Fat Loss – Body Transformation – Advanced Nutrition

Hey everyone,

I have several irons in the fire at once. I own my personal training studio and train full time. I train several people online and advise athletes and competitors all over the world, so sometimes, my schedule conflicts with others so I have to multi-task often.

I’m also an Agency Director for a mobile marketing company and had an important business call to tend to at 10:30am yesterday with my national director. Only problem with that was that clashed with my workout time. So, I took the call, contributed my information while asked, and manged to stay busy during the call.

While I absolutely hate when people don’t focus in the gym and chat it up on the phone instead of working out, I didn’t have much of a choice but to be on this call.

Here I am, fielding a question on my business call:

Life doesn’t wait, and weights don’t wait. I could’ve found an excuse, but it is up to me to take care of my body and my responsibilities.

Efficiency is key! ;) Make your life work around YOU!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454
Text BOYD to 90210 for my mobile business card!

So you work too much?

Don’t know where to start?

Lena works way too much. To top it off, she works all night as a NICU nurse. She trains on her way home from work in the morning after a 12 hour shift, only to go home, help her family start their days before being able to finally sleep for a few hours and then get ready to do it again.

She also wasn’t sure where to start. She just knew that she wanted to change, and a few weeks ago, she called me and has been consistently working out and eating right since.

Yesterday, she hit a new height.

You see, Lena has lost over 5 inches off of her abdominal circumference in the last month of training. So, she’s obviously doing something right. Oh, she happens to be 45 years old.

More impressive? She’s getting stronger: MUCH STRONGER. While dropping body fat, her strength is increasing exponentially. Yesterday, she was able to leg press 600lbs for reps.

Some make excuses, others make a decision to change, and that decision has to come from within. Most life situations aren’t conducive to adding a few hours each week of a new activity, but it comes down to how bad you want to change your body and your life.

The body WILL respond to the right stimulus – make it happen!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

I’m pretty excited right now. As I have often mentioned, I’m a huge fan of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) – and next week I’m getting the opportunity to meet one of the absolute true greats of the mixed martial arts world, multiple time welterweight champion, and future Hall of Famer, Matt Hughes.

I’m extremely honored to have this opportunity, as he is a 100% class act of an individual: completely humble, respectful, and an absolute vicious competitor. He also happens to be an avid deer hunter ;)

Of course, this has nothing whatsoever to do with my personal training business, but something I’m excited about and wanted to share!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey everyone,

About an hour ago, I had a client who is a 54 year old grandmother leg press 410 pounds 6 times. She has been working out with me for just over a month…

She’s tracking her progress on her website here.

Ask her if she thought one month ago that she was capable of leg pressing over 400lbs. Hell, ask her if she thought 250lbs was possible.

But I don’t want to get big and bulky!!! I hear soooo many people say this. Not understanding that the first step in losing fat is putting the body into an anabolic state – lean body mass burns more calories at rest and the slight addition of lean body mass drastically increases the metabolism while decreasing body fat percentage!

An active body is a healthy one. I know that a lot of people are busy and have overwhelming jobs and family responsibilities, but remember this: an active mind cannot live in an inactive body.

Age? It REALLY is a number: you only have to slow down when your mind tells you to. Control your mind, control your body and vice versa.

Congrats, Cheryl! YOU did that – I might’ve pushed just a little bit, but I had no doubt that you could do it.

AND… I can’t wait to post your before and after pics in the testimonial section of this website!

Keep up the AMAZING work! I’m very proud of you!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey everyone,

I’m still working on the conversion to the new format. Switching servers is giving me a little database trouble, and I want to make it seamless as possible. I may set my alarm to wake up in the middle of the night once this week and attempt the conversion then, so if I do mess it up, the effect will be minimal. :)

Here’s a recipe sent in by blog reader Dianne. This reminded me that I’m actually out of Syntha6! I know, BE PREPARED!

-4 scoops chocolate protein powder

-2/3 cup flax seed meal

-4 tbsp natural peanut butter

-1/4 cup water

-stevia or natural sweetener (optional)

-2 tbspn coca powder (optional)

Directions

-mix all ingredients in a large bowl and stir. At first it may not seem like it is enough water, but keep stirring and it will eventually become a sticky blob of dough. Add 1 tbsp of water at a time if needed.

-divide mixture into 4 equal portions and place in separate pieces of plastic wrap placing them into bars. It’s easier to shape them by lying plastic wrap on one side of a small casserole dish, pressing the dough into the natural shape of the dish.

