Fat Loss – Body Transformation – Advanced Nutrition

So many people in gyms. So many people “workout”. The supplement industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. Personal Training is one of the most in-demand careers in America.

My one question is simple: if so many people are obviously so involved in fitness, why do so few people look like they really workout?

The answers, while as simple as the question itself, aren’t easily fixed.

-To make a drastic change in the body, one must take drastic results. It isn’t as simple as going to the gym and going through a routine of a few exercises that “target” those bodyparts you are interested in changing. I see the smae people doing the same things in the gym and it’s obvious what their thought process is: lunges, leg curls, light squats, etc – she’s trying to firm her butt and her legs. Curls, db bench press, flies? He wants bigger arms and a defined chest. Seems logical, but it takes a more full body approach, and a MUCH more scientific approach.

-What most people think of as “eating clean” isn’t very clean at all

-Working hard is more than breathing hard and sweating. WHAT your doing is just as important as your exertion.

-As humans, we seek the path of least resistance. Most people will settle for a leg press before a freeweight squat, a bench press machine to a barbell bench press. A lighter set before adding 5-10lbs and really pushing it. It’s easy to convince ourselves that we’ve “done enough”.

-Being focused for 4-5 days per week simply is not enough.

-Follow what is popular and look like the masses. We are the most obese country in the history of mankind. What the masses are doing is not working, and when you see someone on tv telling how it worked for them, look at the small print that says “Results aren’t typical”.

IF you’re going to workout, LOOK the part. It doesn’t come easy, but if you’re going to play the game, play it to win!

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 – there is still time to give your family and loved ones the ultimate gift of health. If you have a friend or family member that is looking to make 2012 the year that they get in the best shape of their life, lose body fat and drastically transform their body or maybe prepare for an athletic competition, a Personal Fitness Revolution Personal Training Gift Certificate is the perfect gift idea.

Health clubs and gyms in San Antonio are simply PACKED after the first of the year – not ours. Our private personal training studio is by appointment only, and there is NEVER a crowd.

All clients receive complete nutritional and supplement guidance, 24/7 access to their personal trainer (via telephone, email, etc), and complete directions on what to do on days when they aren’t with their trainer. For more information on programs and pricing, check out our Personal Training Programs or contact Boyd via email at boyd@the-personal-trainer.com or by phone at 210.391.1454. We have hundreds of references available by request.

Any personal training package is available as a gift certificate, but from now until Dec 31, 2011, we will be offering 15% off of any purchased package of 36 or more sessions!

Slots WILL BE limited after the first of the year, and our personal training studio operates on a first come, first served basis (by appointment). Beat the crowds at other health clubs at our private personal training studio!

No gift could be more precious or appreciated more than a healthy, lean body, and there is no better way to help someone you care about get a head start on their New Year’s Resolution with the help of a fitness professional that will drastically improve their chance for success.

Happy Holidays!

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,

Nothing compares to the gift of health. If you have a friend or family member that is looking to make 2012 the year that they get in the best shape of their life, lose body fat and drastically transform their body or maybe prepare for an athletic competition, a Personal Fitness Revolution Personal Training Gift Certificate is the perfect gift idea.

All clients receive complete nutritional and supplement guidance, 24/7 access to their personal trainer (via telephone, email, etc), and complete directions on what to do on days when they aren’t with their trainer. For more information on programs and pricing, check out our Personal Training Programs or contact Boyd via email at boyd@the-personal-trainer.com or by phone at 210.391.1454. We have hundreds of references available by request.

From now until Dec 31, 2011, we will be offering 15% off of any purchased package of 36 or more sessions!

Slots WILL BE limited after the first of the year, and our personal training studio operates on a first come, first served basis (by appointment). Beat the crowds at other health clubs at our private personal training studio!

No gift could be more precious or appreciated more than a healthy, lean body, and there is no better way to help someone you care about get a head start on their New Year’s Resolution with the help of a fitness professional that will drastically improve their chance for success.

Happy Holidays!

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 and you other Fitness Fanatics elsewhere!

Had quite a few questions to tend to from the holidays, so I thought I’d do them here!

