My Diet is More Confusing Than Yours

A fire has been lit in my belly!

I have been watching ABC's new show entitled "My diet is better than yours".
It's been on for 2 weeks and so far I I'm left shaking my head at the end of each episode (and there's 2 every week so that's a lot of head shaking).

I even stated a private Facebook group page so we could all talk about what we were seeing and open up a dialogue on nutrition (but mainly it has been me posting to myself in there so hopefully next week will be better...).

I have found that in general people pretty much "get fitness"... we, as a population, are starting to understand that cardio health, resistance training, and flexibility must all work together to create a healthy, fit, balanced physique WITH THE AID OF A PROPER DIET. Here's where it gets tricky... people don't know what to eat to reach their goals (& believe me, this varies depending on your goal). 

I was quite excited when I thought a nationally televised show might shed light on the subject because it seemed to be based around the food aspect instead of the fitness aspect Ala 'The Biggest Loser'. Once I became a Nutritionist I had to stop watching the Biggest Loser because they kept taking their contestants to Subway and that show was all about losing the most weight the fastest, instead of in a way in which their body could adapt and maintain the changes (which is what I do with my clients), so it was hard for me to endorse that.

Upon the opening of the 1st episode of 'My Diet', the host (Shawn T on Insanity fame) made it a point on 3 different occasions to say something along the lines of "this is about long-term goals" or "this is not about short-term weight-loss, this is about lifestyle change". 

My interest was piqued! BUT THEN the diets were introduced... worried face... here are a few on my thoughts on the show so far. I have spent some time getting my clients feedback as well as most of them are watching it with me and I think my observations represent a pretty far and accurate take on what's been going on.. 

First Week Thoughts....

1. This is a weight-loss competition with $50,000 on the line. Most of these contestants have 70-90lbs to lose and the show is only 8 episodes long and so far both episodes have taken up only 1 week per episode... what I'm getting at here is time is of the essence! AND IF time is a definite issue than 'lifestyle change' is unrealistic because the contestant will have to choose between WINNING and actually making steps towards changing their relationship with food. So right away this show is sending America a mixed message. "Lifestyle change is important!" but "lose weight the fastest and you win $$$"

2. 'Relationship with food' is not touched upon but obesity is directly related to this. You must eat whole foods but you also need balance for longevity and you must feel good about the choices you are making for yourself, even when they are difficult or uncomfortable. Only one trainer seems to have a solid grasp on this, and no, it's not he obituary guy. The trainer I am referring to allowed her contestant to have a piece of cake as long as she ate it outside her home because she knew she wasn't in a place yet to where she would have the self control to not eat more than she should to stick with her goals. I personally don't think sugar on week one was that smart of a move but I like that the trainer IS thinking long-term, unlike vegan-cleanse-lady. Obituary guy understands how emotions are directly related to obesity but essentially, if his client doesn't learn what healthy nutrition actually is, he'll be in this health nightmare forever. I feel like even though he did lose weight, his health scans came back so negatively because even though his trainer is showing us shopping for fruits and veggies, his client is mainly eating low-calorie processed foods (eating less so he loses, but not really learning what he needs to about how nutrition works). 

3. They keep saying over and over, through all of their promotion, that this is real life, unlike 'The Biggest Loser' (they are really hyping that one up). but um... no, sorry guys. Let's just put aside the fact that it's painfully obvious how aware both the contestants and the trainers of the darn cameras. Some of the exchanges are downright uncomfortable, but do you know how many times I've camped in a clients front yard to make sure they get up and exercise... go ahead... guess...

The only real moment, and the only moment I hope they replay over and over again for America, is when one of the contestants fired her vegan health coach, turned toward the camera, and said something along the lines of "I'm not looking for a best friend here! I'm looking to change my life and get this weight off and win those 50G's!" NOW that is a GOAL if I've ever heard one! Thank you girl!

2nd week Thoughts...
1.) the wild diet is a type of ketogenic diet. This "expert" didn't invent this but nobody seems to care and it's annoying to me that we're not calling it what it is.. The first 15 lbs the contestant loses on this type of diet is water... also I can pretty much guarantee this guys is about to stop pooping like right....

now.


