Calories out versus in!

Calories IN-Nutrition, diet, structure
Versus
Calories OUT-Cardio, resistance weight
Equals
Weight loss-YAY!

We have all heard the term “calories in versus out” as a measure of how many calories that your body takes in, from the foods that you eat in comparison to the amount of effort and work that you put into the workouts you do.  This has always baffled me for many reasons, the biggest being the amount of holes this theory has.

For example;

  • You tend to restrict yourself too much, skimming on meal efficiency (small meals that consist of low protein and carbohydrates), as well as skipping meals all together.  Your body will burn like a fire, feed the fire to burn the calories! Sit there with a log and it will not burn properly, same with only using kindling….you’ll burn too quickly and be too hungry to make rational decisions!
  • Thinking ‘slim fast’ is a meal replacement is very common, a simple question I always ask is “which meal are you replacing?” Below are the nutrition facts on slim fast, as you can see, nutritionally I see little to no carbohydrates, little to no protein and almost half of the calories come from fat.  By the way, the answer I usually get for ‘which meal’ is BREAKFAST!

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 bottle (295 g)
Per Serving% Daily Value*
Calories 180
Calories from Fat 81
Total Fat 9.0g14%
Saturated Fat 1.5g7%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 15mg5%
Sodium 260mg11%
Potassium 600mg17%
Carbohydrates 4.0g1%
Dietary Fiber 2.0g8%
Sugars 2.0g
Protein 20.0g
  • Do an analysis on how many calories you burn, its usually far less than your cheat meal that you feel “deserved”.  I have found that while eating a cheat meal, you will go all out as the mentality is “if I am bad, I am going to be REALLY bad” and its followed by a loose promise to do more cardio or hit the gym harder the next day.  
These are just a few points to be made about “calories in versus out”, do you see some of the flaws? When setting up some personal goals for yourself do you see how you are going against the accomplishment of them? My gym, my trainers and my program are solely based around accomplishment of goals.  You don’t work hard to set yourself up for failure so why apply the opposite of principles while training? 

Apply a new principle-Calories OUT versus IN!

Calories out
  • Work each body part a minimum of once per week, strive for 15 sets per body part.
  • Do your cardio at least 4 days a week, minimum of 20 minutes, strive for an hour.
  • Push yourself! Go heavier on the weights, add drop sets, circuit training, super sets, step outside of your personal comfort zone.
  • Try new exercises, new routines, find a partner to exercise with and motivate each other.
  • Have fun with the cardio, switch up your main form of cardio, add plyometrics to your workouts, interval training, go outside and hike!
Calories in
  • Learn more about carbohydrates, the effect it has on your body, the positive and the negative.
  • Switch from 3 meals a day to 6! Keep that body burning!
  • Add those protein shakes, bars, or find ways to meet your minimum requirements.
  • Reduce your sugar but not your overall calories! 
  • Find your bodies BMR and work WITH it not AGAINST it! 
Step off the scale! Use a Biometric Impedance once a week to show you results, don’t have one? Order one! How do your clothes fit? This is a wonderful way of finding out where you are! Be determined always, keep pushing beyond what you thought was accomplish-able, be the best you can be and always be patient! Each rep, minute on the treadmill and calorie count towards something, don’t lose sight of that.








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Lunges-How to utilize the exercise

Lunges

 A great exercise that ties in all 3 of the major muscles in the lower body; quads, hamstrings and glutes.  A lunge is an exercise that beginners and advanced people in the fitness world can do, an exercise that feels great to do as well as feels awesome when it is done.

I have pin pointed out certain areas to look for while doing the lunge, to maximize the intensity of the exercise in order to get the results you are looking for.

To start the exercise, set your position in a ‘proposal’ type, angle your thigh parallel to the floor and draw your rear knee inwards, all the pressure will be on the front leg and your rear will act like a rudder to control balance.

Begin the movement by pushing through the heel of your front foot, keeping your quads and glutes flexed.  Extend your movement upwards to about 3/4 of your full range of motion, keeping the flexion in the quad, extend your rear knee as you motion upwards and remember to bring the knee as close to the floor to get the full stretch in the front quad on the way down.  Do not bounce the motion, use strict form to target the 3 major muscles in order to get a deep stretch and flexion.
Keep your front knee behind your toes, you will avoid injury this way as well as keep the pressure on the 3 muscle groups.  You will also get more range of motion generating a deeper stretch and deeper breakdown of the muscle.

 Remember to bend that rear knee to keep the pressure on the front leg, your rear leg should be somewhat relaxed and its only use is to keep control over the motion and to keep balance.
Do not put your hands on your knees, it will take the pressure off the quad as well as limit your range of motion, it also has a potential to round the lower back which will take away the use of your core in this exercise. 
  • You should be doing around 10-15 reps per leg on this exercise, effective range of motion as well as squeeze and flexion need to be targeted on this exercise.
  • When the exercise becomes less challenging, use weight in order to get a deeper contraction.  Always be careful of the amount of weight that you use while doing proper form as the heavier the weight the more potential there is to bounce.
  • Change the position of the weight, dumbbells by your side is always a great way to do the exercise but changing the position to your shoulders can change the dynamic of the exercise.  Changing from dumbbells to a barbell can also change the dynamic too.
  • Be more creative, super set with a isolated hamstring exercise or glute exercise to really tear down the muscles.
One of my favorite exercises to do while working multiple body parts is to be in the lunge position while doing overhead presses, being more creative you can change your planes by adding a corkscrew effect while doing the press as shown below.

Remember, always push yourself to the highest potential while doing any exercise, make the exercise work for YOU!  There is a difference in doing an exercise and getting the most out of it, push yourself to the max while doing the exercise, whatever it may be and immediately see the difference.  Control the exercise rather than let it control you, keep interested by variation and intensity! Improvement is a step by step basis that you have the ability to do, keep up the good spirit while training and the benefits will follow.  

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