When should I lift heavy weights?

Increasing the weight you’re working out with will actually help you from reaching a training "plateau." If we exercise in the same fashion all the time, our bodies get used to the stress we've placed on it, and accommodate to preserve calories (survival mode). To prevent this from happening, we need to switch from lifting light weights and several repetitions to heavy weights, low reps ideally about every 3 to 4 weeks.

Will weights make me look bulky?

Due to the fact that women do not and cannot produce as much testosterone as men do, it’s impossible for women to gain huge amount of muscle mass unless using anabolic steroids in conjunction with an aggressive weight training program and bulking diet.

Is walking considered cardio?

No! Walking has a minimal effect on your level of cardiovascular fitness, in order to benefit from aerobic exercise; you must achieve what’s known as a "training effect," which stresses your body sufficiently. For most people, this is training at 55 to 85% or your predicted maximum heart rate.

Will cardio alone tone up my body?

Unfortunately, the answer is no! Cardiovascular exercise is vital to our health in order to take oxygen into the lungs and blood; it strengthens our heart and immune system, and reduces the risk of many diseases. Even though this form of exercise stimulates our muscles, it doesn’t effectively build or increase the size of the muscle cell. Without lifting weights or strength training the muscles will not grow, nor will they become as metabolically efficient, and the result is less calories burned in a given day preventing you from losing unwanted body weight.

More is not better!

Research shows that an aerobic exercise program that exceeds more than four 45-minute sessions per week has a limited effect on improving your aerobic capacity and doing more than 1.5 hours per week may actually be counterproductive if you’re trying to lose weight.

Best sources of protein.

Protein is essential to the body and is responsible for the growth and repair of our muscles, hormones, and absorption of nutrients into the muscle cells. Your body uses protein to make structural and biochemical reactions that are required for muscle contraction, cardiovascular function, and immunity from disease.

The best sources of protein contain the highest Amino Acid composition, which are the building blocks of protein and muscle tissue. The best sources, with the highest amount of amino acids are listed below in order of highest to lowest biological value.

Whey Protein 106-159
Eggs 100
*Cow's Milk 91
Fish 83
Casein Protein 80
Beef 80
Chicken 79
Soy 74

Keep in mind, it's always best to consume the most natural sources of protein whenever possible. Look for organic, free-range or grass fed, natural, cage-free, steroid/antibiotic free. This should provide the healthiest, leanest, and safest forms of protein, which will benefit you the most.

Yours in good health,

Boone Ebel

*Dairy products are only recommended if they're organic and unpastureized.

Don't be fooled.

Good marketing will get our attention, and great marketing will encourage us to do, believe, or buy just about anything. Let's take the low-carb diet for example, for years this country avoided carbohydrates like the plague...all because of a great marketing campaign. Sure, a lot of people lost weight, and cutting carbs will allow you to do this for a short period of time, but carbohydrates are absolutely essential for our body as the primary food source and brain fuel.

The marketing trickery goes beyond just weight loss products and diets, companies are placing labels on food like organic, whole grain, low fat, no trans fat, etc. since we associate these words with being healthy we'll most likely buy it. The sad truth is a majority of these products may contain one ingredient that's organic and the remaining ingredients may read as follows (high fructose corn syrup, wheat gluten, artificial coloring, sulfur dioxide, and BHT to preserve freshness).

From now on, take the extra couple seconds to read the ingredients before you purchase something, you'll be amazed at the foods you once thought to be healthy are loaded with fillers and artificial ingredients. Don't be fooled.

Yours in good health,

Boone A Ebel