Destination: Abs (Redux)- Prequel.

So I've spent the weekend organising my dieting schedule, basic meal plan and am ready to get started, I'm chucking up my basic template before I begin, just to show you what I'll be eating and what my measurements are, prior to dieting. Dion graciously did my pre dieting measurements on Friday- 29/07/2011 (I start dieting on the Monday), they were as follows:

Height- 185cm
Weight- 93.6kg
Bodyfat Percentage (skin folds)
Tricep- 17mm
Bicep- 3mm
Subscapula- 16mm
Supraillium- 25mm
Total- 61mm
Bodyfat Percentage= 22%.
OMRON= 17.2%

Girths
Arms Relaxed- R- 36cm, L- 37cm
Thighs- R 62.5cm, L 62.6cm
Chest- 102.5cm
Waist- 91.5cm
Hips 102.5cm

From this I could calculate my Caloric intake:

BMR= 66 + (13.7 X 93kgs) 1274.5 + (5 x 185cms) 925 - (6.8 x 29) 197.2= 2067.9 Calories
 
BMR= 2067.9 Calories/day

To work out total Calories:

2067.9 x PAL (1.55)= 3205.2 Calories/day

Total Caloric intake= 3205.2 Calories/day

To lose 0.5 kg/week:

3205.2 - 500=  2705.2 Calories/day

To lose 1kg/week:

3289.2 - 1000= 2205.2 Calories/day

I will be following a limit of 3100 on Monday, which will be a carb load/high Calorie day, followed by Tuesday-Saturday being moderately low days, I'll be sitting at about 2600 Calories, with an emphasis on protein. Sunday will be the low calorie, high protein day, I'll be sitting at roughly 2200 Calories, ready to prime my metabolism for the high Calorie day on Monday. This constant disturbance in Calories should help reduce body fat fast, while maintaining a strong metabolism, I'll re-adjust Calories weekly, according to the drop in bodyfat %.

The training program for the first month looks as follows, a 6 day, 3 MRT, 3 HIIT program iwth undulating periodization.

Alternating Set System
Day 1- MRT- Phase 1	Set	Rep	Rest	Wk1		Wk3
A1: Fr-Squat Psh Press Cmbo	3	15	30
A2: Seated Cable Row	3	15	30
B1: DB Step Up	3	15ea	30
B2: Pushup (on Fitball)	3	15	30
C1: Back Extension	2	15	0
C2: Plank	2	60s	30
Day 2- HIIT
5-10 min warm up
1 minute on	5
2 mins off	5
Cool down 3-5 mins
Day 3- MRT	Set	Rep	Rest	Wk1		Wk3
A1: Deadlift	3	15	30
A2: DB Alt Military Press	3	15	30
B1: DB RFESS	3	15ea	30
B2: Wide Grip Pulldown	3	15	30
C1: Landmine	2	15ea	0
C2: Rollout	2	15	30
Day 4- HIIT
5-10 min warm up
1 minute on	5
2 mins off	5
Cool down 3-5 mins
Day 5- MRT	Set	Rep	Rest	Wk1		Wk3
A1: Fr-Squat Psh Press Cmbo	3	15	30
A2: Seated Cable Row	3	15	30
B1: DB Step Up	3	15ea	30
B2: Pushup (on Fitball)	3	15	30
C1: Back Extension	2	15	0
C2: Plank	2	60s	30
Day 6- HIIT
5-10 min warm up
1 minute on	5
2 mins off	5
Cool down 3-5 mins
Alternating Set System-
Day 1- MRT- Phase 1	Set	Rep	Rest		Wk2		Wk4
A1: Deadlift	3	15	30
A2: DB Alt Military Press	3	15	30
B1: DB RFESS	3	15ea	30
B2: Wide Grip Pulldown	3	15	30
C1: Landmine	2	15ea	0
C2: Rollout	2	15	30
Day 2- HIIT
5-10 min warm up
1 minute on	5
2 mins off	5
Cool down 3-5 mins
Day 3- MRT	Set	Rep	Rest		Wk2		Wk4
A1: Fr-Squat Psh Press Cmbo	3	15	30
A2: Seated Cable Row	3	15	30
B1: DB Step Up	3	15ea	30
B2: Pushup (on Fitball)	3	15	30
C1: Back Extension	2	15	0
C2: Plank	2	60s	30
Day 4- HIIT
5-10 min warm up
1 minute on	5
2 mins off	5
Cool down 3-5 mins
Day 5- MRT	Set	Rep	Rest		Wk2		Wk4
A1: Deadlift	3	15	30
A2: DB Alt Military Press	3	15	30
B1: DB RFESS	3	15ea	30
B2: Wide Grip Pulldown	3	15	30
C1: Landmine	2	15ea	0
C2: Rollout	2	15	30
Day 6- HIIT
5-10 min warm up
1 minute on	5
2 mins off	5
Cool down 3-5 mins

