Written by Shin Ohtake on Thursday, September 02, 2010 • 10 Comments
One common phenomenon that you’ve probably experienced when performing short, high intense activity is the swift onset of muscle fatigue. Once that feeling of muscle tightness and fatigue kicks in it’s just a matter of time before your muscles simply stops working no matter what your brain says. If you have any experience competing in a short race (between 1 - 10 minutes) or even working out at your maximum effort, you know what I’m talking about. These symptoms generally come on when you push your body past it’s lactic acid threshold and in most cases your muscles fail before your lungs do.
Written by Shin Ohtake on Thursday, August 26, 2010 • 16 Comments
Just the other day, I was answering questions on my MAX Workouts forum when one of the members asked a question that got me wondering. The member on the forum is in training for an endurance event that lasts 2 - 3 hours and he asked what modification was needed on the diet, now that he was significantly increasing his training volume.
Now, if you’ve been following me for a while, you probably know that I recommend a high protein, low carb and a moderately high fat diet, loosely based on what is popularly know as the Paleo diet. I don’t go as far as eliminating all of the foods that’s suggested by the Paleo diet, for sake of moderation, although I tend to be more stringent than what I recommend. I do think it’s more realistic and doable for people to go on a diet that isn’t too extreme. Extreme…that is, relative to the modern American diet that consists of fast foods laden with trans fats, big gulp soft drinks that contain about a bucket of sugar and a population that’s been brain washed into thinking that cereal bars with sugar listed first on the ingredient as healthy because it claims to be low in fat. Anyway I digress, and I’ll get off my soap box for now and get to the point.
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 • 12 Comments
The last 3 weeks has been pretty hectic, and I apologize for not having been able to post any new article as of late. As I write this article on the floor of our unfurnished apartment, waiting for our belonging to arrive on a truck being transported across the country…I realized that I’ve been living off of take outs and restaurant foods for the last month. And I have to say that it’s gotten pretty old. Although, we do the best we can to eat healthy when eating out…it’s tough to find good reliable food sources. However, during this time of adjustment, I’ve been fortunate enough to find a couple of really great products that have kept me from falling too far off the health wagon.
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, July 14, 2010 • 10 Comments
Gluteus Maximus…it’s got a powerful ring to it, doesn’t it? Sounds like it could even be a name of a Spartan warrior. Well it’s not a name of a warrior…it’s actually the scientific name for your butt. But it’s actually quite fitting when you figure the important role your butt plays in your body, as well as for athletic performance. Speed, quickness, and power all hinge on your ability to utilize and maximize your glutes. The more you’re able to use it the better you’ll be…for just about every sport. The fastest, quickest and most powerful athletes are all able to harness the power of their glutes. Learning to use your butt can really help boost your athletic performance.
(Note: If you’re having trouble viewing this video, please try watching it directly on my YouTube channel and see if that helps)
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, July 07, 2010 • 27 Comments
So what’s the best way to lose weight?
Intermittent fasting? Counting calories? High protein diet? High fiber diet?
The answer depends on who you ask, and the truthfully, if it’s a legitimate diet - and when I mean legitimate, I mean none of these ridiculous diets, like the banana diet which apparently was huge in Japan for a while (go figure!) - most diets work…to a certain degree.
The difficult thing about diets is that everyone is different and we all respond differently to foods…so there really is no one size fits all. However, one thing is certain, you are what you eat and eating the right foods can make your weight loss efforts much easier. Here are a few tips that can make your diet a success.
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, June 30, 2010 • 9 Comments
Here’s the last part of the 3 part ab series. This particular movement may be the most simple, but it’s probably also the most challenging…if you perform it correctly. The problem with this exercise is that most people don’t do it properly and hence aren’t maximizing the potential this exercise can offer your body. If you think you have strong abs…well then, this is a great litmus test to challenge your abs. I’ll show you how you can progressively increase the difficulty using this anti-movement abdominal exercise to challenge even the strongest core. Try this one out and see if you can stimulate your abs better than your traditional ab crunches and twists.
