The New Laws of Fat Loss for 2011

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Hi everybody, I hope you’ve had a great start to the new year. I’m sure a lot of you have renewed motivation into losing weight and getting into the best shape of life (finally, right?) and I have high hopes that you’ll succeed where you and others have failed in past. No more starting then stopping your fitness plan. It seems like every time you feel ready to get to work on shedding off the excess blubber something (or somebody) wants to throw a monkey wrench into your game plan, doesn’t it?  

But what I say you should do is persevere anyway; obstacles will always be there, it’s just a part of life. Plenty of things will stand in the way but only if you allow it to control your health. You are more powerful than you think. You have more control than you think.  

It’s time you realize that.

I challenge you to persevere through it all; loved ones being sick, stress on the job, finding time to exercise, etc. These are all things you should want to push through.   The past few years have been rough for a lot of people, but I believe that through positivity, support, and great health amazing things can happen. I believe that a positive mindset is contagious.   When people see you pushing past your own obstacles and making great things happen despite the roadblocks in front of you, they will follow suit. And since losing fat and transforming physiques is my specialty here are the laws that you need to set in place for your life in order to see the results you’ve been searching for.  

1. Have a positive mindset- This has to be number one. Look at your life and ask yourself what negative behaviors are creating obstacles that could be prevented. For example, stress eating is common cause of obesity and other health related issues, but it is preventable.

 If stress eating is a problem for you then try enforcing more positive behaviors like going for walk, prayer, reading a book.   Just do something that will allow you to relax. One thing I do know is that a negative mindset will stop anybody in their tracks from achieving anything. Want a lean physique, or even financial success, remaining positive against the odds will be key.  

It’s good to have a vision of what you want your health outlook to be and how having a leaner physique would improve your lifestyle. So write down what your vision is, then outline what goals you will accomplish to achieve your vision. Then write down the obstacles in your way and your areas of strength that will help you navigate your way through those obstacles.  

Without a a clear picture of what you want, how you’ll get it, and what stands in your way, it will be hard for you to achieve significant fat loss. You may see results, but they will be limited and they will be short lived.    

 2. A Supportive Nutrition System is Key- Without it, all is lost. You cannot out-train a bad diet, I don’t care how much you exercise. Achieving a lean body is next to impossible you believe you can eat whatever you want and expect to still lose weight. I can be the best fitness coach in the world and have the best training programs ever invented and still not be able to help you AT ALL.  

You don’t have to diet. The word “diet” to me just has too many negative connotations that come along with it. That’s why I prefer to use “supportive nutrition”, eating supportively just sounds for positive and healthier to follow. To eat supportively means giving your body what needs to live and function properly. I associate dieting with the word “restrictive” or “to go without”,   So eat supportively whatever your goal is, whether it be losing 20 pounds of fat (maybe more), or gaining lean muscle. The main principles of eating supportively are these:  

  • If you can’t grow it, kill it, or pick it, it shouldn’t be eaten
  • Anything that has to be processed with tons of unpronounceable ingredients is most likely bad for you
  • Eat more carbs around the time you are likely to be active. Today’s sedentary lifestyles just don’t allow us to eat carbs in excess and still lose weight.
  • Eating after 6 o’clock will not make you fat, over-eating will. If you’re hungry at 8pm then eat something, just keep the meal light. A piece of fruit, a protein shake, a colorful salad with light dressing are all great options to keep you full throughout the night
  • Food additives are horrible, so are preservatives and pesticides. Stay away from these as much as possible
  • Drink nothing but water throughout the day and nothing else (with the exception of green tea). Liquid calories are usually empty calories and empty calories are usually fat calories. Water in it’s purest form is the greatest thing for you, not vitamin water or anything else these companies try to past as healthy.
  • Eat more often for greater fat loss, at least 4-5 meals a day every 3-4 hours for an elevated metabolism and rapid fat loss.
  • Stop eating the same fruits and vegetables. Switch it up and a rainbow of colorful fruits and veggies. Each fruit or veggies has different, but significant nutrients that another will not provide, so being picky about your fruits and veggies is just a bad choice.  Keep a plethora of organic produce available for your consumption. The weight scale will thank you.

