Exercise + Nutrition = Results

Now that you understand some of the core principles of Nutrition and Exercise here is a general outline of what to do when trying to achieve one of the goals listed below. I recommend reading through them because you may find that one or more goals may apply to you and you will need to combine tactics. Please remember that this is not everything you need to know. The recommendations below will always vary based on the individual and their training history, but this is a great general outline based around the big principles to get you started and thinking the right way. Understanding these principles is what will help you make the right decisions when you eat and exercise (or at least ask the right questions when seeking help). If at first this looks like too long a read, just focus on two of the goals the most apply to you and come back to read the others tomorrow. But remember, with all this information there will be no excuses for not getting to your goal. If you need help shoot me an email or comment and let's get you there!

A quick tid bit that applies to all of the goals below is......
Frequency is more important than duration: Each workout produces a stimulus for change in your body. These stimuli have the ability to build on top of each other. When you only workout 1-2 times per week you are creating a stimulus, but that stimulus subsides before your next workout. In a more frequent training schedule of 3-6 days per week you create staircase of adaptation. Each stimulus builds on top of the previous. So rather than doing 1-3 real long workouts a week do shorter, more intense and more frequent workouts. This could be short 30 minute sessions with a different emphasis of training on consecutive days. Unless your goal calls for long duration activity (and some do, such as long runs for a marathon 1-2 times per week) try and keep the intensity high by keeping the duration low. The longer the workout, the more acute fatigue you begin to feel and the more sloppy your workout becomes.

Weight Loss (strictly decrease scale weight)
Most will immediately jump to this goal because of its headline (or the simple fact that I put it first). However, in many cases one of the following goals or combination of goals is actually going to be more specific to what most really want.

Description: The goal of "weight loss" strictly refers to decreasing your weight. Whether it  be due to losing fat, water or muscle you are saying that you just want to see that number drop. Because the majority of Americans are overweight and/or obese many do need to" lose weight", but as you read on you might change your mind to one of the later mentioned goals as building muscle or decreasing body fat may be more suited toward your goal (You will see what I mean if you read on).

• Principles: Calories In vs. Calories Out. It's real simple, if you want to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you are consuming on a daily basis. There are only 3 ways to do this: Eat less, burn more or both. 
• Nutrition: Try to decrease the calories you are consuming on a daily basis. Using a food log, app or other logging method is usually helpful, but not absolutely necessary. Many do this by restricting portion sizes and/or eating healthier foods because they tend to be lower in calories.
• Exercise: Simply become more active. Find different ways to get more movement and exercise into your day. Think about Frequency and not always duration. A 10-20 minute walk every day at lunch is usually going to be better than one long workout session each week when you start. It will also make it easier to implement as a habit. As the activity you chose becomes easier try and push yourself. You should always consider exercise intensity (previous post) to assure that your exercise is sufficient.  

Decrease Body Fat ( Not Muscle)

Description: This is what I think of when I hear "lean and tone." I consider reducing body fat as an individual that wants to maintain all of the muscle they have or even build a little bit. Think of stripping a few layers of your "indestructible wetsuit" so that the muscle  you already have or will soon have can be more visible. This goal refers to the individual that cares more about the mirror, how their clothes fit or how they feel rather than just the scale (I think it is safe to say that most of us are these people). For those who have very little muscle on their body this may require gaining some "good" weight (gaining lean muscle weight). For those with a higher body fat percentage (Body Fat Percentage) and/or fall into the category of overweight (roughly 70% of the U.S. population) or obese (roughly 33% of the U.S. Population) this will require losing weight. To figure out your Body Mass Index (BMI) check out this site (BMI).Finally, in some cases this may require simply maintaining weight while building muscle and decreasing body fat. Figuring out which plan is best for you may require some help, so ask for it (only qualified personnel of course)!

