Adonis Fitness Blog

New Adonis Fitness Blog

2009-06-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

The All NEW Adonis Fitness Blog can be found at www.adonisfitness.ca

or you can CLICK HERE

Free Workout For Women

2009-04-03T11:12:00.001-07:00

For a free workout and video, check out my Watchmen Workout for Women at the Go Sleeveless Blog (http://www.gosleevelessblog.com).

Ladies, get paid to workout...

2009-03-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be holding a transformation competition (my first ever!) over at Go Sleeveless Blog.

If you want info on how to get paid to workout, then head over to my recent post and find out how you can get in the best shape of your life and get paid for it too.

Click Here To Get Paid To Workout

Another Interview about Michelle Obama's Arms

2009-03-23T17:59:00.000-07:00

Recently another reporter from a major newspaper in California contacted me for an interview regarding how to get arms like Michelle Obama.

This was in response to the article I was featured in on CNN Health.

I must say I am a little surprised at how much attention this is getting, it's definitely a hot topic.

However, I am more than happy to lend my expertise to help women achieve this goal. So, if you are a lady and you want to find out how to get sculpted and toned arms, you can visit my other website at http://www.gosleeveless.com.

Also, check out my other blog for the details of this most recent interview on how to sculpted arms like Michelle Obama....

Go Sleeveless Blog

Mighty Putty Dub

2009-03-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

There's nothing worse than waking up at 5:00am to do your workout, and you turn on the TV to hear Billy Mays screaming at you about Mighty Putty.

That's a nice way to ease yourself into the day.

Everytime this commercial comes on I find myself yelling back at the tv "Shut the F*** UP Mays!"

I like this version much better, it's more relaxing, and downright hilarious.

Remember when I told you I have a sick sense of humor?

Well, this is proof positive.

WARNING: Strong language alert, you might not want to watch this at work.

Free Fitness Program For Women

2009-03-08T17:06:00.000-07:00

I've put together something special for International Women's Day.

Ladies, click the link below to check it out...

Free Women's Workout

For the Kate Gosselin workout, click here.

My before and after

2009-02-20T17:30:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's my turn to be humbled.

After some coaxing from my clients, I posted up some old before and after photos at my web page dedicated to helping women eliminate their problems parts.

That site is Go Sleeveless (CLICK HERE TO VIEW)

You can also read my 'story' and how I got into this line of work.

Next week I will be posting up a 'day in the life' of type post and then I'm also going to present a '21 random facts about Rylan' soon after.

Cheers,

R

What I've been up to...

2009-02-13T23:20:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't been posting so much lately folks, I've been buried trying to get everything ready for the upcoming launch of one of my online programs this coming Monday.

For those who are interested, you can check out Go Sleeveless here to see why I've been a hermit (but it won't be live until monday morning).

Anyway, I fully intend to put up a post on 'a day in the life of Rylan' but right now it would be pretty boring and you would think I'm a loser so this will have to suffice.

At the moment I'm getting up when it's dark to get my workout in, then it's straight to work, and then I re-emerge sometime when it's dark again for dinner. After I top up, then it's a few more hours in the office, bed, repeat.

So until I can post something a little more helpful, I thought I would leave you with today's workout routine and my playlist...

Workout

5:30am
20 minute jog

10:30am
1000 skips + 6 x 2 minute rounds on the heavy bag (throwing various 3-6 punch combos)
3 Sets of sandbag squats
3 sets bodyweight pull-ups
3 sets decline pushups

7:30pm
45 minute walk while listening to audiobooks (for de-stresser - not really exercise)

Playlist (I call this one Kick My Ass)

Discipline - Nine Inch Nails
Passive - A Perfect Circle
Change (In The House Of Flies) - Deftones
Every Day Is Exactly The Same - Nine Inch Nails
Guarded - Disturbed
Stand Up - Trapt
Downfall - Trust Co.
Fell On Black Days - Soundgarden
The Undertaker - Puscifer
Price To Play - Staind

Also, just to let you know that I am working on an cool audio project with the UK's leading kettlebell expert Caroline Raddaway, and Australia's top fat loss expert Daniel Munday. We'll be recording a 'fat loss roundtable' in early march and making that available as a download sometime shortly thereafter, so stay tuned for more details.

Over and out,

R

My new favorite snack

2009-02-10T13:54:00.000-08:00

Edamame.

I love this stuff.

For those of who don't know what it is, it's just baby green soybeans in the pod.

I have mentioned before that women should avoid a lot of soy products because of their estrogen effects, and men should stay away from soy completely, but Edamame is an exception.

In their raw form, soy beans are incredibly healthy. As usual, the more man interferes with nature, the worse it becomes, and such is the case with soy.

However, raw Edamame is loaded with healthy nutrients, plenty of protein, fiber, and is a tremendously satisfying snack.

Here is how to prepare it:

Take a bowl of frozen Edamame pods (found in the frozen veggie section of the grocery store) and cover them in water.

Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on high in the microwave.

Drain the water, and toss the bean pods in a little olive oil while still hot (my best friend gave me some incredible imported Italian olive oil with stone ground lemons that tastes incredible with this).

Season with a little coarse sea salt and pepper and toss again.

Eat by putting the pods in your mouth and squeezing out the individual beans with your teeth. Discard the empty pods.

Cheers,

RD

My sick sense of humor.

2009-01-29T09:11:00.000-08:00

This clip is from Little Britain USA. It has nothing to do with health and fitness, but it made me laugh, and laughter is the best medicine, so there you have it. I'm probably revealing a little too much about my twisted sense of humor by showing you this clip, but I find it absolutely hilarious. My wife thinks I'm going nuts though. Warning: some language may not be appropriate if you are watching this at work. Besides, what the heck are you doing looking at my blog when you should be working anyway? ;-)

My best diet advice

2009-01-25T18:17:00.000-08:00

Today, I wanted to share with you a little piece of advice, that although simple, can make an incredible change to your body almost overnight.

And this has to do with diet.

Although the Atkins diet has come and gone for the most part (thank heavens!) it did leave us with one tid-bit of information that is truly valuable.

And that is, GET RID OF STARCH!

What I mean by starch is potato, pasta, flour products of any kind, rice, etc (and yes, even peas and corn count!). On top of this, refined carbs like sugar and high-fructose corn syrup and even fruit juice are all ticking time bombs; waiting to make you explode into jean sizes you'll be embarrassed to admit you wear.

Now, most people assume that many of these foods are healthy choices. I mean, you would think that a baked potato is great compared to a plate of french fries.

Let me put it like this: Starches are a form of highly condensed energy. Energy that you just simply ARE NOT BURNING. If you have job that requires to you be physical all day long (like a farmer, carpenter, laborer etc.) then you can get away with it, but then again, if you have one of these professions, chances are your weight isn't too much of a problem.

The reality is, our lives are VERY sedentary. Even if you're 'busy' (who isn't) you probably aren't all that physically active. And while you do need some carbs to fuel your brain and keep you going throughout the day; the carbs you are getting from fruits and veggies are plenty to accomplish this task.

Quite simply, if you are eating carbs, and you have an inactive lifestyle, those carbs are not being used as energy, and WILL end up as body fat, period.

You need to make a shift from having meat, potatoes, and veggies for dinner, to having a salad, meat, and some cooked veggies.

Resist it as much as you want, but my clients who have the best success are all following this type of plan. This is what my wife and I have been doing for years now, and I can tell you the results were visible nearly overnight.

If you MUST have carbs, eat them only in the morning, and in sensible amounts. After that, focus on fresh fruits and veggies, and protein for the rest of your meals, and you will be amazed at the changes in your body.

Put this in to practice now folks. Don't wait any longer. The sooner you do this, the sooner you will get great results.

RD

The truth about Alli

2009-01-16T19:45:00.000-08:00

Don't even go here folks. Not one bit. Do not pass go. Do not collect 200 dollars.

You know how people who abuse laxatives are considered bulimic?

Yup, same idea here.

Alli is a pill you take with your meal that binds to fat rendering it incapable of proper digestion.

Here's the process: Take Alli...eat a burger...fat in burger binds to Alli...Alli and fat from burger ends up in toilet.

Eat all the fat you want, and your body won't absorb it. Great huh?

Not really.

Two big problems here.

Number one (well number two actually) is that this causes laxation. Well, to be fair, let me tell you exactly what the manufacturer states: “gas with oily spotting, loose stools, and more frequent stools that may be hard to control.” Sounds like a party to me.

The other is that it doesn't do a damn thing about the carbs, sugar, and all the other garbage you might be jamming down your throat.

And a third problem (I know I said two, but who's keeping track anyway) is that you NEED some of the fat you are eating. If you are eating healthy fats like olive oil and fish oils, you'd then be depriving yourself of some incredibly beneficial and healthy nutrients that actually help you BURN fat.

Okay, so I've got one more. Alli comes with a little manual that contains an eating plan and exercise guide. Guess what? It states for this pill to work, it must be combined with healthy diet and exercise plan.

WAKE UP PEOPLE! It's not the pill that is making you lose weight, it's the strict diet and exercise plan they include with it that MUST be followed in order to achieve the 'incredible' results.

You will not, I repeat, NOT get healthy and skinny from a bloody pill. Give up on the magic bullet, it does not exist.

Your body is NOT meant to be fat.

It's also not meant to sit around all day at a desk, and it's not meant to consume the types of things that are getting passed off as food these days.

Move more, eat less. It's a no brainer folks. Two simple steps and you will lose weight; while maintaining control over your sphincter I might add.

Yeeesh!

What I recommend for heart rate monitors

2009-01-15T12:16:00.000-08:00

This is one piece of equipment that I recommend all my clients get. It is imperative that you know your heart rate when you are training to ensure that you are working at a sufficient enough intensity to cause a change in your body. The only way to know this for sure is to wear a heart rate monitor such as this.

All of my programs contain heart rate guideline for the cardio training sections, and trying to take your pulse manually is nearly impossible to do while working out and almost surely you will end up with major errors. Therefore all my private clients are instructed to get one of these.

I have seen many different models and prices of monitors, but my favorite continues to be the Polar F4 (this is the one I use). The price is great, it is easy to use, and it even tracks how many calories you burn during a workout so you can make sure that you are training just as hard each session.

Locally they have been hard to come by as of late, and the best price I've seen online has been Amazon, so you can click the link below to take you right to their page.

NOTE: It says 'women's' for some reason, but it is exactly the same as then men's; fellas, don't let that confuse you, there is no difference at all.

Question about how to beat cravings...

2009-01-13T13:13:00.000-08:00

Q: I have been trying my best to do the mind over matter and when someone offers me a chocolate or asks if I want to go for wings and it’s a hell of a lot harder than I thought, what can I do to subdue the craving? Some people say drink water or green tea??

