Soda Pop May Be Killing You

As obesity rates continue to rise, I am continually asked, “what is one thing that can be done to reverse this trend.” A change in an individual’s diet is the obvious answer, but more specifically, there is a need for us to stop drinking empty calories that are extremely harmful to our health. Our society, as a whole, has a drinking problem, but this problem has nothing to do with alcohol, I'm referring to soft drinks. There are statistics that state the average American drinks 44.7 gallons of soda pop every year. To put that into perspective, 44.7 gallons is about what it would take to fill a kiddie pool. That’s a lot of “pop”.

Suggesting that soda pop isn't healthy is far from earth shattering information, and it’s not exactly rocket science that our “go-to” beverage of choice is the major contributing factor to our country's ever-expanding obesity problem. However, if you think excess weight is the only thing that makes soda pop such a health risk, some of the facts below will absolutely shock you, and may have you asking for a glass of water next time you sit down at a restaurant.

Shocking Soda Fact #1: Soda fattens up your organs

Recent studies reveal that drinking soda pop leads to dramatic increases in dangerous hard-to-detect fats, including liver and skeletal fat.

Shocking Soda Fact #2: Diet soda is just as bad, if not worse

Don’t think switching to diet varieties will save you from harm. Artificial sweeteners and food dyes have been linked to brain cell damage and hyperactivity, and research has shown that people who drink diet soda have a higher risk of developing diabetes.

Shocking Soda Fact #3: Soda contains flame retardants

Some popular soda brands use brominated vegetable oil—a toxic flame retardant—to keep the artificial flavoring from separating from the rest of the liquid. This hazardous ingredient, sometimes listed as BVO on soda and sports drink labels can cause bromide poisoning symptoms like skin lesions, memory loss, as well as nerve disorders. If that’s not a good enough reason not to drink this poison, I don’t know what is.

Shocking Soda Fact #4: Drinking soda gives you the opportunity to be a lab rat

Many American soda brands are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, a heart-harming man-made compound derived mainly from genetically engineered corn. Genetically engineered ingredients have only been in our food chain since the 1990s, and we don't know their long-term health impacts because the corporations that developed the crops never had to test them for long-term safety. Case in point: Some recent findings suggest that genetically engineered crops are linked to digestive tract damage, accelerated aging, and even infertility!

If you want to look and feel better, today is the perfect day to stop drinking flame retardant, and make the switch to a nice healthy glass of ice water.

Get The Most Out Of Your Cardiovascular Workouts

Maximize Your Cardio in 4 Simple Steps

The goal for all of us is to get the most out of our exercise. In the past, many people thought just getting some cardio in, like a morning stroll with your best friend, or casually riding your bike through your neighborhood was good enough to burn body fat and get toned and tight. As an athlete/fitness and nutrition expert for the past 20 years, I’ve learned that getting the body you want takes much more than just casual cardio.

The most recent, and up-to-date research proves that using the “talk test” to measure if your cardio intensity is in the optimal range is a sure fire way to minimize your results and prevent you from taking your body to the next level.

Ok, so the big question is how should you do your cardio? I know we are all pressed for time and pulling 2 hour cardio sessions is challenging for anyone’s schedule. You see, it’s not about doing more, it’s about being better at what you do.  By simply making four minor adjustments to your cardio routine, you will activate the muscle you’ve worked so hard for, burn the maximum amount of fat, and drop any unwanted body fat which will greatly improve your overall endurance.

Tip 1:  Do both types of Cardio

Body fat is primarily burned in muscle. So your number one goal when doing cardio is to make sure that you are activating all of your muscle fibers. We all have red and white muscle tissue. Most of us have approximately 50% red muscle and 50% white muscle. Red muscle is used on your slow and steady cardio (fat burning), like a brisk walk, slow jog or climbing stairs (the optimal exercise for burning body fat). The key is to keep your heart rate at a steady pace (between 130-145 bpm for most individuals), during fat burning cardio. Your white muscle is used during high intensity cardio (interval training), like sprinting, running stairs or spinning. High intensity cardio focuses on principles like a 1 minute burst of all-out effort, which produces a higher heart rate, followed by a 1-2 minute recovery; this is repeated several times for a duration of at least 30 minutes. If you are only doing one type of cardio, then you are only using 50% of your muscle and definitely not making the most of your time. The goal is to get at least 4-5 days of 30-45 minute per session fat burning cardio as well as 2-3 days of at least 30 minutes per sessions of High Intensity (interval training) per week.

