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• What's Causing Your Weight Gain?

I once had a client who, after working with me for about a month, nearly stabbed me with my body fat calipers. The reason?  She had actually gained weight rather than losing it, which, as you can imagine, wasn't our primary goal. While I'm sure many of my clients fantasize about stabbing me (a good reason never to give out my home address), gaining weight after starting an exercise program is something many people experience.

The reason for this weight gain is usually related to the calories in/calories out equation - namely, more calories are going in without them realizing it. That's what happened with my client who, after keeping a food journal, realized she was eating more at her meals than before she started exercising. It was a good thing we found that out before she became physically violent.

There are other reasons we may gain weight including:

There are a number of other areas to look into if you're gaining weight and you can find out more in what's causing your weight gain.

In my experience, weight gain is almost always caused by eating too much, but what about you? Did you gain weight after you started exercising? What was the problem and how did you deal with it? Leave a comment and tell us about your experiences.

What's Causing Your Weight Gain? originally appeared on About.com Exercise on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 07:00:11.

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While plenty of people struggle to exercise on a regular basis, there is another group of people (or "freaks" as my husband calls us) who actually struggle to take breaks from exercise. For this type of exerciser, completing every workout with 100% effort is the norm. In fact, working at 100% is something this exerciser comes to expect.

But what happens when he catches a cold, or he doesn't sleep well or he's just tired? He may still push himself to the usual levels of intensity despite the fact that his body (and, perhaps, his mind) just isn't up for it. That can lead to unsatisfying workouts, poor performance and a feeling of failure. Over a period of time, it could lead to other problems such as overtraining, depression and burnout.

If you're an exercise perfectionist, you may find it hard to back off of your workouts or take recovery days. You may expect nothing less than perfection, even when perfection is out of reach. You may constantly worry about failure and ignore even your smallest successes.

Does any of this sound familiar to you? Are you an exercise perfectionist? If you're not sure you can take this quiz to, perhaps get some insight into what makes you tick.

Be sure to leave a comment and tell us about your perfectionist tendencies and how you overcome them.

Are You an Exercise Perfectionist? originally appeared on About.com Exercise on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 07:00:46.

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If you're on the road as much as my husband is, you may have a hard time keeping a workout routine going. While there's often no shortage of fitness rooms or running trails, the missing ingredient is usually time. When you have a day that starts at the crack of dawn and doesn't end until after a long client dinner, the chances of getting in a workout aren't very good.

The nice thing about exercise is that you don't need any equipment to do it. When I told my husband this, he informed me that body weight exercises are lame. That was all the motivation I needed to prove him wrong.

Below are some of the moves I had him do for a short, simple, yet challenging workout. The key to making body weight exercises challenging is to play around with the exercises, reps, tempo and positioning. For example, adding a side plank to the pushup engages more core and makes the move more intense. Adding short, slow pulses to the around the world lunges (4 pulses per lunge) had him wincing, and I won't even mention what he said about the squat thrusts (add a pushup in there and a jump at the end and the sweat starts to flow). The plank with a knee bend is a great exercise for the core and adding mountain climbers at the end rounded out a decent series of exercises for staying active on the road.

These are just a few examples...what about you? What are your favorite killer body weight exercises? Leave a comment and tell us about them.

Pushup with side plank

Around the World Lunge

Squat Thrust

Plank with Knee Bend

More Body Weight Resources

'No Excuses' Exercises of the Week - Killer Body Weight Moves originally appeared on About.com Exercise on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 07:00:05.

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Working out at home isn't for everyone. While it's convenient to be able to workout whenever you want, it also takes a certain amount of self-discipline to workout with so many distractions. At the gym, you don't have much of a choice (unless you're doing what my husband calls the Gentleman's Workout - sitting in a hot tub before showering, shaving and going off to work).

We know that losing weight and maintaining that weight loss involves predictable things like exercise and healthy eating, but having the right home environment helps as well. One study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that people who maintain weight loss usually have exercise equipment at home and fewer televisions around.

While this isn't all that surprising, it's interesting to think about how your home environment can contribute to your success. I'm curious about you. Do you workout at home and, if so, does having exercise equipment available all the time make it easier? Do you exercise more? If you're a gym-goer, would you enjoy having exercise equipment at home as well? Vote in this week's poll and tell us about your home exercise equipment and how you use it.

More Resources for Working Out at Home

Source:

Phelan S, Liu T, Gorin A, Lowe M, et al.What Distinguishes Weight-Loss Maintainers from the Treatment-Seeking Obese? Analysis of Environmental, Behavioral, and Psychosocial Variables in Diverse Populations. Ann Behav Med. 2009 Oct 22.

Vote in This Week's Poll: What's in your home gym? originally appeared on About.com Exercise on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 07:00:03.