First, let me tell you about a little trick that I use to decide if I'm actually hungry, or if I'm just 'craving' something. First, think of a food that you don't particularly enjoy all that much, but if you are hungry, you'll more than happily eat it. For me, it's canned tuna. Bodybuilders around the world have a love-hate relationship with this stuff, and I am no exception. Now, I'm not talking about tuna salad here, just plan ol' canned tuna. Back in school, I had days where I had gone more than 12 hours without eating anything because I had been so wrapped up in my work that I literally forgot to eat (by the way, I do NOT recommend you do this). When I finally stopped working, I realized how hungry I was. All that was around at the time was a can of tuna, which I would often keep in my backpack for just such emergencies. That can of tuna tasted like a gourmet feast at the time, because I was really hungry. Now ask me if I want to eat a can of tuna, plain, when I'm not REALLY hungry, and I'm not going to be interested. So this is a great measuring tool that I use to decide if I am really hungry, or just wanting to snack.

Most people get this right after dinner if they include starches or other heavy carbs in the meal. As soon as they put down the knife and fork they want something sweet. And since you JUST ate, you know you're not really hungry, it's just the hormones and chemicals that have been released into your system from the meal you just consumed.

The only way to beat this is good ol-fashioned determination. Sure you could grab something like a diet soda, but they have been proven to make your sweet tooth even worse. The best thing to do is not eat anything that is bad for you for at all, for at least 10 days, and the cravings will dramatically reduce or subside altogether. This means no cheating on your diet, not one little bit. Every time you eat something that you shouldn't, you are starting the whole process over again, and the more you eat of the bad thing, the worse the cravings will be in the days to come.

When you're struck with cravings, pick something in your mind that you would only eat if you are actually hungry, and if it sounds appetizing to you, then you ARE hungry, and you should eat. But if you'd rather pass, then it's probably just cravings and withdrawal, and you don't need food at the moment.

As I've eluded to in recent posts and various articles, cravings are often a result of the withdrawal process that takes place when you begin to eliminate certain problematic foods from your diet. Although it might sound too extreme to be the case, cutting junk foods from your diet is very much like trying to kick a coke habit. Everything you eat is broken down into it's 'chemical' byproducts (some good, and some bad) and these byproducts have an effect on your body. Sugar, for instance, causes a number of chemical responses to take place, one most notably is a sharp spike in serotonin - a feel good drug. Why do you think when you feel sad, depressed, or upset (all emotional responses to low serotonin) you crave things like chocolate and candy? Because it rapidly boosts your serotonin, and you feel so much better almost instantly. This is how antidepressant medications are thought to work.

We've all had the experience of feeling crappy, then having a bit of junk food to make ourselves feel better - and it works! It works frighteningly well too (although the effects are very short lived). Now try and tell me that isn't a drug addiction. It's just in a different form. If you take just one little bite of chocolate, you are risking sending yourself into an uncontrollable feeding frenzy that will land you with a gut ache, a fuzzy head, and a nice bit of guilt to go along with it. Just like alcoholics, there is no wiggle room here. You cannot allow yourself even a little tiny bit of the foods that you know you have a weakness for, at least not for a period of 30 days like I explain in my Daily Detox Diet program. In this I explain that after a certain period of time has elapsed, you can start selectively re-introducing potentially problematic foods to then determine what you can handle in moderation, and what you should avoid indefinitley.

You really do have to give yourself time to let the cravings pass. This ultimately comes down to digging in your heels and refusing to let anything bad pass your lips. No it's not easy, that is why so many people struggle their whole lives with weight problems. But, given enough time, the toxic byproducts of these bad foods in your system will be eliminated, and the cravings will disappear.

Also, I should also mention, that if your eliminatory processes in your body are in any way overloaded (meaning less than optimal colon, kidney, and liver function - which is the case for the vast majority of people today), then it will take much longer for you to excrete these byproducts. Although not a topic most people want to discuss, I have to bring this up. If you're not having at least one good bowel movement each day, your liver and colon are not working as they should, and you are accumulating toxins in your system that WILL cause you major problems if they haven't already.

This is why including lots of fresh fruits and veggies, high fiber foods, and at least 2 liters of water per day in your diet is ESSENTIAL. They help you cleanse the colon, liver, and kidneys, keep you regular, detoxify the system, and replenish the much needed vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that are leached from your body by harmful foods and pollutants.

Folks , this cannot be understated. You MUST be drinking 2 liters of water every day, and you MUST be getting fresh fruit and/or vegetables in each meal. This is NOT negotiable.

Clean up your diet, stick to it, and it will get easier. It will be a lot of work at first, but once you get past that initial hump (the first 7-10 days) you will be amazed at how your momentum picks up, and how it becomes easy to stick to your plan.

Detox program for the new year?

2008-12-30T11:35:00.000-08:00

This is a question that I get asked a lot, so here is my recommendation.

So YOU'RE too busy to workout hey?

2008-12-24T10:55:00.000-08:00

From The Guardian online news...

He breezed through the rigors of a marathon 21 months on the campaign trail. On polling day he mixed it up on a basketball court. And within hours of his election victory, Barack Obama was back in the gym for another grueling workout. Has an American president-elect ever been fitter for office?

Exercise, Obama says, is the key to remaining fresh and focused in the face of a punishing schedule. "The main reason I do it is just to clear my head and relieve me of stress," he told an American fitness magazine. "My blood pressure is pretty low and I tend to be a healthy eater."

While presidents before him were keen to display their physical fitness - Bill Clinton, for example, would take three-mile jogs through Washington's National Mall, accompanied by a posse of secret service agents on bicycles - few could match the dedication shown by the early-rising Obama, 47.

"Most of my workouts have to come before my day starts," he told Men's Health. "There's always a trade-off between sleep and working out. Usually I get in about 45 minutes, six days a week. I'll lift [weights] one day, do cardio the next. "I wish I was getting a 90-minute workout," he added. But even at his current pace, Obama will have spent at least another 2,700 minutes in the gym before inauguration day on January 20.

So the busiest man and father in North America has time to workout 6 days a week? Suddenly the rest of our excuses look pretty lame.

For all you golfers out there

2008-12-23T12:17:00.000-08:00

Book scores for Hospice
Published: December 16, 2008 7:00 PM Vernon Morning Star

The PAR-fect Cookbook is the perfect gift for golfers on anybody’s list.

Last fall, the Spallumcheen Golf and Country Club Ladies wanted to help Hospice House and they decided that a cook book would be a great way to raise funds.

The PAR-fect Cookbook, now in its third printing, has contributions from popular golf professionals Al Pisch, Spallumcheen head pro, and Tara Roden, golf pro and academy director at Gallagher’s Canyon, supplying valuable golf tips.

Rylan Duggan, kinesiologist, personal trainer and health and fitness consultant at Adonis Fitness, supplied a golf-specific exercise program, complete with pictures and nutritional recipes. The ladies donated some of their very best recipes and the book includes scenic pictures of the Spallumcheen golf course with cartoon characters and golf quotes on almost every one of the 300 pages. All recipes include a nutritional analysis with calorie counts and fat, protein, carbs, fiber, cholesterol and sodium contents.

All proceeds from the PAR-fect Cookbook will go to Hospice House. For more information, call Adele at 250-838-7855 or e-mail adele64@telus.net.

How to lose weight during the holidays

2008-12-17T10:30:00.000-08:00

Now that I’ve cleared my head with the holiday rant, what if you
are one of the proud few who are actually sticking to a diet and
training program over the holidays?

Can you allow for a little wiggle room for some holiday treats?

You sure can!

Strange as it sounds, you can use the holiday season and all its
indulgences to your advantage, and actually see improvements in
your body.

Assuming you’re following a strict diet and training program for
90% of the time, 10% of the time you can be free to eat what you
like.

This is based on research that shows that when you are in a
state of caloric depletion, your metabolism attempts to compensate
by switching into starvation mode and slowing down; ultimately
leading to decreased calorie burning throughout the day.

Think of a campfire: Forget to stoke it with new fuel and it
slowly smolders out, add a few fresh logs and it blazes to life.
Your metabolism is much the same.

You can use this to your advantage. If you are maintaining a
rigorous physical training schedule with a spot-on diet, the extra
calories will actually help your body recover faster, build more
muscle, re-fuel you for you next workout, and keep your metabolism
blazing.

So how can you put this into practice?

Six out of seven days per week, train hard and keep your diet clean.
Come the seventh day, forget about the diet and training for a day.
Eat what you want and relax. Just be sure to plan your schedule
around days that you know you will want to indulge (office parties,
Christmas Day, New Years Eve).

There you have it. Use this little bit of knowledge and you can
actually further your progress over the holidays. Just make sure
you stick to the 90%-10% rule!

Merry Christmas!

My Holiday Rant

2008-12-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

It’s the holidays; I’ll start fresh in January.

How many times have you said this?

Being a trainer, I’ve heard this more times than I can count.

There was a time in my life where even I used to say it too.

The calendar is chock full of ‘excuse opportunities’ as I like to call them. The big one, of course, is the Christmas holidays. After all, with all the goodies around, you couldn’t possibly not indulge, could you?

You know, if it was only the Christmas holidays that were the problem, then it wouldn’t really be that much of a problem. After all, what’s a couple weeks out of the year to forget about your exercise and nutrition, and just do whatever you feel like for a change? No big deal right?

I’ve often told clients that there is no difference between 100% and 90% when it comes to your diet and exercise plan. What I mean by that, is if you eat clean and stick to your exercise plan 90% of the time, your results are going to be pretty much the same as if you were 100% spot on; there really is no need for perfection is there?
Problem is, most people blow this 10% “free time” before they even get the year started.

And that is the start of the perpetual excuse cycle...

The goodies start flowing in December. Christmas parties, office parties, relatives and friends showing up at a moments notice; seems like everyone who comes to your door is carrying a plate of cookies, or Christmas baking of some sort. No hope even trying to fight it right, so what’s the big deal giving in for a month? After all, it’s just a month right? You’ll start back at it in January with a newly instilled sense of determination. Right! Okay, so now you can relax until the new year.

New years eve rolls around, and you party a little too hard. New years day is spent recovering from the night before, and of course we all know how greasy foods seem to cure a hangover right? So much for starting your new diet and exercise plan January 1st. Besides, there’s still so many goodies lying around left over from the holidays and the new years party, and in your condition you’re not likely to be heading to a gym anytime soon. You‘ll need a week to get back to work and get into a routine anyway, so you’ll start next week.

February rolls around, and you managed to get a couple solid weeks in at the gym, but it’s been a rocky start. Valentines day is here though, and the chocolate is a calling. You have a nice calorie ridden dinner with your significant other, and of course, a decadent dessert. So much for this week. Besides, you can’t NOT eat those chocolates you got right? That would be rude. You take a couple days to consume all the goodies, and you don’t feel like going to the gym because you're so bloated and sickly feeling from all the sweets, so you’ll get back at it next week.

Finally it’s March, and spring is just around the corner! Uh oh! That means summer is on the way too! Better buckle down or you’re going to be avoiding the beach AGAIN this year. Nothing worse than feeling fat and bloated and trying on bathing suits. But, then again, there is still snow on the ground, you’ve got time, no need to panic. But you should start thinking about putting some use to that gym membership you bought back in January.

April arrives, and you maybe got another solid week or two at the gym, but then Easter hits, and the stores are stocking their shelves with chocolate bunnies, chocolate eggs, and other nice goodies. You find yourself unable to resist the temptation, yet again. Chocolate is just too damn good, but after this, that’s it! And you mean it too!

