No more pink dumbbells

I am about to go on a rant regarding how fat loss and weigh training is usually depicted to young women.

Fat loss follows a pretty simple formula, here goes.

1: Eat higher quality foods more often
2: Engage in moderate to high intensity conditioning a few times a week for at least 20 mins
3: Train with weights at least 3x a week with a focus on progressively increasing the resistance or intensity
4: Rest properly

Thats it.

Now if you have noticed , the majority of books, tapes and magazines have women doing the exact opposite. They reccommend

1: run or engage in low intensity cardio like jogging
2: Eat small portions of foods that will stop your fat loss like granola and yogurt
3: Train with weights a few times a week with ( you guessed it ) pink dumbbells
4: No mention of rest

Remember the body needs to be constantly challenged if it is going to change. Pink dumbbells are not a challenge.

That's all

Why body weight works

Readers of my blog know that I am a big believer in body weight training. It doesn't require any sort of equipment, can be done anywhere and is super effective in sculpting a great body.

A few weeks ago while I was watching the US Olympic gymnastic team compete, I noticed something, all of the girls were;

A: Very short
B: In terrific shape.



I also realized that gymnasts for the most part only train using their own body weight.
Most of these boys and girls have built lean muscular bodies by performing a series of jumps, pulls, pushes, squats, presses and short runs over many years. These same principles should be applied to your own training. If your goal is to build a lean sexy physique remember to train more like a gymnast.

For more information about sculpting a lean sexy physique, go to www.fitfreshman.com

Tips for the upcoming school year

This morning as I left the house for my first client, the chilly
morning air made me realize that summer is quickly coming to an
end. Soon the relaxing days spent on a patio and weekends chilling
at a cottage will be over.

With the end of summer, many people will be headed back to school.
If you are like me you are looking forward to seeing school
friends, and getting back into the groove of things. Hopefully in
your case the upcoming year is going to be full of pleasant
surprises, achievements and successes.

Maybe you have put on a few pounds from taking time off from the
gym this summer, or maybe you have just made the decision to
finally get back into shape.Either way I am going to share with
you some valuable tips to help your fat loss goal become a
reality.

Tip #1:Schedule your workouts a week in advance.

This year when you get your timetable for courses check for open
slots in-between classes and schedule in your workouts in big bold
marker. By doing this you will be able to ensure that you are
exercising regularly and not wasting time hanging out being
unproductive.

Tip #2: Pack gym clothes with you

Preparation is the key to getting in great shape. Pack a pair of
shorts and t-shirt and gym shoes with you each morning before you
head out the door. The sight of them each time you open your bag
will act as a constant reminder to head to the gym when you have a
break.

Tip#3: Make a play list

Lets face it, exercising with music makes the experience that much
better. The key to a kick-butt workout is to put a mix of your
favorite high-energy songs on your ipod and crank it up once you
get in the gym. The addition of up-tempo beats will inspire you to
work that much harder.

Tip #5: Pack some quick snacks

By now your bag must weigh a ton, but the availability of healthy
foods whenever you want is well worth it. It can be frustrating to
break your healthy eating plan by settling for junk food because
there is nothing on hand. Take the worry out of the equation by
packing some healthy snacks like almonds or an apple. Your body
will thank you for it later.

Tip#6: Perform a 45-minute resistance training circuit 3 x a week

Once you do make it to the gym, start with a light bodyweight
warm-up, and then proceed to a short intense fat loss circuit. The
key to real effective weight loss is the combination of resistance
training and short rest intervals. The best exercises for this type
of training are what we call compound movements, or bang for your
buck exercises. For more detail on the appropriate workouts for
your fat loss go to www.fitfreshman.com

In health
Teiko Reindorf NSCA-CPT
www.fitfreshman.com click here for the most efficient fat loss
programs

What you wished for

I remember listening to an audiobook a few years back on the science of achievement, the author said one thing that really struck home with me. The lesson was something to the effect of " everything that you have in your life, positive or negative you have asked for.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized it was true. All my achievements had been a direct result of what I had either verbally or mentally asked for. Now the obvious retort would be that no one wishes for bad things, so this quote is bull. The truth is most of us do wish bad things upon ourselves, through negative self talk and destructive visualization.

