Brought to you by Craig Ballantyne &
http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com

My interview with one of the most famous fat loss
trainers in North America, Alwyn Cosgrove. I recently saw Alwyn
speak at a personal trainer’s seminar, and Alwyn showed study after
study supporting his fat loss programs.

Today he will focus on the nutrition and the psychology of weight loss.

Alwyn Cosgrove is a superstar in the world of physique
transformation for men and women. He’s trained champions in
multiple sports and winners of multiple 12-week body transformation
contests. Alwyn owns and operates a training facility in Santa
Clarita, California.

CB: Where do people go wrong with meal frequency when trying to
lose fat?

AC:
Two primary mistakes.

One is trying to eat very little all day in a bid to keep calories
low (and then blowing it every single night when they get home).

Two is actually the opposite — putting too much faith in the “6-8
meals per day” theory.

As usual the truth is somewhere in between.

For a 200lb male eating 2400 cals per day - 6 meals is 400 calories
per meal. If a couple of these meals are 200 calorie shakes - he
can actually eat some decent size portions.

But for a 135lb female trying to drop a little more fat, who is
eating closer to 1350 calories per day - 6 meals per day ends up
being 250 cals each. It’s hard to get in decent sized meals. They’d
do better on 4 meals per day.

So it’s a sliding scale.

Almost every new client that walks into our facility usually skips
breakfast, maybe has a coffee mid-morning, eats lunch, eats nothing
all afternoon and eats a big dinner. They ARE only eating two meals
per day. By switching their macronutrients around a wee bit,
cleaning up their diet and getting them on 4-5 feedings per day -
we really do notice a difference.
CB: You have an impressive list of low-carb studies cited in your
arguments. What’s the take home message about this issue?

AC:
At this point - a reduced carb, higher protein diet is superior for
fat loss. Period. And probably superior for health.

There are several studies comparing the SAME caloric intake of
higher and lower carb diets and a) the low carb groups lost more
fat and more importantly b) there was a significantly greater
client compliance with the low carb groups. Greater client
compliance is huge. This is real world value again.

I don’t know the threshold that a diet becomes “low carb” at, and
I’m not convinced that a diet that was 70% carbohydrate with all
carbohydrate sources coming from vegetables would hurt fat loss at
all. Adam Campbell of Mens Health shared a study with me that
showed individuals on low carbohydrate diets tended to eat more
vegetables than prior to beginning their program.

I guess a very low REFINED carbohydrate diet is what I recommend.
CB: In my opinion, the role of hormones in fat loss has been
ignored. Do you do anything to manipulate hormone levels to get
greater fat loss in your clients?

AC:
Insulin is the only hormone we really have control over. The main
thing is keeping insulin in check. Here’s how I explain it to
beginners - insulin is a fat storing hormone - if we can keep our
insulin levels reduced around the clock (reduced carb diet) then we
can effectively increase total fat oxidation.

Obviously that’s an oversimplification and elevating insulin is
useful around workouts - but that’s the only thing I’ve been
concerned about.
CB: In addition to the “three keys to fat loss” that you covered in
your presentation, how important are motivation and social support
to success? How do you address these attributes with your clients?

AC:
Yeah - the three keys I presented are all physiological. But
psychology trumps physiology every single time. There’s a reason
why Weight Watchers and Curves are making more money than the
majority of personal trainers: Social support. And social support
drives motivation.

In our center we tend to get motivated people anyway - so that’s
less of an issue - but one of the things we always ask is “does
your family/significant other support you on this journey?”
It makes a huge difference. That’s the difference between a
successful trainer and an unsuccessful one.

But I’ll tell you one thing without going into too much detail -
switching to semi-private training increased results across the
board. Probably because of group dynamics and social support.
CB: Most relatively good trainers can handle the physical
components of fat loss, but how does a trainer succeed at the
mental game? Any resources you can recommend? And is the “mental
component/mental drive” something you can immediately tell that a
client has or is missing?