I do like that the expert is having fitness be about 50% of this program and because of this he'll be hard to beat (in a short term, fight to the finish-line, weight loss competition) because this method is a surefire way to lose fat fast, HOWEVER, and this is a big however, this is extremely hard to maintain. As soon as this guy has a pizza,pastry reward meal he'll STORE everything and it will take a while for his body to get back into ketosis so lifestyle change for someone who is clearly an emotional eater and likes starchy type foods... doubtful.

2.) Taj (who fires her vegan coach (who never had a weight loss problem and thought rubbing baby oil on your body promoted weight loss... where do they find these people?? and she writes books and gives seminars!! And people pay her!!) actually makes a good choice when she hires the Strong and Clean Coach (or whatever lame title she's giving it). The real only problem I have is that the whole spin is that it's supposed to be martial arts based, but the trainer (making a smart move actually) is doing cardio based kick-boxing and bag-boxing workouts with Taj, knowing that she'll burn fat this way... but it's not martial arts. You can give her all the gi's you want trainer lady, but you are NOT doing Karate.
3.) the contestant are supposed to be learning "diets" and yet we are never actually seeing exactly what they are eating and 2 of the contestants have flat out said that they are "still confused about the eating part." Ummm???
One of the few times we say an actual days worth of "food" was when the wild diet guy packed a lunch bag full of (I'm not joking here:) snacks and said "Now you are all set for your day riding around in the car! Avoid those fast food places pal!"
Ummm???
The other huge component is fitness and finally on the 4th episode we got to see 3 of our contestants start working out and training for their big half marathon that is approaching, but again NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION. How are they training? How frequently? What's with all the secrecy!? On the last episode they had a challenge that pertained to heart rate zones and yet this is the first we are hearing about heart-rate.... have the contestants been learning about heart rate training in there off-time, away form the cameras?
Maybe it's the editors... either way head shaking...
4.) It's these types of "Spins" and inconsistencies that are driving me nuts but my client Naki brought up a very good point to me one day while I was pontificating during her warm-up.
She said "Yea Tristan... but it's a multi-billion dollar industry..."

Oh yea...duhhhh... it's not about being right.
They make MORE money by keeping you confused. 

It's sad to me that health is an industry but the truth is it's actually multiple industries...
Pharmaceuticals $$$
Food $$$$
Supplements $$$
Fitness (gyms, fitness equipment, etc).

There are good trainers out there and excellent Doctors and people who genuinely want to help you succeed so it's not all sad faces up in here!
But do I think ABC's new show has set out to actually help the overwhelmingly obese population of the U.S,
ummm hell to the NO!


"This is really just clean eating but the producers make me give it a catchy name."
                                                                 - Dawn



"If you find us repugnant it just means you aren't working your core correctly!"
                                                          - Shawn T

** not actual quotes

The Arm Dangler (Shoulders & a wee bit of chest 11.30.14)

Hey I have been getting messages that some of you are using my routines as your own and I admit I find that delightful. So here's one for my swolemates... enjoy!

Shoulder & Chest (BIG RECOVERY TIMES, GO AS HEAVY AS YOU CAN FOR THESE COUNTS)
On all of the shoulder exercises I moved up in weight by 5lb increments as I worked my way through each set. Should take about an hour, ten.

Shoulder Press: seated, 4 sets of 12 (I am finally throwing up those 40's like they're 30's... Can we just have a party for my shoulders for 5 seconds..... thank you, moving on)
Arnold Press: Seated, 3 sets of 10-12
Bent-arm Lateral Raise: 4 sets of 10-12, you can bend your knees to keep yourself from bouncing or to further isolate those delts. If you are not crying on these already, you are going too light.
Medium-Wide Grip Barbell overhead front raise: 4 sets of 12. I did 30lbs, any heavier and I would have been swinging, but even with this my last 3 reps were a bit suspect. You def want to take a half a beat at the top of the movement as your head is "thru the window".
Incline-bench dumbbell press: 3 sets of 12
Incline-bench Fly w/twist: 3 sets of 12
Rear-delt Cable Fly: 4 sets of 12 Standard 'wonder woman stance' as you pull though, hands don't need to go behind you, just open wide enough to complete the movement.
(Standing)Machine Rear-delt Fly: keep those traps down!!!! 4 sets of 12, hands are palm down to oppose the grip of the cable fly you just did.

