Strongman Training: Beneficial for all

Do you want to have physical and mental toughness? Anaerobic conditioning? Cardiovascular conditioning?
Muscular endurance, strength, and power? Do you want to melt fat and look great?
Well then you need look no further. Strongman style training can give you all of these things and more!
Now before you continue reading this article, I suggest you watch some strongman competitions on Youtube to get a better sense of what I mean. If you have watched these competitions before, then you know what I'm talking about.

Whether you're a man or women, an average person or an elite athlete, I believe that this type of training can be very beneficial. Strongman training builds what is called "functional" strength. Due to the awkwardness of many of the events, you will end up improvising in order to complete it and try to win. This means that the entire body will be worked, and you will work muscles that are nearly impossible to train with traditional weight training.

Think about how many times in sports that a play goes exactly how it was planned? Very rarely is the answer.The same goes for everyday life. Things are never done exactly the same every time. For example, you help a friend move furniture into his new house, and everything is a different weight, size, and has different balance points. This means you will need to be using your muscles in a different way each time, and you may have to walk up or down stairs. You will have to lift, pull, push, and drag many of these items as well. Strongman training is the exact same....except strongman has no furniture moving events.

When most people exercise in the gym, they have a routine with a certain number of sets, repetitions, rest time, weights, and specific exercises. The lifts that people perform are usually done in  the same way for every set, making sure to stick tightly to the exercise routine.

"I have to make sure to get 1min rest between my next set, perform 12 reps, and take 2mins rest in between my next exercise"

While this is very beneficial for proper progression and sticking to the scientific ranges for types of training  goals such as hypertrophy, strength, endurance and power, this is not how things work in sport. Can you imagine a fighter in a MMA match going full out with punches for 10 seconds, and then saying to his opponent " Can you just wait a few minutes? Cause I need to let my body recharge it's ATP-CP system in order to work in the explosive power range". It would be ridiculous wouldn't it ?

This is why strongman training is such a test of mental and physical toughness. You don't get time to rest because your lungs burn and your legs are sore. You need to work as hard as you can in order to win. So as much as I believe strongman training is beneficial for all, I don't think you should attempt it unless you know that you're ready physically and mentally. If you are one of the few that are brave enough to giver, then I applaud your drive.

The main problem with trying to train for these strongman events is that many of the equipment required is hard to obtain due it's awkwardness and specificity. There are sites you can order from, but the cost can add up quickly. So for many people it's all about improvisation. Things such as big tires are easy to obtain. Just call up a local tire company and they will gladly let you take away their old tires for free. It costs them money to get them disposed of professionally so really, you are doing them a favor. Other things like ropes and heavy chains are easy enough to find too. Just go to your local hardware store and I'm sure you can find a good selection. There are many other items that can be used in your strongman training such as sandbags, empty paint buckets, other people, big rocks, and of course barbells and dumbbells. It's all really about using your brain and being creative.

Now most likely you are wondering what an example of a strongman training program would look like. So I shall give you an idea.

1) Overhead rock toss- 5 tosses. 1 minute rest in between tosses. This is an explosive exercise so you're going to want to start with a rock that is light enough to explosively toss yet heavy enough to provide resistance.
2) Backwards partner pull- 2 sets of 50 yards. 1 minute rest between sets. Get your partner to lay on flat on his stomach and grasp one end of the rope tightly. You grab the other end and pull him as fast as you can for 50 yards.
3) Tire flip- 3 sets of 5 with 3mins rest in between sets. Pretty self explanatory exercise.
4) Farmers walk- 3 sets of 50 yards with 3mins rest in between sets. Use either heavy dumbbells or barbells.

Now this in no way is an in depth program that I meticulously designed. It is just here to provide you with a basic idea of what it would look like. That's not to say that you won't gain anything from it if you do it, because I'm sure your lungs and muscles would burn after performing it ! You may recall how I said having specific times, reps and sets isn't necessary with strongman training, well it still isn't but you do need a general guideline. If you want to work more endurance you can go further distances and take less rest. If you want to train for more power then you can do shorter distances and take a little more rest. It really is dependent on your specific goals.

