It’s men’s health month here at Empower. With Father’s day just around the corner and the summer reaching peak all of us guys are still looking for ways to feel and look our best.
Do you have mid-day crashes? Do you wish you could just drop that extra 10 pounds? Do you feel lethargic through most of the day? Bloated (yes, this is not only a problem women have but the difference is theirs is hormonal, ours is something else.) If any of these things apply I have one cure all for all of it.
Nutrition.
That’s right. No matter how much you work out, no matter how many days a week you hit the gym, no matter how often you stare into the mirror and ask that dreaded question, if your nutrition sucks you’ll never even get close to six-pack abs or <10% body fat.
Nutrition is the one key that virtually everyone can improve on. Stop. Wait. Go back and read that sentence again. I’m talking to you, the guy who read that the first time and said my nutrition is pretty good. No it isn’t. It sucks. It may not suck as bad as others but trust me it still sucks. Everyone, E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E can benefit from changes to their nutrition.
Here’s a nice quick article to read that can help you make some quick changes.
There are a few key fundamentals that are in this short article that are kind of hidden but can be applied to an even broader range of nutrition advice.
1) Just because it is low-fat doesn’t mean it’s okay to indulge in. (i.e. see Pretzels.)
2) If you gobble down a big burger or even a smoothie or high calorie protein drink after your workout you just set yourself back. I never understand why someone who completes a 30 minute workout needs to drink a 20 oz. Gatorade. My rule of thumb, if the workout isn’t over 90 minutes you don’t need a high calorie recovery drink. I’m not saying that recovery nutrition isn’t important, it most definitely is, but look at those labels. Most people, athletes not included, don’t need 25 grams of protein in their recovery meal. Be sensible. If it’s under 30, drink water, if it’s under 60 stick to low calorie supplement replenishment.
3) Coffee. I drink coffee. I drink it black. No sugar. No creamer. The average calories of a latte or frappuccino drink is roughly around 400-600 AT LEAST. That’s a meal right there. And it’s a high sugar, high caffeine meal as well which is probably the worst combination of ingredients you can put in your body at the same time. Without going into to many technical mumbo-jumbo terms what caffeine+sugar does to your hormonal levels looks like Pike’s Peak stuck in the middle of the Kansas flat-lands.
Nutrition is the Rosetta stone of fully unlocking your athletic potential. You can work out all you want and as hard as you want but without this one key factor you’ll never get to where you COULD go.
Mike Babbitt, M.F.A, M.A., CSCS, ACSM-HFI
USA Triathlon Level 1 Coach, Master Trainer
Mike is a Master Level trainer at Empower Personal Training. He has a unique approach to fitness that combines his scientific foundation of research and applied exercise physiology with his artistic experience as a professional stage actor. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024
