Smart trainers have long known that there are differences when you train men versus women.  Most studies have used men and assumed the results would transfer over to women. Not necessarily the case.

Venus & Mars in happier times

While men and women are *mostly* the same physiologically (certain exceptions immediately come to mind)  turns out there are some important differences below the surface.  I just read an interesting article in MSNBC about the current research and  findings regarding gender differences in training effects.

There is obvious stuff like men are stronger, but the really fascinating stuff is what is happening hormonally.  Men and women have the same hormones, but at very different levels.  A key difference is men have much more testosterone and women have much more estrogen. This stacks the deck in men’s favor. From MSNBC:

"Exercise is similar to short-term starvation," says Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, a professor of medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. From an evolutionary perspective, he says, women need to withstand starvation to survive and have babies.

Yikes. That means that a woman has to work that much harder to trick her body into losing body fat.  This confirms what many trainers have seen for years.  The research is now coming out to back up what we have been seeing in the gym- women just get the short end of the stick.

For men it is much easier (not easy, just easiER).  The high testosterone levels in men help build and maintain muscle.  Muscle increases metabolism, a higher metabolism means more calories burned per day which leads to more fat loss.  Women just have less testosterone. That throws a wrench into things.

…females have a harder time losing weight through exercise than men, says Day. Men’s bodies respond more favorably to exercise, whereas women’s bodies go into survival mode, slowing metabolism and hanging onto fat.

That is just not fair. So why not just give women testosterone?  This is why:

Thanks, I’ll pass

Yes that is a woman. In all seriousness testosterone treatments in much lower dosages have been tried, but there’s just no way to avoid the negative effects (ie masculinization) completely.  It is simply not a feasible solution.

Fear not.  The above is only part of the bigger picture. There is a lot more to fat loss and fitness than just estrogen and testosterone.  Sets, reps, rest periods, exercise selection, intensity, workout duration are just some of the training parameters that can be tweaked for individualized and even gender specific fat loss programs.

Science geeks in action

Science geeks continue their quest to research all conceivable aspects of training.  Exercise geeks like me can use the information we have available now to create drastic changes in body composition while taking into account the hormonal differences in the genders.  As the research continues the training programs and results will only get better.  It is always refreshing when research actually has a real-world application.

If you want a personalized fitness program let me know, I can help.  Free Body Diagnostics Evaluations are available.

Joshua Carter, CPT
http://carterfitness.com

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As some of you may know, in the beginning of April I was forced to close my North Hollywood location. It was what I call a perfect storm of events, but the bottom line is my lease was up and the owner of the building was selling it, which meant I had to go.

It was a very sad thing (to say the least) for me to close the gym that I love.  It was my first gym and I had worked my butt off to make it a great place to workout for 6 years. But things happen and it was time to move on.

The good news is I have a great nearby place to train the clients (although I do not own it).  West Hills is running strong and I have a butt load of time left on my lease.

I was in the process of cleaning out the place when something unbelievable happened: We were robbed. Late on the night of Wednesday the 23rd someone took 99% of our mirrors and the 1% they left, they broke.

They took the rubber flooring and the locker room floor tiles. They also took a wheelbarrow. Basically anything that was not tied down.  Thankfully the vast majority of my stuff (equipment, office stuff etc.) had been removed the week prior.

It is unfortunate that my last memory of the gym will be seeing it in that violated state.  I just don’t have the words.

I will try to keep positive and not let the actions of a cowardly thief cloud my memories of the 6 amazing years I spent there.

It is now in the hands of the police.  There was a witness and there were finger prints, but I am not holding my breath. I am a firm believer in Karma and what goes around comes around.

I am fine, and no one was hurt.  All they took was stuff.  Replaceable stuff. They cannot take my drive and determination- that is mine and will be with me forever.  Whoever it was can go on hurting people, and I will go on helping - I will not be deterred.