Good luck... I was shaking, just to forewarn you!

Your Trainer,
T-RoCk :)

"The Wing Maker" (Back & Calves from 11.16.14)

Sorry this took me so long to post!  This is my Back workout from Sunday I was telling you about. Takes about an hour +10 to complete...

1000m row
Pull-ups: 20 ( I broke them into sets of 5 (so no excuses) and switched my grip every set. If you can't do these - I had my girlfriend do 3 negatives in place of every one of my sets)
Ring or TRX row: 4 sets of 10
Wide-Grip Lat Pull-down: 3 sets of 12
Bent Over Row w/Olympic Bar: 1 warm-up set to test then 3 sets of 8-12. I got up to the Olympic bar + 2 45lb plates but then I always start to bounce so :/

1-armed db Row: 4 sets of 12 each arm ( work your way up every set!).
Incline reverse lateral fly with wrist rotation: 3 sets of 12 you really want to keep you chesticles right at the top of that bench! And when you extend your arms, you should be making a "T" shape. A lot of times people keep there arms to low and make an "A"
Standing machine reverse fly: 3 sets 12
SUPERSET
Standing Calve Raise: 3 sets of 20, turn those toes every set
Weighted Back Extension : 3 sets of 15-20, squeeze at the top. I did a 25lb plate but you don't need to go ham on this to feel it I promise.
SUPERSET
Seated Calve Raise: 3 sets of 20, turning your toes every set

     

Let me know how it goes! Go HEAVY or don't even talk to me. There's a lot of chesticle in that photo. Yes, I totally noticed that. Whatev. Happy Tuesday!

Have a great day!
Tristan
xox

But I don't Wanna Feel The Burn...

If you take my classes or train with me regularly you know I tend to blather about certain body parts, muscles, and/or processes in the body while we are working out because I like to "educate" others on this amazing machine we are currently inhabiting. I throw out all this scientific terminology because well, if you don't use it, you lose it AND sometimes I feel like my brain is going to explode because I just picked up something amaze in a sci journal that makes me really excited. One of the coolest things about fitness and nutrition is that new things are constantly being discovered and information we have always taken for granted are constantly being reevaluated.

BUT EVERYONE needs to know the basics, what is happening in the body while you are working out, and why you feel the way you do while you are pushing your body to the limit. Today in class I mentioned the term lactic acid and half of you looked on me like I was on crack. I realize a lot of you know you "should be" feeling the burn but don;t quite understand "why". Let's go over this one today! I'll keep it super simple so the next time I say "feel the burn" you'll not only know what I'm talking about, BUT you'll be excited about it!

Ok so the body needs energy to do ANYTHING. Even when we binge watch Netflix and "lay like broccoli" (<--- name that movie) our body is using energy. ENERGY has a little chemical party in our body and produces ATP (andenosine triphosphate). I probably spelled that wrong. Don't judge me. This ATP can be produced in (basically) 1 of 2 ways: aerobic (using oxygen, long runs) or anaerobic (not using oxygen, really short intense sprints or jumping).

Both of these systems tend to work at the same time, depending on what activity you are doing. Let's say you see a Zombie-Fire-breathing-Polar-bear 30 feet from you, initially you would sprint away like lighting (anaerobic) but then as you continue to run at a decent clip, your body would switch over to your aerobic energy system.
We get a limited reserve of anaerobic ATP (it's like 12 seconds worth) and a practically unlimited amount of aerobically produced ATP. Our body is amazing and uses a ton of different sources to keep the energy coming so we are always ready to go!
You will never run out of energy.
I don't want to hear that ever. Capish? Cool.


