Appetizers:

Appetizers are a great way to start out a leisurely meal, but can also derail your good
intentions with a quickness.

Don’t Order

• Anything fried. Fried foods are a favorite, but will do damage that even the most intense workout won’t undo.
• Creamy dips. These are filled with fat and usually come with something fried to dip in it.
• Bread. It comes smothered in cheese or seeped in butter, and even when it’s plain it fills you up with more carbohydrates than your body needs.

Do Order

• Green salad. Ask for very light dressing and no croutons.
• Antipasto. A plate of thinly sliced meats, olives and cheese will start you off with some protein.
• Lettuce wraps. These are delicious, protein-filled and low in carbs.

Beverages:

• Calories in drinks are sneaky because they don’t fill you up. This means that you end up taking in far more calories than you bargained for.

Don’t Order

• Regular or diet soda. On one hand you’re drinking corn syrup through a straw, on the other you’re drinking chemicals that cause you to crave sweets. It’s a no win situation.
• Sweet cocktails. Many restaurants are advertizing sweet cocktails –resist the urge. Sugar plus alcohol equals loads of unneeded calories.
• Sweetened tea. You may feel righteous for ordering iced tea, but if it’s sweetened then you may as well be drinking fully loaded soda.

Do Order

• Water. Don’t laugh! Water is the best beverage of all.
• Unsweetened iced tea. Don’t ruin it by adding that packet of sugar. Learn to enjoy the natural sweetness to the tea.
• Red wine. Stick to one glass, and drink responsibly.

Entrees:

This is where the real damage is done. When you order something carb-loaded you leave the restaurant feeling
heavy and lethargic—you may not even realize this until you start eating better and experience the light, energetic
way you’ll feel after eating a healthy meal.

Don’t Order

• Pasta. I don’t care if it comes with red sauce or white sauce, meat or veggies. If you’re trying to lose weight and maintain a lean body then never, ever order a plate of pasta.
• Pizza. Another dish that has far more carbohydrates than you need. If you’re craving the pizza toppings then simply order those over a salad.
• Burgers. If you really want a burger then ditch the bun and the fries, and have your patty wrapped in lettuce.

Do Order:

• Lean meat with vegetables. Fish, steak, chicken, take your pick and pair it with green vegetables.
• Salad with protein. Ask for very light dressing and make sure you have a nice piece of protein on it.
• Soup and salad. Stick with broth based soups that contain protein and pass on the breadsticks.

If you want to expedite your results then consider working with me on a fitness plan that will turn you into a fat burning machine.

Call or email today—I look forward to hearing from you.

Committed to your success,

While so many people are flocking to the natural foods section of their supermarkets, it may be a bit premature to decide that it is a great thing for you. Many doctors and scientists are still scratching their heads wondering what the fuss is about. In fact, some are even concerned that groups of people could be jeopardizing their health by eating too much soy.

Soy products come from the soybean, a legume that is often grown in the Midwest of the United States. In recent years, manufacturers have been pumping out soy products will help lower your cholesterol, decrease your risk of heart disease and help women by easing the symptoms of menopause. What woman doesn’t want that!

Soy is also used in many of foods that dieters and menopausal women don’t eat. For example, body builders will use high soy protein drinks to bulk up when they work out. many of the lower cost infant formulas are also made with soy when a baby is intolerant to other baby formulas. Should you stop giving soy baby formula to your infant?

The baby who is drinking soy formula will not be on soy over the long term and will eventually start eating table food, eliminating the need for soy as he or she grows. A woman who is in menopause will eventually move beyond that point in her life and leave hot flashes behind.

Like everything, moderation is the key to staying. This is especially important for people who are following a diet high in soy products or for body builders who use soy products to increase their protein consumption.

On the outside, a plant based protein sounds fabulous. It’s low in fat, unlike some animal proteins. Since it is a legume, one would think it would be easy to digest. Not so fast! Too much soy consumption can lead to fatigue, bloating, constipation and sleeplessness. Some people find soy hard to digest.

Aside from the discomfort, there are some people who should watch their soy intake very carefully. For instance, if you have hypothyroidism, too much soy can interfere with thyroid production, even if you are on medication. This can lead to weight gain, hair loss, muscle fatigue and more.