3. Logging in long hours of cardio is not the answer to fat loss. While low intensity cardio is certainly great for improving your health and reducing stress, is does not, however, do very well for reducing body fat. You’ll achieve more success in reducing excess body fat by doing shorter higher intensity cardio sessions at least 2-3 times a week. Try doing 15-30 minutes of 30 seconds of high intensity cardio work followed by 60 seconds of active recovery for the best results in reducing body fat and losing inches.  

4. Metabolic Resistance Training is magic for reducing body fat. You can’t create a leaner physique without some form of lean muscle training in place. MRT creates and afterburn effect which is technically called EPOC which stands for Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption. It is defined as the recovery of the metabolic rate back to pre-exercise levels. It’s like a fan in an automobile that doesn’t shut off right away after a long drive. It takes time for your body to recover from a hard workout, which means that after an intense workout, you’ll be still burning calories long after your workout is done.

In contrast, light workouts do not produce EPOC so once your done with your workout so is your body.   It order to accelerate fat loss you really want to produce the “afterburn effect”, otherwise you’ll be spinning your wheels, but not going any where. EPOC is great for fat loss, you’ll be burning calories for days after a good workout, combined with some high intensity cardio, a supportive nutrition plan, and a positive mindset, achieving your fitness goals in 2011 is very possible!  

Please let me know what you think by placing a comment. Is there anything you would add to the list? What do you feel helps you? I’m always learning and improving and I sure like to know how I can help you achieve your goals this year.

Your Fitness Coach,

Ron

Amazing Life! Amazing Body! Dedicated to those who want a fitness program that will add value, quality, and happiness to their lives. Results Guaranteed!

Recovering from your workout? Drink this

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As a performance coach, I’m frequently telling my clients what to drink to recover faster from their workout. Your workout is never done. A common misconception is to think that you’re done with your workout once you step out the gym. 

No my friend, you have only worked the outside of your body, but on the inside is where the real workout begins. Once you put the weights down or run that last suicide then comes the regeneration phase. The regeneration phase is when you work to replenish the fluids you lost, stretch the muscles that you strengthened, repair the damage that you’ve caused to your body during your workout or practice. 

This phase is where many people fail horribly. One of the best ways to grow stronger and recover faster from your workouts is the use of chocolate milk. Drinking chocolate milk after a workout has numerous benefits. One is replenishing your body with much needed amino acids and carbs. 

It is easy to digest and is easily transported through the body, repairs damaged muscles faster, and on top of that, who doesn’t love a cold glass of chocolate milk? Who knew something so good as child would be so helpful in the athletic development of our athletes. 

I love to make smoothies out of chocolate milk myself. To get the most of your workout try this delicious smoothie made full of muscle growing, performance enhancing nutrients. 

1 cup of low or non-fat chocolate milk 

1 scoop of Prograde Workout recovery powder (found at www.capstone-performance.getprograde.com 

1 teaspoon of unflavored, pure creatine monohydrate 

1 small banana 

1 cup of frozen strawberries 

1 tablespoon of flax seed powder 

Ice 

You want to make sure you go through the entire regeneration process which is as follows: 

1. Utilize a foam roll to improve muscle tissue quality. Found at any sporting goods store or www.performbetter.com 

2. Stretch your tight muscles. Many people don’t do very well in this area. I most I see people do is attempt to touch their toes or some funky hip rocking and thats all. Spend five minutes stretching only your problem areas. Many people could avoid a lot of joint/muscular pain if they improved their flexibility 

3. Drink a recovery shake. Use the recipe above and watch your fat loss decrease, your lean muscle increase, and your performance soar to new heights. 

We have to do better  if improving our fitness and athletic performance is important to us and one organization leading the charge is the Got Milk?Refuel America campaign. If you ever seen the commercials with the “Got Milk” slogan then you know that the campaign promote milk and it’s benefits for a variety of reasons. The purpose of the Refuel America campaign is to recognize coaches who promote the value drinking chocolate milk as part of their athletes recovery. I myself am a huge advocate as well. 

The Refuel America representatives, along with basketball legend and former Los Angeles star A.C. Green will be coming to Antelope Valley High School on September 30 from 1045-1145am to present an award to football and women’s basketball coach Marcus Williams. Please note that this event is not open to the public, but it’s important for any coach, parent of an athlete, or fitness enthusiast to know about this campaign. 