Spring is now in full effect, and now May long weekend is here. The official start to the camping season, (and drinking season). You might go camping, you might stay at home, but either way, it’s a holiday and time to celebrate. Bring on the chips, hot dogs, and beer!

Oh no! June is here already!? Okay, time to get serious now. Summer crept up on you again, how does it always do that? If you really push hard, and I mean REALLY hard, you might be able to feel a little better about your body for August. At least you’ll get one month of summer time fun with a half-decent body right? And September is still summery anyway right?

July hits, and the heat is on, literally. It’s getting harder to go to the gym in this 35+ degree weather. You simply can’t go for your after work run anymore because it’s just too hot. Oh, but guess what? It’s Canada day long-weekend! Let’s have a barbecue at the lake! That’s what summer is all about right? Going to the beach, camping, barbecues, boating, cold drinks. You work hard all year to get to the summer, you’re not going to not enjoy it right?

August is a complete write-off. It’s too hot to work-out, there is a barbecue every weekend, the kids are at home and you’re trying to keep them busy, and then you have your holidays coming up too. Oh well, so much for this summer. Next year will be different. NO! Forget I said that, you’re not going to wait until next year. September is right around the corner, and the kids will be back in school, the weather will be better, and you’ll be back at work and in a routine. September it is then, so just relax and enjoy the rest of your summer and you’ll start fresh next month.

It took a couple weeks to get the kids into their routines and get settled back at work, but now that you are half way through September conditions are perfect to get serious about your diet and exercise again. You might even take a trip somewhere warm this coming winter, so you’ll want to be in your best shape for the beach. Okay, down to business now!

October brings the beautiful colors of the fall, and the weather is perfect for exercising, and you are starting to get a little momentum with your diet over the last couple weeks. It hasn’t been perfect, but it’s certainly better than the month before. But here comes Thanksgiving and what is Thanksgiving without the feast? Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie, mmmmm. Sounds good doesn’t it? Okay, after this, things are going to get serious.

Oh shoot, forgot about Halloween. All that candy lying around… is gotta go somewhere. All right, after this THAT IT!

Now that November is here, you are really treading on thin ice. That holiday to Mexico is coming up just after Christmas, so you’ve got less than two months to make some serious headway with your body just to get BACK to where you were last November. After all those indulgences over the past year, and your inability to stick to your exercise program for longer than a couple weeks at best, you’ve actually put on 10 lbs since last year. That means that you’ll have to lose at least 20 lbs to look a little bit better than you did last year. Oh man, where does the year go? You might be in trouble if you can’t get it together in the next couple weeks.

Ahhhh ta hell with it! It’s December, and who are you kidding…. Christmas parties, office parties, relatives and friends showing up at a moments notice…Wait a minute. Why do I have this feeling of Déjà Vu?

Does all this sound familiar?

Stop making excuses, and STOP PUTTING IT OFF!!

If you don’t make NOW the time to get in shape, then when will you?

Stop saying tomorrow, because tomorrow never comes.

Let me make something perfectly clear. The only reason that you don’t have the body you want, the ONLY reason….

...is because you haven’t made it a priority.

It’s not because of genetics...

It’s not because you were dealt a bad hand...

It’s not because your mother has large thighs so you are doomed to have large thighs...

It is because you’ve put everything else ahead of yourself.

So STOP!

You must take responsibility for your body. It is the way it is because YOU made it that way, good or bad.

Do NOT wait until January.

If you do, you seriously run the risk of ending up in the exact same position you are now….

…except maybe 10 pounds heavier

Ain't this the truth...

2008-12-11T12:39:00.000-08:00

I'll be posting something a little more helpful later today or early tomorrow. Just getting over a miserable flu bug at the moment.

Until then, I came across this photo on Matthew Good's blog and found it to be completely hilarious, and frighteningly true.

For the record, I own a Jeep, so I can attest to the truth in this, especially after recently owning a Honda. I still love my Jeep though, it's a pathology shared by many Jeep owners. Doesn't mean I wouldn't also love to have better fuel economy, better resale, and higher quality control.

I'm back!

2008-12-07T23:23:00.000-08:00

Super Slow (Superslow) training: Miracle method, or fitness fad?

2008-12-02T00:02:00.000-08:00

A client recently asked me about a training method she discovered which is referred to as
Superslow training (the lack of a space is intentional, this is actually a trademarked term and should not be confused simply with the term "Super Slow").

While discussing this topic could take the space of an entire book, I'll keep this short and to the point.

The premise is basically this...

Use very light weights, and move the weight very, VERY slowly through the repetition range.

While the normal cadence for most weight lifting is usually about two seconds up and two seconds down, Superslow training often recommends taking approximately 10 seconds to lift the weight, and 4 seconds or more to lower. Some advocates of Superslow training are even recommending much longer rep cadences than this.

This type of training was originally developed in the early 80's to help facilitate muscular development in the elderly, as the slow speed was deemed to have far less risk for patients in this population who are more succeptible to fractures and falls (variations on this type of training have been around much longer, from the 1800's in fact, just not packaged and sold in the manner that Superslow has).

To date, few scientific studies have focused on this type of training, and the ones that have were not the most reliable.

The reason for the popularity of Superslow is...as always...marketing.

A few celebrities got on board and endorsed it a while back, and the method was then patented and frachised, resulting in a number of trainers who are now 'certified' in Superslow training.

Again, nothing special here, just marketing hype to make it sound like a monumental breakthrough resulting in a new training method that can only be administered by someone "certified" in Superslow training. This makes people think that the only way to get the body of such-and-such celebrity is to seek out a specialist who provides this incredible new training method.

Unofortunatley, this method just doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

Of course, as is the case with most fads and gimmicks, there are some aspects of this training that are valid. By slowing down the rep speed, you virtiually eliminate momentum, which focuses more stimulus to the muscle being worked. Rather than just 'heaving' the weight up (I've observed more than my fair share of muscle-heads swinging weight around haphazardly, obviously trying to impress fellow gym-goers by lifting weighs that are far heavier than they could normally handle) you are forced to use nothing but muscle to lift the weight, thus working the muscle harder.

Another benefit of slow rep speed is that the muscle is under tension for a longer time, which is a good thing...in moderation. Time Under Tension (TUT) is a well known concept among exercise physiologists and is an important component to developing strength and musclular size, but there IS a line. The truth is, Superslow training tends to go way beyond that line.

Here's are the problems...

When you try and lift a weight very slowly, taking 10 seconds or more to lift the weight, you simply cannot handle a very heavy load. However, a heavier load is ESSENTIAL to developing stronger, bigger, and more defined muscles. Superslow training does not allow you to handle heavy loads, and thus, inevitably, your progress will hit a major wall if you train in this way for any length of time.

A second downfall is that you actually train your body to move slowly, which is unnatural. Your body will develop in the way that you train it. What I mean by this is, Olympic sprinters train with speed and power, because that's what they need their bodies to do. They need to move fast and explosively. You won't find an olympic sprinter jogging around the track at a snails pace would you? Of course not, because come race day, their body would be prepped to move slow.

While you might think this is not applicable to you, how many times have you ran quickly up a set of stairs? What about getting up off the couch? If you train very slowly, then you could actually make something like standing up from the couch more difficult because you have trained yourself to move slowly, with little power, force, and muscular strength.

So what this all boils down to is this...

Go ahead an take a little longer with your reps: 2-4 seconds to lift and the same to lower, to keep momentum to nill, and keep your weights as heavy as you can comfortably and safely handle.

Any decent trainer will be able to determine what the best rep speed is for you and your goals. I would recommend finding someone who is an expert in all training methods who can help you design a training program that will work for YOU.

Be weary of anyone peddaling only one type of training method. It's probably just marketing hype.

Helping you build the body of our dreams,

RD

Will I come back from my honeymoon fat?

2008-11-23T11:36:00.000-08:00

I hear this all the time..."I'm going away, so I'll have to put my workout on hold until I get back".

That's usually the point when I realize that this person is not going to ever get in shape, no matter what I do, especially not anywhere in the near future.

It's the making of excuses for not being able to workout while traveling that truly separates those who will achieve their ultimate fitness dreams, and those who will continue to be disappointed with the way they look and feel.

For those who really want to get the body of they desire, they WILL find a way to get in a great workout, regardless of the circumstances.

I'll use myself as an example here...

Most of you know that I am currently on my honeymoon in Hawaii. I've had a lot of my clients ask me if I am going to be working out while I'm on my vacation - after all, you only get one honeymoon, so why not just sit back, relax, and enjoy it right?

My answer to that...

Of course I'm going to workout!

At this point in my life, working out is not looked upon as a chore, or something I have to just 'get done'. I actually enjoy it, and I really, really mean that. While I'm working out, AND during my workout, I have a great time. My body craves the expenditure of energy. I feel revitalized, fresh, and incredibly alive.

When I don't workout, I feel like crap.

I get antsy, irritable, and anxious. I simply do not like the way I feel when I can't get a good workout in.

So why would I want to spend three weeks lying on a beach and feeling horrible?

Of course, I'm logging my fair share of time lying in the sun, but I also make time to get a great workout in too.

In fact, in the past week or so, I've actually watched my bodyfat percentage go DOWN just from the different workouts I've been experimenting with while I've been here. And this is with no treadmill, no weight machines, no exercise ball, no bands, no nothing. Just a stretch of open beach and myself, and 20 minutes.

This is incredible...I'm actually going to come back from my honeymoon in better shape than I left!

So what I'm getting at here is that you don't need access to a gym or any fancy gym equipment to have a great workout. In most cases, you can do incredible things with just your own bodyweight, even for an advanced trainee.

The most important thing to take away from this is that you need to make working out part of your daily routine - just like brushing your teeth and taking a shower - regardless of where you are in the world or what is going on in your life.

And when you feel stressed out beyond all belief and feel like the world is coming down around you...

...THAT is when you need it most!

So no more excuses, get out there and have a great workout! Start now, and in three weeks you'll be looking at a leaner, more attractive, and healthier you!

For those of you who want to follow along at home, here is what my exact workout routine has been since I arrived in Oahu:

Warmup
200 yards sand jogging

Cardio
6 Intervals of 100 yard sand sprints + 6 100 yard recovery laps
12 x 100 yard sand jogging laps

Bodyweight Training
Rock Squats - 10 reps, 3 sets
3 Point Sand Pushups - 15 reps, 3 sets
T-Pushups - 12 reps, 3 sets
Rock Sand Slams - 10 reps, 3 sets
Plank + Elbow to Knee - 12 reps, 3 sets

Cooldown
100 yards easy swim

RD

Can you eat halloween candy and still lose weight?

2008-11-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

Hope you had a great Halloween. I actually spent the entire weekend
at a conference for Kinesiologists in Vancouver, BC.

But that didn't stop me from carving a pumpkin!

(In the photo from left to right, that is my brother's, my wife's, and mine on the far right.)

Anyway, as usual, the conference was filled with great speakers and I learned a lot.

I got to meet with some top experts in the field of human performance
and conditioning, and spoke personally with the trainer of celebrities
Jessica Alba, and Hugh Jackman. I also met with Roger Takahashi, the
strength and conditioning coach for the Vancouver Canucks.

