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I’ve received numerous emails about my recent post on the Sorry State of Personal Training. In your messages, many of you have expressed dismay about previous experiences and asked how to go about choosing a qualified fitness professional.

To address this topic properly, I’ve written an article called How to Choose A Personal Trainer: Five Essential Questions You Need to Ask. If you follow the strategies outlined in the article, you’ll dramatically increase your probability of finding a competent trainer who is right for you. Given the sorry state of personal training, your odds otherwise aren’t very good…

Stay Fit!

Brad

Wanted to let everyone know that I’ve added an interactive message board to my site. It’s intended as a community forum where fitness enthusiasts can visit to exchange ideas, ask questions and interact with others who enjoy fitness. Any topic relating to exercise, supplementation and nutrition is fair welcome. Hopefully you’ll stop by often! Here is the link:

Interactive Fitness Forum

Stay Fit!

Brad

Non-stick cooking sprays can be a beneficial cooking aid. They can help to evenly coat a frying pan with healthy oils, ensuring you don’t overdo it from a caloric standpoint. In theory, this makes for a healthful food source.

What many fail to realize is that oils have “smoke points.” If you exceed the smoke point of an oil, it will become rancid, breaking down the double bond structure of the oil and potentially turning it into a carcinogen. To address this fact, PAM has come out with a cooking spray called PAM Professional High Heat (apparently originally designed for professional chefs). PAM Professional High Heat is formulated so that you can cook at high temperatures without the oil smoking, and avoid the associated blackened pans and residue build up. Sounds good, right? Not so fast…

Take a look at the ingredients. The first ingredient listed: Vegetable Oil (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil*, Canola Oil*). Any time you see the word “partially hydrogenated” it means that the oil is a trans fat. Sure, trans fats are resistant to high heat–but they are also one of the biggest nutritional detriments to your health and well and being.

An examination of the listed ingredients on the label claims only a negligible level of trans fats (0.1 g). Upon closer inspection, however, this is deceiving. Values are based on a .4 second spray. That’s 4/10 of a second! Who coats a frying pan with a spray lasting less than half a second? No one I know. A two second spray would be more realistic, in which case you’re already up to half a gram of trans fats. It certainly wouldn’t be unusual to spray for five seconds or more to fully coat a pan. If so, you’re well over a gram of artery-clogging, cancer-causing trans fats. Don’t be fooled, they add up quickly.

Bottom line: stay away from any product that contains “partially hydrogenated” in the ingredients. They are one of the biggest–if not the biggest–food-based impediments to your health.

Stay Fit!

Brad

Wanted to let everyone know that I will be conducting two advanced training seminars on Monday, July 6, 2009 in NYC. The lectures are geared towards fitness professionals (CECs are accredited for NASM and should translate for other organizations), but anyone with a good knowledge of exercise science can benefit. The courses are as follows:

Maternal Fitness: Safe and Effective Strategies for Training the Pregnant and Postpartum Client: Exercise is one of the most beneficial things a pregnant woman can do for her body – provided proper guidelines are followed. This workshop teaches you how to address the biomechanical and physiological changes that occur in the pre and postnatal period, and develop sound training programs tailored to the unique needs of the maternal client. Programming for strength training, cardiovascular exercise and flexibility training is covered in detail, with insight provided on how to modify exercise based on the individual needs of the client. Contraindications to exercise are addressed with respect to each trimester.

Program Design for Hypertrophy: Muscle development is of primary interest to those who lift weights. This workshop will elucidate the science behind optimizing muscular hypertrophy. It will detail the effects of manipulating intensity, sets, repetitions, and rest intervals on growth, as well as exploring the roles of factors such as exercise modality, training to failure, speed of movement, and recovery. The significance of acute hormonal fluctuations and lactate production as to their effects on increasing protein synthesis will be addressed. Sample routines are offered in the context of a periodized approach to help the practitioner with perfecting program design.

The courses are being offered through Innovative Wellness and Education. To register or learn more about the courses, click on the following link: Innovative Wellness and Education. These are researched-based workshops that really get into the science of exercise. I guarantee you’ll learn a lot!

Stay Fit!

Brad

I’ve posted several exercise demonstration videos on Youtube. These videos are from the DVD included in my book, Sculpting Her Body Perfect.

You can view the videos at the following link: Exercise Video Demonstrations. Feel free to rate the videos if you like them! Exercises include the correct performance of the sissy squat, walking lunge, seated row, and incline press. I’ll be adding more in the future. Enjoy

Stay Fit!