This is my basic meal plan

Diet
Monday- 3200 Cals	T-S- 2600 Cals	Sunday- 2100 Cals
Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast
Oats/milk/30g pro powdr	Egg/whites/Spinach	Smoothy
Protein- 39g	Protein- 32.5g	Protein-29g
Carbs- 41g	Carbs- 1.5	Carbs- 45g
Fat- 8.2g	Fat- 13.4g	Fat- 4g
Total- 415 Cals	Total- 260 Cals	Total- 429 Cals
Morning Tea	Morning Tea	Morning Tea
x2veg sausages	x2veg sausages	Egg/whites/Spinach
x1 multigrain bread	x1 multigrain bread	Protein- 32.5g
butter	butter	Carbs- 1.6
glass hi-lo milk	glass hi-lo milk	Fat- 13.4g
Protein- 43.3g	Protein- 43.3g	Total- 260 Cals
Carbs- 31.5	Carbs- 31.6
Fat- 18g	Fat- 18g
Total- 473 Cals	Total- 473 Cals
Post Sleep	Post Sleep	Lunch
Vegetable smoothy	Vegetable smoothy	Chicken/Mixed Vegetables
Protein- 46.6g	Protein- 46.6g	Protein-46.5g
Carbs- 37.9g	Carbs- 37.9g	Carbs- 13.5
Fat- 3g	Fat- 3g	Fat- 18.2
Total- 411 Cals	Total- 411 Cals	Total- 420 Cals
Before Work	Before Work	Morning Tea
Smoothy	Smoothy	Vegetable smoothy
Protein-29g	Protein-58g	Protein- 46.6g
Carbs- 45g	Carbs- 90g	Carbs- 37.9g
Fat- 4g	Fat- 8.2	Fat- 3g
Total- 429 Cals	Total- 429 Cals	Total- 411 Cals
Post Workout Shake	Post Workout Shake	Dinner
x2 up n go/30g protein	x2 up n go/30g pro	Chicken/Mixed Vegetables
Protein- 45.1g	Protein- 45.1g	Protein-46.5g
Carbs- 55.7g	Carbs- 55.7g	Carbs- 13.5
Fat- 8.3g	Fat- 8.3g	Fat- 18.2
Total- 517 Cals	Total- 517 Cals	Total- 420 Cals
Post Workout Meal	Post Workout Meal	Evening
tofu/glass hi-lo milk	tofu/glass hi-lo milk	Egg/whites/Spinach
Protein- 39.2	Protein- 39.2	Protein- 32.5g
Carbs- 36.4	Carbs- 36.4	Carbs- 1.6
Fat- 22.7	Fat- 22.7	Fat- 13.4g
Total- 432 Cals	Total- 432 Cals	Total- 260 Cals
Before Bed
Smoothy
Protein-29g
Carbs- 45g
Fat- 4g
Total- 429 Cals
Protein-276.2g	Protein- 264.7g	Protein- 233.6g
Carbs- 292.5g	Carbs- 239.6	Carbs- 113.1g
Fat- 68.2g	Fat- 73.6	Fat- 70.2g
Max Total- 3109 Cals	Max Total-2522 Cals	Max Total- 2200 Cals

Training Diary- Maximum Mass Program- Phase 1- Wk 4.

Training has been good, the weights are increasing, no back pain at all, which has been a pleasant relief, I guess my little (pseudo) experiement in changing around my training times showed the problem.

I need to focus on more rehab, I've been really lazy with it, I don't feel sore, or uncomfortable, I know that doesn't matter though, it's a risk indicator, a marker for injury, and I'd have no-one to blame but myself.

