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During cardiovascular training the body doesn’t actually begin oxidising triglycerides (burning fat) until 20 minutes into training. Prior to this the body is merely mobilising triglycerides (preparing the fat to be ‘burnt’)
a.k.a. only after 20 minutes of running, cycling, swimming…etc does your body actually begin to burn fat off the body
Green Tea is not only an antioxidant, thus fights forms of cancer but it also increases the body’s metabolism (great for fat loss)
People often ask me, “Ross why do you wear pants instead of boxers?” and “what is the best type of cardio?” Well regarding the pants, I find they are a lot more snug and comfortable than boxers 
But as for the best form of cardio, there is no best type, it really all depends on your current situation and your goals. As always let me draw a parallel…. I shall call this, “The Cardio/ Choice of movie parallel” allow me to explain.
Imagine if you will, a trip to the cinema…what movie are you going to watch? Evidently this is a stupid question, since it all depends on whom you have gone to the cinema with (current situation) and what you want from the date (goals.)
Cinema visit A Courting a young lady – A good Romantic Comedy is probably best in this situation since, and no offence to Arnie, choosing Terminator may see you going home alone.
Cinema visit B Out with the lads – A good Action film is probably best in this situation, since some Romantic Comedies could have you socially excluded
The exact same rule applies to your choice in cardio and as stressed before it all depends on your current situation and your goals.
Low Intensity - Loose Body fat but maintain lean muscle mass
For those of you wanting to keep your hard earned muscle low intensity cardio (30% of your Maximum Heart Rate) is most definitely best, since:
High Intensity – Solely concerned with losing body fat
For those of you whose only concern is to loose body fat and you are not too concerned about muscle mass, high intensity cardio (75% of your Maximum Heart Rate) is most definitely best, since:
Thus to summarise Ross’ Law of Adaptation (not its official name, haha)
Be adaptive in your cardio and use it wisely to craft the perfect body you want
And
Be versatile in your choice of movie if want a girlfriend and want to avoid social exclusion
Much love and happy training/ movie watching
Every man would have intimately attempted to woo a young maiden at some point in their lives…whether it was the conventional, ‘Table for 2 ’ at restaurant, or the more relaxed ‘DVD Night’ at home. Regardless of the setting one thing is for sure…the success of the night is highly dependant upon the preparation that is undertaken before hand. My point is gentleman, you simply can’t just make you’re way to the boudoir, there are certain things that must happen prior to this…and this is exactly what happens when your body begins to burn body fat. Allow me to draw a comparison:
The enzyme in the body responsible for breaking down fats is called lipase and the process of breaking down fats in your body is called lipolysis and this really happens in two distinct phases; mobilization, or the courting period, and oxidisation, the ‘end product’ of successful date.
Mobilisation
The enzyme lipase turns fats, or triglycerides, into three unbound fatty acids (FFA) and one glycerol molecule, this process is basically the breaking down of fat in your body for future possible use. Worth noting is that this is merely the preparation for the use of fat as an energy source, the fat hasn’t been used for energy at this point or oxidised. Like when you are on a date, the preparation may be going well….but there is still no guarantee you will be invited in for a “coffee” at the end of the walk home.
Oxidisation
Now oxidation is the point at which the fatty acids that were mobilized are actually burned. This process must take place if the triglycerides are to be burned, since un-oxidised triglycerides can be converted back meaning they will have to be mobilised again. Once again a parallel can be drawn to the wooing of a fair maiden, even if the courting (mobilisation) is executed to perfection, the invite into the young ladies apartment (oxidisation) may still not come to fruition. Thus meaning you will have to begin wooing all over again at a later date.
I hope the, ‘fat burning – Courting’ Parallel has worked and I’ve made the science of fat loss a little clearer for you, if I’ve only complicated matters I’m sorry In my next article I shall attempt to explain how your training (both cardio and weights) can maximise your oxidising and mobilising potential, making you…The Casanova of Fat Burning Once again thank you for sitting through another one of my strange articles. Much love and happy training
My two favourite foods in the entire world…..Anne Summers Body Paint Chocolate & Broccoli, both great foods but both for very different reasons, as always allow me to explain (and yes please bare with me this is going somewhere and yes it does have something to do with health, fitness and six-packs, haha).
