RodrigoPeres.com: January 2013

Where do you store your FAT?

Do you know the Waist and Hip Ratio Health Risks?

Many people worries about how heavy they are and the number they see on the scale, but the number on the scale does not tell you everything because you don’t know what is water, fat nor muscle (see me in the gym and I can measure you and tell the difference) and being skinny = no health sometimes, as someone who might look thin can have a high visceral fat (non-visible to the naked eyes) and suffer from similar problems as someone with high BMI.

Are you an Apple, Pear or even Avocado? R-P-T.co,.uk

Now, have you ever notice how some people can have big bellies but lean legs? How some people tend to store most of their fat in their thighs, hips, and butt? These are examples of fat distribution, which refers to where your body typically stores the fat, NO MATTER what your weight is!

This is important because where you store fat can be a predictor of health risk. Over weight (BMI over 25) is only one health risk factor. Where fat is stored on your body is another.

If you have fat stored around your waist as opposed to those who have excess fat in their hips and thighs, you have a HIGHER RISK of health problems even if your BMI is normal.

Waist measurement may be the best way to determine your progress, and it can take the emphasis off the number you see on the scale.

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The waist-to-hip ratio is a common measure of fat distribution. Your ratio can help you track your weight loss progress, while also serving as a warning about your estimated health risk for problems related to being overweight, such as:

> Diabetes
> Stroke
> Heart Disease

In fact, a study reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that for some age groups, the waist-to-hip ratio is a better indicator of increased mortality risk than body mass index (BMI), which compares your height to your weight.

HOW TO MEASURE!

~ Step 1 - To measure your waist:
Place a tape measure around your bare abdomen at your natural waist (usually just above your belly button). Be sure the tape fits snugly but does not compress your skin. Place the tape parallel to the floor. Then relax, exhale and measure your waist.

~ Step 2 - To measure your hips:
Place a tape measure around the widest part of your buttocks.

~ Step 3 - Divide the calculation from step 1 by the calculation from step 2

Male	Female	Health Risk Based Solely on WHR
0.95 or below	0.80 or below	Low Risk
0.96 to 1.0	0.81 to 0.85	Moderate Risk
1.0+	0.85+	High Risk

Are you an Apple, Pear or an Avocado?

Pear Shape (Low Health Risk)
If you’re a pear shape, you tend to carry most of your weight in your hips, thighs and buttocks. Storing fat in your lower half is actually a healthier site for fat accumulation. Research shows that storing fat here may actually protect you against cardiovascular disease. In one study of 1,356 women, ages 60-85, Danish researchers found that those with excessive fat in the arms, legs, hips and buttocks had less atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) than those who stored most fat in their abdominal area and other central parts of the body.

Apple Shape (High Health Risk)
If you tend to carry weight in your abdominal area and upper torso, you’re an apple shape. People who are apple-shaped and tend to carry more weight around their waists (commonly referred to as a “pot belly”) are at a greater risk of lifestyle-related diseases such as heart disease and diabetes than pear-shaped people. However, a 2011 study of 220,000 people published in The Lancet did not find an increased risk.

Avocado Shape (Moderate Health Risk)
You may hear about apples and pears all the time, but what about people who don't fit into either category? The less common "avocado" shape is somewhere between an apple and a pear, with health risks higher than a pear-shaped person, but somewhat lower than a true apple-shaped person.

Your risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease increases gradually with each inch (about 2.5 cm) your waist increases above 35 inches (89 cm) for women and 40 inches (102 cm) for men. And similarly, your risk increases as your waist/hip ratio increases above the goals listed above.

What is it about abdominal fat that makes it a strong marker of disease risk?

The fat surrounding the liver and other abdominal organs, so-called “visceral fat,” is very metabolically active. It releases fatty acids, inflammatory agents, and hormones that ultimately lead to higher LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood glucose, and blood pressure.

Improving Your Distribution
Once you know which body shape you have, and your potential level of risk, what can you do about it?

First, you have to accept that there is no way to change where your body stores fat, your genetics determine that. If you are an apple now, you will always be an apple, even if you lose a few extra pounds. Weight loss may not change your body shape, but it will reduce your size.

