Welcome!

I have been trying to get this blog started off and on for years now.  I feel like it is finally time to get my shit together, and put some information out there.  There are so many fitness blogs that my head is is beginning to spin.  Many of my ideas aren't original and I have to be honest with you, so much of what I do comes from someone else.  I believe that there are people out there much smarter than I am, and I hope one day to feel I am on the same level.  I do my best to put all the information that I get into this nice little package that people will essentially pay for.  And thus far it seems to be working, I'm always digging for new information, new ideas, etc.  I'm always trying to educate myself, and educate my clients with what I'm learning.  I realize that not everybody reads every blog, or article, or study and I hope that this blog connects people with the information that I'm receiving and trying to understand on a daily basis.

I'm also hoping to get my thoughts and ideas down on paper, to keep record on how my ideas have grown since I became a trainer.  Hopefully, these thoughts become a point of refrence for people to use in their own journey to a fitter body and physique.
With all that being said, enjoy the blog, always ask questions, and feel free to share the information that I'm sending to you.

Exercises you should be doing...Part 1

I am going to begin another one of my many series', one of these days I'll actually finish one. LIFTS YOU SHOULD BE DOING...will be a collection of exercises that you should be doing at least twice a week. These lifts are the most basic of lifts, but also the most powerful as far as changing your body, performance, and strength is concerned. So stay tuned.

The first lift in the series is the MOST basic of lifts. It's something we did as babies, teenagers, and possibly in high school. It is physically and metabolically challenging, and if I were to vote on the best exercise of all-time it would be. (DRUM ROLL PLEASE!). The SQUAT. That's right folks. The squat is the best exercise, and it is simply the most basic of all exercises.

Wait! What's that I hear? But Michael, squats are bad for your knees! They make my back hurt! My doctor told me not to do them! I don't like to be really sore, can't we do chest?"

BULLSHIT!! Squats aren't bad for your knees, but what YOU are doing is bad for your knees. And I can gurantee you aren't doing squats. Squats are a perfect total body exercise, but like any lift if done incorrectly you can get or feel pain. On top of that if our mobility, or ability to move your joints, is bad then squats can bother the knees or the back. Mobility in the hip joint often contributes to these two problems. So if you don't have mobility in your hips, then you will get lumbar flexion, and even knee pain from your knees shooting over your toes.

• Error #1- I see when squatting is not sitting the but back. So when beginning the movement, the first the to move is your knees, and not your bum.
• Error #2- is letting the knees cave in, instead of pusing your knees out in the same direction as your toes.
• Error #3- is not keeping your back nice and flat the entire squat. In this kind of squat, people are extremely rounded over at the bottom of the squat. This lumbar flexion will cause back pain. A lot of the time this will happen because we use too much weight too fast.
  

So instead of showing examples of all this crappy form, I'm going to show you a video of good frm from TheVideoFitcast. Notice how the squatter is not doing any of the above errors. This is what a good squat should look like, and in most cases it will not cause any back or knee pain. Don't rush to conslusion and decide you are one of the "special people" and squatting isn't for you. Try it first, get it critiqued by a fitness professional, but don't knock it 'till you try it.

Like I said earlier, lack of mobility can cause problems with the squat, so stretching the hips, calves, quats, and activating

the glutes will go a long way in making your a world class squatter, well at least you will squat more than all those panzies on the leg press machine.

Here is a great mobility exercise you should do as a warmup, or even on your off days.

Rules #5-#8 of Fat Loss

#5 Eat whole natural foods as much as possible.

To make this as simple as possible if a caveman couldn't eat it, neither should you. So fruits and veggies good, breads and cookies bad. Lean meat good, Double Stacks bad! Nuts and beans good, hostess coffee cakes Bad. Easy enough?

#6 Take a multivitamin and Omega 3 Supplement

A multivitamin just ensures that you are getting all the vitamins and nutrients that you need on a daily basis. It's very difficult to get all these vitamins and nutrients from food alone and that is wear the multivitamin comes into play. Make sure the multivitamin is a quality one, you will get what you pay for. I firmly believe that Centrum, costco, walgreens, and wal mart are all awful multivitamins. So don't take them.