Now Anne Summers Body Chocolate makes for a fantastic, small, novelty gift that can be given to your partner around birthdays, Christmas’ but perhaps mainly valentines’ day and anniversaries. It conveys that you are a sexual, slightly romantic and a little cheeky…quite a good combination. Gift-wrapped broccoli on the other hand may not convey such a great message to your other half. In fact you’d do well to keep them after producing such a gift. So why does broccoli make it into ‘Ross Top Food list?’ Well simple, for its amazing cancer fighting qualities, it’s practically natures chemotherapy in the form of a green, leafy, fibrous vegetable. Although the chemical composition of broccoli is very complex, and so it is unclear the exact individual compounds of the broccoli that fight against cancer. Yet it is believed:
The Vitamin C content in the broccoli greatly aids in the prevention of cancer since Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant that prevents harmful free radicals from causing damage within the body.
The phytochemicals found in broccoli (namely compounds called isothiocyanates) not only act as anti-oxidants but they also boost detoxifying enzymes in the body.
Broccoli may alter the bodies oestrogen levels, thus might reduce the risk of breast cancer
Secondly and perhaps more obviously, the Ann Summers Body Chocolate makes a great ‘boudoir desert.’ It is a little cheeky and kinky without being too sordid and both the ‘licker’ and ‘lickee’ get to enjoy themselves. On the other hand cover your partner from head to toe in green broccoli stems and leaves and I can’t seem them becoming that aroused, unless of course they have a fetish for vegetables in which case go to the local green grocer, load your shopping basket and go nuts, whatever floats your boat that’s what I say. But this is not to say Broccoli is not without its charms, regarding aesthetics (or looking good) our green leafy friend can make all the difference. You see, as already mentioned, broccoli yields indoles that are compounds that aid in the control of estrogen (the female hormone.) This is fantastic for men wanting to improve the appearance of their abs, since lower oestrogen levels means:
So there you have it Anne Summers Body Chocolate and Brassica Oleracea Italica a.k.a. Broccoli, your 2 new best friends. However use them wisely, separately and only for their individual intended purposes, follow these rules and I guarantee both your relationship and training will improve.
Awkward silences, stories of shopping trips and lengthy discussions about Sex and the City…gentleman this date is not going well and so I find myself mulling over two issues that are of grave importance to both me and you…… dating and the dieting aspects of getting cut up. You see my theorem is that the two are not overly dissimilar; while she continues to talk about the reunion of Take That allow me to share my musings:
I believe someone’s diet has to follow certain guidelines when embarking upon a mission to try and lower their body fat percentage; this exact same principle applies when a man embarks upon a mission to woo a young lady on a first date. Essentially the man will either secure a second date (achieve the body he wants) or crash n burn, meaning his next date is going to involve late night TV, a box of tissues and Palmer Handerson a.k.a. his right hand.
However never fear good sirs …. read on if you want that chiselled ripped body you’ve always wanted and wish to avoid that somewhat lonely ‘night-in’ with Ms Handerson:
First and foremost it is essential that you avoid eating any saturated fats, hydrogenated oils, refined white carbohydrates and sugars. This is dieting suicide and much like asking a girl her age or weight there is never a good time to do it.
No carbohydrates after 6pm, nothing to eat after 7-8pm and have your larger meals during the morning since your body’s metabolism slows down when your asleep so any access calories or carbohydrates that are still in your stomach at night will be stored as fat when you sleep. Hard to do I know, and we all do it now and then, but exactly like looking down your dates top you can’t do this all the time.
Get a good source of Essential fatty acids (EFA’s) every day, since these are the fat burning agents which are going to greatly aid in keeping your body fat low. Neglecting this is fat loss suicide; in fact neglecting this is almost as bad as asking, “so how big are they,” don’t do it, no matter how curios you are.
Eat roughly 7 small meals throughout the day; keep the total calories the same but change the frequency of eating as this will ensure your blood sugar levels remain consistent (stop your cravings) and your body will be able to digest the food and burn the calories more efficiently. So like your dance moves, keep things moderate, since even Casanova could have lost a girl should he have busted out the Robot.
Eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables because they contain enzymes that support the body’s metabolism and bodily functions. This really is a ‘must’ not doing this is like turning up to a date without your trousers.
Drink lots of water this is a must, just like you must keep all bodily gasses, namely farts and burps, inside of you and resist the temptation to emit them. No matter how funny you think it may be, chances are she won’t be as dazzled by your performance as your mates.
So there you have it gentleman, heed my words and hopefully you will have that chiselled body you’ve always wanted and be able to end relations with Ms. Handerson for good. Next issue I shall be writing about the training aspects of getting cut up but for now, if you will forgive me, I really must find a way to end this date.