So if you're wanting to switch up your routine, or just feel like pushing your limits, then give strongman training a try.

Steroids: The Real Facts

Now I'm sure this article is of interest to many. Not necessarily because everyone wants to go on them, but due to the fact that you want to know the truth. The problem with most of the information out there is that it's from broscience or completely altered in a negative way in the media. I believe the best way to understand things is to look at it from both sides of the coin. Of course if you know me I am somewhat pro-steroids but this in no way means I won't give a fair look at the negative effects. This article will look at the physiology of anabolic steroids, the action of the compounds, benefits, and the known possible side effects.

So as I assume, many of you would like to know what exactly steroids are. The first error that is made by people is classifying all steroids in the same category. Steroids are synthetic versions of hormones, and not all of them have performance enhancing properties. For example, birth control is a steroid and it contains synthetic versions of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. Another example is Cortisol, which tells the body to break down inflammation in the body. The one most people are interested in, due to their performance enhancing properties are anabolic steroids. Also known as anabolic-adrogen steroids (AAS), AAS imitate the effects of the male hormones testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. The main effects from these hormones are the increase of protein synthesis inside cells, which in turn increases cellular anabolism, especially in muscles. AAS also have secondary androgenic effects and virilization, such as the maintance and development of masculine properties. Due to these reasons, women should avoid using anabolic steroids if they want to remain feminine.

AAS are fat-soluble hormones which mean they are membrane permeable and directly exert their effects on the nucleus. Below is a picture of a cell so you know what the membrane and nucleus are, as well as a few of the other cell structures.

The action of AAS begins when the hormone penetrates the membrane of the target cell and binds to an androgen receptor inside the cytoplasm of the cell.  Then the compound hormone-receptor diffuses into the nucleus, where it either activates processes that send signals to other parts of the cell, or alters the expression of the genes. Now different types of anabolic compounds bind to the androgen receptors with different effects, depending on their chemical structure. Some compounds bind strongly or weakly to the receptor. The reason for the strength of these bindings is not known.

Now the effects that AAS exert on muscle mass are cased in two ways. Firstly, they increase the production of proteins in the body; secondly, they block the production of cortisol which is a stress hormone which reduces recovery time. This means that catabolism (breakdown) of the muscle is greatly reduced and anabolism (growth) is increased. The theory behind this reduction of muscle breakdown is that AAS inhibit the action of other steroid hormones such as glucocorticoids that promote the breakdown of muscles. Another positive effect is that AAS effect the number of cells that develop into fat storage cells. The final effect they have is the reduction in body fat due to the increase in Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), because the more muscle mass you have, the higher your BMR. Some of the important anabolic effects are: increased protein synthesis, increased appetite, increased bone remodeling and growth, stimulation of bone marrow, red blood cell production, and an increase in skeletal muscle size which in turn increases strength.


In the medical field , AAS have many important uses, and have been used since they were first synthesized in  the 1930's. They are used for burn victims, people with muscle wasting, AIDS patients,cancer patients, and even more. So according to the media, steroids kill athletes but heal those who are sick and dying. How does that even make any sense?? Well let me tell you, it doesn't make any damn sense at all if you look at the research out there. Even the American College of Sports Medicine recognizes that under the presence of proper diet, high intensity resistance training, and AAS, a person can increase lean body mass and make gains in muscular strength faster than someone not using AAS. This is why AAS are so widely used by bodybuilders, powerlifters, and any sport where size and strength are important. Although for all the benefits that they bring, there are also a long list of many POTENTIAL side effects.

Now the problem with the available research on anabolic steroids is that much of it is old and outdated, or self reported data due to it being unethical to give people steroids in the name of research. The known side effects that happen when you go on a cycle are: high blood pressure, increase in LDL (bad cholesterol) and decrease in HDL (good cholesterol), possible acne, testicular atrophy, and gynecomastia. The joy about these side effects are that most go away when you come off the sauce. The gynecomastia is the only one that can possibly stick with you due to it being to a permanent growth of breast tissue in relation to too much estrogen. The body likes to maintain homeostasis so when the testosterone increases, the estrogen increases as well. This is why many SMART athletes will use things such Aromatase Inhibitors which block the estrogen from reaching the receptors and blocks the production of estrogen as well.