In life there will always be set backs. Do not let them define you.  Like the saying goes - "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine." or for you non- Star Wars fans what does not kill you will only make you stronger.

So the joke is on you, thief - I am now stronger than before.

Joshua Carter, CPT

http://carterfitness.com

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First off let me say that if you ever find yourself with time to waste or simply bored head over to http://break.com.  It is filled with hysterical videos & pictures that for the most part are only mildly inappropriate.  It was on Break.com that I found the following picture so now on to our story….

I get a lot of "Curves" refugees. So for the most part I am glad they are there. They are what they are, and if you are a Curves devotee than good for you- I applaud your effort. I know that for some people it is just what the doctor ordered (sometimes literally). Just because I think that it is a wussifed version of what a workout should be, well it is just my opinion. And as you know opinions are just like, well you know.

No matter my thoughts on the Curves workout philosophy apparently they can do something I cannot - lighten you. Literally.

This is an actual photo from a box of Curves Honey Crunch cereal.  Notice the belly and head do not match. I guess "…take it off and keep it off" means your color. She seems to be happy about it anyway. Many have speculated that since there is no belly button that she is an alien she is wearing and undershirt - that may be. No matter what it is a horrible Photoshop job.

It should also be said that the cereal itself is crap. Below is the nutritional label. 45 carbs per cup.  Who eats only one cup?  It is a high carb cereal just like all the rest. I’m sure it tastes great. I’m sure I could plow through a box in no time. But a good fat loss cereal - I think not.

It seems I am going all over the place on this one but lets think for a sec: carbs are a fuel source. Body fat is a fuel source. When fat loss is the goal why would your body choose to burn its stored energy reserves (bodyfat) when Yummy Honey Crunch is being funneled down your pie hole? Your body strives for efficiency. It will always choose the energy source that offers the least amount of effort to access. In this case we are talking about Curves Duo-Tone Crunch. You see body fat is relatively hard to access and digested carbs relatively easy.  This is why your body will always choose the path of least resistance.

When putting together your fat loss nutrition program you need to make bodyfat the preferred energy source for your body. It takes some work, but your nutrition is completely under your control so make smart decisions. Hopefully good decisions will lead you to products that will not make your belly a different color than your face.

Got questions - Ask.

Joshua Carter, CPT

http://carterfitness.com

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I love my wife, but she is crazy - granted I knew that going in. We have been together for 15 years and married for 10 of those.  If there is one consistent argument we have had it has been about what is a constitutes a comfortable room temperature. As stated above - she is crazy, (and of course I am right.)

I will will admit to being a temperature wuss.  I am a California boy, born and raised.  This means there is a very narrow temperature window that I can tolerate.  I do not know how others can stand the massive temperature swings in other parts of the country. 

Ok, so on to the story.

In general I like it much colder than she.  She is perpetually "freezing" an this she is always turning up the heat.  In the past she has claimed her intolerance to cold is due to her low body fat. Uh, yeah right.

I come home from training the other night am hit with a heat wave when I open the door.  It’s like Hawaii minus the humidity. I ask what is going on, as usual she tells how she was cold and kicked on the heat.  I check out out home temperature gauge (a nifty little digital one) it reads 78 degrees. 78 FREAKIN DEGREES! WTF?

She of course says that I am crazy and 78 is perfect.  I go nuts and say that near 80 degrees indoors is ridiculous. 78 at the *beach* is perfect.

Now this is funny - she then says "It is not near 80".

"Denyse," I say "you are a wonderful woman but by every definition 78 is near 80."

Enough of my ranting. I was just wondering, is this a fundamental difference between men and women? Is this just me?  What topic do you and your other consistently disagree on. Shoot me an email.

Joshua Carter
http://carterfitness.com

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In days of old, generals would burn bridges they crossed to prevent any sort of retreat. Captians of the sea would similarly burn their boats upon reaching their destination. This was their way of all but ensuring success, and of course motivating those in their charge. After all, if there is no other option, like turning back) success looks pretty good. Now on to you…

I have said it a million times to clients who engage in my fat loss programs- when you lose the weight, ditch the fat clothes.  Here is my advice: Burn Your Britches.

