2 New Studies To Help Your With Your Abs

One thing I love and hate about being in the fitness industry, is that it is such a new industry to be in.  Exercise for weight loss in particular has not been around for that long.  So more and more studies come out each week helping us find the best exercise techniques and nutrition programs to follow.  The pain is that as we learn more and new studies do come out, we find that things we thought were true may not be.

After browsing through the latest issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, I found two studies that I know would beneficial for my readers.  I will warn you.  With this first study you probably won't like what you hear.

In this first study, participants performed a leg extension exercise on one leg.  Researchers wanted to see what amount of muscle built and fat burn occurred specifically on the leg muscle trained vs. the rest of the body.  The participants performed 1 set of 900-1200 repetitions on the leg extension.  They found that there was significant fat burned during the exercise, but they found more significant fat loss in the upper extremities and trunk.  I know this may not sound correct but this is not the first study to show this.

I can't tell you how many times I get the question, "What's the best exercise to get rid of fat on my [insert body part]?"  It just doesn't work this way.  You can do 1000 crunches everyday and loss fat from your arm, but not your stomach.  It's not fair I know, but that's life.

So what should you do?  Stop trying to perform exercises with the purpose to lose fat in that area.  It won't work no matter how hard you try.  Instead first focus on burning fat in general.  Higher intensity exercises that work multiple body parts work best.  If you have little fat over an area and want to see definition or muscle tone, then you can work on that specific muscle more intensely.   And of course don't forget about your diet.

The second study had to do with ab training as well.  So I just mentioned how ab exercises don't necessarily burn fat in your stomach.  It will burn some, but it may come from other places as well.  But this doesn't mean you never should do ab exercises ever.  We will want to work on building strength, endurance, and stability for our abdominals.  This second study compared sit up and curl up exercises two different ways to see what was more effective.  

They had participants perform 2 minutes of sit ups and curls with and without their feet restrained.  The study found that when the feet were restrained during sit ups and curl ups, there was higher activation of the abdominal muscles.  This sounds great, but there is a concern here.  They also found that during these exercises there was a greater activation of the hip flexor muscles.

In the past these types of exercises have shown to increase shear and compressive forces placed on the lower back.  This is likely due to increased activity from the hip flexor muscles.  So even though the feet restrained produced the best abdominal response, it comes at a cost of increase low back injuries.  So even though there was not as much ab activity when the feet are not restrained it may be the better exercise choice, especially if you have back issues.

Try this during your next workout if you plan on doing sit ups or curls ups.  When you raise up try not to allow your legs to move or lift at all. When they lift it means the hip flexors are starting to take over.

You Stay Healthy San Diego,

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Premier Training

Simple Way To Get More Fruits And Veggies IN Your Diet

Hey Guys!

I have recently decided to take on the challenge of becoming a bit more of a nutritional "go-to" at the studio and am excited to begin my nutritional certification  classes in September. With that- I wanted to touch base on one thing that many clients may not know much about- or maybe you have heard us babbling about it before- and didn't pay much interest at the time... 

To start- did you know that 1 in 10 people take in the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables per day? Think about your diet for a minute and how do you compare? Are you in that part that doesn't get all your needs every day? If so- I am sure you have asked Mike or I about ways to get more fruits and/or veggies in your diet and I guarantee the first thing we have mentioned is a greens supplement.  A greens supplement is veggies, fruits, algae, and grasses that have been compacted or dehydrated and distilled into a powder form. The benefits of this supplement  include reducing cardiovascular disease, lowering blood pressure, lowering high cholesterol, reducing COPD, helping with weight loss and preventing obesity, along with many more.  Basically all the same benefits of eating a diet high in vegetables and fruits.  

Another important thing to bring up- is how a diet rich in vegetables  and fruits can aid in keeping the body in the right acid/alkaline levels. pH Levels are measured in the body on a scale of 0-14 with 7 being neutral. Lower numbers indicate a higher acidity in the body, while higher levels conversely indicate lower acidity in the body. Lower pH levels can lead to fatigue, cardiovascular damage, bone loss, and weight gain. While regular exercise is important to incorporate in your life to assist with this- it can cause an increase in acid production due to repeat muscle contractions in the body. Being in an acidic state is not great for a variety of reasons- so making the necessary adjustments in your diet to compliment your workouts are obviously helpful not only in the weight loss side of things. Research has shown that there are many harmful organisms (bacteria, viruses, etc) that tend to thrive in a more acidic environment.  By including more veggies and fruits in your diet we can keep these organisms away- while reaping the benefits of more energy, quicker recovery, bone health and weight loss!