Tip 2:  Push the Limits with your Heart Rate

Rather than focusing on the “talk test” to measure your heart rate, use a heart rate monitor or perceived exertion. Always know that if you can talk steadily throughout your exercise then you’re not working hard enough and your results will suffer. Perceived exertion means if the exercise feels too intense, it probably is, and if the exercise feels too easy, it most likely is as well. The goal with fat burning cardio is to push yourself to the point where you are almost out of breath and then back down a bit on the intensity and maintain that level of exertion throughout your entire session. Again, this is typically around 130-145 bpm for most people.

For your high intensity cardio, your goal is to go as intense as possible for 1 minute (totally winded) and then recover at a very slow pace for 1-2 minutes. Depending on your level of fitness, your heart rate will typically be around 155-170 bpm for the 1 minute of intensity, and once you get back to 120-125 bpm from your recovery period, you repeat the interval.

Tip 3:  Always do your High Intensity Cardio before Your Fat Burning Cardio

Fat burning cardio does exactly what is says, it burns fat. High intensity cardio mostly burns sugar, the glycogen stores you naturally have in your blood and liver. It’s important to know that it takes your body about 20 minutes to deplete your stored glycogen and really start burning fat.  Because of this, you need to do your high intensity cardio first, again, because high intensity cardio uses your sugar stores and will get your body ready to burn optimal amounts of body fat. Once your high intensity cardio session is complete, (about 30 minutes), go right into your fat burning cardio. This simple adjustment to your cardio can burn up to 40% more body fat per session!

Tip 4:  Choose the Best Exercises

As I’ve stated, the goal with your cardio is to activate maximum muscle. A big part in doing this is choosing the right cardio exercises. Your best exercises are movements that range from low to high impact (impact is determined by how hard your foot impacts with the ground), but more importantly, activate the maximum amount of muscle fibers. For example, during fat burning cardio, walking on a 15% incline on a treadmill will burn more fat than walking on a flat surface. For high intensity interval cardio, sprinting or running up stairs are excellent exercises that will activate more muscle fibers than spinning. Avoiding exercises like the elliptical trainer and stationary bike are best because they are non-impact exercises that recruit fewer muscle fibers than higher impact movements.

Any exercise is better than no exercise at all, but if you incorporate these four tips into your cardiovascular routine, it will help you take your fate burning potential to the next level; which in turn, will help you get that tight and toned body you’re working so hard to achieve!

The Truth About Empty Stomach Cardio

One form of cardiovascular exercise (cardio) that receives quite a bit of attention, especially among the fat loss crowd, is “empty stomach cardio”. This is cardio that is performed before eating any food first thing in the morning, and claims to help speed up the fat loss process. If you still believe this old myth, allow me to take a moment to explain why this is simply not true.

 The theory behind empty stomach is cardio is simple: supposedly, by doing cardio on an empty stomach, you tap directly into fat stores since glycogen stores are somewhat depleted after an overnight fast. This idea seems to make sense, but research has proven that this is not the case, and is in fact, completely wrong.

Several studies have shown absolutely no difference in substrate utilization (glycogen vs. fat) for those working out on an empty stomach vs. those who eat a small meal prior to their morning workouts, in fact, there are studies that have shown the exact opposite—those who had a small meal before their workout burned more calories and more fat than those that exercised on an empty stomach.

The truth is, empty stomach cardio is an outdated philosophy. However, there are still plenty of so called “professionals” in the health and fitness industry who hold on to this theory, despite the available research. You may be wondering, how is that possible? Perhaps they’re not aware of it, perhaps they just go by what the fitness and bodybuilding magazines tell them (bad idea), I’m not sure, but regardless of what that reason might be, popular philosophy doesn’t always mean correct philosophy, and this is one such instance. Anyone that is telling you; when you perform cardio on an empty stomach, you will start burning body fat faster on an empty stomach than you would if you had have eaten before-hand, is incorrect!

A major concern with this type of exercise, besides a decrease in performance levels that needs to be considered, is the fact that you will actually lose the lean muscle you’ve worked so hard to develop while performing this type of cardiovascular exercise. Our bodies have a minimal amount of glucagon (sugar stores) available for use in our blood stream, and liver. Once those stores are depleted, the body uses the most readily available and fastest metabolized energy source that’s left, muscle tissue. At this point, our blood sugar is low and un-stabilized, which causes the body to go into a “panicked” state. At this point, it not only will not burn, but actually holds on to its fat stores, and begins to burn muscle for energy, something that is completely counter-productive in helping you achieve your health and fitness goals.

If you want to optimize your performance, and get the most out of your workouts, it is vital that you have a balanced meal of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats before, and after your workouts. Doing so will not only help you achieve better/faster results; there’s a chance you might even begin to enjoy those hardcore cardiovascular training sessions.

