Week 4 Update

 

Results only happen like this when you put all of the pieces together. Cardio and Weights have to be equal and intense. You cant just do one or the other. I keep my heart rate high and work as hard as I can. I have as little cheating as i can on my food.  With the exception of this past weekend which was subpar, my normal cheat day is a cheat meal with dessert. Its about having the mental toughness to say no to things that aren’t making you better!

For my workout i have been doing a lot of Kettlebell circuits. 5 to 8 exercises complated as quickly as explosively as possible. But as all my clients know, I have been doing the same things that I have all my clients do day in and day out. These results happen by design!

Keep up with me and my day to day on Facebook and Twiiter for updates on my blog posts and articles. If you are in the Oklahoma City area and you are looking for results like these call me at 365-0607 or email me at RyanDobbs1@gmail.com!

Yours in fitness!

OKC is the 8th fattest city in America!

http://www.mensfitness.com/city_rankings/446

Ok all, lets get real about a couple of things. I have just recently moved from Colorado Springs (Americas Fittest City) to Oklahoma City (8th Fattest) and I am here to give you a slap in the face!

There are more gyms in OKC than in Colorado Springs! I know because I opened most of them up in both cities!

There are plenty of parks, trails and outdoor areas in both. I wont argue that the scenery in better in Colorado but seriously people. I used to drive to the gym in Colorado Springs everyday and pass a girl running in the snow EVERYDAY in shorts! Her legs were bright red and she waved to me everyday! There are no excuses in OKC!

These statistics in this article are gross. 28% of adults are clinically obese. 67% of people dont eat their fruits and vegetables, Why? People are 30% less likely to jog or bike.

Only 12% of people have a gym membership. That is 29% less than average and gets OKC a 4th worst in the list.

I am here to tell you that YOU need to get to get focused. If you need help losing weight or need advice on what gym would best fit your needs, comment on this post and I’ll get back to you personally.

Otherwise, lets get moving OKC!

Yours in fitness, not fattness!

Ryan Dobbs
405-365-0607

Week 2 Day 1

Looking great, Feeling great! Stay Posted!

Time for a transformation!!!

For those of you who are keeping track we are 22 weeks into our pregnancy, and our daughter Rylee Claire Dobbs will be here in about 16 weeks! Isn’t that convenient that its just long enough for a transformation!

I know its hard for some people to understand that even Personal Trainers struggle with their weight, but its true! I have always been a big guy, and if I don’t watch my food I am a huge guy! And I’ll be upfront that here lately I have not been the best.

So here’s the deal. December 28th is day 1 week 1. My goal is to be 195 to 200 and be about 7 to 8 percent. That puts my weight loss at 35 pounds in 16 weeks.

I’ll be working out 6 days a week on a three day split, working the whole body twice a week with rest on Sunday. Short rest between supersets and triple sets keeping my resistance training sessions to 30 or 45 minutes followed by 30 to 45 minutes of cardio immediately after. Cardio is moderate intensity (70 to 80%).

As far as nutrition, I will be taking in between 6 and 7 meals. 45% protein, 35% carbs, 20% fats. No more than 30% meal replacements ( 2 shakes) and using a carb funnel throughout the day.

I’m going to use this blog to keep records of progress and of hurdles that I have to overcome during a transformation like this. The goal being fit and lean by the time my baby is born, and having good habits to share with my wife as she gets back into pre-baby shape asap (her words).

Here’s to being ripped in the new year!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

5 Ways To Fight Holiday Weight Gain

Did you know that most people gain between 7 and 15 pounds between Halloween and New Years Day! Shocking isn’t it. But what is really upsetting about this jump in weight is that these 7 to 15 pounds are the pounds that typically stick around and just compound year after year. So how do you stay on track and still enjoy the holidays? I’m going to give you my top 5 tips to stay fit and start the new year a new you!