Some people may not tolerate soy very well and even find they have allergies that are being caused by too much soy consumption. If you’re a person with unidentified allergies and you currently consume soy products on a regular basis, you may want to test whether your allergies are being caused by the soy products you eat. In some cases, the problem may stem from over consumption and reducing your soy intake may be enough to solve the problem.

Like with any diet, an imbalanced diet may cause problems with your health. The best diets include a well balanced menu that includes vegetables, grains, fruits, and proteins in the form of eggs, meats, fish and soy products.

Unless you’re allergic to soy or have some real adverse affect to soy you shouldn’t be frightened off by references that soy is not good for you. Soy has many wonderful properties. Just remember it should not be a replacement for ANY food in your diet.

I hope you take the same lesson form this that I did.

2. You must choose a clear and specific goal. Maybe you want to lose 10 pounds. Maybe you want to quarterback the New York Jets into the playoffs. But be warned: Losing 10 pounds is hard. In some ways harder than quarterbacking a pro NFL team.

3. Exercise in the morning. You can find a million reasons at the end of your day why you can not get your workout in. Then you might promise yourself to make it up on the weekend. Fact is, come Saturday, your couch is going to be much more persuasive than your Denver fitness program. Just get up and get it done. Don’t feed yourself any BS about losing sleep by having to get up earlier….GO TO BED EARLIER!

4. No one in the history of gyms has ever lost a pound while reading “The New Yorker”, “People Magazine”, talking on their cell phone, or reading the latest romance novel. If your workout is slow paced enough for you to do any of those, work harder. Your workout is not leisure time, it is time to make up for your lazy habits and poor food choices you have been making. “Enjoying” your workout when trying to lose weight is like when Paris Hilton was punished with house arrest in 30,000 sqft mansion. (That’s the size of a super wal-mart by the way)

5. Don’t fall for gimmicks. The only tried-and-true method to lose 10 pounds in 48 hours is food poisoning, tape worm, giardia, or chopping off your arm.

6. “Big Box” gyms like 24 Hour Fitness and Ballys and other Denver fitness program s have two types of members: Members who wipe down the machines after using them, and the worst people in the universe.

7. No! That IS NOT not a “protein bar with antioxidant dark chocolate.” That’s a chocolate bar.

8. You can take “10 Minute Abs”, “20 Minute Buns”, and “30 Minute Body Sculpt” class. But, if you are not taking a “Stop Stuffing Your Face With Pizza” class you have a long road of disappointment ahead of you!

9. If you’re motivated to buy an expensive home exercise machine, consider a “wooden coat rack.” It costs $40, uses no electricity, and does the exact same thing while using less space. Choose a great Denver fitness program with a clear guarantee and you can buy new smaller coats that will fit in your closet.

10. If a group class at the gym or your workout with your trainer is going to be effective, it’s going to be hard F’ng HARD! If you’re relaxed and enjoying yourself, you’re at brunch. Put down your fork and go to the gym.

11. If you’re at the point where you’ve bought biking shoes for the spinning class, you may as well go ahead and buy an actual bike. It’s way more fun, you don’t have to stare at the bouncing sweat stained bottom of the guy in front of you, the air is fresh, and you don’t have to listen to the instructors poor taste in music.

12. Fact: Thinking about going to the gym burns between 0 and 0 calories.

13. A successful gym membership is like a marriage: If it’s good, you show up committed and ready for hard work. If it’s not good, you show up in sweatpants and watch a lot of bad TV.

14. There is no secret. Exercise and lay off the fries. The end.

Fat Loss GPS Guide

1. Too unspecific: starting the year with a resolution to lose weight is a recipe for failure. You need to be specific with how much weight you want to lose, when you want to lose it, why you want to lose it etc.

2. Too far away: setting a goal for the entire year is not bad in itself but if you don’t break it down into smaller goals with their own individual deadlines it becomes too large of a task or worse you may feel like you have all the time in the world to achieve the goals and end up procrastinating and not achieving any of them.

3. Only solves a tiny problem: setting a resolution like, “I won’t drink soda all year” is great……for a 1 month goal. After that point it should be a habit and you should then be focusing on the next new habit. So instead of one new good habit for the entire year you now have 12.

4. Do or die: most people set out to do a resolution and end up quitting at the first sign of trouble. “Don’t drink soda for a year” works for a while until that party comes up that you have a soda and then you go, “damn I ruined my resolution!” Oh well I guess I can have soda now.” 80% of the time is better than 0% of the time. Stick to something and realize you’re not going to be perfect.