Hey Boyd,

I am a local high school senior and have committed to play Division 1 football next fall at a prestigious university. Do you work with high school athletes?

Absolutely. I work with athletes of all ages amateur and professional. The transition from high school football (even Texas high school football) to college football is drastic. It is imperative to go into conditioning program a step ahead of the competition. Quite simply, I help athletes become faster, stronger and more cardio conditioned. We focus on regular power moves to develop base strength (bench press, dead lift and squat) as well as explosive movements that transfer into the sport of choice (plyometrics, Olympic movements, etc).

Not only do I focus on the training, but on the nutrition as well to get the most out of your training and to fuel your training and recovery – unfortunately, nutrition is the weakest link in most amateur athletes repetoire. I develop an optimal nutrition and supplement regiment for every athlete.

Ok Boyd, I have tried it all – lots of cardio, less eating, etc. I thought I was doing it right until I read one of your articles from a few months back about becoming skinny fat and how doing what I am doing is only going to make me a smaller version of myself. Not so much a question but a “Dammit I should’ve listened to your advice”!

It’s never too late! Starving and excess cardio may help you look better dressed, but gaining lean body mass and proper training help you look better naked!

Boyd: Which is better? Low reps (3-6) or higher reps (12+)?

Better in what way? Kind of a general question but let me try to help you: no matter your goals, there are reasons to use absolutely every rep range. I honestly use as few as one rep (on a regular basis) and as many as 100 reps in some exercises.

It’s like having a tool box and trying to figure out which is better: a screwdriver or a hammer. You have them both, so why not use them?

Any tips for coming off of a spell with the flu?

More than tips, I have sympathy, because for more than a week, I was battling the nasty flu as well. First and foremost, get yourself some pro-biotics and replenish the good bacteria in your system (especially if you were on antibiotics). My choice is Endo-mune. Second, take a week to “get back into the groove. Your body is still probably recovering, so the worst thing you can do is decimate yourself and make your body relapse into sickness. Increase antioxidant intake (permanently). A great way to not have to recover from sickness is to not get sick. Rest more. Yeah, sounds simple, but most of us aren’t even close on the amount of rest we need. Sleep deprivation has hormonal effects on fat storage and opens us up for a multitude of sicknesses. Sleep more, get sick less, period.

I have a very long email that I am responding to about fat loss/muscle gain, and I will be posting my answer here when it is ready – I think most people will benefit from it, so check back later on.

Make today great!

Boyd Myers
Master Fitness Trainer – San Antonio
Owner, Personal Fitness Revolution
San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio

There’s a very common acronym used: KISS (Keep It Simple, Sweetie). Ok, sweetie is often replaced by STUPID, but I want to stay positive here.

This weekend I was having a conversation with someone about body transformation and they made a comment that when they want to change their body, they simply eat less and do more.

Sure, that may help with temporary weight loss, and that is the way that most dieticians and doctors see things, but the truth of the matter is that most people take a stab at this, make little to no changes, and then give up.

It isn’t quite that simple – if it were, wouldn’t everyone with an ounce of motivation look phenomenal?

Anyone with a pulse can lose weight with little or no effort. However, weight loss means absolutely nothing in reference to changing the body. Losing BODY FAT is what matters, and adding a little bit of lean body mass is important to actually improve one’s aesthetics.

Unfortunately, to lose body fat and to gain lean body mass simultaneously is easier said than done – there is a very delicate balance that few people thoroughly understand. Sure, you can go beat the hell out of yourself in the gym, bouncing around like a crack addict and work up a sweat and try to eat as little (healthy) food as possible. You’ll burn muscle, induce the starvation reflex, and crash and burn after a few weeks due to over-training (and under recovering). Or you can do tons of cardio to negate bad eating, lift heavy for a couple hours of day, and try to gain muscle. You’ll overtrain quickly (besides: there’s a lot more to losing fat than doing cardio).

You have to have the proper ratios of each of these factors:
Training Intensity
Training Duration
Timing of Training
Micro & Macronutrient Consumption
Nutritional Timing
Recovery (and Recovery, and Recovery)
Cardio Intensity (and Duration)

Are you training too much or too little? Intense enough or overdoing it? Are you eating the right things in the right amount at the right times? Are you recovering enough between training sessions or are you waiting too long to train in a certain way again? Are you doing too much cardio? The wrong time of cardio? Inappropriately mixing in cardio and weights and completely negating your progress?

