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Let’s go on a Fitness Journey

March 28, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Fitness Journey to the Summer!

Summertime Fitness Journey

Let’s go on a Fitness Journey Together

Ok, so you want to lose weight, get toned, and look good…

Cool!  I want to help, but I’m about to take this in an unexpected direction.  I typically like to focus on what we at FitLife Fusion call “the Fit Life”. The Fit Life to us is more about the quality of life than the body fat percentage you think you should be.  We prioritize healthy metabolic function which is categorized by having energy, getting out of pain, and being mobile enough to enjoy the many activities in life you want to do.  That doesn’t mean losing weight isn’t on the list of priorities at all. We  want to see people check the aforementioned achievements off the list first so they don’t line themselves up for pain and yo-yo weight gain in the future.  

So I’ve decided to focus on weight loss for the next few months since we all are getting ready to be outside more, at the beach, or at the pool, or out on the hiking trail.   I have a big goal I want to achieve and I thought, why not bring all of you along for the ride.  So here goes…

 

Handball WPH Las Vegas

Timbo Gonzalez, the reigning WPH Pro Handball World Champion

I’d like to start off with a little transparency.  

It’s been a while since I’ve challenged myself.  I mean truly challenged myself physically.  In fact, not since my days in the ring have I really taken a sporting event as seriously as when I competed in Muay Thai.  At this point my fight days are behind me… at least for now.  I’ve found a new passion in handball.  Not the European style of handball, but the handball you’d commonly see in NYC.  It’s like racquet ball, but there’s one wall and no racquets.    

 

The last 2 years I’ve played in the WPH Handball World Championships in the amateur divisions and had been knocked out in the first round in every event except the doubles in 2016 when I made it to the quarterfinals.  I’ve decided to take it seriously this year.  Much more seriously.

Peter Pinto Muay Thai Las Vegas Sityodtong

Peter Pinto of Sityodtong Las Vegas with the founder of the Sityodtong Camp, Kru Yodtong

When I trained in Muay Thai, for years I was consistent with my training.  Looking back, I probably trained more than I should have or needed to, but that’s all I cared about.  My diet was on point.  Of course this dates back to my Paleo Diet days which many of you know the outcome of, but the point is I had rules and I followed them.   Nowadays I’m much more lax.  I train and play sporadically, eat what I want while making sure I don’t eat too much of the bad stuff and ensure I get enough of the daily nutrients in my body to keep myself healthy.  

I face the same problem most former fighters face.  It’s hard to find the same motivation I once had to train as I did in my fight days.  Truth be told, I’m not the kind of guy who likes to just lift.  Just lifting to look good has never been a strong enough reason to enjoy my time in the gym . I enjoy lifting or training with a goal of getting better at something.  I loved to squat and imagine having the leg strength to knock someone clear off their feet with a kick.  I would do pull-ups and envision having an iron grip my opponents couldn’t escape.  I would bench press and think myself,  “no one will be able to handle the power in my punches!”   I’m just not the type to look at in the mirror while performing shrugs and think, “yea, the chicks are gonna love these traps.”

I express this not to deter you from the gym, but instead bring to question why you or anyone would want to join and gym and get fit.  Every trainer would like to have you believe they lift everyday just for the very noble reason of long term health.  But is it really?  Maybe some of them just want to look good on the beach or at the pool.  Maybe some of them are obsessed with sculpting their bodies as a result of childhood insecurities.  Others may also be athletes who love to compete and want to stay lean and agile.  Whatever it is, I’m saying it doesn’t matter.  Be honest with yourself.  Why do you want to hit the gym?  Don’t think of it as why you ‘should’ hit the gym.  Be selfish.  The selfish stuff is where the true motivation lies.     

That said, I’ve decided I want to win the World Championships this year in the B Division (amateurs).  That’s the stuff that fuels my fire.  I love competing.  It’s what I live for.  I also think that’s why I love coaching so much.  It’s another form of competition.  I’m helping people compete against their own challenges to achieve their goals… but that’s a whole other blog post! Haha. I better not get carried away.  

So, I wanted to share my process with you.  I’ll post here to the blog and share on all of our social channels.   I’ll share my food journals,   training programs, and all the cool neurodrills and training methods I use to up my game.  In the process I’ll track my weight and body composition and share those, too.

