Nutrition | Tony Cress Personal Training

Archive for the ‘Nutrition’ Category

Roadmap to Ripped- Las Vegas Personal Trainer

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

Roadmap to Ripped? What does that mean exactly? No, you don’t have to go to Las Vegas to understand this, but it might help. Only because I’m here, lending my personal trainer expertise to help you read that roadmap.
OK. So, here’s the situation. Your parents went away on a weeks vacation. Wait. No, that’s wrong. OK. New situation. You want to get ripped. You want to lose fat. And on and on. We all know the feeling. But have you thought about how you are going to do this? Let’s pretend our goal to rippedness, is actually a trip. So. what do we need for our trip? If we are going somewhere we’ve never been before, we need directions. Whether it’s through GPS, or Mapquest, or Rand McNally, someone has to tell us how to get there. Then we have to find our vehicle. Are we going to fly, or take a train? Maybe we’ll drive our own car. Who is coming with us? Do we have travel buddies that would make this trip more enjoyable, or people that could help us find the way? Also, we more than likely will need to fuel up for this trip. Can’t go anywhere without gas. Once we have all that figured out, we are set right? Cross country trip here we go. Not quite. We have to map out points of interest along the way, refueling, and recharging. NOW, let’s be on our way.
Let us translate this into fitness. Minus the Fresh Prince reference, let’s take a look at what we just talked about. We need directions. We can’t go anywhere, unless we know how to get there. If you have no goal, or end point in mind, you’ll just be running circles and using a lot of fuel, for nothing. Make a goal, and figure out how to get there, with specific directions. This could be something like saying you want to lose 10 pounds by March 1st. But if you don’t have any way to do that, more than likely it won’t happen. Maybe you take the advice of someone like me and sign up for a fitness program, and start to learn about nutrition. There are your directions. As far as your vehicle of choice, we aren’t left with many options, as we only have one body, but that’s a good thing, because there is one less thing to think about. Do you have travel buddies? Maybe your spouse, brother, roommate, or co-worker has the same goals as you. You could buddy up, and make this less of a solo mission, and be entertained by your travel companion. Maybe that companion is your trainer. Either way, making the drive yourself is usually less enjoyable. When we are talking about fuel, we are talking about food. Are you going use inferior food to fuel this trip, or are you going to put the premium in, so performance of your vehicle is top notch? We want the cleanest, highest performance food for our bodies. You aren’t going to try and gas up a Lamborghini with the cheap stuff, are you? As far as the points of interest and refueling, if this is a cross country trip, we are going to need to rest at some point, let our body recover, and refuel, and take in the scenery of the journey. Acknowledge the 3 pounds you lost. Notice the new ab you see in the mirror. Enjoy it.
This trip is not always easy, and sometimes, it gets boring. You get tired when it seems like you’ve been driving forever, but you always have to keep that end point in sight. Break up the journey, stop every so often, and you’ll find that this trip isn’t really as long as you thought, and you don’t hate it, but actually enjoy it. The Roadmap to Ripped is usually already around you.

Tags: directions, Fitness, goal, Las Vegas, Personal Trainer, roadmap to ripped
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We All Can’t Be Green Berets- Las Vegas Personal Trainer

Sunday, December 11th, 2011

4077193090 4dd9fd2da8 We All Cant Be Green Berets Las Vegas Personal Trainer I’m watching this thing about Green Beret tryouts right now on Netflix. All these dudes are trying to become Green Berets, and they go through this two week training protocol. This thing is insane. You find out at the end of the two weeks, if you made it or not. They don’t kick you out, they just tell you at the end. Anyway, it would suck. But the things these guys go through mentally, and physically, 99% of us wouldn’t even attempt, let alone for two weeks.

A lot of these guys shouldn’t have even tried to be honest, because right from the get go, you could tell they couldn’t cut it. But guess what, they tried. I’m not asking you to try to be a Green Beret. I’m asking you to try your own hand, at whatever goal it is you want to accomplish. If it’s running a marathon, start running. If it’s losing weight, start eating better. The things these guys attempted to do, without the physical or mental “gifts” some people say are genetic, were hundreds of times harder than trying to eat healthy while having a few kids. Put that into perspective. The effort you put into getting healthy habits, is probably going to be nowhere near the effort some of these “regular folk” are trying to put towards being a Green Beret. Now, go get em!