 I for one, am particularly excited about this as I am a supporter of anyone or any group who promotes better recovery of young athletes and fitness enthusiasts.  I am all for proper recovery and proper nutrition; through this many injuries can be reduced and athletic careers are enhanced. 

Got Milk, anyone? 

For more info about the Got Milk?Refuel America program check them out at www.bodybymilk.com. 

GOT MILK? CAMPAIGN TO HONOR DESERVING COACH AT ANTELOPE VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL USAB Legend A.C. Green In Lancaster, CA to Recognize Coach Marcus Williams for Instilling Positive Post-Exercise Nutrition Habits Among His Student Athletes         

WHAT:   A.C. Green will visit Antelope Valley High School, on September 30, 2010 to host a school rally to honor Coach Marcus Williams for his outstanding efforts in teaching student athletes about the benefits of post-exercise nutrition. Coach Marcus Williams will be presented with a Refuel Grant worth $1,000 to help further efforts at Antelope Valley High School to teach the benefits of exercise and nutrition.    The Refuel Grant program, sponsored by the “got milk?” Campaign, recognizes coaches who’ve changed their team’s recovery game plan to include lowfat chocolate milk to help give teen athletes the competitive edge.  From September through November 2010, coaches, teachers, students and parents can visit http://www.bodybymilk.com/ to nominate secondary schools that refuel their athletes with chocolate milk for a chance to receive one of ten $1,000 Refuel Grants.   

WHY:     When it comes to performing at the highest level, an athlete’s post-game recovery routine is just as important as their pre-game prep. Experts suggest there’s a two-hour recovery window after a game or workout—the best time to refuel and rehydrate your body to keep it in top shape and help you get back in the game.  Lowfat chocolate milk contains a mix of carbs and protein to refuel and repair muscles, fluids to rehydrate and electrolytes, including calcium, potassium and magnesium, to replenish what is lost in sweat and has the added bonus of bone-building nutrients like calcium.     

  FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information, log on to bodybymilk.com   Media Inquiries Contact: Anna Hellgeth, ahellgeth@webershandwick.com, Direct: 312-988-2083, Cell: 847-927-5767 

5 Steps to Maximizing Athletic Performance and Preventing Injuries among Young Antelope Valley Athletes

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So you’re looking to be a stud on the field, or maybe on the court, right? With summer here, there is a countless number of athletes out there working on their skills so they can come back the next season as the best athlete in the game. My question is however, how exactly do you get to become the best athlete you can possibly be? Should you rely on raw, natural talent? Let me ask you this? What is your training plan, do you have any direction, or are you winging it hoping that you land on the right path?

As an athletic development coach, my job has been to assist young athletes in training and developing their athletic skills to reach their full potential while minimizing injuries. Now isn’t that the goal of every athlete, coach, and parent? They want to be in the game, playing, winning, having fun, and growing into an athletic beast like Lebron James, or Adrian Peterson.

The problem is though; a lot of athletes are missing a key ingredient to a successful athletic career: appropriate aged based performance-enhancing programs that would help them increase their athletic strength and power, and would allow them to improve their game speed, agility, and flexibility. What’s most important to these young athletes is to implement a program that addresses their individual injury concerns.

In working with young athletes around the Antelope Valley, I have discovered that majority of the athletes playing sports today are just a hair line away from a season ending injury.  According to a three year study conducted by the National Athletic Trainer’s Association from 1995-1997, two players on any team in America, no matter the gender will be injured during the season. It showed us that the most common injuries were sprains (44.6% males, 44.2% females). Moreover, the most likely place athletes were getting injured was in the foot/ankle complex (38.0% males, 36.0% females)

In information I gathered from the National Center for Sports Safety, (http://www.sportssafety.org/sports-injury-facts/) there were over 680,000 injuries in basketball in 2001. This was over 200,000 more than the injuries that occurred in tackle football! Excessive injuries in sports are due to lack of proper training, repetitive muscle strain, and inadequate flexibility and control of the body.

What makes things worse is the fact most athletes do not have access to Injury Prevention and Performance Enhancement Coaches that could help these young athletes prevent injuries through sound training principles and proper education. And most head coaches just don’t have the skill, training or the time to address every athlete’s developmental needs. Most of these teams strength & conditioning workouts come from other coaches they know or from the internet and is not individually based, so there is really no way of knowing what each athlete’s injury concerns are.