Additionally, I attended a presentation from one of my old professors who is now
heading some fascinating research into genetics and what is called
'gene doping' for the 2010 winter Olympics here in Vancouver.

I learned something very interesting from Dr. Rupert, and it might
surprise a lot of you to know that there really isn't a 'fat gene'. So those
of you who have been blaming genetics on your physique, sorry, that
excuse no longer works!

Anyway, I will be posting some great tips that I took away from this
weekend sometime soon, but today I wanted to address something
that is probably more important at the moment.

And that is...

What do you do with all that Halloween candy?

Now I'm not going to be a Drill Sargent and say that you can't have
any of it, (but good for you if you have been able to resist!),
however, there is definitely something you should NOT do.

If you have Halloween candy lying around, you might be thinking,
'it's okay just to have a little bit here and there, as long as I
don't pig out', right?

No, no, no!

Do NOT do this.

I'm also not advocating binging and eating as much as you can all
at once and making your self sick either.

What I do recommend is allow yourself two days to have a moderate
amount of candy, then throw it out, or give it away.

The problem with having a little bit each day is that it puts your
body into a constant state of "fat storage mode", making it impossible for you
to lose any weight, even if your calories are kept very low.

The reason for this is a little hormone called insulin. When you eat
anything that contains sugar or starch, your body releases insulin to
gobble it up. The problem is, insulin can be a dirty little bugger
when it comes to fat loss because it likes to store body fat.

The more insulin you have rushing through your system, the more body
fat you are likley to store. Also, if you have insulin flowing through
your system all day (like when you take a piece of candy here and there
throughout the day) you are in a constant state of fat storage mode,
and there is no hope for you to lose any weight at all.

So even if you are watching the rest of your diet, fat loss is futile
if you are constantly eating sugar (even if it's just a little bit).

You had your fun, you've enjoyed a few pieces of candy, and now
it's time to toss it, give it away, or burn it. I don't care how you
get rid of it, but it ends today.

Get back on track, and get the fat falling off again!

RD

You Don't Know What it Feels Like

2008-10-15T18:11:00.000-07:00

"What would you know about getting in shape Rylan, you're a man, and you're a personal trainer, you don't know what it feels like to be out of shape. Walk a mile in my shoes and then you'll know how hard it is!"

This was the response I received from an email subscriber the other day.

Not exactly the type of response one hopes for when they're trying to help people out is it?

But it is a valid point. How can I help you if I've never experienced what it feels like to have your problem?

So you want to know the truth about me? It might shock you.

Ok, so here it goes....

The majority of my life I've been fat. I steadily gained weight all through elementary school, and when I hit high school it got worse, much much worse.

As hard as it is for anyone to be overweight, trying going through high-school as a fat kid. People can be cruel, but kids are the cruelest of the bunch, and it was not fun.

Desperately trying to avoid the older kids who would push you down the hall and call you "fat ass", never having a date, not going to any school dances because you know nobody would dance with you, covering up your entire body in baggy and oversized clothes because you think it will hide how fat your are, getting to gym class early to change so nobody would see your body, not showering with the rest of the guys because of how embarrassed you are. It was hell, and I would never go back for all the money in the world.

So why didn't I do something about it?

Boy did I try..

Diets didn't work. When I tried dieting I was always hungry. When I wasn't dieting I ate the same things as the other people and I gained weight while they stayed lean and in great shape.

Besides, if I brought things to school to eat that were 'diet foods' god help me - it makes me cringe remembering the harassment I got there.

Exercise didn't seem to do it either.

I joined the rugby team and basketball team and baseball team (I was accepted only because they had a policy that no kids would be turned away).

I also got a gym membership at 15 and would spend an hour there after a two-hour grueling basketball or rugby practice.

I showed a little improvement from the exercise, but it was impossible for me to sustain three hours of high-intensity workouts with all the studying and school work AND while working on our family farm.

That's right, I worked on a farm. If that isn't exercise, I don't know what is.

No good. Still fat.

So when did it all change? And more importantly, WHAT changed it?

I went to my high school graduation alone.

After our ceremony, we were announced as couples as we walked into the hall where our dinner was being held.

When I heard just my name called (I had no date remember), it was beyond embarrassing to walk to my seat alone.

I had enough.

Once school was out I immersed myself in learning everything I possibly could to do with exercise and nutrition. I was determined to end this cycle of misery. I started working out with a passion, and I totally changed my eating habits.

One thing I got really into was self-hypnosis and subliminal audio programs.

I started visualizing myself with the body I wanted, and I started to re-program how I viewed myself and my body.

In a matter of just three months, my body had transformed. and I mean TRANS-FORMED. People who I had graduated with couldn't even recognize me when I came up to them, my family was shocked, and all of a sudden I started getting attention. GOOD attention this time!

But why didn't this all work before? Remember I had tried dieting and working out before and I didn't get anywhere?

The difference was, I no longer saw myself as a "Fat Person". I successfully re-programmed myself to be lean and muscular, and it was literally effortless after that.

That doesn't mean that I didn't have to workout and eat right, it means that working out and eating right was no longer difficult. I enjoyed it, in fact I LOVED it.

In summary

I started as "fat person" with a "fat person" mind.

I decided to change my mind, and I became a "fat person" with a "skinny-person" mind.

I then quicky, VERY quickly, became a "skinny person" with a "skinny person" mind.

Where ever you mind goes, your body will follow. It's as simple as that. I am living breathing proof. I suffered through years of torment and anguish until I found the missing key to lasting success.

RD

How to keep results coming...

2008-08-18T12:58:00.001-07:00

I received a great question from Caliah this afternoon...

Caliah and Tina are my hairdressers and they own a salon called O'Hairas at 3205 39th ave in Vernon. If you want the best service in the Okanagan, give them a call at 250-545-3200, I have been going there for years and I don't trust anyone else to come near me with scissors - they are the best, hands-down.

Okay on to the question...

Hi Rylan,

I was reading your blog and I just have a question.
It's good to switch up a work out every 6 weeks. So when you say switch it up what things could you do? More cardio? Just strength training? How do I find new routines? Because I too have bought fitness magazines and tried the new workouts because I don't know what else to do.

The way I like to explain it is this:

When you try any new exercise for the first time (cardio and strength) you will be pretty sore for the first week as your body is learning to adapt to the new stress.

If you keep the stress the SAME, then you body eventually has no need to adapt because it can handle the demands put on it with ease.

At this point your improvements will drop off and you plateau.

When you change the stress, your body has to adapt again, and you will see further improvements.

The reason that programs from a book or magazine don’t work (other than the obvious I have stated before – that they are primarily there to push supplements) they are not tailored to your body specifically. And every body is different.

For example, when I meet with someone for an initial consultation I like to get a thorough background on their physical activity history, and exactly what it is that they want to accomplish with their program; ie. what goals they have, what their time constraints are, if they’ve had injuries, what they’re past workouts have been, etc.

From this information I then go away and design a customized strength training and cardio training plan to fit all these subjects.

Then when we meet for the first session, I teach these exercises in detail, and I will not move on to the next step until I am confident they have performed these exercises successfully.

I have often changed exercises on the spot if I find that biomechanically, an exercise just doesn’t suit a person.

For instance, if a particular individual has reduced mobility through their low back, I would need to address that first before having them perform a squat. If not, they would end up performing the exercise improperly, and eventually this could lead to a muscular imbalance and injury.

So I guess that’s a long answer to a short question, but ultimately, you need to have your program changed and updated on a regular basis by someone who knows what they are doing. Simply pulling a routine out of a book will never yield the same results, and quite often, could end up inuring you or simply not working at all.

Thanks for the question Caliah,

RD

P.S. This will be my last post for the next week or so. With my wedding coming up this weekend, I will be stepping away from the keyboard for a little while to enjoy this monumental event in my life. I must admit, I am a little nervous, but incredibly excited. Wish me luck!

Protect your valuables!

2008-08-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

Another off topic post.

I recently picked up a memory foam sleeve for my Macbook from Isis Covers (more than anything just because it looked cool).

Well, I'm glad I did. In between clients the other day I was working on some programs with my Macbook, and the inevitable happened. I dropped it.

Thank crap for this cover.

It slid off my seat, and landed on the floor, but the cover saved it. I had visions of shelling out $1500 to replace this little piece of work.

Thankfully I spent $30 and avoided disaster.

If you have a Macbook or laptop, get yourself one of these little devils.

RD

Some humor for your friday

2008-08-15T14:07:00.000-07:00

I know how you feel buddy, by Friday I hate my phone just as much!

This looks like my workout in my garage tuesday morning.

Proof of Bigfoot

2008-08-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

Ever since I was a young boy I've been fascinated by Bigfoot or
"Sasquatch".

My grandpa used to keep me and my younger brother awake at night
with stories of the hunting trips he used to take when he was a
young cowboy - hunting trips where he would come across signs of
Bigfoot tracks, hair left on barbwire fences, trees knocked over etc.

Of course, when I grew older I kind of figured these were nothing but
stories, but he always remained adamant that they were the truth - which
he then followed up with a pat on my back and him breaking into his
infectious laugh.

After my grandpas funeral, my dad bestowed upon me an envelope of
"Sasquatch hair" that grandpa kept with him in the corn truck on the
farm. Of course, I now know that he would collect hair from the barbed
wire fences (the bears would pass through the fence to get into the corn
fields and their hair would get caught on barbs) to add further
creditability to his Sasquatch tales.

As goofy as all of this sounds, those are some of my fondest memories
of my grandpa. And to this day when I'm camping in the backwoods,
I must admit, I'm much more terrified of being snatched up by a
Sasquatch than running into a bear or cougar - or anything else
a little more "realistic".

Even now as I write this, that envelope of "Bryan Duggan's original
Sasquatch hair" sits in my office in a drawer next to me and reminds
me of how important it is to let your imagination run wild every once
and awhile. It's that uninhibited imagination that so many people
lose as they grow older - but would help to keep you looking and
feeling years younger.

Anyway, there is press conference scheduled for tomorrow at 12:00pst
where these men who have captured Bigfoot will be supposedly by
providing photographic and DNA evidence of their capture, and hopefully
proof of the existence of Sasquatch.

Hoax or not, I know Grandpa Bryan will be watching over this event
and grinning from ear to ear.

So what does this have to do with fitness, you ask?

Well, I guess nothing really, I'm just really excited and I wanted
to share my enthusiasm with you.

I will tell you this, if Bigfoot is proven to be real tomorrow at
this press conference, I am going to be one excited guy.

And if not, I'll keep on dreaming.

RD

Response to Cereal Box Personal Trainers

2008-08-13T16:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it seems that (as I expected) I caused a bit of a stir
with my last past about 'not-so-personal-trainers'.

I have received a whole slough of questions from you on the subject,
and there are a lot of you who have had bad experienced with these
people.

I got one email from a lady in Seattle who paid her trainer
$175/hr, and he did little more than show her how to use the
machines at her 'boutique' gym.

This is little more than an orientation folks, and this shouldn't cost you
more than $75, and in many cases gyms offer this for free.