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So? How'd you do last night? Did you eat too much candy or are you patting yourself on the back for your ability to moderate? I have to admit, I had some candy last night - hey, you have to test it before just giving it out, right? Also, my neighbors came by with some Rice Krispies Treats and caught me in a vulnerable moment.

Yum.

It's nice to enjoy the holiday and, for the most part, I'm a big believer in guilt-free treats. If you want to do some damage control, however, there are ways to add intensity to your planned workout to burn a few extra calories. Below you'll find some ideas for kicking up your workout as well as new workouts you can try, if you're looking for a challenge.

Post Halloween Recovery Plan originally appeared on About.com Exercise on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 07:00:42.

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• What Is The Best Time To Perform Your Bodybuilding Workouts for Best Results?

Is there a time that is better than others to perform your bodybuilding workouts for best results?  If you ask ten bodybuilders, more than likely, you will get ten different answers.  However, if you ask me, I'll tell you that it depends on what you are looking to accomplish. 

For fat loss with muscle gain, I feel working out first thing in the morning on an empty stomach is the way to go.  Since your glycogen (stored carbohydrate) levels are low, it will be easier for your body to use the fat stores for energy. As long as you are not a hardgainer who has a raging metabolism and can easily burn muscle, or a bodybuilder with diabetes who needs to watch his/her blood sugar, this is a good strategy.  And if you are concerned with cortisol levels and being catabolic due to training in the morning before eating, drinking water and taking 5 grams of glutamine, 5 grams of creatine, 5-10 grams of branched chained amino acids, and 1 gram of Vitamin C prior to the workout will more than protect your muscle mass.  Working out in the morning on an empty stomach takes some getting used to but I promise you that after two weeks your body will be adapted to it. 

When muscle gain is your main bodybuilding goal, training in the afternoon offers the advantage of a higher glycogen level created by the multiple meals consumed, and thus, this results in more energy to push yourself harder.  Hardgainers should definitely stick to training at any time other than in the morning on an empty stomach.

With all of these being said, at the end of the day, in bodybuilding consistency of execution is what wins the game.  So even if fat loss with muscle gain is your goal, and you cannot train in the morning, then the best time to train is whenever you can allocate the time to perform your bodybuilding workouts.

Since training time is often a subject of controversy, I not only wanted to give you my opinion on the subject, but also the opinion of top bodybuilding legend (IFBB Pro Bodybuilding Hall of Famer) and fitness expert Lee Labrada on what is the best time to perform your bodybuilding workouts.

Please feel free to comment and let us know what bodybuilding workout times have worked best for you and why.

What Is The Best Time To Perform Your Bodybuilding Workouts for Best Results? originally appeared on About.com Bodybuilding on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 15:25:54.

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Bodybuilding training is composed mostly of weight training exercises.  For the best results possible, your bodybuilding training should be composed of mostly free weight exercises that use dumbbells and barbells for resistance.  However, I often get asked the questions: "What about bodyweight exercises?  Are these useful for bodybuilding?"

Truth of the matter is, that bodyweight exercises are the best exercises for the fastest bodybuilding results!  Examples of such exercises are the pull-ups, chin-ups, push-ups, dips, squats, lunges and calf raises.  Any exercise where you have to move your torso through space and that can be done just by using your body as the resistance is a bodyweight exercise. 

These exercises provide the best bodybuilding results because you have to activate the most amount of muscle fibers (since they provide the most neural stimulation) and use several stabilizer muscles (in addition to the main muscles being targeted) to accomplish the task of moving your body through space.  In addition, these exercises are excellent for creating functional strength; in other words, strength that can be used to any task in your daily life. 

As you get stronger, resistance can be added by using a weight belt for exercises like the pull-ups, chin-ups and dips, while barbells and dumbbells can be used for the squats, lunges, and calf raises.  For push-ups, you can have a partner provide you with the resistance.

So be sure to incorporate plenty of bodyweight exercises in your bodybuilding routine and watch your bodybuilding results soar!

Related Articles

Bodyweight Exercises Do Bodybuilding Good! originally appeared on About.com Bodybuilding on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 23:34:00.

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Yesterday I was reading an article that my dad gave me to take a look at regarding Quercetin and the debate over its effectiveness.   The article was from the October 11, 2009 edition of the New York Times Magazine and was written by Gretchen Reynolds.

Quercetin is a flavanoid found in vegetables, wine, and the skin of apples (amongst many other foods) that seems to have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties.  In addition Quercetin has been shown in lab rats to increase mitochondria in the cell, and as a result, the rats are able to run for significantly longer periods of time.  However, it turns out that while lab results show great promise in terms of performance enhancement, real life data in humans seems to show otherwise.  While this does not take away from the fact that Quercetin may provide several benefits to one's health, maybe in the gym there is not much that it can do for you. 

