Body by Dan

Category: Wellness
Published: January 2008

It's that time of the year again. Yep, you guessed it it's the time when your nosy neighbor asks you what your New Year's resolution is going to be. I don't know about you, but personally I don't want to tell them that I decided to embark on a mission to fix some miniscule thing that doesn't really matter, like finally repairing the dripping kitchen sink.

Not to mention, if I say something stupid like that then my neighbor is probably going to respond by one-upping me and telling me that he's going to buy a brand new sink which is made of ivory and has a faucet that is hand carved to look like an elephant's trunk. However, kitchen appliances are neither here nor there. The point is that, when you make a goal or a "resolution", it should be something that will actually add some value to your life.

How would I respond to this nosy neighbor? I would sternly inform them that I am going to lose x lbs of fat, and gain y lbs of muscle. By this time, my neighbor would be mocking me and I would swiftly respond by giving him a concise verbalization of my action plan. At this point I would reign victorious in the annual Resolution-off, Bob the neighbor would be shocked by my proposed dedication, and would immediately ask if he could join me for such a body-transforming experience. I'd hit two birds with one stone he'd have no shot of one-upping me and I'd get someone else on the bandwagon with me. Now, in order to wow your neighbor and friends in such fashion, you're going to need to make a true action plan. Here's what you need to do:

1. Determine what your goals are (body fat percentage to aim at, muscle mass gained, etc)
2. Assign a time frame for these goals. Make it realistic, but difficult. If it's not a difficult goal, you won't end up making any progress. Aim for the stars; you'll eventually get there, but you just might end up on the moon first. Progress is progress.
3. Research these goals on reliable fitness sites, or at your local gym. Set up an exercise program that tells you what exercises you plan on doing for how many sets and reps on each separate day.
4. Assign a time, place and days of the week you plan on working on this goal. If you think you are going to have one week that is going to be very busy, schedule your calendar so that you work twice as hard the week before.
5. Speak with a nutritionist and/or personal trainer to assign your daily caloric intake and food types that you need to be eating a lot of to accomplish your goals.
6. Stay motivated. Make it fun, add a new exercise, or bring a friend along. Imagine what you will look and feel like a few months down the road, and how great your progress will feel!

Basic Guidelines for "bulking" and gaining lean muscle mass:


• Eat your bodyweight in grams of protein. So if you weigh 150lbs, eat 150g of protein each day.
• Do not participate in workout sessions over 60 minutes at once. It is much better to train in two 45-minute sessions five hours apart, than to train in one 90-minute session.
• Abuse the principles of frequency and volume; when it comes to size, these are your friends.
• With that in mind, be careful not to over-train. Listen to your body.
• Eat a LOT of calories. The only way to get big is to eat big. That doesn't mean eat a Big Mac; stay with healthy foods such as lean beef, poultry, wild fish, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, white rice (a little cheating never hurts to add mass), nuts, avocadoes, fruits, vegetables, unsaturated fats. Eat once every 2 hours; your snacks should be more like meals.
• Don't do much cardio training.
• Be sure to eat a fair amount of protein shortly before going to bed.

Basic Guidelines for becoming slim and trim:


• Protein is still your friend, and depending on your metabolic rate you may need to restrict calories. If you restrict calories (naturally have a slow metabolism), then eat a little over half of your bodyweight in grams of protein. So if you weigh 150lbs, eat about 90g of protein.
• Do not work out for more than 60 minutes at a time. Multiple sessions a day of 30 minutes (not including warm-up time) will help keep your metabolic rate up all day long.
• Use circuit training as your primary form of weight training.
• Do cardio training frequently and with high intensity for short intervals, when possible.
• Eat a lot of fruits and veggies, and drink a lot of water (preferably a gallon a day). The fiber and water content of the fruits and veggies combined with the water itself will help your body to stop craving food at all hours.