-store the bars in fridge or freezer. Once solid, enjoy.

Number of Servings: 4

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

Yes, I do train professional athletes. I’ve worked with Playboy Models, pro figure competitors, fitness magazine cover models and all types of other seemingly glamorous clients. But in reality, that is a VERY small part of what I do.

The largest majority of my clients are people who, when they first walk through the doors of my studio, just want to get back to what they consider “normal”. They want to get rid of years of not exercising, undo unhealthy eating habits and look great in their clothes. They are normal people just like 90% of the people that read this blog are: they have jobs, families, responsibilities, and obstacles.

They come in, do what I ask them to do, work hard and make amazing progress. Then, they get there: people start telling them how much better they’re looking and want to know their secret.

They realize that they do not have to stop at “NORMAL” and they set their goals a little higher.

Sometimes, a LOT higher.

“What are you doing” and “you’ve changed so much” become “I need to start working out with you” and “Tell me what you’re eating” – friends start soliciting advice and want to know the way, and you’re ABLE to educate.

As the body keeps progressing, the realization of what is possible also begins changing and then the goals become things you never thought possible: but now, you know it’s not just possible – you know that reaching those goals are inevitable.

Looking good in everyday clothes becomes “I want to look great in a bathing suit” (and in many cases, that’s a feeling some have never had before) and it keeps going further and further.

Ladies and gentlemen, I see it every single day – everyday people who find their “amazing”.

Your’s is there and you WILL find it. Let’s make it happen!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Unfortunately, I’m not talking about the world record in the raw bench press (not yet anyway, I’m still about a year away, but I’m getting there).

No, this weekend, I’m changing things up here on the blog. I’ve been working on it slowly on my test server and I almost have it ready to change over.

I get to play in my old career (I’m a former computer programmer/engineer).

So, get ready for my new format – it is much easier on the eyes and it eliminates this ridiculous green color scheme. Much more interactive, easier to read, etc.

Thank you for spending your valuable time here – I always appreciate it!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

My friend Chris sent me this article on Twitter:

Is Sitting a Lethal Activity?

Really? Really… Really???

Okay, I think the good people at the Mayo Clinic are not seeing the forest for the trees.

The amount that someone squirms while sitting is keeping some people leaner than others?

I’d think that they’d look at a couple other factors at first, mainly: HORMONES and OTHER METABOLIC FACTORS.

Of course, it’s easier to break things down to how many calories you eat in a day versus how many you burn (but they really have NO clue how many you burn in a day). Ignoring where calories burned comes from in the body, what activities cause the body to need different nutrient ratios at different times.

Oh yeah, they mentioned “light aerobic activity” being enough to control weight… I’d like to direct them to my post from yesterday.

Sorry readers: it isn’t as easy as squirming in your seat more. The body is quite a bit more complex than that, and now the paradigm is shifting from weight loss to fat loss/body transformation.

If the good doctor would like for me to give him a rundown on how one body can burn more calories than another body, I’d be glad to go over it with him (I just can’t help but think that my tax dollars are somehow funding this bogus study).

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

I’ve been getting a lot of cardio based questions lately. I totally get why: it’s warm here in Texas, and no matter how much I type, no one wants to believe that cardio is NOT the holy grail of fat loss. People want to know “HOW MUCH, WHAT TYPE, WHAT INTENSITY???”

Top training mistake? The myth that cardio is the epicenter of fat loss and that more, slow go cardio will get you lean. No, it will make you FAT by reducing your lean body mass, actually increasing your overall body fat percentage.

I’ve written a lot about cardio (see my “Getting Started” Articles). Actually, read this to get a complete understanding of why Cardio Is Not The Answer For Fat Loss.

Cardio is a very small part of fat loss. If I had to rank the factors for fat loss, I’d probably rank them in this order:

1. Proper Nutrition (increasing the metabolism, not starving)
2. Resistance Training
3. Sleep (this is key to improve the hormones that dictate fat storage)
4. Cardio (but make no mistake: NOT slow go marathon style, low intensity cardio)

You read a lot about me talking about HIIT training. There’s no one style HIIT, as it varies based on the condition of the individual doing it. HIIT stands for high intensity interval training. In short, it’s training at a varying resistance for varying amounts of time, and compared to “staying in the fat burning range heart rate”? It is superior in absolutely every way for fat loss.