I cant tell you how many times I have told myself something was going to go bad, and it come to pass or how many times I have talked myself out of doing things I later regretted that I did not do.

On the other hand, there have been times where I have wanted something so bad that I could taste it, and sure enough within a matter of months it was mine.

The point I am getting at, is be aware of what thoughts you bring into your life, negative or positive. They will have a direct effect on your success.

The truth behind good exercise selection

You know its funny, everytime I go to the gym I come to a new conclusion about programming for fat loss. This morning I happened to come to my realization by watching two relative beginners attempt a strength training workout.

The two beginners in question happened to be young women in their early twenties. I noticed them out of the corner of my eye when I saw the more experienced of the two begin the workout by performing a specific warm-up that those in the know do. My first thought was hmmmm maybe this girl knows a thing or two. Unfortunately that was proven wrong when she followed the warm-up by laying on the ground only to perform an hours worth of abdominal crunches.

I cant blame the girl for doing what she was doing in the gym, the fact is that most people have no idea what to do to get a lean sexy body. Most of the dvd's and magazines tell woman that to have a flat stomach they must do endless crunches. The funny thing is that for all the crunches that people do, I have yet to see a flat stomach as a result.

The truth about exercise selection for fat loss is this; choose the movements that give you the most bang for your back. Meaning, if I have 45 minutes burn as many calories and put on lean muscle tissue in the gym. My focus should be on big movements like; squats, lunges and presses.

If you want to get lean quickly, forget the ab curls and start focusing on the big movements.

Breakfast options

I have noticed is that the life of a trainer isn't all that different from being a student. University students and personal trainers rarely get enough sleep and must find ways to eat either on the run or very quickly. as a result they resort to fast food to get them through their hunger.

A healthier solution to the easy fast food options is to opt for natural foods that can be created in minutes. One of my favorite quick fix meals before I get to my first 6am client is my cinnamon oatmeal crunch breakfast. The recipe is super simple and is sure to keep you going through out the day.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup slow rolled oats
2 teaspoons almond slivers
1/2 cup organic cream
dash cinnamon
dash splenda or stevia sweetener
1/2 green apple sliced thinly

Directions: Soak oatmeal the night before, in the morning as soon as you wake up, turn the stove to high and boil the oatmeal. Allow the oatmeal to cook for 20 minutes as you wash your face and brush your teeth.

Once the oatmeal is cooked, add the rest of th ingredients and enjoy. It really is that simple.

The dog days of summer

It is finally here...

As summer begins we look forward to long lazy days spent relaxing on the beach, evenings hanging with friends over a barbeque's and blazing weekends tanning by the pool. The Summer season truly is great for recharging but unfortunately it can spell trouble for your fitness goals. The truth is that on a nice summer day, no one wants to be inside a hot, stuffy gym.

The solution to beating the summer fitness blah's is to perform your workouts in the park.
The beauty about working out in the park is that the environment offers variety that exercising in the gym doesn't. For example instead of using a workout bench for step-ups or dips you can perform them on a picnic table or bench. Another benefit to outdoor training is that it can be done with no equipment whatsoever.

My top 10 best exercises for outdoor training are;

1. The dynamic lunge
2. The bodyweight squat
3. The push-up
4. The dip
5. Mountain climbers
6. Burpees
7. The pike
8. Sprinter sit-ups
9. Toe touch
10. Lateral lunges

All of these exercises can be found in the DropYourFreshman15 bodyweight manual.

A stunning realization

Every once in awhile I have a stunning realization. It can come from listening to a lecture or reading a book, or even talking to other top trainers in the field.

Today my stunning realization came when I was reading through a forum I have been contributing to for a few months. As I was searching through topics I came across a thread titled weight loss for teens. Because I have trained so many young women I decided I should check it out and see what people where doing to get fit across the country. What i saw shocked me!

As a personal trainer I am always surrounded by people who know health and live health I expect everyone else to know these things too. Boy was I wrong.