GOAL

The Z Health 9S Athletic Model. These are the qualities I will be basing training plan upon.

Win the Amateur Handball WPH Work Championships (Doubles and Singles B Division) in September 2017, at the Stratosphere

STEPS TO WIN:Speed – Become as light and quick as possible.  (Structure – Lose Weight)
  • Skill – develop precision in shooting
  • Style – There are generally 2 types of players; shooters and rallies.  Shooters look to put the ball away.  Rallies will power that ball back to the wall consistently until the opponent makes a mistake.  I’m a shooter.  
  • Stamina – the games are approximately 15-35 minutes long in 100+ degree F weather.
 

*Nutrition

I know this will be one of the most anticipated topics, and so I will cover it over time since it will change between now and September.  The 4 topics I will cover in relation to my diet will be:

  • Types of Foods – foods to eat a lot, foods I can eat sometimes, and foods I avoid.
  • Macronutrient Ratios – the ratio of Protein, Fat, and Sugar, in any given meal.  I will be journaling from time to time while using Heart Rate and Body Temperature readings before and after meals to test them.
  • Amounts and Frequencies – how much food and how often I’ll need to eat.
  • Supplements – any vitamins, minerals and other stuff I take to increase metabolism and performance.

More of this to come…

Training Schedule

 

 
Sunday
Mon
 Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
 Sat
Morning
 Handball/REST
10:30a Lift Chest/Back
Handball
10:30am Lift
Legs/abs
Handball
10:30am Lift
Arms/Shoulders
 Rest
Afternoon
 REST 20min Skills Mobility/Rest
20min skills
Mobility/Rest
20 min Skills
Rest
 
 
 

Workouts April 2017

Monday: Chest/Back
Exercise
Rep Range
Sets
Tempo
Rest
A1.  Incline, DB, Neutral Grip Chest Press
8-10
 3-4 4010
90-120
A2.  BB, Supinated Grip Bent Over Row
8-10
3-4
4010
90-120
B1.  Flat, DB, Neutral Grip Alternating Chest Press  10-12
3
2010
75-90
B2.  Kneeling, Neutral Grip,  Unilateral Lat Cable Pull Down
10-12
3
2010
75-90
C1.  Trap 3 Lift
10-12
 2
3010
60
C2.  DB Pull Over
10-12
2
3010
60
 
Wednesday Legs/Abs Day
Exercise
Rep Range
Sets
Tempo
Rest
A1.  BB Front Squat
8-10
 3-4 4010
90-120
A2.  DB Lateral Lunge
8-10
3-4
3011
90-120
B1.  KB Overhead Squats  8ea
3
2010
75-90
B2.  DB Petersen Step Up
10-12
3
2010
75-90
C1.  Frog Kicks
25
 4
3010
0
D1.  Swings
15
 4
3010
 30

 

Friday Arms/Shoulders
Exercise
Rep Range
Sets
Tempo
Rest
A1.  Seated Military Press
8-10
 3-4 4010
90-120
A2.  Close Grip, EZ Bar Bicep Curl (Full Bicep ROM)
8-10
3-4
4010
90-120
B1.  Poliquin Lat Raise  10-12
3
 30X0
75-90
B2.  DB French Press
10-12
3
3011
75-90
C1.  Trap 3 Lift
10-12
 2
3010
60
C2.  DB Pull Over
10-12
2
3010
60
D1.  External Shoulder Rotation
12-15
3 
 2010 60

Workout Guide

Order of Exercises:All the exercises are performed in a a superset or circuit fashion.  As you can see from your program the exercises are paired (A1, A2, B1, B2, and so on).  Thus you perform one set of A1, on set of A2, then return to A1 again.  Once you have completed the number of sets indicated for both, move on the B’s.  

Weight Selection:You want to select weights that you could lift for approximately four additional reps than those prescribed.  For example, if you are supposed to perform ten reps for your first set, you should choose a weight that you would be able to do at least 14 reps with.

