Eliminate Distractions and Limit Your Choices

Why limiting choices and planning ahead helps with losing weight and getting strong?

1. You say you're not gonna eat junk food, yet you keep junk around the house.

2. you say you will hit the deadlift tomorrow morning before work, yet you stay up late tonight watching Netflix and end up slept through your alarm.

3. you planned to only eat out 2x/week so to help keeping track of calories easier, yet you don't grocery shop and prepare your ingredients ahead of time and always end up ordering Chinese or pizza.

4. You know when you go out with your friends, you cannot say no to having 7 shots of Buttery Nipple in a row followed by IHOP's coma inducing pancakes, yet you keep saying yes to go out with them for the 3rd time that week.

WTF.

Here's how you remove distractions:
1. Learn about nutrition and buy only nutrients you need for your goal. Donate/trash the crap you have at home and leave the new junk at the store.

ask me what ingredients and if you're nice I'll show you.

2. If you can't train in the morning, find challenging bodyweight movements you can do at work. Block out 3mins here and there and do some push ups and squats every day and run sprints up the stairs or hill.  if you have the time to read this, you have time to drop down and give me 10 push up right now. yes, do it.

You don't have time is not good enough of an excuse, more like, you don't have your priorities in order.

3. Right after grocery shopping, don't just throw everything in the fridge. marinate what needs to be marinated, spice them up, aluminum foil it for easy oven cooking. wash and dice the veggies for quick stir frys, wash the fruits and place them on top of the fridge. have the recipes ready, defrost things you planned to eat that night.

make it easier to prepare meals so you don't get lazy and eat out or grab the first high calorie junk food in the cabinet. If you fail to plan ahead, you plan to fail.

Oh, and eating 1x or 2x a day also helps with this too. No, you don't need 5 small meals a day. that would be the stupid thing to do.

4. Learn to say no to your friends/spouse regarding what you should eat. Don't feel obligated to eat like them, they're not the one trying to lose weight or stop gaining weight, you are, so be responsible to your body and your actions. If they understand your goal, they'd be supportive.

find alternative ways to hang with your friends without eating, have you try hiking? kicking a ball? or take a dance lesson?  gardening? shopping?  Or you can find alternative ways to eat while enjoying their company. Google restaurant menus for their caloric content ahead of time will help you make better choices when you're eating out.

Bottom line, if you don't buy junk, you don't eat junk. If you crave something so bad that you would drive to the store to get them, you probably need it. and if that's the case, work that junk into your caloric budget

Positive self talks and body image.

If you keep telling yourself you can't do this and that or why everyone and everything in your life is against you when it comes to getting fit,  you're probably not going to succeed.

self-improvement is mind over matter.  People have lost weight doing vegetarian diets eating 6x/day and got ripped performing p90x workouts.  As stupid and miserable as those methods are when it comes to getting strong and losing fat, as long as they are positive about what they're doing and constantly reinforce their effort with a healthy attitude, they will reach their goal no matter how hungry they get or how many joints they break.

I listen to clients, day in and day out pinching their triceps fat and love handles, telling me that they are gross...   How do I respond to that?  

If I agree and comfort them, like other trainers, I am reinforcing their negative self-image which in the long run, even if they do reach their ideal physique one day, they will find other spots on their body that they want to fix.   As profitable as it is for me, I find it very sad that they talk to themselves this way multiple times a day, everyday, always unhappy. 

If I disagree with them, well, then I'm useless as their trainer.   so what is a trainer to do?

Usually I'll joke about it by saying that the love handle is there to protect their kidney but I don't think that fix anything other than moving past our awkward moment. 

Let's not have these awkward moments, ladies.  Let's focus on what you have that you CAN improve and what is already beautiful. 

To be honest. the problem isn't your workout nor do you need special attention on those insecure areas. If you just keep lifting heavy, safely, and eat less than your body burns, you will lose the bingo wings. Once you shed the fat, then you'll actually and clearly see what is there to improve on in terms of muscle definition. For now, it's too soon to do "triceps focused" or "abs focused" workou...ts, just keep lifting weights and get stronger each time.

The power of positive self talk is incredible. if you can change the dialogue in your head and treat your body with respect, maybe you'll actually have enough self-confident to train optimally in the gym and with better focus on your meal preparations.

Accept what you have and stop the constant criticisms. If you know you have excess fat, then work it off or diet it off, why are you pinching yourself frowning and frustrated? Stay logical. Stay focus. 
Step 1. So there's extra fat mass on your body you want to get rid of.

Step 2. You want to look like Jennifer Aniston who doesn't have extra fat on her body. 