A by-product of this whole anaerobic energy expenditure thing is LACTIC ACID.  Lactic acid is just another energy source in the body. It's always in there, moving around, and if cooked long enough can be turned into ATP as well, BUT we don't actually start feeling it until we are working out or doing something strenuous for a certain amount of time. The more we try to force that anaerobic system to work, the more the lactic acid accumulates, builds up, until your body can no longer process it and a burning sensation occurs. Yayyyyy! Mikey LIKES IT! This is not a bad thing! It's just that extra bit of coffee that spills out of your Peppermint Mocha after the Barista puts the lid on.
That little bit of spillage protects your muscle and is your body telling you you are burning carbs for energy. Ummm... yay. 
The longer you work out for (in terms of months, years, etc), the longer you can go without feeling this burning sensation during workouts because you are training your muscles to become stronger and develop a higher resistance to the lactic acid. Eventually you learn how much further you can push yourself by feeling that burn and knowing what the intensity means for your body.

Keep pushing! If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you, LITERALLY.

Tristan,
xo

Training Split Options For Every Athlete Level

"What's a training split?" you ask
Well, it doesn't involve bananas or gymnasts, I tell you whut!
(if you said that with an accent, +2 points)

A 'Training Split' simply means the body-parts you are going to be working on that day in the gym, usually referring to a pair of muscle groups ("back & bi's"). I've been getting a lot of questions lately regarding how often to LIFT and what to train and (how Loooong to train) to see results and because this is so incredibly different for everyone I am going to break it down into a few broad categories to help ya'll out!

The Beginner

Well lucky for you you can work the least amount of time (actual minutes per week) and see the most results. For the first 12-14 weeks of consistent training your muscles require less volume to get results than someone who's been at it longer then you. If you want to get into weights (because you are smart and you realize weight-lifting is legitimately the fountain of youth then (If you don't want to hire a trainer to teach you, duhhhhh) START BY TAKING A CLASS AT THE GYM. THIS IS THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOURSELF IF YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE DOING. SERIOUSLY. A good instructor will take you through almost every body part (FULL BODY WORKOUT) in a single class and help you work on proper form and learn how much weight is necessary for you to feel fatigue but not failure. No you will Not GET BULKY. Even when your instructor says "Go Heavy" at most you are lifting 12lbs! This is NOT "heavy" weight people. this is just "heavy for you". Know the difference. It takes a lot of food and work to get "bulky", believe me, I KNOW (have you seen my traps?).
My RX for you: Take a weight lifting or "sculpt" (that word makes me want to vomit, FYI) class 3x a week, space out these classes 1-2 days apart. 

The Intermediate

So you've been taking class or have worked with a trainer in the past. You know your stuff! Maybe you love class but you can't make it one day and have to go train on your own, then My RX for you is an 'Upper/Lower Body Split' where you workout 4 days a week instead of 3, dividing your gym time into one upper-body muscle group day and one lower-body muscle group day. You can go work day-work day-rest day or train every other day. This keeps it easy because you will be able to monitor that you are not only working or over working a specific muscle group an still be fresh enough to make it back to your favorite class!

The Advanced

The world is your oyster. You know what you are doing! Maybe you just need a way to streamline your workout schedule so that it's most effective! Well if you have already been doing the classic bodybuilding split (back/bi's, chest/tri's, Legs, Shoulders/Abs) then my suggestion is to play with the order just a bit so it's spliced to functional movements based around the planes of the body... you see every weight-lifting exercise is based off either 'pushing' 'pulling', 'lunging' or 'squatting'. If you ever take 'Chisel' with me or if you are a private client, this should ring a few bells.
If you were to divide your exercise days into only working muscle groups that perform in the same manner, you can actually work them twice a week and gain strength and size without over-training because by the time you work your way around to that muscle group again you are ready to go! My preference (and what I tend to follow when strictly bodybuilding) is Chest/Shoulders/Tri's, Back/Bi's, Legs/Abs, Chest/Shoulders/Tri's, REST, Back, Legs! IF this feels like a lot of training, but you still want to try it, only train 4-5 days a week, just rotate out 1-2 splits a week. OR do one high rep day and one low rep day (my favorite).

