IMPACT Corner Questions June 2012

What is the best thing to eat before an early morning run 5:15 am?

Love the early morning workouts.  If it’s this early, I would do a swig of orange juice or just pure water.  I have a tough time eating that early myself.

If you feel you need more, go with something light:  a piece of fruit, yogurt, or toast with almond butter.  Come back afterwards and have a bowl of oatmeal, egg-white omelette loaded with veggies, and protein shake.

I’ve hit a plateau. I eat healthy and workout hard one hour a day. How do I lose the last 4lbs?

Hard to say without knowing exactly what you are doing.  I would say start to log your workouts and what you are eating.  This is always a good first start.  Other things could be, “what” exactly are you eating and “when” are you eating it.  I believe that nutrient timing is extremely important in fat-loss and performance and this is something that a journal or log may reveal.

Lastly, I know you have probably been told a thousand times, but don’t get glued to your scale-weight.  Take some pictures of yourself in a bikini and measure your inches around your waist and hip.  These numbers and a photo tend to give a more accurate depiction of your success anyway.

Thoughts on Paleo?

Love Paleo.  I don’t follow a strict Paleo diet but the more you can eat food from the earth and limit  processed food, the better.

What are some creative ideas to getting picky eaters in your family, i.e. my wife and kids, to eat healthier?

Great question.  Only buy healthy food.  Sooner or later they have a choice…starve or eat what’s available.

When one want to hold on to their muscles not gain any but burn off unwanted body fat, should the exercises contain more cardio (running, biking, Stairmaster etc.) or certain sets of weightlifting, what is more efficient?

Both.  You need to lift weights to keep the lean muscle tissue and keep the metabolism jacked up.  I would recommend 3-4 days per week.  You need the cardio to keep the fat off.  30-45 minutes per day 3-5 days per week.

And remember, regardless of how much you train, “you can’t out-train a bad diet.”

I love brown sugar with my oatmeal. I have oatmeal with brown sugar everyday. Should I skip the brown sugar n find a healthier sweetener like honey, cinnamon, etc?

First off, great question.  I would recommend adding a pinch of cinnamon (great for recovery also) and either honey or agave.  Honey and agave are plant derivatives and considered a more “natural” sweetener.  It’s just breaking the sugar habit Bob.  Get it done.

Do you guys use a one specific person for sales in your training department?

Patrick, we have several people that do “consultations” when someone is interested in training or our services.  It is important that you establish your “system” and then teach your system to the one person or team of people that will be administering your consultations.

But as always, I tell all trainers that they need to work on their business skills and it’s not just the job of one person to “sell” training.  Selling is about educating.  No one likes to be sold anything.  Teach people what you know and let them make informed decisions that will help improve the quality of their life.

Supplements… I am spending a small fortune at GNC. Which ones are best.

Depends on your goals and what you are looking for.  But for most people, I recommend the following: multi-vitamin/mineral; glutamine, fish-oils, branch-chain amino-acids, and a whey-protein isolate for recovery shakes.