Step 3. Remove it so you can look like her.

so.... how hard is that?  why all the emotional attachment?  Do you even know why you are training with a trainer or why you are counting calories?   if so, then you're fine.

Would you ever say to your daughter what you say to yourself about how you see your body fat? 

Would you tell your girlfriends that they're fat and they're losers for not making progress even though they try and try and try?  not productive isn't it?  so why would you do that to yourself? 

Why don't you FIND the problem that is keeping you stalling and solve it by taking simple steps to get there.  Simple steps like stop eating out, skip breakfast, stop watching TV so you can block off a time to show up to the gym. stop letting your boyfriend make decisions about what you should eat.  tell your friends you have gym, you can't, throw away foods that aren't suppose to be in the cabinets. once you're doing all that, you're on the right track!

celebrate the fact that you just set a new PR on your deadlift or that you've kept eating out under 2x that week. be happy that at least you show up to the gym instead of wasting your time playing words with friends all day. Some people don't even have the luxury to go to a gym and some would give everything to possess the physical ability to simply move again.

It's these mindful choices and tiny achievements that will keep you positive. The little positive feedbacks you get should keep fueling you to stay consistent of your routine.

Sometime you will have stalls, sometime you get bloated and wants to toss the scale away, sometimes you get fire from your job, sometimes you get strep throat at keep you from training, and sometimes you decides to eat the doughnut in the break room.

so what?

sure, you slipped from time to time. Even the most perfect looking and committed people fall off the wagon. even your trainer skipped a workout or feel chubby sometimes, we are only human. The trick is not set yourself up to be perfect ALL THE TIME and get back on track as soon as possible. Forget about your past failures will give you long lasting results you want.

If your fat loss stalls or it's moving too slow, be patient. Be happy that you've lost some weight already and stayed there without regaining like most other overweight ppl. keep your head up, you will go further this way."Henry Ford - "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”

below is a great article on how to change the way you talk to yourself that is productive and makes your weight loss journey a little more flexible and sustainable.
http://mollygalbraith.com/2013/06/its-hard-out-here-for-a-fit-chick-part-2-2/

Understand the power of Placebo effect.
http://chaosandpain.blogspot.com/2010/10/seriously-get-your-fucking-head-right.html

a little tough love letter I wrote for my online clients about the reality of manipulating body mass.
http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-tough-love-letter.html

why losing weight and training should be a spontaneous effort when you're on the right program.  Find a program that's so flexible that you don't have to change much about your lifestyle to obtain your goal.
http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2011/03/motivation-and-accountability.html

If what you're doing is not working, why are you still doing it?  Lean, adapt and move forward
http://www.roglawfitness.com/on-challenges-uncertainty-and-becoming-a-supreme-badass/

What I want my Daugter to know about working out
http://wellfesto.com/2013/11/19/10-things-i-want-my-daughter-to-know-about-working-out/

Supplement Overview and Personal Recommendations

want to know my choice of supplements and who actually needs it?
First, understand how supplements work and know the industry.
http://www.citadelnutritionblog.com/2012/05/21/how-to-choose-supplements-proprietary-blends/

Post Workout Meals and Shakes - When is appropriate

http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2011/01/post-workout-meal.html

If you ever have questions about ALL THINGS SUPPLEMENTS, this is your search engine
http://examine.com/
These I personally recommend for my athletes and fat loss clients:
1) Creatine for performance,
http://schwarzenegger.com/fitness/post/creatine-how-much-should-you-be-taking
2) caffeine or caffeine/ephedrine for hunger suppressant and increase metabolism,
http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2011/12/benefits-of-caffeine.html
http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2011/01/ephedrine.html
3) protein shake for those following plant base fad diets or business clients always on the go,
 http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2011/01/post-workout-meal.htmlhttp://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/an-objective-comparison-of-chocolate-milk-and-surge-recovery.html
4) fish oil for those not eating fish or any type of marine life, period.
 http://www.examiner.com/article/why-fish-oil
5) and multivitamins if you eat a lot of junk or don't eat meat.
http://www.drbriffa.com/2010/12/31/meat-the-original-superfood/
http://chriskresser.com/natures-most-potent-superfood
http://freetheanimal.com/2011/04/nutrition-density-challenge-fruit-vs-beef-liver.html
there are others but only for those with special needs.

for everything else. visit here
http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2012/12/supplements.html

a tough love letter

A glimpse at what I do for my distance clients who needed some tough love... wrote this last night after a couple of drinks, I cleaned it up a bit.

