Fat Loss – Body Transformation – Advanced Nutrition

Hey all,

Part 2 to my Summer Fat Loss series is coming quickly. It started off being a quick nutritional “tips” post and then has turned into quite the diatribe! And of course, the more I write, the more I want to write, so I’ve already thought of making it a several part series and will probably add a Summer Fat Loss series category on the side.

Just be patient! No more than one more day!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Happy Easter, everyone!

I have nothing specific to write about today. Want to write on some specific vitamins (especially Vitamin D) and amino acids (Leucine) but am pretty crazy packed in today so I’ll save those for next week. If you have a topic you’d be interested in reading my point-of-view on, leave me a comment and I may write on it.

My Nike Fuelband arrived last night and I’m wearing it today, and thus far, I love it. Nike came up with their own formula to measure simple activity (called FUEL) and it simply takes into consideration movement (without height/weight). So, it’s a way to “keep score” on how much you move in a day. It also keeps up with calories burned (which DOES take size into consideration) and steps, and is a watch as well. It’s light weight and doesn’t look terrible either!

Racquetball is my newest obsession. As many readers of this blog know, I was in the US Air Force for 10 years. Of course, there are racquetball courts on every AF base (as well as golf courses, but I’m allergic to grass). So racquetball was always an option for intense cardio and getting out of work :). I recently started playing frequently (I’ve logged over ten hours this week) and I’m loving it. It’s a lot of fun, but most importantly, it’s intense (to the tune of burning 1200-1500 kcal per hour). Want to burn some fat quickly for summer? Give it a try!

Last but not least, I’d like to welcome our newest trainer, Andy Travis to Personal Fitness Revolution. I’ll be adding his bio over the next couple of days, but his knowledge and training style meshes really well with our staff, and we are very glad to have him!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hello San Antonio,

I just wanted to post a quick update. I know that many people have emailed, called me, and commented on this blog and I haven’t responded. Well, today is my first day back from Costa Rica and I’ll be catching up and getting in touch with each of you ASAP!

As for my vacation, it was wonderful – an absolutely gorgeous country with great people. Definitely cannot wait to go back!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

Late last week, I was invited to contribute to a soon to be released fitness and nutrition related book, and today, I received my first set of interview questions to fill out. Great timing, because they’ve definitely given me several worthy topics to discuss.

As far as the book goes, I’ll update everyone here as I learn more about future stages on the project. I have been involved in a few of these projects in the past, and this one looks to be a very high level project – I am definitely honored that they decided to include me as one of the contributing fitness experts.

How is 2012 treating you thus far? Remember, January turns to February quickly – be patient, stay focused and committed, and take one day, one step at a time!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

As I pulled up at the gym to get my first workout of 2012 in, I’m sure I mumbled “Dammit, look at this place.” Of course, the parking lot was jammed pack – and I schedule my own personal workouts at common downtimes at gyms (9am or so).

Once my workout partner and I were up and running, I could see the irritation with the crowd growing on his face. People were being careless (not yielding to those who were lifting), not cleaning up after themselves (towels are free, nobody wants to lay in your sweat), and much of the same nonsense that goes on at most every gym during the first of the year.

Don’t worry: 80% of the people that are in there right now won’t be in there by the end of the month (and about half that number will fade in the next week or so). Don’t let the cluster that is the circus that is the gym kill your enthusiasm!!!

Set your goals, make a commitment, and be ready to grind it out and do whatever it takes to get there. Do not settle, and know that at some point, there will be bumps in the road and you may become discouraged: the difference in reaching your goals and not depends on how you react to that adversity.

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey Everyone,

Sorry for my lack of posting of late. Last Monday, I thought I was coming down with a sinus infection. Since taking a step back and resting is something I have trouble doing, it became worse, and what I thought was just a little head cold ended up being the flu!

I am now resting with my family and my pig Izzy for the holidays, excited about the rest of the year and what 2012 has to bring.

A lot of people ask me what they can do to minimize the effects of the holidays. It’s pretty simple: remember that Thanksgiving is Thursday, not tonight through next Tuesday. Enjoy yourself tomorrow: make it about family, stay hydrated all day, and if you are so motivated, do a few minutes of cardio (or at least go for a walk tomorrow morning). The hydrated part pertains to water: drinking water makes you feel saturated. Have your dinner, have your sides, enjoy a small dessert and then quit. Don’t unbuckle your pants and go back for seconds and thirds and induce a food coma.

