fattofitbook.com

Hey Ray,

How are you?

I’m interested in getting your book, but I don’t have an MP3 player. Is there some kind of soft copy in PDF form that I could purchase from your site? I’m really interested, but the whole MP3 thing is a bit of a stumbling block for me.

I really like what you’re doing and respect your credentials. You are obviously the “main man” as we say in Dublin.

Let me tell you where I am at the moment. I used to play rugby (I played prop for over 20 years from the age of 7) and whilst I was always fit, I would have weighed in around 230 pounds at 6 feet tall. A lot of this was muscle, but, I have to admit, there was always a bit of padding around those muscles that didn’t have to be strapped on before a match. Anyway, I had to taper down my rugby activities as my work became more and more important and as I did so, my weight started falling off (due to not doing heavy weight lifting any more and the fact that I increased my aerobic activity.)

I am now at 210 pounds and look better than I did at peak fitness (I played schoolboy international rugby. So why am I telling you this? Well, I want to take things to the next level. I’m still overweight when I look at a BMI chart, but I did get told I had 18% fat when I did a test in the gym and I have a 34 inch waist, which isn’t exactly Orca territory! Since I stopped playing rugby, I’ve got a real buzz out of training myself hard, doing 10k runs, trying to devise circuits for myself. I’m thinking of training for a triathlon and stuff like that.

I suppose I miss the feeling of satisfaction you get after pushing yourself to puking and then saying “ok, I feel great now!”

So this is why I want to buy your book,

I want to push myself onward and upward, but my methods are just really based on pushing myself and basically waking up and going “Jesus, I wonder if I could run x kilometers today? Ah sure I’ll try it and if it doesn’t work out I can always slow down.” I suppose my method is that I have no method and from reading your sight, I think that I could really develop myself with your direction.

It’s a long way of putting a short question.

Can I get a soft or hard copy of fat to fit anywhere?

As we say in Ireland- May you be in heaven an hour before the devil knows you’re dead!

Kind Regards,

Karl In Dublin.

Hi Karl, I’m glad you sent me this letter because I think your problem may have been a stumbling block to more people than I was aware of. I don’t think I stated myself clearly on my product page.

fat to fit is actually both a PDF download and can also be ordered on amazon.com as a softcover. I actually don’t have an MP3 version. I think you must have click the listen to a chapter bit on the site and thought the whole book was an MP3. I actually just put that on there so people could get a sample of what the book is like and hear my voice to know I am a real person!

As for the BMI standard, its crap. It’s the worst thing that some scientist or fitness expert every came out with. When I was in the army is was a standard there too but here is the problem. It only takes your height and weight into account. It doesn’t care if your stacked with muscle and have no fat. If you are muscular but over the number, its says your too heavy and that’s a load of crap. According to the BMI I am obese, check out this article to see what I mean. I am usually around 10% body fat or lower, so obese isn’t the word I would use!

Here is the article: http://www.buildingbodies.ca/general-health/am-I-obese.shtml

Your 18% is great and as you get leaner but keep your muscle, you’re going to look incredible. I like to get my clients to around 15% because its easy to maintain and you still look great too.

I hope you do try the book out and let me give you advice along the way with the free email support I offer to those that purchase the program. Sometimes you need to give things a little tweak!

Here is where you can pick up the PDF download or softcover: http://www.buildingbodies.ca/get-fit.shtml

Hope that sorts stuff out for you, and if you have any other questions, just let me know.
-Ray Burton www.buildingbodies.ca/exercise

When you first start to exercise there can be many things that are confusing. Nutrition and fitness basics are some of the big ones. When people first get into fitness they are first faced with exercises, sets and reps, rest periods and then the mother load, Nutrition.

Lets cover some of these nutrition and fitness basics so that you can get into the gym and start working on that healthy body instead of chasing your tail trying to find that information you need.

Fitness basic one: When you want to get fit you should include the 3 pillars of exercise. Resistance work or weight lifting, stretching exercises and cardiovascular exercise. Without all of these basic parts of fitness in your workout program, you will eventually run into problems in flexibility, strength or heart health. Fitness is about doing all of the above, not just parts.