"If you don’t like tracking your intake or will only “try” to do your best, it’s not likely you’d succeed since you’re already going into this thinking you might fail. You perceive this as a chore instead of being excited because YOU want to be absolutely sure you’re not eating over your maintenance.

A better self-dialogue should be, “I want to because it is the best way to get to the bottom of this whole fat loss business for the last god damn time!”

If stress is the issue for your weight re-gain, maybe you're the type that seek food for comfort. try take up other leisure activities instead of food to make you feel better. get a pet, clean the house, go swing dancing, or jump in the river.

I want you to detach yourself from the comfort of consuming food and only see them as fuel (for now), you can enjoy the festivity with your friends/coworkers later.

For example, if you know how many calories there are in certain foods you tend to eat when stressed out, remember how many calories are in it and how many calories are in 1 pound of body fat (3,500lcal btw), just by knowing these numbers will help see 'food' more objectively instead of emotionally.  

This means, next time you’re about to eat something you know you shouldn’t, tell yourself this. “if I put this 1,200kcal milk shake down my mouth, I am basically telling my body to stop burning my own body fat for the next 10-12hrs and instead, metabolizing the food." 

Is that what you want?  Is it worth it?

we are just mass. If you want to lose mass off your thigh, your chin, your ass, by the law of thermodynamic, you have to take in less and release the energy/mass into the world as heat. Luckily we burn energy all the time, this means you don’t need to do anything to lose weight. not doing anything includes not eating (or not eating as much), that's the catch.

If you have a low calorie allowance, then eat foods that satiate you more. protein and fiber, duh. and if you get hungry, be hungry, it’s nothing personal, it’s part of human evolution. Trust me, you’re far from becoming anorexic.

So be hungry, it’s ok. you're on this planet because your ancestors starved through many years of famine, you have the genetic composition to do the same.

Look at your body and see how much reserved energy you have, you don’t need to eat. Even if you’re hungry, you can tolerate the first wave of hunger just fine, just drink some water, eat a grapefruit, and get on with your day.

Be hungry until you're lean and happy. You want 10mins of gratification eating that cupcake? or a lifetime of satisfaction showing off your hot bod at your girlfriends pool party? choice is yours, get your head straight.

there are tons of ppl who lost weight doing it alone, you don't need accountability. why do you need online high fives from me every week? seriously.  If losing weight and restoring your health is something you really REALLY REALLY REALLY want, just like anything tough in life (raising your kids, getting your dream job, becoming a homeowner), you have to prioritize your goals. get desperate and hungry for it. 

Be responsible for your own body because nobody else cares about you more than yourself.  No, i don't care if your girlfriends keep asking you out to happy hour, you can say no.  I don't care if your kids wants to eat pasta, nobody force you to eat what your kids wants to eat.  I don't care if your wrist hurts from work, you can still do lunges.  I don't care if you don't have money to join a gym, you can quit eating out every other night and cook at home and save that money.  No time?  the time you spend reading people's fcaebook newsfeed every morning you could have done 20 push ups.

Stop it with your lame ass excuses.  Stop blaming others for your own actions/laziness, nobody cares about how much fat is on your body as much as you do.  So move yourself because nobody else will.

whole foods vs. Junk food.

We should be able to enjoy processed foods at least 10% of the time, while still have 90% of our daily intake from mostly whole food. the percentages are subjective.

I am not saying that processed food is the only factor contributing to fat gain but it definitely plays a big role in our society today.

At the end of the day, it's going to be calorie in vs. calorie out for STRICTLY fat loss. if p...pl can tolerate hunger eating processed crap to lose weight (while reaching negative energy balance), I'm all for that. However, eating whole food just make it so much easier to when someone's trying to eat less for reasons of satiation.

I hate the term "clean eating" or "dirty food", it inflicts guilt and failure when ppl don't stick to it. Plus, everyone's belief on "clean eating" is different, therefore, everybody's wrong.

If you're fat, you will get healthier if you're losing weight even if everything you eat are junk. If you're skinny and all you have are whole foods, you will still get fat and sick if you overeat your maintenance.

my advice?

if you want to have processed foods in your diet (who doesn't?) and is trying to lose weight, count your calories.

if you are only eating whole foods for weeks and is still not losing weight, count your calories because you're still overeating your allowance

The Truth About Exercising During Pregnancy

Pregnant women who wish to continue (or start) exercising today are still bombarded by outdated recommendations such as “keep heart rate under 140 bpm when exercising” or “lifting weights will harm the baby," which have no real world evidence to support such ideas. Physicians who have never studied about exercise during pregnancy, do not always see the positive effects exercise has on pregnant women. The truth is, if you are having a normal pregnancy, you can still work just as intensely as you did before.  If you have never exercised in your life, you are just like any other beginner and what a wonderful world of benefits you are getting yourself into!

