Want to BULK up, WITHOUT gaining much fat?

Since running into the fitness world two years ago, I have "bulked" up, then "cut" down countless times.

I am going to share a few simple rules to follow when "BULKING" up while minimizing fat gain.

Eating
First and foremost, to bulk up, one must begin consuming significantly more calories than normal. However, DO NOT consume just anything, choose from dense foods such as: Potatoes, veggies, lean meats, Pasta, shakes w/milk (not water), etc..

• Load up on carbs (complex) and protein on days weight lifting occurs
• Low carbs and healthy fats on NON weight lifting days
• Limit Cardiovascular exercise
• Eat 4-6 meals/day

Workouts

• Lift heavy weights M, W, F
• 1-2 muscle groups/day
• Do HIIT cardio (High Intensity Interval Training) (ex..1 min sprint, 1 min walk)

SLJ Fitness

Why does nobody include FLEXIBILITY? And how to change that!

Fitness is on the rise, and more and more people are looking for different ways to shape their bodies and minds'. However, so many people fail to focus on flexibility/stretching. Majority of people will go to the gym, get on a cardio machine for 30-60 minutes, then leave. People who lift weights will go to the gym, maybe do an exercise or two with light weight (thinking they are performing a good warmup), workout, then leave. People are simply ignoring the fact that, the reason they can move their bodies the way they do while doing cardio, or the reason they can lift those weights, is totally based on how flexible they are and how much range of motion (ROM) they have. So why do people skip stretching and flexibility exercises?

Studies have shown that, "so many aches, pains, arthritis, and surgeries could/can be prevented with a consistent flexibility regimen."

A few FF's (fun facts)

• when you hold a stretch for 8+ seconds (Static Stretching)
• when you move your leg, arms, trunk in a fluid motion (Dynamic Stretching)
• when someone pushes your body part more than you could by yourself (proprioceptive muscular facilitation stretching (PNF))
• roll back on forth on a foam roller (one of the best ways to increase flexibility)

Ways to increase flexibility and loosen up tissue in your body!

• Perform static stretching AFTER all your workouts (5-7 mins)
• Warmup and use dynamic stretching BEFORE your workout
• Use a foam roller every other day to release fascia (tissue) and improve ROM *BUT ONLY WHEN YOUR MUSCLES ARE WARM*
• Your hips, glutes, and core (trunk) are the foundation of your body, so focus on these areas while using flexibility
• Stretch here and there throughout your workout to help release blood and other toxins to improve mobility and stability
• Take up Yoga and Pilate's, which focus primarily on flexibility

SLJ Fitness

Top foods for building lean muscle

• Shrimp - great source of protein
• Couscous - great source of complex carbohydrates
• Baked Beans - great source of protein and fiber
• Avocados - great source of healthy fats
• Almonds - great source of Vitamin E
• Eggs - great source of protein, vitamins, and minerals
• Chicken - great source of protein

SLJ Fitness

Nutrition - Reading Labels and Ingredients

These days, food companies are becoming more and more misleading. Today, you see so many food labels which read "Low fat, reduced fat, NO high fructose corn syrup, or NO trans fat", making these foods seem somewhat healthy to the consumer. But what these companies are doing is adding, or not clearly showing you bad or hidden ingredients. For instance, a company might reduce some fat in one of their products, but add sugar or sodium in the process. It's crazy to think how much more money food companies spend just to emphasize on their food labels, when in turn it's only causing the consumer to consume unhealthy substances.

Not only is it important to read the nutrition label to see what you're putting in your body, but it's also very important to look at the ingredients included. When I was younger I didn't care what I was eating or drinking, however since becoming a fitness and health enthusiast I have been starting to notice ingredients in foods. One thing which has really stood out to me over the past few months is "Peanut Butter". Let me tell you, I love peanut butter (on bananas, sandwiches, crackers). So, since I usually eat peanut butter on a daily basis I have become more aware of the ingredients which makes up the peanut butter I love. The peanut butter which I have consumed the majority of my life has been the basic Jiff, Peter Pan brands which you store in your cupboard and eat for weeks or even months. Well, I came to realized the reason you can store and eat the peanut butter for weeks is due to the added simple sugars and hydrogenated oils(fats). If you read the label on a basic peanut butter brand, it reads that it only includes saturated fat, and the rest of the fat is not labeled, making you to believe the rest is "good fat". However, this basic peanut butter contains hydrogenated oils, which from research and facts, this oil causes foods to include "trans fat", which is the worst fat you can consume.

