My Favorite Tips

MY FAVORITE TIPS FOR CLIENTS

TRAINING:

Resistance Training applying progressive overload (do more each week – same program for 4 weeks) is for everyone and I recommend to train at minimum 2x a week is key to maintain/gain muscle mass.

Beginners can easily do body recomposition, which is gain muscles and lose fat at the same time! The resistance training program for fat loss is the same for building and maintain muscles.

My programs are mainly focused on movement patterns that are functional for daily lives.

Add cardio as needed. I highly recommend adding minimum 1-2 days of moderate intensity cardio (20-40 min) on separate days (or after) your lower body training session. Walk is also cardio and you can do 20-40 min walk daily to keep your daily steps high. I love cycling, run, elliptical, stairs masters. Do what you enjoy the most.

I always program variations of squats/deadlift/hip thrust/glute bridges/pull/push/core. The goal is to get stronger overtime on the main compound lifts! For muscle hypertrophy is best to rest 2 minutes minimum between sets for multi-joints exercises. Shorter rest of 90 seconds for single-joint and machine exercises. PR week and before the last set I recommend resting minimum of 3 minutes.

Always give a minimum of 48 hours of rest between each training session for the same muscle group. You get stronger and build muscles during your rest/recovery so is important to give an adequate amount of time for your body do recover.

 

 

Progressive Overload is KEY:

To optimize muscle hypertrophy you should apply progressive overload.

How? Do more each week! Important to track use the App and tap START your training and add reps and load and sets for each day and save to log your progression.

Progressive overload is not only increasing load each week.

It can be: better form, more ROM (range of motion), movement feels easier and faster, more sets, more reps, more weight (load), less time of rest, etc..

Keeping track of all you training is key and keep pushing yourself hard each week doing more over time.

Sets needs to go close to failure (means leaving 1-3 reps left in the tank) or to true failure. True to Failure is very taxing to the body and you don't need to be doing that all the time. Failure means not able to do any more reps or when you start to break your form.

 

General guidelines If your goal is FAT LOSS (Cut):

• Set up a realistic goal!!! If your goal is FAT LOSS, I recommended weight loss rate of 0.5 – 1% of your bodyweight per week. Is not a good idea to lose more than this rate or you will be compromising losing muscles!
• Realistic weight fat loss rate: 1-2 lbs (0.45 kgs - 0.9 kgs) per week, on average.
• Obese individuals: can lose 2 lbs (0,9 kg) per week, more than that is a bonus.
• Overweight individuals: can lose 1 lb (0.45 kgs) per week.
• Normal weight/lean individuals: 0.5 lb (0.22 kgs) per week.
  (Credit: Alan Aragon - IG post)

• A moderate calorie deficit of about 20-25 % below maintenance calorie is great to preserve muscle mass. Estimate your calories on tdeecalculator.net and start from there and adjust as needed weekly. You can track full meal with the in-built tracker in the App Trainerize (or track photo only if you don’t want to track macros/calories), or synchronize the App with MyFitnessPal (free version – download here in Apple store). Get a kitchen scale and learn about portions. You can find it at Amazon here. If you don’t want to track calories, please prioritize your daily protein intake goal and protein per meal! Prioritize mostly whole foods and low calorie/high fibers veggies and fruits that will help you with satiety. Tracking food macros/calories is a great tool to learn about portions. You don’t need to do it forever! It’s very common to undereat/overeat for some and tracking for a short period helps you to learn how to properly fuel your body and at the same time get the results that you want. Keep in tuned with your body regular hunger cues. If hungry, prioritize whole foods and your high protein meal. If satiated, stop eating!

• Increase NEAT (such as more steps throughout the day) helps to increase energy expenditure. Make a daily goal of 6-10k steps minimum

• Cardio can be added as needed. Not necessary. I recommend walking daily as “cardio”. If you are sedentary, start with 15 min and gradually increase as needed. Walking outdoors is nice and helps with sleep and improve mood. If you want to train cardio, I recommend that you do in a separate day of your resistance training day. If not possible, you can do your cardio after you resistance training session if your priority is to build muscle. If your goal is endurance, then you can do your cardio before your resistance training session. I recommend that my clients do cardio once a week!

• Hydrate (drink about 2-3 liters of water per day). If you don't like drinking water you can flavor your water with lemon and sweetener like stevia or use a little bit of Ultima Replenisher (blue raspberry) is my favorite, or Diet Cranberry Juice.

• Manage stress (include daily meditation/prayers/deep breathing).
• Try to get a good quality sleep daily 7-9 hours. I know it can be hard if you are a parent with babies. Prioritizing sleep is key for your health!

