As much as I love training clients one-on-one I also absolutely love conducting seminars and clinics to groups both large and small. While some will say that public speaking is the number one fear to the majority of people, I really enjoy it and take the opportunity to do it whenever I can. I am passionate about getting out real, results producing information to people who live in a culture where the status quo and conventional wisdom is way off base. I am often embarrassed of the industry that I represent so whenever I have a chance to stir the pot — I do.
You see, the real methodology of physique change is exactly the opposite of what the product pushers will typically tell you. They often tell you through flashy advertising that they have a new, revolutionary product or program that “works like magic” often in “minutes a day.” The reality is that the “technology” is really as current now as I was both back in Paleolithic times as well as Biblical times. It’s all about how you structure your activity and how you consume nutrients.
Movement and Consumption.
Regularly when I am speaking to a group or even one on one with a client or someone via email, I will try to get the issue down to its most basic terms. I will often say “Live Biblically”. Some go deeper and call it Paleolithic, which I also pretty much agree with. You’ll find that in its simplest terms it’s incorporating functional movements for exercise and relying on proteins, good, healthy fats, and fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds for your healthy way of consuming. Excluded are all grains, legumes, and most dairy which your body does not need, can be toxic, and is not necessary for any functions at all. Even the great triathlon and cycling coach Joe Friel now agrees with this methodology. Living Biblically breaks down into the following ideology as far as health, fitness, and longevity are concerned. Here are the most basic concepts. Nothing here is ground breaking, in fact it’s simple things that are long forgotten. We need to remember. Expect most of your health concerns to disappear, especially the dreaded inflammation that so many of us deal with in many forms daily. After a month all mine went bye-bye. I thought the aches and pains were age… they were not. They were a result of putting things into my body that nature never expected to be there. The following are the cliff’s notes of this life changing approach.
Movement
2500 years ago people walked everywhere. They were extremely active and most farmed or fished. Everything was hand-made and difficult physical tasks were done through hard efforts in short duration. If there were trouble, people in those time would have two options… fight, or run really fast. Everything physical was also functional. That’s why I firmly believe that functional strength training is the most ideal for functional strength, optimal, vibrant health, loss of body fat, protection of joints, ligaments and connective tissues, and athletic longevity. Unless your goal is to be a competitive bodybuilder, a competitive power lifter, or your goal is simply to be able to lift the back end of a Buick, then athletic, functional strength training is the ideal method. My style of functional strength training utilizes the following style movements:
Bodyweight movements such as step-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, dips, lunges, sit-ups, and dozens upon dozens of movements capable on the TRX System, which I use in nearly every workout I perform.
Plyometric movements such as squat jumps, box jumps, sprints, etc.
Olympic style lifts like deadlifts, power cleans, squat presses, and barbell squats.
Free weight movements like dumbbell presses, bent-over rows
These movements are performed in a quick moving, intense circuit that keeps the heart rate up throughout the workout and builds both muscular strength and muscular endurance. In my humble opinion, the antiquated methodology of 3 sets of 10 reps with minutes of rest in between is dead. The only reason you should train that way is if you only have one goal, and that goal is larger muscles. By keeping the anaerobic intensity up during the workout, weights are reduced and the workouts put far less wear and tear on the joins and connective tissue while still allowing the lifter to increase lean mass to a functional and attractive level without the risk of long term stress. Think of the chiseled, lean, fit, muscular physique of an Olympic sprinter. That is the style of physique that I find attractive as well as useable. Long bouts of cardio are far less necessary with this style of training. Instead, 30-40 minutes 3 days a week would be plenty to attain cardiovascular fitness and vibrant health. Many of my clients reach a high level of fitness while greatly reducing body fat in as little as 3 hours per week of structured training.
Consumption.
2500 years ago people simply ate ridiculously clean. The great benefit in the modern age is that we can use technology to aid us, but it can also destroy us. To those who wish to greatly reduce body fat, retain or build lean muscle, and achieve vibrant health and be less susceptible to disease, I say Eat Biblical!
Here are the general guidelines.
1. Consume clean nutrients often
beginning at wake up. (Graze, or eat when hungry).
FACT: Eating productive foods in balance, frequently, boosts the metabolism and increases the rate the body burns calories.
FACT: By ingesting a balanced combination of productive foods (every 3 to 4 hours) the hormones that promote fat burning and muscle growth stay active in the body longer.