Bottom line - DO NOT be mislead with these BOLD "Reduced Fat" labels, because more than likely food companies are hitting your blood vessels with other unwanted substances. Also, start looking at the ingredients in foods, because they tell the real story opposed to the food label. The more the ingredients in a food, the more likely the food is not the healthiest.


SLJ Fitness

Talk with the trainer - Cardiovascular Interval Training

Interval training can supercharge your fitness, boost your metabolism, burn off that extra fat and start reaching those goals that you have set for yourself. Interval Training is basically activities at high intensity for a period of time, followed by low intensity activities for a period time.

Interval Training is perfect for your any type of cardio modality. Instead of doing the same boring old steady pace cardio workout, implement some interval training sets into it. For instance (the treadmill), jog for one minute, than sprint for 20 seconds, than repeat for duration of workout. This keeps your workout fun and allows you to burn more calories by pushing your body physiologically.


“Continue to make exercise a habit, because exercise is the best habit you can maintain”

Scott Johnson – Personal Trainer

DB side plank to snatch

Great Interval Full Body Workout: Using a Jump Rope

http://bit.ly/cuAtzL

You DON'T always need to go to the gym to get a great workout

Combine these exercises to get a great workout at home or outside:

                                                                                                                                 

1. Pushups
2. Wall Sprints
3. Outside Sprints
4. Squat Thrusts
5. Burpees
6. Squat Jumps
7. Mountain Climbers
8. Planks
9. Tricep dips on stairs or a park bench
10. Step ups on stairs or a park bench
11. Side crawls (pushup pos., crawl side to side)
12. Bicycle crunches
13. Walking Lunges

Diet tips to keep you looking your best

• A portion size is the size of your fist
• If trying to lose or maintain weight, try to eliminate complex carbs after 7pm (breads, rice, beans, pastas, cereals)
• Muscle consists of 75% water and 25% amino acids, so, to build or maintain muscle, consume adequate protein and water
• Try eliminating butter and "bad" fat oils out of your diet...use olive oil and canola oil
• Combine high nutrient dense foods to utilize your meals...for instance (protein shakes w/fruit, peanut butter on a banana, salads w/lots of veggies, eggs w/veggies mixed in, fruit mixed w/yogurt) this way you're getting your recommended nutrients by combining various foods
• Snack through out the day on foods such as: Nuts, fruits, cottage cheese, natural peanut butter, egg whites, tuna, carrots, hummus

Stability Ball Core Workout

Great Core Exercise - 2 Stability ball bridge - Keep core engaged

Drop Set Training Workout

This is an 8 exercise, 3 circuit workout that will include minimal rest with plenty of repetitions (reps) being performed.

This workout will consist of machines (so needs to be completed in gym environment).

Duration: 30 min

Set 1: 12 reps, decrease weight, 12 reps, decrease weight, 12 reps - no rest in-between reps
Set 2: 15 reps, decrease weight, 15 reps - no rest in-between reps

Exercises: Complete entire circuit before going on to next circuit

Circuit 1

1. Chest press
2. Leg press
3. Seated rows

Circuit 2

1. Shoulder press
2. Assisted dips

Circuit 3

1. Leg extensions
2. Lat Pull-downs
3. Tricep Pushdowns

Great High Intensity fast paced workout (No matter where you are)

This workout is for the intermediate-advanced fitness level - Must have good endurance and good core strength.

This workout consists of 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest. 4 Exercises.

Burpee's - 20 sec
10 sec rest
Mountain Climbers - 20 sec
10 sec rest
Squat Thrusts - 20 sec
10 sec rest
Jumping Jacks - 20 sec
10 sec rest

*Perform consecutively for 4 straight minutes, rest 1 min
*Perform 4 sets, so a total of 20 min (you can shorten the workout to build up, but always perform the 20 sec on, 10 sec rest rule)

You will tone your total body (especially core), and you will burn a ton of calories(300-400) in just 20 min!!!!
Yes, I did create this workout!

*Prepare to have never worked so hard in 20 min and to sweat your ass off!