These are all questions that must be considered, and unfortunately the answers vary significantly between individuals based on several different factors.

I know, the information for most people is overwhelming and yes: doing anything is better than doing nothing. But investing the energy to understand each of these factors and how much is required for a) your current condition and b) your goals will result in an infinitely more productive training cycle, and get you the most progress for your investment of time and energy.

Boyd Myers
Master Fitness Trainer – San Antonio
Owner, Personal Fitness Revolution
San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

Just a quick snippet we took about 40 minutes into my client Joey’s workout. Joey is a martial artist and while we often train for strength, this workout was totally circuit and cross training, where we worked with the TRX Suspension System, Kettle Bells, and the ab wheel of torture.

There is no one way to skin a cat, you just have to work hard and have the proper plan of attack (like Joey) – here is about 5% of his entire workout:

All tools are on the table in my personal training studio, whether it is power lifting, Olympic weight lifting, cross training, Russian Kettle Bells or whatever it takes. No training studio has a more complete view of training than mine, I assure you.

KICK BUTT!

Boyd Myers
210.391.1454
16613 Huebner Road

THE Personal Trainer – San Antonio!

Hey everyone,

No time.

Busy with kids.

Have to work, cook, clean.

Exercise is a luxury that I just don’t have time for right now.

Eating healthy is too expensive.

All common things I hear, and no matter how legitimate they may be, they are simply EXCUSES.

The way I see it is simple:

LIFE IS TOUGH, BUT I AM TOUGHER.

If you want something bad enough, you will find a way to make it happen, and that goes for getting into incredible shape.

While it may seem like “poor, poor, pitiful me” right now, I challenge you to read the Jimmy Graham story:

Overcoming True Adversity: Saints TE Jimmy Graham

This story has grown since the above post, and he is dominating the NFL now. As a child, he was basically dropped off at an orphanage by his mother, and beaten daily by the older children in foster care… So, your life is tough?

We all face adversity: some much more than others. But waiting for things to simply get better is insanity – same process doesn’t yield different results.

If there is something you want, it is up to you to go after it, whether it is a better body, better life, better job, more money, nicer home, etc.

You are in control of you. The difference between winners and losers? Losers wait for things to happen, winners make things 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
Text FITNESSTRAINER to 90210 for my fat loss and body transformation tips!

That was the phrase my client Anna uttered as she walked to my the leg press machine in my studio a few hours ago. Of course, it was the leg press machine she has used a few times over the last month, but this time, it happened to already be loaded with more than 400lbs from the previous client. When I told her that it was actually the lady before her that was doing it, her reaction made it obvious that she was more than impressed. I took a few plates off of each side to allow her to acclimate and get ready to work hard.

A few sets later, she was under the same weight that she was “WOWED” by just a few minutes prior, and she was able to do it for 6 reps. Yes, all 110lbs of her.

A month ago, she told me that she “didn’t want to get big and manly.” And I bet she didn’t think that it was possible to leg press nearly 4 times her bodyweight. Neither did Lena (the client before her) when she started.

Cool thing? Both ladies are stronger and “amazingly”, neither of them have become “big and manly”, neither have sprouted an Adam’s Apple, have deeper voices, nor are ripping their clothes with their muscles.

Ladies, it does not work that way. How DOES it work? Regular people, just like each of you reading this, are able to do amazing things that they didn’t think would ever be possible in a very short amount of time, and drop inches, become leaner and stronger while having fun doing it.

No magic pills nor fads. I must warn you, it isn’t easy – but most definitely WORTH the effort.

So, when is the last time you really impressed yourself?

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 FITNESSTRAINER to 90210 for my fat loss and body transformation tips!

Hey San Antonio,

I have a few habits: I shower a couple of times per day. I shave regularly. I brush my teeth 3 times per day. Floss daily. Go to bed at night. Come to work every morning.