With weight lifting you will run into sets, reps and other basic weight lifting fundamentals that you can read about here in THE BASICS - SETS/REPS/REST. There is also some fundamental information about cardio but there is a full section dedicated to that here in the cardiovascular exercise section.

Nutrition basic one: Small frequent feedings of natural and unprocessed foods will beat any “special” fad diet for improving fitness and losing weight. Your body is made of what you eat so you must make sure that you are only putting quality foods into your body. A well balanced diet of nutritious carbohydrates, fats and proteins from natural sources will keep your body fueled with nutrients.

This leads us to the fundamental nutrition basic of how many calories do you need in a day? That link there will lead you to a calculator that will tell you how many calories you should eat in a day. From there we need to know what the 3 pillars of nutrition are and what they do. The 3 basic macronutrients that make up a nutrition plan are Carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

Proper carbohydrate nutrition is important to fitness because carbohydrates create your energy that you work off while you exercise. Carbohydrates have gotten a bad rap lately and you can read about how this basic nutritional component should be included in your diet here at low carb stupidity.

Carbohydrates are found in fruits, vegetables and grains as far as healthy fitness fuel type sources go.

Fat is also a basic macronutrient that is needed by your body for several very important functions. Fat effects fitness though the hormonal plain. In other words if you fat intake is out of whack, so are your hormones and energy levels. Some of the most important fats are called essential fatty acids.

Fat is found just about everywhere and in a variety of sources. The above article will explain the basics of what you want and what to stay away from.

The most important basic nutritional component in my opinion is protein. Protein is found in dairy products, eggs and other animal sources such as cows and fish. Protein nutrition is a basic to fitness because without it, your muscle tissue would not be able to repair, recover and grow from the stressful exercises you do in the gym. You can find out everything you ever needed to know about protein in this series of articles about protein in your diet.

Check back soon because part 2 of fitness and nutrition basics will be coming.

Ray Burton, FatToFitBook.com

I’ve been working on the V-sits for a week or so but can’t seem to keep my balance! I can do it with my arms to my sides above the ground to keep balance but doing a v-sit with my arms over my head seems almost impossible to do without losing balance and losing form. Just wondering if you had any pictures or videos of this exercise so I can see how it is done properly?

I am also about to start phase 2 of the program and love the results so far. I have lost about 4 percent body fat and gained a couple pounds of muscle. My friends are saying I am bulking up even when I don’t mention working out! It feels pretty good. My question is about cardio though.

I seem to be stuck between 11 and 12 percent body fat for the past week. I know this isn’t much time but my body fat percentage has really been falling fast in the previous weeks. I am wondering now if it is better to keep up the low level cardio to burn the fat off before I work in interval training into my routine, or is it better to do low level one day and interval the next to keep a more dynamic workout. Which would burn fat faster?

Thanks again for all your help Ray and good luck in your new project! Take care.

Joel Smith
San Antonio, TX

Hi Joel, I think your probably just making the vsits more complicated in your head then they really are. Here is a clip so you know what I am talking about over at Metacafe (leave a comment if you want!):

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/473456/v_sit_situp_variation_lesson/

Also for the cardio the reason I switch you over to the interval training in the fat to fit Program is because your body is getting used to the steady state cardio after a month and needs a change. So don’t let confusion enter the picture and no real proof exists that you will get leaner with steady state cardio faster than interval training. If anything the opposite is true.

Tons of studies have been done that show the hormonal benefits as well as metabolism boosting effects of interval training. To look like a cheetah, run like a cheetah. I don’t know what runs long and slow, so I couldn’t give an example!

Ray Burton
www.fattofitbook.com

Hi Ray,
Thanks for a great book and really helpful newsletters.  Last September I realized I needed to get into a good workout program and switch my eating…it’s only been recently that I came across your book in my quest for more and more knowledge.  I always thought of myself as a healthy eater, but realized I was eating way too many carbs and not enough protein.  This is my current schedule:

Jari Love’s ripped classes 3x/wk
30 minute pure cardio 3x/week right before the ripped classes
Thursday a.m.’s I do 30 min cardio and then heavy weights/low rep
Saturday a.m….I do a ShredMill class (it’s on a treadmill…using heart rate monitors to do high interval training) 1 hr
Sunday’s I run with a friend on the outdoor paths…usually 1 hr to 1:20…..
 
