RICH SEYMOUR'S/FIT SCHOOL...Fit tip!

Be Punctual

Whether you’re trying to get shredded or pack on the mass, always eat immediately after training. Is it pointless if you wait longer than three minutes after your final rep to chug your protein shake? No, but you shouldn’t wait more than an hour after training that’s just too long. When you hit the iron, your hormones and enzyme processes go haywire and demand energy in the form of carbs and protein to get the body back to a state of balance. If you eat fairly soon after exercise, you match up supply with the body’s demands. If you wait, demand wanes. Calories taken in after the one-hour window are still used for recovery and growth but not nearly to the same extent.

Today’s To Do List

Today’s To Do List

Implement the following suggestions immediately for better muscle gains and better long-term health.

1. Drink a gallon of water throughout the day.
2. Increase fiber consumption.
3. Increase vegetable and fruit consumption to eight or more servings daily.
4. Make a doctor’s appointment for a full physical with blood work.
5. Supplement's for recovery. (See “Supplement Regimen” below for specific guidelines.)
6. Plan workout and recovery strategies.
7. Get a good night’s sleep (at least eight hours).

Balance...mind , body soul & your supplement regimen.

Make no mistake about it a lean muscular body can be achieved with food alone, but you can make your journey easier with the help of supplements. Here are some of the proven basics to help lay the foundation for extreme growth. I have tried them all and yes they are very much part of my daily regimen.

Protein Shakes

These provide one of the easiest ways to assist your muscle-building program. It can be challenging (and expensive) for anyone to get in all the protein they need from whole-food protein sources. To supplement your whole-food intake, drink up to three protein shakes a day pre- and postworkout and before bed are great times to rely on a protein-powder concoction. Before bed I like a slower digesting protien like casien.

Dosage:
Down a protein shake 25 g of whey protein and 50 g of simple carbs before you work out and then another after. Before bed, use a product that has about 25 g of casein protein.

Creatine

This supplement boasts numerous benefits for health, recovery and muscle building. When taken before workouts, it helps drive nutrients and fluids into your muscles, helping you to lift more weight or get extra reps. Ultimately, this effect helps build more strength and muscle mass. Safe you ask? I believe all the studies done on this one have come through with passing grades!

Dosage:
Take 3-5 g of creatine before and after your workouts, for up to 10 g per day.

Glutamine

The most prevalent amino acid in the body, glutamine promotes a healthy immune system response for better recovery from training. It also enhances digestion and protects muscle mass from breaking down, which is likely to occur when your body perceives a glutamine shortage.

Dosage:
Take 5-10 g of glutamine first thing in the moming, before and after training, and before bed.

Arginine
AHH how I love this in a big dose before the gym Arginine helps promote a pump the full muscular sensation you get when your target muscles are engorged with blood and fluids by “opening up” your circulatory system. The influx of fluids delivers nutrients to muscles and helps encourage growth.

Dosage:
Take 3-5 g of arginine about 30 minutes before you work out and two more doses at other times of the day.

BCAA’s
The branched-chain amino acids are leucine, isoleucine and valine. These key aminos not only specifically support muscle growth, but they also help maintain muscle mass during a dieting phase.

Dosage:
Take doses of 5-10 g of BCAAs on an empty stomach in the morning, as well as before and after workouts. I recently started mixing in additional 5 grams in my water to sip during my training, I have found I do not fatigue as quickly.

Multivitamin/Multimineral pack

Look folks the simple truth is recent studies have shown no positive results with the use of a multi in both healthy or unhealthy individuals, I have chosen to bag this one altogether so you can think of these as insurance policies if you must take one the demands of a fitness lifestyle can cause shortages in specific vitamins or minerals. A good multi will contain vitamins C, D and E, as well as a range of vitamin Bs and minerals. Remember this is what the manufactures claim but again no science proves this....sorry.

Dosage:
Take a multivitamin/multimineral pack or pill once or twice a day with food. Look for brands that provide 100% of the daily value of C, D, E, most Bs, zinc, copper and chromium.

Final thoughts: Do your research and spend your money wisely.

Working in an Office or Working at Home: Which is Better For Your Waistline?