Some of the POTENTIAL side effects, that have NEVER been proven are: Severe liver damage (mainly from oral steroids), cancer, baldness, heart attacks, stunted growth, prostate enlargement, kidney problems, immune system changes, and sterility. The problem as stated before, is that none of these side effects have been proven in any controlled research setting and have been all been self reported. There are too many other possible variables that aren't counted for in relation to the cause of these issues.

The thing that needs to be considered is the benefit to risk ratio. There is no safe drug on this planet and I highly doubt there ever will be. The more you take of something, the more of a chance that negative side effects will occur. If you drink too much booze you can die. If you smoke too many cigarettes, you can get cancer. If you eat too much fatty food you can have a heart attack. I could go on forever with examples, but I shall not bore you any more. The key to anabolic steroids is to DO YOUR RESEARCH! Don't just purely go off what some guy told you in the gym. Go spend the money on some legit books like the book I bought just about testosterone. It's only $158 now , but was $250 when I bought it 3 years back! You can't get more legit than a book like this. It's compiled with years of past and current research on different testosterone prepartions and is SUPER scientific.

Anyways before I get off track with this article....this article in no way is a complete guide to steroids. There are a couple of sites out there that list all of the compounds, explain their action, physiology, dosages etc etc.   I figured I would provide a basic overview to clarify some things,  and help people make decisions.

Let me say one thing though...this is NOT AN EASY WAY OUT ! If you think you can pop a few pills, stab yourself with a few needles and become a god, well you need to go do MUCH more research. These things are not magic. You need to have your diet locked down, train your ass off and be completely dedicated mentally to the task at hand. These things HELP you repair faster in order to train more often and more intensely. So these things are for the serious individuals, not for casual users. This is why I will commonly see people who use them, who have no idea what they're doing, and they look like complete shit. Then I see people who are all natural and look amazing. You know why that is? DEDICATION!

So go do some research, dedicate your life, and GET SERIOUS!

Alcohol and Exercise: Why they don't mix

First let me start off by saying happy holidays. I figured since many of you enjoy the holidays by consuming alcohol in various amounts...usually excessive amounts...that there's no better time than now to discuss the relationship between alcohol and exercise, and why the two don't mix.

I know for many people, especially us Canadians, it seems to be the norm to drink as a hobby, and most of us don't casually drink either. Commonly it turns into nights where items are lost, memories are blurry, mistakes are made, and various alcoholic beverages are consumed. Then the next day you ask your friends what happened, and they proceed to tell you all the stupid shit you did. Instead of using your brains and thinking " wow that was dumb, I need to rethink my life" , you and your friends laugh about it then repeat the cycle the next day. We seem to be a nation that takes pride in binge drinking and acting like morons. I'm sorry but when the most exciting part of your week is drinking so much that you puke your guts out, and end up sleeping with some random nasty ass person, your life is very sad. The icing on the cake is the horrible hangover the next day. Wow, that sounds like so much fun!!!! Oh and for god sakes don't try and think that you are any better than drug users because alcohol IS a drug. If you need drugs to have fun all the time, then you are really missing out on life. If you are ACTUALLY a casual drinker such as drinking at a birthday or wedding or anything similar, then I'm not hating on you. I'm hating on you people that do the same damn thing every weekend, and try to put me down because I choose to do more constructive things other than getting wasted.


Now that my rant about the stupidity of drinking is over...for now.... I shall get to the informative section.
Alcohol is commonly called the anti-nutrient nutrient, and this is due to the fact that alcohol actually prevents proper absorption, storage, and use of many nutrients in the body. Alcohol has 2 classifications; food or drug. As a food, alcohol contains 7 calories per gram. That's 2 calories more than protein or carbs (4g) and only 2 calories less than fat (9g). A typical beer will commonly contain 100-150 calories! So lets say you have just 6 beer, that's 600-900 calories ! Now I know most of you have more like 12 beer, shots, and mixed drinks. A 1.5 ounce shot of vodka contains +65 calories! So it's easy to see how those calories can add up real fast in a night.

