New Website Launched!

http://maxphoenixfitness.com/

Baby Bumps And The Gay

For a fag I had my experience with pregnancy. I love babies and only wish I could  experience  the journeys  of having a baby!      Just recently I had a client, she was close to having a six-pack abs. Having trainer “BMI X-Ray Vision,” I know Tawnya was closer to 10 percent body fat and from working with her for about a year prior and knowing she was leaner for her 4th of July trip to her Lake house. That was one our set goals and she was kick-ass kitty! As soon as she found out she was expecting her first child I took real measure of her progress. She is super athletic and a champ when it came to her fitness. I don’t know how your girls do it! As a gay man, if I gain an extra layer of fat for winter, I go kookoo!

During her pregnancy she powered through morning sickness and fatigue. Six months into it the hormone relaxin started to show up. It’s a hormone that helps soften the bones, making them more flexible when conceiving. Tawnya’s pelvis started to really hurt. She powered through it as we worked around it, but she felt the effects of the relaxin for months after her baby girl was born.

Tawnya worked out with a modified but challenging workout (most woman  would find it damn right hard) as her baby bump started to set in, with fear of stretch marks, and fear of being one of those ladies that gets stuck on the other side of chubby years after her baby is born. I keep her workout close to what they were before she was expecting.  I hate to “peacock,” but I’m gay and do it so well– but think god for a gay with experience with athletic pregnancies. We kept her heart rate within 140 bpm. Tawnya was able to go a bit higher with her heart rate due to her fitness and history with intense training, but we made sure to keep her in her “oxygen zone” so the fetus would  maintain a steady oxygen flow. Her workout included single-arm Kettlebell swing up until end of her second trimester at twenty-four pounds with repetitions up to seventy. She was doing squats with seventy pounds with repetitions of forty up until she had her lovely baby girl. This workout isn’t for a novice. Most Men couldn’t do this –period. You might imagine her to be some amazon, but she’s likely to be one of those woman you hate because she is more super-model than tomboy.

The level of your workout will depend on your fitness and your new best friend– your OB/GYN. If you’re newly preggers and moderately fit you might be overwhelmed and wondering when can you restart your workout — I know I would be! Resuming your program after you conceive is personal and clinical. We resumed four weeks after she popped. She did not have a C-section and we were very careful but ambitious. The typical range is 6-8 weeks, and up to three months following a C-section.

The most profound aspect  for both of us was the ease to transition back into our full-fledged fitness routine. I have noticed with other clients that are not as fit, how hard their pregnancies, are both physically and mentally. Tawnya almost got her six-pack abs three months back into her routine, but believe it or not, then “Miss Thing” decided to have Irish twins. So far so good she is a lean mean baby machine with a new baby bump still swing those kettlebells.

This blog was written around a year ago. Since then I we had to “break-up,” because she lives in Pasadena and My client base is in West Hollywood and the West Side.  I love Tawnya, and miss her more than she will ever know!

Check in for another great tip!

Pregnancy and Fitness

Since I first started off as a fitness coach the standard for pregnancy has been to keep the heart rate below 140 BPM. My athletic clients have seemed to trend over 140 BPM and they have all had very healthily babies. This standard was thought to come from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, but they have never issued the warning. Here is a real quick history lesson, in 1985 when the fitness craze was taking off it was recommended that vigorous exercise was discouraged because it may deprive a fetus of blood and raise a pregnant woman’s core temperature to dangerous levels. In 2002, it was reported by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist that exercise was safe for expecting mothers and a vital part of prenatal heath. This article reveals the thought of the times, “Pregnancy is no longer a condition for confinement.” Funny the way we use to think about pregnancy. I have to say as a dude I didn’t quite know how to approach a strong fit woman as a rookie coach, but I learned that as a standard, women are more athletic than the majority of men, and I’ve worked with the best! Never-the-less the 140 BPM myth lives on. There is no 0ne-size-fits all. I worked with woman that have reduced there level of training while pregnant and others that have plowed right through their training as they did prior to their pregnancy. James M. Pivarnik, Ph.D., director of Center for Physical Activity and Heath at Michigan State University in East Lansing says “once she gets the green light from her physician, a woman can pretty much do whatever her body and lack of symptoms allow her to do.” I totally understand you want to stay fit while you’re expecting, but this isn’t the time to pick up the pace of your routine. As a general rule, it is fine to workout to a point of fatigue but not exhaustion. Use common sense and always check with your doctor first.

Check in tomorrow for another great tip.

Rabbits don’t eat Meat but maybe you should?

