My Ah-Ha Moments

Ever had a time in your life where something might have happened to you and you said...Ah-Ha! That's what that means or that's what I should have done. In the fitness industry that type of stuff is happening all the time. Things are constantly evolving. Here are some of my Ah-Ha Moments that have happened to me over the past few years which have helped become better coach/trainer..no particular order.


Steady State Aerobics for Fat Loss- I will continue to talk about this until people get it through their heads. This is hands down the least effective thing someone could do if they are looking to lose some weight. Your running, elliptical rides, bike rides, your walking are activities. There is not enough demand from the muscular system with these leisure activities to possibly change the way you look...let alone burn subcutaneous fat. If you're still not losing weight or changing the way you look, it's probably because you're still doing your "cardio." 

Hypertrophy is a Systematic Response Not a Localized One- This one is for all the guys that do split body part routines trying to gain some size.

Hypothetical scenario. Two friends are training for 26 weeks. They are both eating the same diet, training the same days, they do the same 4 compound upper body exercises. The only difference is that one friend adds in biceps curls and triceps extensions to the program.  After the 26 weeks both had noticed significant results in size of their arms. But guess what? There is no difference in the arm size of the guy who added in the extra arm work. The bottom line is that muscle growth is a systemic response. If you do forearm curls of course it might grow a little bit. But if you did deadlifts...everything would grow. Train the entire system. Not just one area. Just trying to save you guys some time instead of doing all those ridiculous arm workouts that you read in Muscle and Fiction magazine.

Running Will Not Make You A Better Runner. My last blog was specifically on this topic and people think I am crazy. Yes if you are a runner you will need to keep running, but I have come to the conclusion that if you  eliminate the running from your programming for a period of time and focus on training your muscular system, your cardiovascular system has no choice but to improve. It's just an ass backwards concept that people always try to do. They want to improve their cardiovascular system by doing "cardio' ( I hate that word... still have never gotten a good definition of what it is) but what actually happens is that the muscular system is what makes the cardiovascular system work. If your muscular system is not prepared to handle those thousands and thousands of repetitions your body  will not be able to handle that stress. The only way for your cardiovascular system works is if your muscular system is working. Strength training is the only way to prepare your body for those demands. And we were taught in school that cardio training is the way to improve cardio training....my ass!

Lack of Power Training- I think one of the biggest mistakes trainers and trainees make is lack of power training. People are always training to be a safe and sound...screw that! I am a firm believer that you want to prevent aging, accelerate fat loss...you need to train with power! Training with power requires tons of nervous system activation. It requires engagement. It requires athleticism. Why I have found it to be so effective is because of the nervous system activation it requires. The more you stimulate the nervous system, the more your body will change, grow, burn fat, get faster..I mean the list goes on. This probably explains why everyone using the weight machines is still fat and is not getting stronger.

The Barefoot Running Shoe- I was a skeptic on this at first. Didn't really know what to think or believe. Until I read something written by Alwyn Cosgrove. He simply put it like this...If someone were to run barefoot and they were to over stride...what is would be the feedback to your brain? Well...Pain if you couldn't guess it. What happens then is our brain will automatically correct that running pattern. You cannot do it wrong...if you do, you will feel it. What the sole padded shoe does is block the connection to the brain. The padding will absorb the pressure making you not feel any sort of pain or incorrect pattern. Which will allow your body take more volume that it should leaving you to run will horrible form and will inevitably lead to injuries. Not very safe. I'm not a huge fan of this as many or you know, but if you do continue to do it, you might want to make sure you're doing it safely. Or just stop running all together..ha. I personally will never go back to anything else when it comes to a training shoe. My lifts, squats, and lunges are pretty sound because I feel myself when I am out of place.

Calories in vs. Calories Out-I am NOT a nutrition expert, but the whole calories in vs calories out just does not add up to me. I was first taught how to get someone to lose 1lb of body fat by totaling up how many calories someone is taking in on average each day. Ex...2500 calories is the average caloric intake. For this person to lose 1lb of fat they would need to subtract 500 calories a day from their diet for 7 days. 500 calories x 7 days = 3500 calorie deficit, which is what makes up one pound of body fat. This will make someone lose a 1 lb of fat a week. Which is true to a certain extent, but to me it doesn't add up. If you look at cancer patients. They might be going through chemo and all sorts of other tests. I can pretty much guarantee that they do not have an appetite after going through a chemo session. Which is means they are having a caloric deficit. But they're still getting fat and not losing weight???? Right there that tells you that it doesn't add up. What were finding out is that everything is about hormones. If you consume unnatural foods, that will affect your chemical make up and how your body processes food. So, people that eat the ZERO calorie foods...this is one example of what your body might do. Leptin- is a very powerful hormone that plays the role in your metabolism and appetite. It is what signals your brain to burn fat. The main things that can cause interruption of this hormone is low calorie diets and low calorie foods, artificial sweeteners, and processed carbohydrates/foods. These types of foods and diets are what cause leptin resistance. Triggering your brain to not burn fat and also eat more. To me it just doesn't add up this whole notion of eating low calorie foods or cutting calories from your diet. So people...do not say a Calorie is a Calorie. 100 Calories of Cheetos is the same as 100 Calories of broccoli?????? Get Real! There is no way our obesity epidemic would be taking place if people were overeating with 6,000 calories a day of broccoli..If you want to lose weight....EAT! Eat more frequently...Eat whole foods. Lean Proteins. Non processed Carbs, Fruits. Vegetables. Increase your metabolic rate by doing a full body resistance training program 3-4 times a week. But do not cut out quality calories!

These are just a few of my Ah-Ha Moments that I have been thinking about the past few days. I am going to guess that I will to have a few more coming up real soon! Anyway, hope everyone has a good rest of the week and weekend! I will be moving to Madison this weekend...Solid! I am still not a Badger Fan.

JP