Intervals With Intensity!
“All out” or even “high intensity” varies from person to person. One of my favorite styles of interval cardio is going as intense as I can for 20-30 seconds, recovering for 45-60 seconds and then going again. Now, this isn’t an all out sprint for 20-30 seconds, no matter what people want you to believe, unless you’re already in Olympic condition, you aren’t going at 100% for 30 seconds (though it may feel like it). I personally prefer the 20-30 second threshold (and I like keeping the overall duration sub 30 minutes).

In many cases, I may do 8-10 second sprints, recover in the 30 second threshold, and then repeat. Obviously, if I’m running at an 8-10 second rate, that means I’m close to my max capacity for that time – that is pretty close to an absolute top speed sprint. Since it is a bit more intense, I prefer to keep the duration of this higher intensity in the 15-20 minute range.

The key? Vary it – vary intensity, vary intervals, vary duration of overall. Stop being obsessed with the bullshit hysteria that is calories in versus calories out, I’ve debunked those theories for years. Varying the intensity in a single session forces the body to adapt by using different pathways of energy and forcing the cardiovascular system to adapt to varying resistance just as you ask the other parts of the body to adapt to weight training. Varying the duration on different days keeps the body guessing and unable to adapt to the style of training you’re doing (remember, variety is the key to body transformation and the body is very capable of adapting to nearly anything, so you have to work to confuse it).

One nice side effect of high intensity cardio? It transfers perfectly in to the weight room, allowing you to recover quicker between sets, as the training intensity is much closer related to weight training than slowly riding an elliptical machine for an hour.

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

JUST saw a commercial for the weight loss drug Alli.

While I’m not going to get into the mentality of the magic pill, I’m going to point a few things out.

The commercial is full of nonsense.

First, the lady states: “I know it’s safe because it is approved by the FDA…”

Cigarettes are approved by the FDA. Alcohol is too. How many weekly deaths do each of those cause?

Oh, they also once approved Phen Phen.

If something is FDA approved, it does not mean it is safe – it simply means that the company who brought the product to the market has the money to pay lobbyists to get the product federal approval.

At the end of the commercial, the lady states “My husband is a doctor, if it wasn’t safe, he wouldn’t let me use it…”

Really? The same husband that stood by and let you become morbidly obese?

Taking a pill for fat loss is the equivalent of refilling your car with oil every time you drive it because it is leaking – you’re not fixing the root problem (thus, not solving the problem).

Another garbage pill put out by big medicine. Unless they come up with a pill that improves discipline and work ethic, buyer beware.

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

When it comes to eating right, the biggest reason that individuals fail is that they simply aren’t prepared. Here are a few tips to keep you on top of it!

1. Get rid of junk food. If you can’t eat it, you don’t need it in your house.

2. Load up on the “good stuff”. Have easy to assemble meals/snacks ready to go so you can eat healthy even when you’re in a hurry. If nothing else, you’re always safe with packets of tuna or chicken breast!

3. Gladware containers, sandwich bags, a small lunch box and several “shake” bottles – these are things that you NEED!

4. Make enough food one or two days per week to last you all week and use the items in #3 to make sure you always have enough food with you. In fact, I take it a step further: if I know I’m going to be away from home for 2 meals, I carry enough for 4 meals. IF I have a flat tire, a last second meeting, etc there’s no excuse: I’m never scrambling.

5. The lunch box? There are things I always keep in there: a packet meal replacement, ostrich jerkey, almonds, Crystal Light packets, plastic forks/knives, Mrs Dash Seasoning, etc. This is my survival pack – NEVER risk it!

6. If I must eat on the run, there are much better choices in a grocery store (fresh fruit, veggies, meat, etc) than there are at a convenience store or fast food restaurant. Don’t be lazy and use “in a hurry” as an excuse!

I’ve always said that the only way I can be sure I’m getting the right nutrients and that my food is prepared properly is if I prepare it. I don’t like putting my body in the hands of someone else and hoping that there’ll be something healthy to eat wherever I may be. Sure, I know HOW to make proper choices when eating out, but I attempt to control whatever I can to leave nothing to chance.

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

I guess I can make this an “Ask the Personal Trainer” type post, but some of the most common questions I receive are about my own personal workout program.

It’s important to understand that no two people are the same – in fact, there are many cases where I have seemingly similar clients with similar goals, yet, do to different training histories, conditions or genetic situations, train differently and are on totally different nutritional programs. It’s all about optimizing what is best for each client – it’s not just about working out, it’s about looking at where you are and figuring the best way to get there.