A contributer posted what she was eating on a daily basis to try to lose 15 pounds.
It started with a morning meal of kashi cereal, soy milk and an apple. Though seamingly healthy this combination of foods is not going to help anyone lose weight. What she doesnt know is that breakfast is the meal that will determine how your body will handle food for the rest of the day. A high carbohydrate breakfast like cereal with fruit and soy milk can cause your blood sugar to remain high throughout the day. The problem with that is that high blood sugar can cause an insulin spike which will lead to fat GAIN.

Her next meal was slightly better with a salad combined with a fruit and nut bar. The one complaint I would have about this meal, is that it lacks any protein to help build and repair lean muscle mass. Lean muscle mass is one of the most important factors when looking to lose bodyfat.

The last meal she documented was a stir fry. Now I have no problems with stir fry I think they can be very healthy dependent on the ingredients. A stir fry composed of chicken, broccoli and bell peppers is a perfect meal for someone looking to get leaner.

My final complaint about this would be dieters food log is the fact that she doesn't consume enough calories. The sum total of her daily food intake was less than 1000 calories, which may seem like a good idea for fat loss but in actuality will signal to your body that it is being starved and force it to hold onto fat.

The flabby arm cure

Recently I was approached by a security guard at one of the condominiums where I train a client.
The security was a young woman in her twenty's and like so many women her age couldnt figure out how to get rid of her trouble spot.

The spot in question, the dreaded flabby arm.

Growing up I was never aware of the flabby arm amongst young women, but it seems to be pretty common. Her question caused me to do some research on the issue, and it seems that flabby triceps are a function of an over production of the sex hormone estrogen in the body.

Estrogen is a hormone that men and women produce, women obviously produce more making them more soft ( carry more body fat ) The benefit behind estrogen is that the more shapely a woman is the better she is primed for having a baby.

Now the problem with an excess of estrogen is that it can cause unwanted body fat in some areas such as the back of the arm and thighs. Causes of excessive estrogen production are;

• Birth control pills
• Menopause
• Xenoestrogens from plastics ( bottles and Tupperware )
  
• Xenoestrogens from carpet fibers
• Xenoestrogens from scented lotions and bath products
• Excessive carbohydrate intake
• Excessive Beer intake

Meaning many of the products that the majority of university age women are using in everyday life are causing them to get the flabby arm syndrome. The good news is that a sound diet and strength training program like the Drop Your Freshman15 program can help eleviate the side effects of excess estrogen.

Lisa's workout June 4th,208

Warm-up:
arm circles
chest and back dynamic stretch
Pnf patterns
prisoner squats
leg swings
warrior lunge
sumo to drop lunge

Core activation
Birddog
Front bridge
Side Bridge
Hip Lift hold

Strength Training
Superset A - perform all movements with no rest in between each movement
Med Ball Clean and Press x 15
Med Ball Burpee to chest pass x 15
Med Ball Alternating push-up x 20
Mountain Climber x 30 seconds
Active rest on stationary bike 90 seconds
rest 60 seconds and repeat

Perform 2 sets of superset A then progress to superset B

Dumbbells bent row x 15
Sprinter sit up x 20
Static split squat x 10 per leg
running in place 1 min
push-up plank
Active rest on stationary bike 90 seconds

Perform 2 sets of superset B then progress to superset C

Med ball overhead sit up toss x 10
Med ball chest pass sit up toss x 10
Med ball russian twist x 10
Pike x 10
rest 60 seconds repeat.

Note: This is an advanced program, for more examples of Lisa's fat burning routines visit
www.fitfreshman.com

Lisa's journey

If you have visited www.fitfreshman.com then you have read about my client Lisa who inspired me to create the DropYour Freshman15 system.

Lisa was your typical university student who studied hard and partied hard. I had been training her mom for years and was introduced to Lisa when she was in her third year of school. She had come back heavier than she had ever been and felt horribly about the weight gain. Over the course of 8 weeks we where able to get Lisa down about 4 dress sizes utilizing the exact same workouts found in the DropYourFreshman 15 manuals.

Lisa went away to school in September to finish her final year, and now she is back.
As bad as this sounds I expected Lisa to come back heavier than she was when she left.
Though she did gain a few pounds Lisa still looks great, we have started working out again and in only a week she looks thinner in her face. I will post her progress and workouts over the next few months and let you guys see just how effective the Drop Your Freshman 15 program is.