 

Benefits
 

Exercise during pregnancy can help lift your mood, correct posture and muscle imbalance, strengthen pelvic floor to prevent lower back pain, and speed up the recovery process after birth. Working out won’t hurt your baby but can exhaust your body faster than before. This is due to an increased volume of blood your body has produced during pregnancy that your heart has to push through.  A lot of times, women perceive this as being out of shape, and in many cases give up a good routine and accept the fact that they will gain weight like everybody else and will just have to work and diet harder later on.  It doesn’t have to be this way.

 

Another wonderful benefit to exercising during pregnancy is that it gives you more control over your body.  Due to many unknowns in various stages of pregnancy, you could gain confidence by working through a training routine where you experience different discomfort levels your body can tolerate.  This can help you realize that when performing daily tasks, you understand what is real pain/strain and what is simply part of the childbearing process.

Training

 

As you get heavier in the front during pregnancy, you want to pay more attention to your back side.  By strengthening the back (hammies, glutes, low back, and upper back), you’ll be able to better maintain your posture.  You will also want to focus on your core (this is not just your abs but your obliques, transverse abdominis, erector spinae, diaphragm, etc.) to be able to engage it more efficiently and have the ability to brace when lifting or push through heavy things (like your baby out of you!).

 

When training the upper back, exercises like inverted rows, standing cable rows, reverse flys, and face pulls, are all great movements to correct your posture from a chronic hunch-over position. This also applies to desk job junkies and meatheads who only trains what they can see in the mirror. 

Training the upper back will pull your shoulder blades closer together and down, thus lift your chest up and retract your scapula back where it needs to be. With a more pulled back posture, this will reduce the weight the torso is loaded on your lower spine, thus prevent low back pain.

 

At the end of your 1st trimester and at delivery, your body produces a hormone call Relaxin, which loosens your muscle, joints, and cervix to aid the delivery process.   However, this phenomenon can also cause you to be unstable (hip and lumbar area) due to hypermobility.  Using exercises like split squats, crossover step-ups, and back lunges can train your hip joints to be more stable.  

 

You can also train for spine stability by learning the proper way of breathing during a lift.  You can use exercises like wood chops, overhead bodyweight squats (or partial OH squats), half moons, suitcase deadlifts, single-arm farmer walk, side bends, etc. to train this area.  Just search "rotational' and "anti-rotational" exercise movements on google and you'll find something you can do.

 

In the second and third trimester, your abdominal muscles will be overstretched, and this can lead to very tightened (and shortened) hip flexors (iliopsoas, rectus femoris, adductors, etc.) and leave you with a weak backside.  This is where exercises like donkey kicks, lunges, split squats, and sumo deadlifts becomes extremely essential.  

 

On days you feel lethargic, opt for a day of having an easy hike down to the local park, jump in the pool, or simply show up at the gym to do some dynamic, non-ballistic stretching exercises and tissue work.  You can try swinging your arms around in a circular fashion back and forth, rotate your torso left and right, lunge side to side, or perform some lateral leg swings while holding on to something for stability.  You’ll be surprise how a 5 min total body warm up can put you back into training mode instead of skipping an entire workout.

 

One popular myth you might have heard of is that you can cut off blood circulation to the fetus if you perform exercises in the supine position (belly facing up while lying on the floor) like the hip thrust, bridges, or lying leg raises.  The truth is, you will feel very uncomfortable sooner than this phenomenon will ever occur.  If you’re one of those people that actually experience light-headedness, just sit up and it will go away.   If you’re holding a yoga pose in the supine position, try keeping it under 2 mins at a time.  

Also, to prevent urinary incontinence during and post childbirth, women should learn to engage the muscles around their pelvic floor.  Using pelvic tilt exercises like the lying pelvic tilt or goat bag swings will do the trick.

"I have had the pleasure to learn so much from him as well as watching my body transform in a way that not only is it visible, but my overall strength and healthy lifestyle has vastly improved. I lift heavier while toning and not getting bigger, I eat things that in my world would be considered “off limits”, and look better than I did even before I got pregnant with my son."
 

Exercise Programming

Since we’re not trying to set new PRs (personal records), especially for beginners, you can shoot for 10-15 reps per set when performing a movement.  Use a load that when you’re approaching the end of a set, you should feel fatigue and want to stop before finishing that set. If you don’t feel like your body is being challenged at the 15^th rep, you probably need to pick a heavier weight.