This wasn't the only case. One of my wonderful clients Sue told me of a very
similar story where her friend experienced nearly the identical situation, and
in this case the same gym offered a free orientation.

So you can pay for the service, or get it free, what would you choose?

I got an email from yet another woman hired a trainer to come to her house for over
$200 an hour. She wanted to lose about 20lbs before her daughters
wedding and she needed results fast. The program this idiot (to
put it lightly) put her on was almost entirely stretching and
core-stability work. She lost about two pounds over the course of
6 weeks - utterly ridiculous!

Just because core training is trendy, doesn't mean it will do a damn thing
for you!

For those of you are have just started reading my blog, you might not have received my
special report on the fallacies of core training I wrote some time ago.
If not, email me and I'll send you a free copy.

Anyway, I'm ranting...back to the subject at hand.

So how do you find a trainer who is worth the bill?

First off, education. You need to find someone that at the very
least has two years of university study under their belt - and
preferably have a four year degree in a field such as Kinesiology
or Human Physiology.

Second, ask for their certifications. Anyone certified by the NSCA
(national strength and conditioning association) is a good bet.
There are two things you should look for here, NSCA offers two different
certificates. NSCA-CPT and CSCS.

NSCA-CPT is a certified personal trainer

CSCS is a certified strength and conditioning specialist.

To make things easier for you, anyone who is a CSCS has to
have a degree in a related field to even get certified. So if you
find someone who is a CSCS, your work is done. They will have
completed at least 4 years in university studying human performance
and exercise, and they will have passed the most highly regarded
certification process in the WORLD.

If you look in any of the top reputable magazines or books on
fitness (Men's Health and Women's Health are two of the only ones
that I recommend) look at the article contributors. Nearly every one
will have the CSCS designation. There is proof positive that these
people should know what they're talking about.

Furthermore, the top names in the industry at the forefront of
exercise physiology research, and the people who work with the
elite of the elite are CSCS designated.

These are folks such as:

Dr. Donald Chu, PhD, CSCS
Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale, MD, CSCS
Dr. Tudor Bompa, Phd, CSCS
Dr. John Berardi, Phd, CSCS

These guys write the textbooks that the university students learn from
all over the world...nuff said.

There is another reputable source that I would
recommend, and that is CSEP (Canadian Society of Exercise
Physiology) but it is not found outside of Canada, and there are
far less people certified by this organization so it would be
harder to find someone with this designation.

So there you have it! Now you have the information you need to
ensure that you find the kind of personal trainer who knows what they
are talking about.

Keeping you fit and informed,

RD

Personal Trainers in Kelowna

2008-07-31T11:53:00.000-07:00

I must admit, I'm not well received by my 'peers' in this city. For that matter, personal trainers in vernon aren't any friendlier.

I'm not sure if it's just the overwhelming ego that so many people in my industry seem to possess, or the fact that they feel threatened by my presence for the fear of me stealing their business; but I tell you, it's like walking on eggshells around these people. Quite honestly, I don't know how their clients even stand them. On more than a few occasions I've been met with downright snobbery and rudeness.

The whole 'tough and macho' bit has never been a routine that I've endorsed or took part in, partly because it's just not in my nature, and more importantly, I want my clients to feel comfortable and at ease in my presence. The health and fitness realm is intimidating enough as it is without me barking orders and making my clients feel somehow inferior to me.
I so often see trainers prancing around with the attitude like "maybe one day - if you're lucky - you could look HALF as good as me!" Sorry guys, this just aint my shtick.

So how do you find a good personal trainer in Kelowna? And how do you know who to avoid?

First off - STAY AWAY FROM CEREAL BOX PERSONAL TRAINERS!

(Thanks to my friend Cara for this term!)

Cereal box personal trainers are, I'm afraid, the norm in the Okanagan. What I mean by this, is a personal training certificate that is so easy to get, it's like they got it off the back of a cereal box. There are many, many, many personal training certifications out there. One of which is so incredibly easy to get, a fellow Kinesiologist had his dog certified just to prove this point. This is no joke. Somewhere out there, there is a golden retriever who is a certified personal trainer!

Most of these certifications require no post secondary education, no hands on training, and virtually no prior knowledge of health, the human body, or exercise science.

On average, to obtain a personal training certificate in this province, it requires little more than a couple weekend classes, and a brutally easy exam.

To illustrate this further, when I was fresh out of high school I obtained one of these certificates. And I did so without ever cracking open a text book, studying, or receiving guidance of any kind. I knew enough from reading fitness magazines (and you know how I feel about these crummy things) to pass with 98 percent. I even corrected the class instructor on some anatomy mistakes she made on a diagram.

This is not to brag folks, this is to let you know how bloody easy it is. I was by no means prodigy or fitness guru or anything like that. I just knew a little bit from reading garbage magazines and working out with my buddies.

Unfortunately, this is all it takes for you to call yourself a personal trainer in Kelowna, Vernon, or anywhere else in this province.

I won't name the types of certifications - and the trainers that they're attached to - that you should avoid (as I mentioned, I take enough heat from my peers as it is - and I guarantee this is going to upset many of them even further).

What I will do is let you know how to find a personal trainer in kelowna or vernon (or anywhere else for that matter) that you can trust to get you in the best shape of your life, and do it safely, quickly and in a way that isn't torture.

So check back soon, and I'll let you in a little secret that will weed out 90% of the crappy trainers out there instantly.

Yours in health,

RD

A swing and a miss!

2008-07-25T18:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks, nobody got both the answers I was looking for.

Lots of you got one part of it right, but nobody was able to get both answers.

There were lots of really great answers, and it seems that many of you have been listening to my advice.

So on to the answers...

The two big reason's Sally's plan failed:

Mistake #1: Sally didn’t plan

She left everything up to willpower and a hope that she would do the right thing at the right time. But when she was confronted with a sudden schedule change, or a momentary lapse in willpower, she threw in the towel for the time being and told herself she would start fresh some other time.

Lesson #1: Life WILL get in the way.

Most people plan their workout schedule around a ‘best case scenario’, but think back to how many weeks you’ve had in the recent future when everything went as you planned. Probably not one. You must, I repeat, you MUST have a plan, and a backup plan. If you can’t get your workout in after work, then maybe you get up early the following day and go for an extra jog. If you miss Monday’s workout, do it on Saturday, if you know you get busy in the afternoon, workout in the morning. Make it a priority, and have a PLAN.

And the big one that nobody got...

Mistake #2: Her workout plan was only good for 6 weeks.

Sally got a program that was supposed to be 6 weeks long, and she ended up dragging it out over three months. She then wondered why her results sucked when she actually did it properly.

Lesson #2: Change your program, and change it often.

I've preached this time and time again, but so many people underestimate the need to constantly adapt and change your program. Never use and re-use the same workout program. When you start a new program your body is learning everything from scratch – you recruit muscles in ways they haven’t been used before, and it’s a complete shock to your system. This shock is what causes your body to change by losing body fat and building muscle. But when you don’t follow through, you are missing out on a tremendous window of opportunity where your body could see dramatic changes. Worse yet, when you pick away at the same program by getting in a workout here or there, your body is still learning and adapting even if the results aren’t showing. So when you finally do get around to doing that workout program the way it was intended, your muscle memory is there and already knows what to do so the results are dismal.

I see this so very often with people who stop working out in the summer, then pick up their old workout routine in the fall. Even though it’s been quite some time since they did that workout, their results will never be close to what they could have been over the first 6 weeks they started that program.

If you’ve been using the same workout program for longer than 6 weeks, EVEN IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN CONSISTENT…it’s time to change it.

And for bonus points...

Sally was using a program from a magazine.

I was really quite impressed with the number of people who mentioned this one to me. Good work!

How can a program really work for you if it was designed for everyone and their dog? It can't.

However, this isn't the REAL problem.

The real problem is that all of the major fitness magazines are OWNED BY BIG SUPPLEMENT COMPANIES!!! They just throw random workouts into their magazines, then promote their recommended diet that, of course, must have such-and-such supplement to see the best results.

I'll talk more about this in a later post, but for now, leave the fitness magazines on the shelf. If you want the real answers to your fitness questions...yours truly is only an email away.

Yours in health,

RD

When it doesn't go right...

2008-07-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

Q: Rylan, what’s the biggest mistake you see people making with their fitness programs?

To answer this question, I’m going to present you with a scenario. There are TWO major things that Sally does wrong here. To test your knowledge of fitness, and to see how closely you’ve been following my instructions, send me an email me with your answer. The first person to email me with the correct answers for both of Sally’s mistakes will get a nice little prize.

Here’s a prime example of a scenario I see waaay too often:

Sally picks up a fitness magazine that contains the latest workout routine that guarantees to give her a bikini body in 6 weeks. She’s going on holidays in less than two months, and she’s got about 10 pounds to lose so this gives her just enough time. Sally starts her new program on Monday, and has a great week. She manages to fit in all her scheduled workouts and sticks a healthy diet plan, but then next week rolls around. She forgets to pack her gym shoes, misses her workout, and gets off to a bad start. “Ah screw it” she thinks. “This week is too busy, since I already messed up this week, I’ll start fresh on Monday.” Next week rolls around and she get four workouts in, but then Friday some people from the office want to go and grab a drink after work. She caves in - “I deserve a drink, I’ve worked hard all week” - so she skips her workout and has a couple drinks followed by a few wings and some garlic bread. On Saturday she’s so disappointed with herself for ruining an almost perfect week of her new program, that she vows that she will be 100% next week. Monday through Wednesday she does great and gets her workouts in and all is well. She then gets a call from her husband on Thursday afternoon that she needs to pick up little Timmy from soccer practice because he’s going to be stuck doing overtime tonight. So Thursday’s workout is scrapped, and since everyone is so pressed for time, she picks up pizza for dinner because she’s too exhausted to cook. Friday afternoon she’s still pretty tired, and just wants to go home at the end of the day, so Friday’s workout is a no-go as well. On the weekend she comes to the realization that there’s no chance in hell she’s going to look good in a bikini before her holidays, so she gives up because it’s just not worth the stress and guilt of trying to workout and then not. So she decides when she comes back from her holidays, she’ll start the workout plan again, and this time she won’t have the stress of preparing for holidays so it will be much easier. What then happens is Sally gets home from her holidays, and since it’s the third week of the month, puts the program off again until the beginning of the next month because she’s going to be really busy with catch up at work. She finally gets around to doing the full program, and although she’s not 100%, she’s pretty close, but her results are dismal and she can’t understand why. She only lost a few pounds, and when she looks in the mirror she can’t see any difference in her body.

Why hasn’t Sally got the results she wanted? What two critical mistakes did she make that kept her from reaching her goal?

Send me your answers to info@adonisfitness.ca and check back here in a couple days for the answer.

Yours in health,

RD

Supplements: Magic Bullet or Major Waste?

2008-07-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

This morning I was making my way through my huge Monday monday morning stack of emails, sorting through questions from clients, and deleting the usual batch of viagra spam, and I came across a weekly flyer for an on-line supplements company that I've used in the past.

It reminded me of one of the most common questions I get asked...

What supplements do you recommend?

Well, that's kind of a loaded question, but let me tell you this...