AC:
Well I’d question that most trainers can handle the physical
components of fat loss but I won’t get into that right now.

As far as the mental component goes - my resources came from being
exposed to a great coach at a young age.

We all remember the coach in our youth, who left us on the bench,
or had us running laps in the rain. We also remember the coach who
inspired us, picked us up and made our young lives a little better.

Which type of coach are you? That’s the secret.

I instill in my clients that we are a team. I work for them. I
deliver the best service I can in the position of their fitness
coach. Once they put their faith in you - never betray that. But
their results will increase when they realize this is a coaching
relationship - not just a trainer - client.

Some very general psychological tricks: most females will only
respond to positive reinforcement and don’t respond at all being
compared to others or to ‘norms’.

Occasionally they want comparisons but generally they respond
better to comparisons to themselves.

Males in general will respond better to having to “prove”
themselves and always need to know “what’s good? Is this a good
number for me to be lifting?” etc.

Girls just don’t want to be intimidated. Guys just want to be “one
of the guys”.

A poor coach uses the same personality when working with all his or
her clients.

A good coach recognizes that his or her personality only works with
certain clients.

A great coach can change his or her personality TO the client.
CB: Bottom line: How do you help someone be more disciplined -
especially with their eating and their habits outside the gym?

AC:
It’s an understanding of the entire picture. It’s not the workout.

It’s not the diet. It’s not the intervals - it’s the synergy
between all of these things.

At any one time a client is either getting fatter or leaner. If
they get fatter this week - they haven’t failed - they have just
found and executed the perfect system for increasing fat! All we
have to do is to change that system (which we know doesn’t work
now) and we can’t fail.

Clients have to make the mindshift that it’s not about “will this
piece of cake really hurt me that much?” to “is what I’m doing
getting me closer to my goals or not?” Just a little shift in
thinking can reap huge rewards.

Yeah it’s true - if you dieted and trained all week, a glass of
beer and a few chicken wings won’t hurt you that much - but it damn
sure isn’t getting you closer to six pack abs.

One thing I really liked was John Berardi’s compliance grid - where
we see overall compliance to the plan, as opposed to details. It
helps clients see the big picture. A 90% goal is what we shoot for.

So let’s say the plan is 5 meals per day, and 3 workouts with
post-workout nutrition per week. So we’re looking at 38 meal
opportunities.

If a client misses a meal, or doesn’t eat a meal that’s part of the
program, then they lose a “point”. Our goal is a minimum of 34-35.

It lets a client see that if they eat perfectly on Sun-Fri, but
miss a couple meals on Sat, and eat a couple of cheat meals that
day - in their head they were “on” the whole time.

But when we do the compliance grid we see that Sat alone cost them
5 points. So despite what they think or perceive to be happening -
they are NOT compliant - just an important distinction to teach
them.
CB: And finally, can you leave us with some of your best results or
case studies?

AC:
I prefer to talk about average results - we all have star clients
and testimonials that we can talk about. Generally across the board
with a client who is doing everything right we see a consistent
loss of 24 to 32 lbs of fat in our initial 16 week program. Some
people out perform that, or lose more over a longer period of time.

Some do less than that - but that’s a fair average that I don’t
mind quoting.

But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention one girl who I worked with.

This girl’s brother paid for her training sessions before being
shipped to Iraq. Unfortunately he never made it back.

But he’d be proud of his wee sister. She trained her ass off,
gained a ton of muscle, cut 20lbs of fat in about 12 weeks and now
holds the record for kills as a freshman in D1 Volleyball at Idaho.
Haley Larson - an amazing athlete - watch for her name.

CB: Alwyn, Thanks so much for your expertise and motivation.

Go here: >> Alwyn’s Warp speed Fat Loss

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Author, Turbulence Training

Best Ways to Burn Belly Fat

I often get asked, “What’s the best way to burn fat and lose my belly?” People want to know if aerobics is better than strength training, or if traditional cardio exercise is better than intervals.
Well, to say I’ve done them all would be an understatement.