FACT: By eating more frequently you will have sustained energy throughout the day and substantially reduced cravings.
Your body is a complex, high-performance machine. Much like a racecar, it needs to be fueled frequently and maintained regularly to run at top speed.
To increase metabolism and build quality muscle you must eat productive nutrients frequently and in the right combination. When the right foods are consumed… you can eat when hungry in whatever amount makes you full or satisfied. No reason to count calories. Frequent, productive eating will supply the body with a steady stream of quality nutrients that act like mortar to repair cells and (muscle) tissue within the body while at the same time providing the body with energy. Frequent eating also trains your body to be more efficient at processing nutrients. When you consume a productive meal, your body must go to work to process those nutrients. It will continue to work at a higher rate until all the nutrients from that particular meal have been broken down. These nutrients are then converted to either glycogen (muscle fuel); amino acids for muscle growth and cell repair, or (gasp!) converted to body fat. Skipping a meal or not eating frequently will allow your body to begin slowing its metabolic processes. The reason is that the body will have no food to break down and keep the body working at an elevated rate. Additionally, without calories, you run the risk of burning muscle and not fat. By continually reintroducing a steady stream of protein carbohydrates and fats into the body, you guarantee a balance between insulin and glucagon resulting in optimal muscle growth and fat burning.
2. Build all your meals around protein.
Protein is responsible for all growth and cellular repair that occurs in the body. Each gram of protein is made-up of twenty-two amino acids linked together in a chain. A complete chain of amino acids equals a complete protein. Fourteen of the twenty-two amino acids are non-essential and are produced naturally by the body with proper nutrition. The other eight essential amino acids must be obtained from food. Amino acids are the building blocks of life. They are the raw materials used for building muscle, cell and tissue repair, healthy skin, hair, eyes, fingernails; they form antibodies to combat invading bacteria and viruses; they carry oxygen throughout the body and participate in muscle activity. In addition to these attributes, the consumption of protein triggers the release of the hormone glucagon. This hormone regulates blood sugar levels and acts to transport stored body fat into muscles to be burned away as energy. Eating a quality protein with every meal is critical for achieving a fit, lean, healthy, and muscular body. You must consume a lean, productive protein at every meal to ensure optimal muscle growth and fat burning. Gauge your intake to your level of activity. A hard training athlete will require more protein than someone who is sedentary.
Proteins eaten during Biblical times were much healthier. Animals that were killed for food were always free ranging. They were never injected with hormones or antibiotics, and they were always lean. Of course, back then, most people didn't even eat meat at every meal because it wasn't as plentiful, and because the Bible actually states that an excess of eating meat will make a person sick. The meat they did eat was usually limited to fish, sheep, and some types of fowl such as chicken and turkey. Pork and shellfish were considered unclean. In modern times, lean, free range poultry or grass fed beef are readily available which a great benefit. I generally eat 2-3 meals per day including lean meats, and the rest of my protein comes from whole eggs, whey, plain yogurt, nuts and seeds.
Red Meat
Contrary to popular opinion, beef and whole eggs are extremely good for you. Grass-fed beef contains between 2 and 6 times the Omega-3 fats of regular beef and averages about 100 fewer calories. Grass-fed beef is a great natural source of protein and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Lean beef is high in protein, iron, and creatine.
Eggs
Eggs, well at least the yolk anyway, has gotten a bad rap. Anyone that tells you the yolks are bad is very misinformed. The yolk of an egg contains a ton of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that nourish your eyes, your brain, your heart and your mood. Eggs contain: lutein, selenium, vitamin D, vitamin E, Omega-3’s, sulfur, tryptophan, choline, magnesium, B12, the complete amino acid profile, and much more. Yolks are truly one of the most dense nutrition sources available.
- Eggs are high in Protein and good fats!
- Eggs boost Brain Health
- Choline in eggs reduces Inflammation
- Eggs Help Promote Weight Loss
- Improve Your Cholesterol Profile
“Not only have studies shown that eggs do not significantly affect cholesterol levels in most individuals, but the latest research suggests that eating whole eggs may actually result in significant improvement in one's blood lipids (cholesterol) profile-even in persons whose cholesterol levels rise when eating cholesterol-rich foods.