• Principles: Calories in vs. Calories Out , Regulate Macronutrients (Proteins, Carbs and Fats), Training Intensity 
• Nutrition: Generally the best thing you can do here depends on where you are starting. If your body fat percentage does require you to lose some weight then a coloric deficit (eat less calories than you burn) is necessary. If you have a significantly small amount of muscle mass you may require a caloric surplus (eat more calories than you burn) and should refer to the section titled "Hypertorphy" for further information. In most cases this goal will require a caloric deficit because most peoples body fat percentages are significantly higher than what their "goal image" entails. Basically the rate at which one can decrease fat (lose 0-2 lb. per week) is greater than the rate at which one can gain muscle (gain 0-1 lb. per week) Either way the key to this goal is quality of food. There are millions of ways to modify ones diet and there are millions of people who have achieved the same results with very different diets (okay maybe not millions, but alot). What I recommend is trying NOT to "diet," but rather start to re-structure your diet (food that you consume regularly) to consist of much healthier items. This means Don't cut out carbs! Don't go all liquids! A healthy and effective diet is one that you can maintain for the rest of your life (Mentally, Physically and Monetarily). We all know what is "healthy." Here are some words to jog your memory and remind you of your mother: Fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fiber, complex carbohydrates. If there is any macronutrient that I would recommend being more aware of related to your intake it would be fat. The "typical" American diet already has pleanty of it so your body can do with a little restriction there and for reasons discussed in the nutrition post (go check it out. hint: 4 calories, 4 calories, 9 calories). Additionally you will want to make sure you are consuming adequate protein and quality carbohydrates. As I have mentioned many times before, some sort of food log, nutrition program or application will always prove useful here. Especially if you are someone that doesn't have an idea how much protein, carbohydrates, fats or calories you will need to be taking in (or currently take in) to maintain muscle and/or create a caloric deficit or caloric surplus. This is just the tip of the icerberg people. There is much more to learn and consider and I promise to get into that more as we go along (especially if I hear from YOU what questions or thoughts YOU need answered). 
• Exercise: When most consider decreasing body fat or leaning and toning they think light weights and high repititions, but I say screw that! If you want something to improve, adapt and perform better the best way to do this is by challenging yourself. When looking at exercises to perform and rep and set ranges think quality and not quantity. When one is exercising at a low intensity (low weights, high repetitions) it only serves to burn calories. When one exercises at higher intensities not only can they accomplish burning calories (in fact, more calories burned with high intensity training than low intensity training per time worked), but they can also stimulate muscle adaptation or simply reduce the decrease in muscle mass. As you use more energy during your workouts and consume fewer calories to decrease that body fat your body will inevitably start tapping into other sources of energy besides fat. This is when muscle can be vulnerable. For an individual that does some high intenisty (RPE: 7-10) and moderate to low volume (total repetitions and total exercise duration) training it is more likely that your body will regenerate damaged (from workouts) muscle tissue rather than letting it degenerate over time. For the typical individual 30-60 minutes, 3-5 days per week, with 4-6 compound exercises, of 3-5 sets of 1-15 repetitions, at a RPE: 6-10 should do the trick. Yeah, I realize there is a lot to take in with that sentence, which is exactly why I have a job. It's not super simple to create a workout program for anyone, especially yourself. So, get some qualified help!

RPE: Rate of Perceived Exertion (How hard you are working, see preceding exercise post)

Hypertrophy (Build Muscle)
Most females and some males that see the words "build muscle" will quickly look away, but I recommend you reconsider. The benefits of having a couple extra pounds of lean muscle on your body are proven (higher "metabolism", more intense workouts, greater strength, etc.)

Description: The goal of hypertrophy is not only for body builders and machismo men. Sure they have a great deal more muscle than the rest of us, but this goal relates to anyone who would like to build some muscle. This goal refers to the actual size increase of muscle tissue, whether it is 5,10 or 20 pounds that you desire to put on.

