adler training

Today's post deals with the acai berry, over the last months we have seen a huge influx of acai berry shakes, powders, pills diets etc. The berry apparently does everything from burning fat (fat is oxidized not burned, by the way), better your mental state, fix the federal deficit, and build a high speed train from NYC to DC.

So the question is, what's the deal really? First of, a technicality: It's not a berry but a fruit which comes from the acai palm. The tree grows from Belize to Brazil, mainly in swamps and flood lands, the indios use it as a high calories snack (hint, hint) on hunting expeditions. High calories snack?!!! But its a super fat burner and my friend lost 85 lbs on it!!

Well, here are the numbers: 100 grams of dried acai powder delivers 533.9 calories (same a chocolate bar), 52 grams of carbs, 8 grams of protein, and 32 grams of fat, mostly monounsaturated. So it's certainly NOT a low calorie item and there are no proven fat-burning properties of the fruit. It simply can not work that eating a fruit would allow for massive losses in body fat. Most of the acai diets are really cleanses, so the weight loss is mostly water.

What about anti-oxidants? Not looking much better; while the acai fruit does contain anti-oxidants, the numbers are lower than blueberry juice , concord grapes or red wine. Not a bad product, but not worth the hype.

This brings me to my final point: people have been conditioned to believe that by magically adding or taking away a nutrient or macro nutrient group from their diet, they will achieve drastic results. This will NOT work; the laws of physics will always prevail. Calories matter...If you could fill your macros at McDonalds, you would get the physique you wanted (granted, it's hard).

Don't fall for these gimmicks, save your money for chicken, steak, rice, and the gym.
Maik

How is everybody? Sadly, summer is coming to an end but that means two things: Tour de Reduction is about to climax and Davis will give his debut in competitive bodybuilding come September 18th.
First, lets take a look at the ladies at the Tour de Reduction. Both worked very hard, stayed away from July 4th BBQ, shunned the key lime pies of the Hamptons and as a result, dropped a significant amount of weight. So far, Team Italia is maintaining a small lead but Team 'Burg put in a very strong August so we shall see how it turns out.
As for the Dominican Abdominator, this is very unchartered territory. East coast bodybuilding is very competitive, so one can only focus on himself and bring the best physique possible to the stage. So far, it looks good!
Maik

So it is decided, Davis will try his hand at competing on Spetember 18th in NYC. The Dominican Abdominator will enter the Mr.Fitness contest as well as the Novice Bodybuilding show for the middleweights. He has been training very hard and diligently for 10 months, during that time he put on about 20 lbs of muscle. Now the time has come to cut back and enjoy cardboard chicken with lettuce.
Stay tuned for more updates!
Maik

A while back, we went to see Bill Cosby perform live in NYC. While the first half hour was so-so, he did deliver some pearls of wisdom.

One that I liked in particular was about some guy named Phil in Pennsylvania, who apparently makes the best Thanksgiving stuffing on the face of the Earth. Bill finally sits him down and asks for the recipe, so Phil says: "I take Stove Top stuffing." Bill: "And?" Phil: "Nothing. I do what the box says. People always add things to the stuffing that simply do not belong there. Just do what the box says."

Stick to the basics! The same applies to weight training and getting shape. Do not do any crazy diets, take 2-hour cardio classes, or use insane amounts of drugs.

Do what the box says, stick to the basics, keep it reasonable.

1. Have a plan. Why do you workout? Where do you want to be in 3 months?


2. Do your compound exercises such as the squat, dead lift, military press, pull up and rows. Strive to improve every week.

3. Eat your protein, 1.5 grams per lbs of body weight for men, women a little less (I know that the RDA by the FDA is lower but they also want you to eat starches 5 x a day).

4. Get your rest. Eight hours of sleep is a minimum.

5. Cut the junk food to once a week. You are a bodybuilder, not a competitive eater.

6. BE PROUD. Bodybuilding is one of the most rewarding things you can do, do not deny it to yourself. Enjoy the journey, be helpful to others in the gym and outside.