Now- a greens supplement can't replace a diet that is healthy in vegetable consumption- however, it can be helpful in getting you closer to reaching that recommended serving amount each day. Mike and I know how hard it can be to get in health meals all the time and a greens supplement, as mentioned is our usual first suggestion to any one that is having troubles. It is especially helpful to those that are on the go alot- since this is the hardest time to find nutritious whole foods. Adding this simple supplement to a smoothie or protein shake- will be a great addition to your healthful diet. 

Now it is important to check the ingredients on any supplement that you consider incorporating into your diet. Not all are created the same- so be sure to find a reputable one. Also- find one that has a flavor you like.  If you have a great supplement but can't stand the taste- then you are much less likely to use it. 

You can pick up some greens supplements at Trader Joe's, GNC (ask for Vida), or it is more expensive but www.AthleticGreens.com is another good company.  

That's all for now- I will be in touch with more great recipes and nutritional info soon! Enjoy your smoothies! :)

You Stay Healthy San Diego,

Emily Deibler

San Diego Premier Training

Is Your Diet Screwing Up Your Thyroid?

I am getting ready to head to Vegas for the weekend and I am in the betting mood to get ready. I'm willing to bet a significant amount that if you are reading this, you are trying to lose unwanted fat.  I will even double up on that bet and say you probably have had difficulty losing fat at some point and have been frustrated.  And one final bet is you probably have thought you may have a thyroid issue since you can't seem to lose weight anymore.

How did I do?  Am I ready to make some bets in Vegas and win some $$?  I am fairly confident with these predictions because I have seen it happen so many times.  The most common method people use to lose weight is drop calories.  Now this is probably completely necessary, but it is often done incorrectly.  If you drop calories you will lose weight initially.  Then you stall out, start eating more, and gain the weight back (and more probably).  Why does this happen?  

We usually will look for something to blame this on.  The most common guess is Hypothyroidism.  Our thyroid controls our metabolism.  If it is not working properly than we will have a slower metabolic rate and most likely have weight issues.  The problem is not really your thyroid though.  The problem may be restricting your calories.  Those that drop calories below your metabolic need for a prolonged time will spark a series of chain reactions in the body.  The body responds to lower caloric intake by dropping T3 and T4 levels in the body, which are our thyroid hormones.  It is believed the body does this when it is starving to attempt to preserve muscle tissue and prevent you from killing yourself by not eating.  

The good news is this is reversible.  The key is we need to be more strategic besides just dropping your calories down to lose weight.  The first step is to determine where you metabolic need is first.  This is the number we want to use as a baseline in order to avoid our metabolism from slowing.  There are a number of calculations and formulas you can use to determine this.  Here is a simple one.  Divide your weight by 2.2.  Then multiply that number by 30.  This is the approximate number of calories you would need to maintain your weight.  

Let's use these numbers as an example.  If you weigh 180lbs; we divide by 2.2 which is 81.81.  This times 30 equals about 2455.  That would be the number of calories you would consume to maintain your weight.  

So what we need to do is drop our calories some to lose weight.  If you figure out what your ideal weight is we can use that same formula to figure out what our caloric need would be at that weight.  Let's say we want to weight 150lbs.  Using the same formula we would need about 2045 calories.  So this is our magic number now.  

So if I eat around 2000 calories per day I should hit this goal eventually.  Now we could just drop our calories but we run the risk of effecting our thyroid.  So instead we alter our calories from day to day.  If we look at the calorie needs for the week we would eat 14,000 calories if we averaged 2000 per day.  Instead, what if I ate 1500 calories 4 days, 2000 calories on 2 days, and 3000 calories one day.  We still hit that 14,000 goal but varied each day so our bodies never felt like they were starving and reduced our metabolism.  

Simple, right?  The cool part of this type of dieting is one day a week you get to increase your calories significantly and not feel like you are depriving yourself.  

I hope this helps you with your weight loss battle.  Wish me luck in Vegas.  I'm sure I might have a few 3000+ days myself.  

You Stay Healthy San Diego,

Mike Deibler 

San Diego Premier Training

North County San Diego's Top Personal Training

The Gluten Craze

Hey.  I hope you are having a great day.  I wanted to take a few minutes today and discuss my feelings on Gluten and how much attention it is getting today.  You might disagree with some of the things I have to say, which is fine.  Just hear me out and feel free to comment to this post.

