Trainer's Blog

Sweat - natures skin cream.....

At Fast Twitch, we beleive that if we want a symptom to go away, we have to treat and/or eliminate the problem. Want to lose fat? Stop eating so much and move more. Want to relieve back pain? Strengthen your core and train for a fuller range of motion (flexibility) in your hips and upper back. Tired? Sleep. Weak? Train. Skinny? Eat. Simple.

Now think skin. What do you do when your skin has blemishes or doesn’t look as healthy as you’d like? Typically, you go see a dermatologist and/or spend hundreds on creams and other magic potions and remedies.  

Ever wonder why your skin doesn’t look good in the first place? Is it because you didn’t proactively apply creams?... or is it because you're no longer as young as you once were, have stress in your life, eat/drink poorly, sleep too little and, oh ya - you dont exercise?...

Now, for some of you, accepting and dealing with the latter is asking too much. If that’s you, stop wasting your time reading this blog cause that’s what we’re gonna talk about from here on out.

Ok, the slackers are gone. The rest of you are still here because you understand that the reality of the situation is as follows: If I'm healthy on the inside, I'm more likely to be healthy on the outside. Rocket science, I know.

But why?... Its pretty simple actually. Annet King (Director of Training and Education at Dermalogica) tells us, “Any...

According to FastTwitch Fitness Performance.....

You know how it goes . . . you tell yourself, “This is it. For real this time…” and you get back on that all-chicken, broccoli and water (or whatever combination of “super foods”) diet and before the day is over – you fail.

But why do you fail?

Well, without further ado, the following is a list of characteristics your diet must have (in my professional opinion as a personal trainer) if it is to stand a chance of surviving past dinner.

Systematic Implementation and Execution

Routine. It’s a must. No way around it. Jordana Brewster (Vin Diesel’s sister in Fast and Furious) once said, “I like having a routine, because everything else… is so unpredictable.” I could not agree more. And it’s not just because she’s so freakin' hot (well maybe a little…) but because she’s spot on. Wanna know what I consider the greatest threat to any diet? Family. Why? Because they’re whimsical and unpredictable and that equals “the occasional” Friday night ice cream outing… Not only that but they also likely don’t have the same goals you have (zero intention of timing meals, upping their water intake, improving their sleep habits, etc.) which means you have to separate from the herd (to some degree) to succeed. And that’s tough – but necessary. But hold on! Why does family all but want you to fail?!? Because...

Sleep is the best meditation - Dali Lama
Are you lazy? Do you abhor physical activity? Do you despise diets and calorie counting? Do you think pizza delivery isn’t enough? Would you, if you could, have the pizza guy come in, set the pie next to the couch and feed it to you? Well my friend, you’re in luck.

Science has found a weight management technique that is SO easy, you don’t even need to be conscious to pull it off. Matter of fact, you have to be unconscious. That’s right, I'm talking about sleep. Research has shown that getting enough Zs will not only cause you to be less hungry throughout your day but will decrease your desire for harmful simple carbs and sugars by up to 40%! This in turn will help you control your weight and keep you bright eyed and bushy tailed to boot!

This effect is accomplished via the regulation of the hormones leptin and ghrelin. Leptin sends signals to the brain telling it you are full while ghrelin stimulates appetite. Dr Michael Breus tells WebMD, “"When you don't get enough sleep, it drives leptin levels down, which means you don't feel as satisfied after you eat. Lack of sleep also causes ghrelin levels to rise, which means your appetite is stimulated, so you want more food."

In another study, it was found that sleeping 8.5 hours per night (in comparison to 5.5) led to the loss of TWICE as much fat and the maintenance of TWICE as much muscle! By the end of this study, the...

Sun Tzu, legendary Chinese General and author of The Art of War, wrote, “To win wars, you must know yourself and your enemy. If you don’t know one or either, expect to lose.” In the battle of the bulge, you are the aggressor and fat is the enemy. If you are to beat this enemy, you must first understand it AND yourself. At FastTwitch, we help you learn to understand and consequently control both.

Know Yourself

The biggest and most common mistakes I see people making in the gym every day are the following: 1) They depend too much on will power and 2) they train without first learning and/or knowing how to train safely and effectively. At FastTwitch, we have a simple belief – Will power is crap. Don’t believe me? Are you a millionaire? Are you built like a Greek god? No? How’s that will power thing workin out for ya? It’s not, is it? Systems lessen the need for will power by providing a set of rules that are clear and simple to follow. Follow the rules, you succeed. Fail to follow the rules, you fail. Simple as that. This form of governing one’s self via systems developed by people that are more experienced and know better and/or more than you do is the reason the Bible and the US Constitution are, have been and always will be so incredibly effective and popular. At FastTwitch, we’re simply doing our best to follow good examples…

Know Your Enemy

If you’re like 95% of the people that approach...