Even though this is more a strength orientated website, most athletes still do some form of cardio and, lets face it, most of us want to look good. So fat loss is a topic worth covering.

For ages, people have gotten up at ungodly hours and performed cardio on an empty stomach since the body then has no other choice but to burn fat. It sounds great, but is it true? Aside from the fact, that I do not think cardio is necessary to get lean (there, I said it), lets have a closer look at cardio in a fastened state.

In short, no. For the long answer read on.

While it is true that the body will use mainly fatty acids as an energy source when performing any exercise on an empty stomach, this doesn't necessarily mean that you will lose more body fat. How so?
In the end, it is the overall calories that are being burned that matter. So while someone who does cardio in the am might use up more fatty acids than someone who does cardio in the pm, they still burn the same amount of calories. Now, if we assume a caloric deficit they will both lose weight.



I personally have several issues with doing cardio in a fasted state. First of, there is a drop in performance so the overall amount of calories being burned is lower than if the athlete had consumed some food beforehand.

Secondly, there is muscle loss. Foods (glycogen and amino acid) are anti-catabolic, hence they help prevent muscle loss during exercise. If muscle is lost, that means your metabolism will slow down, hence you will have to diet stricter to achieve the same results. now to me, muscle loss is one of the worst things that can happen. As a natural athlete, you are bound to lose some muscle during a diet as is (if everything goes well , you will lose 1 lbs of muscle for every 3 lbs of fat), but you shouldn't try to create a situation where you are endangering your precious muscle tissue.



If you feel you should separate from cardio from weight training, at least have some BCAAs beforehand to avoid catabolism. Otherwise, do it after you hit the weights, your glycogen stores will be then be empty and fatty acids are used for energy.

'Til next time
Maik

Today's subject seems rather mundane..I mean shrugs, really? You grab the heaviest dumbbells you can find and perform short , jerky motions right?
yes, that is pretty much how shrugs are done in every gym I ever set foot in. Its a pretty cool exercise, you get to move 5 plates on the barbell, make  a lot of noise, enforce your tough guy image and, best of all  you cant really mess it up. Or at  least that's what people believe.
First of all, when people do shrugs they tend to think only about the small area that's actually visible toward the ears ( unless you are Johnny Jackson, than that part is huge). But if you be so inclined and look at the graph, you will notice that the traps are quite big and cover a large part of your back.
So you must break the training down into upper and lower traps to get a full development. Regular shrugs, shrugs with chest support on a bench and reverse shrugs at the cable pull down would be a good combination.
Secondly, the traps elevate and lover the shoulder blades so rolling the shoulders back and forth is not a good idea. Get a feeling for moving your shoulder blades without engaging the arms.
Thirdly, weight is secondary, feeling the muscle comes first. Too many guys perform shrugs like they are having some sort of epileptic seizure in order to move a large amount of weight. Again, focus on the squeeze and the stretch.
Whats the payoff for well developed traps?
If you are a football player, wrestler or boxer it will save you from spinal injuries. As a bodybuilder or regular weightlifter, traps are crucial for shoulder health.
So there you have it, the rundown of an exercise everyone thinks they know and hardly anyone does it right.
Maik

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Musclemania is almost here and I feel pretty good. Holding a decent 215 lbs and a rather low body fat (Thanks, TSN fat burner). Now the slow carb-up begins, no more training just resting and eating..stay tuned!

There has already been a stream of tributes to Steve Jobs so I won't write another one. Well, I will..sort of. But it will be from a different angle than just Apple.

Sure he gave us the iPod, iPhone, etc., but those that know me are aware of the fact that I am not all that tech savvy. I can hardly handle a keyboard for that matter.

Here is what impressed me about Steve Jobs: his philosophy as summed up in his commencement speech at Stanford. It wasn't another "follow your dreams and love happy" talk, it was a modern memento mori without the moralizing aspect. "Do what you love, you are already naked."

Anyone who has watched "GoodFellas" (if you haven't, you should) will remember the opening scene when Henry Hill says: "All my life, I always wanted to be a gangster."

In a way, that holds true for me as well. Ever since I watched Terminator in 1990, I wanted to be a bodybuilder and a trainer. My life took me through some interesting twists and turns, but in the end I ended up where I felt I belonged. But It wasn't a smooth transition by any means. I had to decide between giving up my job in finance and to embark on the rather uncertain path as an independent personal trainer.

However, the choice was very clear to me. In the years leading up to the transition, I was held to my job by my immigration visa (Thanks, GW) so a certain amount of freedom was taken away from me. When I finally received my green card, I quit within minutes and never looked back.

This is how I relate to Steve Jobs.