Conquering stress and depression through exercise

            Exercise is not only a great way to change our physical body. It’s one of nature’s best stress relievers and has been clinically proven to help those suffering from depression. Western culture and the modern rat race has led us to be one of the most highly stressed and depressed nations in the world. We work some of the longest hours, sleep the least amount of hours, and have some of the poorest diets. Couple that with our long commutes and you have a recipe for disaster! While we get through it day by day, the daily stress eats at us from inside and before you know it, we are popping pills to manage our constant anxiety and lack of energy.

            Stress, depression, and anxiety are not just head games though. A behind-the-scenes look at our brain tells us that stress can actually cause chemical imbalances in the brain by disrupting the production/uptake of serotonin, nor epinephrine and dopamine, otherwise known as the “feel-good” chemicals. These chemicals work together in delicate systems that help keep us alert, happy and full of positive energy.   However, when we exercise, our bodies also release chemicals called endorphins.  Endorphins act similar to these “feel good” chemicals by blocking sensitivity to pain, and enhancing feelings of pleasure.  In fact, it’s been shown that a depletion of endorphins may be responsible for clinical depression and fluctuations in one’s emotional state.  Essentially, endorphins affect us like codeine or morphine without the accompanying addiction.

            And they may be self reinforcing.  There is evidence that endorphins are responsible for the “placebo effect” one experiences owing to the real response of endorphin-release prompted by anticipating a certain outcome.  In other words, if you think exercise (or a pill) is going to make you feel better, the fact that you feel that way may lead your body to release endorphins simply because of the anticipation of a pleasurable feeling.

            Maintaining a happy and healthy lifestyle is important.  One could even argue that it is essential.  Regardless of the caliber of inner demons you find yourself struggling against, exercise will go a long way to allowing you to emerge from the haze of depression (or emotional fluctuation) and bask in the sun-kissed blue sky above.  Don’t be a slave to the darkness.  Turn on your inner light and do some burpees.  Your body and mind will appreciate it.

A realistic and effective approach for losing stomach fat and seeing results

                I often see people struggling to bring out their abdominal muscles. I see the frustration that looms over them weeks (and even months) into their grueling workout regimen when that pesky layer of stomach fat just won’t go away. This will eventually lead to a mental and/or physical breakdown that can burn out even the most dedicated of gym-goers.  Working out should be a positive experience, so I’d like to share some common mistakes that can hinder you from seeing great abs.  And, more importantly, I’d like to share a couple of key factors that are necessary to achieving lean and ripped abs.

            

                The biggest mistake I commonly see is when people do thousands of crunches everyday.  The common perception being that more crunches will bring out the abs. Wrong! Crunches can be a great exercise for upper abs but they have nothing to do with losing the layer of stomach fat over the abs! As long as there is a layer of belly fat over your abdominal muscles you will never see the stomach results you desire.

            

     Another major mistake I often see is eating poorly.  Unfortunately, having a poor diet will cancel out those amazing rounds of cardio you’ve been completing.  You may be burning up to 600 calories per workout, but the burgers, pizzas, and other fatty foods are adding them back on. Wake up!! If your goal is to see your abdominal muscles, then you’re defeating the entire purpose of cardio by eating unhealthy. In order to get lean and ripped abs, you must always keep two simple fundamentals in mind: cardio supplemented with a proper diet. 

    Bringing out your abs is not rocket science, nor should it be.  It really just comes down to cardio and dieting (I can’t stress this enough). Let’s talk dieting.  Simply speaking, energy consumption tends to follow this basic principal: fat loss (great abs) result when the body burns more calories than it takes in.For example, let’s say you’re on an 1800-calorie diet.  This means that you have to burn off more than 1800 calories a day in order to net any fat loss! You can imagine how difficult this would be if burgers and pizza make their way into your regular diet.  The trick is to find healthy and flavorful foods with low fat and caloric stats and incorporate these foods into your diet.  This will require some research on your part; and require you to read labels for fat and calorie content.  But after a while, this aspect of diet preparation will become second nature.

 
                Once you have your diet calibrated, you need to focus on cardio and lots of it.  Every step of cardio will bring you one step closer to bringing out your abs.  It takes burning 3,500 calories just to lose 1 pound of fat. So the next time you grind out an hour of cardio and decide to eat an 800-calorie fatty burger along with an order of French fries (which can add on another 800 calories), you’re only setting yourself back.  And, if you opt for the cola, well, then I’m sure you get the picture.            
      
                So what are the two most important tools to achieving great abs?  Hopefully, you answered a proper diet and lots of cardio. Mastering your diet will help you stay motivated even if you don’t get the results you’re looking for at first.  Everyone’s’ bodies are different, so we all go through trials and errors during our journeys.  You have to stick with it and never give up! 

               The easiest thing to do is give up.  If bringing out your abs was easy, then everyone would have great abs. It requires a lifestyle change, focusing on healthy food options and proper exercise regimens. Step back and reorganize your strategy and soon enough you will get the results you’re looking for along with a new found confidence that is priceless.   