If you are watching your calories and eating like a rabbit you might want to start eating a little protein. British researchers found. “When you have as much protein as you want, you tend not to feel deprived.” Says Heather R. Mangieri, R.D., as spokes person for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “And because you’re less likely to overeat things like chicken, (she didn’t say fried chicken) you consume significantly fewer calories without realizing it.” This study found when women who cut back carbs twice a week and ate normally the other five days lost nearly twice as much weight after four months as those who followed a 1,500 calorie diet daily. Men this is good advice for you too. Eating lean farm grown proteins normally don’t create body fat. It’s when consuming manufacture foods like breads and pastas that help to pack on the fat pounds. From my 17 years of being a fitness coach and seeing bodies become leaner; eat more protein, less manufactured carbs, and eat as many greens as you want!

Check in tomorrow for another great blog!

Foods That Build Muscle Part 2

Ground bison or grass fed beef: Leaner than traditional beef, these natural alternatives consist of quality protein, with key amino acids more abundantly found in read meat: carnitine, carnosine and creatine, important in for energy and muscle synthesis.

Beans: A vegetarian’s key source of protein, beans are also 75 percent starch (including a large amount of fiber.)It is a perfect combination for muscle-building.

Cherries: A recent study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2011) Showed that supplementation with cherry juice concentrate before and after intense weight training hastened recovery time and performance over the course of a week.

Why and casein protein powders: Both powders are derived from milk, thus containing high amounts of BCAA’s and will elicit a strong insulinemic effect. Whey is a fast absorbing variety best for post-weigh training workouts, while casein is a slow absorbing protein, best for bedtime to assure adequate nutrients for muscle recovery during sleep.

Eggs and egg whites: Great source of protein, include the yolks to boost vitain D, important for bone and immune health, while additional calories from fat and aid hypertrophy. You can also get Eggs which will help you for example: omega-3 fatty acids are healthy fats that reduce muscle inflammation to encourage muscle repair and help control cortisol! When cortisol levels fall, testosterone levels generally rise, promoting synthesis. consuming a diet rich in omega-3 fats also helps push the majority of glucose you consume into your muscles instead of into bodyfat store. Read my blog:”Fat Free is so 80’s”.”

Squash and zucchini: Two of the many starchy vegetables that provide fiber, along with clean carbohydrates for glycogen repletion (also try eggplant, carrots, peas and corn.)

Chicken & Turkey: (ground breasts) One chicken breast has around 25 grams of protein and only about 130 calories. You will want to get skinless chicken breasts because they are low in fat and cholesterol.

Potatoes (white, sweet, new and red): For hypertrophy, potatoes represent a clean, hypoallergenic carbohydrate source that is quickly absorbed and insulin-producing.

Rice: (brown rice) Key starchy carbohydrates for muscle growth and post-workout to provide fast acting carbs for energy and glycogen repletion. Brown rice is high in fiber, a good staple of any muscle building nutrition program.

Hot cereals (oatmeal, steel cut oats, cream of wheat and even grits) Yes, the old fashion is the great for the new muscle! A great source of complex carbs, more quickly absorbed versions like cream of wheat or even grits are best for muscle recovery and refilling glycogen.

Check in tomorrow for another great Tip

Foods That Build Lean Muscle Part one

Alcohol and Cheat Days Rule #10–A Gay Man’s fitness Secrets for The 10 Gay Rules for eating lean.

In order to off set the ability to burn food for energy it is good to take one day off to eat whatever you want. Yes, I said ONE DAY and if you’re really goal oriented it should really be only one meal, but if you have already reached your desired body completion, one full day of debauchery is good. That said let me now tell you what alcohol does for you. It releases estrogen into your bloodstream, promotes fat storage, and decreases muscle growth. Now afrer all that hard work in the gym, too much sugar, fats or carbs don’t have that effect, in fact nothing does because alcohol is a drug. There are many antibiotics that have the same affect, but who takes those for fun? As soon as you drink that glass of fine wine it takes all the glycogen in your liver and makes you hungry; since your inhibitions are down you’re more likely to eat like crap. You are also just about stop the fat burning process in your body; slowing it down to a snails pace. Prevention Magazine “estimates that just two drinks can cut your fat burning ability by 73 percent.” I can go on this topic for hours, and if you’re a chick you might as well sign yourself up for breast cancer. One study found that alcohol helps develop the most common type of breast cancer tumors, those with both estrogen and progesterone receptors.

Check in tomorrow for another great tip!

The 10 Gay Rules for eating lean–Rule #9 Never let yourself get hungry

Hunger can be a mask for dehydration so drinking lots of water, it will help fat lose and keep hormonal levels in your body balanced. The hunger urge is a powerful subconscious drive and it can make and break your eating program. Once you let yourself get hungry, all bets are off. I would reread  The 9 Gay Rules for Eating – Listen Up Straights!–Rule one in The 10 gay rules for eating lean and keep this list in your smart phone so you can review on the go. Read my blog on  Water really? Yes!

Check in tomorrow for the last rule or click on the link below for the Hydration blog and other articles

The Max Phoenix Effect–Get your Legs ready for summer part 1

10 Gay Rules For Eating Lean–Rule 8 Listen to your Gay Grandpa always eat your breakfast