I had my RMR test done and I came in with an extremely low number 777, but I eat around 1300 cal/day (+/-).  I eat 155 grams of protein/day…18-20% fat and the rest carbs. I am very tiny at 5′2″…& weigh 103 lbs…& I’m 43 yrs. old.  Since Sept. I have lost 12 lbs…And no lean muscle. I am really happen with my upper body progress…however, I can’t seem to lean out my legs.  This is always been a problem area for me and I have always had cellulite on my legs/bum. They are definitely better…but they still don’t really match my upper body.  I do lots of lunges, squats, high step ups, sumo squats, etc…and of course my running.  So basically, I’ve given you all this information to ask you this.  I know that the body does not spot reduce…but do you think what I’m doing is putting me on the right track to leaner legs and I just need to be patience?  In your experience, does this area just take a lot longer to respond (and because I’m a woman?) The other problem is I don’t want to get any smaller up top on the road to leaning out my lower body?  I like my upper body, my arms are well toned, I have abs!  I would appreciate any advice you can offer.  I feel really frustrated with this area.  I’m sorry to give you so much information, but I thought you would need to know my lifestyle before giving me advice.
With much thanks……and in good health,Lisa

Sorry for the delay my reply, its busy over here! Patience is your key. As a women the legs take a lot longer to get where you want them then it does on a man. Actually men run into the same problem but its the love handles, so no, we don’t get off scott free!
As for your upper body staying the same, that’s not a problem. As long as you continue to keep your protein high like you are doing and make sure you lift as heavy as you can for your upper body it will stay just like how you like it.
As a side note, great job on the fitness plan. Its very proactive and you get a golden star for effort. You are doing everything right and its impressive. Stick it out and more great results will be shortly coming!

I was recently asked the question of what supplements to buy that would work the best. Specifically which brands of protein, glutamine and creatine. Well, when you ask questions, you get answers and answers lead to getting results. Sometimes you save some money too.

There are a lot of supplement companies out there that want your business and that means a lot of confusion as to what company is the best. The more money to be made in an industry, the more ads out there vying for your attention. Every supplement company says you need their product or you won’t get any results. The actual truth of the matter is that more often than not it comes down to a question of taste and not the quality of the supplement from any given company. As far as if you need the supplement to get results or not, no, you don’t.

Sometimes the quality of the protein is technically better in one product than the other but the fact of the matter is that they both still get into your system easier than a steak. So what’s the problem? My body likes steak and people have gotten results from steak along for years so therefore any protein supplement will do the trick. I honestly buy the cheapest protein I can find as long as it says “Whey Protein”, I’m on it. I actually would take egg protein if it was available but it’s getting harder to find these days.

Same thing goes for glutamine. I like some companies better than others. Why? Mostly because of the snazzy package it comes in. Any of the major brands have to be quality tested. It’s the law. Every month though, they come out with a wonder magic ingredient that is supposed to make the glutamine or creatine mix all that more potent and as a side benefit they charge you an extra $20 and tack on a celebrity endorsement. You see this a lot with the Mixed Martial Arts endorsements these days. Its just business and it’s a business that works. More often than not, an aspiring MMA fighter will look at what Chuck Liddell takes and think if Chuck uses it, then its good enough for me.

For the essential fatty acids I do like Udo’s oil but that’s more for the fact that I have been using it for years. There are several other EFA oils out there like Omega 3-6-9 blends or even straight up flax seed oil that will do just fine. Usually whatever the health food store clerk suggests is probably good unless they are obviously just pushing the expensive brand to increase profit or commission.

I would suggest buying your supplements from a health food store and not a “bodybuilding” type store. Every time I go into the latter, I end up being pumped to buy every latest supplement that is the new wonder thing and the sales people of course are very convincing. That’s why they are sales people! Stay away, keep your hand on your wallet and ask someone that has actually been to school for this stuff and doesn’t get their info second hand from this months muscle magazine.