The reason I point this out is because if you browse through a muscle magazine there are countless ads for products that have been "proven" to work.  However, the fact that a product may turn a mouse into Mighty Mouse does not mean that the product will have the same effect on you.  This is something I learned early on from the writings of one of my good friends Will Brink (as he always points out what the lab says vs. what the real world shows) and also from my own Research and Development background of my engineering days.  What applies in the lab does not always apply in the same manner to the real world.      

So before you buy another bodybuilding supplement to enhance your performance in the gym, do your research on the products carefully and make sure that it has been tested in humans as well.  To be honest, only every so often there comes a new product that can really impact your performance in the gym, so my advice to you is to save your money and stick to the basics.  Also, always remember that as the author of the article I mentioned above rightfully said, you "can't expect improved performance to be delivered, without effort, in pill or liquid form." 

Related Bodybuilding Articles:

Lab Results Do Not Always Apply To Real Life originally appeared on About.com Bodybuilding on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 13:33:19.

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For some reason in our society these days, a lot of people think that they are too old to do bodybuilding and get results.  Sometimes I have even talked to 30 year old guys who feel like they are way past their prime.  Personally speaking, I must say that at almost 35, I feel better (and I am in way better shape) than I was when I was 14 years old.  As a matter of fact, the Valeo weight belt that my mom got me for my 14th birthday fits my waistline better than ever these days.  However, it can be argued quite successfully that 35 years old is still a young age. What if you are 70 years old?  Can you get great results from a bodybuilding program?  While studies and my own personal experience with clients shows me that this is the case, I was astonished when I came across some news from Japan the other day.

A bodybuilder named Tsutomu Tosuka won the 21st Japan Masters Bodybuilding Championships at 74 years old!  And when you look at this guy, he looks better than most 20 year olds!  And on top of that, the guys he was competing against were in unbelievable shape as well.

Granted, Mr. Tosuka has been training for around 50 years, but this case goes to show you how the bodybuilding lifestyle is really the fountain of youth.

Here is a video of Mr. Tosuka and his competition: 74 Year Old Bodybuilding Champion.

Related Articles:

How Should Bodybuilders Over 40 Train?

Take Care Of Your Joints To Have Years Of Injury And Pain Free Bodybuilding.

Creating a Healthy Bodybuilding Lifestyle

Bodybuilding After 70 originally appeared on About.com Bodybuilding on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 at 12:34:03.

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The low pulley row is an excellent exercise to bring out the details on the middle and center of the back muscles. Combined with exercises like the wide grip and close gri[p pull-ups, the low pulley rows will add the finishing details that all of the great backs from from bodybuilding legends such as Lee Labrada, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dave Draper have.

For this exercise you will need access to a low pulley row machine with a V-bar handle. The V-bar handle will enable you to have a neutral grip where the palms of your hands face each other.  This sort of grip will also enable you to keep the arms close to your torso.  In this manner, you can better activate the midback muscles.

In order to learn how to properly perform this exercise and get the most benefit from it, please take a look at the Low Pulley Row Bodybuilding Exercise Description.

Low Pulley Rows for Midback Thickness originally appeared on About.com Bodybuilding on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 at 22:15:09.

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• UK Boobs Get a Boost with 'Breastox'

Forget ‘sweatox’ or ‘Boytox’, the new trend emerging in the UK is the usage of the anti-ageing jab ‘Breastox’ – or breast botox.Botox, when injected into the décolletage, can reduce the appearance of wrinkles and lift and tighten the chest area around the breasts, leaving smoother, younger-looking skin. (PRWeb Nov 7, 2009)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/11/prweb3165414.htm

Bionutraceutical Company Focuses on Health Benefits of Green Tea as a Result of New Research Findings (PRWeb Nov 7, 2009)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Green-Tea-Extract/Research-Results/prweb3170194.htm

A new foot spray from Greensations fights pain and increases circulation with the power of hot peppers and caffeine. ThermaFeet targets foot pain and soreness with a soothing natural formula that also contains Black Walnut, Goldenseal, Vitamin C and Alpha Lipoic Acid. (PRWeb Nov 7, 2009)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/foot/pain/prweb3173864.htm

Steve Barbarich, CEO of ChooseDirect, works hard to keep his Internet retail sites growing during this recession - and unlike many, he's succeeding. (PRWeb Nov 7, 2009)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/11/prweb3168774.htm

October 23-25th marked the 12th annual tournament bringing together anglers and celebrities fighting the battle against pediatric cancer. Stephen Updegraff, MD, has supported the foundation and it's efforts for many years. (PRWeb Nov 7, 2009)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/11/prweb3172734.htm