Brad

Recently, one of my students presented me with a copy of a book called, “The Flat Belly Diet.” A catchy title, no doubt. After all, who wouldn’t be enticed by a diet that claims to selectively target the fat around your midsection and flatten your stomach by simply eating certain foods?

The concept of the “Flat Belly Diet” is fairly simple. Basically, it professes that in order to lose your gut you need to eat a diet rich in monounsaturated fats (MUFAs)–a type of fat found in olive oil, avocados, and certain nuts. The impetus for this theory was derived from a study in the journal Diabetes Care, which showed that a MUFA-rich diet tended to reduce abdominal fat stores to a greater degree than those who ate a high-carb diet. While on the surface this might seem like a ground-breaking discovery, several things need to be kept in mind. First off, the sample size of the study consisted of only 11 subjects–a very small number for a study of this scope. What’s more, the subjects were all Type II diabetics. It’s purely speculative as to whether similar results would be realized in those who aren’t diabetic (and logic would lead me to believe that many wouldn’t). There also was no mention as to the types of carbs consumed by the subjects. There is a BIG difference between eating a bowl of oatmeal vs. a bowl of Frosted Flakes, despite the fact that both are largely carbohydrate based. Yet this wasn’t addressed anywhere in the study.

Now I have no qualms with recommending a diet that is rich in MUFA’s. They’ve been shown to be heart healthy and have beneficial metabolic effects. Specifically, when compared to saturated fats, consumption of MUFAs have been shown to result in less fat accumulation, even when caloric intake is similar. But MUFAs aren’t the only type of fat that confers such benefits. Omega 3 fats–a polyunsaturated fatty acid–show similar metabolic efficiencies as well as having a positive impact on numerous aspects of health and wellness. Given that omega-3s are “essential” fats (meaning the body can’t produce them naturally and that an absence causes disease), they are unquestionably a more important dietary nutrient than MUFAs. Yet there is little mention of omega-3s in the “Flat Belly Diet”.

Perhaps the biggest failing of the book is that it doesn’t focus on the most important nutrient for fat loss: protein. Protein confers numerous metabolic advantages for those seeking to optimize body composition. First, it increases satiety. Studies have clearly shown that when you eat higher amounts of protein, your appetite decreases, causing you to eat less food. Reduce calories and you lose weight, pure and simple. More importantly, a higher protein intake helps to preserve lean muscle while dieting. It has been well documented that if protein intake isn’t maintained when calories are restricted, people lose considerable muscle mass. The significance here is that muscle is metabolically active tissue. Lose muscle and your metabolism slows to an eventual crawl. You end up hitting a weigh loss plateau and ultimately you gain back what you lost and more.

Bottom line: There is nothing magical about the “Flat Belly Diet.” Don’t expect to go on this diet (or any diet, for that matter), and expect to selectively slim down your waistline. Proper nutrition during dieting requires sufficient protein to attenuate muscle loss (generally around 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight). And while monounsaturated fats are certainly beneficial, it’s more important to focus on increasing the amount of omega-3 fats in your diet. In addition to being highly bio-active, they have proven to confer numerous health and wellness benefits in ways that no other dietary fat can.

As always, be an educated consumer don’t fall for the hype.

Stay Fit!

Brad

A freshly brewed cup of black coffee is one of my favorite beverages. It contains zero calories and is rich in free-radical fighting antioxidants. (Fact: American’s get more antioxidants from coffee than any other food!) Moreover, the caffeine in coffee can help to elevate metabolic rate, thereby expediting fat loss. Contrary to popular belief, modest amounts of caffeine have not been shown to be detrimental in any way to otherwise healthy individuals.

Unfortunately, people often load up their coffee with extra additives that turn an otherwise beneficial drink into an unhealthy fat-fest. Which brings us to this weeks bad food of the week: Starbucks’ Mint Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino blended creme with Chocolate Whipped Cream. A 16 oz serving contains a whopping 530 calories! This includes 19 grams of fat (11 of them saturated) and 68 grams of sugar. This is roughly comparable to downing two scoops of Ben & Jerry’s Mint Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream! Indulge at your own risk…

Stay Fit!

Brad

Just wanted to let everyone know that I posted a bunch of new reviews for supplements, equipment and books on my site. You can find them at the link below:

Fitness Product Reviews

Stay Fit!

Brad

Oatmeal has been touted as a “superfood,” capable of reducing cholesterol, nourishing healthy bacteria in your gut, and providing a steady stream of slow-released carbs to fuel your energy needs. No quibble from me here. It’s a staple in my diet: I eat a hearty bowl just about every morning.