Please excuse the poor sound quality of this video…the A/C kicked in while filming the video and I wasn’t aware how loud it was!
(Note: If you’re having trouble viewing this video, please try watching it directly on my youtube channel)
Written by Shin Ohtake on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 • 16 Comments
Here’s part 2 of a 3 part ab series. Following the same philosophy (from last week) that anti-movements patterns stimulate your abs better than flexing, twisting and crunching your abs, this particular exercise really hits your lower abs—especially that stubborn stomach pooch, right below your belly button!
Now doing this ab exercise alone won’t do the trick, but when you combine it with a clean diet (no refined carbs, no processed foods, no refined sweets) and an effective fat burning workout program, you’ll finally be saying “so long” to your lower belly pooch.
(Note: If you’re having trouble viewing this video, please try watching it directly on my YouTube channel and see if that helps)
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, June 16, 2010 • 34 Comments
Traditional ab exercises like sit ups and crunches are not the best way to get you ripped abs. In fact, if you’ve read any of my past articles regarding ab/core exercises, you know that I don’t like anything that involves excessive movement of the spine.
Your spine is strongest at it’s neutral position, which is a natural “s” curve. And since your spine houses your spinal cord, it would make sense to have it in a position that can provide maximum support at all times. This is why excessive flexion, extension and rotation is not recommended, since it compromises your spine’s ability to protect your spinal nervous system.
So, how do you work your abs?
(Note: If you’re having trouble viewing this video, please try watching it directly on my YouTube channel and see if that helps)
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, June 09, 2010 • 33 Comments
What do you think of first when you see the word cholesterol? Heart disease…? We’ll you’re definitely not alone. Cholesterol and heart disease have been synonymous since the 70’s when a scientist named Ancel Keys (1) published a major study, spanning seven countries on how diet affects the heart.
Key’s conclusion: Cholesterol causes heart disease and saturated fat increases cholesterol and hence saturated fat causes heart disease. This began the fat free craze that literally swept the nation…fat became nationally demonized as the cause of heart disease (along with weight gain). And the high carb, low fat diet became the face of the “healthy heart” American diet.
The study became so engrained that an entire new national program was developed, the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP). NCEP’s objective is to help educate people of the dangers of high cholesterol and how to best prevent heart disease. Now, that seems like a great program…right? I mean our tax money is actually going toward something that helps the general public and as supposed to some major private conglomerate that uses our money to increase their pay checks. Well, there’s only one problem. The “landmark” study, which all dietary recommendation for a health heart was based on, was found to be flawed.
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, June 02, 2010 • 28 Comments
As the saying goes…you are what you eat.
There are 3 major categories that all foods can be divided into. These are also known as macronutrients. Macronutrients are your proteins, carbohydrates and fats. We eat a combination of all three on a daily basis, but did you know that only 2 are needed for you to survive and they also happen to be the most effective in helping you lose weight? And one in particular is absolutely necessary if you want to burn off your stubborn fat and transform your body. Unfortunately, most of us have been gravely misinformed about how each macronutrient affects our body, which is why weight gain has become such a perpetual problem.
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 • 12 Comments
There really is nothing better than a good nights sleep! After you wake up from a deep restful sleep, your mind seems clearer, your body feels better and even your day seems to go better. Well, your not just imagining it…it’s true. Your body’s chemistry is greatly affected by sleep. In fact sleep plays a vital part in managing your body’s hormones…the same hormones that also control your metabolic processes responsible for weight loss. Believe it or not, sleep plays a huge part in weight loss. Numerous studies have found a direct correlation between weight gain and lack of sleep. Depriving yourself of adequate sleep can alter your hormones and make losing weight much more difficult than it should be.
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 • 31 Comments
Time may be the most important aspect in our lives. It keeps ticking away no matter what we do. It’s what we live by, it’s our guideline. It keeps us organized and on schedule. There’s 24 hours in a day, most of us work 40 hours (or more) a week, we divide our day up into hourly increments and so it’s no surprise that we judge things based on time.
