The 3P workout method

This is a very interesting concept. I came up with this when I was wrestling with my cousin about 2 years back and even though I was a regular gym goer, I felt sore the very next day. At this point I was intrigued to see what exactly I did during the wrestling session that it engaged the muscles that I had not worked on? The point to note is that the soreness was present in the smaller muscle groups in places like the calves, the lower part of the lower back, the end tip of the traps (shoulder muscles that attach to the neck) and the inner triceps. After thinking about it for some time, I realized that there were two major aspects to the entire wrestling session – Pushups and pulling. However, these were not the traditional controlled push and push movements that we do in a gym. There were a lot of jerks and sudden burst of power involved. After a lot of pondering and recalling I came up with the 3P method which can help you burn fat and tone up/define the muscles that you really want to show. The 3P stands for ‘Pull Push Partner’ routine. The thing is that you cannot do this workout alone, hence the term ‘Partner’. Here is what you need to do.

Look for an open area where you have at least 50 meters of space – like a track. You will start with a warm up which can be anything as long as it gets the heart pumping and makes you feel a bit warm. Now grab your partner’s hands in whatever way you feel comfortable and start pulling. The pull should not be a continuous pull, think of a rowing machine; the difference is that you are standing up and moving one step backward after each pull. So after each pull, take a step (or two) back and pull your partner towards you with one powerful jerk. As for the partner, he/she should not try to pull back but provide resistance. The partner’s arms and forearms should make an angle of about 90 – 130, back should be straight and knees slightly bent. These steps are very important to avoid injury. You are not to stop between pulls, it should be high intensity, high power and high speed.

Once you complete the 50 meters, start pushing your partner. The concept remains the same that the partner will provide resistance and you will get a GOOD workout. Repeat this 3 – 5 time and then you become the resistance provider and your partner can get the workout.

Some points that are very important – You and your partner should more or less be at the same level of fitness. You don’t have to be exactly the same but some what similar. WARM UP is absolutely vital. You don’t want to pull a muscle or anything so make sure you are warmed up.

I have actually used this technique on a few of my partner clients and it has worked very well because by the end of the workout, you will FEEL like you have had a workout. The workout reminds me of this machine where you sit and pull the handles, then push them with a big wheel on the side that provided resistance. At one time it was said to be the best machine for full body workouts. If you want to be innovative, you can replace your partner with some other kind of resistance provider like say a small car. Anything would do as long as you can pull and push it.

The 3P method works on the HIIT and Supersets concepts which are both excellent for fat loss and muscle gain. I for one always enjoy this workout so I would urge you to have a go as well. Please do leave comments on what you think about the 3P workout method.

Protein Shakes

Protein shakes are very popular nowadays especially because of the high protein diet. Here are a few recipes of protein shakes without the use of supplements that you might want to try.

Pre-workout/Snack
3 scoops low fat and low sugar ice cream
½ cup skimmed milk
2 tbsp oats
1 tbsp peanut butter

10 – 15 crushed almonds
½ cup skimmed milk
¼ cup yogurt
2 egg whites

Post workout
½ cup skimmed milk
2 scoops of ice cream
¼ cup yogurt
½ bananas
2 – 4 ice cubes
2 egg whites - optional
1 banana
3 egg whites
½ cup evaporated milk
2 – 4 ice cubes
10 – 15 Crushed almonds
50 g skimmed milk powder
¾ cup skimmed milk
Milkshake powder or a low GI fruit (e.g. mango, peach, pear, apple etc.)

Here is a very good collection for protein powder shakes:
http://www.projectswole.com/diet/70-protein-shake-recipes

Instead of just giving you some recipes, I’ll give you some details about what you should be considering when coming up with a protein shake recipe.

If you are following a fat loss plan, you should consider taking a similar shake as the Pre-workout shakes showed above. Along with the protein, take some fiber (oats are probably the best option) or complex carbohydrates (Low GI fruits) and also introduce unsaturated fats like peanut butter, almonds, olive oil etc. This will help slow down the absorption process, therefore providing you with constant energy. You can take this as a pre and/or post workout meal as long is fat loss is your aim.