Tempo:To achieve the appropriate training stimulus, you should adhere to the precise speed of movement for all aspe cts of the lifts:  eccentric, isomeric and concentric.  Instead of using terms such as “explosive” or “slow,” we will express the speed of a lift in a four-digit abbreviation = such as 4210.The first digit of the tempo formula is the lowering (eccentric) portion of an exercise; the second digit is the pause at the bottom (isometric) phase; the third digit of the return (concentric) movement; and the final digit is the pause before the next repetition (isometric).  Each digit refers to the number of seconds it takes to complete each phase, and the letter X means to perform that portion of the lift as rapidly as good technique allows.In the previous temp given of 4210 using the bench press as an example means you would lower the weight in four seconds, pause for two seconds at the chest, press the weight to the top in 1 second, and quickly move into the next rep since the last number of the tempo indicates there is no pause at the end of the press.This simple format enables you tot take more precise control of the training stimulus.  To achieve consistency between reps, it is best to count at a speed that is similar to the action of a clock (i.e., one thousand one, one thousand two, etc.) to prevent counting erratically for too fast.  The count should commence when the resistance implement (barbell, dumbbell, or body part) starts moving, not before or after this period.  

Warm-up: Use Mobility to get your joints ready to handle weight.  Depending on the day, you may want to do more mobility drills for the joints that will be doing most of the work that day.  If it’s “Arms/Shoulder Day” you should do a general joint mobility warm up and then spend another 3 minutes on moving the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands, neck, and thoracic spine.  Then warm up the lifts by taking the first two exercises in each program and perform about two sets of five reps, using increasingly heavy weight.  For example, if your first exercise is the Bicep Curl and you expect to use 90 pounds as your training weight, you could start with 60 x 5 followed by 75 x 5. 
 

Give it a shot and let me know how you do on SnapChat @fitlifefusion!

Filed Under: Peter's Vlog, Work Outs Tagged With: , , , ,

Call Me a Liar #2: Is Fat Really The Enemy?