 

Perform 2-3 sets for each movement is enough to engage and strengthen the muscles.  As long as proper forms are learned and practiced, you can even lift heavier loads in the 8-10 rep range, especially with bodyweight movements and weights not held over your head or placed on your back.

Here’s an example of how your workout can look like if you train 3x/week with my sample routine A, B, and C.

Routine A

Warm up – 3 min brisk walk on treadmill and standing leg swing leaning against the wall to support balance.  Swing (kick) your leg up high from side-to-side 10x. Then switch legs.
 

Squat (bodyweight or loaded) 3x12
 

Inverted rows (bent knee and keep upper body above 45 degree angle from the floor) 2x10
 

Suitcase deadlift (20-50 lbs range) 2x8 ea side
 

Cable or free weight Wood chop 2x8 ea side.

Routine B:

 

Warm up: body weight forward lunges 2x10 total and bodyweight squat 2x10. You can alternate these.

Sumo dead (with dumbbell, plates, or kettle bell) 3x10

Single-arm Dumbbell row 2x8 ea side

Single-leg or two leg bridge 2x12 total

Half moon (10-15 lbs), 2x10 total.

This is what I call proper breathing :)

 

Routine C
 

Warm up: High Knee stretch (in place) 2x10 ea leg and shoulder swings 2x10.

Back lunges or Crossover back lunges (loaded or bodyweight) 3x12 total

Reverse flys (5-10 lbs) - 2x12

Good mornings 2x10

Side bend 2x8ea side.

To sum up, work the core by engaging the abdominals with proper breathing and lifting techniques. Most compound movements will engage the core (rows, presses, deadlifts, and squats). Pay more attention to your back side to correct posture and prevent low back pain.   Perform single leg or staggered stance exercises to strengthen your hip and knee joints even months after you had your baby.  Finally, do some trunk rotational/bending movements to strengthen spine stability.

Now that you’re loaded with a ton of knowledge and tools to grow a healthy baby while stay in shape, feel free to forward this article to friends and family who may benefit from reading this, too and possibly starting an exercise routine.

 

Use this link to learn how to appropriately perform the exercises mentioned above.

http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2012/12/movements-and-muscles.html
If you can’t find them, a simple search on Google will do.

 

If you need more help, you can contact me at 281-433-4008 or send me an email at jem_yeh@yahoo.com for more questions or concerns.

This is my approach
http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/p/2012-transformations.html

 

Re-Calculate Your Calories to Prevent Stalls and Crashes

This is for my current clients who has lost quite a bit of body fat (20-30lbs+) but still have a way to go.

We know that the lighter the body, the less calories it burns..  So comparing a person who is 300lbs and a person who is only weighing at 150lb.  The person who is 300lbs will burn almost double the calories due to carrying more mass and will need the energy/calories to maintain it.

An overweight dieter at 300lbs will also have more fat to lose and will have an easier time cutting calories comparing someone who is relatively lean.   This means, if both are trying to lose body fat and one is trying to not get a stroke while the other is trying to get rid of stubburn fat to compete in a bodydbuliding show, the leaner person will only be able to tolerate a very small bit calorie deficit.

When our body gets to a certain (low) body fat percentage, it will defend starvation (fat cells death) stronger than someone who is simply obese.  This is why the popular recommendation of cutting 500kcal a day doesn't work.  For someone who's obese, seeing a 1lbs/week (7day x 500kcal = 3500kcal = 1lbs of fat) of fat loss is very discouranging.  Instead of using a stardard # of calories to cut all the way through, it should depend on the person's specific goal, body composition status, training, gender, and dieting experience.

you can read more about what is the most appropirate rate of fat loss (calorie cut) for the body to avoid performance crash, hungwe pangs, mood swings, and muscle loss, here.
http://www.examiner.com/article/are-you-cutting-too-many-calories

So if you've been doing good on my diet and has lost more then 10lbs but is slowly running into stalls and loss of strength or muscle mass, here's what you need to do to update your calorie allowance and macronutrient ratio to accomodate your new body.

For men fatter than 12% or women above 20%:

a quick and dirty way is use your current weight in lbs x 14x to find your maintenance. Use 15 if you're a dude.  use 13 if you're completely sendentary and 14 for lazy dudes.

use your bodyweight in pounds x 1% to find the calorie deficit you want to cut per week.

1lb of fat is 3500kcal.

divide the weekly deficit by 7 to find your daily deficit.

take your maintenance minus the deficit to get your total allowance but can always eat less if you want.