This is why I don't want to bother trying to train people for weight loss half the time. " I want to lose (insert weight here) by (insert time frame here) ". Then when I proceed to tell them that if they are serious they need to cut out the booze, they seem to think I'm joking or altogether just don't listen to me. You want to lose weight then you need to CUT CALORIES !!! Look at the god damn calorie content of alcohol you morons! You're gonna stay sad and overweight if you keep binge drinking every weekend. Oh , and don't bullshit me with "my metabolism is fast" crap, because it ain't gonna fly with me.

Alcohol in the classification of a drug, can have many detrimental effects. Sure it makes you feel good and gain a false sense of courage , but really this is just due to alcohol's depressant effects. When you consume a small amount of alcohol it appears to have positive effects such as: improvement in mood and possible euphorria, increased self confidence, and increased sociability. As the drinks continue things can progress to these effects: impaired judgement, impaired fine muscle co-ordination, impaired memory, blurred vision, ataxia, emotional lability, nausea, vomiting, decreased heart rate, and eventually death. That sure sounds like a fun night to me ......

Since alcohol is a type of sugar, it also has the wonderful effect of screwing with your insulin levels by impairing them. In case you didn't know, insulin is used to pull glucose out of the blood, so if your tissues don't respond effectively to insulin, then you have a condition known as insulin resistance. When this happens, your blood glucose levels can become chronically elevated, and can eventually lead to Type 2 Diabetes. It has been shown that moderate amounts of alcohol can actually decrease insulin resistance which is a good thing, but anything more than that and it increases resistance.
Alcohol also inhibits the metabolization of proteins and fats in the liver, as well as impairing the pancreatic enzymes needed for fat metabolism. This leads to the inability to mobilize body fat and an increase in blood lipids.



So I hope it's easy to see why drinking large amounts of alcohol all the time can be very bad for anyone interested in being in elite shape, and how it is just bad in general. I know there are benefits from drinking small amounts of alcohol, but they are very much outweighed by the negative effects. I think many people use these "positive" studies for an excuse to be alcoholics. Now as I always must clarify, these are part facts and part personal opinion. You're not gonna hear me preaching to people in the gym about how bad booze is and how you shouldn't do it. This is just information that you can use to either increase your knowledge, or get pissed off at me. You are all adults and free to enjoy whatever lifestyle choices you want. My choice is to not drink for many various reasons, but mainly because I don't need drugs to enjoy life. Give me a room full of weights, heavy metal blasting, and I'm having the time of my life.

Rant of the day: GPA Whores

Now if there's one thing that sure drives me insane about post-secondary education it's GPA Whores. You may be wondering "what's a GPA Whore ?" . Well let me explain to you. A GPA Whore is someone who is totally obsessed with their grades and comparing them to others in order to boost their self esteem. These people commonly tell you " I got an A and I didn't really study at all ", then proceed to ask you about your grades. In my case, I usually don't do as well as them. This is due to two things 1) I am horrible at memorization and 2) I just don't care that much to try that hard. I'm getting my degree so I can make more money. I'm not trying to get into some prestigious program after I'm done, nor am going to get my masters degree. I'm just getting through all my classes happily with a B average, in hopes that after 2 years I can be done with school, and work on making something of myself with my career.

This isn't to say that everyone who achieves high grades is a GPA whore. I can respect people who try as hard as they can, get a great grade, and admit that it wasn't easy. They commonly won't try to compare themselves to others either, and they are genuinely excited about actually getting a great grade. But once the tone starts to turn into " Well you tried and didn't do as well as me, and I didn't try at all " , then you are a GPA Whore.

When it comes to the REAL WORLD, then that is the true test of your actual skills. Sure you can memorize things great, and ace tests, but can you actually apply practical skills to your career? Do you have any people skills at all? Yes you know the names of every muscle, but do you know how to design a proper training program for a client?

Students these days seem to get so caught up in achieving the best grades that they commonly forget to develop essential skills for real world application. I can think of many of favorite teachers and when I would ask them what they got in school, they tell me they didn't get A's in every class. Sometimes they would get D's and just scrape by in a course. Surprisingly enough these teachers were my favorite because they had good people skills, good knowledge in their field of study, and could apply these things to real world situations. This is what I am striving to be. I want to be that person that people say " he really knows his shit and is really easy to talk to".

