It’s kind of ironic that in the same week that I chose to talk about THE most important factor of any fat loss program I also had a rather lengthy conversation with my female clients about the same topic.
Here’s the problem.
When a woman wants to lose weight or “tone up”, the majority automatically think about exercise. However, you can perform all the resistance training you want and grind out session after session of interval training (if not you should be) …BUT…if you aren’t paying attention to what you are putting into your mouth then YOU are wasting your time!
“You Can’t Out Exercise A Bad Diet”.
I’ll repeat that again just in case you missed it.
There is simply no getting around the FACT that no matter what…
“You Simply Can’t Out Exercise A Bad Diet”.
Let me put that into perspective for you.
If you decided to go to McDonalds on the weekend and order a Big Mac, that would equal 478 calories. If you upgraded to a large Big Mac meal that amounts to 1160 calories, ouch and that’s just one meal! Keep in mind that the average female weighing about 80kgs would need roughly about 1800 calories.
In order to burn off that meal you head off the gym and jump on the treadmill and set the speed to 5km/hr. Unfortunately, that would only burn about 280 calories. If you increased the speed to 8km/hr and started running you would still only burn about 500 calories. All that work and all you did was burn off the Big Mac!
Now ask yourself do you still want fries with that?
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect you to be perfect all the time!
As hard as it might be to believe (not naming any one…VANESSA) but I love food!
Some of my favourite dishes include mum’s lentil curry and apple pie, my wife’s waffle pudding, lasagna and risottos I could go on and on and on.
…Oh and I cant forget my grandmother’s prawn curry …and my nonna’s polenta and my mother in laws tempting creative dishes which she never has a recipe for! So much for keeping this short! Anyone else feeling hungry all of a sudden?
As much as I love eating all these foods, I know that if I am looking to reduce my body fat or reach any new fitness goals I need to make a sacrifice. I also know that the bigger the sacrifice, the greater the reward.
In fact, when I am at my leanest and most defined I follow a special meal plan I designed which controls what I eat, how much I eat and when I eat. What stands out even more in my mind is that looking back I realised that I actually exercised less during these four week periods than I normally do (I was really busy designing a brand new exercise and nutritional program). I only exercised consistently about twice a week!
So, even though the amount of exercise I did actually decreased, I was able to get into the best shape of my life because I followed my meal plan religiously.
Yes, it is hard work, very hard. But, you have to work for the body you want.
If it was easy, all women would have a toned body with a flat stomach and look like this.
Gina Carano - Not only is she strong, she is in awesome shape.
The next time you go out for dinner/have a drink with the girls/go to the movies or a party with friends, think about the foods you are about to consume, are they going to bring you closer to your goals or take you even further away from the body you want? The choice is all yours.
I can’t believe it has taken me this long to finally get this video up onto my blog.
Unfortunately, the video had sound issues that needed to be cleaned up and on top of that I couldn’t access my blog for a few weeks. Who would have thought that filming my weekend workout would cause so many headaches!
But, nonetheless it is finally here.
The video below details the exact workout I completed on my weekend in Rosebud. It is perfect for those times when you either don’t have access to a gym or equipment or you simply don’t have the time to complete your regular routine. The best part is that “no time” is no longer a valid excuse. It only took me about 20 minutes to finish this workout and that included a warm up and warm down!
So have a look and try it out for yourself .
Remember, it’s the quality that counts not the quantity.
Craig Wyllie.
P.S. The exercises shown in the workout are not set in stone. Please feel free to substitute exercises as you please. For example one of the exercises I used was a variation of a push up (it’s called a spider man push, which is an appropriate name don’t you think) ; you might want to use a standard push up or a push up on your kness instead.
P.P.S. I would love to hear what you thought of the workout. So give it a go and let me know how you went!
Inevitably in life there comes a time when even the best laid plans are derailed. When an event or an unforseeable circumstance causes you to stray from your goals.
How many times has this happened to you?
You have been following your diet religously for two weeks and everything is going well…but then it happens.
Either out of the blue an event or planned birthday /dinner / or night out occurs…basically an occassion which will no doubt have all the foods and drinks you have successfully avoided in one place. Alcohol, chocolate, cakes, chips if it’s bad for you it’s there!
And in a flash your dream of fitting into your jeans tucked away in the back of the cupboard is gone.
As luck would have it, I am facing such an event this weekend. Earlier this week, my Uncle Tony arrived in the country from South Africa. Seeing him again I was reminded of just how much alike my dad and my uncle are.
Anyway, the family had decided that a family get away was a great idea and we are ALL (there will be 15 people) going to Rosebud for the next four days.
So far it probably doesn’t sound too bad. What you don’t know is that my family is a BIG scotch drinking family. As such a few sore heads is very likely. On top of that, I am sure these drinks will also be accompanied by a few very tempting dishes.
Given all this, how does a health and fitness conscious personal trainer like me deal with the situation?
The answer is planning.
I knew that this weekend was coming up so I made sure that during the week I was as close to perfect as possible in terms of what I ate.
Looking at the weekend, there is no reason to write off the entire weekend as a lost cause. After all nothing is stopping you from having a good breakfast, snack and lunch. The only issues will occur at night. The plan is simple, if I stick to the program during the day then a small indulgence in the evening won’t cause me to stray far from my goal.
The next crucial factor is exercise. I scheduled in an early morning resistance training session before we leave to elevate my metabolism in anticipation of the weekends activities. I also plan on squeezing in two other 15 minute body weight sessions. Seriously who can’t make time for 15 mins?
Did you know that resistance training can keep your metabolism elevated above resting levels for up to 38 hours? This can even be achieved without the use of any equipment just your own body weight.
There you have it, by having a plan and focusing on your eating and exercise, you too can enjoy a night out or weekend away and still be on track to reclaim your body. All this without being so overcome with guilt over too many chocolates, champagne, etc that you throw all your hard work out the window by overindulging the entire weekend.
Remember, it’s the quality that counts not the quantity.
Craig Wyllie.
P.S. Next week I will post a video of the exact workout that I complete over the weekend, you will even get to see my uncle.
It’s kind of ironic that in the same week that I chose to talk about THE most important factor of any fat loss program I also had a rather lengthy conversation with my female clients about the same topic.
As such a few sore heads is very likely. On top of that, I am sure these drinks will also be accompanied by a few very tempting dishes.