For example: if you weigh 200lbs, 1% of that would be 2lbs a week.  That's 7000kcal of calories you  need to cut from your maintenance.  that's 1,000kcal a day.

so if your maintenance is 200lbs x 15 (male who works out) = 3,000kcal

use your maintenance of 3000 - 1000 and you get your daily allowance of 2,000kcal.

So there you have it, that's how you find your new fat loss calorie allowance.

For macros,

whatever your body weight is (in lbs), eat that many grams of protein as minimum.  training or not.

For carbs, you don't really need any if you're sedentary and you could careless about sports performance or weight training.  aim for 0g.  For those who need some flexibility in your meal planning and training recovery, take your bodyweight # and eat under that many grams for carbs.

for fat and alcohol, it really depends on what's left in your calorie budget.  Generally I will allow more carbs on training days especially around the workout and have more fat on rest days. 

For example. If you're at 200lbs, eating 2,000kcal/day to lose 2lbs/week.  You will eat 200g of protein OR MORE. 200g of carbs OR LESS. rest is up to you.

200g of protein and 200g of carbs is 1600kcal.  which leaves you 400kcal to play with for fat and alcohol.  this means, the fattier the meat you want to eat or the more margaritas you want to drink, the less potatoe chips you can get away with. 

Last Step
For every 5% of body weight you keep losing after that, repeat the above formulas until you are under 12% for men and 20% for women.  

If you don't have a good method for measuring bf%, use this
http://www.leighpeele.com/body-fat-pictures-and-percentages

if you could see definitions on your shoulder and perheps upper abs, your protein requirement will go up and the rate of weekly fat loss will go down  you'll need something different and this is when I will need to take a look at your training, body compsosition, and food intake again.

A Very Special Testimonial - Elyse & Scott LaBelle

Scott LaBelle
"For most of my 2012 I was working out six days a week, for at least two hours a day. I was the typical cardio bunny, running about 6-18 miles per week. I can’t even get into how much I was spending on supplements, but I’d guess it was at least $100 per month on needless crap that did absolutely nothing for me.

I was dieting hard, but completely uninformed (damn that six weeks of no-carb torture that amounted to NOTHING). What did I gain? Well, about 15lbs on my bench, a tiny bit of definition (so my wife tells me) and about 5-10 lbs (those aren’t good lbs either).

When I started 2013, I decided to get really strict, as if I wasn’t enough already. Well, after 8 straight training days (yep, 3k runs each one of those days) and strict diet of about 1700 cals, I had reached a major accomplishment…I had gained another 2 lbs.

It was then that my wife and I decided to call Jem. I was skeptic at first, after all, I felt I was in the know because I had spent that last two years reading anything and everything I could get my hands on—Google is the best resource out there right? The result was pure and utter confusion: “How many minutes after my workout do I need to take these BCAAs? Squating is bad for the back, and deadlifts too! How much protein do I need? What’s the best protein shake? What amazing miracle creatine is bodybuilding.com?” These are just a few of the questions that I was asking each day, with little to no response.

 

Since working with Jem, starting the second week of 2013, I have lost over 23lbs, made major gains in my deadlifts and squats.  I was too busy with tricep extensions, leg presses, and just about everything else under the sun, and I am not torturing myself. When I say torture, I mean torturing myself to find 18+ hours a week to work out.
 

 

Upon my first conversation with Jem, his first comment to me after explaining my regiment was: “You should only work out 3, no more than 4 days a week. You should be too sore to work out any more than that.” Well, low and behold, now under Jem’s plan, I typically struggle with that fourth workout of the week, only because I’m hurting everywhere, and it’s that good hurt too, you know, that well-earned and welcomed soreness from an awesome workout.

 

The one thing that Jem has bestowed upon me that I think has been most valuable is the KNOWLEDGE FROM A CREDIBLE SOURCE. Before beginning my training and nutrition plan with Jem, he provided to me a plethora of valuable information and knowledge. This information has helped me to understand what I am doing, why I am doing it, and what the results will be.

I’m no longer guessing at what will work, only to lose weeks of effort with no results to show for. I have to say, and this is a major comment, going to Jem will turn out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made. My dedication to getting healthy, fit, and STRONG is unrelenting. Now, for the first time, I feel like have I have the tools and knowledge to do so, and I have Jem to thank for that.

 

In addition to all of this info, the constant guidance and feedback, which is literally an email or Facebook message away, has been extremely reassuring. I have questions, whether it be my form, how to manage a long trip, or anything regarding my nutrition and training, Jem has been there, and he has been there immediately. Jem is a great guy, a great strength coach, and can offer a wealth of information to anyone that is honest about meeting their goals.