The need for injury prevention programs is obvious: An athlete’s history of injuries will spur future injuries. This is especially true when the injury that has occurred is improperly managed. These reasons should lead us to focusing on “pre-habilitation,” (addressing a weaker muscle before we actually injure the muscle or muscle group) rather than rehabilitation. Some simple steps may help these athletes prolong their athletic careers throughout high school, college, and even at the pro level for the very exceptional athletes.

Here are five steps to enhancing your performance and prolonging your career in sports for long lasting success:

  1. 1.      Individually based programs start with the assessment. This is better done by a professional, but with a good mirror and little education you can determine where your weaknesses are. There are plenty of assessments that can be done; one in particular that we use as sports medicine and fitness professionals is the Functional Movement Screen created by Sports Physical Therapist Gray Cook.  

 

In using the FMS, we can see through simple, yet effective testing where an athlete may be prone to injury, thus allowing the performance coach the opportunity to develop a proper training protocol for that athlete.

  1. Begin a corrective exercise program. Now that you have determined where your weaknesses are, you must start with the corrective process. A corrective exercise program addresses concerns of overactive muscles versus underactive muscles and attempts to strengthen the underactive muscles while relieving the excessive tension found in overused muscles.

This validates the reason for having coaches who specialize in youth performance training and have vast knowledge in corrective exercise programming. No athlete likes sitting on the sideline, but with overuse injuries and improper training; this is surely what will happen! Plus, adding in the fact that most injuries are improperly managed, the athlete is almost guaranteed to re-injure the muscle or joint in the future.

A corrective exercise program is especially important after your season is over. Spend a good 4-6 weeks in the corrective exercise phase fixing your muscle imbalances and your body (plus your coach) will be thankful for it.

 

  1. 3.      Always do a proper dynamic warm-up. No matter what! When you have tight muscles, they tend to pull the joints out of proper alignment. Couple that with enormous demands of sprinting up and down a court, cutting, jumping for rebounds and you have a recipe for disaster. I see so many people neglect to stretch properly and go through a joint by joint dynamic warm-up. This alone will go a long way into enhancing your game performance. A good dynamic warm-up should include exercises that will stretch and strengthen your muscles at the same time. It should also address hip and ankle mobility. This will help to prevent knee sprains, hamstring pulls, low back pain and shoulder injuries. It should also raise your core temperature and increase blood flow. Fact is, failing to take this step is a crucial mistake in athletic development. 

 

  1. 4.      Add some balance and stability training to your routine. In dynamic situations, an athlete is almost always on one foot. So improving an athlete’s balance is imperative for injury prevention and athletic development. Exercises like squats can be done on one leg to enhance athletic strength. Pushups with one leg up will help develop hip, core, and shoulder stability. 

 

  1. 5.      Focus on deceleration. A Ferrari going 160 miles/hr without good working brakes is a catastrophe waiting to happen. The same is true for athletes who run fast, but don’t know how to properly slow down from a sprint or a cut properly. This is a common reason for ankle and knee sprains. An athlete who cannot sprint and cut with good form is asking for a sidelining injury. Before working on your speed and agility you need to work on “hitting the brakes” first. The same goes for jumping as well; do you “stick the landing,” or are you falling on your butt every time your feet hit the ground. It is a must that you learn proper jumping and landing technique.  

 

 

If you would like more info on proper training for athletes and how Ron help, he can be reached by email at capstonefitnessgroup@gmail.com or you can request a free consult online at www.capstonefitnessgroup.com.

Ron Kusek, the Antelope Valley's Leading Performance & Fat Loss Coach

Ron Kusek is an Antelope Valley youth performance coach and owner of Capstone Performance & Fitness LLC. He specializes in the athletic development of young basketball and football athletes’ ages 8-18 years old. He holds several certifications through various organizations such as the National Strength & Conditioning Association, the International Youth Conditioning Association, and the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He has worked with athletes from the 3 time championship winning Lancaster Jets Junior Midgets team to athletes from all over the Antelope Valley.

His training programs which include speed & agility development, proper sprinting mechanics, and athletic strength training has helped a number of young athletes achieve athletic success through education, and sound coaching principles. Leaving no stone unturned, Ron’s goals are to help A.V. athletes reach the pinnacle of success in their athletic careers.

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