December 14, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Today there seems to be confusion with forced exercise for those who are obese or extremely overweight. People who are really overweight believe or are told they just “don’t exercise enough“. Bah!  That’s not the problem.
——————
Eat less, exercise more and you’ll lose weight.  Boom!  I should stop writing this article right now because I just fixed all your problems.  Excuse me?  You’ve tried this method and it didn’t work?  Hmpf!?  Well then, allow me to tell you why I’M NOT SURPRISED WHAT SO EVER.
In this article we’re going to talk about the confusion created around exercise, food, weight-loss and health in general.  The confusion stems from the messages delivered to us in commercials and advertisements. Fitness, supplements, and health products are a portion of the health industry worth billions upon billions of dollars.  There’s just so much to be sold; so many marketable pieces to this puzzle!  The problem is if someone wants to sell a product or a service it must be unique.  It has to address a common problem in a special way never previously thought of.  This has resulted in the Fitness and Health Industry dividing into hundreds, if not thousands, of different specialty services and products.
Below I’ve listed responses commonly spoken by so-called fitness pros, gurus, and whatever the hell else they’re calling themselves today.
If you tried eating less and exercising more and you still didn’t get results then:
you're doing it wrong“…You must be doing it wrong or not working hard enough.”  (Translation – You need a coach to show you how to exercise and push you harder because you’re obviously not capable of educating yourself in addition to being too lazy to put your maximal effort into exercise without someone in your ear for the entire hour. Hire me.)
“…You probably weren’t strict enough with your diet.”  (Translation – Again you lack discipline and need someone to supervise you.  Hire me.  Also, here’s a diet plan I sell to everyone regardless of their individual body type which includes all of the powdered food and supplement a person needs. It’s called the “Pyramid Scheme Nutrition Pack” and it only costs $500/month, but it totally works for everyone.)
“…You’re not exercising in a way to get your body to respond.”  (Translation – I do this special thing called CrossFit which is modeled after 16th century slavery conditions where we work you close to death and totally cut simple carbs out of the diet.  Join our gym.  If it doesn’t work for you, you need to either come in more often which will cost extra.  If that doesn’t work you just have to eat less and cut all carbohydrates our of your diet.  You’ll definitely lose at least some weight at this point, be a irritable, miserable prick and most likely result you getting injured… but that’ll be your fault for not maintaining good form.  No worries, though!  After you regain all your weight recovering from your injury, we’ll help you lose it all over again!)
Ok, maybe I went a little overboard on the last one, but you know what I’m talking about.  In fact, I know you know what I’m talking about because there aren’t many people out there anymore who aren’t frustrated with their current level of health, and that frustration level is directly proportionate to the number of jack assess who have tried to sell you products of which the ingredients are top secret due to the formula being proprietary information.
This leads us to the obvious conclusion – No style of training is right, every thing you eat gives you cancer, and all supplements are snake oil.
…Ok, big breath.
Now let’s get serious a moment.  The problem we’re dealing with as an entire country is much of our “science” is and has been funded by companies attempting to sell products.  The more money a company has the more scientific studies they can conduct.  Since the 1950s we’ve been fed nutritional guidance based on scientific studies conducted by the winners of product wars held at the industry level.
For instance in the 1957 a study was conducted by the American Heart Association which sought out to prove that a diet high in saturated fat, eggs and red meat causes high cholesterol which then leads to heart attack. The study was called the “Anti-Coronary Club”.  It consisted of two groups of men between the ages of 40 to 59 years old who were observed over a 10 year span.  The Control Group ate the average American diet of the time which consisted of eggs for breakfast, red meat 3x/day, and cooked foods in butter.  The other group was put on what was called at the time the “Prudent Diet” (the first ever fad diet) which substituted vegetable oils for butter, cold cereal for eggs, and fish and chicken for red meats.
By 1966 the control group on average had a higher blood cholesterol level (an average of 250) than the Prudent Diet group (an average of 220), BUT during the study 8 DEATHS BY HEART ATTACK WERE RECORDED IN THE PRUDENT DIET GROUP.  Even though the study had essentially proven that the substitution of vegetable oils for animal fats caused higher mortality rates the study was still published as a success for lowering cholesterol numbers.  Why, you ask?  Because the institution responsible for conducting the study was founded by and funded by members of the Edible Oil industry; the very people who were selling the products the study was supposed to prove to be healthier for you.  This also opened the door for statin drugs by categorizing nearly 40% of the country as “at risk” for heart disease due to high cholesterol.
Another seemingly convincing study was held in 1953 by Dr. Ancel Keys called the “Six-Country Study”.  The graph below shows the correlation between dietary fat consumption and death from heart disease.  It seems like an open an closed case.  The more fat in the diet the more death from heart disease.  But in the second graph you’re able to see all the information available to Dr. Keys at the time.  So as you can see the good Doc drew a nice swooping line along the path he chose and then just removed the data points that didn’t fit.
Science Investigation - Low Cholestrol is.011
Science Investigation - Low Cholestrol is.010
And lastly without even getting specific there are studies proving cardiovascular exercises are the most effective ways to lose fat and also studies stating that weight training is the most effective way to burn fat.  Or we could break it down to the dozens of styles which all claim to be the best method for weight loss:  High Intensity Interval Training, body building, endurance training, Tabatas, circuit training, german volume training, blah blah blah blah.
