Take a moment for yourself and peruse this page.
In today’s World of technology the entire History of just about anything you can imagine is at your fingertips. Why we do not use it varies from person to person. I have an insatiable thirst to know as much about my body as possible. It’s the ONLY body you’ll ever have. You cannot trade it in. It does not have a warranty, and how you treat is it is entirely up to you. One of the problems that I see running rampant in the Fitness industry is that athletes are using coaches and/or information that is grossly outdated. I know this may come as a surprise to many of you, but what worked for Arnold back in the day may not be what is best suited in today’s Fitness industry. There IS a science to this and it’s not a one size fits all type of industry. That is the beauty of this Sport is that we ALL have different bodies, different body compositions, different areas that need improvement, different genetics, different genders, different age groups, so a one size fits all Coach or mentality just does not cut in today’s World. If a “Coach” tells you something that worked for him/her and that “Coach” got that information from their Coach who got it from their Coach who got it from their Coach, now you’re listening to information that could be decades old; all because it worked for someone back in 1979. There is so much Science and information at our fingertips today that we’re crazy for not using it. As a Fitness Coach I understand that each individual is different from the next. In realizing this it necessitates the need to educate myself on the different sciences to nutrition and weight training to learn all the different methods so that I may apply them individually to each client. Below are articles, studies, videos as well as an assortment of useful information that is SCIENCE based that you may use to better your individual Life. I hope you take the time to read/watch these so that YOU may better understand your own body and make the correct choices for YOU. If ever you have a question or maybe need some more clarification on something PLEASE feel free to drop me a line and ask. When we all start caring about each other and not the $$$ we’ll ALL be in a better place. I love you all and please stay Blessed!
Squeems and/or Waste Trainers. Why we use them and why we don’t
This seems to be a very hot topic on social media these days. Before I delve too much into this topic I chose to let you know that I once used a squeem. Kept it on hours a days, days on end. Having said that, I wish I knew then what I know now. THIS is the perfect example of why we research what we do to our bodies as well as what we put into our bodies. Do squeems work? If "work" means taking inches off your waste line, then yes they do work. But at what cost. This article gives you insight on squeem usage. I will not advocate for any of my clients to use a squeem. We lose inches at Amy Gaskins Fitness (AGF) the old fashioned way.....diet/exercise. You make your own decisions, but if you're even thinking about using a squeem PLEASE read this article first.
Strength training versus Cardi training in Women
Yet another controversial topic within our industry. Should women do more strength training versus cardio training. This section while informative mainly applies to women, so guys keep on scrolling to the "How much Protein should I consume" portion of this page. Ladies, we've all seen them in the gym; the cardio bunnies that stay on the treadmill, elliptical or stair stepper for hours on end trying to lose that weight or drop those inches. The problem with that is that if it's not mixed with an appropriate amount of weight training then just stay on that treadmill because you're literally spinning your wheels. Tons of cardio may in fact lead to weight loss and inches off of your waste, but do you really want to be "skinny fat"? Here is a great article from Dr. Stacy Sims. If you are unaware of who Dr. Stacy is her credentials speak for themselves in the World of Women's Fitness. " STACY T. SIMS, MSC, PHD, is a forward-thinking international exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist who aims to revolutionize exercise nutrition and performance for women." Ladies, if your Coach has you doing hours upon hours of cardio each week PLEASE inform yourself on the positives/negatives of doing this. As I have said before multiple times on my website....if your current Coach cannot tell you or give you a WHY behind each and every thing that you are doing both in the gym and with nutrition....FIND A NEW COACH!!How much Protein should I consume?
And here we go. I am quite sure this section will get a lot of attention as it is one of the classic "arguments" in all of Fitness. The main issue here is that Coaches as well as Nutritionist and Doctors all give you a blanket answer of so and so grams of protein per day per pound of body weight. But it's truly not that simple. Again, we are all different in so many ways that a blanket anything does not work for everyone. Are you cutting? Are you bulking? Are you going through a body recomposition? Believe it or not there is Science behind this question as well. The following information IS based on athletes who weight train and not your average couch potato. What I am about to post is for both men and women and is based on the latest available science of which I will post the links below. When bulking your body is well fed and less likely to break down muscle tissue as a fuel source. There will be plenty of carbs and fat for the body to use. So when bulking you will generally need less protein. The best research recommends when bulking to consume .07 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. If you are cutting, your body is getting fewer calories from food you also have less body fat and glycogen as fuel reserves. So in this instance your body is more likely to use muscle tissue as a source of calories. To offset this the best research shows that .08 to 1.2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day would be optimal. Now when in recomp phase where you are trying to build muscle AND lose body fat at the same time the best research shows that using the same ratio as bulking will suffice. .07 to 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. Now if you are well versed in protein consumption and you want to use a sliding scale based on your LEAN body mass then 1.2g to 1.6g per pound per day will work. To figure out your lean body mass simply take your body weight and subtract your body weight times your body fat percentage. Example: A 120 pound female with 18% body fat would be 120 x .18 = 21.6 .lbs of body fat. Subtract the 21.6 pounds from your body weight of 120 and you will get 98.4 pounds of LEAN body weight.