Why Strength Training is Crucial to Your Weight Loss.

I’ve been a professional personal trainer in Rochester NY for more than 15 years.  And before that, I was a championship body builder.  So here is one personal training tip I’d like to share with you:  strength training is crucial for successfully losing weight and keeping it off.
I’m talking about weight-bearing exercise.  It doesn’t have to be a 3-hour, hulking workout – like I used to do back in my bodybuilding days.  I’m just talking about some basic strength training – something I do with all my clients who want to lose weight.
Why is strength training important for losing weight?  Because most folks – especially women – try to starve themselves into weight loss. They think the key to shedding weight is to shed calories from their diet.  Even many personal trainers don’t really understand the importance of strength training.  They also think that it’s just about calories and aerobic exercise.  Calories in, calories out.
Sure, if you have a calorie deficit, you’ll definitely lose weight… and if you eat extra calories, you will add unwanted body fat.  While that’s true, it’s only part of the picture.  You need a calorie deficit to lose weight, but how does your body actually use calories?  It’s your lean body mass – that muscle mass underneath your body fat – that burns calories 24/7, allowing you to actually eat more calories while still losing weight!
To show my point – imagine you’re obese and have a high percentage of body fat.  Beneath that fat you actually have a very strong skeleton and strong muscles.  How come?  Well, your body has built up those muscles so that it can carry all of that extra weight when you move your body.  Just the very act of getting out of a chair, walking through a store,  going up a flight of stairs or lifting your arms requires more effort when you’re overweight.  So – ironically – the fatter you are, the stronger your muscles need to be just to allow you to do basic, everyday things.  Of course, most people don’t realize they’re muscles are stronger because their muscles are being hidden by fat.
But having gained weight and strengthened your muscles can actually work to your advantage — if you manage to keep all of that muscle mass and bone density in place while you’re losing body fat.  The reason is simple.  You’ll maintain the high metabolism that’s associated with that lean body mass even while you are dropping body fat.  On the other hand, if you starve yourself, you’re going to lose much of the muscle mass you already have.  And in doing so, you’ll slow down your metabolism.  It’s a mistake a lot of folks make.  They try to lose body fat by starving themselves, and as the body fat vanishes from their body, their muscle mass also disappears.  Why would the body get rid of muscle mass? Because, frankly, it doesn’t need it to carry all that extra weight.
Here’s what I mean.  Your body is an adaptive system.  So if you’re a heavier person, then your body will adapt by creating stronger muscles to lift your body. It’s almost like doing a leg press every time you get up out of the chair. If you weigh 300 lbs you’re doing a 300 lb leg press.  Now if you were to drop 150 lbs of body fat and end up at 150 lbs, your body wouldn’t need the same amount of leg muscle to lift you. It would eliminate those leg muscles through catabolic action.
The bad part is this.  While your body rids itself of muscle mass, your metabolism slows down.  Remember, it’s the lean body mass that’s burning calories day in and day out, even when your body is at rest or even sleeping.  If you reduce that muscle mass by allowing it to go away (by not challenging your muscles), then your metabolism will grind to a stop.  A lot of people end up at a place where they’ve lost the body fat and they’re lighter, but it’s suddenly so much easier to put on body fat. They don’t have the muscle mass they once did, they’re not automatically burning calories, and if they overeat just a little bit, they’ll start packing on the body fat again.
In next week’s MaxFit blog, I’ll tell you how to keep (and ADD!) vital muscle mass while you’re losing body fat.  In the meantime, if you have any fitness questions for me – or if you’re simply looking for a personal trainer in the Rochester or Penfield area, please feel free to give me a shout at info@maxfitonline.com