I'm assuming that you have heard of gluten before.  It is the center of attention in the diet world right now so I felt it was worth posting my 2 cents about it.  First, what is gluten?  Gluten is just a protein found in many carbohydrates, especially wheat, barley, and rye based foods and food product.  So most likely you are eating this protein everyday in things like bread, cereals, and pasta.  Now there is a small percentage of the population that has an autoimmune disorder where they will not digest gluten.  This is known as Celiac disease.  This affects about 5-10% of the population.  So for some people it is critical they they avoid gluten products as much as possible.

Many people claim they can't lose weight because of eating gluten.  They feel like they can't digest it, it bloats them, it causes weight gain, it increases joint pain, or it wasn't meant to be eaten by humans.  This may be the cause for those with gluten problems, but there is a test for that.  If you think it is causing you problems just go to your doctor and find out.  It is as simple as that.

So what if you do not have this disease, should you still stay away from gluten?  I have a very simple approach to nutrition.  There are very few things that you eat that are inherently bad for you.  They can be harmful in large amounts though.  So it annoys me when people say you have to avoid something at all costs.  Remember fat use to be bad for you.   Now saturated fat is often consider a health food, such as coconut oil.    You NEED fat to survive so how can it be bad for you?  Carbs were the next scapegoat to our obesity problems.  It seems that every few years we are finding the "new" reason we are so overweight.  With all this information about unhealthy foods we must be decreasing the obesity rate right?  Unfortunately, it is getting worse.

Now I'm not saying you should eat as much gluten as possible either.  We need to balance it just like everything else.  My advice is don't blame weight loss problems on one thing.  It rarely is the case.  Most likely there are a number of issues that need to be addressed.  But gluten just like most other foods should be limited when possible, but not necessarily avoided.  I eat gluten probably everyday in some amount and don't seem to have any problems with it.  I still have a six pack and feel great afterwards.

Maybe gluten helped me get a 6 pack?

But if you really think gluten is the cause of your problems there are two things you need to do and just find out.  First, go to you doctor and find out if you have Celiac disease.  Then, just cut gluten out of your diet for an extended period time (at least a month).  When you reintroduce it see how you feel.  If you notice significant changes than maybe you really do have an issue with gluten you need eliminate it or reduce it significantly.  If you are looking of ways to reduce though, here are some foods you can switch too:

• Buckwheat
• Amaranth
• Nut Flours
• Coconut Flour
• Quinoa

The way our society is, we are always looking for something evil that causes all of our problems.  I don't believe we have found anything yet though.  Just limit carbohydrates everyday and consume most of them around your workout and you should be fine.  Oh yeah, make sure you are working out most days a week with 2-3 of them being high intensity workouts.  Easy right?

You Stay Healthy San Diego,

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Premier Training

My Mission

Hey there.  I hope you are having a great day.  I know many people who find my blog may not have ever experienced a workout with me or one of my trainers at San Diego Premier Training.  This blog post will mainly be for you, but I encourage everyone who comes across this to read on.  I will give warning that this may be a long post but I will do my best not to ramble.

 We started our personal training business 5 years ago.  I have to admit I was incredibly nervous since this when was the economy was not in a good position.  I figured I would just make it work, so I took the plunge and opened the doors.  After about 2 years we realized our space was getting a bit tight so we decided to knock down our two office rooms to make more room for training.  Now a few years later we are bursting at the seams and have decided to expand into a new location.  We are still in the permit phase so as we get more finalized I will share photos and more info about the new location.  I am super excited though and can't wait for it all to happen.

Finding this space has been eye opening.  One thing I realized was there are more fitness facilities in my surrounding area than I even realized.  There are corporate gyms, martial arts studios, private studios, woman only clubs, and about a zillion crossfits.  Despite all the competition we still seem to rise above.  There is one simple question I had to ask myself that keeps me ahead of the curve.  Why would a client come to our studio over anyone else?

That is what this blog post is all about.  I want to share what the experience is like when working out with SDPT.  And that is exactly what I want it to be.  An experience, not just a workout.  It seems like every street you turn down there is a new gym opening up.  In fact I am even a member of one of the big corporate gyms.  It is right by my house and it has a pool which I don't have at my studio.  When I go to the gym I can't help but notice a few things.  The main thing is I don't want my facility to be anything like this place.

