Up The Intensity!

Hey, want to lose weight fast?  How about pack on some serious muscle in as little time as possible?  Maybe increase your metabolism and push your body into building, burning, fitness mode?  Well my friends, it's about time you increased your workout intensity.

Sure sure, everyone tells you to "push it," or work harder, egging you on in the gym, while you might be perfectly content to walk on the treadmill at an average pace so you can still actually hear the TV hanging on the wall, and watch the soap opera comfortably.  To you, the gym might be just an annoying routine, where you'd like to be as comfortable as possible doing uncomfortable things (like walking, jogging, biking, or lifting heavy things.)  That's all fine and dandy, and it's up to you, but not only will your progress toward any sort of goal be slowed to a crawl, but you're more likely to get into the rut that so many fall into --The rut of ZERO MOTIVATION,and of course.....low intensity.

Listen, your body responds to intensity.  You'll feel your heart rate shoot skyward, beads of sweat pop out everywhere, and your muscles burn.  It's uncomfortable, no doubt.  But by doing intense things, in any sort of workout you do, you're forcing your body to adapt, to work, and to push itself to the next level.  You'll burn a fantastic number of calories.  Think about it, the harder your heart is beating, the more your calorie furnace is heating up.  If you just saunter along on the treadmill all day, or lift weights far below the level of any sort of real effort, your heart won't get going, your body won't strain, and you won't increase your metabolic rate a bit.  No effort = no results, it's as simple as that.  These days, I see far too many people who are too comfortable in the gym.  Listen, you can love the place, but love it for the results it gives you, not because it's comfortable.  Be comfortable with pushing yourself.  Here are a few ways to get on the seriously intense workout track:

HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING:  Are you a cardio lover?  Do you enjoy the treadmill, the spinning machine, or the elliptical?  Well then, HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training, is definitely for you.  This is truly the next level of cardio.  It'll take a shorter amount of time, and shoot your heart rate sky high (safely of course).  The concept is pretty simple.  Let's use the treadmill as an example.  When starting out, warm up for about a minute with a medium walk to slow jog.  Then, for the next minute or so, get up to a relatively comfortable pace, one you could keep for at least half an hour (a steady jog, I'd suggest between 5.5-7.0 mph for the average person).  Hit this for another minute.  Once that second hand turns over for the third minute though, the fun begins.  Quickly increase to an 80-95% sprint for a good 15-30 seconds, making sure to push yourself to near maximum speed.  Keep breathing deep and steady, and feel the burn in those legs.  PUSH HARD.  Then, when time's up, go back to your steady jog pace and cool down for about a minute.  Then...you guessed it, repeat.  For a beginner, I'd suggest four complete cycles (four jogs, four sprints), then every week or so get one more interval in there.  Work up to a total of around 20-25 minutes of HIIT, and I guarantee you'll see some real results.  Religious HIITers drop weight quickly and keep it off due to their vastly increased metabolism which is due to the irregular taxing of your heart and muscles.  You'll build leg muscle too, especially if you play around with the incline.  There's all sorts of HIIT workouts out there, google a few and try them out.

Oh, and HIIT works with any sort of cardio.  Try some hardcore spinning intervals, or elliptical, or jump rope, or take it outside and use a hill, a bike, or just plain RUN.  You can even walk and do it (have you ever tried to keep pace on a maximum speed walk?  Definitely not easy).  It's simple, and it produces guaranteed results.  It's not easy, but it gives an amazing sense of accomplishment.  And sometimes it's fun to see just how fast you can run.