With over 15 years experience helping others, training myself, training for sports, spending countless hours in the gym, AND actually conducting laboratory research studies on different exercise methods, I’m pretty confident in knowing what works and what does not.

For the complete article please…..CLICK HERE

Get this E-Book for Free…..CLICK HERE 

Having your spouse/partner as part of your fitness lifestyle can take your own levels of fitness to a new level.

Imagine that you go to the gym and workout and are around 100% intensity.

Now imagine that you BOTH go to the gym and workout and are around 100% intensity and it carries over into other aspects of your life (sleeping, eating, etc).

It’s difficult when you are into working out and your spouse may not share the same levels of commitment or joys. Talk about frustrating too! You see beyond just you and her but to your daughter as well having parents around later in life that are healthy.

What’s worse is that your daughter may make the choice later to NOT to active even though you are very active. It’s easier if the whole family moves as a single unit.

I’ve seen several articles written on spousal support in the gym.

* some love it as it’s an extension of themselves * others don’t like it as they want to do it on their own

Obviously you are walking a delicate line. You want to get your spouse involved in fitness in some capacity. You also know she doesn’t like exercise in general (my mom was the same way).

The key is….

For the complete article, please…..CLICK HERE

Today, I just wanted to share with you my special muscle meal of the week, and it actually comes in the form of a salad.

I know the ladies will love this idea, but for all of you guys out there that think eating a salad makes you less of a man… Well, you haven’t tried the ultimate “salad on roids” yet!

Keep in mind that this salad is not low in calories. It’s not low in fat. It’s not low in carbs.

And guess what…that’s the whole point!

It’s not low in anything, but it sure as hell is HIGH in everything under the sun that’s good for your body… just about every vitamin, mineral, antioxidant, and phytonutrient on the planet! And that means your body will receive all the nutrition it needs to maintain optimal hormonal balance, function at it’s highest capacity, keep your appetite satisfied for hours, and prevent any unwanted cravings.

Keep in mind that last point… when you fill your body with all of the nutrients it needs on a daily basis, you pretty much totally eliminate cravings! This happens because your body is satisfied and doesn’t need to crave any more food, because it has all of the nutrients it needs.

I’ve experienced this myself. Years ago, I used to crave sweets ALL THE TIME. But now that I eat the balanced diet that I do these days, I can’t say that I’ve had a craving in at least 5 years! No joke.

Alright, here’s the recipe:

The Ultimate Muscle Salad

* approx 1 cup spinach leaves
* approx 1 cup mixed leaf lettuce
* shredded carrots
* 1/2 of a ripe avocado, diced
* 2 hard boiled eggs, diced (preferrably organic, cage free)
* 3 Tbsp chopped pecans
* 1/4 cup dried cranberries
* top with homemade dressing made of balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and Udo’s Choice Oil Blend (3/4 of total liquid should come from the vinegar)

Mix it all together and you’ve got one delicious and ridiculously nutritious salad. For an extra shot of antioxidants, wash it all down with some homemade iced green/white/oolong tea lightly sweetened with the natural sweetener Stevia or a little touch of raw honey.

Alright, now let’s look at the approx macronutrient breakdown:

Prot: 23 g., Carbs: 46 g., Fiber: 12 g., Fat: 45 g., Calories: 640

Now before you throw your arms up in disgust and call me crazy for recommending such a high fat, high calorie meal, keep in mind to scale back the portion sizes for your own caloric goal. The portions above are simply the portions that I use considering that my maintenance caloric intake is around 3000 calories/day. If your maintenance is 2000 calories/day, then scale back the portions accordingly.

Also, I don’t care about the high fat content of this meal… because every last gram of the fat in this meal is VERY healthy… from the pecans, the olive oil, the Udo’s oil, the fresh avocado… and yes, even the fat from the egg yolks is good for you!

All of this healthy fat makes it a very hunger-satisfying meal, causing you to eat less for the remainder of the day (that’s right… no cravings later that night!).

