Guts & Glory

The reason for training, or doing anything in life for that matter, is to achieve a goal, be it gaining muscle, losing a few fatty inches, running faster, jumping higher, you get the picture.

To successfully achieve any goal you will have to plan smaller achievable goals, this will help you monitor your progress and will help you stay o target, I'll discuss goals at a later stage.

With summer fast approaching you folks in the Northern Hemisphere, I thought it best I start with some weight loss advice. You should have enough time to lose that spare tube by summer and boast with your newfound buffness.

Beside anthropometric measurements, the first thing I make my clients do is strip down and either have their image captured on film, or to really study their reflection in a mirror. I usually encourage them to utilize both methods, as the mirror will give them the instant, unbiased feedback and the captured image, be it stills or video, can act as a record to gauge their progress by.

 

Look for the following answers

  1. Where are your fatty deposits (if any), are they located around your waist, hips, chest, arms, thighs, etc.?
  2. If you can see any muscle definition, how is the muscle shaped, do the biceps have a long or short head when flexed, do you have more muscle mass in the upper or lower chest? Do you have good separation in the center of the chest? Are your lats situated high or do they have a natural tendency to flare from the waist upward?
  3. Look at your posture, his should actually be the first point to look at. Poor posture will lead to poor muscle development as you restrict the range of motion (ROM) during exercise (more about this next week). Look at your side view, are your hips thrust forward or backward, are your shoulders stooped, do you have any lower back arch that seems abnormal?
  4. Make a notes of your positive and negative parts that you would like to sort out (a questionnaire has been made available to help determine your ideal proportions). If you want you could have a friend stand by.
  5. This is the final step, mentally change the picture in the mirror and see the new you, the you, you want to be looking back at you. I did say the new you and Arnold, Yates, Buzzini et al, as you will never be able to become them, you'll only manage to become the best you.

Remember when training for fat loss, the general rule will apply, first on, last off. No spot reduction and no miracles are to be expected.

HiOctane will tell you about some proven supplements that will help with weight loss and Fuel the System will give you some recipes to try out.

 

Remember, diets will not help, I rather prefer that my clients start eating regular small meals. This stimulates prevents the brain from activating the starvation mode. It also allows for a constant level of blood sugar, you will not get that tired run down feeling one would normally associate with diets. Most of my clients have small meal every one and a half to two hours, also great if you are a Type II diabetes.

To those who have been living a sedentary lifestyle, I would suggest that you start a walking program. Walk briskly for about thirty to forty five minutes per day. By eating the regular small meals and walking, you will start increasing the body's metabolic rate, resulting in calories being burnt. Also dump that remote, stand up to turn the Tele on, park your car a bit further away from the office and walk that block or two, use the stairs. All these little extra manual tasks you do will help elevate that metabolic rate.

To those who are accustomed to a little manual labor or who are doing a bit of exercise, I would suggest that you start working on the toning circuits. You could start doing a bit of aerobic workout at least twice a week, if you have any back or leg problems, water aerobics will take the load off the effected areas and allow you to kick your metabolism into high gear.

 

Will not give any specific program, as I do not believe in dishing out generic programs to my clients, go to TrainerOnline and I will work out a program specifically for you.