I'm in the process of designing my dieting program at the moment, I think I'm going to count calories, to a certain extent, see how specific I can be with it. I haven't generally been a fan of counting (not that I've been opposed to it either), as it seems like a tonne of work for, but I'll give it a go, and see how I fare.

I'm really pumped and nervou sabout dieting. Pumped because you feel great and look great while doing, the nervousness comes form how small I get (which is really just a function of losing the large amount of fat I carry around normally). I really want to get focused and get down to a respectable boyfat %, they say you should be between 10-15%, I've only been at the upper end of that 9never at the low) a couple of times in my training life, that's bad, as in really bad!

Rob Max Mass
Phase 1
Day 1	Set	Rep	Rest	Wk4
1A: Dip	3	8*	90	BW+22.5kg, BW+25kg, BW+25kg
1B: Inverted Row	3	8*	90	BW+10kg, BW+15kg, BW+15kg
2A: DB Split Squat	3	8*	90	20kg, 22.5kg, 22.5kg
2B: Hammer Curl	3	10*	90	20kg, 22.5kg, 22.5kg
Day 2	Set	Rep	Rest	Wk4
1A: 1 Arm DB Row	3	6*	75	32.5kg, 37.5kg, 42.5kg
1B: DB Inc Press	3	6*	75	30kg, 35kg, 40kg
2A: CG Bench Prss	3	6*	60	60kg, 80kg, 90kg
2B: Rack Deadlift	3	6*	60	80kg, 100kg, 110kg
Day 3	Set	Rep	Rest	Wk4
1 Squat	4	4*	150	60kg, 80kg, 100kg, 120kg
2A: Chin Up	4	4*	60	BW, BW+15kg, BW+15kg, BW+17.5kg
2B: DB Militry Prs*	4	4*	60	22.5kg, 22.5kg, 25kg, 27.5kg
3 EZ Bar Curl	3	7*	90	47.5kg, 47.5kg, 47.5kg, g
*+ 2 reps if possible
* Military Press Palms In

Well, no nachos this week, no Maya or Nandos, I've saved a heap of money (roughly $60), but I've also felt the need to eat way more, I'd say it's the drop in total calories and fat from the crap I was eating before. I've increased portion sizes of most of what I'm eating to accommodate. It has made me realise how dependant we can become, habitually, on junk food, how easily comfort food creeps into your life, and how hard it is to break the habit. I start dieting next week, so I'm getting my shit together now, getting back into the habit of controlled eating, and controlled spending on my food.

I've been eating somewhat healthily, lots of soy, I really need to do an investigation in it, see how it really fares, see if I'll be able to consume it in enough quantity over the next couple of months as I diet (as I'll be going high protein/low carb) to meet my protein needs, or whether I'll need to make some more carnivorous changes.


Breakfast: I've been having oats again, 1 cup with 30g of protein powder and some hi-lo milk.

Morning Tea: When I get home from work I've been having vegetarian sausages (x4 with x2 slices of wholemeal bread) or x2 eggs (with x2 slices of wholemeal bread).
 
Meal before afternoon shift:  Smoothy- 1/2 cup of berries, 1 cup of mixed veggies, 1 banana, 1 pear/apple, 1/2 cup of walnuts/cashews, a touch of cinnamon, 750mL of water, 1 cup of yogurt, 150g cottage cheese, 3 broccoli stems, handful of cherry tomatoes, lentils, chick peas (or various other types of beans/lentils). I also forgot to note, this makes 2 shakes that I have over the course of the day, or I have the leftover one the next day.

Pre workout meal: I've been sipping an up n go about 20 mins before my training, which gives me just a little energy boost before training, as well as keeping my protein and glycogen levels primed.

Post workout shake: x2  up n go "energize"'s, 30g of protein powder. 500-700mL of water during training. 

Post workout meal: I've been eating a packet of peanut satay tofu with a glass of up n go, or x2 Quorn lasagnes, generally.

Pre bed snack (sometimes): A vegetable smoothy, otherwise nothing. 

Supplements. 3-8 fish oil tabs with my afternoon smoothy, and I've started taking a multivitamin supplement once-twice a day.