As for muscle building, the pre-workout shake should be the same as outlined above with the same concept. The post-workout shake should include fast absorbing proteins and carbohydrates. You can take sugars, as at this point your body will be craving for sugars. In simple words, you will use up these sugars or store them as glycogen in the muscles and liver (by the way, this is all good for you). Taking in these sugars will increase your insulin level which would be unlike any other time. Usually we want to control the insulin levels but after a muscle building workout you should increase the insulin levels and take in a good amount of proteins as insulin is an anabolic hormone and helps in protein synthesis (muscle building) when required. At other times, instead of building muscle, it builds fat so be careful or spiking insulin level at times other than post muscle building workouts.

I guess this gives you an idea of what you should try and do. Please note that these guidelines are for people looking for fitness. As far as Pro-bodybuilding goes, one needs to consider a number of other things as well.

That’s all for now, stay tuned for lots lots more.

Are all calories the same?

A number of nutritionists out there just tell you to eat low calorie foods to lose weight and that’s it. This is known as the ‘A calorie is a calorie’ concept. This indicates that all calories are the same. Well, strictly speaking, the calories are the same BUT the effect that they bring with them can either help your goals or make it harder to achieve them. Let’s take a look at them in greater details.

We have three macro-nutrients:

Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for our body. They are present in fruits, dairy products and gains. Carbohydrates (also known as carbs) are broken down into glucose to be used as energy and also converted into glycogen to be stored in the muscles and liver. If you take in more carbs than you require, your body will convert these carbs into fat and store them for future use. This is one of the reasons why low-carb diets are so popular. Basically, there are a number of different types of carbohydrates. The traditional method of carb classification is simple carbs, complex carbs (starch), fiber. Another method to classify the carbs is the Glycemic Index including Low GI, Medium GI and High GI carbs which are based on how quickly the blood sugar level increases where you take in the carbs. A similar method is the insulin index which is fairly new based on which carbs effect insulin in which way. The main idea is to stick to Low GI and complex carbs and taking minimum carbs at night.

Proteins are present in different kinds of meat, dairy products, plants, beans and lentils etc. The main purpose of protein is to provide muscle and other tissue repairing properties. As far as nutrition goes the important things to note is that protein takes a lot of time to get digested thus keeping you full for a long time and also gets absorbed slowly. Protein also has a thermal effect, increasing our body temperature and therefore our metabolism. High protein diets are very popular nowadays mainly because of the reasons mentioned above. Proteins can be used as a source of energy minimizing the use of carbohydrates and they are also the least likely of the three macro-nutrients to get stored as fat, you will get a goof fat loss effect. However, eating too much protein has two big negative. Firstly – you start over working the kidneys as a lot of waste is created from protein rich foods. Another big big negative is increasing the risk of intestinal/stomach cancer and ulcers. The right balance is required to get the best benefits from proteins. There are a number of different kinds of proteins, ranging from dairy, to plant to animal. The best kind of protein is said to be ‘Whey’ protein followed by egg protein. Whey is a bi-product of cheese making and SURPRISE SURPRISE, it is also present in ice cream. So a very good post workout meal = ICE CREAM…hehe. These proteins are complete and incomplete, get digested either very quickly or take their time. These effects are very important to determine your success.

Fats are of the good kind and the bad kind. These are saturated fats, unsaturated fats (mono and poly) and trans-fats. The good fats (unsaturated) are vital components of building tissues and cells so cutting out fats completely from your diet (which many people do) is absolutely wrong. You need things like nuts, olive oil, fish oil etc. in your diet to ensure a balanced diet. However, the amount of fats should not be very high as they are rich in calories. The unsaturated fats also help you slow the digestion and absorption process (i.e. helping you stay full provide slow and constant energy to your body).

Amount of calories
Proteins – 4 calories per gram
Carbohydrates – 4 calories per gram
Fats – 9 calories per gram

As you can see there are different classifications of different macro-nutrients, which means that they have different properties and effect us in different ways. If all calories were the same then eating only sugar in moderate amounts would help you lose fat, but does it? A calorie is in fact a calorie, but the effects such as saturated fat calories increasing cholesterol and unsaturated fats lowering cholesterol, insulin going sky high with High GI carbs and staying in control with Low GI are things that determine whether you will reach your fitness goal. I will be talking about each macro-nutrient in days to come to stay tuned.

Crossfit - The next big thing!!

