Your Health Coach

10/24/2021

I’ve noticed a lot of people in the gym spending a lot of unnecessary energy on a magnitude of exercises for one body part rather than focus on doing 2 or 3 primary movements really well. I refer to this as old school. Unless you’re into bodybuilding and are at that stage where you want to sculpt weak areas, it’s all pointless. This is why everybody looks the same after months of training. For chest and back, focus on a bench press variation (bar or dumbbells). and bent over rows for 6 to 8 sets each. You can follow that up with an incline press and pull-ups. Focus your energy on building your strength and increased muscle size, and you’ll be far more successful. Also, don’t waste your time on the weight machines and be real, keep your ego in check.

01/13/2021

Each gram of carbohydrate (fruits, starches, grains, legumes, etc.) consumed retains 3-4 grams of body water. If you go on a low carbohydrate diet, you will see a dramatic weight loss in your first week due to retaining less water. Your weight loss should level off by the second week. Sustainable and realistic weight loss is about one to one and half pounds a week. You’ll see much higher numbers than that on your first week depending on how high you cut back on your carbs. Muscle makeup is about 75% water versus 25% for body fat.

To remain hydrated, the average person needs about 12 cups of water a day. We get about 4 cups from the food we consume so need to replenish 8 cups daily. Coffee and tea consumption, if not excessive, can be included in your daily intake. Replenishing water loss through exercise is in addition to your daily total, especially if you sweat heavily. Alcohol consumption can not be included in your fluid intake. If anything, it’ll make it worse. More on that at a later date.

06/17/2020

Interesting fun fact: when you’re watching your macros (protein, carbs and fats), look at your milk and yogurt consumption as part of your carb intake, not protein. The reason is these foods contain a higher carb makeup than protein or fat. While it is true we eat food which contain a variety of macros and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), if you need to fine tune what you eat, then focus on foods that are higher in the macro you want. Greek yogurt and cottage cheese are great protein sources because their carb and fat content is very low. Fruits and whole grains are better carb sources because they also offer fibre and more vitamins. Also, unless your vegetarian or vegan, nuts are sources of fat, not protein. The fat content is way too high to benefit from the small amount of protein you’d get from them. Animal sources of protein are better resources for achieving your daily intake.

06/16/2020

I hope you are doing well. These are difficult times as we’ve been told many times over, and I’ve managed to keep up some form of routine through my own workouts, and trying to eat as healthy as posssible. The challenge is making due with what I have on hand, but must admit I’m probably luckier than most. I have access to a large range of dumbbells and bands, and recently pulled out of storage my barbell and cast iron plates I must have bought when I was a teenager. Overall, its not near the weight I’m used to using at the club, but it’s better than what most have access to. I have no benches or racks so everything is done off the floor and is spread throughout the house. It’s challenging but it works. I manage to do a leg workout on Monday, chest and back on Wednesday and glutes on Friday. There is so much more I should be doing but like everybody else, sometimes you need to wrap your head around what’s missing first, and appreciate the importance they play in achieving your goals. The key to success is committing to an action and doing it consistently over and over again. The measurement of that action will tell you if it’s working or not.

How are you making out working out at home and what challenges have you had to overcome? Are you still looking for solutions? Working with clients virtually has brought many challenges on how to perform resistance training with little to no equipment, but it is possible with some imagination.

Attached is my assortment of dumbbells ready to go. I al;so want them readily available if I need them for exercise demo purposes when needed. There are sets in 5, 10, 20, 25, 35 and 45 lb dumbbells plus a 20 lb kettlebell.

05/14/2020

Great bit!!

12/09/2019

Most stress is manageable if you take responsibility for how you got there and be proactive. You are not a victim. I present some solutions for your consideration here.

Being in a continuous cycle of stress is dangerous to your health. It wears you down. There is no recovery. It makes you susceptible to getting sick in the short term, but it can also affect your health in the long term as well. There are many documented lifestyle diseases associated with stress sta...

12/02/2019

Gary Fischer was a major contributor to this site over serval years. His last entry was May 4, and he died of complications from lung cancer on May 10 at Toronto General Hospital with me by his side. He was my partner in life, friend and sole mate. For friends and family who follow my page, this is old news, but for the rest of you, I wanted to share this news since a void from his loss has been definitely created.
As we approach 7 months since his passing, I'm coming out of my grieving and looking to put life back into this page. I would prefer to do this through original content. I'll also be switching it up focusing on on-line personal training and lifestyle versus nutrition coaching.
I look forward to your continued support and hope I can keep you engaged in the future as you have been in the past.