Notes On 'Trick Or Treatment'- Chapter 2- Acupuncture by Ernst & Singh

Before we begin we should define our terminology, Ernst and Singh define Acupuncture as such:

"An ancient system related to the flow of a life force (Ch'i) through pathways (meridians) in the human body. Acupuncturists place fine needles into the skin at critical points along the meridians to remove the blockages and encourage a balanced flow of the life force. They claim to be able to treat a wide range of diseases and symptoms." (Ernst & Singh, pg-40, 2008)  

Before the Acupuncturist can attempt to place needles along the patients meridians (which generally go to about 1-10cms in depth) they need to begin with a diagnosis of the patient which is relies on 5 techniques known as inspection, auscultation, olfaction, palpation and inquiring (for more on what that means see pg 44).

The authors trace Acupuncture's supposed origins to the Mongolian war, 2,600 B.C where according to legend  a warrior was supposedly shot by an arrow which, instead of killing him, cured him of a longstanding illness (pg 42). Despite this tale and a long history of it's usage, is there any reason to believe that Acupuncture actually works though?

There have been many demonstrations of it's seeming authenticity, originating in China, like that in 1970 of a patient going through open heart surgery with only the power of Acupuncture to dull the pain. Colour photos were taken of the smiling patient with an open chest (a similar demonstration was shown as late as 2006 on the BBC TV series "Alternative Medicine"), however it now seems likely that the Chinese (the BBC TV) demonstrations were faked, and  involved supplementation by local anaesthetics, sedatives and other means of pain control (pg 48).

This "evidence" did create a mad rush for Acupuncture practitioners in the 70's, and in response, during that time, the World Health Organisation (WHO) summarized the evidence for Acupuncture concluding that there were 20 conditions that lent themselves to it's treatment, including tonsillitis, the common cold, bronchitis, asthma, duodenal ulcers, dysentery, constipation, diarrhoea, headache and migraine, frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, sciatica, low back pain and arthritis (pg 51).This added credibility (as WHO is a widely respected organisation) to Acupuncture as a practice, resulting in the slow acceptance of Acupuncture by western doctors, the only problem, was the mechanism that caused the needles in specific meridians to interrupt the flow of Ch'i, as these terms "have no meaning in terms of biology, chemistry or physics, but rather they are based on ancient tradition." (Ernst & Singh, pg-52, 2008)

Several theories were developed to attempt to demonstrate mechanisms, (1) being the " gate control theory", (2) being the existence of chemicals called "opioids", but unfortunately for Acupuncturists both of these theories fell to something a little more mundane, the placebo effect. The word 'placebo' is Latin for 'I will please' and it was "used by writers.. to describe insincere expressions that nevertheless can be consoling" (Ernst & Singh, pg-57, 2008). The reason for this? Ernst and Singh discuss 3 criteria that enhance the likelihood of bunk treatments causing the placebo effect; the doctors reputation (or administrators reputation), the cost of the treatment (the more it costs the more it must work), and the novelty of the product used (for an in-depth analysis of the placebo effect, on whether the benefits it produces are worth the risk, and whether it is a Pavlovian response or not please see pages 57-62).

Improvement of trial methodology
The problem of the placebo effect forced practitioners to re-define their clinical trial methodology, to keep the results hidden from the participants and the doctors performing the trials, an experiment methodology called "double blind" was developed, but what is it exactly? To answer that we must demonstrate what standard trials consist of, to quote Ernst and Singh:

"The simplest for of clinical trial involves a group of patients who receive a new treatment being compared against a group of similar patients who receive no treatment. Ideally there should be a large number of patients in each group and they should be randomly assigned. If the treated group then shows more signs of recovery on average than the untreated group, then the new treatment is having a real impact.. or is it?" (Ernst & Singh, pg-63, 2008)

This details a simple clinical trial, with only a test group and a control group, Ernst and Singh continue:

"We must now also consider the possibility that a treatment might have appeared to be effective in the trial but only because of the placebo effect. In other words, the group of patients being treated might have expected to recover simply because they are receiving some form of medical intervention, thus stimulating the beneficial placebo response." (Ernst & Singh, pg-63, 2008)

This led to the development of the blind trial (the patients are unaware if they are the control group or the test group) and the double blind trial (the doctors administering the test and the patients in the test do not know who is in the control group or the test group). The benefit of course being; the experimenters have the best chance to remove unconscious bias and the placebo effect.