In northern
(Source: www.whfoods.org)
Other great proteins examples would be:
Chicken breast
Game hen breasts
Scaled fish (not shellfish or smooth skinned fish such as catfish or shark)
Plain, sugar free yogurt (Plain, full-fat yogurt (organic) is a wonderfully dense source of protein, energy, calcium, and beneficial bacteria)
Whey powder
Nuts and seeds
Lamb
3. Avoid starchy carbs,
stick to vegetable and fruit based carbs.
The Carbohydrate quandary. These days, most if not all processed grains are a bad idea if you want fat loss and peak performance.
When looking at grains and vegetables, it is important to mention that the people during this time ate what was native to their land. There was no importing or exporting of goods. Eating foods that were native to the land also meant that many people worked hard for their food, often farming their own crops. Popular vegetables and fruits included figs, pomegranates, olives (which most people ate on a daily basis), and apricots.
Grains were used in moderation during this time. Carbohydrate from vegetable and fruit sources was far easier to eat on the fly. When People did eat grains they used barley and whole grains and sprouted grains to make bread and other grain products. It contained no preservatives, salt, and no sugar. Fat was forbidden, especially animal fat. However, olive oil was used when cooking and making food. It was plentiful and nutritious as well. The only complex carbohydrate I occasionally consume is the sweet potato. It’s so healthy and nutrient dense that it would be a crime not to include this wonder food. However, I generally avoid all other breads, pastas, rice, and cereals. I also avoid dairy with the exception of the yogurt mentioned above. An occasional sprinkle of cheese on a salad is also used in moderation.
Perfect Carbohydrates (that won’t make you fat)
Vegetable Source
In moderation:
- Sweet potatoes
- Corn (Strict moderation, and always fresh and organic)
- Squash
- Peas
- Carrots
Abundantly:
Nearly all fibrous vegetables and dark green leafy vegetables.
Fruits
Nearly all seasonal, fresh, water dense fruit. Bananas and dried fruits used in moderation*
Nuts and Seeds: The following are very production when included into your daily diet.
- Almonds (one of nature’s perfect foods)
- Brazil nuts
- Chestnuts
- Hazelnuts (filberts)
- Macadamia nuts
- Pecans
- Pine nuts
- Pistachios (unsalted)
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sesame seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Walnuts
Hunter-gathers did not have domesticated livestock. The meat they ate was from what they could catch. There were no livestock in pens, hogs in confinement lots or turkeys in huge barns. Studies show that animals that run free and are not commercially raised have a different composition of fat. “Free range” animals have higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids and lower levels of Omega-6. This means that less of the human fat intake would have been of the Omega-6 type and more of the Omega-3. The average American diet has about 10 times as much Omega-6 fatty acids as Omega-3. This ratio would have been closer to 3 to 1, or maybe even 1 to
Today, we can get more Omega-3 fats by eating nuts, deep sea fish and free range meat
Omega- 3 Fatty Acids = Super Food!
Omega-3s are found primarily in fish, algae, flax and nuts. You also find good portions of them in eggs from chickens that are fed fish or flax meal. There are three forms:
Omega- 6 Fatty Acids
Omega-6 fatty acids, found in corn and other grains as well grain-fed livestock, play a crucial role in dermal integrity and renal function among other things. But if left unchecked, they can be counterproductive, and spur inflammation, unless, they are balanced with the aforementioned Omega- 3’s. It’s very important to get a 1:1 equal ratio minimum.
Monounsaturated fats
These fatty acids sport a single double bond in their fatty acid chain. The more double bonds a fatty acid boasts, the more liquid it is. These fats are generally liquid at room temperature. Saturated fats (bad in excess) are solid at room temperature.
Monounsaturated fats are found in numerous oils, including olive oil, flaxseed oil, sesame seed oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, corn oil and peanut oil. The fact is these oils contain varying levels of monounsaturated fat. They are not solely monounsaturated. The rest is a mix of polyunsaturated and saturated. Olive oil contains about 75% monounsaturated fat and canola 60%. These fats are also found in avocados and nuts.
NO trans fats & hydrogenated oils
The body doesn’t recognize the “lab” fats and doesn’t know to eliminate it. The trans fats are absorbed through cell membranes, where they initiate general disorder in cell metabolism.
Trans fats have been associated with inflammation, associated atherosclerosis, diabetes, obesity and immune system dysfunction.