Forward, always forward
Maik

This is a pretty hotly contested topic amongst dieters so I thought we should address it.
There are a plethora of diet shakes flooding the market: Slim fast, Oprah's new shake, Atkins shakes and the list goes on. Most of them contain some protein (often the cheap kind) a mix of vitamins and sugars, coloring agents, etc.  
So do they work for weight loss? Not so well, I am afraid.   While protein shakes are a great asset for every athlete in order to make sure there is enough protein in his diet, they don’t work too well for weight loss purposes.
The reason is not only that the nutritional quality of most of these products is poor, but also that shakes do not satisfy your appetite for a long time. The vitamin mixes are unbalanced and they contain no fiber, which is the substance that will keep you satisfied and full during your diet.

Compared to foods like brown rice or chicken they take up very little stomach volume and are digested much quicker, meaning the athlete will suffer more hunger pangs. The average American consumes about one third of his calories in liquid form, which is one of the reasons why the nation is facing an obesity epidemic (hello fruit smoothie!) 

Liquid calories are much easier to consume than whole foods, making it harder to keep track of your actual intake. If you rely on shakes, you will simply never learn how to prepare foods in order to lose weight. A liquid crash diet will create weight loss, but it will be mostly muscle that is lost since your metabolism shuts down within days. As soon as the dieter goes on a more sustainable lifestyle, every calorie consumed will be stored as fat because his body assumes that a horrible famine has just passed and it wants to be prepared for the next one.

This sets up the dreaded yo-yo effect and it is the single reason why 90+% of all dieters gain the weight back and then some. They simply destroyed their metabolisms with crash diets.  Also, whole foods require more digestive work than liquids do, so they use up energy and keep the metabolism elevated. Studies have shown that test subjects consume twelve to twenty percent more calories when they consumed a liquid food as opposed to eating a solid meal. Their hunger responses were also worse, even the day after the liquid meal.

Whole foods also provide a wide array of phytonutrients which simply can’t be duplicated as of yet. These nutrients will help to ensure optimal health and maximum fat loss.  If you are very time-constricted and you simply have to use a shake, try to find some high-end whey protein and add some fats in the form of nuts or oil to it, which will increase satiety and slow down digestion. If you are on a very strict weight loss diet, just have some steamed vegetables with it—albeit not very tasty, the fiber will keep you full without adding any considerable calories.

Keep on cooking!
Maik

When it comes to cardio and fat loss, it really is a case of the blind leading the blind. Most trainees have been made believe that cardio burns only fat and weight lifting builds muscle, hence you must combine the two to create a perfect physique.
Aside from the fact, that weight lifting is very similar in its results for fat loss than cardio when viewed over a 24 hours period, it also offers the potential of reshaping the body which cardio doesn't.
Still ,cardio can be used as an additional energy expenditure to lose more weight as long as a proper weight lifting protcol is being followed.
For a long time, it was very common to get on the stepper/treadmill first thing in the morning to "burn only fat". The reasoning is that your body doesnt have any nutrients to burn so it will use fat for fuel. Sounds logical but doesnt work that way.
When looking at fat loss, one has to look at a 24 hour time span not just the actual exercise time. Studies have shown that a pre workout carb feeding did not decrease fat oxidation in any significant manner. But it did two very important things: it allowed the athlete to train with greater overall intensity, meaning more overall energy was used and it acted as a protection for the muscle and prevent catabolism.
If you are on a very low-carb diet and simply do not have any room for carbs, simply consume some whey protein before the workout for a similar effect.
Till next time
Maik
Sources
Melanson EL, et al. Resistance and aerobic exercise have similar effects on 24-h nutrient oxidation.. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002 Nov;34(11):1793-800.
Ahlborg, G., and P. Felig. Influence of glucose ingestion on fuel-hormone response during prolonged exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 1976;41:683-688.
Coyle, et al.. Carbohydrates during prolonged strenuous exercise can delay fatigue. J. Appl. Physiol. 59: 429-433, 1983.
Horowitz JF, et al. Substrate metabolism when subjects are fed carbohydrate during exercise. Am J Physiol. 1999 May;276(5 Pt 1):E828-35.