 

and from his wife, Elyse.

"I can't tell you enough how amazing you are and what you've opened our eyes to. You have truly changed our quality of life and our marriage is growing stronger as we are growing stronger, along with having more time with each other since we are not working out 6 days a week!"

more before/after pictures will be up in a couple weeks, stay tuned.

Sample Training Templates

Beginner Sample 60mins Workout Routine A & B
http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2012/12/sample-60mins-workout-routine-b.html

Beginner Sample 60mins Workout Routine C & D
http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2012/12/sample-60mins-workout-routine-c-d.html

Super Low Volume For Dieters, Contest Prep, & I.F'ing
http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2013/02/super-low-volume-for-dieters-contest.html

11 Mass Gaining Tips & 4 Mass Gaining Training Routines
http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2013/03/12-mass-gaining-trips-for-skinny.html
http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2013/03/4-mass-gaining-training-routines.html

Power Development: Part 1 - Sprinting and Jumping
http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-premier-in-power-development-part-1.html

5x5
http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2011/12/5-x-5.html

Modified Starting Strength
http://goonlifter.wikispaces.com/sean10mm%27s+Modified+Starting+Strength

Bodyweight Exercises For Beginners
http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2011/11/bodyweight-exercises-for-beginners.html

Training While Dieting
http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2011/01/training-while-dieting.html

Leangains RPT Approach
http://www.leangains.com/2008/12/reverse-pyramid-revisited.html

Training Setup for Home, Office, or Vacationing
http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2013/03/training-setup-for-home-office-or.html

30min workout to traing around a shoulder injury
www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2013/02/2-sample-30mins-workout-to-train-around.html

The Dice Rolling Program
http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2012/02/dice-rolling-program.html

Marianne KB Routine (interval)
http://www.myomytv.com/lights-camera-action-kettlebell-interval-routine/

Wil Flemmings Olympic Combos Routine
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/olympic_lift_variations_to_get_big

Hunger Hormones, Refeeds, and Flexible Dieting

Everything in the body are regulated by hormones.

If we can manipulate our hormones to do what we want it to do, whether it'd be for fat loss, muscle gain, appetite, mood, energy level...etc, we can easily and naturally achieve our health and fitness goals instead of fighting against it (using every fad diet out there).

By understanding the science behind these hormones and how they operate, you'll make wiser choices when encountering situations where it may play a role at influencing your body fat and appetite. Understanding these hormonal operations is literally the real shortcut to body recomposition.

It is true that any miserable diets you find online that sets calories in the deficit can get a person lean but they usually come with a lot of unnecessary B.S. rituals that you must do, which aren't substantiated by research. The industry will have you believe that you MUST eat 18x/day, do 3hr cardio/day like in the Biggest Losers, BCAA before/post workout, and eat everything organic to get results.

However, if you actually understand how the body works, it doesn't have to be that miserable (and stupid). You should hear some of the stories my clients tell their friends how extremely non-restrictive their diets are while losing weight or preparing for a contest/photoshoot.

Here are my champions. 

http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/p/2012-transformations.html

Having willpower and taking on personal responsibility certainly helps but this sense of self-ownership usually don't last very long though, especially since we live in a world of fast foods, office jobs, and everything at the click of a button.

Once your willpower runs out and it will from time to time, I guarantee, you better have some science to back up your diet and training methods or you will fail miserably!

This post is about not letting hunger controls you, making your diet as flexible as possible, and how to re-engineer your environment to work for your body instead of resisting its natural responses... all the while, still doing the good ol' "eat less and move more" with ease.

If your body doesn't have to fight against hunger, wouldn't you like to not eat (or not eat as much) until you see your washboard abs? You would save so much time, sweat, and money. Sounds too good to be true? That's exactly how my clients feel when they drop fat without going through hunger pangs or sacrifice their favorite foods.

http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/p/2011-transformations.html

You can work with me or you can be a geek like me and read the below articles, then do it yourself. 

Seriously, read them and make your hormones your bitch.
The Fat/Hunger Hormones
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/insulin-leptin-ghrelin-the-3-fat-hormones-933564.html

Bodyweight Regulation
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-hormones-of-bodyweight-regulation-leptin-part-1.html
if you read the whole serie above, you are already smarter than 90% of the trainers and nutritionists in the fitness industry.