Great Lower Body, Cardio and Core workout

Dynamic Warm-up - 3 min

Run (jog) mile

Stretch

Complete 25 sprints at 40 yard distance (20 sec rest in-between)

100 crunches, 3x side planks for 1min

3x12 of v-ups

Run (jog) mile

Stretch

Nutrition with weight loss and muscle gain

Here are a few guidelines to follow when trying to lose weight and build muscle simultaneously.

1. On days you do NOT lift weights, just cardio - eat a low kcal/low carb diet -50% protein, 30% carbs, 20% fat. Roughly 1200kcal - 2200kcal.
2. On days you lift - eat a low kcal/low carb diet up until workout, then after workout, get 75% of your calories in by the form of mainly protein and carbs (pasta, rice, beans, bread, chicken, fish, fruit, potatoes). You want your caloric intake after your workout to be equivalent to your entire day of cardio-day eating. The reason for this is, your metabolism sky rockets after lifting weights for up to 30 hrs, and in this time your body needs protein and carbs to maximize your training. So, grub down after you lift, but minimize the FAT! After lifting - 75% carbs, 20% protein, 5% fat.
3. Try to consume 100g of carbs within one hour after lifting weights.
4. On days you just do cardio, try to eliminate carbs after 6pm.
5. The best type of cardio is interval cardio (burns fat the quickest)..some examples..2 min run, 1 min walk...15sec sprint, 15 sec rest...30 sec jump rope, 30 sec rest..etc
6. Give your muscles adequate time to recover - 2-3 days between muscle groups.

Two great, fat burning/get ripped/high intensity workouts

Workout 1: Complete 3 rounds as fast as possible

Squat Press - 95lbs - 10 reps
Pull-ups - 10 reps
Cleans - 95lbs - 10 reps
Dips - 10 reps
20 double unders w/jump rope
Run 1/4 mile

my time: 20:47 - post your times

Workout 2: From the movie "300" workout - complete as fast as possible

Pull-ups - 25 reps
Deadlifts - 135 lbs - 50 reps
Floor swipers - hold 135lbs - 50 reps
Push-ups - 50 reps
Box Jumps - 2 feet height - 50 reps
Single arm DB snatch - 30 lbs - 25 reps each arm
Pull-ups - 25 reps

my time: 23:32 - post your times

Nutrition Tips

Proper nutrition and exercising go hand-in-hand. If people are exercising properly according to their fitness goals, but eating too many fatty and sugary foods, they are completely wasting their time. When it comes down to losing weight and/or building muscle, nutrition is the absolute foundation. When implementing a healthy diet into a fitness program, people must follow a relatively strict guideline. The guideline should look something like this: 4-6 small meals/day, proper nutrient timing around workouts (small amount of carbohydrates before the exercise, some protein and healthy carbohydrates within hour after workout), and a diet consisting of 40% protein, 35% carbohydrates, and 25% fats.


Be sure not to skip meals. Food is energy for your body and when you stay properly fueled, your body's metabolism will continually break down the body's fat. Water is also a vital part to your daily nutrition needs. Eliminate sweetened teas, soda, and liquids that contain high amounts of sugar.

Incorporate a proper fitness routine and a healthy diet and you will live a much healthier and happy life.

Before and after training photos

Jianna has been working out with me for 8 weeks now. Her workout program has consisted of Cardiovascular exercises and weight lifting exercises. Jianna meets with me twice a week, the times we meet we perform high intensity circuits, which might include resistance training mixed in with sprints with very minimal rest. On the days Jianna does not meet with me, she performs running and stair climbing for her exercise duration.

Year of Fitness

So, I recently completed my first year in the fitness world. I have gained much knowledge in so many areas of health. I have learned the ins and outs of fitness nutrition and trained a wide variety of clientele.

I have one-on-one personally trained over 70 clients!! I have trained a 14yr old football player, 62yr old woman, woman with recent hip surgery, mix martial arts fighter, young male building muscle and your everyday family man/woman looking to lose weight and tone up!

I have taught several small group training classes with emphasis on high intensity muscle gain and weight loss exercises. I participated in a Biggest Loser challenge at my gym in which I trained a group of six people for three months. In those three months, my team lost a combined 100+ pounds of fat!!!!

With that said, I am ecstatic to further expand my fitness knowledge and assist people live a healthier life in 2010!