So the World Cup is over and Germany did not win it, so I am experiencing a mild case of SID. But lets look at the bright side: 1. all those annoying fair weather soccer fans will be gone until the semi-final of 2014. 2. Germany played the best soccer and scored the most goals. 3. Thomas Mueller won best rookie and the Golden Shoe. 4. Bundesliga starts in one month.
In the meantime, focus on getting your physique to a World Cup level, remember every meal, every rep, every set counts!
Train hard
Maik

When it comes to diet foods, I consider two things essential:
1. do they cover your nutritional needs?
2. how filling are they are?

During a diet, it is critical to consume foods that will curb your hunger for an extended period of time.

Here are my most effective diet foods:

1. Chicken breast: a lean protein that can be prepared in a variety of ways and it is easy to eat in office or on the go. An alternate would be tilapia.
2. Flank steak: red meat is often being shunned during a diet but it has its benefits. Iron, zinc, and creatine will enable you to make it through your workouts with greater intensity, further leading to greater fat loss. The fats in red meat are also critical since they are building blocks for hormones such as testosterone and estrogen, that play a crucial role in maintaining a high metabolic rate.
3. Eggs: I highly recommend eating eggs during a diet. They are a complete protein with many vitamins (D, E) and stearic acid. If your calorie count doesn't allow for many whole eggs, mix them with egg whites in a 1:2 ratio. In general, all proteins are a great hunger-suppressant so it is advisable to consume them during a diet at every meal.
4. Oats: a very filling complex carb, that is easy to prepare and even be kept at the office (just add water)
5. Brown rice: a good alternative to oatmeal. It complements most meats and will keep insulin levels stable. By doing so, the dieter will not experience any hunger pangs.
6. Nuts: it is critical to take in the right fats such as mono- and polyunsaturated. Nuts are a great and an easy way to achieve this. They also provide a certain amount of protein, which makes them an interesting choice for vegetarians. As for calorie content, granted it is high, but there is a loss of about 30% in the calories in nuts which can not be fully explained. The best available explanation is that their thermic expense is rather high during digestion.
7. Avocado: another source of good fats and a good addition to salads, omelets, etc.
8. Broccoli/lettuce/spinach/califlower: I label those free foods; due to their low caloric content, they can be consumed in unlimited quantities and they provide vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Plus, most of them are alkaline and will balance out the typical western diet which is more acidic.
9. Asparagus: hardly any calories, very filling and a mild diuretic. The initial water loss can be very motivating for people to stay on the diet since they already lost a couple pounds.
10: Grapefruit (whole fruit, not juice): there is some evidence that grapefruit itself is promoting fat loss but the evidence is questionable. However, grapefruits contain nargenin, which is a substance that blocks the metabolization of caffeine in the liver. Caffeine has fat burning properties which is why it is the main ingredient in many commercial fat burners. If consumed with grapefruit, one extends the active life of these products by 2-3 hours which over time sums up to greater fat loss.

In summary, the best diet is one you can stick to. If you can not stand chicken, find another lean protein. And yes, calories matter most, as there are no magic foods.
So keep cooking and training!
Maik

Bodybuilding can be a rather grueling enterprise. You slave away for weeks and months and nothing happens, no muscle gain, no fat loss nothing.  All this despite eating chicken and rice, meanwhile your buddies are eating chicken wings,burgers and beer and are having the time of their lives (or so it seems).
What to do? Quit? Sure that is an option, but as Alec Baldwin said in "Glengary Glenross" : " And one day, you will be sitting in a bar, saying I used to be a salesman; it's a tough racket."
Do you want to be the guy who says: I used to workout?
Hell no!!!
First rule: if you do not make progress, something is off. Training, diet, sleep. One of these three is not working. Go back to the drawing board and find out what it is. Maybe you need to eat more carbs or less fat, sleep an extra hour. Whatever it is, find it.
Rule number two: its the journey that matters. Building a great physique takes years, despite what the supplement companies tell you. So you will not see daily changes in the mirror. But you should feel accomplished after workouts, embrace the foods you are eating and be proud to part of the brother (and sister-)hood of iron. The peolpe you meet, the personal bests you set and the fact that you are capable of having the discipline of sticking with it is what separates bodybuilders from the rest.
See you in the gym!
Maik