Since most of you that read this blog know that I am an avid powerlifter and have competed in bodybuilding in the past, my workouts are either geared toward gaining all out strength and/or increasing muscle size. I typically focus on each goal roughly two years at a time, but due to the fact that I’m closing in on the raw bench press world record, training for strength is currently my primary goal.

With that being said, I typically train with weights 3-4 days per week. Yes, that’s roughly half the week, but remember that the body changes while at rest, not during training. My workouts, in a word, are BRUTAL, so there’s no way whatsoever that I could lift more than 4 days in a week – recovery would be completely impossible. Each of my training sessions typically last between 90 minutes and 2 1/2 hours. When I am more focused on bodybuilding, my training sessions are typically 60-90 minutes in length. The reason for the contrast is that when you’re focused on all out strength, the amount of time to recover between sets to train near all out capacity is increased. In some cases, I may take 5-7 minutes between a heavy set of bench press (that’s 550-650lb neighborhood)! During a more conventional style workout (my bodybuilding training), I rarely take more than 90 seconds to 2 minutes for breaks.

The heart is the most important muscle, so I do dedicate a day or two per week to high intensity interval training cardio. This pushes the heart rate up as high as possible for a short amount of time and trains the body to drop it and recover quickly. It’s also optimal for fat loss (as I have written about numerous times).

Nutrition-wise, I eat a LOT. I try to focus on my Caveman Principles (if a caveman didn’t have it to eat, you don’t need it). I typically weigh between 238-246 pounds and I’m very lean. My metabolism is a furnace and my body demands nutrients for recovery, so my typical caloric intake is well over 6000 calories per day, and in many cases, over 8-10000 calories.

Remember, this is what I do based on my condition and my goals. I have very few clients that are able to consume anywhere near this amount of food – besides, most clients don’t share the same goals that I have!

It’s important to understand your goals (where you want to be) and your current condition and ability (where you are) – the program is simply the map you follow to get from point A to point B – this is why each journey is different for each person!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

I’m often asked about which supplements I use, why, etc. If you’ve ready any of my writings about amino acids (check it out here), you understand my emphasis on the BCAAs and why it is important to ensure that your body has an adequate supply at all times, especially if losing body fat and/or increasing lean body mass are your primary goals.

Without hesitation, my favorite supplement is Scivation Xtend. Not only is it the perfect ratio of BCAAs (Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine), it actually tastes amazing (I love the lemonade and blue raspberry).

I know, I know “I already get a ton of protein”. Truth is, the metabolic effects seen from ingesting free-form amino acids are different from ingesting the same amino acids when they are in a whole protein (peptide bond). Also, Xtend contains Glutamine, Citrulline Malate, and Vitamin B6 that will give you the energy you need to maximize your training while promoting recovery at the same time.

There is NO magic pill, but without hesitation, no supplement will improve recovery and promote increases in lean body mass and body fat reduction (through increased metabolism) better than Xtend.

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey everyone,

This is one of my must read articles – check those out on the right tab under the “Getting Started” articles!

People who are serious about their bodies understand the importance of free weight exercises and using machines minimally. Stabilization is important and isolation exercises and machine work doesn’t recruit the muscles required to stabilize. I see personal trainers everywhere having clients do leg extensions, tricep kickbacks, endless ab work, leg curls, and other isolation lifts. Sure, they burn, but they don’t recruit enough muscle fibers to force the body to change.

And don’t think for one second that isolating “sculpts” or “tones” a muscle – it doesn’t work that way. There’s no such thing as sculpting and toning. Fibers either grow or don’t. Use isolation work to fix weaknesses, not to sculpt. Isolation lifts should be less than 25% of your overall lifting routine.

Women, don’t discount this article as a man’s article – it’s directed at you as well. Whether you’re looking to become “sculpted”, lose fat or gain muscle, these are the exercises you must be doing.

Also, concentrate on form. Exercises like this require focus and not just doing movements. You should feel these in the assigned groups. If not, consult a pro on how to do them correctly – someone that really knows what they’re doing. Just because the kid has a “STAFF” shirt on at Gold’s or Lifetime doesn’t mean they’re qualified. Sad, but true. These exercises don’t give you room for bad form – they must be mastered and taught correctly.