Has there ever been a better-named snack than this one? Why do we not have these in the US?? I need some crunky nudity!

"What smells like... salsa?" My coworker at the computer lab (told you I was a born nerd!) looked around until his eyes settled on me, eating lunch tucked into my cubicle. "What is that thing?" he screeched as if he'd caught me gorging on rat innards. This of course caused all my coworkers to come popping out of their cubes like a life-size game of whack-a-mole.

"It's a red pepper," I replied simply. Due to time constraints I hadn't bothered to cut it up and was just eating it whole, like an apple. The moles retreated.

"I thought peppers were just green. They come in red?" he asked, clearly flustered.

"And yellow and orange. Sometimes purple."

"And you just eat it?"

"I just eat it." Ah the days when fresh produce was newsworthy!

I was a lot skinnier in college. This is not unique to me of course - chalk it up to the nuclear metabolisms of youth. For me, however, I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that I was never home. For one thing I had a roommate who was being stalked by debt collectors who insisted on yelling at any female who answered the phone but it also helped that I was as neurotic as they come using every hour not in class or working to study.

Ignoring for a moment the periods where I was actively eating disordered, it seemed to be easier to control what I ate when I wasn't around my kitchen all the time. (Note: it was also much easier to be eating disordered in college.) I'm the planning queen so while office mates were hitting the vending machines for a meal of chewy Runts and diet Dew, I was pulling out my tupperware of salad with sliced pears and cheese crumbles. I hardly ever snacked and I only ate when I was really hungry. (Sometimes really really hungry - I was a terrible meal skipper).

All of which is a far cry from my life now where, thanks to demanding little people, snacks are on the agenda about every waking hour. There is always food on the table, the counters, the floor, and in my baby's neck rolls. (Note to new moms: make sure to lift up your little darling's chin when you bathe him or her. Tons of gunk gets stuck down there and since babies have no necks, you never see it. I learned this the hard way when I found black specks all over my baby's neck. I was sure he had fleas and rushed him to the doctor's. Turns out they were Oreo cookie crumbs. From me. That I'd eaten while I was nursing him. Don't be me.) ANYHOW, as much as I'd like to say that I never eat the PB&J crusts or the soggy nub of a cheese stick, I totally do. In addition to all the visible food, since I do all the shopping our cupboards are filled with food that I love to eat. So when I get writer's block or just hit with a block (happens more than you'd think), it's all too easy to de-stress standing in front of the freezer with a fork and a pint of ice cream. The last issue is how much of my life I spend cooking - I've already 'fessed up to cooking about 20 out of 21 meals a week - and when I cook, I taste. Sometimes I taste so much I have "tasted" an entire meal before even sitting down with my family.

But while I do impart a glossy sheen to my pre-child work days (I could wear a cute top with a skirt and heels without anyone asking me why I'm dressed up so fancy and then bursting into tears because that usually means I'm going somewhere without my entourage of minis.) I do remember the pitfalls of the office diet. Many of my working friends, and quite a few of you in the comments section of my last Intuitive Eating post, reminded me how hard it is to eat healthily at work. Between the client dinners and the office doughnuts and the face cake for everyone's birthdays, the office can be a minefield of temptation. Not to mention the lack of kitchen facilities for fresh food prep and storage, the overtime and the lunch hours that slowly turn into lunch minutes between meetings.

So! Which is better - working in an office or working at home? Cue the mompetition! Second only to the "does this make me look fat" conversation, the career vs. stay-at-home argument is generally a guaranteed way to end up with hurt feelings, strained friendships and possibly a stiletto heel in your eye. Thankfully for me, I'm only talking about which is better for your waistline, not the cosmic implications of where you choose to raise your Special Ovarian Deliveries. (You will notice that I use the phrase "working" in both descriptions because having done both I will tell you that it's hard work no matter which venue you choose to do it in. You may also note that I choose to refrain from limiting the fun to one gender- um, dudes can totally wear stilettos too. Lots of Daddies work at home these days.) The research says that people are more likely to overeat when they are stressed out and their cortisol levels rise so perhaps it's just a question of who stresses you out more - your kids or your boss?