Here's a great intro to HIIT, along with a few provided workouts: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/wotw40.htm

HEAVY SQUATS:  My personal favorite.  To be honest, I'm not the cardio type.  But guess what, to keep lean, cardio ISN'T A NECESSITY.  Sure it's great to get at least something aerobic in there every now and then, but you can have plenty of intensity in your workouts just from lifting heavy things.  Squats are one of the best high intensity movements out there, especially heavy ones.  I believe one of my biggest idols, Nick Horton (coach of PDX weightlifting) put it best in a recent email to me by saying: A hard set of squats is really similar to a sprint, actually, as far as your body is concerned. Boy is he right.  Squat a heavy set of five, and not only will your heart rate increase, but you'll feel taxed pretty darn close to your limit.  Keep the reps close together, push as hard as you can, and you'll use so many muscles in such an intense, powerful manner that your body can't help but go into "beast mode," and fire up that calorie burning furnace.  You'll also build a ridiculous amount of muscle too, quite quickly.  I squat 7  days a week (I do NOT suggest this to a beginner, start off with 1 or 2 at most, with wide spacing between days), and it hasn't even been a year and I've already put 100 lbs on my max squat.  I feel stronger than ever, and despite being about 10 lbs heavier I'm also leaner than I was when I started.  Amazing right?  The magic of squats is fantastic.  


Bottom Line:  Squats make you powerful and increase your metabolism enormously.  Do them.  But make sure your form is good.  Get flexible and lift heavy.

PLYOMETRICS:  Plyos are insane.  They kill you with just one set, then on each successive set continue to kick you when you're down.  But they feel GREAT.  They build muscle, they build explosive strength, and they shoot your metabolism through the roof.  They will force your body to go through calories like water through  a sieve.  And like any good high intensity exercise, after you're done you'll still be in high gear, burning through every new meal you consume, packing on muscle and dropping fat.  It's called the "afterburn effect," and it's basically an increased metabolic rate that lasts for a certain amount of time after your workout.  The more intensely you worked out, in general, the longer and larger the afterburn effect is.  Hard, explosive movements force your body to work at maximum level with each rep, and therefore your afterburn effect will be quite large.  So get jumping, leaping, and lunging.


Want a good plyometric workout?  Start here, but please look all over the internet, because there are thousands of different workouts that will ALL kick your butt and produce serious results.  People who practice plyometrics on a regular basis are stronger, fitter, faster, more powerful, and in general on a level above those who don't.  Step up.  Try a few.  Start small, then really go for it!

Now clearly you can't just jump into a highly intense workout and expect to be all right.  Don't start squatting twice what you are now, or sprinting for 12 solid intervals right off the bat.  Chances are you'll burn out, or worse, hurt yourself.  Increase the intensity in levels, or steps, starting small and working up to the truly daunting.  Like I've said in my previous goal setting articles (read my most recent one here: http://foodguru802.blogspot.com/2012/01/short-term-key.html ), give yourself a lofty goal that you really have to reach toward, and set smaller short term goals that will allow you to reach it.  Want a 50" box jump?  Start with 24" box jumps for reps this week, then maybe 26-28" next week.  You'll be leaping like a frog in no time, and the body fat will start to melt right off you with every successive day.

Also, one more thing to close down this article and send you on your way to success:  Be intense inwardly, not outwardly.  What do I mean?  Well, focus all your energy toward that next sprint, that next jump, or that ungodly heavy squat.  Don't waste it screaming your head off in the gym to get psyched up, or making a ridiculous commotion.  Sure, everybody's got their psyche-up routine.  I've got my own, and I'm sure it looks quite strange, but it doesn't necessarily draw attention.  Keep it refined, shall we?  Power toward the movement, not outward into thin air.  Efficiency is the name of the game.

Push hard, then harder, then do it again.  All it takes is all you've got.  GOOD LUCK!

Think About It, Will You?

Your brain is a powerful, powerful thing.  It thinks, reacts, considers, remembers, judges, determines, solves, computes, as well as a host of other things.  It's the reason you're breathing, walking, lifting that heavy weight, and of course eating that healthy meal.  But did you know that as you age, your brain tends to shrink?  It actually decreases in volume and cognitive ability!  Yikes!  It's an inevitability, but the good news is that you can easily give yourself a fighting chance in your golden years if you just consider your health a little more thoroughly.  