When a perspective client sits down with me for an initial assessment, do you think they care if I got A's in my classes and can name off every muscle in the body for them? NO ! They care if I can help them reach their goals effectively and have a "people person" personality. This is what I achieve with people. Now if you're a physiotherapist and you really need to know all the muscles and such, then yes that will be pretty damn important. If you don't have any people skills however, then you likely will not get as many clients as someone who does.

To clarify everything I said. I'm not putting down people who try to achieve goals because they love to test themselves and it makes them improve their self esteem. I'm not knocking people who try really hard to achieve  high grades because they need a certain GPA to get into a program, or get their masters. I'm knocking the people who achieve high grades and compare themselves to others in order to make themselves feel better. This is turn makes the person they are comparing with feel like shit because they tried so hard and didn't do as well. Or in my case, makes me want to knock their teeth into the back of their ego inflated heads.

So please, to all you GPA Whores out there. Just stop now. You're either going to have someone get sick of your shit one day and knock some sense into you, or the person who got C's and B's is going to be your boss because they have real world skills and you have none.

Demon

Diet: Losing, Gaining, Maintaining Weight

Now one thing that shouldn't surprise me is people’s knowledge on the concept of diet. Now when I say diet, I don't mean stupid shit like "Only eat 1 peanut, and 2 rice cakes a day". Diets such as that are only going to work for a small amount of time and ultimately are awful for your body. The diet I'm talking about is a balanced/healthy diet; a diet where you are getting the proper amount of macronutrients and micronutrients in relation to your energy requirements and weight goals. 

From what I have seen/heard recently though in discussions with friends, family, and random people, there still is quite a lack of proper education about these things. Many people still believe in a lot of the myths out there like: " I want to lose weight in just this area so I will do exercises to lose it", "this person I know has a high metabolism so they can eat anything", "doing 100's of crunches will give me abs" and many more. 

The thing that gets me pissed off beyond belief is when I try to explain these things to people, and they either 1) Outright tell me I'm wrong and I don't know what I'm talking about, or 2) Tell me "that doesn't make sense because so and so eats whatever they want and doesn't exercise and they have abs...BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH". Now I would have no problem listening to this if they had some scientific reasoning behind these things, but 100% of the time, they really don't. These people usually have fuck all for certification/education in either nutrition or exercise physiology, so it really doesn't help their case when 1) I AM certified, and 2) I AM working in the field of Kinesiology getting my degree. Even the people out there such as bodybuilders who say " I have experience with this" ,  at least have scientific reasoning as to why they do the things they do. 

The people I don't mind are the people who question me with curiosity. These people don't understand but truly want to know why and are willing to listen to what I have to say. This my friends is half of the reason I am writing this article. The other half is for you stubborn assholes who don't listen to me when I'm trying to educate you. This way you can visually see it, and have all the terms explained to you. See I have my friend Mr. Scientific Data. He is what proves if things are right or wrong. He does this thing called research which proves or disproves theories, thus expanding knowledge in the said subject. Unlike you, he does not work on the basis of bro-science or speculative data. So if I haven't pissed you off already, or you are one of the lovely people who are willing to learn, then I shall now give you the rundown of important dietary terms and how to lose, gain, or maintain weight. 

1)Daily Energy Requirements (DER)- This is a combination of your BMR and the amount of calories you burn in relation to daily activities. 

2) Daily Value (DV) - This is basically the maximum amount of maconutirents and micronutrioents that one should consume in a day, in relation to their Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). So for example, someone one a 2000 kilocalorie diet would have these for their DV: 

Total Fat 65g

Saturated Fatty Acids20 g

Cholesterol 300 mg

Sodium 2300 mg

Potassium 4700 mg

Total Carbohydrate 300 g

Fiber 25 g

Protein 50 g

This is the amount of nutrients this person would need to eat in a day in order to maintain their weight. If they wanted to lose weight they would eat less, and if they wanted to gain weight they would eat more. I shall explain those concepts in more detail in a bit. 

