Your “Latte factor” and how to get a six-pack (ABS) in less time than you think! (answer the question in the poll to the right!)

What is the latte factor? Well if you are a female or just a shopaholic, u’ll understand what I mean! ;)

In economics or financial matters, they have a term called the latte factor.  This is to make a connection with those avid coffee/latte drinkers whose temple of choice is starbucks.  These people we’re describing have a Latte a day- thus spending about $4-5 every time they indulge in this delicious yet unnecessary drink.  The message is that if you allow yourself to get those $5 dollars and invest them in your future and into your retirement account (traditional or Roth IRA)- you would accumulate about a million dollars by the time you retire (with compounded interest working on your behalf!).  In essence that ‘latte’ a day is keeping you from driving that Ferrari… now- lets take into account that we’re all different- so your latte factor might not be that- instead- is anything that you buy on a daily or weekly basis- like- shopping- eating out- shoes- make-up- your hair- and so on…The first thing you have to do to break the pattern is- find your 'latte factor' that item that you are spending your money on that you can live without.  Then avoiding that item and instead, saving the money. :)  Now how do we apply this concept to fitness?

Well, its simple!  Look at your diet just like you would at your expenses.  What ‘bad’ item are you consuming on a daily- weekly basis i.e. donuts, sodas, chips, cookies, high sugar juices, pasta (carbs), starches or simply, what food item is your “latte factor”?  The best thing you can do is,  record your daily food intake into a journal and pin-point what 'non-nutritional' food stick out the most.  That item should be minimized or avoided all together!  Avoiding your ‘latte factor’ will allow you to reach your weight-fitness- goals a lot faster!

That mid-section- what to do with it...

Now… those dreaded yet idolized ABSSSSS! =) ok- first of all lets just say- that unfortunately or fortunately for some, you are either born with and have a natural affinity for abs or are not… That’s right- abs are genetic- so start blaming your parents and ancestors if you find it difficult to get those difficult squares on your mid-section. With all this in mind, let’s also make sure that we understand that your mid-section is visually very much correlated to what we eat and how we exercise.  Everyone has these muscles (rectus abdominis (front abs), transverse abdominis (running diagonally on the middle- to side of your stomach)- and obliques on your side), the problem is the fat we are carrying on top of these muscles (the lower the fat content on top of your mid-section muscles the more you will be able to see these muscles).  Exercises that you should focus on: When doing core exercises for that mid-section- make sure that you add exercises that include all planes of motion.  You should include flexing motions (commonly performed- cruches- which include flexion of your spine),  rotational core exercises (with medicine balls, cables or resistance bands), and core stabilization exercises (like front plans- and side planks).   Make sure you include at least one of each of these exercises in your routine and you will be on your way to getting those rock hard six pack muscles! 

Here are some more useful and scientifically proven ways to get these muscles!  Follow these tips and notice how you will soon be walking around shirtless! J


1. Wake up to water 
Drink at least 16 ounces of chilled H2O as soon as you rise in the morning. German scientists recently found that doing this boosts metabolism by 24 percent for 90 minutes afterward. (A smaller amount of water had no effect.) What's more, a previous study determined that muscle cells grow faster when they're well hydrated. A general rule of thumb: Guzzle up to gallon of water over the course of a day.



2. Pair proteins with carbs to trigger weight loss 
Although you might think that the carbs will slow weight loss, the opposite can be true, says Men's Health weight loss expert Alan Argon. Carbs plus protein help build muscle, especially when you eat the combo just before and just after exercise. More muscle enhances fat loss because muscle is metabolically active tissue that helps burn more calories around the clock. 



3. Pack your lunch every day
Fast-food lunches and soda calories will undermine any weight-loss, abs-gain effort. Just take fast and fat food out of the equation. Instead, take a cooler to work every day. Fill it with the following:

            An apple (to eat as a morning snack). Two slices of cheese (to eat

                     with the apple)

            A 500- to 600-calorie portion of dinnertime leftovers (for your

                     lunch)

            A premixed protein shake or a pint of milk (for your afternoon      

                    snack)


Eating this lunch every day will keep you well fed and satisfied. You'll also provide your body with the nutrients it needs for your workout, no matter what time you exercise. 