The point is this is the world we live in today.  No matter where you turn you’re confronted with more science supporting a product or service and sitting right beside it on the shelf is its competition which has its own scientific studies disproving the science of the neighboring product.  And so the one thing most people seem to agree upon is “eat less, exercise more” because that at least seems like simple math.  It’s a simple subtraction problem.  Wrong!  It’s not simple math.  I’m sorry to be a downer, but honestly this thought process is a huge part of the problem.  If you’ve read my last blog called “Rapid Fat Loss (Warning!)” then you already understand why.  Click here to read it.
So let’s talk about fat for a moment, the war on obesity if you will.  Being fat or having a lot of fat on your body is not the root of your problem.  Excessive fat storage is a symptom.  It’s a sign of a dysfunctional metabolism.  Just getting rid of the fat by adding exercise and basically starving yourself isn’t the answer to the question of how you become healthy so that you avoid illness later in life.  Maybe because the fat is what we can see in the mirror, as opposed to a slow acting thyroid or overburdened liver, answers why it’s become the target of our health obsessions.  I mean, it’s even become the Presidential First Lady’s pet project to cure obesity in America and yet we as a country struggle more with it even though we spend more money on health care than any other country in the world.
What if fat wasn’t the enemy?  Sure it’s not healthy to have a lot of fat on your frame, or maybe you’re least happy about how it looks, but what if we just viewed it as a symptom of a bigger problem? it could make it easier to grasp the real reason as to why we might store too much of it.  At FitLife Fusion this is the perspective we take.  So whether you want to look good, be as healthy as possible, or compete at a high level of athletics our team is looking at the big picture.  We’re asking, “What’s causing your body to store and retain the fat?”  If you look at it that way instead of …”I’m fat.  I need to burn it off” …you might see your situation in a new light.
So here are the basics in regard to what needs to be done in order to get to the root of the problem and really lose weight without the long term ramifications.
EXERCISE
How often and how you exercise is completely dependent upon your individual goals.  Are you training for an athletic event or are you just concerned about being healthy, avoiding pain, and moving well?  Daily movement should be a thing, but not every day must you go to the gym for a one hour sweat-athon consisting of circuit training and cardio.  Movement should be your primary concern.
At FitLife Fusion we focus on a lot of joint mobility drills, visual (eye) exercises, and balance and coordination drills. We then relate those things to major exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench press, rows, over-hear presses.
If your main objective is to lose fat your training program should be set up similar to a body builders; high repetition ranges with relatively low weight and short rest periods.  Here’s and example:
  • Barbell Back Squat 4×12-15, 60-90 second rest
  • Incline Chest Press 4×12-15, 60-90 second rest
  • Petersen Step-Up 4×12-15, 45 second rest
  • Bent Over Dumbbell Row 4×12-15 45 second rest
This kind of training rep/set scheme should provide you with a pretty good burning feeling.  If there’s no burn, there’s no fat loss.  The burning feeling is the production of lactic acid which is a sign that your body has to dip into fat reserves for energy production.  This is where the “No pain, no gain” phrase comes from.  It just refers to the burn, not the pain of injury or of the mental anguish you must go through to accomplish anything.  Perform an exercise.  Do it until it burns.  Walk away for a moment and relax.  Do it again.  Switch things up every 3-6 weeks and you’ll see results pretty quick.
DIET/NUTRITION
This is the most difficult part for most.  I’m sorry, but it really is.  I wish I could say that dieting is easy like everyone else does, but the unfortunate truth is that nutrition is such an individual process there’s just no set diet or way to eat that can be packaged, sold to everyone, and actually be effective.  The effectiveness of one’s diet isn’t just in its ability to make you lose weight, it’s also measured by its ability to actually make you or keep you healthy.  Even though there are many individual aspects of a person’s diet there are a few things we can say for sure.
  1.  Fats – Saturated fats like animal fats are the preferred type of fat in the diet.  Unsaturated fats from nuts, seeds, fish oils, EFA/Omega 3 oils, and vegetable oils reek havoc in your body, increase free radical production, and damage your immune system.  Stay away from them.  This is explained in more depth in another blog.
  2. Proteins – A daily, adequate amount of protein in your diet is necessary for proper liver metabolism which is really important for your metabolism as a whole.  When it comes to which proteins are better for you stick to meats from ruminant animals.  Animals like cows, lamb, bison, deer, elk, etc., have extra long intestinal tracts designed to break down vegetation, detoxify it, and store the nutrients into the tissue of the animal.  Other animals like pig and fowl don’t have this capability, nor are they fed their natural diets, and on top of that they aren’t usually handled well by the companies raising and selling their meat.  This results in their meats being more toxic than the meats of ruminants.  And finally choose shell fish over fish for similar reasons.  Fish store more metal and toxins in their meat.  The larger the fish the greater it’s metal/toxin content.  Go for the shrimp, oysters, crab, lobster, mussels, etc.  They’re lean, packed with nutritious stuff, and there’s far less risk.
  3. Carbohydrates (sugars) – Sugars should not be avoided.  There’s a whole lot of confusion around sugar, but allow me to plant this seed.  Sugar is your body’s primary and preferred source of fuel.  In fact, in the world of cellular physiology the previous statement is common knowledge.  When a cell can not utilize sugar properly it can eventually “suffocate” and become damaged.  Stay tuned for more info on sugars as there will be an entire blog on sugar in the near future.
And finally, make sure your are eating all three of these things (protein, fat, sugar) in any given meal.  This helps you absorb nutrients more efficiently and keep your blood-glucose levels steady.
Additionally  there are other things to take into consideration like vitamins, minerals, light, and environmental stressors, but these are at least  some of the basics you could take into consideration and install into your lifestyle.
If you have any questions request a free consult.  We work with people people in our facility in Las Vegas and all over the world via Skype.
Keep moving!
Filed Under: Articles, Work Outs