5. Resolution boredom: focusing on one singular goal for an entire year is extremely boring.

6.No Carrot: most people don’t establish the real reason behind their goal. You set a goal to not drink soda for a year. Why? To lose weight. Why? Seriously! There are plenty of fat people that don’t care they are fat. Why is it a problem for you and why is it important for you to change?

7. No stick: Lastly, the big one is that nobody sets a consequence for their resolution. Establish what will happen if you don’t achieve your goal and share that with 5 people who will hold you accountable if you fail.

Example: “I want to lose 50 pounds in the next year because I don’t like the way I look and feel and if I don’t reach this goal I have to take my fitness Coach Mike out to a fancy dinner at his favorite restaurant.”

Now that is a resolution.

"Can I burn this off with some cardio, Bro"?

No one wants wants it and those who have it want to know how to lose it.

What is it?

BACK FAT…..Da du duuuunnnnnnn

What is it and why is it there and what can we do about losing it?

Back fat is nothing more than adipose tissue (fat), like the rest of your subcutaneous fat (fat that sits just under the skin). So don’t stress out and think that it’s something foreign and different and that you harboring some abnormal growth like Quato from the movie Total Recall.

Lets answer your questions in the usual order they come up.

1) Why do you have back fat? Well I’ll say this in the nicest possible way and that is, ‘it’s the same reason why you have fat in other areas that you are not cool with. The same reason you’re abs don’t look the way you want them to. Simple because you’ve spent a too much of time just storing excess calories instead of being active enough for your body to burn them as energy. You overate for too long and sat on your butt too much.

2) How do you lose back fat? Well, the first step here is not as technical as you might as expect, just like the answer to the previous question.  First have to check your training. If you’re not consistently targeting the muscles in your back, then you need to get familiar with doing that right now.

I’m not telling you that exercising the muscles of the posterior is going to immediately turn fat into muscle. It won’t. What it will do is help burn your back fat because unlike lower back fat, upper back fat can be burnt off quickly because the body doesn’t want to store it there. The muscles of the posterior (the latissmus dorsi for example) are one of the largest groupings of muscles in the human body. Work more muscle = build lean muscle = increase metabolism = burn more calories = burn more fat. It doesn’t look like your typical math equation but, trust me, it adds up. But, upper back fat is not as stubborn as lower back fat. So start working on upper back movements like rows, chins, and deadlift right away.

That’s awesome, but what about lower back fat, Mr. Zuniga?

Well that is a much more complicated topic and ultimately one that is going to require you to lean out the majority of the rest of your body first.

But…..

Here’s some quick tips

1) Do your intervals. This isn’t the time to debate which kind of  intervals is better,becaue if you are not doing them already you have no clue how tough they are and doing any kind of intervals is going to be better than the ones you are nto doing right now. Here ====> is a very necessary and inexpensive tool to help you time your intervals. You can also get some great interval workouts to start here. The best intervals are the intervals that you do.

2) Take your fish oil. Initially, aim for 10-12 daily grams of total fish oil per day from a supplement company that doesn’t contribute directly to the depletion of fish (e.g., they use primarily fish discards). I suggest liquid fish oil, because it’s hard to take so many capsules and liquid can be easily mixed into soups, marinades, and protein drinks. Make sure you get one that will not give you the “fish burps”. The company will let you know about this. Also, DO NOT go cheap. You will absolutely be waiting your money. Avoid buying at costco. I recommend Carlson Labs.

3) Worry less. Since the more your worry the more you overeat and the more you add fat. Worry also causes you to release the stress hormone cortisol, which when can be your best fat loss friend when it is spiked regularly but, is your worst enemy for fat loss when it is consistently elevated. The three best things you can do to lower cortisol levels are Meditation, lower your Caffeine intake, and get regular intense bouts of exercise in daily (i.e. Intervals).

4) Take your B vitamins. Smoking, drinking, stress and a poor diet (or being around smoking and drinking and stress) are the four biggest factors that contribute to B vitamin depletion in our body. Not only are B’s needed for proper hormone function but they greatly enhance your fat and carbohydrate metabolism, amongst other things.

5) Get your diet in order.  Eliminate all added sugar from your diet and limit (or better yet, eliminate) all refined foods like bread, pasta, and cereals.

