans will look. So why aren’t you living life in your ideal body? There are many complex reasons that make weight loss a challenge, reasons that go deeper than simply calories-in versus calories-out. I’m talking about the life issues that get in the way of your success. Here are 5 obstacles to your fitness success and the solutions to unlock your best body ever.

1. You don’t want to be bothered. 

It’s in your DNA to avoid pain and seek out pleasure. Unfortunately this works against you when trying to get fit. You see, in your mind it’s painful (or at least uncomfortable) to deny yourself the tasty food that you crave and to exert yourself with exercise.

There’s a simple way to work around this obstacle. First find something painful about being fat to motivate yourself towards healthy eating and exercise. Then, focus on the negative impact your current weight has on your health, self-esteem and lifestyle. And finally, convince yourself that the pain of being out of shape is much greater than the discomfort of losing weight.

2. You don’t want to wait for the good stuff. 

Just as you wish to avoid pain, you are also an expert in seeking out pleasure – namely food. This served the cavemen well, but these days it ends up as extra pounds around your waist and thighs. But there’s good news: extra calories are not your only option to stimulate the pleasure center of your brain. Find an activity or two that make you smile and indulge in those regularly.

• walk outside
• good book
• night out to the movies or theater
• spa day

You can also retrain your brain to crave the pleasure of exercise-induced endorphins. Talk about weight gain kryptonite!

3. You are crazy busy. 

Let’s face it, you work too much, commit yourself to too much and don’t even get enough sleep most of the time. And the fast-paced way you live leaves you exhausted, stressed and hungry for comfort food.  So you begin to feel too busy to take care of your health. It’s time to reprioritize. Let go of your perfectionist standards and remove a few commitments from your schedule so that you are able to cook healthy meals, exercise and get a good night’s sleep. Remind yourself that taking care of your health is not a luxury – it’s a necessity.

4. You don’t deserve it. 

I don’t agree with it, but you sure act like you don’t deserve to live the good life in the body of your dreams. Take a moment to think back on all the times you have self-sabotaged your weight loss efforts. If you don’t believe deep down that you are worthy then you’ll never give yourself a chance at a fit body. I believe that you deserve to have a healthy body – and I urge you to dig deep down to uncover why you don’t. Once you conquer your feelings of unworthiness, defeating the obstacles to your fitness success will be easy.

Take the time to take care of yourself. You DO deserve it.

5. You are afraid. 

You’re afraid to start because you just might fail, and wouldn’t that be embarrassing? You’re also afraid to start because you just might succeed, and change makes you uncomfortable – even if it’s change in the right direction. When you decide to get fit you will need to go through a bushel of changes:

• New diet
• New exercise routine
• New friends at the gym
• New clothes
• New self-image

Focus on all of the ways that losing weight will make your life better. Envision that better life everyday so that it goes from being new and scary to familiar and comfortable.
For more help with conquering the obstacles to your fitness success, reaching your fitness goals, or if you’re frustrated with the results you’ve been seeing at the gym and are thinking about hiring a personal trainer, contact us!

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How to Increase Flexibility!

You eat the right foods, drink the right drinks, and exercise regularly. In other words, you’re strong and healthy. There is only one hole in your overall good health. You’re as flexible as a piece of plywood. But there’s good news! You don’t have to stay inflexible your entire life. With the right steps, you can improve your flexibility, which will make life that much better.  Ready to get started building a more flexible you? Here’s how are some ways to increase your flexibility.

Roll Before

For many years, it was common practice to stretch before working out. In recent years, folks have ditched that advice for something better: lightly performing whatever you plan to do. Going to run? Walk and then jog before getting into a run. For those who want to take their routines to the stretchy limit, it’s time to use a foam roller.

With a foam roller, you work to gently stretch your muscles before working them out, and better yet, you stretch them out safely. Essentially a massage for your muscles, foam rolling helps your muscles relax and stretch. This, in turn, allows your entire muscle to be worked out in the gym afterward and prevents an already tight muscle from growing tighter through your exercise routine. Once you knock out a little foam rolling, the time is right for a round of body-weight exercises or light activity before going full force.

Go All the Way

As you exercise, you can help your flexibility by working throughout your entire range of motion. Initially, you may have a harder time squatting your full range of motion, but sticking with it will allow your muscles to work all the way and will lead to their being more flexible.

To get to where you can squat or perform other exercises as deep as your body allows, you will probably want to reduce the amount of weight you use. As your body grows accustomed to going through a fuller range of motion, you can increase the weight and enjoy improved flexibility.

Stretch Afterwards

Your routine winds down, and your muscles feel tight and want to stay that way. Folks who are new to working out often enjoy the feeling. It lets them know their body has worked hard, and so they allow the tightness to remain as they leave the gym and return to their daily routines.

However, this is when your stretches become most important. By taking 10 minutes to slowly stretch, you can take a huge step toward your overall flexibility. A good post-workout stretch will focus on the areas worked during your routine, but will provide a little stretching for the entire body. You can also finish your stretching with more foam rolling if you have time, as this will help further your flexibility goals.

Take It Slow

When stretching for increased flexibility, you may be tempted to push it as far as you can. But don’t give in. Instead, you should relax and take the slow and easy-going path to flexibility. Going too far too fast will actually have the opposite result that you want, as your body will have to repair itself from small injuries that occur from stretching and won’t want to stretch further in the future. Instead, take your time and allow your body to ease into stretches.

Feel an uncomfortable burning sensation that actually hurts? That is not your body’s way of thanking you. Back off and stretch to the point of slight discomfort. Accept that you can’t increase your flexibility overnight, and you will make better headway than beating your muscles into flexible submission.

If you’re looking for a challenging and consistent exercise plan to increase flexibility as well as reduce your body fat and increase your energy levels, or if you’re frustrated with your current level of fitness and have been thinking about hiring a personal trainer, contact us!

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