Don't Be THIS GUY! MAKE a PLAN so you can develop a balanced body!!!

 No matter what level you are at, you need to lift a minimum of 3x a week and your workouts should last no longer then (approx) an hour and ten minutes because the weight you are lifting and the energy you are expending should be HUGE, people! If you can work out for 2 hours you are not going heavy enough or you are on the juice!      #nojudgment

Go KILL IT! AND put your weights back!!!

Your Trainer,
Tristan xo

Leg Day 11.01.14: (a.k.a. The noisiest workout a 24hr Fitness has Ever seen! #sorrynotsorry)

Jimminy Christmas it's freaken' November 1st! Where the heck did this year go? If you saw my Instagram post you know I kicked off November Irontristan style, with some much needed time "at the bar" this morning... and a few other places nearby a well...

Here's what went down...

Jump-rope warm up 200 reps or 2 minutes
Deep Squat 1 warm-up set just the bar 15 reps, 4 sets, 10 reps each, build up to max effort at last set ten reps (or 70% of MAX).  I got comfy around 155lbs on my last set before my knee started talking back :(
Dead- Lift open op those hammies first with just one quick stiff-legged set, just the bar then get down deep. 4 sets of 10 (about 75% of MAX). I forgot what it's like to do these without bumper plates... yep. NOISY As HELL, just me. Look over here! NOT!
Stop starring at me swan. ugh.
But seriously though I LOVE DEADLIFTS. I don't even care that my shins feel like crap after. It's my favorite lift.
Hamstring Curl 4 sets of 10, slower on the negative, full range of motion
Quad Extension 4 sets 10, full range of motion, slight squeeze at the top, I hovered around 100lbs here, just enough to make me moan (that's what she said). Keep in mind the HAmstring is what is supporting that glute and the rest of the leg so if you want a balanced physique be mindful of the weight you are pushing with that quad and that the strength of this muscle is not completely greater or over-powering your hamstring strength or you are doing something wrong! I know we all want that Quad-sweep but come on now!
Standing Calf 3 sets 20 reps each, dropping those heels nice and deep then coming up quickly with a squeeze. 180 lbs (don't be impressed. machine was like air at 95lbs). Toes forward first set, turned out on second, turned in on third.
SUPER SET w/prone long-legged glute squeeze on bench 3 sets of 20 reps. IF you don;t know what this is, you probably actually do! You lay on a bench, face down, with your hips just off the edge. Spread out your legs, keep 'em straight and bring them up behind you with a glute squeeze... kind of like a 'Superman' but only with half your body. If you still don;t know what I'm talking about, let me know and I'll make a video.
Seated Calf Raise 20/15/15 same toe progression. I did two plates but probably should have done 1 to keep those reps up but as you know I'm just a big meathead so... rawr! more! weight! good!

ummm no

Ok so pretty basic workout here, but sometimes I'd rather go a little heavier, pace myself, and hit everything equally then use all my creative stuff. Just me?

Lift Heavy! Be Strong, not scared!
Tristan xo

BREAKFAST: It's What's For Breakfast

Did my title make you giggle? I'm in one of those moods today.

Maybe you already see where I'm going with this...?
Regardless, let me break it down for you! 
(Can I get a beat?                             Just teasing)
I get asked about what I eat or what I have clients eat all the time and because I believe in customization of nutrition to the 100th power I can hardly ever answer this question to the degree in which I feel appropriate. THIS IS A FREAKING HUGE QUESTION PEOPLE!