• Principles: Surplus of Calories, High Volume and Moderate to High Intensity,
• Nutrition: You must consume adequate calories. This means not only what you were burning before training, but additional calories for the new exercise regimen and more on top of that to supply muscle growth. If your body is not receiving adequate energy then the energy that would be being used to build muscle tissue is instead being used to get through workouts or every day tasks. However, just because you are attempting to consume more calories it is important to keep these calories of quality by avoiding high fat options. Adequate protein intake is crucial as the body cannot supply itself will all forms of amino acids (protein). Additionally, there should be a priority on consuming a post workout meal. There is plenty of research validating the importance of a high protein/carbohydrate meal post rigorous exercise for the process of recovery, regeneration of tissue (muscle tissue) and synthesis of new muscle tissue.
• Exercise: For those of you who don't plan to get up on stage and model your figure in competition I recommend working your entire body. Don't get caught up in just working individual muscles (leg extensions for the quads, curls for the biceps, etc.), but rather work the entire body and stimulate as much tissue as possible. I can't tell you how effective a simple program including squats, deadlifts,  pull-ups, presses and other various pull exercises can be when your goal is to put on muscle. Refer to the previous post on exercise in the section titled "Choose Your Artillery Wisely."Start with the compound exercises and if there is some extra time left feel free to do a few isolated exercises on the triceps or biceps if that's what you want to grow. Now additionally take into consideration that not only do you want to use compound and more time-efficient exercises, it is also important to use some serious resistance. No it doesn't have to be the heaviest dumbells, but it should be something challenging for you.  For the typical individual 30-60 minutes, 3-5 days per week, with 4-6 compound exercises, of 3-5 sets of 1-15 repetitions, at a RPE: 6-10 should do the trick. Do these recommendations look familiar? That's because they are and for the average person they will do just fine for your goal as long as you take the nutrition into consideration. And once again, I realize these recommendations leave for a lot of room to play with and a lot of ways to lose yourself in creating a plan, but that is why there are degrees and certifications about the very subject. It's an art.

Strength ( Be Stronger)
 Strength is one of only a few things related to mortality (how long you live or how soon you die). Think of it this way. When you are stronger everything on a day to day basis is easier. It is easier to go up a set of stairs, play with the kids or go on a trip. As you lose strength (as often is seen with age) things become harder so you do less of them. Less activities eventually leads to less strength ( If you don't use it, you lose it). Unfortunately, this can occur earlier in life, but you have the choice to prevent it. 

Description: Although there is strong relationship between having more muscle and being stronger you don't have to build muscle to become stronger. Strength or the ability of muscles to produce force is also facilitated by several other factors (mostly neural, but I will spare your brain cells of further elaboration). Don't get me wrong, more muscle will significantly help strength gains for those who are willing to put on some extra lean muscle, but I realize that isn't everyone's goal. Building strength consists of training each muscle or group of muscles to produce more force. Then multiple groups of muscles work together and create strong movements. Now take a look below for further recommendations.

• Principles: More Muscle = More strength, Train Intensely, Sufficient Protein, Nutrients and Recovery.
• Nutrition: If you are one that wants to pack on some lean muscle then you should put yourself in a caloric surplus. If you are someone who would like to maintain your weight then just eat adequate calories and macronutrients especially protein to allow for muscle recovery.
• Exercise: When it comes to exercise it is purely intensity. The average person will see an increase in strength after a few sessions of doing anything, but these gains will start to diminish quickly if a logical program is not implemented. For this reason I recommend progressing by way of resistance for a while rather than just doing different exercises all the time. Find a few well rounded exercises that you feel fairly confident in your technique and little by little load them up on weight. Obviously as the weight gets heavier you will not be able to do the same repetitions and for this reason I recommend decreasing volume as you increase intensity. For example, follow this training schedule for 4 weeks. 
• Week 1: 4 sets of 10 reps @ RPE: 6  
• Week 2: 4 sets of 8 reps @ RPE: 7  
• Week 3: 4 sets of 6 reps @ RPE: 8  
• Week 4: 4 sets of 4 reps @ RPE: 9  
• Then you could repeat the following month and compare the loads that were lifted
• Another key factor to keep in consideration when trying to build strength is recovery. This might not be very important at first, but after building your strength for a few months your strength will allow for lifting heavier weights, which requires more from your body (especially your brain). This is often referred to as neural fatigue. Although most realize when they are fatigued and need to take a day or two off many choose not to do so. Recovery is extremely important, especially when trying to build strength. Remember that the neural component of strength is tremendous and thus with a fatigued neural drive (brain) it will be hard to get through a quality workout. Since quality is always better than quantity allow yourself that day or two off from training and do anything else that will help your body recover. 