4 Steps To Getting The Most From Your Cardiovascular Exercise

Maximize Your Cardio in 4 Simple Steps

The goal for all of us is to get the most out of our exercise. In the past, many people thought just getting some cardio in, like a morning stroll with your best friend, or casually riding your bike through your neighborhood was good enough to burn body fat and get toned and tight. As an athlete and fitness and nutrition expert for the past 20 years, I’ve learned that getting the body you want takes much more than just casual cardio.
The most recent, and up-to-date research proves that using the “talk test” to measure if your cardio intensity is in the optimal range is a sure fire way to minimize your results and prevent you from taking your body to the next level.
Ok, so the big question is how should you do your cardio? I know we are all pressed for time and pulling 2 hour cardio sessions is challenging for anyone’s schedule. You see, it’s not about doing more, it’s about being better at what you do.  By simply making four minor adjustments to your cardio routine, you will activate the muscle you’ve worked so hard for, burn the maximum amount of fat, and drop any unwanted body fat which will greatly improve your overall endurance.

Tip 1:  Do both types of Cardio

Body fat is primarily burned in muscle. So your number goal when doing cardio is to make sure that you are activating all of your muscle fibers. We all have red and white muscle tissue. Most of us have approximately 50% red muscle and 50% white muscle. Red muscle is used on your slow and steady cardio (fat burning), like a brisk walk, slow jog or climbing stairs (the optimal exercise for burning body fat). The key is to keep your heart rate at a steady pace (between 130-145 bpm for most individuals), during fat burning cardio. Your white muscle is used during high intensity cardio (interval training), like sprinting, running stairs or spinning. High intensity cardio focuses on principles like a 1 minute burst of all-out effort, which produces a high heart rate, followed by a 1-2 minute recovery; this is repeated several times for a duration of at least 30 minutes. If you are only doing one type of cardio, then you are only using 50% of your muscle and definitely not making the most of your time. The goal is to get at least 4-5 days of 30-45 minute per session fat burning cardio as well as 2-3 days of at least 30 minutes per sessions of High Intensity (interval training) per week.

Tip 2:  Push the Limits with your Heart Rate

Rather than focusing on the “talk test” to measure your heart rate, use a heart rate monitor or perceived exertion. Always know that if you can talk steadily throughout your exercise then you’re not working hard enough and your results will suffer. Perceived exertion means if the exercise feels too intense, it probably is, and if the exercise feels too easy, it most likely is as well. The goal with fat burning cardio is to push yourself to the point where you are almost out of breath and then back down a bit on the intensity and maintain that level of exertion throughout your entire session. Again, this is typically around 130-145 bpm for most people.
For your high intensity cardio, your goal is to go as intense as possible for 1 minute (totally winded) and then recover at a very slow pace for 1-2 minutes. Depending on your level of fitness, your heart rate will typically be around 155-170 bpm for the 1 minute of intensity, and once you get back to 120-125 bpm from your recovery period, you repeat the interval.

Tip 3:  Always do your High Intensity Cardio before Your Fat Burning Cardio

Fat burning cardio does exactly what is says, it burns fat. High intensity cardio mostly burns sugar, the glycogen stores you naturally have in your blood and liver. It’s important to know that it takes your body about 20 minutes to deplete your stored glycogen and really start burning fat.  Because of this, you need to do your high intensity cardio first, again, because high intensity cardio uses your sugar stores and will get your body ready to burn optimal amounts of body fat. Once your high intensity cardio session is complete, (about 30 minutes), go right into your fat burning cardio. This simple adjustment to your cardio can burn up to 40% more body fat per session!

Tip 4:  Choose the Best Exercises

As I’ve shared, the goal with your cardio is to activate maximum muscle. A big part in doing this is choosing the right cardio exercises. Your best exercises are movements that range from low to high impact (impact is determined by how hard your foot impacts with the ground), but more importantly, activate the maximum amount of muscle fibers. For example, during fat burning cardio, walking on a 15% incline on a treadmill will burn more fat than walking on a flat surface. For high intensity interval cardio, sprinting or running up stairs are excellent exercises that will activate more muscle fibers than spinning. Avoiding exercises like the elliptical trainer and stationary bike are best because they are non-impact exercises that recruit fewer muscle fibers than higher impact movements.

Any exercise is better than no exercise at all, but if you incorporate these four tips into your cardiovascular routine, it will help you take your fate burning potential to the next level; which in turn, will help you get that tight and toned body you’re working so hard to achieve!