3) Daily Energy Requirements (DER)- This is a combination of your BMR and the amount of calories you burn in relation to daily activities. 

4) Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) - The amount of energy expended at rest. This is the amount energy you burn if you were to do nothing at all. It is the minimum amount of energy required to keep your body functioning. The more muscle mass you have, the higher your BMR will be ! A rough estimation of your BMR can be through an equation using sex, height, age, and weight. 

5) Macro nutrients - These are the BIG nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. These provide the bulk of energy in ones diet. 

6) Micro nutrients- These are vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes such as, but not limited to: Vitamin B, Iron, and Sodium. You can think of these as support nutrients. They are things that the body cannot produce and requires for important bodily functions/processes. 

Ok so there's a nice overview of some important terms required to understand how weight management and healthy diet work. Now it's time for the fun and technical stuff. DIET ! If I'm correct, most of you reading this are interested in how to lose weight. Well thank your lucky stars I am here to explain how to do it correctly. I will go over it as weight management however, because if you understand how to lose it, then you will know how to maintain it, as well as gain it. 

Weight Management

I'm gonna use myself for an example so that you can get a good grasp of how this works. I will be using an online DER calculator to explain this, so it is a rough estimation of my actual DER, but will provide a sufficient example for our purposes. The calculator can be found on http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

So here's my stats: I am 23 yrs old, I am a male ..of course..., I'm 5'6", and currently 165lbs. I do 3hrs of moderate exercise (Judo) a week, and 4hrs of heavy exercise ( high intensity weight training) a week. This calculator calculates what you do in a 24hr period, so you need to be able to figure out what you do on an average day. I estimated that I do about 16hrs of resting activity, 1hr of very light, 1 hr of light, 3hrs of moderate, and 3hrs of heavy. So I plugged all that info into the calculator and I got a BMR of 1763kc and 2351kc from activties, which means my DER is 4114kc. This means just to maintain my bodyweight I need to be consuming roughly 4000kc a day. If you multiply that by 7 days, that's 28,000kc.

 " Ok that's great so explain how this relates to weight loss! " . Certainly !

Ok so 1lb of fat is equal to 3500kc. That means in order to lose 1lb of fat, you need to expend 3500kc from your weekly caloric requirements. So the options are:

1) Burn 3500kc through activities 

2) cut 3500kc from my dietary intake per week

3) A combination of burning more calories through activities as well as cutting back on calories. 

If you want my honest opinion, the 3rd option is what I would recommend to most people if you are looking for optimal results. Option 1 isn't usually the easiest for most people because that means you need to exercise more frequently and/or more intensely. Many people don't have the time or willpower to do this, so it is not the best option. Option 2 you run the risk of lacking in certain nutrients because as you know by now, the more you exercise, the more nutrients your body wants. 

"Ok now I'm confused, I need to eat more when I train harder, but I need to eat less in order to lose more weight!?!?"

It all comes down to the type of foods you are eating ! You can eat less while still hitting your daily nutritional needs if you eat the right foods. I'm talking about foods that are packed with good nutrients and low in overall calories. This is usually a combination of high protein, moderate fiber, and low carbohydrates. Now I'm definitely not saying the Atkins diet or something stupid like that. I mean healthy proteins like chicken breast, fiber from veggies, and low carbohydrates like that found in sweet potatoes. 

If you stuff your body with crap then you will most likely look and feel like crap. If you give your body just what it needs with healthy food, then you will be healthy, and look healthy. There is no secret pill out there that will allow you to eat like shit and still lose weight, so stop searching for it. Below are some basic guidelines that helped me lose weight, and can also be used to maintain weight. 

1)      Eat 6 smaller meals a day if possible. This will help boost your metabolism and prevent your body from storing excess calories.

2)      Make sure to eat a source of protein at every meal. Protein builds muscle and keeps you feeling full. Plus since you will be aiming to eat less, the protein will help spare muscle mass… Very important !

3)      Try to stay away from red meats and bad fats. You are trying to lose weight, so obviously a fatty piece of meat, pizza, or anything in butter/cream is gonna pack those calories on quickly.