There are advantages and disadvantages to both but I'm going to vote that for me, being in a different zip code than my refrigerator really quells my predilection for mindless grazing. What's your vote? Do you do better with your eating at home or at work? At home - what are your tips to keep from grazing? At work - what are your tricks for avoiding the candy jar? And - anyone else eat ice cream with a fork? I cannot use a spoon; it just feels wrong!

COMING SOON!

With Nationals behind me and a bit of an offseason ahead of me, I finally have the time needed to dedicate to the creation of a VIP section to my website, www.alli-fitness.com!

I'm looking forward to housing my collection of recipes, articles, supplement reviews, training techniques and tips, as well as videos of myself training, exercise instruction, and cooking!! I'll also be hosting my personal daily nutrition journal and exercise log in my members section as well as posing videos, and tips for preparing for photo shoots AND contests! There will be entire sections dedicated to cooking, recipes, and nutrition, as well as my "competitor's corner" which will house a wealth of information about prepping for a show, diet and training methods, nutrient manipulation, supplements for weight loss AND muscle gain, and much much more!!

My VIP section is still grossly "in the works" and has a ways to go, but once launched I'm looking forward to REALLY sharing my passion for this sport, for nutrition and exercise with the public! Access to the VIP section will be done through a variety of options including a one time fee as well as monthly fees and will allow the user access to a REALM of information about health, fitness, training, nutrition, beauty, as well as insight into my personal training and exercise regime. It will be a great way to interact with me, and with other users as well! I'm looking to establish an interactive network of support so all users can not only read my materials, but interact with myself, AND others as well!

Be sure to check back for updates, and look for the VIP area to launch in early 2011!

Running 101: Get a Professional Shoe Fitting

Gorgeous sunny morning. Nice cool - but not cold - temps. Crisp clean air. Beautiful scenery. And to top it all off, an awesome new playlist on my MP3 player. Indeed, all the makings of a magnificent long run. Which it was (my pace time surprised me so much that I rechecked it on 3 separate websites to make sure I wasn't imagining things). Unfortunately, my perfect run was marred by one little thing: a blister breaking out on my right arch. Sadly, I realized as I unlaced my sneaks, my gut feeling was confirmed that these were not good shoes and I was going to have to revisit my shoe options. I didn't want to admit that my beloved Asics had failed me but it was true. This was the 3rd style I've tried since the demise of my beloved GT-2120's and each had been worse than the last.

Not knowing where to begin, I started with one of those 100-page advertorial spreads so commonly found in magazines this time of year. One of these yearly staples is the "Perfect Shoe Guide" which purports to help you find the perfect shoe for your foot. If you've ever read one of these, you discover very quickly that you need to be on intimate terms with your body. First you need to decide what type of exerciser you are. Are you a runner? A jogger? A walker? A trail runner? A trail runner who jogs up hills and sometimes walks when the scenery is really gorgeous? Second, you need to know your arch type - high, normal or so flat you'll never have to worry about getting drafted. Generally they tell you to step with wet feet on a paper bag and then match your imprints to the pictures in the guide. Lastly, you need to know what your "pronation" status is. It's at this point that I generally get so frustrated that I stop reading all together and go surf the web for cute workout pants (although then I need to know my waist measurement and my inseam and ... why are women's clothes so complicated??).

So, I started by looking up pronation. While the definition is pretty simple - it's the degree you roll to the outside or inside of your foot when you run - telling whether you do it is not. It's hard to watch yourself run without smacking into stationary objects. For the first time in my warehouse-shopping, bargain-hunting, online-sale-loving life I realized it was time to call in a shoe professional.

So I trotted myself off to Runner's Gate, a running boutique near my home*. The first thing I noticed was the indoor track that went around the sales floor. It was probably 50 laps to a mile but I suppose it could keep the sales staff entertained on slow days. The second thing that caught my eye was the lack of shoes. Being used to shopping in stores that rightly end in -house, I was surprised to see one wall with three shelves of shoes. That's it. The last thing I noticed was that I was the only customer in the store which meant I got the devoted attention of the owner Phil.

After listening to me babble about how Asics are the only shoes that have ever worked for me and my left foot is a half size bigger than my right and how I have to shave the hair on my big toe or else it looks like a daddy longlegs and scares my children (true story) he sat back in his little rolly chair and said, "Well, let's see it. Take your shoes off."