4. Hit the feathers by 10 p.m.
Get in the habit of going to bed early enough to ensure 7 to 8 hours of abs-sculpting sleep. University of Chicago scientists recently found that just 3 nights of poor sleep may cause your muscle cells to become resistant to the hormone insulin. Why's that bad? Well, over time, this leads to fat storage around your belly by slowing metabolism, increasing appetite and decreasing number of calories burned.

Hope this helps a whole lot! 

Your trainer,

Sebastian =)

'Just An Hour A day!' Start on yourself and everything else will follow!

Today I’m going to start with something we’re going to call, ‘just an hour a day’, that I read in Men’s Health Magazine (issue: April-2011 pg 12).

“…and Nightingale had an interesting theory: If you spend just an hour a day- about 4 percent of your week-concentrating on your path to success, strategizing, and learning, you can reach the place you want to go.

            Imagine that! Want to be rich? Just spend an hour a day reading about finance, plotting your investments, moving toward money.  Want to lose weight and get fit? An hour a day- spent exercising, taking fitness classes, cooking healthy food, maybe just reading up on the latest science- and you’re on your way.  Want to be a dancer- an hour a day!  Want to look like Jean Claude-Van Dame, seduce like Clooney, invent like Jobs (apple), speechify like Obama? You don’t have to hand your life and full paycheck away. You just have to give an hour a day to yourself.  After all, nobody can be the expert on the topic of you-except you.”

            How does this apply to us? Well, as mentioned above, all we have to do is ‘invest’ in ourselves.  How can you spend numerous hours working, taking care of your kids, husband, girlfriend…helping friends, talking and texting way more than a couple of hours a day, but cannot seem to want to help yourself…

Baby steps: maybe it is too difficult to get an hour a day- seven days a week, because of time constraints, school, work, or simply that your body is not ready for that time commitment.  I say, start from the beginning! Too often, (me included), we want to start at the finish line… instead, start with small increments with the finish line always in mind!  Today and this week, you will start exercising 20 mins. a day -4 days a week.  Once your body is ready- and you are mentally ready to increase the intensity and duration, go to 30 mins a day 4 times a week (then 5 times a week) and so on.  You will be working out 5 days a week for 35- to 55 mins a day in no time, thus ‘investing’ in your health, your visual self, your future, and those around you (people tend to get inspired and motivated by their surroundings and their "circle of friends" those closest to you). 

** Some useful Nutritional info: People with a history of skipping breakfast have larger waists- by nearly 2 inches- than those who eat in the a.m., new research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  Pass on breakfast and you may pig out later, the study warned.  Over time, this causes your body to store more fat. Shoot for 20 to 30 grams of protein at breakfast. (Eggs have about 6 grams each: yogurt has 8 to 12 g per 8 oz: peanut butter about 4 g per tbsp: cereal or oatmeal about 6 g per cup). 

The word ‘breakfast’ comes from ‘breaking’ or stopping a fasting period- or the 8 + hours of sleep you just had (for some of you- 12 hours… J).  At this point in the morning your body has not received any nutrients for a long time and needs to replenish.  When you skip that breakfast- you're sending a signal to your body- saying “I’m going to starve”- and your body automatically goes into ‘fight mode’ and starts tapping into your muscle (eating it or using it for energy) and storing fat.  Avoid skipping meals throughout the day: Eat light, healthy and often!

Your trainer

Sebastian =)

An Exercise you cannot afford to miss when you exercise. (I've gotten some e-mails asking me what i do on the daily: so I will incorporate what I do and eat to give you an idea!)

Squats!   Yes that's right!    You know that exercise that a lot of people use to practice dropping it like its hot! Commonly used at the clubs in hollywood by the 'hip-hoppers' :)
Squats are used for many purposes- and have been used since the beginning of time- a universally known exercise, but honestly the basics and sticking to basics really works! Of course this is going to depend on your exercise plan and if you are doing full body, lower body and or upper body only and also if you are looking to build muscle- tone up- or lose as much body fat as possible!

