Secrets to Firing Up Your Metabolism

Aside from personal training, firing up your metabolism can help with weight loss and body fat loss. It’s visceral fat without ever feeling deprived. Turn your body into a fat-burning machine with these healthy tips:

1. Don’t Diet
This weight loss trick is not about eating less, but about eating more nutrition-dense food to keep you full all day. Keeping yourself full is important because restricting food will kill your metabolism. With empty calories, you’ll feel more hungry and your body will respond to this by slowing down your metabolic rate to hold on to existing energy storage.

2. Go Earlier Zzzz’s
According to research in Finland which studied  sets of identical twins,  the twin who slept less and was under more stress had more visceral fat.

3. Eat More Protein

The body needs protein to maintain lean muscle. According to researchers in a 2006 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, "The Underappreciated Role of Muscle in Health and Disease," the present recommended daily allowance of protein, 0.36 grams per pound of body weight, was established using obsolete data and is woefully inadequate for an individual doing resistance training. Researchers now recommend an amount between 0.8 and 1 gram per pound of body weight. Add a serving, like 3 ounces of lean meat, 2 tablespoons of nuts, or 8 ounces of low-fat yogurt, to every meal and snack. Research showed that protein can up post-meal calorie burn by as much as 35 percent.

4. Drink Cold Water
German researchers found that drinking 6 cups of cold water a day can raise resting metabolism by about 50 calories daily. That’s enough to shed 5 pounds in a year. The increase may come from the work  the body makes to heat the water to body temperature.

5. Eat the Heat
Capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their mouth-searing quality, can also fire up your metabolism. Eating about 1 tablespoon of chopped red or green chilies boosts your body's production of heat and the activity of your sympathetic nervous system, according to a study published in the Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology. The result of this is a temporary metabolism spike of about 23 percent. 

Avoiding The Christmas Bulge

Christmas may be the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s not the friendliest time of the year for your body. With all the tempting holiday feasts here and there, one cannot avoid putting on some weight back after a year of intense personal training for muscle gain and body fat loss with your personal trainer. To prevent unwanted weight gain over the holiday, here are some preventive measures that you can try:

Time Workouts Properly
If you know that you’re in for a heavy meal, particularly carbo-loading, set up a really hard workout session prior to that meal. Unlike your usual workout, try and work through the higher rep range with your lifts, so you will deplete more of your muscle glycogen stores. Then when you eat a carb-rich, high calorie meal, the carbs will actually work to your benefit. They will replenish your muscle glycogen levels and help you get better results from your workout. If you do this, you can actually work towards building more muscle tissue with your holiday meal.

Eat Protein Beforehand
If you know you'll be eating heavy, have a small protein snack beforehand. Some good options include a can of tuna, some scrambled egg whites and veggies, a small chicken breast, or half a cup of cottage cheese.
Protein is the macronutrient that tends to be most satisfying, blunting hunger signals. It will work to your benefit when trying to keep the amount you eat at the party under control.

Bring Your Own Dish
If you're going to a meal that's hosted by close friends or family, offer to prepare your own dish to bring to the event. Not only will this get you in their good books as you're helping them out, but it will also help put your mind at ease knowing there is at least one healthy thing you can fill your plate up with.

Watch The Drinks
It’s not only the food that can make you gain weight during the holidays, the drinks can really add up quickly. Egg Nog, the most popular traditional Christmas beverage, rakes in at 343 calories per 8 fluid ounces with 19 grams of fat and 34.4 grams of sugar. Many of the fancier cocktails can easily pack 200 or more calories per glass.

Damage Control The Day After
Do damage control immediately after things get out of line. If you overeat one day, immediately take corrective action. Do a bit more cardio the next day and cut back on your carbohydrate or fat intake the next day. Don't cut back on protein intake the next day however, as that is what is going to promote lean tissue maintenance, which virtually forms the base of your metabolic rate and helps keep the fat off the rest of the year. If you eat 500 calories over your maintenance intake one day and eat 500 calories under your maintenance intake, things will balance out over time and no weight gain will be seen.

This Christmas season don't get overly frantic about going slightly off your usual diet plan, just watch how much you eat and plan workout sessions to keep the weight off.

8 Muscle Gain Foods For Vegans

 Contrary to popular belief, vegetarians who obviously don’t eat meat, thus not getting a large amount of protein, can still be successful when it comes to personal training for muscle gain. With a muscle-building workout planned for you by your personal trainer, back it up with these 8 muscle gain foods:

1. Avocados
 
Avocados are full of antioxidants and heart healthy fats, including saturated fats that help support the production of testosterone, the hormone you need to produce muscle. 

2. Almonds

Try always bring almonds when you leave the house. They taste great, and are high in fiber, protein, and minerals, making them the perfect snack for satisfying late-morning hunger.

3. Broccoli

Brocolli is nearly 40% protein and high in fiber and low in calories making it a great source of nutrition out of food that’s easy on the waistline. 

4. Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is now readily available in a low-calorie, high nutrient product that tastes great in coffee, on cereal, or by the glass. Coconut milk is higher in calcium and lower in calories than traditional milk and generally fortified with plant-based B-12.

coconut milk

9 Foods to Avoid After 9 PM

Munching on your food cravings before hitting the sack may be hard to resist, especially knowing that your personal trainer won’t find out. The good news is that it’s okay to have a late night snack before bed, just as long as you choose foods that will promote muscle gain and body fat loss. If you’re under a personal training program with a strict diet, that doesn’t mean that you have to torture yourself and starve your way until breakfast. Regardless of whether you’re dietary goal is muscle gain or weight loss, there are certain foods that should always be avoided after 9 p.m. Remember that you’re about to embark on an eight-hour fast otherwise known as sleep. That’s why if you do make a big dietary blunder, your body has no chance to compensate by burning additional calories. Repeating these mistakes habitually will ruin your fitness plan and jeopardize your health.