1. Free weight squats. If you want nice legs, squat. These force stability in the hips and recruit the glutes (the butt), hamstrings and quads. The lower back must also be strong to do the exercise properly. Oh, and a squat goes ALL the way down, not that 90 degree nonsense. THAT is bad on the knees. Variations: front squats, hack squats, and Zercher squats.

2. Dead lifts. This is the simplest exercise in theory – the weight is on the ground, you pick it up. WHEN I see personal trainers allowing their clients to do this, they’re doing it wrong. Each rep is like it’s own set – the weight comes to a rest, and then it is lifted. Chest forward, back straight, but down, head up, weight as close to the legs as possible, LIFT. It’s that easy. Dead lifts recruit more than 70% of the muscle fibers in the body. Too important NOT to do, as they hit EVERYTHING.

3. Bench press. I like all variations of the bench press – dumbbells, inclines, declines, etc. Use them all, but really focus on the flat barbell bench press, as it is the king of upper body exercise and development. Range of motion is important – the weight MUST touch the chest.

4. Stiff-leg dead lifts. I see a lot of people doing this, but they’re doing it wrong. When you’re in the downward position, your back must be flat as a board. These lifts require concentration and not just simple movement. NOTHING will develop the hamstrings and glutes like SLDL.

5. Row, Row, Row. Pulldowns are easy and cables make us feel strong, but free weight rowing is where it is at for upper back development. Guys, nothing will make you look bigger than a broad back. Ladies, a woman with a developed back looks incredible in a back-revealing dress or a shirt, a tank top or a bikini. Again, like MOST exercises – keep the chest forward and shoulders back.

6. Glute-Ham Raises. This exercise is a beast, period. It takes a level of conditioning to do, but once it’s doable, then, well, DO IT. Another amazing posterior core exercise.

7. Dips. Another one that not every one can do, but something to work toward. Go ALL the way down, full ROM. When you can add weight to a weighted belt, add it.

8. Pull-ups. Few people do these right – body stabilized, chest forward, shoulders back. No swinging. An excellent overall developer of the upper back and biceps.

9. Overhead push press. All pressing movements have their place, and this one is no exception. Again, simple in concept, but if you have a weakness anywhere in your body, you will feel it. Most people over-exert here and decimate their rotator cuffs. Be smart and learn proper form and mechanics.

10. Olympic lifts. These lifts (clean, jerk, snatch, etc) require more skill and experience than any of the other lifts, hence why they’re at number 10. If you’re looking for a change of pace, to bust through a plateau, a proven way to develop power and exercise that hit absolutely everything in the body, learn these lifts. Most personal trainers are simply not qualified, as these lifts are so technical that formal education is almost required to teach them.

There are other great exercises, as these aren’t the only 10 exercises that I would recommend (although if these were the only 10 you did, you’d be doing way better than 90% of people that are training today). Don’t forget exercises like pull-downs, lunges, leg press and there’s plenty of room for basics like sprinting and push-ups.

These are the ten exercises that your workout routine MUST be centered around regardless of your goal. If they aren’t the centerpiece of your workout, it may be time to reconsider why you aren’t making the progress you want to make.

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
16613 Huebner Road
210.391.1454

If there is one question that I can call a Frequently Asked Questions, it is these:

Which type of cardio should I perform? Should I perform cardio in a fed state or on an empty stomach? I’ve heard that on an empty stomach the body is more apt to burn fat – is this true?

First and foremost, you determine which type of cardio you need to be doing based on your goals. If your goal is to run a marathon, than you need to be pacing yourself for distance and training specifically for running.

With this being said, 95% of the people I work with on a daily basis are training for fat loss and body transformation. In this case, let me make a few points:

First, never do cardio fasted. Keeping up with “how much fat you burn during a workout” is like trying to determine how much muscle you have built during a training session. It doesn’t happen immediately, and we are more concerned with the cumulative effect of training and nutrition. With this being said, being fueled will allow you to train with more intensity and will delay the body’s production of hormones that break lean body mass down for fuel. Remember, the biggest benefit from resistance training and intense cardio is the Afterburn Effect – the body’s increased ability to burn calories at an accelerated rate after the training session has ended.

The type of cardio that is most effective for fat loss is, without a doubt, high intensity interval cardio (where you go as hard as possible for a period of time, recover, repeat). I’ve written about high intensity cardio versus slow-go cardio here (as I have addressed many of the questions in this article).

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454
Text BOYD to the number 90210 for my mobile business card!