By Derek Howes on Jan 26th, 2010 in Articles, Health, Tips | Permalink | Leave a comment
Since we all eat out every once in awhile (some more than others), I’ve decided to write up a list of tips you can take into consideration when eating out.
- Get the dressing/sauces (such as gravy) on the side – Most restaurants overdo the dressing/sauces. Having it on the side lets you control how much you are or are not eating (obviously).
- Go for a lighter/fat free dressing – Most places now carry light or fat free versions of the dressings, all you have to do is ask. As for the healthiest dressing? Anything oil and vinegar. Balsamic vinaigrette is a great choice.
- Just because you are getting a salad doesn’t mean it’s going to be healthy – A typical side caesar salad could have up to ~1,000+ calories in it. For example: 99 Restaurants Chicken Caesar Salad has 900 Calories – 57grams of fat, 51 grams of carbs, and 55 grams of protein…not so “healthy”.
- Look up what you’re going to get before you go – Most restaurants now post calorie information on the website. Figuring out what you want before hand may be easier for you and the person you are out to eat with.
- Go grilled, steamed, broiled, dry-sauteed, baked, poached, or roasted instead of fried, crispy, pan-fried, stuffed, sauteed, au gratin, or escalloped.
- Trim the fat – Either do this yourself or ask your server that you would like the skin and fat removed.
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By Derek Howes on Jan 17th, 2010 in Articles, Tips | Permalink | Leave a comment
- Change up your cardio. We all know how boring cardio can get week after week. Instead of doing the same thing over and over, change it up. Do the stairs, bike, rower, treadmill (walking, running, incline walking), elliptical, jump rope, swimming, etc. Don’t limit yourself to just one type of cardio. If you do all that and are still “bored”, try changing the levels on the machine or setting “small” goals for yourself on each machine.
- Don’t over think what you are doing. You don’t need to read into every little thing. Simply do cardio, weightlift, and eat right. The results will soon follow. It’s that easy. There is no “secret” method to losing weight. You don’t need to do the latest diet or buy the latest gadget in order to see the fastest results.
- Get your diet on track before anything else. If your diet is not on track, you will not see good results no matter how hard you work in the gym. Diet plays the biggest role in achieving your goals.
- Don’t put snack foods you can “grab and eat” in plain sight. Chances are if you do this, you will “snack” on them randomly. Either don’t buy them or put them out of sight. Snacking on things is a downfall in most peoples diets. Continue reading…
By Derek Howes on Nov 21st, 2009 in Articles, Tips | Permalink | Leave a comment
Every gym has them and most of us have heard them from someone we know or through listening to others at the gym in between sets. We end up believing them and then telling people we know. This is how they start, and usually never end. I have come up with 18 myths that I have heard with-in the past year or so. Without further ado, here you go:
- I don’t lift weights because I don’t want to get “big” - Simply put: You won’t get big if you don’t want to get big.
- Working out abs everyday will not give you abs – No, a good diet will.
- Working out 24/7 will provide more or better “gains” than someone who works out less – No, your body needs time to repair itself and grow.
- More reps = better when dieting down - No, they aren’t. If you got big doing low reps, you can maintain muscle/lose fat while doing low reps too.
- Fat burners are the best way to lose weight – No, a good diet and dedication is the best way to lose weight. Fat burners do not help nearly as much as they make themselves out to.
- Eggs are bad cholesterol – No, they aren’t. That’s all I will say on this topic. I will post an article regarding eggs in the future.
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By Derek Howes on Oct 23rd, 2009 in Articles, Tips | Permalink | Leave a comment
1. Not tracking your calories. Diet is the most important factor when training, yet many people think just by going to the gym that it will make you healthier and give you the physique you want. Wrong. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and physique is a 24/7 process.
2. Not breathing properly. Getting headaches or sharp pains at the gym? Most likely this is being caused by you not breathing properly (usually referred to as an exertion headache). Even if you aren’t getting these headaches, breathing correctly will help you get more out of your lift. Learn to breathe properly by inhaling and exhaling. For the average lifter you should be:
- Inhaling before the start of the lift
- Exhaling as you push through the most difficult portion of the lift
- Inhaling at the top (or the easiest portion of the lift)
Yes there are other methods, but this is the one most lifters should follow until you reach a higher level of training.
3. Incorrect form. Everyday I see someone with incorrect form. Seek a professional or ask for help if you are unsure on how to perform a lift. Correct form will make you incorporate more of the muscle and most of all, prevent injury.
4. Trying to the be the strongest person in the gym. This is common sense. You should not try to lift more weight than you can. No one is going to look down on you for doing light weight with correct form. Over doing it will not only most likely cause you to form an injury, it will also not give you the most out of your lift.
5. Doing the lift too fast. No, you don’t need to rep it at a 100mph pace. Slowing the rep down and controlling it will make the muscle incorporate more fibers into the rep, thus overloading the muscle, and causing it to grow.
6. Maxing out. This goes hand in hand with the being the strongest person in the gym mistake. Maxing out (or going to failure) every time will only cause unneeded stress on your joints, thus making you more prone to injury.
7. Doing too many exercises. More is not better in almost all cases, this being one of them. Rather than doing too many, do the right ones. Doing 3-5 “right” ones for each muscle group will be more beneficial in the end. As to what the right ones are, that is what you need to figure out.
8. Not getting enough rest or sleep. To keep it short and simple – you body repairs and grows when you rest/sleep, not when you’re at the gym. Need I say more?