Omega 3s have been huge in recent years as a great "bang for your buck" supplement. It is a very easy way to get good fats at every meal, which is RULE #3 They do so many different things from weight loss, to cholesterol control, to joint and inflmation reduction. Just take the damn things. You can be a little cheaper with these, so walgreens or walmart brands are okay. To reduce the fish burps take them with a full meal. 1-4 pills a day will do wonders for your body.

#7 Keep a food Journal

Weigh, weigh, weigh. Weigh your food, stop guestimating. You have been doing that for the last _____ years, and look where it has gotten you. Unless you can be 100% sure of how much food you are eating, you will never know what kind of defecit you are putting your body into. You don't have to do it forever, but 2-4 weeks will do wonders for your weight loss. Once you weigh your food write it down in a journal on a daily basis and proceed to Rule #8.

#8 Track your calories with calorieking.com

Take your food journal, type your foods you have eaten into calorieking.com and get an idea of how many calories you take in on a daily basis, you should also track the amount of proteins, carbs, and fats you eat everyday as well. Typically a 50% carb, 30% protein, and 20% fat diet will do really well to start your fat loss program.

Rules #4 and #5 of Fat Loss

Rule #4-Eat 25-35 grams of fiber a day

Eating fiber, or fibrous vegetables will help with satiety between meals. If you find that 25-35 grams is hard to get, then a fiber supplements like glucomannan, Granny's metamucil, or fiber chewable will give you a little help. Glucomannan is an interesting little supplement, and is grat for weight loss. It is a soluble fiber made from the cognac plant, that when consumed thickens and expands helping your body feel fuller, for a longer period of time. You can find it here or in the noodle form here. All three fiber supplements above are important because they slow the release of food from your stomach helping you feel a little less miserable between meals while you are in your calorie defecit.

Rule #5-Drink .6-.7 ounces of water per pound of body weight

Drinking enough water will ensure that you are getting enough fluid for your workouts, and it will also help with hunger pangs that you may get from time to time throughout the day. People will sometimes hold onto water because they don't get enough on a daily basis. So you could lose some water weight, by drinking more water. Isn't that ironic?

Rules #2 and #3 of Fat Loss

Las Thursday I posted the first rule of Fat Loss, and that was to have well defined, and clear goals that you want to accomplish you can see that post here. Below are the 2nd, and 3rd rules. Give them a try for a week and let me know how it works out in the comments section!

#2 Eat Every 2-3 Hours

Eating every 2-3 hours will reduce the chances of you binge eating, or cheating from your diet. If you know that you will eat in a couple hours you won't over eat, or run to the snack machine between meals. Now these "meals" aren't your normal 3-course meal, they can also be a snack of some kind. Just keep "pumping gas into your tank" and your energy will be much better throughout the day. Here are a few snacks that would be awesome between your big meals. Make sure you measure all the items so you get an idea of how many calories you are consuming using calorieking.com

• Raw unsalted nuts (cashews, almonds) and an orange
• A bananna and protein powder
• Greek Yogurt and berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries)
• An apple and natural peanut butter
• Peaches, nectarines, dates, figs, melons, grapefruit, etc.
• Be creative

#3 Eat a Protein, Carb, and Fat at every meal

Eating a protein, carb, and fat at every meal ensures you are getting in all the macronutrients, and that you will maintain your energy throughout the day. It also ensures that you stay full in between meals. Here's a newsflash: Carbs are good for you and so are fats. So stop the low carb and low fat dieting. It's worthless. What you need to do is eliminate processed carbs, breads, candy, cookies, etc. Your carbs should come primarily from fruits, and vegetables. If you are going to eat bread make it whole grain, but even that should be limited as much as possible. These diets that tell you that you can't eat fruits, because they have natural sugars are bullshit. Oh yeah! And stop listening to your doctor. I know I know, but they have a degree. Well to get their degree they take very few nutritional courses, if any! Just make sure you are getting a protein carb and fat at every meal and your body will thank you, and let go of the insulation your storing around your midsection. Sample foods with each macro can be found below. Eat a large variety of these foods, and your diet will never get boring.