Keeping the “fat clothes” around leaves you a fall back position.  It gives you a way out.  If you start to back slide, you can always just wear your fat pants.  But what if you have no fat pants?  Then what are you going to do? Get off your ass and pull your crap together- that’s what. (Just a little tough love from JC)

Now I am a big believer in practice what you preach, so here is my story:  In the past few months I have lost near 40 pounds, and almost 6 inches off my waist.   I can take all of my jeans off without unbuttoning them - and that could make for an embarrassing situation that I would prefer to avoid.

Below you will notice my stack of 36″ jeans; 5  pairs of them. This past weekend they went on sale at rock bottom prices at our garage sale (along with a bunch of other crap great stuff!)

I now have no fall back position.  There is no going back. Even the best of us experience set backs, but the point is to not let them become permanent.  I will not buy 36″ jeans again.  The problem is  right now I have only one pair of 34″ pants, so shopping is in my future.  That is really a rarely documented side effect / benefit of fat loss:  The new wardrobe.

Back to you:  When you are losing weight you can only buy three things: shoes, hats & gloves.  When you hit milestones like a few dress sizes, or a few inches off your waist then make some bigger purchases.  Do this as soon as you can because on top of the potential hazards of having a “fat pants” safety net, oversized clothes generally look like crap on a newly in shape body, so show it off.

Burn your britches- ensure your success.

Joshua Carter
http://carterfitness.com

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Josie has been working with us for a while now, and her results have been tremendous. 

I signed up to work out with Carter Fitness in August 2007. I had slowly put weight back on, and couldn’t fit into my summer clothes from the year before. Working out was always a chore - since starting at Carter Fitness I’ve dropped 3 dress sizes, and almost 15 pounds - but I’ve added amazing muscle tone and feel great in my new clothes. I look forward to my workouts and even go in on extra days to do more!  Amazing!  Josh B  makes my workouts so much fun and both he and Josh C are always so encouraging. Thank you!

Jo Calabrese

Great job Jo. We could not be more proud.

Joshua Carter
http://carterfitness.com

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The alternate, more friendly version.

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2 weeks ago I ended the 4 Minute Fat Loss trial group.  The results were absolutely incredible and surpassed my wildest expectations. (FYI I am hard at work putting a comprehensive 4 Minute Fat Loss program that should be ready soon). Anyway back to my story…

Carla was one of my 4 Minute Fat Loss volunteers.   In true rock start style this 45 year old mother of 4 truly kicked ass on the program.  She followed the workout and nutrition plans to a  "T" .  I knew her results would be off the charts - but then I was shocked.

She came to see me for her final "after" weigh in on a Saturday morning.  It was the morning that my article "More Pants Lie" came out.  To refresh your memory, the point of the article was that no number should define you or have any baring on your self worth.  Carla had in fact read the article that morning.

So then we weighed her in.  Her total weight loss equaled 10 pounds- *ONLY* 10 pounds. I thought 10 pounds was a huge loss for 28 days but the disappointment was apparent on her face.  Others in the group had actually lost more, so Carla was hoping the scale would reflect the effort she felt she put in - and to her it didn’t.

I reminded her of the brilliantly insightful article I wrote pertaining to just this situation, but even my masterful prose failed to break her mood.  So I told her scales suck anyway, and that she needs to break out a tape measure when she got home - maybe she lost a dress size or two. Boy was I off…

7 inches. That’s right - 7 inches gone from her waist in 28 days.

 
Nice!

She called me later and left me a voice mail to tell me the great news.  I was ecstatic.  I knew she had made huge progress - and the tape told the tale.

Congrats to Carla and the other 4 Minute Fat Loss all-stars.

In closing: F the scale.

Joshua Carter
http://carterfitness.com

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