BUT what I can say is 'Meal timing', just as much as the "what", plays a huge part in you reaching your health and fitness goals. 
 TODAY I am going to focus on Meal timing specifically concerning breakfast since a lot of you are confused on what breakfast actually is and why it's SO important. 
Never fear, Irontristan is here & I got you boo ;)

Something I hear over and over again from clients when they are first starting out is that they don't eat breakfast. I proceed to tell them about 'The Sumo Wrestler Diet" (because it's my favorite anecdote of all time as I know you've probably heard me say it like 5 million times by now but I can't help myself...)
"Hey new client who's life I'm about to change, Do YOU know why they call "skipping breakfast" 'The Sumo-Wrestler Diet'? ...because skipping breakfast is an old technique used to help Sumo-Wrestlers gain weight."

Cue light bulb here. Or Scooby-Doo noise... aw-whoo?

It has been proven that skipping breakfast leads not only to more calories being consumed throughout the day, more so then if you had eaten breakfast plus all those other good meals, but it directly influences the type of nutrients you crave and ingest! Maybe as humans we think we have permission to eat more and think we "earned" more food or bad food at a later meal? My personal theory is that you can't make an educated decision by the time you actually get hungry about what to eat so you just say f-t and eat everything or something really bad! I know you women who go all day without eating and then hit 'happy hour' know what I'm talking about... it's probably a combo of these two things. Just please know that your brain runs on energy and energy is food so if you want your brain to work so you can be productive and make good choices, then f-ing eat food. And that starts with breakfast!!!

(Deep breath Haller)

O.K. So second of all, if my terrifying sumo wrestler story wasn't enough, let's just look at the word for what it is... Break-fast. To break your fasting state of being. The body has very different metabolic needs at different times of day and under differing circumstances. Upon waking, your body is needing energy (nutrients... food... wakey wakey eggs n' bakey steeze). You see, when you sleep your body is forced into a metabolic state of rest for up to 12 hours. Maybe you are not physically asleep for all 12 hours but you just laying there pre "nigh-nigh" time, stimulates your brain and body into a relaxed state, preparing to slow everything down so it can begin repairing the cellular damage you did that day. 

During this time: 

1. Carbohydrate energy reserves (glycogen) are low.
2. Muscles are in a mild catabolic (muscle-wasting) state.
3. Fat stores are also slowly being mobilized and burned. <--- this one's my favorite ovs

So your goal upon waking should be to:

1. Halt muscle catabolism.
2. Support ongoing fat metabolism.
3. Replenish glycogen reserves.

duh?
Right??
Good!

Now what you eat to accomplish at this time again comes back to what your goals are. You definitely want to have some type of fast-absorbing protein to halt the mildly catabolic state your muscle are in and to kick-start your metabolism, but as you have learned from previous GymKitten posts, Protein is good on it's own but works best when combined with either fat or carbs (or both)!

Those carbs can be both simple and complex (again, depending on your goal.... I hope that one little part I'm making pretty clear here!)

Let me give you a few examples of some of of my 'break-fast' meals...

If I'm eating clean and in contest prep (and I'm in a state of pre-workout) I'll probably have a medium serving of egg whites, medium serving of oats and a small serving of nuts or nut butter.

If I'm coming off prep and trying to reset my hormones in a state of KETO or HFLC I'll probably have 2 whole eggs, a serving of bacon and 1/4th an avocado or full fat cheese.

If I'm post-workout/fasted state I'll probably have a homemade berry/kale/protein smoothie.

If I'm pre-workout/semi-fasted state I'll probably have a protein shake, black coffee, and half a grapefruit with perhaps some wheat-germ and flax seed. 

Whatever you eat, eat real food (I'm talkin' to you guy dressed as the Sun in the Jimmy Dean breakfast commercials. smh)

I think the other important factor in meal time & breakfast is understanding your body will adapt to whatever systems you put in place (aside form having a digestive disease or intolerance of some kind) so if you are always working out at night because that's when you feel best, but WANT to workout in the morning, play with your nutrition to get your body moving WHEN YOU SAY SO! And you'll be surprised to find out after about 8 days of this you'll be hungry when you wake up!

REMEMBER: FAT is good PRE WORKOUT, NOT POST, as demonstrated in my previous examples.

Hope this helps, 
I'm always here for you! We're in this together!
xoxo,
Your Trainer,
Tristan