Another Awesome My[Birthday]Bootcamp!

VIdeo courtesy of ShineOn Storytelling.

Ahmad Takes on the Fire Hose

Stop Eating Grains

If you really want to lose weight, stop eating grains.

Yes, I had a hard time believing it too. After all, I've been told for a lifetime to eat a whopping 6-11 servings of cheap and easy, government subsidized grains for my entire life. But a funny thing happened to me a few months ago.

As a health and fitness professional, it is my ethical responsibility to be in a continuous state of learning. And as an advisor and consultant, it is my duty to assess, research, question, and then disseminate the information that I passionately believe may help my clients, fans or followers to be more successful in achieving their goals. I am not alone in saying that I have observed a lot of failure, disappointment, frustration, negative reinforcement and even more confusion first hand in this industry while people have diligently followed the advice of conventional wisdom.

While everyone tries to "eat right" or at least "do better," and while fitness professionals, nutritionists, doctors, government agencies, celebrities and of course, the media tout the benefits of eating "right" and getting regular exercise (the simple rule of "calories in, calories out") we've gotten fatter. Much, MUCH FATTER. Clearly, something is broken and a paradigm shift is necessary.

So, a few months ago, I stopped teaching high intensity exercise classes. (Not intentionally as a means of removing this from my life, just as a professional evolution.) I went from teaching about 5-10 high intensity classes a week between cycle and strength formats to zero. I maintained a moderate activity level with my clients/bootcamps - but my movement was nothing impressive and FAR from what it was previously. I've always been lean - 8-10% body fat - and always weighed in around 170 lbs +/- 2 lbs. While teaching the copious amounts of classes, I didn't have high energy. I was exhausted. Mentally and physically. Yet, we tell people - intensity, intensity, intensity - more, more, more - and if its not working, DO MORE!! I was shoving oatmeal down my throat morning after morning, refueling with bagels or tabuli sandwiches (basically wheat on wheat) and finishing it off with a pasta dinner and supplementing in between with fruits. Using conventional wisdom, it sounds like a pretty healthy diet!

At the same time that I stopped frequent high intensity exercise, I also gradually weaned myself off of grains, following my reading of Mark Sisson's blog, MarksDailyApple.com and his book, The Primal Blueprint. I had heard much about the Paleo and Primal diet, so I thought - this is pretty crazy, but as part of my due diligence, let's give it a try for a few days and see what happens. Well guess what? In the midst of doing zero high intensity exercise and maintaining a similar caloric intake - less the grains of course - I lost 10 lbs while maintaining my lean muscle mass. All of this in a matter of about 3 weeks and remember, I didnt have much to lose in the first place! All of this with no caloric restrictions, more energy with my body off of the insulin roller coaster, and a forgiving 80/20 rule, so yes, I can enjoy a beer (no grains 80% of the time will get you 100% of the results without the negative reinforcement of "cheating" and the ability to enjoy cake on a birthday or eating out on a special occasion).

I am now a lean and mean 160 lbs with about 6% body fat. Why? The cliffs notes version is this: Grains = Carbs. Carbs = Sugar. Sugar drives insulin levels. Insulin drives fat storage. Without the easy to burn carbohydrates, my body is a fat burning machine - and yours can be too.

There are a host of reasons to avoid grains, so I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the science behind it via the links provided here. It is far too deep a discussion for one post.

I highly recommend that you consider this approach - after all, you've probably tried everything else. And its not just good for your waistline - its good for you and will no doubt cure many if not all ailments that may nag you, from headaches/migraines to irritable bowl syndrom to tooth decay. But dont take my word for it. Study it first. If you learn the "why," "what" to do is much easier. In my next posts, I will share some of my go-to's, favorite foods and food prep techniques, so stay tuned!

Here are a few resource to get you started:

Marks Daily Apple

The Definitive Guide to Grains

Why Grains Are Unhealthy

How to Quit Grains

The Primal Blueprint

Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It

DIY Parmesan Kale Chips

Kale is a leafy green super food, loaded with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer goodness, high in beta carotene, Vitamin K and Vitamin C. It also contains sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol both of which are believed to have powerful cancer prevention properties.

I made my first batch of DIY Kale Chips last weekend and perfected the recipe today. A few tweaks (easy on the oil, dont use the stem) and perfecto! A surprisingly yummy, crunchy, flavorful and healthy snack. Kale Chips squash any snack attack and are a great mindless muncher - try substituting them for popcorn while watching your next movie. You can dress them up various different ways - and even incorporate dipping sauces - depending on what you have on hand, but in general if you have some olive oil and sea salt you're good to go!

DIY Parmesan Kale Chips

Start with quality organic Kale like so...

Sprinkle with EV olive oil (cold first pressed is best), then add Parmesan cheese, sea salt and garlic - dried or minced. No specific measurements, just have at it.

Pop in the oven til crispy (10-15 minutes at 350) and enjoy the thin and crispy goodness!

MyBootcamp Potomac - Now Enrolling for May

After a very successful launch of our first group bootcamp - MyBootcamp, Potomac will be continuing for May! $90 for the month, Tuesday and Thursday at 9am at Orchard Ridge Park. Please email info@roifit.com or contact me on Facebook to reserve your spot (yes space is limited), so contact me today!

Here is a quick video from our first day - rain or shine, we work hard and have fun! Let's GO!

My New Toy - TRX's Rip Trainer

Here is a video of David demonstrating the new Rip Trainer from TRX. It is a great addition to my toy trunk and a great complement to the TRX Suspension Trainer as it primarily focuses on dynamic power and explosiveness in the transverse plane - ie rotation - and asymmetrical resistance training. Your body needs to be able to both rotate effectively and prevent rotation effectively and without injury. In the same spirit of the TRX, it is compact, light-weight and with multiple anchoring solutions, you can take it anywhere! So, whether you are training for high performance in sport or life, Rip It!

Order Yours Here

MyBootcamp Announces Ambassador Program

Hey You! Want to Workout for Free?

MyBootcamp, as you've seen by now provides kick-butt, out of the box bootcamps and bootcamp inspired personal training. It's "not just any bootcamp" because you won't find anyone doing anything like we do - Not at your local gym or run of the mill military-style bootcamps. We train like athletes so we can WIN in life. We train outside for a reason - for fresh air, vitality and free Vitamin D. We use lots of awesome toys - from the TRX Suspension Trainer and brand new Rip Trainer, the Vipr, and Kettlebells, to sandbags, fire hoses and more. It's fun, inspiring, educational, challenging and intense! We work hard and we have fun doing it, getting a functional, total body, killer metabolic workout.

So, if you want to see MyBootcamp in your neighborhood, we want to be there! But it's up to you to make it happen. Here's how the Ambassador Program works...

Round up 8 or more of your closest friends, strangers, acquaintances, co-workers or neighbors. Spread the word the old fashioned way or get creative and start a facebook page ("Bring MyBootcamp to Arlington!" for example). You work out for FREE - Plus, we'll give you one FREE (because you can't type FREE in lower case letters) personal training session per month (as long as the bootcamp is active) that you can selfishly keep for yourself or give to someone as a gift!

If you are interested in being an Ambassador, contact me on facebook or any other way you know how and.....Let's Go!!