Did you know that being obese is actually dangerous to your brain?  That's right!  Not only are you straining your heart, muscles, liver, kidneys, bones, and ligaments, but also that organ which keeps you thinking clearly.  Research has proven that obese people have smaller brains than people of "normal" weight.  YEAH!  THEY'RE ACTUALLY SMALLER!  Crazy, eh?  Believe me, a smaller volume of brain cells in critical areas is not something you want.  It will affect your ability to problem solve, remember, and in general think clearly.  This problem only gets worse as you get older, and in your golden years, size does matter.  You want as BIG a brain as possible, with the most possible ability to think and remember clearly.  The bigger the effective volume of your brain, the lesser chance of getting cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer's.  Lose that spare tire, and gain some of that witty spark back!

And this preservation of your brain comes with another little fun twist.  It's been shown that people with greater muscle mass, in general, retain greater cognitive function as they age!  WOW!  Those gym trips aren't just giving you the guns after all!  It turns out that a healthy amount of muscle mass will preserve a greater flow of blood through your cerebral passages, leading to...you guessed it...more thinking power!  Less muscle= poor cerebral blood flow = brain damage/deterioration throughout your life. 

Lifting those weights also helps to build NEW blood passages throughout your brain, which will allow nutrients to penetrate deeper into critical brain tissue, actually encouraging "neurogenesis" or the creation of new brain cells!  Remember way back when, when you heard all those people tell you that brain cells can't regenerate, and what you have is what you've got, no matter what?  Well that's a bunch of hooey!  Your brain is constantly remodeling and adapting to your current life situation.  Once it stops, you're in trouble.  Support neurogenesis through exercise and healthy diet, and you'll keep better brain function as you age.  

So what's the final word?  Lose that spare tire, and hit the gym a few more times each week.  You'll not only get that beach body, but you'll be quite the sharp thinker for a long time to come.  

Good Luck!

References:  Braverman, Eric R., and Dale Kiefer. "Combating Age-Related Brain Deterioration."Life Extension Oct. 2011. Print.

Water: The Critical Liquid

Ok, buckle up, here comes an article that I guarantee will be one of the most important in this entire blog.

It's time to talk about water, and it's importance.  Yeah you've all heard the fun facts, that humans are 72.8% water, and that while you can live for weeks without food, you can only live at most around 10 days without water.  Here's a nifty little chart from survivaltopic.com that shows the predicted survival rates for dehydrated people at various temperatures:

How Long Can You Live Without Water?

Max Daily Temperature	Number of Days in the Shade
	No Water	1 Quart .95 Liter	2 Quarts 1.90 Liters	4 Quarts 3.79 Liters	10 Quarts 9.46 Liters	20 Quarts 18.93 Liters
120 F / 48.9 C	2 days	2	2	2.5	3	4.5
110 F / 43.3 C	3	3	3.5	4	5	7
100 F / 37.8 C	5	5.5	6	7	9.5	13.5
90 F / 32.2 C	7	8	9	10.5	15	23
80 F / 26.7 C	9	10	11	13	19	29
70 F / 21.1 C	10	11	12	14	20.5	32
60 F / 15.6 C	10	11	12	14	21	32
50 F / 10.0 C	10	11	12	14.5	21	32

Kinda scary eh?  What you don't realize is how incredibly, amazingly, fantastically, undeniably CRUCIAL water is to all bodily functions.  There's no if's, ands, or buts about it, your body runs off the stuff.  Without water, your body can't function, your blood can't flow, your muscles can't move, and your brain can't do a darn thing.