 

• Weekly progression check-ins to check how you are progressing:

1. Biofeedback
2. circumference measurements (with a tape measurement – neck, arms, chest, waist narrowest part, waist bellybutton, hips, thighs, calf). (YOU CAN ADD AS A BOD STATS IN MY APP or send it to me via message in the App - is mandatory bi-weekly)
3. take photos/videos weekly or bi-weekly. Please take your photos to compare track your progression! You will be amazed with your transformation when you compare your photos at the beginning and during the process!!! (YOU CAN ADD AS A BOD STATS IN MY APP or send it to me via message in the App - is mandatory bi-weekly)
4. Scale (weight). Weigh yourself daily and be consistent at the same time. I recommend as soon as you wake up, without clothes and after peeing. Take the weekly average and compare the trend of your weekly average weight. We all have weight daily fluctuations and doing the average is best to track. Weight is just a data!!! High stress, lack of sleep, ovulation/period, too much carbs can increase your weight and not necessarily is fat. (YOU CAN ADD AS A BOD STATS IN MY APP or send it to me via message in the App - is mandatory bi-weekly)
5. How you feel.
6. How your clothes fit.
7. DEXA scan you can schedule at EKU (Eastern Kentucky University, in Richmond/Kentucky). Cost: $40. Contact Dr. Michael Lane at lane@eku.edu to schedule your appointment. https://ess.eku.edu/dexa-bodpod-scanning . DEXA scan are the gold standard to measure body composition: bodyfat, lean mass (muscle), and Bone mass. You can re-asses it in 6 month or 12 months to check your progression.
8. strength gains at the gym (YOU CAN ADD YOUR TRAINING PROGRESSION WHILE USING THE APP TO SEE HOW STRONG YOU ARE BECOMING EACH WEEK)
9. how is your libido
10. how is your energy levels
11. how is your confidence
12. how is your sleep
13. are you constipated?
14. are you recovering well? too sore?
15. are you very fatigued?

• While you are training, maintain a high protein intake 1.6 – 2.2 g of protein per kg of bodyweight (or ideal bw) per day. Or even up to 3g of protein per kg of bodyweight if in a fat loss phase to preserve muscle (especially if you are already lean). Generally, a high protein diet is recommended for healthy individuals. If you have any kidney/liver problems, please consult with your doctor. There is no evidence of harm with a high protein diet 3g/kg/d in resistance trainees for two years. Don’t forget to drink a lot of water! Protein is the only macro that helps to grow and maintain muscle mass and helps with satiety (less hunger and less cravings) during a fat loss phase. Plus protein has increased energy expenditure (you will burn Eat about 25-35g of protein minimum per meal (which is about 0.4-0.55g of protein per kg of bw). 3-5x meals a day is fine every 3-5 hours to maintain MPS (anabolic). Make sure you drink a lot of water!

• Example of high protein foods (prefer leaner cuts/fat free with less fats = lower in calorie):

1. Meats: bison, deer, steak, ground turkey, turkey breast, ground beef, beef
2. Chicken, chicken breasts, rotisserie chicken
3. Fish: tuna, salmon, tilapia etc
4. Dairy: milk, greek yogurt, yogurt, cheese
5. Eggs
6. Whey protein isolate, protein bars (supplement if you are not getting enough through whole foods)

• Carbs and fats you choose what you prefer. Lower, moderate or higher carb…
• However, if your goal is to gain strength and muscle I recommend to eat minimum of 3g of carbs per kg of your bodyweight per day. Maintain the same protein intake, but if you want to go high carb one day, do not also go high in fat and vice-versa to maintain the same calories intake.

1. Eat minimum of 90-120g of carbs per day. Carbs are fuel for your body! Is not sustainable to cut a lot of carbs! Veggies, fruits and whole grains are carbs and great for you! Prioritize whole foods carbs that you like especially high in fibers.
2. Eat minimum of 0.7g of fats per kg of your body weight (which is about 20% of your total calories). Lower than this is not sustainable, and you can have your testosterone (hormones) lowered, and you don’t want that!
3. Eat minimum of 21-35g of fibers per day. More fibers will help you to prevent constipation and burn more calories. The more whole foods carbs the best it increases energy expenditure and keep you satiated and better for your health.