This new methodology allowed clinicians to go back and look at the WHO meta- analysis and see which trials were high quality and which weren't, which drastically reduced the support for Acupuncture. In the 90's skeptics pushed for "a major reassessment of Acupuncture, this time with placebo-controlled clinical trials involving sham needling" (sham needling is a method to make it seem to the patient as if they are being needled when they aren't) (Ernst & Singh, pg-69, 2008) .

Acupuncture has since been tested and the summary of that literature has been reviewed by an organisation called "The Cochrane Collaboration", the reason they are superior to WHO is due to their acceptance of only the trials with the best methodology, as opposed to WHO, who published "nothing more than casual uncritical overviews." (Ernst & Singh, pg-76, 2008)

What are the Cochrane Collaboration's primary results? Ernst and Singh summarize: 

"1. Cochrane reviews deem that the evidence from clinical trials does not show acupuncture to be effective.
2. Cochran reviews conclude that the clinical trials have been so poorly conducted that nothing can be said about the effectiveness of acupuncture with any confidence.
3. The research is so poor and so minimal that the Cochrane Collaboration has not even bothered conducting a systematic review." (Ernst & Singh, pg-78, 2008)

Cochrane has recently given it's tempered support behind Acupuncture (it's important to note their support is half hearted, they do not find the evidence "fully convincing") to help with pelvic and back pain during pregnancy, post-operative nausea and sweating, low back pain, neck disorders, chemotherapy induced nausea and sweating and bedwetting (most beneficial procedures relate to pain). The amount and quality of evidence needs to be improved before any strict recommendations can and should be recommended (pg 78-9).

Conclusion

Ernst and Singh summarize by stating that "if acupuncture were to be considered in the same way that a new conventional painkilling drug might be tested, then it would have failed to prove itself and would not be allowed in the health market." (Ernst & Singh, pg-84, 2008) It seems that Acupuncture's seeming reluctance to disappear has less to do with it's efficacy and more to do with the multi-billion dollar industry surrounding, and promoting it (much like of the supplement industry). Whatever benefits there are to Acupuncture they are small, the cost of the procedure outweighs the possible benefit of the placebo effect and there are far better (and cheaper) treatments for pain relief with adequate evidential support.

Reference
Ernst E., Singh,. S. (2008). Trick Or Treatment. New York, New York. W.W Norton & Company. Pp- 40, 42, 58, 51, 52, 57, 63, 69, 76, 78, 79 .

Articles For Women.

• A Strong Butt is a Beautiful Butt: One Woman’s Journey to Gluteus Magnificus

Here Brett Contreras continues to show us just how amazing women can look, and how strong they can get.

• A Strong Butt is a Beautiful Butt: One Woman’s Journey to Gluteus Magnificus

A guest post by Marianne Kane with some great photos and tips.

• Crazy Conditioning Circuit | Kettlebell Workout

I've added Kane's blog to my list, here is an article from her, with a workout (and below).

• In No Time! Full Body Workout | Kettlebells and Body Weight

• How to be a Beautiful Badass -Part 2

For Part 1, see here.

• How to be a Beautiful Badass -Part 3

I couldn't agree more with everything in here. Dealing with the "crazy" some clients (not just women) put on themselves, weighing a couple of time a week, a strict confirmation bias on only the negative numbers (even counting good numbers as bad: "I only lost 6cm off my waist in 4 weeks???!!!") these are the result of getting too inside your head about your training. A focus, and goals for your training are good, encouraged, but the numbers don't change daily, not in the amount you're looking, and if your confidence is tied up in them, you will tend to see exactly what you fear.

• 25 Years of Health Struggles Overcome

A rousing tale and guest post on Mark's blog.

• Q&A: Healthiest Greens for Salads?

• The Case Against “Functional” Training

Interesting, do they have a case?

• Lift Like a Girl
• Jump to it! Kettlebell and Body Weight Workout

More harsh workouts ladies, completer with vids, enjoy!

• My Glute Journey – A Must-Read!!

Like the lady says.

• Take This Eating Challenege
• Groovy Probiotics

I've discussed this topic here (and related stuff here) and I guess on the whole I support their usage, the author attaches a new study to support her claims.