How about the carbs? Well, out of a total of 46 grams, you’ve got approx 12 grams of fiber. That’s a pretty good ratio. Also, the healthy fats and protein in this meal will slow down the carbohydrate digestion, giving you a healthy glycemic response and steady controlled blood sugar.

Alright, so you’re probably also wondering why there isn’t a larger amount of protein. After all, protein is all the rage with bodybuilders, right.

Well, actually 23 grams isn’t too shabby, especially considering 14 grams of that comes from the highly bioavailable protein from the hard boiled eggs. Also consider that this meal has a whole lot of healthy fats, which increases the utilization of your protein. This happens because your body does not need to use your protein for energy, and can instead use it for muscle building & maintenance, and all of the other various functions that amino acids are needed for in the body.

Overall, with this meal, you’ve got a great mix of healthy fats, good fibrous carbs, quality protein, and a huge diversity of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other trace nutrients.

If you enjoyed this idea today, feel free to fwd this link to your friends, family, and coworkers that might enjoy it.

If you liked this healthy lean-body meal idea, there are 84 other healthy and quick meal ideas in my popular Truth about Six Pack Abs Manual. If you don’t already have a copy, check out some of the Truth About Abs reader reviews right now.

I’ll be back in touch soon. In the meantime… train hard, eat smart, have fun, and enjoy life!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - TruthAboutAbs.com & Busy Man Fitness .com

Fitness Tip: Is it true that you should not eat protein and carbohydrate foods at the same time? - This belief dates back at least 100 years and its popularity was recently revived with various publications. In fact, the human digestive system is magnificently designed to cope with an ‘omnivorous’ diet.

That is, we have the enzymes and acidic conditions in our stomach to digest a huge range of foods, whether eaten individually or together. If we were to follow this advice, milk, yogurt, bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and legumes would have to be taken off the menu. These foods are all good sources of both protein and carbohydrate which occur naturally together.

Following this advice would also mean that babies could not drink their mothers’ milk. Human breast milk is similar to cow’s milk (although specifically designed for human babies) as it also contains significant quantities of protein, carbohydrate and fat all of which are essential for growth and development.

Brought to you by: PROGRADE Nutrition and PHIL’S FITNESS FOUNDRY - Online Personal Training and Nutrition Programs - Get the results you want and the body that you deserve with a customized workout and/or nutrition program.

Fitness Tip: Eating Nothing But Fruit Before Midday - This is a misguided practice which takes little account of how the body, and the digestive processes, work. Overnight, the body’s blood glucose level drops because you are in a ‘fasting’ state.

The first meal (literally ‘breakfast’) should provide plenty of carbohydrate for energy. This is just as important for people who have sedentary jobs as it is for laborers, athletes, soldiers, or anyone else who is physically active.

Unless you are in a state of semi-starvation your brain has only one source of energy - glucose, and it is also the preferred fuel for active muscles. Unfortunately, most fruits are not very good sources of carbohydrate (they are much better sources of vitamins and fiber).

Cereal foods such as bread, muffins and breakfast cereals are much better sources of carbohydrate than fruit. A breakfast of cereal, milk, and toast, or muffins with fruit juice, will provide you with the carbohydrate, protein, vitamins and minerals you need for that early morning ‘kickstart’.

Brought to you by: PROGRADE Nutrition and PHIL’S FITNESS FOUNDRY - Online Personal Training and Nutrition Programs - Get the results you want and the body that you deserve with a customized workout and/or nutrition program.

By: Marc David
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

Did You Hear About This?

A Sacramento, CA radio station held a contest called “No Wee for a Wii.” It was a water drinking contest to see how much the contestants could drink without going to the bathroom. Ultimately the 2nd place winner (Jennifer Strange) paid with her life! Yes, you can actually die from drinking too much water.

As early as 1601, Tycho Brahe (an early astronomer) was though to have died from straining his bladder. It had been said that to leave the banquet before it concluded would be the height of bad manners, and so he remained, and that his bladder, stretched to its limit, developed an infection which he later died of. Later evidence suggested this might not be the case.