A well-rounded program of cardio and strength training, along with a healthy diet, will help with overall fat loss. No matter what your shape, maintaining a healthy weight will greatly reduce your risk of obesity-related illness.

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Thank you for reading

Rodrigo Peres

Nutritional Consultant

Personal Trainer

Coach
RodrigoPeres.com

Reference:

hsph.harvard.edu
sparkpeople.com
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
en.wikipedia.org
bbc.co.uk
whqlibdoc.who.int

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New Year, New Life, NEW TRAINING ROUTINE

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

We were waiting restless (at least I was, to be over - just kidding) for the festive season and it seems like long gone now…

Deadlift | R-P-T.co.uk

Well back to life, back to reality and I hope you are back 100% to your training routine after all the festive foods and treats. Please have a look here for my Xmas EXTRA Calories Blog.

I hope you haven’t forgotten your New Year Resolution yet, know what I mean J?

BUT are you back doing your OLD training routine?
Are you still doing the same OLD exercises?
Are you doing the same sit ups?
Same OLD arms exercises?
Are you still jogging around the same roads/lanes even the same way round?
Are you doing the same programme "fat burner or Hills" on the Treadmill, Cross Trainer or Stepper?
Have you changed your speed or incline at all?

New Year, New Life and you need a NEW Training Routine as well.

I am sure you are eager to reap the health benefits that your routine can bring. The time it can take for your body to adapt to the exercise depends on a few factors.

How you manipulate the variables of intensity, duration and frequency along with your present levels of fitness will affect the time it takes your body to adapt.

Our bodies can adapt to an exercise as quickly as 3 weeks and after that you might NOT benefit from the training at all.

How long have you been doing the same exercises now?

Women’s best friend at the gym seems to be cardio, but that’s not all it takes to get the lean, cut, body that all women desire.

Another factor to consider in maximizing your workout and minimize your time at the gym is by doing compound movements instead of focusing on smaller muscle group exercises - Bicep Curls vs Chin Ups/Pull Ups.

See the Bicep Curls as your French Fries and the Chin Ups/Pull Ups your beans. You know the beans are better but you like and insist in having the French Fries. You know there is no nutritional value in French Fries and you are damaging your health, on the other hand, beans are known to lower cholesterol, fight heart disease and it is loaded with protein, fibre and all the goodies.

Yet some people still chooses to do biceps curls!

Compound exercises (Dumbbell/Bench Press, Deadlifts, Lunges) not just saves you time in the gym, it makes you burn more calories, tone, strengths your whole body and much more effective for weight loss. I don’t really have to talk about strength and bulking for the guys do I, good, because it is obvious.

Please GIRLS don’t say that you don’t do it because you are scared and you don’t want to look like a Body Builder. That is one of the most ridiculous things people say in the gym as there is NO CHANCE in happening, well there is but the chances are the same as in winning the lottery. Are you that lucky?

Are you going to try or are you going to keep training with half of the benefits?

Just one more factor to consider for today but rather important.

I am sure you heard many times before about training at an x% of your maximum heart rate if you want to burn fat, right? Right!

Let’s say YOU jog/run at that x% for 45 minutes.
Now, let’s say your neighbour is next to you doing the same 45min but above the x% recommendation to burn fat, in fact your neighbour doesn’t even know about the %, never heard of it.

At the end of 45 minutes;
YOU have burnt +or- 350kcal.
Your neighbour around 550kcal.

Please note: The calories above is for illustrative purposes only, even the calories showing on a piece of equipment are just estimates using a built in formula. If I walk 5min at speed 6 and you walked for 5min at speed 6, according to the machine us both would have burned the same amount of calories.
Calories vary from person to person due to height, body weight, age, muscle mass, level of fitness etc…

Also, let’s say you spend 45min on a CV equipment at you x% and your neighbour spends only 20min on the same equipment but really pushing it. Your neighbour is going to burn about the same amount of calories as you and IN LESS TIME.

At the end of the day what counts is the overall calorie deficit and not where it comes from!!!

Remember, just burn it… but see your hear like an engine in a sports car. The engine was built for speed but if you push beyond the limit even a good engine can blow.

High Intensity Interval Training is said to be the most efficient way to burn calories - read the blog here

If you follow these tips I can guarantee you are on the right path to a good start in 2013.

If you need some help, see me in the gym or send me a question!

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