• Wheat, Rice, and Children's Brains

For those of you with kids.

• What Women Should Never (but often) Do While Trying to Get in Shape: Part 2 – Dieting

Sound familiar?

• Auditory cuing, switch words, and a 14 year-old girl who can probably do more chin-ups than you…

Don't fall in love Eloise...

Recipe ideas

• Gardein Party for Meatless Mondays: Thai-Style Beef Lettuce Wraps
• Sweet Treats for Healthy Living: Guest Post by Nan
• Lebanese Sfeeha "Tostadas"
• Indian Spiced Chickpeas with Rhubarb
• Cosmic Cashew Kale with Chickpeas
• Mango BBQ Black Beans

News and issues related to women

• Afghan women rally, turning men red-faced with anger
• “Men should have veto power over abortions; Women should be held criminally liable if they refuse
• Catholic Bishop in Toledo Bans Fundraising for Breast Cancer Research
• Ask Richard: Single Mother’s Parents are Proselytizing Her Kid 
• Sharia Law is a code of despair; a code obsessed with women 
• Why are you so afraid of women? 
• Sunday AI: Does Google+ hate women?

How To Work Out Your Daily Caloric Intake.

I haven't included anything like this before and for that I apologise, to be honest I find these kind of calculators to be based so much on you guessing where you fit in certain scales that it makes it only slightly better than making sure you're having X number of grams of protein/carbs etc with every meal.

Having said that, obviously it's better to have a standard, even one with as many options as this, to measure your diet against, to be as specific as possible.

"To work out approximately how many daily Calories you need, you have to calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and then multiply it by a factor that best represents your Physical Activity Level (PAL). These equations are provided below...

To lose weight you have to work out how many Calories you need on an average day, and then subtract 500 Calories from that total to lose 0.5kg a week. To lose a kilogram in a week subtract 1000 Calories per day. 

Total Calories per day= BMR x PAL.

The Harris Benedict Equations for calculating your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is:

Women: BMR= 655 + (9.6 x weight in kilos) + (1.8 x height in cm)  - (4.7 x age in years)

Men: BMR= 66 + (13.7 x weight in kilos) + (5 x height in cm) - (6.8 x age in years)

To estimate your total daily Caloric needs (BMR x PAL), choose the PAL from the list below that best represents your ususal activity level and multiply it by your BMR.

For you Physical Activity Levels (PAL):

1.2= sedentary and you do little or no exercise
1.375= lightly exercise or sport 1-3 days/week
1.55= moderately active with exercise or sport 3-5 days/week
1.725= very active with hard exericse or sport 3-5 days/week
1.9= extremely active with very hard exercise or sport and physically active job or training twice a day." (Collins)

For example my equation would be as follows:

BMR= 66 + (13.7 X 97kgs) 1328.9 + (5 x 185cms) 925 - (6.8 x 29) 197.2= 2122.7 Calories

BMR= 2122

To work out total Calories:

2122 x PAL (1.55)= 3289.2

Total Caloric intake= 3289.2

To lose 0.5 kg/week:

3289.2 - 500=  2790.2 Calories/day

To lose 1kg/week:

3289.2 - 1000= 2289.2 Calories/day

Weekly structure
A good plan to follow would as follows:

Monday: Full Calorie day (my example would be to have the full 3289.2cals)

Tuesday-Saturday: Minus 500 Calories (my example would be to have 2790.2cals)

Sunday: Minus 1000 Calories (my example would be to have 2289.2cals)

A good site to use to find out the Caloric content of your vegetables and non marked food is http://www.calorieking.com.au/

Enjoy and please send me any thoughts you have.

Special thanks go to Yasmin for this information.

Reference
Collins C., Re-posted from "The Biggest Loser" website. Link retrieved 21/07/2011. http://asktheexpert.thebiggestloser.com.au/nutrition-2/how-do-i-work-out-how-many-calories-i-need-per-day-1010

Articles.

