25 Apr

Conventional Training vs. MC²

Posted under: Exercise, Fitness, Uncategorized

Nowadays we are exposed to all sorts of recommended work out styles, each of which have their own benefits. In this blog we are going to discuss the benefits that can be enjoyed by implementing a workout style that strategically combines the effectiveness of time, cardio, and compound movements; this workout is known as MC² (pronounced M C squared).

Start by establishing the basics:

Conventional weight training is the foundation of a good workout. Conventional training consists of exercises that incorporate an individual body part with single or [mutli] joint movements. Examples of these exercises would include basic: Presses, Rows, Fly, Squats, etc.This method of training is necessary to help establish your base. Without a good foundation, other workouts will be more difficult and often ineffective.

You should utilize conventional training methods and concentrate on proper form and technique before integrating compound movements into your workouts. Failure to do this may cause your workouts to get sloppy when you attempt to incorporate compound movements and could result in injuries. Clearly this is not functional or healthy for your body and may delay you achieving your fitness goals. Proper execution of exercises will accelerate your outcome.

Need help creating a conventional training program? Please consult a coach or a trainer. There is no shame in asking for help every now and again. All the best people, in whatever their vocation, have usually had some help or guidance along the way; the concept with your workouts is the same. When working out at the gym and unsure of how to use a piece of equipment or perform an exercise properly always ask a gym employee if there is someone to give you direction or feel free to shoot me an email and I’ll do my best to respond with the guidance that you need.

A MC² style workout (concept designed by Free Motion Fitness ) is a combination of timed compound movements and timed heavy-load cardio. Compound exercises are movements that utilize more than one body part at a time, such as squat/curls, lunge/chest press, lunge/triceps-extension, etc.

Cardio is done at a slower pace but with a heavier load and with a high level of incline. This form of cardio places the load on the large muscle groups in your lower body, engaging your muscle longer to produce a higher caloric output.

In this workout you perform timed compound movements in rotation with your cardio. The benefits of this style of training include high caloric output from the increased muscle contractions that result from your compound exercises in combination with high intensity cardio. MC² workouts promote development of leaner muscle, muscle endurance and are great for melting away fat.

Before attempting MC² style workouts, be aware of your foundation. You may need to practice more conventional training methods so you are more aware of the movements. As I’ve said before it is more important to concentrate on technique and for to prevent injury and insure the maximum results. (Plus you don’t want to end up looking like a person falling out of a tree.)

MC² is a fun, challenging, and effective workout that is capable of delivering exceptional results. Please feel free to contact me at fitnessdefined@bodyblocksfitness.com for more information and as always enjoy your success.

10 Apr

I’m Back…

Posted under: Exercise, Fitness, Nutrition, Uncategorized

Hello readers,

I want to apologize for my absence from blogging for the past couple of months. I promise that I have been hard at work during this time and I am excited to share some of the things that I’ve been working on with you.

One project that I’ve been able to kick off that I am extremely excited about is the implementation of a Body Blocks’ designed fitness and sports performance curriculum within the Buffalo Public Schools. This program will begin this fall in 4 schools (Riverside, South Park, City Honors, and Emerson) and will expand to the remaining 12 high schools within the school year. The program will be incorporated as part of the current physical education curriculum and allow us to not only educate the students but also the faculty within these schools. This sets the groundwork for a sustainable long-term model rather than a short-term fix. We are confident that this program will not only serve as a major contributing factor towards developing a culture that produces fitter and healthier students, but also that leads to increased academic performance and fewer sports-related injuries; ultimately making our schools and our students more competitive in multiple arenas.

Another announcement that I am pleased to make is that I have recently learned that I have been named as one of Business First’s 2012 Healthcare 50, which recognizes me as “one of the top 50 extraordinary professionals in the medical field in Western New York.” I am extremely honored to be recognized on this list and in the company of the other great individuals who were also named, all of whom are committed to making Western New York a healthier community. This recognition came on the heals of another recognition that I received from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). I have been honored with the designation of a Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach Emeritus (RSCC,*E) which is the highest certification attainable through this organization. The NSCA only gives this title to individuals who have accumulated 20 or more years (WOW, time flies when you’re doing what you love!) as a trusted expert in their field and recognizes their area of expertise as separate and distinct from the medical, dietetic, athletic training, and sport coaching fields. This certification is significant not only because I get to add some more cryptic letters after my name, but more importantly because it secures my status as an industry expert and trusted source of information even after I retire (whatever that word means).