I'd expected this. And yet I'd still forgotten to wear socks. Or fix my self-mutilated pedicure. Or shave my big toe.

Phil did not recoil in horror. Although he did ask me if I preferred cushioned or non-cushioned socks as he proffered me a basket of demo socks to try on. Cushioned? I didn't even realize that was an option. All my gym socks come from Target or TJ Maxx where they only have one kind and the Puma logo may or may not be backwards on them.

While I was debating sock philosophies in my head, Phil was evaluating my feet. His verdict? High arches, no pronation (so I'm a "neutral" runner), and MY FEET ARE THE SAME SIZE. I KNOW. How have I lived all my life with these feet and thought I was a normal-arched over-pronater with freak-show feet? How could I have been so wrong?!

According to Phil's assessment I'd been running in the wrong shoes for years. He brought out a stack of boxes, one pair of each neutral shoe he carried. I pulled the first pair out of the box. "Oooh pretty!" I gushed over the hot pink, gray and black kicks.

He frowned at me. "Function first."

Oh, right. I dutifully jogged around the track to see how they felt while inside I was thinking about how weird it is to have someone watch me run. Is my stride too long? My arms too stiff? Heaven help me, do I have a Phoebe Run??

To his credit, not once during the try-on fest (8 pairs, I believe) did he laugh at me. Not even when I told him the reason I need new shoes is so I can run the Monster Dash in full costume in a week and a half. In fact, he even helped me troubleshoot how to make wings that would be more aerodynamic than the ones I found at Target! In between laps, Phil let me pick his brain about various running trends: Barefoot? Good for the short occasional workout, not great outdoors or for long distances. Shaper shoes? Utter ridiculousness. Newtons? Pricey but will indeed help make you faster but only if you don't have any existing biomechanical issues with your gait. Talk about your full-service shop!

After the frenzied circle running, I decided on the shoes that felt the best. And they weren't the Asics. I got a pair of Saucony Ride 3 shoes. The pretty pink/gray/black ones, even. I'd never even tried Sauconys before. The snobby part of me always ignored them as they were cheaper and I figured cheap shoes couldn't be good shoes. But then I took them for a run. No blisters, no hot spots, no shin splints or calf cramps. Nothing but good sweaty running! A hard 9 on the treadmill where I sweated so much my ponytail (little nubbin that it is these days) was dripping water down my back and my shorts were so soaked that it looked like I'd wet myself (perhaps I did! Ever since childbirth I can't be sure my bladder isn't pulling one over on me.) didn't even phase them.

Of course once I got home I immediately looked up my new shoes on my fave discount shoe websites. They were 5$ cheaper online. But you know what? The 5$ was more than worth it to finally have someone help me find the right shoe. Oh, and to discover that my feet really are the same size. (Whatever will I talk about at parties now?!)

What are your favorite running shoes? Have you ever had your gait and feet analyzed by a professional? Cushioned or non-cushioned socks? Have you ever been surprised to discover one of your body parts was not what you thought it was??

*FCC: I was not paid, given free or discounted merchandise or compensated in any way by Runner's Gate nor by Saucony. Sadly. It would have been nice to get free shoes! Saucony - call me when you need a new spokesgirl!

I Pray. Do you?

Those of you who know me, know I truly believe in a holistic view of health- meaning I believe that complete health comes from physical, mental, emotional, AND spiritual health- combined. Yet of all the things I've blogged about, written about, and emailed my clients about, spiritual health has seemed to have fallen by the wayside. I guess that's because of all the things I've written about, the fact that I pray daily is something I've been rather sheepish about. Confessing that I believe in God and work to cultivate a relationship with Him is something that's been harder for me to discuss- I guess because along with owning up to a connection with God, comes the "Jesus Freak" connotation. You know what I mean. The "holier then thou", "believe as I believe" Bible thumping hands raised in the air in obnoxious worship type personality that drives everyone (including me) MAD with annoyance.