Complex Carbs and Vegetables

Beans

Brown Rice

EzekialBread

Oats/Oatmal

Quinoa

Wild Rice

Yams/Sweet Potatoes

AlfafaSprouts

Artichoke Hearts

Alfalfa Sprouts
Artichoke Hearts
Arugula
Asparagus
Bamboo Shoots
Beet Greens
Bock Choy
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Celery
Chard
Chicory
Chives
Collard Greens
Cucumbers
Endive
Escarole
Fennel
Jicama
Kale
Leeks
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Onion
Peppers
Radicchio
Radishes
Rhubarb
Sauerkraut
Scallions
Spinach
Water Chestnuts
Zucchini

Lean Protein

Whey Powder

Bass
Bison
Chicken Breasts
Cod
Crab (try canned, instead of tuna!)
Egg Whites (boxed work well)
Elk
Flounder
Extra Lean Ground Turkey, Chicken, or Beef (at least 95% lean)
Haddock
Halibut
Orange Roughy
Ostrich
Perch
Tilapia
Shrimp
Snapper
Tuna
Turkey Breasts

Healthy Fats

Almonds
Avocados
Coconut Oil
Flameout (personal favorite)
Flax Seeds
Flax Oil
Grapeseed Oil
Herring
Macadamia Nuts
Mackerel
Natural Peanut Butter (no oil added)
Olive Oil
Pecans
Pumpkin Seeds
Salmon
Sardines
Sunflower Seeds
Walnuts

NEW ATHLETE WORKOUTS BLOG and tip of the day

I'm not liking how the blog is moving forward so what I will be doing is moving the athlete blog posts (workouts, notes, etc.) to another address http://bakershoopschool.blogspot.com/. I am going to keep the personal training related content here at Blogginwithbaker.

With all that being said I would like to offer a lifting tip of the day.

When doing any row pattern (seated, chest supported, inverted) make sure to retract your scapulae before each rep. To do this think of putting your shoulder blades in your back pocket, by pulling them back and down. Another way to help with this is to push your chest out as far forward as you can. With any exercise you do you should think to pull your scapulae into this position. In a society where everyone sits at the computer hours, our scapulae become protracted and winged forward causing shoulder tension, pain, and even headaches. Our posture is downright awful, and getting worse. So the next time you are in the gym think about pulling your shoulder blades back and down, and you will be on you way to a healthier you.

Here is perfect seated row form by Tony Gentilcore of The Fitcast....Notice in the back view how his shirt bunches up on his back. That is from him pulling his shoulder blades back and down

Add scap pushups to your dynamic warmup at the beggining of your training session and get a feel for the movement of your scaps.

Questions and Answers

I hope the young lady who asked these questions doesn't mind that I answered these questions on the blog but I think they are good questions the other people may have.

Question: Which is better; weigh fruits, veggies, etc. foods or use the suggested serving size?

Answer: I would say to weigh and measure your food, and then use a website like calorieking.com or fitday to calculate the calories, protein, carbs, fats, etc. that you are getting in each food

Question: Should you weigh meats prior to cooking? I assume yes, but wanted to be sure.

Answer: With calorieking.com you can get the counts for both cooked and uncooked meats. I I would suggest you weigh before you cook it but do what is easiest. Like I said you can do both with calorieking.com

Question: What are your thoughts about Juicing and the diet 'Eat Right 4 Your Type'?

Answer: I do not know too much about either of these option so I don't really know too much about it. I have always wanted to try the juicing but I haven't had a chance to get into it. I would think that it is a good concept. You can never get enough fruit or vegetables so I would give it a shot. It'll help you get all the good stuff that is in the fruits and veggies.

Question: Where can you buy Bison here in the valley?? I really want to try the 'Badass Bison' burger.

Answer: I would say your best bet is Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's has a lot of great stuff from the Bison, to Greek yogurt which you should take a look at as well. Greek yogurt is great because it has a ton of protein, and good fat's as well. It tastes pretty good with frozen fruit.