But all oatmeal is not alike. Some brands–especially the instant variety–are low in the fiber that is largely responsible for oatmeal’s heart-healthy effects. To ensure you get the most from your oatmeal, look for a brand that supplies at least four grams of fiber per serving. Moreover, make sure the fiber is naturally recurring. A trick often used in instant varieties is to add isolated types of fiber such as inulin or maltodextrin. It’s questionable, however, whether these fibers have the same benefits as those that exist naturally. Best to stick with nature here.

Moreover, watch out for flavored oatmeal. Sure, that bowl of Quaker Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal sounds a lot more appetizing the plain old steel-cut variety, but you’ll be adding about four teaspoons of unhealthy sugar to your breakfast. If you want to sweeten your oatmeal, cut up some fresh or dried fruit and you’ll up your fiber and vitamin intake without spiking your insulin levels. Crushed nuts (such as walnuts or almonds) also help to add flavor to an otherwise ordinary bowl of oatmeal while supplying healthy fats and extra protein to your morning meal.

Stay Fit!

Brad

A new client came to see me this morning. As part of the standard fitness assessment I perform at my facility, the Personal Training Center for Women, I asked her if she had any aversions to exercise. Her response: “Actually, yes. My last trainer put me through a workout that ended up causing a tear in my meniscus. The pain was so bad I had to have surgery.” That incident happened over a year ago. Until now, the woman had been afraid to exercise again.

If this was an isolated case, I could brush it off as an anomaly. After all, there are bad apples in every profession. But the sad fact is, I hear these types of stories over and over again. And what upsets me most is that it casts a bad light on the industry as a whole.

Unfortunately, the field of personal training is largely unregulated. Anyone can hang a shingle on their door and call themselves a “fitness professional.” You don’t need any education or certification. Heck, you don’t even need to have ever lifted a weight in your life! Think about it: Hair dressers and manicurists need to be licensed but personal trainers don’t. Who do you surmise can cause greater harm to their clients?

So how does one go about selecting a competent trainer. Until legislation is enacted that sets proper standards for those in the field, here are some things to consider:

1) What are the trainer’s academic credentials? Does he/she have at least some schooling in exercise science? A college degree in an exercise-related major is good. A master’s degree is even better. There also are vocational schools specifically devoted to the science and art of personal training. I’m on the faculty of the American Academy of Personal Training American Academy of Personal Training where I teach aspiring trainers how to hone their craft. Students get extensive schooling in exercise physiology and applied anatomy, as well as learning basic nutritional science. They receive both lecture-based instruction as well as hands-on experience. By the time they graduate, they’re well-prepared to create and carry out fitness programs in a one-on-one setting.

2) Is the trainer certified? If so, by what organization? There is literally an alphabet soup of organizations that certify personal trainers. Most of them, however, aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. A colleague of mine actually got his 9 year old son certified by one of the fly-by-nighters simply by paying the necessary fee. I’m sure I could find an organization that would certify my pet bulldog! Only a few select certifying bodies are nationally accredited. For me, the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is at the top of the list. Their trainers tend to be the most knowledgeable based on my experience. Other well-respected certifications include the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Council on Exercise (ACE).

3) What experience does the trainer have? While knowledge is extremely important, the application of knowledge takes time to get right. A trainer should have a minimum of a year or two experience “in the trenches”. Any less and they’re still learning on the job. Don’t hesitate to ask for references if you have any doubts.

Want to spot a bad trainer? Here are a few giveaways:

1) The trainer doesn’t do an extensive fitness assessment. You can’t train someone properly if you don’t know anything about them. A good trainer will always perform an assessment that provides insight into things like medical history, needs and goals, body fat analysis, and strength testing. I never start training a client without spending a good hour or so going through all these things and more.

2) The trainer doesn’t chart your workout. This one is a real pet peeve of mine. It’s amazing how many trainers don’t take this basic step to heart. Any trainer worth his salt will be training multiple clients a day. How can he possibly remember what exercises you did in the previous session, not to mention your workout a week or two ago? Answer: he can’t. The only way to properly structure a workout is by noting everything the client does in every session. This means the trainer should carry a clip board and pen with your training chart throughout your workout.

3) The trainer takes you through the same workout every session. I can’t tell you how many times I hear this from people. Either their trainers are lazy, don’t care, and/or don’t know any better. Regardless, it’s a surefire prescription to poor results. Variety is the spice of fitness. Not only does changing a workout help to ensure continued progress, but it also helps to prevent exercise boredom. Routines should be varied on a regular basis. If not, the trainer isn’t earning his fee.

If you need any further advice on this topic, post a comment or shoot me an email. I’m always happy to respond.

Stay Fit!

Brad