I have just returned from the IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association) Annual Convention in Los Angeles, CA. This event is the focal point of the fitness community every year and serves as the launching point for new breakthroughs in exercise techniques and equipment. My week was jam packed with seminars and meetings with some pretty amazing people within the industry. Anyone who has ever taken a trip and had people waiting for their return knows all too well that one of the first questions that you often get is, “what did you bring me?” Confident that my staff of trainers and clients at Body Blocks would have the same question for me, I knew that I had to bring them back something that they would appreciate and “remember” and a T-Shirt just wasn’t going to cut it! So my choice…

Meet the Step360 Pro

This piece of equipment may seem innocent enough, but after one 360MC session, even my most conditioned trainers were feeling the burn. I’ll save the details and the science of the equipment and the workout for a future post, but suffice it to say that after that workout nobody was asking what else I may have brought them. [insert maniacal laugh here]

In addition to that, I have a lot of other exciting things that I am working on that hopefully I will be able to share with you soon. In the mean time, I am pleased to return you to your regularly scheduled blog posts. As always thanks for reading and feel free to get in touch with me at fitnessdefined@bodyblocksfitness.com

Stay Healthy,

Bob

09 Feb

You must eat to lose weight.

Posted under: Exercise, Fitness, Nutrition, Uncategorized

No that’s not a misprint in the title, today we tackle another common fitness myth that I have heard time and time again: “If you want to lose weight you need to eat fewer calories than you burn off in a day”. Sound familiar? Now, depending on your size and gender you’ve probably been given a calorie goal somewhere between 1200-1500 calories a day.

Although this “could” happen to be your goal, in reality you’re calorie goal should be based on your Basil Metabolic Rate (BMR) and your level of activity. Your BMR is the number of calories your body burns at rest in a 24 hour period. In other words, it’s the amount of fuel your body needs to continue sustaining life. So how do you obtain this magic number? According to a formula provided in a 1990 study that appeared in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Basil Metabolic Rate is equal to:

$P = left ( frac {10.0 m} {1 ~ mbox {kg}} + frac {6.25 h} {1 ~ mbox {cm}} - frac {5.0 a} {1 ~ mbox {year}} + s right ) frac {mbox {kcal}} {mbox {day}}$

from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basal_metabolic_rate

It’s that simple! (insert sarcasm here)

Obviously the calculation is complicated and further studies have even included variables such as lean body mass and physiological elements. The good news is there are tools out there that provide these measurements for you. Although there seem to be some decent lower-cost, home products on the market, at Body Blocks we use a medical grade body composition analyzer called the InBody520. This piece of equipment provides us with a number of measurements (including BMR) which allow us to understand the unique physiology of each of our clients.

InBody520

Now that we know how to get them, let’s look at what the numbers mean.

If you’re BMR is 1500 and you’re eating a recommended 1200 calories, you are not even providing your body enough fuel to make it through the day (and that’s if you were at rest all day). Since most individuals have some level of activity throughout the day, walking, climbing stairs, talking, exercising, etc. The true caloric deficit that they are experiencing is even greater than the 300 calories that is represented here.

If you think about your body as if it were a race car and that car required 11 quarts of oil to operate efficiently. If you decided to put only 5 quarts in, the car will still run, but at some point during the race it’s going to break down. Additionally the car’s support systems would experience increased stress, overheating, and in some cases permanent damage as they are forced to work with insufficient resources. Your body and it’s support systems respond in a very similar manner.

Unlike a race car, our bodies are able to interpret and adapt to changes in the environment. This means that when the body recognizes a pattern of high caloric deficits, it interprets this as starvation and goes into survival mode. At this point it starts managing fuel in an effort preserve energy, this means that it distributes the energy to essential life support systems while shutting down other systems and functions. Clearly this is probably not the result that most people would be looking for from their diet.