4)      Make 1 meal a day a vegan meal. I discovered this in the past year. For one thing, vegan meals usually are high in fiber and nutrients. They also contain much less calories than a standard “meat and potatoes” meal. My favourite combo is quinoa with any type of beans. I just buy the canned beans and drain them in a strainer.

5)      Invest in some protein powder. I already explained the importance of protein, and after a workout it is especially important to help repair those muscles you just destroyed. Try to get a power that has little additives or sugars.

6)      Have 1 day a week where you eat more than usual. Now I’m not saying to go out and eat a whole pizza, ice cream and a flat of beer. I’m saying that you should still be eating mainly all healthy food , but in larger portions. Having a bad food like a piece of pizza or a chocolate bar is totally fine, just don’t go overboard. I say you should do this because when you restrict your body so much it tends to want to go into starvation mode and start storing fat, so if you shock it with a high calorie day, then it keeps that metabolism up.

7)      Eat more of these foods. Oatmeal, brown rice, ancient grains like quinoa, sweet potatoes, yams, all veggies, fruit, chicken breasts, fish, eggs, low fat dairy products, beans, nuts and seeds, healthy oils like fish oil and olive oil.

8)      Eat/Drink less of these. Cheese, red meat, processed food, cereal, pop, juice, high fat dairy products, sugar, white potatoes, white pasta, white rice, high sodium foods. 

So now that you hopefully have a decent understanding of how to lose weight. With this knowledge I have now given you, you can also choose to maintain your weight , or gain it depending on your goals. If you want to maintain your bodyweight then just make sure you always hit that DER, and if you want to gain weight then obviously you aim above your DER. If you are really looking for very accurate calculations of your DER, nutritional requirements, and a nutritional program designed specifically for you, then go see a registered dietitian. These people are certified and know their shit ! Make sure you do some background research on them however to make sure they actually are a registered dietitian , and not someone who did a weekend course. I'm not certified in nutrition so that is why I am only giving you guidelines and explaining the science behind things. If you would like to go even more in depth on macro nutrients and micro nutrients, then I strongly suggest buying a book on nutrition. I really don't have the time or desire to go in depth on every nutrient haha. 

So I hope this has helped everyone who was genuinely intrigued in learning, and shut up you stubborn minded individuals as well. If this has helped you to figure out your body composition goals, and you need a workout routine to go along with it, then feel free to either e-mail me at brett-andrews@hotmail.com, or message me on FB, and I can design a specific program suited to your needs.

Cheers,

Demon

Realistic Goals+Proper progression= Success

One big error I notice with many people out there is that they seem to workout without rhyme or reason. If I ask them what their goals are , then I commonly will get very broad answers like " I wanna get bigger" or " I'm trying to tone up" . That's great that you want to do that, but what exactly defines bigger? What is tone up?

In order to progress in the gym or anything in life, you need goals that are measurable. You need numbers applied to the goals. You need realistic time frames So for the guy who wants to get bigger, he should say something similar to : " I would like to gain 10lbs of muscle in 4 months". That is very realistic and time based. If you set your goals too high, then you will ultimately feel let down if you don't hit them. I always feel like it's better to shoot low, and then if you hit that goal before or by the time you want, then you can always modify your goals!

As for the person who wants to "tone up", first of all you beat them in the head until they realize tone is ridiculous word that means nothing. The word most people are likely meaning to say is "define". So the person who wants to define their body should say something similar to this: " In 6 months time I would like decrease my body fat to 8-10%, and also gain 15lbs of muscle mass."  Again, this is realistic, specific, and time based.

I know personally I am guilty of getting into these points in my training/life where I forget to actually sit down and think about why I am training. Yes of course I love to train, and I do it to look good as well as the many health benefits, but what are my actual goals? If you train without goals, then how do you know if you've achieved what you want, if you don't even know what it is that you want ? haha.