I have a 7 year old little boy and a 3 1/2 month old Juliana Piglet. Enforcing habits is a huge part of my day. Between the regular encouragement to make beds, pick up after yourself, “SIT”, and everything else, I can say that making some things a habit is not often easy.

Exercise and proper nutrition are no different. Most people want to look amazing, yet they don’t want to take the first step and make a commitment to consistently eating healthy and training intensely. “Working out” is what I do. Most people can say “Well, that is your job” but it has been something that has been a huge part of my life for far longer than my profession has been that as a personal trainer (and to clarify, I do not workout with my clients – as a matter of fact, always being around a gym as much as I am can lead to burnout, so I have to work extra hard to keep it interesting). I have a habit of selecting the healthiest choices when I eat. My habits include foregoing staying out late and eating terribly to rest up for the next day and the work/workout it has in store.

“Whatever it takes” is a phrase I hear often, and people mean it, right up until I start telling them exactly WHAT IT TAKES.

“It must be nice” is the other phrase I hear – I am a world class powerlifter and a competitive bodybuilder. I have no problem with the beach, pool parties or spending the day in very little clothes at the lake. Yes, it is NICE, but it isn’t just a gift that I am lucky to have – I, along with my clients that have decided to live this lifestyle, absolutely bust our asses to obtain a certain level of conditioning or appearance. I can assure you that my physical shape is not from genetics!

Simply put, fitness is obtained by creating the proper habits. What exactly does it takes? A series of the right choices becoming habits: Hard work, consistency, knowledge, intensity, commitment. I know, most people hate those words, but there are no shortcuts!

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 FITNESSTRAINER to 90210 for my fat loss and body transformation tips!

Hey everyone,

I try to spend a little time each day reading other health and fitness related material. Much of my free time is spent in medical journals and reading about government studies – but recently, my quest led me to a blog written by a lady named Victoria: Anorexic to Athletic. In one of her recent blogs (read it here), Victoria discusses the role of gym owners, their staffs and personal trainers in identifying individuals in their gyms that may be at risk to chronic exercise, anorexia, etc and their role in handling/assisting individuals in these situations.

I started this post, stopped, thought about it, re-wrote it a few times, walked away, and re-started several times. It is a delicate situation and I had to step back a few times and give it serious thought. Normally, I have no shortage of words and am able to respond immediately and definitely. In this situation, that simply was not the case.

I feel that I must clarify that my personal training studio is private – it is not a typical gym where people are coming and going throughout the day. It is by appointment only, and is purely one on one. I mention this because our relationship with our clients is quite different than the type the typical gym personal trainer may have with a random gym member. In my trainer-client relationship, the client’s condition, situation, health, etc are the primary reason they are here, and any discussion about said condition would be “fair game” to bring up, so to speak. I have worked with several different individuals who have struggled with eating disorders, image problems and such and I understand the uniquity of each situation.

I am not going to get into how balance is the essence of success, why people fall into these situations, how it happens, or any of that. I do believe that anorexia, body dysmorphia, chronic exercising and other similar conditions are more common than most would believe. With that being said, these situations may or may not be mutually exclusive. One could be a chronic exerciser, body dysmorphic, and anorexic or may simply be one or any combo of the three.

From the standpoint of being a health and fitness professional, if I happened to be a MEMBER of another gym and noticed someone who fit the bill as Anorexic or as someone who is a chronic exerciser, I would not feel comfortable approaching that individual and suggesting that they may have a problem. I am the type of person that tries to keep to myself, and when I am in a gym outside of my personal training studio, I tend to mind my own business and do my own thing when I’m at a gym.

Given these factors, my answers are based on both those as a gym owner and a gym patron.

In my opinion, there is a fine line between being perceived as trying to help and being invasive. Before I am a personal trainer, I am a compassionate human being, period. With that being said, the last thing I want to do is to put someone on the defensive and make them feel any more insecure or concerned than they may be. Too many personal trainers confuse their profession as that of a psychiatrist and that is unfortunate.

I have been a personal trainer for most of my adult life, and there is one thing that comes along with the territory of being a fitness professional: you cannot help someone who is not ready to be helped – and the best way to determine if that individual wants to be helped is for them to come to you and ask for it. I know, easier said than done, and as humans, asking for help is simply something that is very hard for many people to do – and I also realize that individuals in these situations may be internally screaming for help.