When I was 16 and just starting to hit the gym and lift weights (and new absolutely NOTHING about anything) I used to walk by the supplements store in the mall in awe. This place was stacked full of 10 pound laundry tub sized buckets of protein and things with labels like "Obscenely Massive Hippopotamus Mass Gainer 8000" and "Ultra shredded lean cutz fat blaster XXL" (not real names of products - but not much of a stretch either).

I remember thinking to myself, "All I need is to save up a little money, get the biggest tub of that Rhino protein, and I'll be the biggest baddest dude in high school".

Man was I wrong.

Years later, and literally thousands of wasted dollars flushed down the drain I came to realize that 99.99% of the crap sold in these stores is just that...crap.

There is no magic bullet when it comes to getting in shape. If it were as simple as popping the right pill, or choking down the right powder two or ten times a day, then everyone would be in great shape.

The sad reality is, most of the stuff on the shelves of these places is absolutely worthless. Because supplements are sold as 'supplements to your healthy diet' they don't HAVE to do anything. They bypass the FDA regulations as they are not promoted as Food or Drug.

Have a look at the fine print on any supplement advertisement or bottle, and you'll find a little blurb about "These claims have not been evaluated by the FDA blah blah blah..."

And just because they don't work, doesn't mean they won't also HARM you. I can think of countless times over the course of my career when supplements have been pulled from the shelves because they were found to be harmful AFTER they had been in wide spread use for a lengthy period of time. Most recently it has been fat loss products containing the potentially deadly ephedrine, and steroid like prohormones such as Androstendione and the toxic Methyl 1-Testosterone.

The latter is actually a full blown steroid that was being sold in supplement stores! They got away with this simply because it was so new to the market that it hadn't been scrutinized by the FDA and classified as such yet. Of course once the government caught on it was pulled immediately, but not before thousand upon thousands of teenage kids had gotten their hands on this extremely harmful steroid and caused some potentially irreversible damage.

Proper nutrition, and exercise is the ONLY way to get the body you want, and no amount of supplementation will even make a dent in your progress until you have this down.

Once you have your diet dialed in to at least 90% clean and your exercise program has progressed well and you have been steady and unwavering for at least the past 6 months, then there are a few supplements that can be helpful to give you that little extra boost.

Until then, spend your money on home exercise equipment and healthy food and a good trainer - that will get you light years further then an overpriced jug of Mammoth 2500.

Yours in health,

RD

Why starvation doesn't work

2008-07-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

You CANNOT starve yourself, and ever hope to have a great, lean body, PERIOD.

It is simply impossible.

When you cut the amount of calories you eat, your metabolism (the rate at which your body burns fuel) slows to a crawl.

If you are able to sustain this starvation diet for an extended period of time, your body will start burning muscle tissue for fuel (not fat) because muscle uses up a lot of energy.

You will lose weight, but you will actually be getting FATTER proportionately because you won’t be losing any fat. And because you now have less muscle mass, your metabolism with drop even further.

And when the inevitable happens, and you slip up on your diet, or have a ‘cheat day’, your body is going to hold on to those extra calories and store everything as fat.

What essentially happens, is that your body is being starved, and so when it finally gets some calories, it thinks “we might not be getting any more of this for a while, so we’d better store it quick! And you wind-up packing on extra fat tissue (even if you weigh less).

Then you give up on the diet completely, and go pack to your normal eating habits, except now your body is set to ‘storage mode’ and everything you lost, comes right back, except this time its all fat, and not the precious muscle you lost.

And the cycle continues.

You diet – you lose muscle

You slip up on the diet – you gain fat

After every diet, you’ve lost some muscle, and gained more fat so you end up getting fatter, and fatter, and fatter.

Deprivation does not work.

Strength train to build muscle and boost your metabolism. Get cardiovascular exercise to help burn off even more calories. Eat sensibly, and get enough calories of the RIGHT foods.

It’s a simple as that.

Yours in health,

RD

Is proper food combining the secret to weight loss?

2008-06-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

A while ago I was asked by one of my client's about the validity of 'food combining'.

This is something that quite controversial, so I wanted to do some good solid research before offering my opinion.

So for what it's worth, here it is...

For those of you who are unsure of what this is all about, there have been numerous 'experts' touting the benefits of only combining certain foods with each other at meal times.

The premise is that different foods require different digestive enzymes to be properly broken down and utilized by the body. Furthermore, if this food is improperly digested, then weight gain and digestive troubles are the result.

One of the typical no-no's touted by food-combining pros is that you should never eat protein and starch in the same meal, as they require different digestive juices, which, if secreted at the same time would neutralize each other resulting in indigestible and rotting food in your digestive tract.

This makes no sense at all.

Nature has provided us with countless food sources that contain both protein and starch in the same food (such as rice), so why would this be so if we were unable to digest them properly?

The following is a quote from Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby MB, ChB, MD, PhD - nutrition and food allergy specialist from the UK - from his book 'Diet Wise'...
"...you may have heard of the "food combining" approach to diet. A lot of elaborate theory is put forth as a justification for the ritual of separating morning, midday, and evening - your body is supposed to be unable to digest proteins and carbohydrates at the same time, some foods are acidic and some are alkaline, and other such fake science. These claims are simply not true. The body is geared to digest fats, carbohydrates, and proteins, sequentially, in different segments o the alimentary tract."

Basically, what Dr. Scott-Mumby is stating here is that digestion does not just take place in the stomach. For instance, sugar digestion starts in the mouth, fats are emulsified in the small intestine and so forth - your body is able to digest all types of food at the same time.

So why are so many people jumping on board this bandwagon if it doesn't work?

Most likely because food combining severely restricts the types and quantities of food you eat. For example, since starch and protein don't digest together but veg and protein do (in the eyes of food combining experts) then instead of the hearty serving of mashed potatoes with your roast beef, or nice scoop of pasta with your meatballs, you'll be substituting vegetables. Also, since fruit is 'best digested in the morning - and should not be combined with any other food' your breakfast bowl of sugar laden cereal, cup of coffee, or eggs and bacon, is now replaced by a grapefruit or an apple.

You've probably started to see where all the miraculous benefits of food combining really stems from.

So what do I recommend?

Don't worry so much about not eating certain foods with each other, but rather limit the amount of starches and simple carbs you are taking in (white flour products, sugars) and increase the amount of fresh fruit and veg in your diet. Not because it digests better, but because they are healthier substances and contain high levels of essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Yours in health,

RD

So much for a relaxing weekend....

2008-06-17T11:53:00.000-07:00

How can one little lug nut cause so many problems?

We didn't catch anything this weekend on our fishing trip. I got a few little bites, but nothing major. I'm not too upset over that. As they say, the worst day fishing is a lot better than any day at work (although in my case I actually love my job so its about even).

The weather was good, and I love being out in the woods, so I had a great time.

Until I tried to leave.

We got about 20 minutes away from the fishing camp when my on-board tire pressure indicator started flashing that my tire was low. Being on a really narrow highway, I didn't want to try and unload the Jeep and change the flat there, so we drove back to the camp so I could take care of it safely there.

We got back and checked the tire, and it had a big nail jammed in their and it was slowly leaking. So I unloaded our gear out of the back to get at the spare, and took it out and grabbed the jack and set it up, then I realized that something was missing.

The little lock-nut key (for the special anti-theft wheel nut pictured above) was missing.

In fact, the dealership never bothered to give it to me when I bought the Jeep a few weeks back.

Without this, you cannot remove the wheels.

So I called the 24 hour roadside assistance number to tell them my problem (I paid a nice hefty sum for extended warranty and emergency coverage). They regretted to inform me that the only place I could get a key for the wheel would be from a dealership (the closest one was in 100mile house an hour past where we were staying) and of course, being sunday, they were closed.

So we had to stay another night (and I sincerely apologize for all of those appointments I had to cancel) and wait until the dealership was open, and then have them shuttle a key out to me in the morning.

So in the morning I got up and called the roadside assistance number again, and they, yet again, regretted to inform me that they would have to send a tow truck from the nearest town, to pick up the Jeep, and haul it there to have the wheel key matched up. So I waited an hour for the tow truck, then rode another hour back to 100 mile with the driver making small talk about fishing and atv's, and hunting, and guns (gotta love the folks out in the cariboo - incredibly friendly, but I assumed from the box of shotgun shells nestled between the windshield and the dashboard that they are the type to shoot first and ask questions later).

When we arrived in 100 Mile (and thanks to Bridge Lake Towing - guns and all, the driver was really nice and interesting to talk to) the man behind the service desk at the Jeep dealership met me with a look of bewilderment that was quite concerning.

"Uh....we don't have any wheel lock keys..."

Apparently these are one-of-a-kind to ensure that nobody can go around steeling wheels off of cars. Problem is, you lose that key (or in my case NEVER GET ONE IN THE FIRST PLACE) you are hooped.

The mechanic was, however, able to chisel the nut off the Jeep, replace it with a regular lug nut, and repair the flat in about an hour and a half.

I said my goodbyes to the bewildered staff at the dealership, and started my hour drive back to Sheridan Lake, where I loaded up my gear once again, and then finally left for home.

Needless to say, although I love my new Jeep, I'm not to happy with the people who sold it to me. And the next thing I'm going to do, it get that key from my dealership and get rid of those stupid lock nuts.

Words of wisdom, if you have these special nuts on your car or truck, go check and make sure you have that key RIGHT NOW!

Spend time with your Dad.

2008-06-13T12:23:00.000-07:00

With father's day this weekend, what better opportunity to get to spend some quality time with Dad, and take a step towards being healthier and happier for you both.

Go for a walk or a hike with dad, or maybe a bike ride if that's his thing. Get outdoors and get some exercise, and get some much needed one-on-one time for you both.

Every year my brother, my dad and I try to get away for the weekend to do some camping or fishing, and this weekend we'll be heading up north to try and pull a trophy sized trout out of Sheridan Lake (as seen in the photo above). It's a great opportunity to relax, get some exercise, and just chat.

Even if we don't have much luck on the lake, I guarantee we add a few weeks to our life just from the stress release.

Wish us luck!

Yours in health,

RD

Don't use time as an excuse.

2008-05-21T09:14:00.000-07:00

But almost everyone does.

Workouts have a reputation for being these long, drawn-out, and grueling episodes that go on for long, sweaty, torturous hours.

Fresh out of high school, and before I knew any better (and when I had all the free time I could ever want) I would workout for 5 sometimes 6 days per week, at up to 2 and a half hours a pop.

Like I said, before I knew any better.

If you workout for 2 and a half hours, you can't possibly be pushing yourself to the maximum the whole time, which was exactly the case for me.

I would do a set, then walk around and 'gather my energy' for 5 minutes before my next set.

But of course I didn't really have anything better to do with my time.

After going through university and being constantly under the gun for reports, and projects, and studying, I was forced to change this routine.

In fact, this morning's workout took me no more than 35 minutes INCLUDING cardio.

There is a simple rule that I tell all of my clients.

"You can have intensity, or you can have volume, but you can't have both"

What this means is that if you don't have time for long workouts, then you can make up for this by increasing the intensity of your workouts (less rest time, heavier weights, faster speed on the treadmill etc).