Personal Trainer Reveals SUPER FOOD

As a personal trainer located in Penfield NY, a lot of my weight loss clients ask me to recommend a diet.  The food at the top of this personal trainer’s list?  Simple.   I rave about Salmon.
Salmon is a great food for both athletes and average Joe’s alike.  Not only is it packed with protein (which most people don’t get enough of) but it also contains Omega 3 fatty acids.  Omega 3′s are fats that promote good health – but that are not produced by the body.
These unique fats are recognized by health experts as an anti-aging and anti-disease nutrient which fights against free radicals.  That means Omega 3’s help prevent everything from strokes, heart attacks and cancer…  to keeping your skin looking young and healthy.  Yeah, Omega 3’s are that crucial to your healthy diet!
Sure, you can get Omega 3’s from supplements instead of eating Salmon.  But you’d be missing out on one of nature’s SUPER FODDS.  Here is something that should excite anyone that is trying to lose weight and gain muscle mass:  A mere 3 ounce serving of salmon contains 127 calories, with 84 of them coming from protein, and the rest from those great Omega 3′s!  Salmon is also rich in niacin, phosphorus, magnesium, and vitamins B6 and B12.
And as I’ve said – all of these contribute to salmon promoting overall cardiovascular health and preventing things such as stroke and heart attacks.  Salmon is great tasting and hearty when cooked on the grill.  It provides a convenient source of  protein, as you can find canned Salmon at any Wegmans or Tops store in Rochester.  So, if you want a buff body and a healthy heart – take it from someone who has been a personal trainer for the past 18 years – eat salmon!  These factors make salmon one of my top ten  SUPER FOODS!
If you have any questions you’d like answered by a personal trainer, please feel free to drop me an email at info@maxfitonline.com

Basically, I have exercised in one form or another all my life, ate myself through college, never had a weight problem. Then real life happened! Married, 3 kids and a menopause later, still exercising, still eating…..whatever……and Holy Smokes, this is not healthy. Kept exercising like a maniac, no results.
About a year and a half ago, my friend, R, invited me to a weight training class at Maximum Fitness. It was fun, loved it, was strong and FAT. Chuck, the owner of the gym, kept telling me what I needed to do to lose the weight, but I wasn’t ready to listen. Well, let’s be honest, I wasn’t ready to give up food! He didn’t push me, but he knew! About 3 months ago, it clicked in my brain, ” all this work, all this money, no results….. now I am ready”. Chuck wrote down a healthy eating routine and gave me 2 weeks. I followed it, did my weight training 2X a week and some cardio at home. That was October and now it is January! I am 27 pounds lighter! HipHipHooray for MEEEEEEEE!
Thank you Chuck and Bernie for your patience ! Great guys, a great place to work out!!
Oh and PS. I brought my cholesterol down 20 points and stabilized my blood pressure to boot!!
-Marie Colaruotolo
The “I hate to exercise QUEEN”

Happy New Year everyone!  One of the most frequently asked questions i get asked at Maximum Fitness in Penfield  NY  is…(drum roll please) “What are the best foods i can eat?”  Over the next several weeks i will be writing about what i feel are the very best foods that should be a part of everyone’s diet. Stay tuned for this exciting series that i hope will be a help to anyone who is interested in better health!

With the Holidays fast approaching , dieting for many becomes even more of a challenge. It is by far the hardest time of year for many to stay on the right track with their nutrition plan. But fear not my friends!..It can be done. Use your holiday parties as a reward system! Make it a point to follow your plan as close as possible and then when that party or gathering comes enjoy yourself. Add some extra cardio in that week of the office Christmas party.(before the party, not after!) Holidays should not be a time of failure or regression, think of them as a more motivating time of year that you can enjoy with loved ones! Remember this Holiday season dont let dieting hold you by the Jingle Bells!

One thing personal trainers should do is give some simple health advice.  Before becoming a personal trainer in Rochester NY for the past two decades, I was a competitive body builder (no steroids, thank you!).  So I learned a lot about general health issues and weight loss.  And I keep up on the latest tips to pass along to my clients and friends.

I read an article in Men’s Health recently that caught my attention.