6) Eat more protein and the day passes. Make sure to get a good 10g-15g with breakfast and then another 70-120 (depending on your bodyweight and activity level) over the course of the day. Your last meal of the day should contain the largest amount (25g-45g)

So there it is. Hopefully next summer when you go to the pool and want to relax, you can enjoy your day without worry of a muffin top or back boobs.

I got a great deal of feedback and questions on my blog about that post about yogurt. It appears people knew yogurt was good for you but, that it was being utilized in a not so healthy manner.

You see, yogurt can be both delicious and healthy, but the two main problems I witness with people and yogurt are:

1. They are eating it as a “course” for breakfast or lunch. Meaning that the yogurt makes up the bulk of that meal.
2. Most people are mistakenly buying yogurt that is TERRIBLE for their health and waistline, even though it’s touted manufacturer, on the label and on TV, by  as “healthy”.

Take for example, this label from a popular “low fat” yogurt. You may have seen this one on a recent commercial with claims to its weight loss benefits while tasting like cheesecake and chocolate mousse.

It sounds like a healthy option on the label…”low fat yogurt”.  Hells to the no!  27 grams of sugar (most of which is dreaded high fructose corn syrup), and only 5 grams of protein!

That is, essentially, a recipe for fat storage despite the fact it’s “low fat”.

By the way: you don’t have to eat yogurt instead of cheesecake to lose weight. Simply eliminating the cheesecake will do just fine .

So, #1 what type of yogurt should you be eating and #2 how much?  Without a doubt the answer to #1 is plain yogurt.  For example, compared to the above, plain Greek yogurt has 6xs the protein and 1/3 as much sugar (which is simply the naturally occuring milk sugars lactose and galactose). That’s 31 grams of protein per 8 oz and just 12 grams of low-glycemic carbs!

But you still want to make sure that the yogurt you are buying has live active cultures in it.

The answer to #2 is a little more technical but, as an exapmle, you simply want to use yogurt to top your fruit instead of fruit to top your yogurt.

Don’t worry about trying to sweeten your yogurt up. If you feel the need to do that, you are probably using too much.

Take home message:  Ditch the sugar-laden “junk” yogurt and go with delicious, thick, plain Greek Yogurt instead (look for the 0% fat variety).

Now as someone who has been doing personal training for about 9 years and having run 2 bootcamps myself I know a little bit about how to execute group (large and small) training. I ultimately left my boocamps because of the lack of personal time with clients. Sure, I was giving awesome workouts to any where from 12-25 people at a time. But I felt more like I was on camera that I was coaching these people to better health.

Here is my problem with most bootcamps today:

My alarm went off at 5 AM last Tuesday to wake me up for the workout, which is no biggie for me, I’m up at 4:00 am Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to train my own clients.  Although, I personally prefer afternoon workouts, I can understand that a lot of people like to get their workouts in early so I was glad to join this group of go-getters for an early workout.

I showed up early at the freezing cold park where the workout takes place to meet the instructor and fill out some paperwork.  I know first hand that paperwork is completely necessary to get to know your clients.  But I realized quickly that I could’ve just slept in an extra 15 minutes because the instructor didn’t get there until about 5 minutes prior to the scheduled workout start time.  The instructor gave me a piece of paper to fill out.  It asked for my contact info, how I heard of the bootcamp, and if I’d had a heart attack lately were the depth of these questions.  I was a little upset to see that after I gave the instructor the sheet of paper I had just filled out. He didn’t even look at it. He just said thank you and put it in pile along with the other new peoples sheets. I could’ve scribbled lyrics to a song on it and he would’ve had no clue. What was the point of the health history if you aren’t going to look at it and ask questions, but oh well; I’m healthy, so lets move on.

I’m already a little skeptical, but willing to put it aside to get a good workout in.  I’ll make this quick.  The workout consisted of the following:

1. No warm-up
2. Running laps around the park for 10 minutes (I guess this was considered the warm-up but a POOR choice on cold joints, in cold weather, for an out of shape group of people, most whom who couldn’t run 10 minutes non stop even after a warm up).
3. Forming a line and doing random amounts of pushups, burpees, jumping jacks, squats, and lunges.  I love all of those exercises. They are great exercises but, any kind of real “programming” was completely absent.
4. Running laps and taking breaks to do more jumping jacks, jumping on park benches, more pushups, and more burpees.
5. We finally ended with about 27,000 sit-ups, crunches, and more mountain climbers.