On the other hand, if you can't put in high intensity for certain reasons like illness or injury, then you can get away with longer workouts, but at a much easier and lighter pace.

When working with client's who are incredibly pressed for time, an intense workout is always the best option.

I have worked with law enforcement officers that would sometimes have to leave right in the middle of a session if they got called out to an incident, so we would go through each workout like we only had 15 minutes to spare.

Now those were intense workouts.

Yours in health,

RD

Are detoxes a good idea?

2008-05-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

Q: Rylan, I have seen (insert favorite infomercial here) talking about this new detox plan with herbal supplements. Do you think that it's a good idea? I've been feeling a little sluggish and 'toxic' lately and have been considering doing a week long detox plan.

A: In my humble opinion, 99.9% of these products are simply a total waste of time and effort. A quick search on google for 'detox' will yield you countless results for everything from grapefruit detox, to herbal detox, to god knows what else.

We are a toxic society. We live and breath toxins, and I don't blame you for being concerned, but you have to pick your battles.

You don't need to go on some expensive and fancy detox plan to see fantastic improvements in your health and well-being. Your body wants to do this naturally.

But only if you stop loading it up with crap!

When a heroin addict stops their habit, they go through incredibly traumatic withdrawal symptoms as their body detoxes from the poison. They don't need to go on a detox plan to help their body out, they just need to stop filling it with garbage and let the body do it's work.

Your body will detox naturally, and safely, if given the opportunity.

Stop loading yourself with refined sugars, alcohol, refined flour products, and caffeine, and your body will gladly detox naturally on its own.

In fact, if you add certain herbal detoxifying supplements into your diet at the same time you are eliminating all the nutrition problems, you will probably feel really, really crappy, as your body is flooded with more garbage than it can handle.

This is where the headaches, shakes, and nausea set in.

Instead of worrying about whether your toothpaste is all natural or not, getting rid of that glass of wine or martini with dinner will go much farther in your quest to live a healthier life.

Make sure you drink plenty of water so your body has a way to eliminate the toxins freely, and get plenty of rest and exercise to help it along its way.

You will be so much more comfortable as you detox, it won't cost you a thing, and you will be amazed how how good you will feel in a few weeks.

RD

Time to hit the panic button...

2008-05-01T23:40:00.001-07:00

Yes, it's official. In less than two months, summer will be here.

Are you ready?

Have you lost the weight you said you were going to lose on New Years Eve?

Have you trimmed the inches off your waist?

Is your body bathing suit ready?

If you don't want to waste another summer hiding under oversized clothes and wearing t-shirts over top of your swimwear, then you don't have any more time to waste.

The good news is, you can accomplish a lot in two months.

You could drop 15-25 pounds or more

You could reduce your body fat by up to 5%

You could turn your soft tummy into hard abs

You could lose your man boobs (gentleman)

You could lose your bat-wings (ladies)

You could drop clothing sizes

You could be happy with your body for once.

So what are you waiting for?

Part V – Is Paul McKenna’s “I Can Make You Thin” a Scam?

2008-04-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

And last but not least…

Step 4 – “When You Are Full, Stop EATING!”

Paul McKenna states that many of us belong to the “clean plate club” in which our parents ‘guilted’ us into cleaning every morsel of food off our plate because there are starving children in china – a piece of logic that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Additionally, we have been conditioned to experience fullness as a ‘stuffed’ feeling where we can’t possible eat another bite.

McKenna recommends that if we eat slowly and consciously, we will be more attuned to the actual full signal which is much more subtle than we think. And if you don’t know, just guess. Besides, if you are hungry, you can eat again later anyway.

Rylan’s Verdict:

Great! For some people, I tell them to eat to 80% of full, because they have become so conditioned to the idea of full being “I cannot stick one more square inch of food into my stomach” type feeling. Full is much, much less than that.

It takes about 20 minutes for the full signal to make it from your stomach to your brain, so if you are cramming food down your yap faster than Jughead at a burger king, then you won’t get the message until it’s too late.

And for goodness sakes, just because you have food left on your plate doesn’t mean you have to eat it. Once it’s cooked, it’s wasted and you having an extra pound on your rear end isn’t going to make life any more pleasurable for starving children overseas.

RD

Submit your questions...

2008-04-20T23:55:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons that I created this blog was to offer a forum-like venue to help answer your burning questions.

So, I want to open up the floor and give you the opportunity to ask for the content that you want, not what I think you should know.

Please feel free to email your health, fitness, and nutrition questions to me at info@adonisfitness.ca or post them in the comments section below each post.

I may not always be able to respond right away, but I try my best to get back to everyone within 48 hours.

So, if you have a question, don't be shy. And chances are there are hundreds - if not thousands of people out there with the very same question

RD

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! AND THE WINNERS ARE....

2008-04-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

Not often that someone gives other people gifts on their birthday is it?

First off, thank you to everyone who submitted a testimonial. I am humbled by the kind and sincere comments I received. In fact, for the vast majority of testimonials that came in, they didn't even want to be entered into the contest, but were just thankful of how I have helped them change their lives.

So from the bottom of my heart, Thank You Everyone!

Now, for the winning entries...

The judges were looking for a number of things, but their criteria was largely based on putting themselves in a 'potential client's' shoes. For someone who doesn't know me or my business, what would motivate them to pick up the phone and book a consultation with me...

And in first place.....

I am a 60 year old female who had to leave my physically demanding job due to severe back pain that was being managed by high doses of medication. My diagnosed disease is a progressive, degenerative condition which only worsens with time. I knew I had to do something to help myself. Through word of mouth recommendation (rave reviews actually), enter Rylan Duggan.

After an initial meeting, he knew exactly what I needed and tailored a personalized, step-by-step, stretching and strengthening program slowly accelerating a diet and exercise regime that I could do at home that really works. The benefits and results that I have realized since following my program are incredible. For this and so much more, I cannot extol the virtues of Rylan enough.

He is a young man who has channeled his core belief into learning his craft and those fortunate enough to have him cross their paths will enjoy the benefit of that education.

His sound professional advice is aimed at each persons personal goals and success and his quiet "living it" ways brings to the table a natural ability and easy demeanor not learned in school. It is also a comfort to know he is always supportive especially when one falters. Rylan has a much higher goal than to believe in him, his goal is that YOU believe in a healthier, happier and more fit YOU.

Rylan truly is wise beyond his years, and this old girl is grateful.
Kudos Rylan, and from the bottom of my healthier heart, Thank You.

Roslyn Ross, Vernon, B.C.

Second place...

You shouldn’t go see Rylan because he is the most caring and sincere person you will ever find in the fitness industry, although he is. You shouldn’t go see Rylan because he is the most professional, qualified, and knowledgeable individual in his field, although he is. You shouldn’t even go see Rylan because he wants to see you succeed as much as you do, although he does. You must see Rylan because he simply delivers results. Do what he tells you, and you will reach your goals, it’s as simple as that.

Sandra Jenson, Vancouver, BC

And third place...

After years of struggling with my weight after having three children, I had simply ran out of ideas. I had tried every diet and program in the book, with no results, and I was desperate. My friend recommended that I hire a personal trainer, but I had always been skeptical about personal trainers. I knew for a fact that most of them only had to pass a three week course to get their designation, and I’ll be damned if I was going to let someone who wasn’t qualified mess with my health and my body.

But then, through word of mouth, I found Rylan Duggan. To say that Rylan was qualified for the job is an understatement. He has more letters after his name than in it, he has studied the human body intricately and has a university degree to prove it, and he is constantly furthering his knowledge through continued study and education. No matter the question, he always has the answer, and he was the answer I was looking for.

In the brief months that I have been working with Rylan, my body has transformed. Friends and relatives are shocked at the change when they see me. I no longer buy into the ‘I’m too old’ or ‘I’ve had children’ or ‘I’m a woman’ excuses that I once used to explain my inability to lose weight. Rylan has proved to me that no matter the circumstances, I can achieve the body that I want.

Rylan, you are a gem, and anyone who is smart enough to hire you as their personal trainer will see that as well. Thank you!

Kendra Swanson, Okanagan, BC, ken.swan@hotmail.com

Again, thank you to all that entered, and thank you for your kind words.
You are all very much appreciated.

RD

Part IV – Is Paul McKenna’s “I Can Make You Thin” a Scam?

2008-04-14T12:03:00.001-07:00

If you haven’t read the last posts on this topic, make sure you go back and review them before checking this one out…

Step 3 – Eat Consciously and Enjoy Every Mouthful

Paul McKenna states that we eat like it’s going out of style. We shovel food into our mouths, hardly chew it, and don’t stop until our stomachs are completely stuffed full. He states that we don’t even stop to taste the food we’re eating, but rather are getting “high” off the chemicals our brain releases in response to the rapid consumption of the food itself. As well, because of these ‘happy chemicals’, we never hear the signal from our brain to tell us that we’re full because we’re in a state blissful oblivion (which is why so many people use food to boost their mood).

Mr. McKenna recommends that we put our fork and knife DOWN after each bite, savor the taste of the food, and chew each bite thoroughly (20 or more times).

Rylan’s Verdict – Great!

I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. McKenna on this one, and this is something I was always guilty of.

Many of us are simply too rushed to even be present in the moment when we are eating. I used to rush from appointment to appointment, and I never had any time to eat. I would pack my day’s worth of meals with me in my car, and when I was speeding from one session to the next I would be munching on something, as I drove, not the best for road safety or my personal sanity.

I have since changed my habits and I book my appointments further apart to allow myself an extra 15-20 minutes to pull over somewhere, sit in a park, and enjoy my meal.

I not only found my stress reducing, but I also would enjoy my food much more, and allow for much better digestion because I would actually chew my food and not simply gulp it down as fast as possible.

I would recommend that you start implementing this habit into your life immediately. It has been one of the most positive changes in my daily routine that I have experienced in some time, and I know it will be for you as well.

RD

Comments Now Open

2008-04-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

In order to save everyone the frustration, I have opened the comments section so anyone can leave comments even if they don't have a google id.

Simply click the little blue comments button at the bottom of each post and your message will be posted (there will, however, be a slight delay between when you post and when it shows up).

RD

Midnight Tonight

2008-04-11T16:38:00.000-07:00

Deadline for testimonial contest is midnight tonight. If you haven't submitted your testimonial yet, you can sent them to me at info@adonisfitness.ca

Winners will be notified on my birthday, April 17th.

Good luck everyone!

Deadline for testimonial contest!

2008-04-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

Don't forget that the deadline to submit your testimonials before they are submitted for judging is THIS friday!

Check out this great one that I received this morning...

"Rylan came highly recommended to me, and now I can see why. I have suffered for years being overweight, out of shape and dealing with many health issues. Sitting and talking with Rylan has been a real learning experience for me. He has told me things that even the diabetic clinics and dietitians failed to tell me. Rylan is a very informed young man…knowledgeable way beyond his years. He has a sensitive and supportive approach that makes you feel comfortable right from the start. The advice that I have been given wasn’t “clinical”, it came from a lot of thought, and it was designed just for my situation and me. Thank you Rylan for being who you are. You are a hidden treasure!"

Bonnie May-Gardner, Vernon BC

Part III - Is Paul McKenna's 'I Can Make You Thin' a SCAM?"