The best way to manage your weight is to understand how your body works. The first step is to learn your BMR. Keep in mind that your BMR increases as you increase your lean muscle mass. Put simply this means that the more lean muscle mass you add, the more you will NEED to eat for your body to operate efficiently. It also means that you will have to monitor your BMR on a consistent basis to ensure that you are always eating at least what your body needs to survive. Any attempts to lose weight should use strategies that reduce the extra calories that are consumed in addition to the BMR. This means that many of you will have to actually eat more if you want to effectively lose weight.

I hope that this article helps clarify this common fitness myth and empowers you with the knowledge necessary to achieve your fitness goals.

12 Jan

Simple guidelines for making healthy choices.

Posted under: Fitness, Uncategorized

Happy New Year readers! Many people are currently flooding their local fitness centers and produce aisles, fueled by the motivation of the promises they’ve made to themselves to get healthier this year. As I’ve said in the past fitness is not simply exercising, it is a lifestyle and perhaps the largest part of that lifestyle is choosing the proper foods to include in our daily diets.

I wanted to use this post to share a few simple facts to guide you in structuring a healthy daily diet. The following guidelines should provide you with some basic fundamentals to get you going in the right direction. We’ll tackle some of the more complex issues in future posts.

First you should try to avoid starting your day off with nothing to eat or by consuming only simple carbs. As a general rule try mixing a protein with a complex carb (preferably an hour apart). Space your meals out every 3-4 hours. After all we are really designed to graze.

Simple Carbs are mainly sugars or highly processed complex carbs that can give the same affect. These can be used as instant energy prior to a workout. You’ll burn it up before you crash. Now, I’m not saying go eat a spoonful of sugar, but if there is a little sugar in a pre-workout drink so what! Any sugars and processed carbs, like white flour, act as simple carbs and are not good in abundance. General rule of thumb I like to follow is “the easier to grab and go food is (not including fruits) the more processed it is likely to be. For example, instant oatmeal has more of the affects of a simple carb than oatmeal that takes even a few minutes to cook.

Complex carbs are your grain products and some vegetables that the body converted into glycogen and are stored as an energy source in your muscle. These carbs are a sustainable energy source for your body.

You should be consuming about 1gram of protein per lb of lean body mass. If you are active in exercise and resistance training, you should be bumping that up to 1 1/2-2 grams per lb of lean

body mass. Don’t try and eat your recommended amount of protein. Try adding in a supplement like a high quality protein powder to your diet.Proteins are used by our body to rebuild tissue. We tend to be a more protein deficient society because they have to be prepared and we see them as less convenient. Protein also helps to stabilize insulin levels in our bodies.

A common balanced diet ratio is broken down as follows:

60% carbs 30% proteins and 10% fats.

For those calorie counters out there:

1gram carb = 4 calories
1gram protein = 4 calories
1gram fat = 9 calories

As I said this was meant to be a simple guide. Ultimately diets are simply an ongoing set of choices that we make everyday. Information allows us to make educated and informed decisions. So the question is: now that you’re better informed, what choices will you make today?

23 Dec

Holiday eating made simple!

Posted under: Uncategorized

In preparation for the holidays you don’t have to diet, hit the gym more than normal or even avoid your favorite holiday meals. Let’s take a look at how you can relieve some of your waistband concerns about holiday eating.

“what you think you are eating and what you are eating tend to be two completely different things.”

99% of the time, what you think you are eating and what you are eating tend to be two completely different things. So really be honest with yourself and take a look at what your normal eating habits are. If 80-90% of the time you are eating correctly, do you really think a few days of eating whatever you want is going to change your life? Not a chance. At the same time, if you consistently have a poor diet, gorging at the holidays is really not all that different.

The holidays should never be an excuse to say “oh I can eat whatever I want”. If you want it, have it. But then be accountable for what you’ve eaten in the past.

If you are one of those people who just can’t help themselves and say “Oh, I want everything”, take precautions. Don’t wait all day to eat and then binge on a big meal. Try eating a handful of almonds and a yogurt earlier on and other healthy snack size meals before you sit down for dinner. This way, by time you get to the main course you can enjoy the meal without over eating.

There is no quick fix to make that holiday meal magically disappear. In order to prevent anxiety around the holidays take a look at your normal eating habits, graze on healthy snacks before you sit down for dinner and get back on track when all is said and done.

Happy Holidays!

09 Dec

More than a workout; Fitness is a lifestyle!