Celebrity hot bodz

I found this video of "The Hills " Heidi Montag working out with her personal trainer.
As you can see Heidi and Spencer incorporate multi joint movements like the Push press and lunge exercise to help them get lean " beach bodies".

For examples of exercises that will take you from frump to fab check out www.fitfreshman.com

Heidi has a great body and has taken it to another level by incorporating a strength training routine like the Drop Your Freshman 15 program.

Survival of the fittest

In an attempt to find out which schools ranked highest in terms of fitness I came across this
study done by The Princeton Review and Mens Health Magazine.
The study was conducted in 2005 and ranked the fittest and fattest universitys.
The results;

The Top 20 Fittest Colleges in America

[1] BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

[2] University of California, Santa Barbara

[3] Boston University

[4] University of Vermont

[5] Northwestern University (III.)

[6] University of Colorado, Boulder

[7] University of Notre Dame (Ind.)

[8] University of California, Santa Cruz

[9] University of Wisconsin, Madison

[10] University of Wisconsin, La Crosse

[11] Boston College

[12] Texas Christian University

[13] University of California, Davis

[14] Georgia Institute of Technology

[15] Salisbury University (Md.)

[16] Georgetown University (D.C.)

[17] College of William and Mary (Va.)

[18] College of Charleston (S.C.)

[19] East Carolina University (N.C.)

[20] California State University, Long Beach

The school that rated numero uno happens to be a Mormon school, so that means no drinking, smoking or even caffeine (yeessh). The schools that ranked lowest were;

The Top 20 Fattest Colleges in America

[1] UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA, LAFAYETTE

[2] University of New Orleans

[3] Mississippi State University

[4] Southern Illinois University Carbondale

[5] Portland State University (Ore.)

[6] University of North Carolina. Greensboro

[7] Eastern Michigan University

[8] University of Kentucky

[9] SUNY College, Brockport (N.Y.)

[10] University of South Florida

[11] University of Nebraska, Omaha

[12] Seton Hall University (N.J.)

[13] Louisiana State University

[14] Southwest Missouri State University

[15] University of Texas. Dallas

[16] West Chester University of Pennsylvania

[17] University of Cincinnati

[18] Winona State University (Minn.)

[19] University of Maine

[20] Old Dominion University (Va.)

The study went on to rank colleges based on factors such as most athletic;

UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY

students are required to exercise 5 days a week

all the way down to biggest gainers.

UNION COLLEGE (N.Y.)

who on average gain 20.4 pounds since starting college (ouch)
seems like they could use the Drop Your Freshman 15 e-book

One of the most crucial factors for weight loss

The always get the same reaction when I tell people what I do for work.

First they flex their bicep ( which must be the universal signal for personal trainer) then
they ask me a serious of questions about how to lose fat around (insert body part here)

The truth is that the life of a personal trainer has it's ups and downs.
The ups mostly occur when you see a client change their life for the better by losing weight,
finally being able to fit into a pair of pants or come out of their shell.

The bad on the other hand can come in a variety of packages.
for the topic of the blog I will keep the suckiness brief and talk about the crappy sleep
schedule most trainers are faced with.

Unless you are somehow blessed by the scheduling gods, most trainers have to train people before or after work which means most trainers either have to get to their clients home before the sun dawns or train them later in the evening. This schedule of early mornings and late nights can take its toll on the body.

When I started training clients in home, my earliest session was at 5:45 AM, within a few months I had put on as many as 20lbs and it could directly be tied to sleep deprivation.
A study presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference showed that middle-aged women who sleep 5 or fewer hours each night weigh an average of 2.5 kg more than those who sleep for at least 7 hours, meaning sleep or lack of does play a huge role in body weight.

Now lets think about the typical sleep patterns for a university student. I remember when I was
in school I stayed up until all hours of the night, and unless once again blessed by the schedule gods, I would have to wake up relatively early for class. Did I mention I was my heaviest in college?

Thankfully I am back to a descent fighting weight, my key to keeping the weight down even with my crappy sleep patterns have been outlined in the DropYourFreshman15 manual