There are several other notorious cases in which infants, runners and a fraternity hazing lead to deaths from water intoxication.

While this is another sad story, it’s clear that for many years, Americans have been told by the media and doctors that we are dehydrated. We need to drink more water!

Many times such things lead to scare tactic websites and total confusion. Which is why I think the following chart may help you to SAFELY determine how much water you need to stay properly hydrated for your activity without over consumption.

* this chart is meant to be a guide not an absolute *

This chart is courtesy of the ISSA
www.issaonline.com

Recommended Water Intake:

Step 1 Select an appropriate need factor.

Need Factors

0.5 — Sedentary no sports or training
0.6 — Jogger or light fitness training
0.7 — Sports participation or moderate training 3 times a week
0.8 — Moderate daily weight training or aerobic training
0.9 — Heavy weight training daily
1.0 — Heavy weight training daily plus sports training or “2-a-day” training

Step 2 Multiply weight (in pounds) by the appropriate need factor to arrive at the recommended water intake in ounces per day.

Example 1 120 pounds x 0.6 = 72 ounces per day
Example 2 200 pounds x 0.7 =140 ounces per day

We recommend that you drink water eight to twelve times per day.

Example 1 72 ounces per day divided by 10 glasses = 7.2 ounces per glass
Example 2 140 ounces per day divided by 12 glasses = 11.7 ounces per glass

My prayers go out to the family and the 3 children Jennifer left behind. It was a sad story. Hopefully, thru word of mouth and this chart, it might be prevented in the future.

See Marc’s video: Drink Water To Lose Weight…..CLICK HERE

About the Author

Marc David is an innovative fitness enthusiast and the creator of the “NoBull Bodybuilding System” method on www.nobullbodybuilding.com

He can show you how to reduce your body fat thru diet, how to gain weight or create more muscle thru an abundance of workout tips by training LESS, not more!

Once a self-confessed skinny, “135-pound weakling.” Today Marc is a 200 pound bodybuilder who teaches thousands of people to gain weight, build muscle and reduce body fat with a workout and nutrition system so simple that even a complete beginner can understand it!

Marc dispels many “bodybuilding myths”, tells you what most people never realize about nutrition, and what the drug companies DON’T WANT YOU to know. visit www.nobullbodybuilding.com

Fitness Tip: The Role Of Genetics In Weight Loss - Genetics play a part in a person’s metabolic rate and thyroid function which both impact on the body’s ability to burn fat efficiently. However, having overweight parents does not mean you are destined to a lifetime of obesity and disease.

This just means you have a little bit more work to do to train your body to burn fat more effectively. This means you can’t get away with cheat meals and skipping exercise as much as others can. It means you have to be more disciplined to get results.

At the end of the day, it comes down to making a conscious decision to adopt a health enhancing lifestyle, and you will soon enjoy the benefits.

Brought to you by: PROGRADE Nutrition and PHIL’S FITNESS FOUNDRY - Online Personal Training and Nutrition Programs - Get the results you want and the body that you deserve with a customized workout and/or nutrition program.

Fitness Tip: Losing Weight And Keeping It Off - Despite decades of research, we still don’t fully understand why some people gain weight more easily than others, and also have greater trouble losing excess weight.

It is known that body fat levels are increasing in America, along with the rest of the developed world (and increasingly in the developing world too). For example, in 1990 fewer than 10% of Australian adults were obese, while in 2001 the corresponding figure was more than 16%. In 2003 the Worldwatch Institute reported that, possibly for the first time in human history, the number of overweight individuals worldwide rivals the number of underweight.

For the complete article, please…..CLICK HERE 

Brought to you by: PROGRADE NUTRITION: PROGRADE CRAVERS “THE BEST TASTING NUTRITION BARS ON THE PLANET” and PHIL B’s ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING AND FITNESS PROGRAMS. Make fitness and good nutrition your way of life.