• Eat mostly whole foods (I would say 80%)! Prioritize first your protein intake throughout your day and for each meal! You can eat foods that you enjoy!!!! Including processed foods in moderation (I would say 20%). This way you will have more flexibility and still be healthy and will be sustainable. If you are not having the results you want than you can restrict more temporarily until you get where you want. Remember: Calorie deficit is not forever. Maintenance is the goal! If you are struggling with nutrition, I recommend that you meal prep one day and leave some cooked foods on the fridge/freezer for the week!

• If you have constipation, invest in magnesium citrate before bedtime like Natural Calm (link: https://amzn.to/3B83DM0 ). Most of us is deficient in magnesium. Also, Fage (Greek Yogurt) before bedtime with strawberries is a good idea because it contains fibers and probiotics. Chia seeds and Flaxseeds can help.

• What about supplements to help performance and recovery and muscle gainz? Whey protein, caffeine 3-6 mg of caffeine per kg of your bodyweight helps to increase energy and performance before training (30-45 min before), plain creatine monohydrate (3-5 grams daily and you will see benefits after 4 weeks of taking it), and carbs! If you have a healthy kidney/liver, research says creatine is safe and has a lot of benefits including for our brain! Creatine is found in meats, but is impossible to get a good amount only by eating whole foods. Talk always to your doctor before supplementing with anything!!

• If you struggle with sleep, talk to your doctor to see if you can supplement with Melatonin, Gaba or CBD Oil (full spectrum), magnesium.

• Other supplements: talk to your doctor and check your Vitamin D blood levels. Optimal levels are 50 ng/ml or more (Lily's Nichols book "Real Food for Pregnancy). Depending on the results, ask your doctor to see if you can supplement with Vitamin D if needed.

• Other supplements: Fish Oil (Omega 3), try to consume minimum of 300 mg of DHA per day. Diet alone is possible if you eat 2-3 servings of cold water fatty fish each week (like salmon). (from Lily Nichols "Real Food for Pregnancy" book)

• Watch for your caffeine daily intake. Don't rely on caffeine for energy throughout the day! Focus on nutritious dense foods, exercise, hydration and sleep is king for increasing your energy levels!

GENERAL GUIDELINES TIPS FOR CLIENTS WANTING TO GAIN MUSCLE/STRENGTH (bulking)

• The rate for weight gain in a bulking is 0.5-1 % of your bodyweight per month. Realistic muscle gain: 1-2 lb (0.45 kgs - 0.9 kgs) per month on average. Intermediate trainees: 1lb (0.45 kgs) per month. Advanced trainees: 0.5 lbs (0.22 kgs) per month. (Credit: Alan Aragon previous IG post)
• I recommend following the above recommendations, only the calories intake will be just a little bit different and protein can be on the lower end range of about 1.6 g of protein per kg of your bw per day. Just allow yourself to have more flexibility with food. If you are struggling to eat more calories, try to eat less low calorie/high volume foods and prioritize more calorie dense foods such as: drinking your carbs (juice, honey) or fats (dark chocolate, nuts, nut butters, olive oil, avocado, etc).
• The most important here is to eat in a slight calorie surplus of 10-20% above your maintenance calories which is about 250-500 kcal per day above maintenance. Beginners in lifting can even go higher up to 1000 kcal and will not put a lot of fat mass in the first months! Each individual is different so it’s important to always make adjustments as needed. Calorie surplus will OPTIMIZE muscle hypertrophy! If you don’t want to go into a bulking phase you can just stay at maintenance calories and if you are a beginner the chances are that you will lose fat and gain muscles at the same time (this is called body recomposition).
• I don’t recommend you to do cardio if your goal is building muscles. Walk and move more for cardio! Walking it’s a great exercises and I LOVE IT! Specially if you are just starting. But if you really love and want to do it, do it in separate days from resistance training ONLY if you are recovering well between training sessions.
• Be patient and consistent. Building muscles takes time! You’ve got this!!!! Surplus calories will make it faster process. Maintenance calories will be slower process but it’s still ok if you are patient and beginning your lifting journey.
   
  GENERAL GUIDELINES TIPS FOR CLIENTS WANTING TO GAIN MUSCLE/STRENGTH AND LOSE FAT AT THE SAME TIME (BODY RECOMPOSITION)
• You will eat for maintenance calories and follow the same general guidelines above.
• Body recomposition is when you lose fat and gain muscles at the same time. Weight maintains about the same and can be easily accomplished by beginners into lifting weights. It’s a slower process but totally possible.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me! :)

DISCLAIMER: Not intended to be used as a medical advice. Please consult with your physician and or Nutritionist/Registered Dietician before starting any exercise program or making changes to your nutrition. These are just my tips and suggestions for a successful weight/fat loss or building muscle phase. All evidence-based!!!!