Tags: goal, Green Beret, losing weight, marathon
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The Biggest Loser- Is NOT Your Weight Loss Plan Las Vegas Personal Trainer

Thursday, December 1st, 2011

the biggest loser The Biggest Loser Is NOT Your Weight Loss Plan Las Vegas Personal Trainer We all have seen The Biggest Loser. The show on TV that basically tells the general public losing 20 pounds in a week is normal. Yeah, well, it’s not. Losing 5 pounds a week isn’t really normal or healthy either. Think about your current state of health. Are you overweight? If the answer is yes, by how much? If you are 20 pounds overweight, how long did it take you to gain those 20 extra pounds? A week? Have you ever tried to gain 20 pounds in a week? How about 5, even? How long did it take you to gain 5 solid, consistent pounds? Not pounds that come and go, but pounds that stick. I am willing to bet more than a week. Possibly even a month. My point is, why, if it took you a while to gain that extra weight, do you THINK it can healthily come OFF in comparatively light speed amounts of time? Now ask yourself another question. If you watch The Biggest Loser, would you watch it, if these people lost on average, 2 pounds a week? I bet that answer is no. They rig the show to have dramatic results, not real life, or real attainable results. Plus, ask any of those people losing massive amounts of weight quickly what their skin looks like. Anyway, take this home. Your should be gradual, not instant. you need a plan physically, mentally, and nutritionally. Don’t think diet, think PLAN. Think Lifestyle. The Biggest Loser, is NOT your weight loss plan.

Tags: attainable, losing 20 pounds, The Biggest Loser, weight loss plan
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Are You On A Diet? HCG, and Other Stuff

Sunday, November 6th, 2011

HCG. Anyone who has anything to do with weight loss has heard of it. Personal trainers, nutritionists, people just trying to shed unwanted pounds. It is definitely a hot topic. But along with HCG, there are a multitude of other “nutrition plans” on the market. I’m sure in your area of the world there are plans like this, just like there are in Las Vegas. Usually these plans aren’t much of a “plan” at all. They all involve restricting calories, which, to a point is ok. Then they all tell you to ingest their own product or “food”. Now, right off, to me, sounds fishy. Let’s take HCG for example. The common practice is to either inject yourself or take drops under your tongue, with the HCG. But under this program, you also limit your daily caloric intake to about 500 calories. I take in an average of 3500 calories a day. Without HCG do you think I might lose some weight eating only 500 a day? But NO.. They say it’s the HCG that is important here, not the fact you are basically going on a starvation diet. But you need to pay for the HCG, so that’s how they get you. Any of these other “diets” do basically another form of the same thing. They come out with their own nutrition product, so they can charge you some fee, to tell you not to eat very much. Smart move by these companies.

You ever hear people say, “Oh, no thank you. I’m on a diet.”? Well, that to me is a funny statement. Usually the people on a diet, eventually have to go on a diet again at some point. It shouldn’t be a temporary thing. Most people I know who have done HCG, have done it more than one time. Which also means they paid more than once. And that, my friend, is how these companies make money. They know the fix isn’t permanent, and if you rely on their method, you’ll be back for more eventually. It puts you in a nasty habit of that diet roller coaster. If people would learn how to eat, and actually go on a REAL plan, one in which no one makes money off of food you eat except the farmers. Let’s face it. If it’s not a lifestyle habit, and you have to do it more than once, it probably doesn’t really work.

It’s a better idea to learn to take in the right amount of foods over time and then learn how to maintain a consistent nutrition program with your bad meals from time to time. I also know in this day and age, we are all about quick results, weddings three weeks away, bikini season, etc. But like they say, patience is a virtue. When you develop that trait, the rewards are much more satisfying. Look elsewhere for your diet fix. Not HCG, or anything you have to pay for, unless it’s a farmers market.

Tags: bikini season, diet, HCG, Nutrition, personal trainers, weight loss
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Quick Way To Lose Fat?- Las Vegas Personal Trainer

Sunday, October 9th, 2011

I have come up with a quick way to lose fat. It’s called liposuction. I will make millions off of this invention. I’m going to quit my job in Las Vegas as a personal trainer, and open a “liposuction studio”. Wait. What’s that you say? this liposuction thing has already been invented? Are you sure? Ok. Well, scratch that then. I’ll just take good old fashioned science as my business. The goal for my company would be to lose fat in a timely manner, and learn how to keep it off. Oh, this liposuction thing takes it off immediately? Oh. Hmm… Does it fix how you eat? NO? How much does it cost? HOW MUCH? Wow. So, it must be permanent then? NO? OK. So you are telling me, that this “liposuction“, a quick way to lose fat, costs thousands of dollars, isn’t permanent, and doesn’t teach you good nutrition habits? So, more than likely, you’ll be getting it again? Sounds like that HCG thing everyone is talking about.