1. The Sampler Plate!   No one wants to be rude. I hear this a lot when we talk about the holidays. “They made me eat it! I didn’t want to be rude!” So don’t be. Take a SMALL plate and get small bites of your favorites. Enjoy it but be portion conscious too.

2. Leftovers are the devil! Don’t do it! I don’t care how much you love the stuffing. Don’t give yourself a reason to over eat all week. I’ve had times where i could eat Thanksgiving dinner for a solid week we brought so much food home. This is the reason most people gain!!! Just say no!

3. BYOB! If you are afraid that there wont be any healthy options, bring one. I promise you are not the only one watching your weight this time of year. There are thousands of healthy options that you can make that taste great and keep you eating well!

4. Cardio and then some! Holiday parties, enormous dinners, and excessive candy seems to be everywhere. It is no shock to any of us. Start today by burning extra calories now. If you are not on a regiment workout plan right now, there is no better time to start! If you are getting to the gym, add 10 minutes to each of your cardio sessions. Every little bit counts!

5. Be Consistent!  With the weather being colder there is more opportunity to spend time in the gym. Take advantage! I recommend 5 days a week of cardio exercise. Shoot for 30 minutes and use all the machines. 3 days a week of resistance training is ideal. Work smarter not harder!

It’s crunch time! Crank up the intensity! You have to push yourself to see results. Cut down your rest, up your weights, and work hard. If you are not tired when you are done at the gym you could work harder! Period! If you need help with workouts, cardio, or nutrition please don’t hesitate to ask! We are here to help! Don’t wait till the new year to start on your fitness. Some of my clients have lost 5 to 8 pounds so far this month and it’s the 19th! Get focused, get educated, and get fit!!!

Ryan can be reached at 471-6854 at the club or by commenting on this blog!

What is Health?

Being a trainer is an incredible experience to help people learn and achieve more in the gym and in how they live their life. But I want you to realize that becoming healthy and looking like some of the guys and girls at your gym can be total opposites. In fact most trainers have this idea of health all wrong as well.

I have a friend that runs long distance races and sprint triathlons. He trains to a point of ridiculous. His light run is a 7.5 for 45 minutes instead of 8.5 for an hour followed by a swim or bike most days. He is lean, sculpted and confident in the gym. I have clients all the time ask me what they have to do to look like this guy. When I tell tell people that this guy is not healthy they look at me like I have no idea what I’m talking about. Here’s the deal. This guy doesn’t even consider himself a triathlete. In fact he does these races for fun and doesn’t train for specific races. He just does a late sign up for that weekend if he’s free. He trains to be in marathon shape year round.

His idea of fitness is completing a triathlon. But his bodies idea of health is very different. He has a spinal injury that is caused by compressions and impact from running. It is almost unbearable to run, but he keeps doing it anyway. His body is breaking down and soon he will not be able to run anywhere. This isn’t limited to endurance athletes. You see guys in the gym everyday that are not competitive bodybuilders that are trying to lift 3 times their body weight on a bench. Why? Who are we all trying to impress.

Exercises have consequences! Continued use injuries like arthritis cannot be repaired. You will have deep joint pain the rest of your life. And for what? If the way you train right now is causing more harm than good is it really becoming healthy? No, it is not! Take a look at your goals. When I was a professional hockey player, I assumed a certain level of pain and injury on a constant basis to achieve my goals. Now that I am looking at being healthy, my training is about being injury free and mechanically sound. I don’t lift the heaviest weights I possibly can because there is no reason.

You have to ask yourself “why” every now and then. Does what you are doing make sense for the quality of your life in the future. This goes for nutrition too. Does it make sense to eat the way you do. If not, it’s time for a wake up call. Just because you see people in the gym doing circus act exercises or trying to wear out their treadmill doesn’t mean that what they are doing is right for you. Be objective. If you have questions, ask. Let me know how I can help, but I challenge you to look inside yourself and work on real health and happiness that will last a lifetime!