2008-04-04T17:05:00.000-07:00

Moving on to the next step…

Step 2 – Eat What You Want, Not What You Think You Should

Paul McKenna states that you should throw out all the things you don’t like to eat (including the healthy foods like fruits and vegetables), and eat only the things that you like. He reasons that by blacklisting bad foods, you naturally increase your desire for them (we want most what we can’t have).

Rylan’s Verdict:

Flawed! While I wholeheartedly agree that by restricting certain foods you are more likely to want them, I follow exactly the opposite approach as Mr. McKenna. He goes into client’s homes and tosses all the foods they don’t like (which are usually quite healthy). When I go into my client’s homes, I toss the foods that are making them fat – the complete opposite approach.

While I never expect my client’s to eat something they hate, I also don’t want them to keep eating the things that are making them fat and unhealthy.

Let’s face it, willpower is not something many people have, and with my approach you simply eliminate the temptation. With McKenna’s approach, you eat the temptation.

The problem with only eating what you really want is that many of the foods that people are eating on a regular basis - they have become addicted to. People crave them because their body is going through ‘withdrawal’ like symptoms. It’s no different than an alcoholic craving booze, or a nicotine addict craving a cigarette.

Many of the foods that people love are also very hazardous to their health; things like trans fats and high fructose corn syrup. Ever try to have just one bite of chocolate? Once that sugar hits your lips it’s like a hungry lion on a wounded gazelle; you’ll keep eating until every bit is devoured. That, my friend, is not a healthy reaction.

In my line of work, I’ve met many people would simply live on hot dogs, cola, and potato chips if they could. Regardless of how much or how little you eat of these things, your still putting garbage into your system, and I'm sure you’ve heard the phrase, garbage it-garbage out.

This rings true here as well. You might lose a little weight because you are reducing the total number of calories you consume, but you aren’t going to be feeling or performing your best.

However, if you are able to eliminate the offending foods from your diet for long enough, you can regain your natural taste for good, healthy food. This is something you can’t hope to do while you are flooding your system with white flour, sugar, and alcohol.

So for Mr. McKenna’s second step “Eat What You Want, Not What You Think You Should” I think you are much better off eliminating the temptations, and making some healthier choices.

RD

Testimonial Contest Prizes

2008-04-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

If you haven't read the last post, due so now. The clock is counting down, and you only have a limited time to get your shot at these great prizes...

1st Place - Panasonic Digital Camera
You already know how much I depend on my digital camera, and I love how small and compact this Panasonic one is. Not worrying about film is great because you can take hundreds of practice shots and instantly see how crappy they are. Mind you, being engaged to a professional photographer is helping my camera skills, although I'm not expecting to ever be able to produce stuff even half as good as hers, which you can check out at Keylight Photography.

2nd Place - Sirius Satellite Radio and Car Kit
This is, in my opinion, one of the most amazing inventions of this century. As you all know, I spend a lot of time on the road, and no matter how many cd's you have, you eventually get bored of listening to the same thing. My favorite channels are Octane, Faction, and when I'm really stressed out, the Chill channel helps me bring it down a notch.

3rd Place - 1GB iPod Shuffle.
I can still remember the days I used to jog down the road with a massive sony walkman clutched in my sweaty palm. I swear my right bicep grew 1/2 inch from lugging that big bugger around. Thank heaven for iPods. This tiny little things holds about 15 cd's worth of music, sounds amazing, and you can clip it into your shirt sleeve. I can't do a cardio session without it.

I'm already getting some great testimonials in. Check out this one from one of my online clients in California...

"Rylan is the man! I can't believe how many wasted hours and years I spent doing all the wrong things. I used to do program after program that I found in muscle and fitness magazines, and I never got anywhere. After discovering Rylan, that all changed. He created an incredible program for me to do in the comfort of my own home. I worked out half as much, and I got three times the results! I will never make another decision about my fitness without consulting him first!" Jake Creston, Sonoma, CA.

My Birthday Testimonial Contest!

2008-04-01T01:01:00.000-07:00

My 26th birthday is just around the corner (April 17th), and in celebration of that I am holding a little contest.

I am requesting submissions for client testimonials to use in my upcoming websites and promotional materials. As you probably know, my business is based solely on word-of-mouth advertising. Due to the complex and personal nature of the services I offer, many people are simply not comfortable working with a trainer unless their family or friends have recommended them.

As such, by telling others about your positive experience, you will allow me to reach a larger audience to help many more achieve their health, wellness, and fitness goals.

Of course, there are some great incentives for you. I am offering three great prizes for the ‘most compelling’ testimonials as judged by a panel of my fellow fitness professionals.

I have chosen the following prizes because they are essentials to my everyday functioning, and I know you will love them too:

1st Place - Digital Camera
2nd Place - Satellite Radio Kit
3rd Place - iPod Shuffle

See below for guidelines, and keep checking back here over coming days because I will be posting some pics of the prizes very soon...

Rylan’s Testimonial Birthday Promotion
Contest Rules and Guidelines

• Submit a concise testimonial (150 words or less) on your positive experience in working with myself (Adonis Fitness).

• Things you may choose to mention are differences that you saw in your body such as improvements in your health, stamina, fitness, endurance, fat loss, muscle gain etc.

• You may choose to comment on me personally; about my demeanor, professionalism, credentials, etc.

• To get ideas about what to write, think about the types of things that would compel you to call me if all you knew about me was what you read in a single testimonial.

• It is recommended that you include a photo of yourself - testimonials that include a portrait are seen as ‘authentic’ and are much more compelling. If you don’t have a photo to submit, and you have had exercise photos taken by me, you may simply let me know to use one of these photos with the testimonial.

• Your full name, age, and location (city) is required to be considered in this contest. Again, this it to prove authenticity of the testimonial. If you are concerned about privacy issues, please indicate as such, and only your first name, last initial, and age will be used.

• By entering this contest you will be consenting to the use of your testimonial in any of my promotional materials.

• Entries must be received by email or snail mail NO LATER than midnight, April 11th, 2008.

• Email entries may be sent to info@adonisfitness.ca

• For snail mail entries, please email me personally at the address above to request the correct mailing address.

• Winners will be selected based on voting by a group of my fellow fitness professionals. The top three testimonials will be selected based on how compelling and credible they would be to prospective clients.

• The three winning entries will be announced on my 26th birthday, Thursday April 17th, and they will be posted on this blog the same day.

• Winners will contacted by me personally to arrange shipment or drop off of their prizes.

Part II - Is Paul McKenna’s "I Can Make You Thin" a Scam?

2008-03-31T17:20:00.000-07:00

Last entry I touched on the new TLC program “I Can Make You Thin”, hosted by Paul McKenna.

As I mentioned last time, I always encourage a healthy dose of skepticism when someone makes tantalizing claims of effortless weight-loss.

Mr. McKenna states that this is possible by following his four simple steps. In this series of upcoming posts I will summarize each step, and then give my verdict on as to whether the information is great, okay, flawed, or just plain awful.

Step 1: If you are hungry, EAT!

Paul McKenna’s Reasoning: By starving yourself and restricting calories, you are ultimately lowering your metabolism. Your body thinks that it is going into starvation mode and starts holding on to body fat for dear life and lowers the amount of calories your burn.

Rylan’s Verdict:

Great Advice: This is actually one of the biggest problems I see with my client’s nutritional plans (or lack thereof). Most are simply trying to starve themselves into losing weight, and this never, I repeat - NEVER works! Your metabolism drops, and when you go off the diet, you gain ALL the weight back plus some. Thus you end up in the all-to-common cycle of crash diets followed by weight gain.

By eating when you are hungry, and eating frequently, you keep your body burning calories throughout the day – you don’t give your metabolism the opportunity to slow down.

Rylan’s Recommendation:

This doesn’t mean you now have a cart blanche for pigging out. Keep the meals conservatively sized (portion size is probably the biggest nutritional problem - no pun intended – that I see) and spaced out to every 2-3 hours at most. By feeding yourself frequently, you don’t allow your metabolism to bite the dust, and you don’t let your hunger get out of control either.

Note: The biggest trick to this step is knowing when you are actually hungry, and not just using food to boost your mood. More on that later…

Is Paul McKenna's "I Can Make You Thin" a SCAM?

2008-03-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

If you haven’t seen it yet, there’s a new show on TLC called “I Can Make You Thin”.

It’s hosted by professional hypnotherapist and Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) specialist Paul McKenna.

Mr. McKenna promises that he can teach you how to lose weight without will power. He accomplishes this by teaching four simple steps that he states will fundamentally change the way you view and eat food.

Now that’s a pretty big statement.

I’m usually VERY skeptical about anyone that comes up with some new and fantastic weight loss method.

99% of the time it’s snake oil.

But I have to admit, after watching the first episode of this program I was actually pretty impressed. There are some similarities between myself and Mr. McKenna in our approaches to weight loss.

The four steps that Mr. McKenna’s method contains do consist of some very valuable information. However, there are certain things he preaches that I do take exception to.

In case you missed this program, or you don’t have access to it, you will want to check back here often over the coming days.

In the next few posts I am going to review each of Mr. McKenna’s steps, and give my unbiased review as to whether they are something that you should consider implementing into your life, or better off left alone.

RD

Viagra vs. Fat Loss? pssst viagra wins

2008-03-20T21:06:00.000-07:00

Due to the ever increasing aggressiveness of spam filters, I have been getting a lot of emails from clients complaining that they haven’t been receiving my monthly newsletters.

I’m not sure why some people get them, others don’t, and some people get every second one.

What really perplexes me is no matter how hard I try to block unsolicited emails, I’m still geting woken up at 3:00am with my blackberry going off because I’ve received yet another email trying to guilt me into feeling like an inadequate lover.

Actually I often imagine a group of computer geeks sitting in front of big screens screens in the ‘Spam division’ of the internet companies, scanning incoming emails. “Viagra at $2.99 per bottle, ok I got no problem with that….wait a minute…. this guy is trying to help people lose fat?!…where does he get off?! Block that jerk!

That’s how it works, right?

Anyway, I’ve decided to start posting my articles on my blog. This way, even if you aren’t receiving my monthly notifications, you can simply check back to my blog to see if anything new is posted.

I am also making a concerted effort to try and post more frequently, hopefully at least every few days. So keep checking back for updates.

By the way… Is $2.99 a good deal?

RD

Don't Let The Easter Bunny Get You!

2008-03-20T19:57:00.000-07:00

If the easter bunny looked like this I don't think we, as a society, would have the problems with chocolate that we do.

With the long weekend arriving tomorrow, there is every excuse in the book not to exercise and not to stay on your diet.

It might start with one little chocolate egg...

Then a nibble off the kid's chocolate bunny...

Then a 'sliver' of pie after dinner....

All those calories add up, and just because you might not gorge yourself all in one sitting, doesn't mean that it won't be disastrous to your progress.

It's a slippery slope, so before you peel back that foil wrapper on that waxy chocolate egg, ask yourself a question.

Are you willing to spend all of next week working to get back to where you are right now?

RD

PS. Did anyone else notice that there were a lot less bunnies running around in Kelowna today? weird....