Posted under: Exercise, Fitness, Uncategorized

Movement is the key to life. We’ve become such a sedative society which is why we have so many health issues. We have all the knowledge, all the research and resources, yet we are the unhealthiest country in the world right now.

Think about it… People come from all over the world to the United States to utilize the knowledge and resources that we have to offer and yet overall as a society we don’t apply any of it ourselves. It’s ludicrous!

Movement is what keeps people alive; it’s a fact of life. Nowadays doctors even prescribe exercise and movement as a means to stay healthy.

Read this USA Today article that discusses exercise prescriptions.

wivb.com

Read this amazing story about my friend Dr. Raul Vazquez (above) who spent his day seeing his patients while walking on a treadmill to call awareness to obesity and the need to get healthy

Your body is your one vehicle in life, yet you put it in jeopardy. Fitness should be just as important as any meeting or appointment. If you’re not healthy you can’t do your job. Don’t be intimidated either. Fitness can be as simple as just getting up and moving. Taking a 5-10 minute walk two times a day would be a great start.

“I don’t have time”, “I’m not a fitness person”, these are all calculated lies to yourself. Everybody has a choice and these calculated lies become hurdles that you create for yourself. So take some accountability and get up and move. After all fitness isn’t just a workout at a gym or a mile run… It’s your LIFE! Ultimately its a choice, a lifestyle.

02 Dec

Ready, Set, Go!

Posted under: Fitness, Uncategorized

A passion for fitness right from the start!

I always had this innate feeling towards fitness. It all came very naturally to me, almost like I had done it before. I never felt like a fish out of water in the gym. As a 5th grader growing up playing football in Chicago, Illinois, I was able to utilize the weight room at my high school, setting me apart from other kids in my grade. My training involved techniques kids my age wouldn’t have even considered.

My experience evolved when I moved to Columbus, Ohio in the 8th grade because their football program, training techniques and facilities were even more progressive than back in Chicago. It was wild.

When I moved to Buffalo, New York my junior year of high school the schools didn’t have access to the level of equipment I was used to. It almost felt as if my training was taking a step backwards. That’s when I built a gym in the basement of my house where my teammates and I worked out constantly.

I was fortunate to come up on the wave of the fitness revolution. At that time there was a lot of research and progression in the world of fitness and I wanted to learn more. Looking back at what we did in the 80s, which at that time was cutting edge, is now pretty much obsolete. I was never satisfied. I always knew there was more and the field was always evolving. I needed to be a part of it.

With my passion for constantly improving my knowledge and athletic ability I was able to excel. When I had the opportunity to play at the college level I couldn’t turn it down. I was originally recruited to play at Kent State, but ended up at Cortland State. It ended up being a great opportunity due to one of the country’s top programs in exercise science. Funny how things work out.

At that age no one really knows what they want to do in life and I wasn’t any different, but being a part of that team and at that school, my calling became clear to me. I never wanted to be a teacher, but I what I do is teaching.

I graduated from Cortland State with my BS in Physical Education with a concentration in Sports Medicine. I am a member of the American College of Sports Medicine and National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and hold a number of other certifications.

After graduation I continued playing football in the NFL, CFL and AIFA leagues. It was amazing to have the opportunity to play football in the AIFA league in Italy for 3 years. After my first season overseas I lived in New York City and worked with a well-known personal trainer. In preparation for the end of my football career I took the New York City Police Exam. I received a call to report for my NYC Police Physical during my second season in Italy and was extremely lucky to have the opportunity extended until after my return.

When my time in Italy was up I came back to Columbus and made a stop in Buffalo to see my parents. At this point I was unsure if I wanted to go back to live in Ohio, head to Chicago, venture out to sunny California or finally report for the NYC Police Physical Exam.

In the fall of 1987 I put everything else aside. I decided to plant some roots in Buffalo and opened up Body Blocks. Personal Training to the extent I was exploring was new in this area, but I wanted the chance to bring my knowledge of the field to our community.

At first everyone told me I was nuts. No way would this work. Regardless, I opened January 4, 1988 and by April I was so busy that I already had to hire 2 more trainers.

It was a challenge having to prove to everyone the first year that I wasn’t crazy. I tore up my NYC Police papers for my physical exam that upcoming May and I have never looked back. This January marks our 25th Anniversary.