Crossfit is an exercise methodology created by Greg Glassman a former gymnast in the 1970s. In my personal view, if you don’t want to bulk up like a pro body builder, but want a well-defined body, lose body fat and improve your fitness level beyond your wildest expectations then Crossfit is for you. They concentrate on strength, speed and endurance, which cover almost all the aspects of fitness. You do strength exercises with high intensity with high speed to failure.

Here is a beginner’s workout for you to try.

Kipping pull-ups x 5
Push-ups x 10
Squats x 15

Continue doing this for about 20 minutes or for however long you can. The idea is to keep your self going. If you can’t do 5 pull-ups after repeating the routine 5 times, then do it 3 or 4 times. If you can’t even do one pull-up, then use momentum and jump and come down slowly, but try to keep going. This really exhausts your muscles. It is always recommended that you do the Crossfit training in teams or at least in pairs to keep the motivation high.



This is a tough and challenging method of training, hence the high number of drop outs. However, the numbers seem to be increasing very rapidly and people are getting excellent results with regards to fitness overall. If you are not into challenging your body and seeing how far you can push yourself before giving up then this is probably not the best training method for you. But if you want to see what you are made of, then grab your exercise kit and get ready for a workout of a life time.

Now finally, my recommendation - Look into the Crossfit method of training and try it. Go to their website at http://www.crossfit.com/ and learn their beginner movements. For now, you can start with the routine listen above. If fat loss and tone is your aim, you will be surprised with the results. Just make sure you follow a sensible diet plan. You can try the ‘1-2 zig zag’ method described in the previous post. The routine should be done on the high calorie day before breakfast for best results. If you want to gain muscle mass using this routine then you will have to increase the resting period and slow down the movements. This should also be supported with a muscle building diet plan. To get some guidance on what a muscle gaining diet plan should be like subscribe to get the 10 week burn ‘n’ build program and see how the muscle building diet works.

I think that should do for now. I’ll be back tomorrow with some more interesting stuff about how YOU can get to where you want to be. Till next time – Keep the motivation high.

The no-sweat burning method

Do you want to burn fat without exercising, here is what you do.

- Calculate your BMR
- Add a factor for the activity level and get the total calorie in take amount
- Get used to the calories
- Create a zig-zag
- Lose body fat

There are some other rules that need to be considered. These are related to the timing of calories and the type of calories you are taking in.
Breakfast - Low GI carbohydrates | Fiber | Slow Protein | Unsaturated fats
Snack - Protein | Unsaturated fats | Low or no carbohydrates
Lunch - Protein | Unsaturated fats | Low GI carbohydrates | Fiber
Snack - Protein | Unsaturated fats | Low or no carbohydrates
Snack 2 - Protein | Unsaturated fats | Low GI carbohydrates
Supper - Slow Protein | Unsaturated fats | Low or no carbohydrates

Never fill yourself up
Drink 8 – 12 glasses of water at least.
Supper needs to small and needs to be 2 – 3 hours before going to bed

Now let’s look at an example. My BMR is 1800 and I am just moderately active throughout the day. I add about 200 calories extra for the activity and finally coming to 2000 calories a day. This would be my maintenance level. Now I design a diet plan for myself taking into consideration the rules above and making sure I take in 2000 calories everyday. I continue with this for 2 weeks. This is to get my body to get used to and start running on 2000 calories.

After the two weeks, On Monday I take 2000 calories, but on Tuesday and Wednesday, I take in about 1200 – 1400 calories. I don’t skip any meals, I just reduce the portion size, ideally from the carbs. Just think about it, your body is used to running on 2000 calories, but for two days you create a deficit and making sure that you body knows that you are not in starvation as you will be eating 6 small meals and also at the very same time after the two days you go back to 2000 calories so your body remains used to the 2000 calories. The 600 calorie deficit that is produced needs to come from some where. You are controlling the cortisol by eating frequently; taking in low carbs so the only source left is FATS. So we are creating 4 x 600 calorie deficits a week, increasing metabolism and improving energy levels along with making sure that we take in all the nutrients. Make sense?

Shoot me with any questions.

That’s all from me today. See you guys tomorrow.