Trans fats can cause a “redistribution of fat tissues into the abdomen… even when total dietary calories are controlled.” Abdominal fat has been associated with the build up of fat around internal organs, which has in turn been associated with a higher risk of heart disease.
Trans fats and hydrogenated oil can do only 2 things. Clog your arteries and make you obese. If the words “hydrogenated oil” is anywhere in the package or bottle… avoid it!
5. Stop eating Sugar in All Forms
Sugars are simple carbohydrates or carbohydrates that are already in their simplest form. They do not need to broken down in the blood stream as complex carbs do. The body recognizes simple sugars immediately. As a result, the pancreas produces insulin because of a rapid rise in blood sugar levels. Sugar in the blood stream that is not immediately used as energy is stored as body fat. To develop an athlete’s physique, avoiding simple sugars is critical. All the body’s energy should be derived from complex carbohydrates in the form of low glycemic vegetables and “in season” fresh fruit. These will give you more energy for the long haul. They stand a far less chance of converting to body fat.
You MUST eliminate sugars from your diet. Period. I cannot stress this enough. Remember, any sugars not utilized as immediate energy, stored in your muscle as glycogen, or stored in the liver, are stored as FAT. Until you learn to restrict sugar, you will never take control of your metabolism or be free of unwanted body fat.
When sugar enters the blood stream your body must send insulin to bring elevated blood sugar levels back to normal. Insulin signals the body to cease the mobilization of stored fat. Worse yet, insulin tells the body to store more fat. Avoid fat free foods that are loaded with sugar. These foods are just as bad if not worse than their regular equivalent
The average American eats 150lbs. of refined sugar per year! I believe sugar is far more responsible for obesity in
The intense sugar cravings that you experience are absolutely normal. In fact, the more of a sugar junkie you are, the worse it will be. These cravings are not psychological; they are chemical. Ever notice how you feel a couple hours after you eat a lot of sugar? After insulin lowers blood sugar, your body wants to pick itself up again. Why? The hormone Glucagon, regulates blood sugar levels brought down by Insulin. In many cases blood sugar is lowered too much, causing your body to crave and desire the fastest, most quickly absorbed energy nutrient it can—Sugar. It is a vicious cycle that the body will want to repeat over and over again, until this cycle stops. That is why you have to detox from sugar and end your desire to crave it. Once you complete a sugar detox you will be free from craving sugar. Your mood, levels of energy, and overall health will change dramatically.
Let’s recap the basic fundamentals of consumption.
1. You must consume productive foods often. Frequent eating of productive nutrients will increase metabolism.
3. Caloric restriction or dieting will cause the metabolism to slow, resulting in muscle burning and fat storage.
4. You must select foods with high biological values, conducive to muscle growth and fat burning.
“The Diet Dilemma”
Do not allow yourself to restrict calories or skip meals. Drastically cutting calories promotes fat storage by increasing the activity of fat storage enzymes. When your body is in a calorie restrictive state, it wants to hold on to all the fat it can, to ensure survival in the event of starvation. You must frequently eat productive nutrients to increase metabolism and effectively burn fat.
Diets do not work. If you are reading this you probably have tried a diet at one time or another. You have probably failed to produce the body you desired. Understand that you must apply all these components of fitness to achieve lasting success and a healthy rewarding life.
That’s the basics. Other than that, it’s important to mention a few other details such as:
Drink a gallon of water per day or more.
Get out in the sunshine regularly.
Get 7-8 hours of sleep each night… recovery is critical.
Limit alcohol consumption to red wine. It’s actually good for you in strict moderation.
So now that we’ve covered the basics… it’s time to put it all into action. Plan to get involved in a very structured workout and nutrition program. You must find your passion and purpose in life and then make the effort to rewrite your fitness story. With the right techniques, technology and motivation, you can begin the journey to a new body and vibrant health. It’s up to you. No one can do it for you, but you can certainly get help from others to show you the path. Take the first step today.
All my posts from here on will be following my journey on this plan, as well as my clients. I will also share things that I find that I believe will help you form your own objective opinions as well as assist you on your journey to better health and a beautiful body.
*Always check with your physician before following and exercise or nutrition regimen.
© Copyright 2009- 2010 Rob Goodwin Fitness | www.robgoodwin.com
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(828) 328-5949
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