The crux of if it was this:  various medical reports demonstrate that folks who spend at least half the day sitting are 54% more likely to die from a heart attack.  And to carry around extra weight.   Ouch!

So if you spend a lot of time sitting at a desk or computer, your risk for a fatal heart attack is 54% greater than folks who are not sitting most of the day.  The studies also showed that other health factors did NOT play a role.  So even if you sat most of the day but exercised daily, didn’t smoke, and ate healthy foods, your risk of a heart attack was still 54% higher.  Sitting, in and of itself, is an independent risk factor.

The medical researchers suspect that an enzyme is the culprit.  The enzyme is lipoprotein lipase (LLP), and it breaks down fat in the bloodstream and converts it to energy.  A researcher discovered that levels of LLP drop dramatically in rats when they lay down, and they theorize the same thing happens in humans.

The bottom line?  Sitting down increases fat in the bloodstream, thus leading to clogged arteries.

As if that weren’t bad enough, sitting is also demonstrated to have other unhealthy side effects.

Sitting can wreck your posture.  The reason?  Your muscles begin to conform to whatever position you’re in for too long.  So if your back is hunched over a desk most of the day, your body starts to take that form.

Sitting also makes you fatter.  According to this article, you burn 60 more calories per hour standing.  When you sit, your glute (butt) muscles stop firing, and you stop burning more calories.  In fact doctors have a term for this phenomenon.  It’s called gluteal amnesia – and, no, I’m not making this up.   Oh, and it gets worse. Weak butt muscles push on the pelvis, which causes your stomach to extend.  So, of course, you look fatter.

Sitting causes lower back pain.  When your pelvis gets pushed, it can put pressure on your spine, thus causing back pain.

Wow.  That’s a whole lot of bad news about sitting.

Well, I’m happy to tell you there are some good, practical tips to combat “sitting syndrome.”

Standing Tip #1:  Take at least two breaks every hour.  These don’t have to be long breaks.  Just a couple minutes to get a glass of water, or walk outside for some fresh air and sunshine.  You can even walk over to a co-worker and talk to them instead of sending an email.  A study of 5,000 people showed that the quarter who took the most breaks were more than one-and-a-half inches thinner than the quarter who took the fewest breaks.

Standing Tip #2:  Stand during phone calls.  While at work, get up and walk around while you’re on the phone.  The same is true when you’re at home.  Stand while talking on the phone – or better yet, invite your friend, spouse or child to go for a 30 minute walk while you chat.

Standing tip #3: Get a standup desk.  This idea is a little outside the box, but certainly not unheard of.  Ask your boss or HR department if a standup desk would be an accommodation to help you.  A standup desk is more or less a regular desk with some modifications to the desktop platforms for your computer keyboard and monitor.  They are simply elevated so that you can stand and type. Your keyboard should adjusted so that your elbows are bent at 90 degrees, and your monitor is at eye level.

In a nutshell – whatever you can do to get off your butt is going to help your health.   According to the doctors quoted in the article, every little bit helps!  I hope you can put some of those tips to work.  I’ll be back in a couple “personal training” tips to help get you healthy.

In my 20 years as a personal trainer in Rochester, NY, I’ve emphasized the importance of smart nutrition to my clients.  Weight loss, strength training and overall health are almost impossible without proper eating habits.  So here is some of the best advice I can give you.  Along with sharing the reasons of why you should be eating certain foods.   

One of the things I constantly tell my clients is that “all calories are not created equal.”  Here is what I mean (and here is why if you’re engaged in a personal training routine, this is so important to you).

Calories can be broken down into three basic sources:  Protein, carbohydrates, and fats.  Unlike some unhealthy fad diets, your body needs all three of those caloric sources to lose weight and maintain healthy muscle mass.  The key is this.  You want right kind of proteins, the right kind of carbs, and the right kinds of fats.