                                                                                                                                      

www.bodybykhan.com                                                                                                                                     

A Fun and exciting workout that accelerates weight loss- Turbo Jam Fire

 Cardio...cardio...cardio! It's the famous word we hear from personal trainers and health nuts everywhere. Needless to say though, I think we all know how important that little word is when it comes to getting into tip-top shape. As a competitive bodybuilder, I'm all too familiar with the 5 am treks to the gym for an hour of morning cardio while still trying to shake off the yawns of exhaustion. But I'm here now to tell you now that my discovery of a new cardio training method has re-sparked my interest and has taken my boring, drab, uninteresting cardio to a whole new level! Now let me first off say here that I have NEVER been the type of guy to start my day by popping in a workout DVD and dancing around my living room while staring at a flat screen. The whole concept just seemed silly to me and I never really gave it a shot...until...I discovered Turbo Jam Fire.

While I prepared for a Men's Physique show back in September, cardio routines were the most dreaded parts of my day. I knew every night that I'd be waking up in a few hours only to be stepping onto a boring treadmill or stair-master, and to be honest, it was taking its toll on me after the first 2 weeks. It wasn't until my third week of preparation that my girlfriend at the time introduced me to a workout DVD that she had started following for her own fitness program. The thought of myself jumping around like a maniac in my studio in front of a television made me laugh and I shrugged it off. Fortunately, she was persistent and finally after much pressure, convinced me to give this work out a try.

Soon as I started up the DVD, the first thing that caught my attention was how catchy and great the music actually was. My interest piqued and I started to really get into the music, the moves, and before I knew it, I was completely immersed in the workout without a care in the world outside of the workout. The first 10 minutes made me break a sweat, and by the time the workout was up, I found myself engaging all major muscle groups, maintaining an elevated heart rate, it was muscle confusion at its best! The first workout hooked me, and I traded my old boring routines for Turbo Jam Fire for the next few weeks. Not only did I reach my goal of 7% body fat, my conditioning and physique were at their best! Clients and strangers would continually ask me what I did to stay so lean, and I was excited to share the Turbo Jam Fire experience with everyone I knew!

I made a huge realization through this experience. I'm a bodybuilder and I love to lift, and I love to do cardio that most people wouldn't normally enjoy...but that didn't mean that I couldn't change up my routine and try something new and exciting for a change. After a few weeks, the same activities not only get boring, they stopped challenging me both mentally and physically. I found something new and exciting with Turbo Jam Fire, something that not only challenged me in ways I hadn't been challenged before, but something that I actually enjoyed doing and looked forward to. Turbo Jam Fire is great for its hardcore intensity, music that will pump anyone up, and not to mention the fun-factor that keeps you interested day after day. I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a little spice in their bland routines!

Abbas Khan
Los Angeles
Personal trainer
www.bodybykhan.com

The most Essential And Imperative Steps To Take Before Beginning Any Workout Routine

When most people begin their journey towards getting in shape the biggest mistake I see is everyone jumping straight into heavy weight training or explosive workouts. The problem with this mental approach is it simply leads to one thing, “injuries!” What many people forget is when you haven’t worked out or trained for a long time your tendons become very fragile, your muscles get tighter especially if you have a sedentary lifestyle and most of your entire entire core which is located right behind the abdominal wall becomes very weak.   So when you jump right into heavy weight training or workouts that involve explosive movements, you don’t realize that you are lifting heavy weights on fragile tendons, tight muscles and a weak core. Now what this leads to in a short period of time is unfortunately a torn tendon or a strained tendon, a lower back injury due to having a weak core because if your core is weak your lower back ends up doing most of the work, (a common problem many are very unfamiliar with) and in most cases muscle strains because you are simply placing more stress on muscles that are already tight. All this leads to sending you back home for a couple months and what you have gained is absolutely nothing but an injury. So let’s go over some VERY important steps to take when you are beginning your journey to a better body.

Before I start, I want you to picture the foundation of a building when it is first being constructed. The proper planning is first laid out, after wards concrete needs to be laid down along with pipe and wire work and then the frame begins to be put up once a, “SOLID FOUNDATION” has been built. You will never see a master architect jumping straight into building just walls and windows, it takes proper planning and execution, if not you will have a building with many flaws until one day something gives out and it all comes tumbling down. Now when a building is perfectly constructed, its stands tall and strong in the face of time! Just like your body, you must first begin with the, “FOUNDATION” first, meaning you must develop everything from the inside out such as your tendons, flexibility and core strength. Once these key components are up to par you can then begin to increase the intensity of your workouts.