Remember when wanting to maximize weight/fat loss- you want to do exercises that will involve more muscles (to tax/overload more muscles- hence efficiently burning more calories!)
I.E. Doing squats instead of doing quadricep/leg extensions. (muscles used in squats: Quads, Hamstrings, calves/gastrocnemious, butt/gluts. and even core muscles---- where as quadricep extensions is just focusing on one or a few muscles.. )

The main thing we have to remember when doing squats is: "form- form- form-- posture- posture!"
This exercise is one of the most commonly misused - or- not done properly out there by your 'average' gym rat.
If you are new to squats then there are different progressions that you can follow.
Tip #1:
Because squats mimick or is the same motion as 'sitting down': then the first progression in efforts to making sure we are performing the exercise with the correct posture is: to sit in front of a chair or a bench -if at the gym: back is straight: shoulders are back and relaxed: and chest is puffed up and out: place your legs at 90 degrees (your knees that is) and your feet are comfortably flat on the ground while parallel.
Think about feet- knees- and back: you want to check that all of this points are covered when starting.
Place your hands in front of you for balance or to your sides. Get up and back to sitting on the chair with-out using your arms.
** Once you are comfortable with this- you can start from the standing position and go down to almost sitting- once you barely touch the chair or bench- get up and notice how you will be putting more tension on the muscles because of the constant motion.

Tip #2:  Or progression two:  Even if you have tried the squat and you are more experienced: then move on to 'Smith machine' (this is the barbell at the gym that is connected on both sides- usually accompanied by a bench, but you can always set it aside)
The benefits of this machine are- that it allows for good posture (as long as you are keeping your knees behind your toe line when on the 'down' part of the squat and because you can squat with more weight and not worry about dropping it or falling.  (a bit more safe!)
** the set-back is that this machine helps too much with balance and does not allow your stabilizing muscles to do the work... therefore, you are using less muscles- and thus losing less calories than the contrary.

Tip #3: Dumbbell squats: Great because they do account for balance- your posture will get better for later when you use a barbell and more weight.
Exercise: grab weights (dumbbells) on each hand: place them on your side: while standing: To get ready- feet are shoulder width apart and parallel: knees are slightly bent (to reduce pressure from your lower back): hips and shoulders are square: back is straight: shoulders back and chest out (like a marine- I think we can all picture that! :) ) then lower your butt down as if you were sitting on your imaginary (or real) chair: keep your knees behind your toe line: keep your eyes on a spot directly in front and about 3 feet above you (this will help you keep good posture!) and come back up to finish one repetition.
*****
I know this sounds very technical, but once you remember all the cues and practice it- you will see how easy the progressions are! Always do a warm-up set of about 20 squats with no- or little weight.  And remember that the more muscles you use the better: for maximizing calorie use- so that means that you can use other equipment and combine squats with bicep curls, or squats and shoulder press and so on...
Always- keep it safe and remember to have the best music possible to motivate you!

**** As requested****monday- work out
Today: I did back and abs at the gym
1) Sitting Rows (on rack machine): 4 sets of 150 lbs (back to back with or BTB) wide grip pull-ups
rest about 30 seconds in between
2)Lat Pull downs-140 lbs (BTB) - with- hanging from pull up bar: Leg raises for abs
4 sets of each: 30 sec. rest
3)Bent over dumbbell single hand rows (weight I can carry for at least 8 repetitions)
4) laying on my stomach: back extensions- 3 sets of 10
5) Decline bench- sit ups
*** jump-rope while resting

your trainer Sebastian! =)

Maximizing fat loss through Cardio!