I never once get the feeling that anyone at the gym really cares about me.  Well I take that back.  The women who work in the daycare are great and love watching Davis so I can get a quick workout in.  But other than that there is no support, no encouragement, no experience.  You just go there workout and leave.  This is exactly what I don't want for my business.  I truly care about every single person that walks into the door.  Whether they are in for a private session or a group session.  Everyone is my most important client.  I honestly will do anything to help my clients be successful.  Now that Emily is on board we can help out even more.  In fact we recently have even started cooking for a few clients because that was an issue that was holding them back.  How many fitness facilities will go that extra mile for you?  This is what sets us apart from our competition.

This really is our mission.  I started this business to help people who are struggling and weren't able to do it on their own.  That is exactly what I am here to do and I love doing it.  We even made it our goal for 2013 to help our clients lose 2013lbs.  You don't even have to be a client.  We send out weekly email workouts and nutrition tips to help you hit your goals.  If you aren't on that list you should sign up here:  http://www.sandiegopremiertraining.com/fitness-programs/2013

My whole goal is to add value to your life in some way.  If you don't think I am adding any value than we need to figure out a way to fix that.  Now I know my program is not for everyone.  We service a very wide range of clients.  I have worked with kids as young at 7 years old and have trained clients into their 80's.  Most of our participants goal is fat loss and that is probably what we are best known for.  If this is your goal as well we just have to make sure you are right for our program so I wanted to use this post to explain what we do and who we can work with.

Now, I understand you might be frustrated that you have tried to lose weight before and may have not been able to keep it off.  Believe me you are not alone.  We have worked with literally hundreds of people in the same boat.  What we found is that when you get on the right program and stay consistant, things start to happen.  That is where we come in.  The one thing that I ask my clients is to be patient and trust me.  Now some clients will drop weight very fast.  Just look at some of our success stories during our 8 Week Challenge: http://www.sandiegopremiertraining.com/resources/testimonials.

Our program will show you exactly what you need to get that stubborn fat off for good.  The key is off for good.  We don't teach any trendy diet plans or quick fixes.  We show you exactly what to do and how you can continue doing it forever.  I'm sure you have heard it before.  You need a lifestyle change.  That is what we offer.  As I mentioned before, our program will add value to your life.  Not just in the short term, we will provide the support and education that will show you how to live healthy for the rest of your life.

So what is this new lifestyle?  Our program essentially involves 3 components.  If you follow these three things I promise you will see amazing progress.  We show you how to:

1. Eat foods that coincide with your lifestyle so you use that food for energy, to build lean muscle, and to help recover from workouts, instead of storing unwanted fat.
2. Perform metabolic resistance training workouts.  Starving yourself and doing cardio doesn't work.  Stop doing it.  
3. Perform metabolic boosting cardio programs.  These workout are scientifically proven to burn more fat than traditional cardio.  Plus they are much more fun.  

That is really what our program offers.  We pave the way and you just have to follow the path.  We will do anything necessary to help you along the way.  So you have a choice to make.  Continue down the path you are going or get assistance.  We have a number of different programs that can help you.  I already mentioned you can join our 2013lb Challenge for free.  We will keep you motivated and explain exactly what you need to do to hit your goal.  

If you need a more customized program but don't live in the North County San Diego area you can try our online training program.  Each month you are emailed your strength, cardio, and nutrition plan.  All workouts are video based so you can see how to do exercises properly.  Just email me at mike@sandiegopremiertraining.com to get started.  

Or you can come by the studio, which is the easiest option.  We will show you exactly what to do and push you to reach your goals as fast as possible.  We have two great introductory programs.  For group training you can try our 21 Day Fat Flush and drop a dress size for just $49.  Or you can get a customized training program with our Intro To Personal Training Program for only $99.  If you are ready to get started just click on the link below:

http://www.sandiegopremiertraining.com/free-workout

Thanks for reading.  Sorry to ramble a bit but I felt it was necessary to put up a post about what we do and why we do it.  I hope you enjoyed.

You Stay Healthy San Diego,

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS

San Diego Premier Training

My Best Nutrition Advice

If you have been struggling with weight loss or muscle gain you have most likely tried a few diet programs.  Maybe it worked and maybe it didn't.  What usually happens, especially when trying to lose weight, is you reduce your calories, lose some weight, can't maintain it, and gain the weight back plus some.  There are so many diet plans out there that it can be overwhelming which one you should follow.  Many of them are just gimmicky and probably won't lead to much success.  Any change in diet usually will lead to some initial success.  It is what happens after that initial weight loss that really reveals how good a diet plan is.