When training to strengthen tendons instead of full range movements you must focus on shorter range movements that put more of an emphasis on the ligaments and tendons rather than the muscle bellies. A great article that goes more in dept on ligament and tendon training can be found on www.bodybuilding.com By David Robinson titled, “Learn how to build great tendon and ligament strength and enhance power and overall.” He also gives a great program to incorporate into your workouts that can really increase tendon strength and decrease the chances of risking a tendon injury. Flexibility is another very important component to building a powerful foundation simply because it alleviates postural deviations! Which means your body mechanics and posture is poor due to the tightening of muscles. The tighter your muscles become the more they begin to shape and direct our bodies in unnatural ways. When our bodies begin to tighten up in areas such as the hips from sitting down all day we then begin to feel pain in our lower backs. Now imagine going straight into a gym and starting a heavy leg work out on tight hip and leg muscles, it’s only a matter of time until an injury occurs. So proper stretching and flexibility should be one of the first goals you should execute when first beginning to workout. Lastly is core training, I can’t say it with more confidence as to how important core training is to anyone’s goal and to ANY athlete! Your core is located right behind the abdominal wall and it is one of the first places where all movement begins and is the center of your body. To put simply, it is the rock and foundation of your body. An easy way to work your core is simply by absorbing your stomach in and holding it while controlling your breathing. By doing this simple exercise you are already strengthening your core! It can be done while watching TV, sitting down at work and even driving. It should become a habit to keep your core nice and tight and to absorb your abdominal muscles in when beginning any exercise. Several other core exercises can be found basically anywhere online or in most health & fitness magazines and you should familiarize yourself with various core exercises. Once your core is strengthened you should then move into abdominal exercises. Having a powerful core can also take tension off your lower back and can either alleviate or solve many lower back problems.

By strengthening your tendons/ligaments along with stretching and building a powerful core, you will not only create a great foundation but more importantly these simple exercises will lead to an injury free future that will have you on the right track to building a stronger body in the safest and most effective way possible.

Abbas Khan

Los Angeles

Personal Trainer

www.bodybykhan.com

     

Foods ideal for any diet and weight loss regimen

                When beginning a diet it can be tough simply due to the cravings and sweet tooth most of us experience while dieting. What motivates and inspires people to continue their diet is seeing results! Now in order to see great results you must first mentally prepare yourself and stay disciplined all the way through or you’ll only be cheating yourself. There are essential foods you want to make sure you include in a diet. Once a diet is well put and properly managed, results can be amazing!

                Let’s first begin with a very important thing to remember and that is portion control. Without having to get too scientific or mathematical you should simply remember that your largest portions should be proteins and greens and your smallest portions carbohydrates. Also, when dieting be sure not to consume complex carbohydrates such as rice, potatoes, pastas and breads before bed time. This is because at the end of the day most of us are unwinding and throwing our feet up from a long day. If too many carbohydrates are consumed the body will take what it needs and convert the rest into fat if it’s not being burned off. So this is why you want to only stick to proteins and greens at least 4-5 hours before bedtime. Next we want to go over important foods to stick with when beginning a diet and integrate it into a new diet plan.

                 First, let’s start with the carbohydrates that should be consumed during a diet. Carbs such as oats, whole grains, and brown rice should be integrated into any diet plan because of its high fiber content.  Additionally, these types of carbs provide a steady release of energy throughout a busy day. A study done by the Wheat Food Council titled “Why eat whole grains” found that, “Whole grains offer vitamins and minerals, plus high levels of antioxidants and other healthy plant-based nutrients. Whole grains contain protective antioxidants in amounts near or exceeding those in fruits and vegetables. They also provide some unique antioxidants not found in other foods. Studies have shown that eating more whole grains may help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. New studies published in 2005 and 2006 show that whole grains may lower triglycerides, improve insulin control, help in weight management, and slow the build-up of arterial plaque.” www.wheatfoods.org Carbohydrates are vital to any diet so that you can have the right amount of energy to function throughout your day. Now let’s get into our proteins, it’s important to have proteins in any diet due to its ability to maintaining and rebuilding tissues along with its importance in helping us make and maintain our enzymes, hormones, bones, muscles and skin. Good proteins to include are your lean meats such as turkey, chicken, fishes and even egg whites. One might ask, well how about beef?  Beef is not a bad source of protein but can be when taken in excess on a daily basis. Beef is good to have in a diet maybe twice a week because it is a good source of protein but more importantly it provides good fats that our body needs. Lastly are our greens! Vegetables are a very important source of nutrients to have in a diet due to it’s high fiber content, vitamins and antioxidants. Greens are also great because they are low in calories and sugars. So make sure you get in your greens ladies and gentleman. Another very important thing to remember is to stay away from foods high in saturated fats (basically anything fried) and drinks high in sugars as well.

                So if you simply want to lose weight or get into shape, just make sure to add your good carbs, proteins and greens.  As far as portion sizes, be sure to have more proteins and greens and your smallest portion should be carbohydrates. So following the simple steps and recommendations suggested, you should be able to follow a diet you enjoy that will benefit you in reaching your health and fitness goals!!   

                                                                                    Abbas Khan

                                                                                    Los Angeles

                                                                                    Personal Trainer

                                                                                    www.bodybykhan.com