Improve Endurance Performance (running, cycling, swimming, etc.)

Description: This goal refers to individuals who love competing or partaking in any sort of endurance events such as 5k, 10k, marathons, century rides or triathlons). It is important to realize that in these specific activities there is large amount of stress repeatedly put on the same aspects of the body. Day after day, step after step, stroke after stroke and mile after mile. The greatest recommendation

• Principles: Efficiency of Movement, Human Horsepower and Threshold
• Nutrition: When it comes to nutrition for endurance events there are many different aspects to consider. What, when, how much. All that good stuff. However, I would focus on making sure that your are consuming adequate calories (with well rounded macronutrients) to fuel your workouts and maintain or develop performance. Consume calories prior to longer workouts and immediately after. Recovery is an ongoing process. It is always taking place. This is why in some cases fueling during workouts can be extremely beneficial as well. Fueling play a large part in time to exhaustion or fatigue, which is crucial to any endurance activity.
• Exercise: When it comes to Exercise there are 3 key factors that aid any endurance activity. Those are VO2 Max, Lactate Threshold and Efficiency of movement. VO2 Max is how much of the oxygen you breath in your body can actually uptake, deliver and utilize for the production of energy (i.e. You could think of your VO2 Max as how much horsepower your body has. You can rev it up there, but not for long or you are likely to burn out). Lactate Threshold is the tipping point of your RPE where you can only hold that intensity for so long (i.e. you might be able to run an hour at 6mph, but as soon as you take the speed up to 8mph you can only last a few minutes). Efficiency is a combination of movement patterns, muscle activation and other factors that allow you to use less energy to move at the same rate or do the same amount of work (i.e. After training systems of your body will adapt to allow you to run at a slightly higher speed without expending additional or even less energy). When trying to enhance performance it is best to target one, two or all three of the components above. Here is how you can do that:
• VO2 Max: Train at high intensities or RPE near 10 every so often for durations of 1-5 minutes. More muscle = a greater ability to utilize oxygen to create energy so don't be afraid of a little extra lean tissue in the muscles that are working. That means more arm muscle would not benefit a cyclist, but more leg muscle could. 
• Lactate Threshold: Most people settle in at intensities and speeds they can handle for long periods of time, but this doesn't create much lactate in the blood (that burning sensation). Similar to the recommendation for VO2 max occasionally to threshold training where you train at a pace faster than you know you could hold for the entire event. This serves two purposes:  One it will stimulate adaptation by telling your body it needs to get better at holding that speed and processing byproducts created at that speed. Two, it will get you ready for when you can actually move at that speed after ample training.
• Efficiency of Movement: Obviously the more you run the more efficient you will become at it and likewise for other sports. However, looking into mechanics can help a lot. Even getting some coaching could help you move just a little faster for the same amount of energy. Just think, over the course of a marathon or 2 mile swim that could shave off minutes of time. Lastly I always recommend building strength in the muscles specific to the sport. The stronger the muscles are the easier each stroke, step, or stride will feel and will likely improve your performance. Train to be stronger 1-3x week. Keep it short and sweet and use some of the recommendations from the section above labeled "Strength."

Final Note:

Of course there are other topics related to all of the above goals such as supplements, exercises, etc. but for the average person that I see at the gym and the population reading this blog you don't need to worry just yet. Remember it is about instituting methods based on the large principles and then fine tuning details later on. So make sure that you have a "why" for what you are doing, a "how" it is going to help you, start simple and work your way up, and always listen  to your body. Exercise, Nutrition and Recovery (Could RECOVERY be the next post?) should always be kept in mind.

With that I am curious to hear what you all thought about this one and where you all would like more guidance so I can better gear further posts. Thanks for stopping by and shout out on the comment portion of the blog rather than email (anything you please!).