How about, we practice just a little patience, and LEARN how to eat, and train, the proper ways to lose fat quickly? If we change our habits, rather than spend tons of cash on looking good tomorrow for a fleeting minute, we can look good everyday for the rest of our lives. Find some good nutrition information. talk to your personal trainer, or a nutrition specialist, for guidance. As far as your fitness, talk to your certified trainer, or exercise specialist on direction for your workouts. The money you spend here, will be far less than the money you spend at my liposuction store, and you’ll learn a lot more, and realize, you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars if you build the house yourself. Learn a strong foundation, and you’ll realize weight loss is simple. just keep hacking at it, and results will come. But it’s a methodical game. No instant gratification. No shortcuts. You cheat your way through things, and you’ll never learn how to get out of a bind, this one being gaining body fat. Question the subject matter when you hear of a quick way to lose fat.

Tags: HCG, Las Vegas, liposuction, Nutrition, Personal Trainer, quick way to lose fat
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Motivation and Willpower- Personal Trainer Las Vegas

Sunday, October 2nd, 2011

Motivation and Willpower. Two things integral in succeeding at your goals. And both, can come from places you didn’t initially think. Being a personal trainer, in Las Vegas, the city of sin and temptation, I have to deal with both. Clients finding the motivation, and the willpower to stay on the right track to becoming healthy and achieving all their fitness goals. What you will find here in Las Vegas, are roadblocks and excuses. Both in plenty supply. Every weekend there is a party, or a fight, or a DJ, or a concert that you just HAVE to go to, because, you couldn’t go to the one next week. Or the week after that. With all those events comes the drinking, and eating horribly. Just because you go to whatever high class steak house in whatever casino, doesn’t mean you HAVE to get a 24oz steak, and their gourmet mashed potatoes. But, people will justify their decisions as such. I’m going to give you a few tips, that will not only help in Las Vegas, but will also help wherever you live, to get more of these two key components.

Motivation, you should be able to find within. The simplest way to do this is to visualize you at your goal points. How does it feel? What will YOU be feeling, looking like, accomplishing when you get to your goals? Another good option is to unknowingly recruit external motivators. Your friends. Schedule workouts with them, try a new healthy eating spot, update them on your status, even if they don’t ask:) Try to get them to be an active part of your fitness journey, but if they aren’t, then there are always virtual fitness buddies, who can hold you accountable. Most people are motivated, they just need to keep that motivation turned on. So, surround yourself with it!

Willpower is a whole other quality, that most people don’t understand. You don’t run out of willpower, although people think you do. For example. If you love cake, and you keep going to birthday parties, eventually, you’ll eat some cake. Two things are wrong with this. One, you didn’t plan ahead, and two, you keep setting yourself up for failure. Your willpower doesn’t just come at the point of contact. Willpower is an ongoing thing. This means planning for those obstacles. If you are going to go to 5 birthday parties in 3 weeks, you probably know this. So, what should you do before each party? One, you should eat before you go. Two, you should maybe pack some healthy treat, for when people are eating cake, you eat that. I know that people love birthday parties, but maybe you just stop by for a few minutes, and not be surrounded by the things that will make you go backwards from your goals. Don’t hang out, with your temptations just looming right next to you on the table. This is kind of exaggerated, but you can’t say that an alcoholic has no willpower if you make them sit in a fully stocked bar for hours. Don’t surround yourself with the things that can break your willpower. It will be easier to keep it up.

Just a few tips on a couple key components in the game of goals, fitness and otherwise. Learn how to harness Motivation and Willpower, and you’ll reach those goals much quicker than you think.

Tags: Fitness, goals, Las Vegas, motivation, Personal Trainer, Willpower
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Lifting Weights Is For Girls- Las Vegas Personal Trainer

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Lifting weights is for girls. Let’s face it. It’s for guys too, of course. But there are people out there, especially women, who think they shouldn’t lift weights, because they don’t want to get too bulky, or they don’t know how to lift, or they are allergic to metals. None of which are reasons to deny the beast. I would say, unless you are extremely blessed, and in the top 1% of the world, if you lift weights correctly, and don’t take steroids, you aren’t going to get bulky muscles. That bulk, that you THINK you’ll gain, is actually still your fat. Lose the remaining fat, and those “muscles” that were formerly “bulky“, are now, beautiful. If you don’t know how to lift weights, there are people like me, personal trainers, and other fitness professionals that would be very eager to teach you the fundamentals for a very low fee that will prove more valuable than limited edition Pokemon cards. And finally, if you are allergic to metals, they make rubber weights, there are sandbags, tires you can flip, water weights, ropes, and all kinds of other tools that have nothing to do with iron.