While I would love to be able to assist every individual doing things detrimental to their health, stopping each smoker, heavy drinker, sweets binger, chronic exerciser, overly stressed office worker, insomniac, pain killer addict, and manically depressed individual to offer my services is far outside the capacity of my profession. While I am an expert at what I do and can train individuals in a variety of manners, and feel that I have an eye to pick out individuals that may be apart of these special populations, my specialties still lie within the realm of performance nutrition, strength training, and the similar – unlike most personal trainers, I feel that diagnosing and attempting to treat any disorder (physical or emotional) is outside the scope of my professional duties.

In closing, I have worked with many individuals that have struggled with anorexia, and I feel comfortable being a part of a team and helping them get their lives back to a seemingly normal existence. I understand the precautions, the symptoms and some of the extremes in great detail. However, offering a diagnosis unsolicited is beyond that of an in-gym personal trainer.

If a certain fitness center felt that any patron was at risk to themselves, they obviously reserve the right to terminate their memberships on a case by case basis (which may be after offering to refer a certain individual to the appropriate professional for assistance).

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 FITNESSTRAINER to 90210 for my fat loss and body transformation tips!

Here’s some advice that 99.9% of the people trying to “make that change” do not want to hear: cardio is pathetic as a tool for fat loss. Period. I know, I know. “But my personal trainer told me I needed to do more and more cardio”. He was telling you that to alleviate his responsibility of actually educating you or training you. Or he simply does not know better. Or he thinks that if you lose a lot of weight initially you’ll be hooked. He isn’t looking two or three months down the road. He doesn’t care if you’re doing it the “right way”. All he cares about is this week. Well, I care about continuing progress. Body transformation is a lifestyle – a marathon. Not a sprint for the first few days. Those are the individuals that crash, burn and fail to reach their goals.

“But the charts tell me where my heart rate needs to be to burn fat”.

The body may use a little bit of fat for fuel DURING cardio, but there is absolutely NO afterburn effect (meaning your body does not burn fat at an accelerated rate post-cardio). Actually, it’s the opposite: in an attempt to preserve itself, the body switches it’s focus on preserving body fat and burning glucose.

Fat loss is a product of nutrition. Period. Abs are made in the kitchen. Want to increase your metabolism? Increase your lean body mass. That doesn’t mean gain slabs of muscle and get huge. Don’t worry – you aren’t capable of doing that. I put hours upon hours into getting massive and I’ll make you a promise: after your initial adaption period of the first 6 months of training, your body will fight you tooth and nail to put more muscle mass on. In fact, the body starts breaking itself down as we age, giving us another battle to fight – gaining muscle is by far the hardest thing to do from a training standpoint. I bench press over 600 pounds. I eat over 7000 calories per day. I gain weight at the pace that a glacier moves and that is my FOCUS! My metabolic rate is so accelerated that becoming any larger is becoming insanely difficult. So “I don’t want to get big and bulky” is a ridiculous concept.

Weight training has the opposite effect that cardio has: there is an afterburn effect – your body begins to preserve glucose and switches it’s focus to burning fat after training. Weight training stimulates an increase in lean body mass, which, in turn, increases the resting metabolic rate. Become leaner, burn more FAT calories at everything you do.

Cardio is completely overdone by 99.9% of people looking to change their bodies. If endurance is your goal, then cardio is great for you. Same can be achieved by training at a higher intensity from a standpoint of resting between sets and increasing the training volume in a given time period.

While training my last figure competitor, she was shocked at how little cardio I had her doing. She was under the impression that she needed to be doing two hours per day in the last several weeks of prep as she had done in the past. In the past, she was always an “Also ran” – in her last show, however, all she did was win every class she was in and obtain professional status as a figure competitor.

I know a lot of people, especially females, are reading this thinking that this does not apply to them, that I’m speaking about competitors and athletes – but I’m talking to everyone – those who need to lose 5lbs, 25lbs, post-natal, etc.