Proteins:  In my decades as a personal trainer, I can say that almost every woman I have helped has started out as protein deficient.  Remember, protein is crucial to building lean muscle, and muscle is crucial to weight loss and overall good health.   The best sources for protein are lean meats such as turkey, fish, egg whites and chicken.  If that’s not enough, I suggest a good protein shake once a day.  The other thing to remember about protein is that it’s hard for your body to metabolize protein – which means that about 30% of the protein calories you eat are burned up in digesting that food.  So if you eat 100 calories of egg whites, as an example, you burn about 30 calories digesting it.  As I say, all calories are not created equal.

Carbohydrates:  Most people equate carbs to weight gain.  Well, that can be true – if you’re eating a lot of processed carbs (white bread, pasta, and sugar).  But eating good carbs like beans, green vegetables, fruits and whole grains like oatmeal – those are foods your body needs to lose weight and be healthy.  (Back when I was a competitive bodybuilder, I pounded down a forest of broccoli and a tanker load of oatmeal… It’s not just all about the protein).  Unprocessed foods force your body to work harder to digest them.  While proteins take about 30% of their calories to digest, carbs still do well at 10%.  And the more fiber in your carbs, the greater effects they have on your metabolism.  Final thought:   I’ve seen too many people go on strict low-carb diets, lose a good amount of weight, then “rebound” and gain more weight than they lost.  Ouch!  Enjoy a diet that includes good carbs.  They’re part of a long-term diet that will make you healthy.

Fats:  You need fats to make you skinny.  That sounds funny, huh?  Well, it’s true.  As people have turned to low-fat or no-fat foods, they’ve replaced fats highly processed carbs and sugar that add too many calories with no benefits.  But fats are good for you and for your weight loss program.  The problem with fats is that people eat the wrong kind, and in quantities that are typically enough for 4 people!!  Cheeseburgers, ice cream, fried Snickers bars, potato chips… Those would be laden with saturated fats.  But you probably already knew that.  (Sorry, even veteran personal trainers have food fantasies).   The foods you should have in your kitchen include nuts (almonds /pistachios/walnuts), foods high in Omega 3 and 5 oils (fish), soybeans, and olive oil.  The good thing about fats is that they give your pallet a satisfied  feeling, and they also satiate your stomach.  Those are good calories.

So there is your quick personal fitness lesson on nutrition and weight loss.  I give all my clients a personalized eating plan, based on their tastes and weight loss goals.  If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please drop me a line at chuck@maxfitonline.com or call me at 585-383-0530.  I’d love to hear from you.

WHEN:  Saturday, March 26^th  10:00 am- 12:00

Taught by Internationally recognized:  Master David (Taygun) Cialini

Three Sessions are offered:

Session #1

A- Self defense theory. Exposing myths about traditional techniques.

B- What works and what doesn’t work. (You’ll be surprised!).

C- What good weapons you might have with you.(it’s not your keys)

 D- How to avoid being vulnerable.

Session #2    

A- Practical application

B- How to harness 100% of your power against a larger person.             

C- Simple movements you can do without thinking.

Session-#3    

A- Hands-on practice.

Bring your own husband , brother, boyfriend to practice on. (free admittance for practice dummies). Or we will provide a bad guy if yours is too scared.

B- Opportunity and Instruction to brake wooden boards.

      First one is free. Additional $2 each.

C- Summery of class. Question/Answer period.

Cost: $30 per person at the door. 

Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Limited Spaces so please RSVP: usamustafa1@yahoo.com or to chuck@maxfitonline.com

Pre-registration special $25.00 by Friday 3/25/11

Maximum Martial Arts

1671 Penfield Road

Rochester, NY 14625

I opened my email to this today:

Hi  Chuck,  I just wanted to let you know how happy I am with the results from your diet food plan and weight training.  I am in the middle of my seventh week and I have lost 12 pounds.  The diet is easy and I’m not hungry.  I have averaged a 2 pounds a week weight loss.  I feel better and I have a lot more energy.  Also I can now fit into clothes that I haven’t worn for two years.  Thanks so much.  Margaret D. age 67.