Living Room Workout

May 15, 2015 By Leave a Comment

 

image from Philadelphia Magazine

Hey Everyone! For those of you who went on the Red Rock hike Thank you so much for coming! Looking Forward to doing it again. While I was on the hike I asked some people if anyone had any questions about nutrition or fitness… And fitness won!

So I wanted to share a full-body workout plan that you can do 2x a week and in your own living room. It will burn Fat, increase muscle tone and help you with your endurance. Most of these exercises don’t require dumbbells but you can always add weight to increase the intensity. You want to use a weight that by the end of the last 2 reps its challenging to finish.
Start by doing 1-2 mobility,visual or vestibular drill

Warm-up
20 sec jumping jacks
20 sec High Knees
20 sec sit-throughs
10 push-ups

FIRST HALF
Military press with Dumbbells 8-10 REPS (when holding the dumbbells palms face forward)

REST for 45 sec

Biceps Curls with Dumbbells 8-10 REPS

REST for 45 sec

Push-ups (as many as you can do)

REST for 60 sec

REPEAT Set 2 more times
SECOND HALF

Jump Squats 8-12 reps

REST 45 sec-1 min

Suitcase deadlift with Kettlebell or Dumbbell 8-10 reps Tempo : squat down for 3 sec and come up for 1 sec

REST 45-60 sec

Wall Squat 60-120 sec * To increase intensity you can hold hands above head or hold a KettleBell or Dumbbell while in squat

REST 60-120 sec

REPEAT 1-2 more times

**BONUS ABS WORKOUT**

Sit-ups 20-30 reps

REST 20 sec

Hip Raises 15-20 reps

REST 20 sec

Plank 60 sec

REPEAT 3 times

Finish by drinking a nice cold 24 0z glass of OJ with a pinch of salt

Filed Under: Our Community, Peter's Vlog, Work Outs Tagged With: , ,

Your Future-Self Will Thank You

April 14, 2015 By 1 Comment

Hey!
I just wanted to commend everyone on their hard work I’ve been seeing at the gym. I love seeing people who are consistently food journaling and really focusing on their nutrition. Keep up the hard work!

For those of you that have been following the Ray Peat Diet, good job! A lot of questions might pop up when you are first starting this diet so please feel free to pepper us with questions. The more you educate yourself about your metabolism and how your body functions the faster you will heal from an unhealthy metabolic place to a well functioning one. The results of having a healthy metabolism are:

  1. increased energy,
  2. balanced hormone levels,
  3. living pain-free,
  4. healthy digestion, and
  5. being able to lose weight and actually have it STAY off!

Please take a few minutes and meditate on these questions:

  • How do I want to feel emotionally and look physically years from now (imagine how you would feel accomplishing your goal)?
  • Am I eating in a way that supports a healthy lifestyle?
  • Am I open to learning new ways for getting out of pain and living a healthy life?
Fitness at any age. Taken from National Post Sports.

Fitness at any age. Taken from National Post Sports.

Here’s something that I would like you to try, as it has definitely been helping me. Think about 1 small unhealthy habit you may struggle with and replace it with a healthy one.
For example:

  • Instead of eating 5 Oreos eat 3
  • Instead of drinking that 2nd soda replace it with a glass of orange juice.
  • Instead of sitting and watching the commercials on TV do some jumping jacks or push-ups.

Whatever it is that you choose make it small, and don’t expect perfection. Changing habits can be frustrating but it doesn’t have to be. Start out small and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment when you make good choices. Again, do something today that your future self will thank you for

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