• Noncompliance

What do you do if a client doesn't listen? Cosgrove recommends looking at why you as a trainer don't listen to his advice, perhaps there's an answer in there? This topic is endlessly interesting, as a trainer, how do you motivate someone? How do you motivate someone who doesn't want to be motivated? Who just wants to eat and drink how they want, and only want to throw a couple of dollars a week at the issue of fat loss, but doesn't really care (or respect) you or your time (and the time you spend on their efforts)? I think coaches like Cosgrove might say just get rid of someone like that, they're a waste of your time, they're wasting their own time, and they're wasting their money. If that is in fact what Cosgrove (or any trainer for that matter) might say, I'd have to disagree, but only for me. I think something is better than nothing, and even the meagre effect these people let me have is better than they would have by themselves (imagine if they ate as they did, and didn't train?). (As a trainer) Ultimately the results you get are just about the only indicator of the quality of your training, and unfortunately those results largely depend on getting your client to eat the way you want them to.

• What I (Usually) Eat and Drink Every Day

This parallels the above, in the sense that, people who don't follow diets and programs seem incredulous that anyone could, that they are privy to a set of circumstance no-one else is, which is of course (confirmation bias) nonsense. We all have the same amount of time in a day, we all have responsibilities and interests that take us away from being healthy, the difference between those that look good and those that don't boils down to interest.

• Managing Depression With Weightlifting? Or, “How You Feel Is A Lie”

Again this issue directly relates to the above 2 articles, those who have low self worth, low self esteem etc, are going to take it out of themselves, they're seemingly less likely (or able) to want to eat healthy and train. Hopefully this article can shed some light on the positives of what I offer as a trainer.

• Eat Like a Warrior King

You think I talk tough about eating right? Dan John lays the smack down on people who eat like kids.

• Training Update

Much like my training diaries (only better) Bruno gives some insights into his programming.

• 3 Ways to Improve Your Pull-up Performance

One of my clients told me, their trainer cousin told them, to improve their pullup, they need to practice dead hangs, without knowing the context or this trainers intent it's hard to judge, but my prima facie response was incredulity. This article includes it as a part of getting good at the pullup, but to give it as the sole advice? Seems bizarre to me.

• 12 Tips for a Better Night's Sleep

Principles appear common sensical, but you'd be surprised how often people don't do that which is based on sense.

• The Four Steps

This kind of article is gratifying for me as a trainer to see that I can tick off much from this article as part of my training routines with clients

• Low carbohydrate diets slow tumor growth and prevent cancer initiation

• The Biggest Training Fallacy of All

Common sense advice from Mark Rippetoe.

• Anti-Ab Training

Much of this parallels what I've discussed here.

• Deadlift

Robertsons epic on the deadlift.

• Good Reads For the Week

• First Year as a Business Owner: Equipment Hits and Misses - Pt. 1

This and the below articles are interesting insights into what a gym owner should consider when putting together a gym (how does CBD fair?).

• First Year as a Business Owner: Equipment Hits and Misses Part. 2

• First Year as a Business Owner- Equipment Hits & Misses - Pt. 3

• 5 Pet Peeves in Today's Fitness Center

The one that made me chuckle was bodybuilder types teaching their girlfriend how to train like them, see that one all the time.

• Why 50% of Personal Trainers Suck [2011 edition]

I'm always curious when reading these posts to see where I fail and where I don't, fortunately for me, with this article, some of the points don't apply (charging) and some do, as in I train on a regular basis and have lasted in the industry (up to about 4 years now), I'd like to think I've continued learning and I don't seel products (this blog is the closest I'd come to an "online professional" and I'd be hardpressed to see where on this blog I preach anything that isn't supported by evidence or isn't standard fare for most strength coaches).

• Decoding Meat + Dairy Product Labels

Some helpful tips.

• The New Rules of Strength Training

You have to read the whole article, it's worth it.

• Stuart McGill’s Big 3 Core Exercises

This guy's one of the biggest brains in the business, when he says something, listen!

• Dear Mark: Late Night Work Shifts

This goes in line somewhat with this post, enjoy.

• How Important is Food Variety?
• Training Clients with Obesity – Part V (Nutrition)

Interesting as most of us have one or 2 clients in this situation.

• 12 Steps To A Great Personal Training Career

• Meal Timing Concerns: Breakfast, Frequency, and Snacking

For those who need more confirmation on the importance of meal frequency.

• Indian Spiced Chickpeas with Rhubarb

• Creamy Macadamia Shrimp