I’m not going to leave the men out of this either. When you are trying to get ripped up, don’t sit on a treadmill for two hours, go lift weights, and MOVE. Don’t stop. Get it. Get it. Think of it as high intensity interval training. Move from one exercise to the next, keeping that heart rate high. Not only will you not lose muscle, but you’ll tell your body fat to take a hike.

These should be reasons enough for both men and women. So, yeah. Lifting weights IS for girls.

Tags: bulky, fat, girls, Las Vegas, Lifting Weights, muscles, Personal Trainer
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Build Muscle, Burn Fat- Las Vegas Personal Trainer

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

You need to build muscle. You also need to burn fat. Wouldn’t it just be awesome, if doing one, would help the other? Well, luckily for you, it does. Your personal trainer is here, at your service, to tell you, it’s not as difficult as you think. Let’s just make todays blog post very simple. I have a few clients who wear those monitors showing you how many calories you burn throughout the day. I also own one. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can check out the one that I own, here. Well, let’s say these things are accurate. Right now, it says that I burn on average 3200 calories a day, at rest. Because I’m active, have a low body fat percentage, and weigh 190 pounds, I can eat 3200 calories each day, and not change a thing. One of my clients, who, let’s say weighs 150, burns about 1700 calories at rest, but has a higher body fat percentage than me. So I burn almost twice as many calories, but don’t weigh twice as much. I have a much lower body fat percentage, so I in turn, have more muscle. I won’t gain fat nearly as easily, because I have a higher ceiling for the amount of calories I can consume. So wouldn’t it make sense, if you don’t want to gain excess fat, to build muscle? Just based on these numbers alone, you would want to build a couple of pounds of muscle, regardless of your weight. Let’s be honest. In Las Vegas especially, but throughout the nation, we have become a society of over-eaters. So if you go past your allotted calories for the day, where do you think that excess is going to end up? Not in a six pack, but in a keg. It will result ultimately, in you storing body fat. So whether you are 150 pounds, 300 pounds, or 90, it would make sense to put a little muscle on your frame, if, only for that extra calorie cushion. And look at it this way too. If you build muscle, and don’t eat more than your daily needs, what do you think is going to happen? You will burn fat, because, your body needs extra calories now for energy, and the first thing your body will look at, is stored body fat. So, it’s a plus two! Build muscle, burn fat, and if you want, you can eat just a little more!

Tags: body fat, build muscle, burn fat, Las Vegas, Personal Trainer, six pack
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Six Pack Abs and Lower Body Fat Tips- Las Vegas Personal Training

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

You want six pack abs. You want to get lower body fat. I deal with that every single day being a personal trainer in Las Vegas. No one really wants to know the real answer to how you get six pack abs, which to be honest, is pay attention to your diet, get great workouts, and don’t really deviate from the program at hand. Most of the people who do that, and not some VARIANCE of that, all have six pack abs, and don’t necessarily need to listen to this. For the ones that don’t, here are just a few tips, with no explanation included today, to help you get results. Because, that’s really what we want. Doesn’t matter how it works, just that it does. (I have NO idea how this computer works, but I do like that I can type on it and send out this blog!) So, without further ado:

1. Eat WAY More Fruits and Vegetables- You load up on these, and you will watch weight loss happen right before your eyes. Most people get 1 serving of fruits and vegetables a day. ONE! Even the Food Pyramid says 5-11 servings of fruits and vegetables. Switch out the chips and processed crap for these nutritious items. With that being said….

2. Eat More Protein- If I had one thing to say to people about how to get ripped in a hurry it would be this: Pair a protein, with a vegetable every time you eat, and you will be ripped, period. your protein can come from whatever source you want, chicken, turkey, lean beef, soy, dairy, whey and the list goes on.

3. Do The Right Kind Of Cardio- Your 45 minutes on the treadmill is not going to cut it. You need to look into High Intensity Interval Training(HIIT). There is an interesting article by a great trainer named Ryan Halvorson in Details Magazine going further into this.

4. Don’t Drink The Kool-Aid- Too many people in Las Vegas fall prey to this, and I’m sure it happens elsewhere. You really want to lose body fat, quit taking shots, quit drinking beer, and quit it with your Captain and Cokes.

5. Do Total Body Movements, Not Crunches- You don’t have to do a million and a half sit ups to get abs. Try integrating moves like burpees and squat jumps where your abs have to brace you, to build strength in your gut.

6. Get Some Rest- Your body needs the rest to recover and build strength and burn the fat. So try to get anywhere between 7-10 hours of sleep a night.

That’s it. Follow those 6 tips, and you’ll be on your way. It’s really a lot simpler than you would think, just takes a little dedication and drive. That’s all. Six pack abs, and lower body fat are definitely within your reach.

Tags: Las Vegas, lower body fat, Personal Trainer, six pack abs
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