If someone worked 8 hours, you automatically assume that person did more work than someone that worked 4 hours…right? The problem is, that assumption neglects a very important component…quality. Quality can’t be defined by time…in fact, more often than not quality has an inverse relation to time. You’re more likely to perform higher quality of work in a shorter amount of time. And the longer you work, the more likely your quality declines. And this holds true for fitness as well.
It may come as a surprise, but working out longer isn’t always good for you, and it doesn’t mean you’re going to lose more weight either. In fact, it can stop you from losing weight all together. There’s reason to believe that your body wasn’t designed to exercise more than a certain amount a day and doing more can actually be more harmful.
So if you’re still stuck in the mind set, that you need to workout out longer so you can burn more calories…you’ve been going down the wrong path and it’ll only lead you to more frustrations.
Quality over quantity. Save precious time by learning to work with your body, so you can lose weight easier and more efficiently and achieve optimum health and fitness at the same time. Believe it or not, it’s much easier than your think.
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 • 42 Comments
There are many little things you can do to help improve your health and fitness. And I’m not talking about just exercising and eating well…that’s a given. I’m talking about small simple things, like taking the stairs instead of the escalator, or getting off the bus one stop earlier and walking the rest of the way to work.
Just simple things that take a little extra effort on your part, but it adds up to a lot, especially if you keep doing them on a regular basis.
Well, just as important, there are little things that you need to avoid, that can add up to a whole lot of bad. I’m not talking about things like avoiding sugars or fried foods. I’m talking about even simpler things that can amount to a profound difference.
Well, there’s one thing in particular that you need to avoid and it’s quite easy to do. The remarkable thing about it, is that studies have indicated that avoiding this one simple thing can help protect you from heart disease, help you burn more fat and increase your health and promote longevity. As they say it’s the little things that count!
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, May 05, 2010 • 32 Comments
The most common area in the body that almost everyone wants to improve is their stomach. This is why the cover of most fitness magazines have headlines in bold that read something like, “Lose Belly Fat in 10 Days” or “How to Get Sexy Abs like so and so”.
Yes, we’re a culture obsessed with abs. Ironically, abs are the first feature on your body to accumulate fat and usually one of the last places to burn off. Which is why we’re always on the lookout for the latest information that can make our lives just a little easier, when it comes to achieving those flat sexy abs garnered by the “heavily air brushed” celebrities on the front cover of magazines. Well then, you’re in for a nice surprise!
A recent study done on this popular compound found that people that took it lost belly fat, compared to people that didn’t take it….and it was specifically belly fat that was affected. Imagine that, it’s usually the other way around…you lose everything but the belly! It’s nice to know that there’s a compound out there that’s feelin‘ your frustrations! Find out what compound I’m talking about and how you can use it to help you burn off your stubborn belly flab!
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 • 28 Comments
The weight loss supplement industry is always looking for that magic pill that’ll do it all. And truth be told, the lure of easy weight loss is often times too attractive…even for the well informed. Which explains why the weight loss supplement business is a multi billion dollar industry.
We live in a culture of instant gratification, where going under the knife for a little nip and tuck have become as common as visiting your family doctor and taking an OTC diet pill is as normal as taking a multi-vitamin
Even though majority of the products out in the market today are just as effective as taking a sugar pill…these companies are smart, savvy and know exactly how to take advantage of people’s weaknesses and desires.
The weight loss supplement companies are used to taking the benefits of one or two active ingredient(s) from naturally occurring plants and vegetation and packaging it into pills and powders.
The problem is there is no standard level of quality when it comes to supplements in the US. There is no third party quality control agencies that exists to make sure that you’re getting what’s stated in the label. So you never really know what you’re consuming and more often than not the pill being marketed is probably 99% filler.
This is why the recently published study from Newcastle University, is quite significant.
Get my e-newsletter, jam-packed with workout tips, articles, exercise tutorials, and more delivered right to your inbox. Plus, when you subscribe now, you'll get a free copy of my report, "Top Fat-Loss & Strength Training Myths -- Busted!".
Subscribe