Well, it's safe to say I'm NOT one of those. Not even close. My prayers are pretty simple. Most times they feel more like conversations then anything formal. In fact sometimes they're hardly prayers at all, more or less comments to God throughout the day, statements made when I'm flustered, or declarations made during dark moments. "Okay, God, little help here", I'll say, or I'll ask for direction on how to do or say the right thing. I try to open my heart up so the next day will be just a little bit better. I don't tell many people I do this, especially most of the fitness people I tend to surround myself with. A sport so focused on the body does not tend to be a foundation for "God discussion." I know most people tend to get uncomfortable as soon as the God topic comes up. I know I did. In fact some of you are probably twitchy right about now.

Since I've started making a living in fitness and nutrition I've been realizing more and more just how many divine little mysteries lie in our everyday lives. Who figured out how to connect the muscles in the body? Who propels the body to run, to lift, to jump, to swim? Who figured out that some beets should be red, others golden, and some swirled like candy canes? What blessed entity invented cacao pods and vanilla beans or figured out that salt can preserve or brighten anything? What are we to make of a hundred different varieties of lettuce and the brilliant combinations of apple families and different oranges and pears and potato varieties? Who created melons and pork and peanuts? Or the miracle that is peanut butter??

Things get mysteriously divine if you start thinking about the way the body works and the way our bodies metabolize and handle different foods. When you consider food varieties and the miracle that is nutrition, you start to think about the miracle of the human body- what it can do, what it's capable of, and what we do with it on a daily basis as athletes.

So much of what we do is grounded in faith- we try a certain exercise because a trainer told us to- and we have faith it will work. We do the same with our nutrition. Because someone told us oats and sweet potatos over doughnuts and cereal, we have faith. We take chances grounded in what we're told because we have faith we are doing the right thing. And once we tried those exercises, or those foods, we became believers, because we saw they worked. We spread the word to others, who tried them in faith as well, they became believers. Entire cultures have been built on similar levels of faith and trust.

Maybe you can argue away all of that "magic" through cold hard science. It's not God but science that dictates how our bodies work, how we metabolize food, etc. Well, fine. So let's move to something you CAN'T use science to argue about. Can the cold hard facts of science explain that magic moment that settles into a person's eyes when they LOVE a new exercise? Or the look on a woman's face when she sees that scale drop 5 lbs? What about the explanation of the way it feels to run, steady and strong? People glow when they exercise, when they eat right, when they feel GOOD about themselves. To me, those types of moments, those "zen" moments ought to be proof to ANYONE that something greater then us is at work here. It's part of why I have faith, but it doesn't explain why I pray my ass off daily.

I suppose I don't discuss it because I don't want to give the wrong impression. Maybe it's because I'm afraid it makes me look weak. I suppose I assume some people will scoff. There are assumptions that come with praying, and the last thing I want is to be lumped into the "religious zealot" category of Bible bumping crazies.

There is a saying that "religion is for those who fear hell, and spirituality is for those who have been there." Now I'm not saying I've been through a hurricane, but I have been through my own little piece of hell, and I have been tested. Being tested strengthens faith, and that's the kind of faith I want. The kind that's been tested, messed with, spit on, and scorched. The kind that's prevailed. I've struggled with my own number of demons, both internal and external, and maybe I just needed to stop doubting my own experience with faith in order to openly admit that I pray.

Religion produces people who are judgmental- of themselves and others. Spirituality produces an open heart, and open mind, and a loving soul. There is a peace and patience that comes from a deep spiritual relationship with God. I strive every day to see this world as a beautiful world, and to be open to God's presence in it. It's what's seen me through trials. It's what's strengthened my faith, both in myself and in God.

So even now, when I'm down on myself, or when I'm scraped to the bare metal and I'm struggling, I think about trying to see the world as a beautiful place, a place I should be gratefu to be, despite the odds. Praying helps me to do that.

Throughout my life I've wafted in and out of hell, sometimes for short vacations, sometimes for day trips, and sometimes for extended stays I thought would NEVER end. And I know I will have more trials. When I do, I will pray my way through those as well. Without shame. Without embarrassment. And with an open heart.

So whomever you pray to- Buddha, nature, God, or other, just make sure you work to cultivate the peace and patience and spirituality within yourself....with an open heart. :)