There are a million reasons why this workout was completely un-condusive to the health and wellness of the participants, but i just dont have time to list them here.

Even better yet, I had a non certified trainer who was a “drill sergeant wannabe”, yelling at me the entire time telling me to work harder (no matter how hard I worked).  Naturally when I started getting too tired to do the some of the exercises in good form I dropped down to an easier regression of the exercise. For example, I went from doing alternating lunges to split squats, box jumps to step ups, etc…. I wanted to make sure I didn’t get hurt, but that’s a no go in this bootcamp.  The instructor reminded me of that chant from Karate Kid, “Strike first strike hard no mercy sir”! “Work hard and do what everyone else is doing in bad form maggot!”   “That’s what it takes to get results.”  Sure, if the results you are looking for is bad posture, postural distortions, spams, and a couple overuse injuries.  This guy either didn’t know what good form was, or just didn’t care.

To give the bootcamp some credit, everyone was working his/her @ss off.

Now, Let’s Compare To Group Personal Training:

(I’ll start by saying, this is my version of Group Personal Training. Your experience may vary. You may even experience what I did at the bootcamp. Research your trainer to avoid that.)

Leaving that bootcamp made me realize that I had to write this article.  I had to let people know there is a better way to train groups, but still get people to work hard, and work smart at the same time.  I’ve been working hard over the last few years with some of the best in the industry like BJ Gaddour, Mike Robertson, Jared Woolever, Pat Rigsby, Alwyn Cosgrove the people at FMS, and many others and have found a better way to train groups successfully and efficiently.

So what is the difference between “bootcamp” and ‘group personal training”?  IT’S HUGE.  Lets begin.

Ongoing Assessments:  Having someone fill out a piece of paper and throw it into a pile without looking at it is a disgrace.  Group personal trainers require some sort of ongoing movement screen or assessment.  I currently use the FMS screen to make sure I know what’s going on with my client’s bodies.  I will also go over the client’s health history, past injuries, workout history,  and goals with them to make sure we know exactly what they want and exactly what they need to do, and what they need to avoid.

Typically Inside: Workouts don’t have to be inside to be good, but it sure is nice.  It also allows you to be able to have access to lots of strength training equipment, which is essential in a well-rounded training program. Bodyweight only exercises with little to no “pulling”work, will only get you so far, then it will get you hurt.

Exercise Progressions:  Everyone is different and everyone has different needs.  If you aren’t going to do an assessment, you at least need to have different levels of difficulty for each exercise.  At the bootcamp I tried to regress what I was doing, but was yelled at.  In group PT you are praised for being smart if you drop down. Sacrifice weight, sacrifice speed of the repetitions, but don’t sacrifice form. It’s about working as hard as you can at the appropriate level for your body and ability.

Certified Personal Trainers:  If someone who can’t put in the effort to get certified is training you please run as fast as you can away from that bootcamp. Getting a simple personal training certification is shamefully easy. I am an avid believer that the fitness industry is grossly under-regulated.

Well Thought Out Programs:  Random workouts that change by the minute may be fun, but if you want a real program that produces results it needs to follow some sort of training guidelines.  You get results by learning exercises and tracking your progress. If you are just doing random exercises you will get random results (if any).  Programs should be based on your needs to get you the results you are looking for.  How is a random workout going to give the 50 different people in the bootcamp the same results when each person is different?

Less People in the Workout:  One coach can’t train 12+ people well.  Indoor group PT typically has less people to make sure the coach can correct your form so you can improve.

Nutrition Intervention:  I know a lot of group personal trainers and almost all of them include some sort of nutrition information or nutrition guidance in their programs.  If nutrition is forgotten in your bootcamp, forget that bootcamp.

All of the Benefits of Bootcamp Without All of the Negatives:  Fitness bootcamps can be fun, low cost, and provide limited group support.  That is often the draw of bootcamps in the first place.  Group PT offers all of these benefits without any of the drawbacks that I discussed above.

This article has been a long time coming.  Anyone who knows me understands my strong dislike for generic crap training like the bootcamp I attended.  It’s my mission in life to increase the quality of group training. I hope this article will make a small splash in that happening.   I know the readers of this blog will understand the importance, so if you know anyone that may like this article please share it with them.