Nutrition and Eating Healthy for Weight Loss

For years I have watched people have a hard time with their nutrition. Everyone has reasons (or excuses) for what they eat. And I used to feel like everyone knew the difference between good foods and bad foods, but I am not so sure anymore. One thing I am sure of is that no one is happy with where they are with their fitness. Everyone has a goal and 99% of people want to lose weight and tone up. In this post I am going to give you an outline of rules to follow. In the future I will expand on this topic and give you tricks of the trade that trainers use to help their clients lose weight.

The first thing we need to talk about is under eating in an attempt to lose weight. Your body needs food. Its like gas in the car. If you don’t have it, then you don’t go! The easiest way to judge whether you are getting enough substance (notice I didn’t say quantity) of food is your energy level. Why starve and feel horrible.

Next we need to discuss how many times a day you should eat. You have probably heard that you should eat small meals frequent throughout the day. That is correct but realize that if you eat once a day and tomorrow you plan on eating 7 times, it may be a lot to handle. Try this progression. Start by solidifying breakfast, lunch , and dinner. Proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats ( we’ll talk more about this later). After you can eat 3 meals a day that you would not be embarrassed to tell your trainer about start adding a small snack in between and lunch, and lunch and dinner.  When this is feasible, start making the calories of these meals equal and add a small snack before bed (usually very lean proteins with little carbs). This may take some time to accomplish feeling good with 6 meals a day but it is obtainable for all!

Realize too that no one is expected to eat perfect and never cheat. I use an 80/20 rule. Eat as perfect as you can 80% of the time, and be more relaxed with your choices 20% of the time. This is not a pass go, collect $200 free pass to freak out. This is a chance for you to get your cravings out of the way so you don’t cheat more often. If you need to lose a considerable amount of weight I recommend you have a cheat meal instead of a cheat day if possible. If you have been working on your nutrition for a while, I would structure your cheat day to be on events like birthdays, holidays, concerts, and other special occasions that will take you out of your norm.

What are good foods? Depends on who you ask right. Lets look at the basics. Proteins are typically but not limited to meat, fish, poultry, cheese, eggs, and milks. A serving of protein is assumably 3oz of meat, 1.5oz of cheese, and 8oz of milk. Each meal you eat should include a portion of protein. No excuses! We’ll talk about why more in depth in another post soon. Next, carbohydrates are broken into simple carbs (sugars) and complex carbs (starches and fibers). We prefer complex carbs like vegetables, whole grains, and legumes to simple carbs like cakes and cookies, sugary beverages, etc… You goal is to have 1 serving of carbohydrates at each meal as well. 1 slice of bread, 1/2 cup of oats, 1 cup of veggies, or 1 medium fruit. With carbohydrates, variety is the key to get a wide range of nutrients. Last but not least, fats are necessary to your diet. Try to limit fats to monounsaturated fats like olive oil and avocado or polyunsaturated fats like Soybean oils. Guess what, butter is fat, salad dressings and mostly fats, pizza has huge fat content. Be aware of what you put in your body!

Like many topics, we have barely touched on nutrition and eating healthy. But you have to have the basics before you can grow into something more. When you are looking at your options for meals, ask yourself what would Ryan pick or what would my trainer think about my choice. It will open your eyes. The worst thing you can do to yourself is to know better but do it anyway. Hold yourself to a higher standard. By doing this you will see results far beyond anything you can do in the gym alone. You MUST take actions today to be better tomorrow, but know that I don’t expect anyone to be perfect immediately. I just want you to improve everyday. So work hard, have fun, and thank you for making fitness your lifestyle!

Alcohol in energy drinks?

I was coming home from the gym a couple of days ago and someone called in to join a discussion about how energy drinks are bad for you. He said that there have been reports of major companies adding alcohol to their popular drinks. According to the caller, from 7 to 9% in some cases. This was to increase the euphoriaeffect while having the drink and also adding addictive capabilities to the beverage.