When you restrict calories for extended period of times a few things will happen.  First, yes there will be weight loss.  We have to say weight loss here because you are losing weight from a number of different places.  If you drop calories low enough, you will drop fat, lean muscle tissue, bone density, even organ tissue.  The body will start to wither away in order to save energy for survival.  Remember, your body doesn't know you are just dieting.  It thinks you are starving.

When you drop your calories below what you need (so you lose weight) for extended periods of time (multiple weeks will do it) your body will adjust by slowing down your metabolism.  So if you once had a resting metabolism of say 1800 and have been eating 1500 calories, you will now reduce your metabolism to match your new caloric intake.  You will stick with this program for a while, lose weight, and then you will most likely either hit a plateau or just get sick of it and quit.  Now you have a slower metabolism and eating how you ate before your diet.  This leads to not only gaining the weight back but most likely putting on a few more pounds.

So does this mean you are completely screwed since most diet programs just won't work in the long term?  Of course not.  You just have to be smart with your nutritional habits.  So without further a-do here is the best nutrition advice I can give.  Think of food as fuel and eat according to the amount of fuel you need each day.

Don't worry I will explain more.  Most people will just try and stick to a calorie goal for weight loss.  For example, like we said before, if you burn around 1800 calories per day and eat 1500 a day we run into the problem previously mentioned.  But what we need to consider is we don't burn the same amount of calories each day so we shouldn't be eating the same amount of calories each day.  

So we have a whole new type of nutrient timing here.  You just need to alter you calories and your macronutrient breakdown (carbs, fats, proteins) depending on how active your day is.  Without confusing you too much here is how you can apply this.  Carbs are a best source of energy.  The problem is most people over eat carbs.  So if we use carbs mainly for fuel then we want to consume more carbs on days we workout hard.  On days you don't workout or low intensity workouts you consume less carbs or no carbs.  Fats and proteins will pretty much stay consistent.

So to recap here is how you want to set up your diet plan:

Strength training days consume 2 servings of carbs throughout the day.
Cardio training days consume 1 serving of carbs throughout the day.
Rest days consume no carbs.

That is it.  Pretty simple right?  No give it a try and see how it works for you.

You Stay Healthy San Diego,

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS

San Diego Premier Training
My Workout Creator

Skipping Meals And Weight Gain

You have most likely heard the importance of breakfast.  Despite this many people will skip meals either in hopes of losing more weight or just because they aren't hungry or in a rush.  I know that there are many that follow intermittent fasting methods, where they go extended periods of time without eating.  There is evidence that those practices can work, but that is part of a planned nutrition program.

When I am referring to skipping meals it is not due to fasting, but due to other things that come up.  I found a few different studies that will hopefully help you make sure you stop skipping meals.  It is not just important what you are eating, but when you are eating it.

Check out this brand new study.  This was published in the International Journal of Obesity.  Researchers followed over 400 participants and divided them into two groups.  The first group was late eaters (consumed their largest meal after 3pm) and the second group was early eaters (consumed largest meal before 3pm.  They were put on a weight loss program and followed for 20 weeks.  At the end of the study they found that the late eater group lost weight slower and lost less weight.  They also found that the late eaters had lower insulin sensitivity which is a risk factor of diabetes.

After reading this study I decided to do a quick search in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition archives to see if there were similar studies done.  Here are a few that I found:

The first study looked at skipping breakfast vs eating breakfast and the different effects it has.  They found that those who skipped breakfast ending up eating more calories throughout the day, increased total LDL levels, and impaired insulin sensitivity.

The next study followed 30,000 men in a cohort study starting in 1992.  There were 2000 cases of type 3 diabetes that were discovered through a follow up.  They found that men who skipped breakfast had a 21% increased chance of developing type 2 diabetes.  Also, there was a higher risk of diabetes with those who ate 1-2 times per day compared to 3 times per day.

So white some people might be able to get away with skipping meals as part as a planned fast, most people should include breakfast in their routine everyday.  It is also important to consume most of your calories earlier in the day.  Think of the day as a pyramid.  Breakfast will be the largest meal, lunch a bit smaller, and finally dinner will be the smallest meal of the day.

You Stay Healthy San Diego,

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Premier Training
My Workout Creator