But if you're not in the middle of the Sahara, I'm willing to bet you're getting sufficient water to carry on throughout your day.  If you're thirsty, you have a drink, and go on your merry way.  It's simple, right?  Eh...not so much.  Most people nowadays are not drinking the recommended amount of water.  For men, it's recommended to consume around 12-13cups (3.3L) of fluids a day.  For women, that figure is about 9 cups.  That's a lot of water!  Mind you, most people do get water intake from sources outside liquid in a glass, however if it requires chewing, the amount of water you're taking in won't end up being too significant.

That leaves the majority of that fluid intake up to the actual liquids you drink.  When's the last time you can remember drinking 3.3L of fluid of water in one day?  Keep in mind that eight glasses of water is around 2L.  And that's a LOT of water.  Also, this is just a baseline number.  If you do any sort of exercise, you should be drinking a decent amount more than this.  10-15 glasses of water a day for an active, average sized male.  Wow.

So we've come to the conclusion that if you're like most people, on an average day you drink less than the recommended serving of water.  That may not seem like too big a deal, you always get through your day, right?  It's never posed too much of an issue.  Now comes my job, trying to convince you to drink more by explaining how a few more sips of that refreshing clear liquid could do you more good than you could realize.

Here's just a few of the hundreds of benefits of drinking more water:

Increased energy:  Many studies have shown that increasing your water intake throughout the day will cut down fatigue.  I can personally vouch for this, after increasing my intake by about 5 glasses I've noticed much more energy, and a feel a LOT better in the afternoon.

Brain Function:  Your brain is just like the rest of your body, made up of various tissues.  These tissues are 85% water.  If you become even slightly dehydrated, be prepared to notice a decrease in thinking ability/clear-headedness.  Can't remember the name of that dude you met at the grocery store?  Should've had a glass of water that morning...

Gym Performance:  This one seems like a given.  Your muscles need LOTS of water to function.  Losing 2% of your bodily water will decrease your gym performance by 15-20%.  Blood becomes thicker, oxygen doesn't flow as easily, and everything becomes slow, tired, and stiff.  Drink more water and you may hit that new PR sooner than you think!

Muscle Mass:  Muscles need nutrients to grow.  Guess how they get those nutrients?  You got it, water.  Water keeps nutrients flowing into your muscles, so they can recover after a workout and grow larger and denser than they were before.

Fat Burning:  According to an article on webmd.com, water can help increase your metabolic rate.  One study showed that after 17 ounces of water (around 2 glasses) of water increased metabolic rate by about 30% for two hours.  That's pretty significant, and could definitely help in any weight loss goals.

Feel full, eat less:  My last article dealt with this.  If you drink a full glass of water before and during every meal, your risk of over eating is drastically reduced.  That much water takes up a good bit of space in your stomach, so you'll feel full faster.  This is a must try if you're cutting back on calories and miss that full feeling after every meal.

Healthy kidneys:  Water keeps those kidneys in tip-top condition and will help flush toxins out of the body.

Insulin levels:  Water does not spike your blood insulin, so if you drink a glass and feel full for a while your rate of fat oxidation will remain higher than it would for flavored drinks.

I could go on for hours, but I'd like to discuss one final point.  Some people just don't really like water, and how bland it is.  I'm one of those people, and I find it hard to drink a lot of it.  One glass is fine.  15?  No thanks.  But there's good news.  Any sort of liquid will count toward your daily water intake.  Sure it has to be filtered by your body first to remove the other stuff dissolved in it, but it'll still keep you hydrated.  That means you can have that cup of coffee, or that mountain dew, and still enjoy the benefits of an increased daily water intake.  No, it's not quite as good as the plain stuff, and I would suggest still getting a glass of water down with every meal.  But hey, it's a start.

Does 15 glasses a day sound a little daunting?  It did to me.  But just like eating healthy, start SLOWLY.  Add a glass in the morning when you get up.  Just one.  Then when you've gotten used to that extra bit of liquid, add another.  Your body will soon become accustomed to the increased liquid intake, and you'll start to feel those oh-so-amazing benefits.  I highly suggest you try this method.

Keep on chugging, stay hydrated, and good luck!