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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.

To make clear the simplicity of bodybuilding I’ve arranged a
list of six basic keys to successful weight training. They’re nothing new and
read like the same stuff in any motivational book on the market today. Yet they
offer valuable insight and are essential to getting started with your exercise
program… and sticking to it.

1. Set a realistic goal - short and long term.

2. Plan an orderly and thorough routine to train the entire body.

3. Make a commitment to stick to your routine for 4-5 weeks - - to begin to see
changes and benefits, develop perseverance and create a habit.

4. Enthusiasm for training must be recognized as the main and driving force to
perform successfully.

5. Ease into a training program with a wholesome, thoughtful nutritional plan -
proper food, order and amount of consumption.

6. Be confident from the beginning that the application of these sound
principles will produce the desired results.

GOAL SETTING

Be realistic in your goal setting. It’s important from the very beginning and
throughout your training to experience victory in each and every workout. Ease
into your training with good energy, being careful not to overload yourself and
fall victim to mental and physical burnout. Planning to look like Rambo by the
end of summer will be frustrating and you may give up your training entirely.

ORDER IN TRAINING

Decide how much time you have to devote to your training - how many hours per
day and how many days per week. Based on this schedule, design an orderly and
efficient routine that includes only basic exercises. Working your mid-section
first, followed by chest, back shoulders, biceps, triceps and legs is always a
good rule of thumb. Choose two exercises per bodypart, three to four sets of 8
to 12 reps with a day’s rest between muscle groups if you’re just getting
started.

In organizing an exercise program, keep your eyes and ears open. Scan the Web,
magazines and books, visit the gyms and get input from your friends and mentors.
An orderly and intelligent training routine is the major tool in achieving your
bodybuilding goals.

COMMITMENT

We now come to commitment, the Big Power Switch of our mental mechanism to see
if we have the juice to crank over the engine and keep it running. Commitment is
your personal promise - your word of honor - to realize your challenge and is
vital in aspiration. The naturally occurring ingredients of commitment are
consistency, persistence and determination. These gut disciplines engaged with
patience and faith set you in positive motion toward your muscular goals.

ENTHUSIASM

Each workout is a unique and separate experience unto itself. Events of the day,
mood, energy levels and tensions effect every performance differently. Gather up
as much enthusiasm as possible before each workout so you enter the gym with
energy and a positive attitude. Your training must not become drudgery or a
chore that has to be done. This is negative energy, producing negative results
and must be willfully resisted.

PACE AND ATTITUDE

Keep your workouts tight and efficient, leaving no room for boredom or idle
thought. You should quickly develop a mature training attitude allowing no
interruptions in the flow of exercise from start to finish. This is not to
suggest that you hurry in your training. A hurried attitude produces anxiety,
nervousness and agitation, resulting in negative performance and loss of
concentration. Quite the opposite, here I encourage a steady lean on your
training - setting a vigorous pace that reflects excitement, confidence and
determination.

Become totally involved with each workout, each set and each rep. Focus on the
performance of the exercise, the muscles involved and the feelings that result.
Look for your particular groove and sense the burn. Training form is your
priority and practice makes perfect. Learn to lift weights smoothly, sacrificing
the poundage used to gain quality in your performance. Don’t be anxious to
overload your body and struggle to lift more than you can handle. This will
create poor style and result in disappointment. These register as failures and
drain your resources.

These oh-so-basics points will determine the success of your new exercise
program.

RESOURCE BOX: Mr. Universe Dave Draper’s free motivational email columns will
educate and inspire you in your workout efforts. Success awaits you at his site,
http://www.davedraper.com , where you’ll also find workout routines and advice,
an active discussion forum and, of course, a hefty instructional blog.

Hey Ray, 

  

   I keep forgetting to book an appointment to sit down to try and lose more fat off my tire, so I’ll try and type out my diet thoughts here.  It’s going to get long winded but here it goes. I’m sitting at 195lbs down from 242lbs after reading your book, and of course it’s not good enough for me.  I have been eating the same portions and food since day 1 when I set up the meal plans for 226lbs.  Here’s my game plan, let me know of it makes sense or not please. 