Technorati Tags: sreatine, glutamine, protein, supplements, fat to fit

Hello,

My name is Frank Remington, a 50 year old male smoker that has undergone knee surgery, have some permanent damage to the right knee, and have been diagnosed with premature arthritis in both of my knees, hip and lower back.  I work on the road around 250 to 300 days per year and am usually in one area for only 3-4 weeks at a time, so a gym membership is almost impossible for me to use.  I travel with a set of Reebok Speedpac dumbbells and a 65 cm fitness ball.  Cardio work is a big problem for me because of the injuries, arthritis, and surgeries over the years (not to mention the smoking part!).  I stay at cheaper hotels generally (project budgets) that don’t have any type of fitness equipment or facilities.  I do a 4-5 day/week, 30-45 minutes/day lifting regimen, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.  I would dearly love to drop around 30-40 pounds, but am clueless as how to go about it.  Any advice for someone like me?  Any help would be very, VERY much appreciated.  I am really looking forward to hearing from you.  Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Frank Remington

From Ray:
I think your best bet Frank is to get into some bodyweight training. That way you can train quickly and at a heavier resistance. Just look at a gymnast. If you train quickly using fairly decently heavy resistance like your own bodyweight and watch the processed food often cardio isn’t needed.

Here is the type of workout I am talking about that uses only bodyweight and keeps you moving fast so you don’t need to go for a jog and you don’t need a gym membership.

As well, here is a clip of me doing most of these exercises:

Body weight video

Here is the page with the routine:

Bodyweight workout Routine

Hope that helps,
Ray Burton
www.fattofitbook.com

 

Technorati Tags: bodyweight training, no gym membership

This one comes from Tara Butler:

How much omega 3 should one be taking in a day?  Now that it is added to eggs, found in flaxseed ect… can taking too much just add on the calories and not be beneficial? 

Answer From Ray Burton:

Omega fatty acids are becoming a very mainstream supplement these days. I thought for sure when I started my research that I would be able to answer two very simple yet common questions easily. I was wrong. Despite Omega fatty acids popularity and the nice chunk of change that is being made off it by supplement manufacturers, the solid recommendations on its intake are curiously varied.

When I started out, I only wanted to know first; “How much omega 3 should one be taking in a day?” Second; “Now that it is added to eggs, found in flaxseed and so on, can taking too much just add on the calories and not be beneficial?”

The first question of amount depends on the expert you talk to. The one thing that is almost a suggestion is that you should make sure you get a balanced amount of omega 6 and omega 3. Equal parts omega 6 to omega 3 is one suggestion and at the highest end, 10 omega 6 to 1 omega 3. Most of us get too much 6. See how this is heading already? I guess the good news is that in America (Canada too) we are heading towards 20:1 ratio of omega 6 to 3’s, so anything is an improvement from that imbalance.

That explains the ratio’s although somewhat vaguely. Now for the actual amounts. The national food and nutrition board is suggesting that 110 mg for women and 160 mg for men is sufficient. Individual nutritionists suggest a bit more. Somewhere in the 500-1000 mg per day range for normal healthy people and even suggesting more if an illness like rheumatoid arthritis is present.

The point that is hard to wrap your head around is the fact that four appointed “experts” suggest substantially different amounts. This makes it hard to give a solid recommendation as a personal trainer that is not an expert MD. The council for Responsible Nutrition, American Heart Association, the Food and Nutrition Board and the World Health Organization all suggest something different. What I take away from the amounts is that if you are at 200 mg up you should be good. If you are over 1000 mg, you are starting to get too high.

So what are the ramifications if you dare to take in too much of the omega fatty acids? The only thing I can find, and you should do your own research, is that you may get some diarrhea and gas. You may want a breath mint or two also as the oils from fish leave a, well, fishy aftertaste. Taking in too much of any macronutrient however is excess calories and of course this is no different with fatty acids. A surplus of fat intake will not bring more results and may lead to fat storage. Its not because its fat, its because of the surplus calories.

If you are worried about drug interactions, there is only one thing I have found and that is with blood thinners. The combination of blood thinners and omega 3 fatty acids can cause excessive bleeding. This makes perfect sense though since it is this effect that does help those with heart problems.