Author: Bill

Today is an exciting day because I get to tell you about something that I’ve been keeping under wraps for quite a while.

Back in April, I had the chance to spend some time and talk nutrition with Mike Roussell. He also gave me a copy of his book Naked Nutrition. Let me tell you, no one should be that young and be that intelligent.

Naked Nutrition strips away all the fluff in regards to creating a healthy AND effective fat loss or muscle gaining nutrition program. Mike’s taken a very confusing topic like proper nutrition and created an easy-to-follow guide that everyone can use regardless of your caloric needs or type of diet you prefer.

Since low-carb dieting is once again the rage, I did a mini-Q & A with Mike.

Bill: When fat loss is the goal, it seems that many are now fearful of
eating carbs. How will carbs fit effectively into a fat loss training
program?

Mike Roussell: There are really two approaches you can take with carbohydrates regarding fat loss; one is more extreme than the other. Let’s look at the more extreme option first. With this option you completely remove all starchy carbohydrates with the exception of your workout nutrition (keep the carbohydrates there at all costs). This approach is easy because it requires little thinking – the only carbohydrates you eat are fruits and vegetables.

But for some people that can be a radical change to their nutritional plan and thus is not initially recommended. Instead limit your starchy carbohydrate consumption to breakfast (commonly oatmeal) and in the first 1-2 meals following your workout. When I mention starchy carbohydrates, I’m talking about whole grain carbs not candy bars and cookies. If you are losing fat with carbs at these times then why cut them out? I find that very often what you said is true. People are “fearful of eating carbs” and thus automatically adopt the mantra “carbs make me fat” and cut them out of their diet without really knowing how their body responds to starchy higher glycemic index carbohydrates.

Continuing with the scenario…If fat loss is stalling then you can remove your morning starches and/or the starches following your workouts so that you are moving towards more of a zero starch diet (like I described previously).

The key message here is don’t jump to carb conclusions without testing it on your body first. If you can eat oatmeal in the morning and still lose fat wouldn’t you want to do that? The research shows that well timed starchy (and sometimes sugary) carbohydrates won’t hinder fat loss and can actually be of extreme benefit. It is also important to note that in either diet scenario I outline neither one was a low carbohydrate diet. They were low starch diets. It is like Alwyn Cosgrove says “I don’t recommend very low carbohydrate diet because I would never tell someone they can’t eat vegetables.”

Naked Nutrition is now available!

Bill

Here’s the link to my latest fat loss article in Men’s Health. It includes the complete 9-week program template that didn’t fit in the original article.

Losing the Last 10

Bill

Bill,

My right leg is significantly stronger than my left and I have a reoccurring injury that I finally realize is most likely due to this strength imbalance. The imbalance is because I had reconstructive knee surgery back in high school. I’m going to start doing exclusive single leg work. Should I add extra sets to the weak leg or use the same amount of weight for both legs based on what the weak (left) leg can handle?

Since the body tends to function best when there is minimal discrepency between the left and right sides of the body, this can be a pretty significant issue not only in performance but your orthopedic health as well.

Rarely is it as simple as just doing more sets on the weaker side. If that were the case then in most cases of general weakness doing more would be better, and in this day and age I think we all know that more is not always better.

Since, in your estimation, this is related to a previous injury and is a recurring problem, it’s pretty obvious that something is feeding the imbalance. In most cases, the issue is not where you’re feeling the pain or are experiencing the weakness.

There is most likely an imbalance elsewhere that developed over time due to altering your typical movement pattern to avoid pain or compensate for the dysfunction.

Without assessing you directly, specific corrective programming isn’t possible but the first thing I’d compare is your hip and shoulder range of motion and your thoracic spine (upper back) rotation (from a tall sitting position turn from side to side). Look for any significant differences between sides and focus on correcting them first.

You can get a pretty clear picture by videotaping yourself doing an overhead squat, split squat, standing unilateral hip and knee flexion (stand on one leg and raise the opposite bent knee upward), and a single leg squat.

A lack of mobility/motion will show up as asymmetries in motion and/or posture or a loss of balance. Work to correct these asymmetries first as they will assure that appropriate movement patterns are being used and further imbalances will be avoided.

Once normal patterns have been restored it’s just a matter of balancing strength.

To do so, focus primarily on unilateral exercises with a normal volume of training on the “weaker” side and a reduced volume of training on the “strong” side (matching the reps per set performed on the weaker side) to avoid detraining.

For instance, if you perform 3 x 8 of lunges, perform the first set starting with the weaker side and alternate sides until you’ve performed 3 sets on the weaker side (the strong side gets 2 sets to maintain fitness).

Bill

P.S. Don’t forget to work on your thoracic spine and shoulder mobility as well.

Not all hip dominant movements are created equal.

The hip joint angle at which torque is maximal during a deadlift variation is not the same as when performing a back extension (AKA hyperextension), reverse hyper, or low cable pull-through. Therefore, each will have its purpose in developing a training program.

Especially in the case of improving high-level performance in athletes, proper exercise selection is essential to address weak points in performance.

Assuming you can identify the weakpoints in the first place. 🙂

Later

My father-in-law, Jack, died a couple weeks ago.

I only got to know him for about 8 years, but it turns out that he’s had quite a life.

Get this…

He served in Air Force and worked on planes as a mechanic
He then learned to fly planes AFTER his honorable discharge
He then owned his own plane
He learned to fly a helicopter
His daughter (my wife) was the only girl on the block…or town for that matter…who had a helicopter in her back yard
He was a ham radio operator for most of his life and made contact with people all over the world before the popularity of the internet
He built his own house (among many others) with his own hands…TWICE
He regularly bought, rebuilt, and reconditioned cars for a little “spending money”
He performed missionary work in Panama for his church on two different occasions
He then went back to Panama paying his own way just because he wanted to help them out
He raised an amazing daughter for whom I am thankful for every day

I don’t offer this information to promote sympathy. I just want you to think about all the things you’ve dreamed of doing or plan to do “when you get around to it”.

Don’t wait. Do it.

Read more, talk more, laugh more, and help more people.

Enjoy the journey.

Thanks Jack. You were great.

Later

P.S. If you read this and feel strongly about offering your condolences, please don’t. I would prefer that you went to www.liftstrong.com and purchase the e-book to help someone else.