  

- Doing the wild rose cleanse this week starting Thursday. 

  

- At this point changing portions to adjust to 195lb BBE calculations but up the protein from .8/lb to 1g/lb.   Not a lot of change for my diet actually for the cleanse except for fish instead of poultry, plan to keep protein levels high just using fish (likely lots of salmon), everything else is a match… or close to anyway…. 

  

- When I am done the cleanse and go back to poultry, cottage cheese etc, I am looking at a few changes.  The carbohydratess are a no brainer, just cut back a bit.  For proteins I eat a pretty standard set of foods: Meal 1 - cottage cheese   2- chicken / turkey    3- chicken or salmon   4-chicken / turkey   5 & 6- burgers or pork chops, just something other than chicken or turkey.  My thoughts are to keep the daily proteins the same except maybe more emphasis on turkey, but change the night meals to white fish or some type - crab, cod, halibut, stuff like that with very low fat contents….  or should I be switching everything to white fish to try and cut fat from the diet? 

  

- Still have a protein shake at 10 am and eat ice cream at night (usually an ice cream bar) Ice cream is because I found myself getting dizzy a lot and realized it was lack of sugar, have felt a lot better since starting this…. anything I can do different as I realize its not the best thing for attaining a 6 pack! 

  

Work outs: Going to start running 3 miles, 2 or 3 days a week before work (this assumes I can drag my butt out of bed) to see if I can get things moving some more, otherwise I am fairly active in the evenings….  more so when my shoulder smartens up. 

  

Thoughts?   

  

Thanks again 

Mack 

  

From Ray: 

  

First I think you should start looking at body fat percentages now instead of the scale. I saw you the other night and you are getting really lean. I don’t know if you have a certain number you want to see on the scale, but if not, I would be more concerned with body composition than getting that scale to go down any more. After all, do you want to fight at 160 lbs and 10% body fat or 190 lbs and 10% body fat? Just a choice so let me know. 

  

Now on to the diet. The cleanse is going to make you feel awesome after and I think you will see great benefits from it. So that is a go. As for the BEE calculations, I wouldn’t drop as low as 195. I would only go for a 210 for now. Big changes usually cause the body to freak out and rebel. You don’t want that, you have to just tease it a little and not totally tick it off. 

  

With your activity level, I would not decrease the carbohydrates for the increase in protein. This is my opinion but I feel that if the carbohydrates are not available then your body is going to go after the protein next since it is not the macronutrient that is needed for survival, fat is. So it is extra muscle you are after, then add the protein on top but don’t decrease your carbohydrates right now. Not for an athlete. 

  

As for fat, you do not want to cut it out totally. Fat should be at least 15% of your calories. You need this for hormone production buddy. I like the way you cycle your protein sources, keep that up and I would actually go for more fatty meats at night along with fibrous carbohydrates if fat storage is a concern. If that makes no sense to you then we can talk about the science on that later. 

  

As for the ice cream at night, this is weird. You are considering cutting back on carbs for the sake of increased protein but then eating ice cream at night for the sugar you need. See what is happening there? This is another good reason why you need to keep your carb intake at the present levels or even bump them up just a bit. You only need to add a few grams of complex carbs here and there and the light headedness will go away. Try some oatmeal with a banana any time you need a sugar/carb fix. It will break down fast at the start and slow burn on the end from the banana and oatmeal combo. 

  

Now for the extra activity. I know you know the math of fat loss. 3500 calories per pound of fat is the magic number. Now how many calories are you in deficit when you calculate your classes, gym sessions and good eating. If you are in deficit then the extra running should only be because you like it or need to improve your performance in running. Doing excess work to burn calories can throw you into overtraining really fast. Watch yourself. I think you are doing enough activity already with the MMA, my class and the gym. If anything I would go with sprints in the morning if you must go for a run. 10 sprints for 100 yards with 30 seconds rest in between. 

  

Hope that helps buddy!

-Ray L Burton