There’s a difference in dropping body fat (becoming lean) and “losing weight” (becoming SKINNY). Disease and sickness will make you skinny. Starvation will make you skinny. Skinny is NOT the desired result. Lean is what is desirable, and should be the focus.

Calories in versus calories out is ancient science: I use up to date science to make sure the body partitions the nutrients you intake to do what you want them to do, that it preserves what you want it to preserve (lean body mass) and that it burns what you want to get rid of (body fat). Again, I understand that a lot of people just “want to be smaller” but from a practical standpoint, that is a terrible approach. Just “losing weight” will lead to a reduction of lean body mass, bringing the metabolism to a screeching halt and causing the body to rebound in a horrible way and cause any future attempts to get rid of extra weight to become increasingly difficult.

So few people actually ever reach their fitness goals. Yet everyone seems to think they know how to get it done, and the first thing that anyone thinks of when it comes to losing weight is that they need to spend hours upon hours doing cardio.

Cardio definitely has a place, but the amount that most people need is much less than most people are trying to do. I’m not anti-cardio by any means – I simply know how to help people most efficiently transform their bodies.

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,

Questions were starting to pile up in my email and on Twitter, so I thought I would play a little catch up and answer a few questions here on the blog!

Boyd: Have you ever used the topical pain roll-on, BioFreeze? What are your thoughts?

Yes – I love BioFreeze. As a person that has had several breaks and injuries in my life, I am very arthritic, and sometimes it takes a few minutes during a session to work the cricks out! I typically apply BioFreeze directly to the aches/tight muscles, and let it go – the great thing? It allows me to train with intensity relatively pain free. There are several similar brands, but I like BioFreeze the absolute best.

Hey Boyd, I often see people recommend massage. Is it really helpful, or just hokie science?

Massage is a critical component of my training and recovery process – it is great to relieve pain, work out knots, increase circulation and keep the body working optimally. Of course, the right therapist is key, and when you find one, they are worth their weight in gold. I personally like to get massages every 2-3 weeks, depending on how intense I am training.

To play off of the last question, my massage therapist actually USES BioFreeze during the massage!

Hi Boyd, what are your thoughts on nutritional requirements when you are recovering from an injury?

In short, your nutritional demands are greatly increased. Injury puts the body into a stressed state, increasing the demand for quality nutrients. When I am injured or recovering from sickness, I increase antioxidant intake, BCAA intake, healthy fat intake, and the consumption of the trace minerals, giving my body the optimal environment to quickly recover. Remember – if you are hurt or sick, you cannot train optimally and make progress, so I have little time for injury or sickness.

Send more – I am always ready to answer them!

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 have been getting a lot of good questions here of late, so I thought I would do a quick Q&A!

Hey Boyd, Sorry about your pig… I know how they can become so important to us. Anyway, I feel like a pig now. I want to go all out and get my diet back in order. Any boot camp style eating tips you care to give?

Thank you for that. I miss him terribly, but I am getting another one very soon :).

While variety is the spice of life, when I need to get insanely serious, I try to limit myself drastically – I choose 4 lean meats, 4 clean, low glycemic carbs, load up on the green veggies and go from there for 2 weeks. Sure, it is tough, but I believe in challenging myself and I go ultra strict with no deviation. I pre-cook a few days worth of food, grab and go, leaving nothing to chance by having someone else prepare food. After two weeks of perfect eating, it always seems much easier to keep things tight, and the synergy of hard training and great eating really changes the body drastically.

The key is to eat enough: most people induce starvation when they try to eat clean because they simply do not eat enough. Two weeks is NOTHING – start today!!!

How is the benching?

Better than ever. Well on my way to a personal record (665 current) – I have no doubt that 14 plates (7 on each side of the bar) is coming down soon!!!

Boyd, have you ever considered opening a CrossFit studio?

Kay, you must be new to the blog ;) While I am for people doing anything versus doing nothing, I simply believe CrossFit SUCKS (I don’t mince words). No bench pressing, poor supervision, lack of proper program design, periodization, poor exercise order, etc, etc, etc. You cannot be a master of all at once. Hell, start here and you will see why I feel the way I do – welcome to the Personal Trainer in San Antonio Blog!