The goal is to get back into gear quickly – there’s nothing wrong with having a kick ass session in the gym on Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving, but DEFINITELY hit it full blast on Monday and kick butt for the rest of the year!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read the things I write. I get a lot of email from people that read often, and one person willing to read makes it worth it for me to keep it up.

Have a very happy Thanksgiving – for more info and tips on fitness, text FITNESSTRAINER to 90210!

Boyd Myers
Master Fitness Trainer – San Antonio
Owner, Personal Fitness Revolution
San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
210.391.1454

Hey all,

As I stated earlier, during the month of November I am growing a mustache to support the Livestrong Foundation’s Prostate Awareness month. For more information, or to donate (a $1 or more), please check out:

Boyd’s Personal Movember Page

1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer over the next year, and it is the second most common cancer, behind only skin cancer. Let’s find a cure!!!

Thank you for any support you give to this great cause! Oh, and I will post a pic of this RIDICULOUS mustache I am growing by the end of the week!

Boyd Myers
Master Fitness Trainer – San Antonio
Owner, Personal Fitness Revolution
San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
210.391.1454

Hey all,

Just a few quick things to cover:

-It is boot camp time again. I’ll have more info later, but we are going to be starting another San Antonio Boot Camp here at Personal Fitness Revolution. Again, I’ll post an update later this week, so keep an eye out!

-November is MOVEMBER! To bring awareness to prostate cancer (1 in 6 men will be diagnosed this year), guys are encouraged to grow a mustache (“Mo” is an Aussie term for mustache). Yes, as terrible as it is, I am growing an awesome Burt Reynolds style stache this month!!!

-We are less than three weeks away from Thanksgiving. DO NOT USE THE HOLIDAYS AS A REASON TO FALL OFF THE FITNESS AND NUTRITION BANDWAGON! You CAN make tremendous progress between now and the new year. With that being said, you can also ruin an entire year worth of work by slacking now!

I have some great articles in the work for this week, so check backsoon!!!

Boyd Myers
Master Fitness Trainer – San Antonio
Owner, Personal Fitness Revolution
San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
210.391.1454

Hey everyone,

I try to spend a little time each day reading other health and fitness related material. Much of my free time is spent in medical journals and reading about government studies – but recently, my quest led me to a blog written by a lady named Victoria: Anorexic to Athletic. In one of her recent blogs (read it here), Victoria discusses the role of gym owners, their staffs and personal trainers in identifying individuals in their gyms that may be at risk to chronic exercise, anorexia, etc and their role in handling/assisting individuals in these situations.

I started this post, stopped, thought about it, re-wrote it a few times, walked away, and re-started several times. It is a delicate situation and I had to step back a few times and give it serious thought. Normally, I have no shortage of words and am able to respond immediately and definitely. In this situation, that simply was not the case.

I feel that I must clarify that my personal training studio is private – it is not a typical gym where people are coming and going throughout the day. It is by appointment only, and is purely one on one. I mention this because our relationship with our clients is quite different than the type the typical gym personal trainer may have with a random gym member. In my trainer-client relationship, the client’s condition, situation, health, etc are the primary reason they are here, and any discussion about said condition would be “fair game” to bring up, so to speak. I have worked with several different individuals who have struggled with eating disorders, image problems and such and I understand the uniquity of each situation.

I am not going to get into how balance is the essence of success, why people fall into these situations, how it happens, or any of that. I do believe that anorexia, body dysmorphia, chronic exercising and other similar conditions are more common than most would believe. With that being said, these situations may or may not be mutually exclusive. One could be a chronic exerciser, body dysmorphic, and anorexic or may simply be one or any combo of the three.

From the standpoint of being a health and fitness professional, if I happened to be a MEMBER of another gym and noticed someone who fit the bill as Anorexic or as someone who is a chronic exerciser, I would not feel comfortable approaching that individual and suggesting that they may have a problem. I am the type of person that tries to keep to myself, and when I am in a gym outside of my personal training studio, I tend to mind my own business and do my own thing when I’m at a gym.