A lot of people wonder how to lose the most weight and focus strictly on the numbers.... well- let me tell you that there are more things to consider than just your raw weight number.  For example: Lets say you weigh 200 pounds on Jan 1st... then you work out and and in a month you weigh yourself again and you now weigh 190 lbs. (Good or bad?) Well it really depends on what you actually lost.  A lot of people lose things that you do not want to lose like: water weight, bone density, muscle :( ,  even money and your motivation...  (which may weigh more than anything else... )
** To avoid falling into this on-going cycle: you want to get a measure of your fat and non-fat body content: this means- measuring your body fat.  Once you have your body fat- you can subtract current body weight by body fat- and that will give you your non-fat mass.
example: (lets make it easy for the sake of math):
-person weighs 100 lbs   -body fat measure is 20%  (you multiple 100 (times) .20 = 20lbs

*so this person has 20lbs of fat mass and 80 lbs of non- fat mass (bone, muscles, organs and water)
Now this person can focus on burning fat mass- so that next time they weigh themselves and get their body fat again- they will easily determine if indeed they lost fat or not!

** so now- how do we burn the fat?
some tips:
Tip #1: Do cardio first thing in the morning before eating anything (imagine you are a car: and your fat mass is your fuel reserve- well if you eat- the gasoline level will go higher than the fuel reserve so that when you do cardio- what you are burning is what ever you ate (+gasoline) and not fat (or fuel reserve):
if you do not eat: then your body will tap right into your fuel reserve (fat mass) and start burning that off first.

Tip #2: Do cardio after weight training (instead of cardio and then weights): for the same reason as above
you will burn excess calories first through weights and then when you do cardio- you will burn fat!

Tip # 3: Do interval cardio training: fast- slow- fast- medium- slow- medium- fast
What this means is that: you will make up time intervals: (what ever your body can handle while pushing yourself) example: fast pace walking for a minute- followed by 30 seconds of faster pace jogging (if on a treadmill- walk at 3.8 speed- and jog at 5/6 speed).

** With the previous example: you are still a beautiful ferrari!: and so, when do you waste your break pads the most? (freeway or streets?)
well- on the streets because you are constantly stopping and going- stopping and going- same for your body- you waste/ burn more calories (fat content) if you 'stop and go' faster and slower intervals of training!
Always remember to stay hydrated before, during and after your training sessions.  Make sure you listen to your body and not exceed your limits! Have fun and keep working hard towards becoming your best self!
your Trainer Sebastian!

www.fitwithsebastian.com
fitwithsebastian@gmail.com

Fit with Sebastian- Exercise of the week

Plain old- Crunches/ Sit ups
Many people have tried these from the beginning of time- cave men used to perform them in front of their sexy- hairy cave-women in hopes of impressing them and maybe getting "lucky" later on their stone beds. :)
People have complained about the amount of stress these (crunches/sit ups) have placed on their lower backs and specially cervical regions (necks), which i tend to agree with.  The problem most of the time is that people are not performing the exercise properly... and of course info-mercials and ab machines are banking on it.  To avoid giving these people your money and instead keeping that money in your pockets or at the very least giving it to your salsa instructor, nail salon, local mall or personal trainer! ;)
make sure you are using proper body mechanics and technique while crunching.  Everyone knows the common tips like: (Lets make it simple and go from your toes up)

1) Wear proper exercise apparel
2) Do this exercise on a comfortable surface (yoga/ exercise mat, grass or flat surface)
3) Make sure you keep your feet flat on the ground.
4) Bend your knees to reduce the arch in your lumbar spine (lower spine) while maintaining the natural curve of your spine.
5) Keep natural curve in lower back while keeping rest of back (from there up) flat.
6) Keep shoulders back and relaxed (avoid shrugging them up when you fatigue after 2.12345 crunches)
7) Keep your hands across your chest or to look like a pro- keep hands on your sides touching the top of your ears.

** These are all conventional ways and some that are universally known already: the one that people do not know is (as soon as you start or feel discomfort in your neck area): Place your tongue to the roof of your mouth! Yes it works :) Doing this relaxes some flexors in your neck and activates other stabilizing muscles in that region and further stabilizes your neck so that the pain minimizes and for the most part- goes away!
(I'm new to this, but will try to figure out how to post a video of these tips soon!)
Hope this helps!
Your Trainer, Sebastian