When mummy and daddy Einstein gave birth to a baby Albert they didn’t immediately send the bambino off to university to learn about advanced theoretical physics. And when mummy and daddy Knievel produced a young Evel they didn’t stick the little lad on a rocket powered bike and send him flying over a few dozen cars in the hope he’s a quick learner. No sirey this is not good parenting and nor is it good teaching hence why I thought it best to begin with the very basics of increasing muscle mass and then as the weeks progress my articles will get increasingly more complex in content.
So permit me to start with what I like to call, ‘Ross’ 5 Key Nutritional Points for a Mahoosive Muscley you!’
1.6g of protein per kg of bodyweight per day
Very important this point… 1.6g of protein per kg of bodyweight must be put into your chops everyday. Example:
Paddy McDoogle a retired Irish champion jockey has ended his lucrative 10-year career and now wishes to become Mr Olympia. So he logged onto www.sixpacknow.com and upon reading a fantastic article written by that all knowing fitness guru Ross Edgley, haha, he discovered he needed to work out how much protein he should eat to increase his muscle mass. Paddy’s calculations are shown below:
Paddy’s weight: 55 kg
55 x 1.6 = 88
Note: This is a rough calculation of the minimum amount of protein Paddy McDoogle should be consuming if he wants to increases muscle mass, protein intake will obviously increase if his training intensity, frequency or duration increases.
And so according to his calculations paddy knows he needs 88 grams of protein per day, combined with a good strength training program and then in no time he will be crowned Mr Olympia… CHAMPION!!
15-30g of Protein every 2 hours (depending on your calculated daily consumption)
Keeping with our example of our retired jockey champion turned pro bodybuilder Paddy; we stated our Irish friend needed 88 grams of protein per day. This is not to say the little guy chows down on 88 grams in one sitting, no, no, no. Since this is too much for the little fellas body to digest in one sitting and the excess protein would turn into toxins in the body and (without trying to sound crude) he would be trumping like a brass band. The key is to spread the 88 grams out throughout the day, consuming it all over 6-7 meals.
Low GI/ Slow Releasing Carbohydrates 1.5 g – 2g per kg of bodyweight per day
Once again very important this point… 1.5 grams – 2 grams of Low GI/ Slow Releasing carbohydrates per kg of bodyweight must be put into your chops everyday.
Example: Grandma Molly was the National Embroidery and Knitting Champion 4 years running; however after her 4 consecutive win she found she had lost the desire, the love she once had for the game. And so she decided, that now she had conquered the world of Embroidery and Knitting, she would now try and conquer the world of American Football. But weighing in at 45 kg Grandma Molly knows she has to put on some muscle, so she logged onto www.sixpacknow.com and upon reading a fantastic article written by that all knowing fitness guru Ross Edgley, haha, she discovered she needed to work out how many carbohydrates she should eat to increase her muscle mass. Grandma Molly’s calculations are shown below:
Grandma Molly’s weight: 45 kg
45 x 1.5 = 67.5 grams
45 x 2 = 90 grams
Note: This is a rough calculation of the minimum amount of carbohydrates Grandma Molly should be consuming if she wants to increases muscle mass, carbohydrate intake will obviously increase if her training intensity, frequency or duration increases.
And so according to the calculations of Grandma Molly if she eats between 67.5 – 90 grams of carbohydrates a day combined with a good strength training routine, she will be executing bone-crunching tackles in the NFL in no time.
500 Surplus Calories needed per day
Perhaps quite obvious however I thought it needed stating, you need to be putting 500 more calories down your pie hole than you ‘burn off’ per day if your body’s muscles are to have any chance of repairing and growing. Aliken it to the building of a house, you wouldn’t trying constructing yourself an abode with only 4 bricks, a cup of cement, 2 roof tiles and some Paper Mache, well at least I hope you wouldn’t. Then don’t try building yourself a bigger and better body if you don’t put enough ‘materials’ down your chops.
Good fats
Now that we have mentioned the quantity of ‘materials’/ food you need to construct yourself a mahoosive muscley body, permit to talk about the quality of grub you should be chowing down on, more specifically Essential Fatty Acids or Good Fats. These can be found in nuts, fish, flax seed oil, udo’s oil and avocados and are vital to muscle growth and repair so ensure you get a good supply in your diet (should roughly make up 10-15% of your diet.) Trying to increase muscle mass with a diet absent from quality EFA’s is like trying to build an extension on your house only using Blue tak, prick stick (maybe superglue for the really hard jobs) and some sticky tape, alas tis not going to happen.
So there you have it good people, ‘Ross’ 5 Key Nutritional Points for a Mahoosive Muscley you!’ read, learn, enjoy and be merry : )