Now I couldn’t find these exact numbers online, however, there is quite a bit of information online about this. Most of it pertains to children being able to legally buy these drinks at any corner store. Now, I’m not even going to get started about how I feel everytime I see a 12 yr old child drinking a monster as big as his head. Anyway, I found this all very interesting and unfortunately not surprising at all.

Sports Drinks are not regulated by the FDA. A lot of people get confused on this one, so here we go. On the content list on regulated foods, there is a percentage of what is included in the item. Being regulated means that it is what it says it is. That it is randomly tested and contents are quality. Sports supplement companies have been getting around these regulations because supplements are not regulated. So these energy drinks can have a variety of levels and potencies of these supplements. In fact, the only testing done by these companies is by internal reviews. 

So I challenge you. I challenge you to be aware of what you put in your body on your way to becoming fit and healthy. Do the risks out way the benefits? Are you educated on what your body needs to reach your goals? If not I highly recommend you get yourself educated. Leave me a comment with your questions and I will be glad to get you started.

Pregnancy and Fitness

This post hits close to home for me today. My wife and I found out we are pregnant with our first child this week. We are very excited for the future and the child we have been blessed with. This kind of news does change many things about our lives and especially how our personal fitness goals change. The guys out there know exactly how I feel, but my wife’s goals are now mine. I do however, have the opportunity to train my wife in the gym and monitor our nutrition and lifestyle away from the gym. I am up for the challenge!

Now, I am not a MD. I am only giving a recollection of things that I have learned from clients, personal research and my certifications along the way. So consider this a disclaimer, talk to your Doctor and find out what is best for your needs. If you are willing and able to meet with me to discuss options in your gym training, I would be more than happy to help you along the way and make sure you are safe and proper. I feel confident in my abilities to train my own wife, and I can help you be pregnant and fit!

With all that being said, Training during pregnancy is complex. You didn’t need me to tell you that. But fitness during pregnancy can help mood, energy levels, sleep, self confidence, etc. etc. Above all its is about the new baby’s health and your own. As far as exercise routines go I have had clients that have been very active in the gym before their pregnancy and continued to do the same routines their entire pregnancy. Other clients feel almost immediate fatigue and its all they can do to make it to the gym. The important thing is reading your body and communicating.

Next, get a heart rate monitor! 140 beats per minute has always been the golden rule. Most women can tell when they reach the 140 number because they feel dizzy and out of breath. It is easier as a trainer to be able to have a heart rate monitor with a digital watch read out so it is easy to monitor.

Some of the technical things like exercise prescriptions are only properly done on a case by case basis. For example if I was training you and could see exactly how you move and assess the risks of the specific exercises. Yes, all exercises have risks! However, general rules are typically no squatting or activity that puts pressure on the cervix and crunches will be phased out in beginning of the first trimester. In fact, after the 1st trimester, absolutely no exercise where you are lying flat on your back. These floor exercises can decrease blood flow to baby and mom.

Some other things most people don’t associate with pregnancy are sprains and strains. The body is releasing increased doses of hormones that can make joints more susceptible to injury. Again, another reason to have a qualified trainer to monitor you workouts.

And here is the kicker, eating for two is only an idea. MOST suggestions say 300 to 500 calories extra a day is plenty for safe development and proper nutrition granted you are eating a healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables. If you are not in the habit of eating a fruit or vegetable at each meal, now is a perfect time to start right! You know what healthy foods are, but above that, pregnant women need to stay away from raw meats (and cats, so I hear) because of a specific parasite that may cause baby to have heart trouble. Again consult your MD for details but no sushi or raw fish and wash thoroughly if you have any contact with raw meats.

When this is all said and done I have not even scratched the surface of what all is included about training during pregnancy. It is imperative that you listen to your doctors and listen to your body! If you have more questions about training during pregnancy please dont hesitate to leave a comment or contact the club to schedule a free session with me. I am here to help! In turn all advice those of you may have for me on my upcoming child would be greatly appreciated as well.

Ryan Dobbs, CPT