Hey Boyd, I have a question – I have read in your blog that you hate chicken. I do too, but not for the reasons I think you do. You see, when I eat it, it feels like it sits like a brick in my stomach. Not sure why, but I just don’t think I digest it well. I do not have this problem with red meat, oddly. Thoughts?

Actually, that is exactly why I do not eat chicken! Everyone has foods that their body simply has trouble absorbing. I have had this doctor diagnosed: my body has trouble breaking down chicken. It isn’t common, and most people have a much harder time with red meat, but if I eat 3oz of chicken, I feel like I have eaten a pound of concrete.

The key to health is digestion. Each of us has foods that work better with us for energy, absorption and assimilation, and we are all mutually exclusive. This is another reason why I like to suggest a food journal. Not just list what I eat, but to also document how I feel at certain times, how my gym performance is affected, etc – I don’t always suggest keeping such a journal 365 days per year, but for a short amount of time to see how you are responding to different types of food.

Remember: Texas is in a lot of trouble right now with wildfires, so keep the people that are being affected in your thoughts and prayers.

Keep the questions coming – YOU are the reason I keep this blog!

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,

The Bad
First and foremost, my prayers go out to everyone affected by the fires in San Antonio and across Texas. As someone who lost their home and all of their belongings to a fire, I can relate and would never want anyone else to ever go through that horrible event. Be safe and be smart: have your important belongings, documents, valuables, etc ready to go if you are in a danger area – do not wait until the last minute. Anything can be replaced, except life.

Speaking of which, I want to say farewell to my sweet pet, Ziggy. While I cannot post a pic from my iPad on this blog, Ziggy was my Teacup Micro-pig that passed away in his sleep from faulty breeding. I know, a PIG, but he was the smartest, most affectionate animal I had ever known, and I have been extremely bummed by his passing. I am in the market for a new micro-pig, and this time, will research breeders a little better and not fall prey to a less than reputable breeder trying to make a buck at the expense of an animal’s health.

The Good!!!

Congrats to Esperanza for her great progress in her first month of training: she lost nearly 5 inches from her abdominal circumference in only 27 days, and lowered her bodyfat by over 6%. Awesome job and I am very proud of her!

It is FINALLY FOOTBALL SEASON! Definitely the most amazing time of the year for me, and a sign that it should start cooling off in the very near future. This morning, it was only 60 degrees here in San Antonio, but should be in the 90s by the end of the day. Of course, I am always sad to see Summer go, but this year, the heat has been almost unbearable, and I will welcome Fall and hopefully, some precipitation.

Now is a great time to get serious about your fitness – the holidays are right around the corner and there is time to create a NEW BODY before Thanksgiving. If you have been contemplating starting a fat loss or body transformation program, don’t hesitate: we are ready to help!

Keep moving forward!!!

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 have spoken about Vibram Five Finger Shoes on the blog several different times. As I have stated many times, I am NOT a runner. I used to be, but due to the beating it gives the joints, I now elect for less impactive forms of cardio. So, my experience from Vibrams (a barefoot simulation shoe) comes from day to day wear and weight training.

That is, until today…

I have not run any significant distance in many years. I was short on time today and knew that I would not be able to get my morning workout in between clients and meetings, so I decided that I would plan to run a mile in my Vibrams so I could comment on them from a running standpoint when people ask me (I am asked about them everyday, even though I have been wearing them for close to two years!). Anyway, I am a toe runner anyway (I run distances like I would sprint, up on my toes), and while running itself was challenging, my feet and legs feel great, and I was able to keep my time under 7 minutes and 30 seconds (not bad for a 240 pounder). If I decided to run regularly, I would definitely have to take it slow to get used to the “barefoot” style, but my feet feel surprisingly good (and I ran at 9:30am, it was still under 85 degrees).

As I have stated numerous times: I would wear my Vibrams absolutely anywhere. I honestly believe that they have helped improve the condition of my feet and have greatly reduced knee and ankle pain that I have had for years from prolonged running, skydiving, etc. The research speaks for itself (as it pertains to barefoot running) – my recommendation is simple: if you have been thinking about a set of Vibram Five Fingers, do 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