1. Milk

Though considered to be a relatively healthy source of protein and calcium, the problem with downing a glass of milk before bed is the lactose content that’s found in it will often keep you up due to digestive issues. Lactose is a sugar and you don’t want large amounts hitting your system before going to bed. As a replacement for milk, mix up a lactose-free protein shake. It will still have the creamy taste that you’re craving for while being even higher in protein content than milk, so you can build muscle while sleeping soundly.

2. Pasta

If you're in mass-gaining mode, consuming some carbohydrates before sleeping can help out. But there are much better choices than insulin-spiking pasta before bed. Those calories will be highly prone to settle around your waist. Pasta is one of the more calorie-dense carbohydrate sources around, you can easily consume 400 calories or more in a single pre-bed sitting. Pasta does less damage earlier in the day, before or after working out, when your body actually requires a much higher overall carbohydrate intake. That's when your body is actually primed to use those carbohydrates to fuel your activity and replenish the high energy storage in the muscle cells. If you're craving pasta before bed, eat spaghetti squash instead. It'll give the same taste and texture as pasta with just a fraction of the carbs.

Personal Training Workout During Cold Weather

Personal training in winter may seem like the least of your priorities, especially with the extreme cold weather. But before you set aside weight loss workout programs with your personal trainer in this lazy season, you should know that you can actually burn more calories in the winter, giving way to achieving your body fat loss and muscle gain goals. Compared to working out in summer where the heat and humidity can drag you down and tire you faster, the cold weather is invigorating. It stimulates your senses and makes you feel alive. The body has to work harder in colder weather, you endorphin production is boosted, which leads to a happier state of mind. Here are some tips when working out during cold weather:

Warm Up
Before working out, walk around or jog in place indoors for five minutes. When you head out, take 3-second breaks every few minutes for the first 10 minutes to give your body time to adjust.

Map Your Route
When planning a winter route, stable and safe footing should be your priority. For early-morning or evening workouts, scout out plowed and well lit streets and sidewalks to help you spot black ice. Look for a loop in your neighborhood that you can repeat as many times as you want. That way, if you become tired, slip on ice, or get wet, you will still be close to home and can quickly escape the elements.

Take Cover
Avoid open roads and paths near water. Tree-lined trails and city blocks with tall buildings can help protect you from biting winds and snow flurries.

Cool Down
Slow your pace for three to four minutes, then go inside to stretch to avoid getting too chilled during your cooldown. Take off extra layers and keep moving for another five to 10 minutes before showering.

Body Building Like an MMA Champ

Want to get a knockout fighter physique like your favorite MMA stars? Before you jump into a body fat loss and muscle gain program with the goal of building the upper body of an MMA champ, you need to know that those fighters that you look up to undergo an intense personal training. Competing for the MMA requires power, speed, strength, flexibility, endurance, mental toughness and a serious set of compound exercises. MMA fighters work every aspect of their fitness through functional movements and compound lifts. With the guidance of your personal trainer, get intense action workout with these MMA-tested routines:

Target Muscles: Chest, back, shoulders, arms, and abs
Workout Level: Beginner-Intermediate
Frequency: 45 minutes. Up to three times per week with at least a day of rest in between.

Complete each round as “straight sets”, finishing all three sets of each exercise before moving on. Rest as needed in-between each round and record how long it took to complete the workout.

Round One
1. Barbell Push Press 3 x 6
2. Alternating Medicine Ball Push-up 3 x 10 (each side)
3. MB Russian Twist 3 x 15 (each side)
Rest for up to two minutes

Round Two

1. Weighted Chin-ups 3 x 8
2. Dumbbell T-Push-up 3 x 5 (each side)
3. Medicine Ball Slam 3 x 15
Rest for up to two minutes

Round Three

1. Alternating Dumbbell Bench Press 3 x 10 (each side)
2. Towel Barbell Curl 3 x 10
3. Medicine Ball Woodchop 3 x 8 (each side)

Finding the Perfect Balance Between Cardio and Weight Training

Muscle gain and cardiovascular training normally don’t go well together. Both types of training have their fair share of benefits, but when combined in one workout plan, your body will get confused with the training of two different physiological energy systems: the aerobic and the anaerobic. Aerobic training strengthens your cardiovascular system (heart and lungs), which is great for weight loss and improving your general fitness levels. However, it’s not so great when it comes to muscle gain. Too much cardio training can actually break down your muscles and replace bulky fast twitch muscle with the leaner slow twitch kind. Meanwhile, anaerobic weight training helps in muscle gain but don’t have the body fat loss benefit of cardio.

If you don’t have a personal trainer yet to help you out in your personal training program, follow these tips to find that perfect balance between cardio and weight training:

1. Too much training is more bad than good

Unless you’re overweight, don’t do any more than 20 minutes of cardio work in one session after your first three months. You may start to compromise your muscle gains if you train for more than this. If body fat loss is what you aim for, then  do three cardio workouts a week for the first three months, instead of the usual two per week. The additional workout should be a steady placed effort that is not more than 45 minutes after your weights workout.