Intermittent Fasting and Leptin (body fat regulation)
http://www.leangains.com/2010/03/intermittent-fasting-set-point-and.html

Refeeds and Cheat Meals
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/carb-refeeding-and-weight-loss/#axzz2N6nm1t3Y
http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2011/02/refeeds-vs-cheat-meals.html

Hunger
http://www.csun.edu/~vcpsy00h/students/hunger.html

Ghrelin - Hunger Drives Creativity and Metabolism
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/15/content_8550278.htm

Cortisol and Hunger
http://www.leangains.com/2012/06/why-does-breakfast-make-me-hungry.html

To make your diet as flexible and non-guilt-tripping as possible, listen to these 3 podcasts and the last article.

Lyle McDonald: Flexibility of Dieting Podcast
http://realitybasedfitness.wordpress.com/2009/06/27/podcast-4-lyle-mcdonald/

Alan Aragon on Nutrition Podcast
http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/blog/ep-09-in-the-trenches-with-alan-aragon/

Lyle McDonald On Jimmy's Low Carbs Podcast
http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/423/lyle-mcdonald-ep-238/

and read this as a bonus
http://www.jcdfitness.com/2010/09/clean-eating-is-a-scam-and-why-you-should-abandon-it/

If you're ready to do it yourself, here's how you set it up:
Simple Diet Setup: Putting Protein, Fat, Carbs into your menu
http://www.examiner.com/article/are-you-beach-body-ready-for-zilker-park

How to Estimate your daily energy expenditure, rate of fat loss, and daily target caloric intake
http://www.examiner.com/article/estimate-your-bmr-set-realistic-goals-and-structure-your-fat-loss-diet

If you're still lost by this point or simply too lazy to read every article, you can pay me to interpret and set it up for you
http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/p/here-are-services-i-provide-for.html

4 Mass Gaining Training Routines

For more clarifications on how to perform the movements, visit
http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2012/12/movements-and-muscles.html

Train 4x/week rotating Routine A-D.  If you’re a beginner, try to master 2 movements per workout at time and another 2 movements the next week to slowly gain confidence performing the lifts.  Same for those already have lifting experience but been out of shape for a while.

If you can only train 3x/week, then run A, B, C one week and D, A, B on week 2 and so on.

Stick to the first 4 movements per workout and after 1 month (total of 4 rotations of A, B, C, D), start adding the fifth movement into your routine as you get more conditioned to handle more set/volume.  Add the 6^th movement in the following month. 

The last 2 movements of each routine Is not necessarily going to make or break your gain.  They are simply added to increase training volume, keep it interesting, and provide bonus benefit of functional and core strengthening.

Feel free to create your own training template with more columns (dates) to the table below to track long-term progress. 

SA- Single Arm, SL – Single Leg, OH-Overhead, DB –Dumbbell, BB- Barbell. Ea=in each hand or leg. Rest 1-2mins between sets.

A	set/rep	Load	Date	B	set/rep	Load	Date
DB Hang Clean	2/10			DB Push press	2/10
Front Squat	4/8			Sumo	5/4-6
Bench Press	4/8			Dip	4/8
Bent–O-Row	4/10			RDL	4/8
Abs wheel	3/8			Bulgarian Squat	3/8
Reverse Hyper	3/8			Side Plank	3/8

For Routine C and D, Use these movements for the same set and rep range as workout A and B. 

C:
SA DB Snatch
Back Squat
Military Press
DB Lunge
Hip Thrust
Farmer's Walk

D:
Swing
Deadlift
Chin up
DB Lats Pullover
OH Squat
SL Bridge

For most movements, exchange breathe on the top of a rep.  You will breathe in deeply to fill your lung and abs with air to create pressure to brace the heavy load of a movement.  Keep chest up/out with neutral back when pushing through most lifts.

When you can hit the ‘rep’ and ‘set’ prescribed above for a specific movement, add 10-20% of the weight to the bar.  Your rep will surely drop as the bar becomes more challenging.  Your goal is to train until you can reach that many sets and reps again. 

The first movements of each routine are power/dynamic based movements for warming up, you will not need to jog 20mins before you start lifting.  It is meant to increase your heart rate, blood flow, and joints of the entire body without burning too many calories.  You will still need to have at least 1 warm up set before performing each lift.

Feel free to train 2 movements at a time when equipment are available.  For example, on workout A, after you’re done with DB Hang Clean for 2 sets, you can proceed with alternating Front squat and Bench Press.  This way while your quads rest with the squat, you can work your pecs with the bench press and go back and forth until you have finish 4 sets.  Do not try to do 4-5 movements at a time in a circuit fashion, this will take up too much space and the muscle will have cooled off before getting back to the same movement again.