The first day

Today was my first day back on training. I am following the free 10 week Burn 'n' Build program, which you can also download completely free of cost from the column on the right. I kind of modified it a bit. The diet didn't go as well as I had planned. I was planning to take in more protein and less carbs for today but due to lack of preparation, I had to settle for a few things that i didn't want. It is very important to keep eating every few hours. If you don't, the body tells itself to go into starvation more, your hormones start going crazy and you start deriving energy from protein as well i.e. muscle loss. If you eat a number of times, but in small amounts, you avoid the starvation mode, increase your metabolism, stay energized and always feel satisfied. Anyways, enough about the science stuff. I wanted to tell you about today's diet.
Today I had:
- A bowl of cereal (Fruit & Fiber) with fat free milk
- 10 Almonds
- 100g of chicken with a quarter plate of rice
- Yogurt and gram snack
- 250 ml of milk
- 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
Workout
- 250 grams of chicken, sprite (for the insulin spike), whole wheat bread.

I should have taken more protein in the breakfast, accompany the almonds with milk/yogurt/apple/peach/egg white etc. and I should have taken the rice just before the workout. Anyways, I'm sure I'll get it right tomorrow.

The workout was excellent. It was a Chest and triceps workout day and MAN!!! it was good. Doing almost every push up from wide, to narrow, to scatter to jump, to clap. I also did some isometric holds at the end. Ill be doing thighs tomorrow, which I'm sure will leave me lying on the floor :). In case you are wondering, I usually workout at home as my specialization is in home workouts and fat loss. I just thought I'd let you know :).

I guess I'll stop here for today. See you guys tomorrow..so keep visiting :)

The Burn ‘n’ Build Phenomenon

You must have heard in a number of places that you cannot burn fat and build muscle at the very same time. This is supported by one main argument that you need to increase calories to build muscle and decrease to burn fat or lose weight. I don't want to go into details at the moment but I will be posting a detailed article very soon. Any how, the main concept used for this technique is alternating between muscle building and fat burning routines.

This way you can get the best of both worlds. There are a lot more details that need to be considered in order to develop a program that you can run with, but as mentioned the main idea is to just from one to the other. One way is to do muscle building workouts one week with high calories, high carbohydrates and proteins and avoiding cardio (HIIT can be done once or twice a week), then the very next week lower you carbohydrates, increase HIIT and full body strength work out. You will preserve muscle and burn fat one week and build muscle the next. It's quite simple. You can find more details in the FREE 10 week Burn 'n' Build program. I will be posting a number of workout routines, how make a workout plan, best times to do different workouts and lots lots more, so stay tuned. I will be starting my diet and workout routine from tomorrow, so keep an eye out for hints, tips and my progress. Please feel free to leave any comments. Till next time - Stay fit.

Burn Fat 'n' Build Muscle - The journey begins

“I want a six pack like Brad Pitt.”
“How can I get a tush like Jessica Alba.”
“I am happy with the rest of my body, its just the belly I want to get rid of.”

Does this sound like something you would ask? If yes, then you have come to the right place. First of all, I would like to welcome you to my Burn fat ‘n’ Build muscle blog, a place where you will find all the answers to all your questions about health and fitness. Incase you don’t already know, my name is Usman Pasha. I am a certified sports nutritionist and personal fitness and aerobics trainer. I have been designing customized workout and diet plans for quite some time, in order to make it easier for my clients to achieve their fitness goals.

My aim is to make this blog a complete health and fitness hub where you will be able to find answers to any query related to workouts, nutrition, health, motivation and anything else you want. As the name says, the main focus will be on building muscle and burning fat at the same time. I know you must have read in a number of places that you CANNOT burn fat and build muscle at the same time. I will not pass a verdict on that just as yet. You will get the answer in a few weeks’ time; in fact you will get to make your own decision. Just to give you a taste of what to expect, please read my published articles (by clicking on the ezine articles link). You can also get a sample 10 week Burn ‘n’ Build program. All you need to do is enter your e-mail address in the Free 'Burn and Build' Program section and click on the ‘Give me my program’ button. It is completely free for you to try and comment on it.

In addition to writing about different health and fitness related issues and your concerns, I will also be posting details about my routine starting from Monday 21st of July (which is actually my younger brother’s birthday – HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE ONE). I will keep you up to date with my progress and would also like to stay up to date with your progress. I hope to see you here very soon. Till next time – Stay Healthy.