Today I had a brief discussion about P90X and Crossfit with some of my friends and fellow gym goers. We all seemed to agree that these types of training are not beneficial to athletes. Yes they can get you in shape, but they don't address any skill specifically and there is NO proper periodization or progression. It's all about competition in Crossfit. Some of the shit they have for their daily workouts like " Do 40 reverse burpees and 30  snatches as fast as you can" just blows my mind. What the fuck is the purpose of that? Snatches are a power exercise, not something you would do as fast as you can for high reps. Sorry, but shit like that just drives me off the deep end. Even  someone who is highly skilled in Olympic lifts would run the risk of injury at that speed and rep range.

Had to get that mini rant out. I will save the entire Crossfit rant for another article. I'm sure there are some certified Crossfit trainers out there who are smart enough to incorporate some form of proper progression into their workouts, but from what I've seen and researched, it just seems like a big money grab. Some may argue that MMA training is similar to Crossfit as well, but I would have to disagree. If you have a good coach in MMA, they are going to have legit reasons for the type of training you will be doing and make sure you are progressing in a proper manner. Yes MMA athletes have to be well rounded in every aspect of fitness, but they don't train like retards.

What this little article is getting at is that realistic goal setting with proper progression allows the body to achieve those goals in safe and scientific manner. A good trainer/coach should be able to give you reasons for everything that they put into a program, and if they can't, then they aren't doing their fucking job. If you're doing random shit all the time without any purpose then the body has no clue what it is supposed to do and essentially you are just wasting energy for nothing.

So sit down, write out your realistic goals, and train with purpose!

Demon

Short Reflection: Importance of healthy friends

Compared to most of my posts that I usually write, this one is going to be a little more on the serious side. Now I don't mean that it's gonna be a dull and boring to read, just something that I have been thinking about a lot lately. As I look at my life from where it was and what it has become so far, I've noticed how important the gym has been, which includes everyone that I have chosen to become friends with.

If you don't know me personally or didn't grow up with me as a teenager, then you prolly wouldn't know that I was into quite a bit of drug dealing and heavy drug use. There were times when I thought that I may not wake up the next day due to my lifestyle. However, one thing that always was the shining light in those dark times was the gym. I always felt amazing when I was in there working out and bullshitting with the other people there. I am the kind of guy who feels really guilty about things that I know aren't right, and something inside me was always telling me that I needed to smarten the fuck up and change my lifestyle if I wanted to be truly happy. Now it took me many years, and many relapses along the way to realize that the true happiness I was looking for was always there, I was just too clouded in my mind to notice it.

Even through my years at college I had relapses with booze and drugs, and started losing that passion for exercise and furthering my knowledge. It wasn't until I moved out here to Lethbridge and started attending University that I began gaining that intense passion for becoming the ultimate personal trainer and being the best Brett that I can be. It may seem stupid to many of you, but I have always dealt with issues of doubting myself and constantly doing upward comparison, thus lowering my confidence even more. I've slowly been working on getting rid of these negative psychological habits, and filling them with positive thoughts.

I've also noticed since starting this blog, and even the Demonator group on Facebook, that I am NOT an idiot like I originally thought. I DO know what I am talking about, and others rely on me to give them the straight up facts. Knowing that my story of lifestyle change and current success makes others look up to me , means the world to me. That is the main reason why I have such a passion for this career. I love to help others whether it be through improving their knowledge, sparking a passion inside them, or pushing them past limits that they believed were impossible to beat. Even if 1000 people read one of my articles and only 1 person is positively affected by it, that still makes me feel great.

When I'm in the gym bullshitting with friends, fellow trainers, or just random people, I feel like my true self. Even the random talks with fellow Demonators brings me so much joy. The people in that group are the type of people that I wish to constantly surround myself with because they have the same mindset as me. Constant self improvement and basically being like a family to support each other and push each other in every aspect of life.

I guess what I was really trying to get at with this reflection is that if you want to be the ultimate YOU , then you need to surround yourself with as many people that have the same mindset/passion as you. Whenever I would slip back into bad habits I would be hanging with people that didn't have the same mindset. A real friend that looks out for your best interests will not let you do stupid shit that can cause you to lose the focus and dedication. A real friend will tell you when you are being stupid and help you find a positive solution.

So get rid of those douchebags that aren't actually your friends, and go find as many positive people as you can.

Demon