Given these factors, my answers are based on both those as a gym owner and a gym patron.

In my opinion, there is a fine line between being perceived as trying to help and being invasive. Before I am a personal trainer, I am a compassionate human being, period. With that being said, the last thing I want to do is to put someone on the defensive and make them feel any more insecure or concerned than they may be. Too many personal trainers confuse their profession as that of a psychiatrist and that is unfortunate.

I have been a personal trainer for most of my adult life, and there is one thing that comes along with the territory of being a fitness professional: you cannot help someone who is not ready to be helped – and the best way to determine if that individual wants to be helped is for them to come to you and ask for it. I know, easier said than done, and as humans, asking for help is simply something that is very hard for many people to do – and I also realize that individuals in these situations may be internally screaming for help.

While I would love to be able to assist every individual doing things detrimental to their health, stopping each smoker, heavy drinker, sweets binger, chronic exerciser, overly stressed office worker, insomniac, pain killer addict, and manically depressed individual to offer my services is far outside the capacity of my profession. While I am an expert at what I do and can train individuals in a variety of manners, and feel that I have an eye to pick out individuals that may be apart of these special populations, my specialties still lie within the realm of performance nutrition, strength training, and the similar – unlike most personal trainers, I feel that diagnosing and attempting to treat any disorder (physical or emotional) is outside the scope of my professional duties.

In closing, I have worked with many individuals that have struggled with anorexia, and I feel comfortable being a part of a team and helping them get their lives back to a seemingly normal existence. I understand the precautions, the symptoms and some of the extremes in great detail. However, offering a diagnosis unsolicited is beyond that of an in-gym personal trainer.

If a certain fitness center felt that any patron was at risk to themselves, they obviously reserve the right to terminate their memberships on a case by case basis (which may be after offering to refer a certain individual to the appropriate professional for assistance).

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454
Text FITNESSTRAINER to 90210 for my fat loss and body transformation tips!

Hey San Antonio,

The Bad
First and foremost, my prayers go out to everyone affected by the fires in San Antonio and across Texas. As someone who lost their home and all of their belongings to a fire, I can relate and would never want anyone else to ever go through that horrible event. Be safe and be smart: have your important belongings, documents, valuables, etc ready to go if you are in a danger area – do not wait until the last minute. Anything can be replaced, except life.

Speaking of which, I want to say farewell to my sweet pet, Ziggy. While I cannot post a pic from my iPad on this blog, Ziggy was my Teacup Micro-pig that passed away in his sleep from faulty breeding. I know, a PIG, but he was the smartest, most affectionate animal I had ever known, and I have been extremely bummed by his passing. I am in the market for a new micro-pig, and this time, will research breeders a little better and not fall prey to a less than reputable breeder trying to make a buck at the expense of an animal’s health.

The Good!!!

Congrats to Esperanza for her great progress in her first month of training: she lost nearly 5 inches from her abdominal circumference in only 27 days, and lowered her bodyfat by over 6%. Awesome job and I am very proud of her!

It is FINALLY FOOTBALL SEASON! Definitely the most amazing time of the year for me, and a sign that it should start cooling off in the very near future. This morning, it was only 60 degrees here in San Antonio, but should be in the 90s by the end of the day. Of course, I am always sad to see Summer go, but this year, the heat has been almost unbearable, and I will welcome Fall and hopefully, some precipitation.

Now is a great time to get serious about your fitness – the holidays are right around the corner and there is time to create a NEW BODY before Thanksgiving. If you have been contemplating starting a fat loss or body transformation program, don’t hesitate: we are ready to help!

Keep moving forward!!!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey everyone,

I have spoken about Vibram Five Finger Shoes on the blog several different times. As I have stated many times, I am NOT a runner. I used to be, but due to the beating it gives the joints, I now elect for less impactive forms of cardio. So, my experience from Vibrams (a barefoot simulation shoe) comes from day to day wear and weight training.

That is, until today…

I have not run any significant distance in many years. I was short on time today and knew that I would not be able to get my morning workout in between clients and meetings, so I decided that I would plan to run a mile in my Vibrams so I could comment on them from a running standpoint when people ask me (I am asked about them everyday, even though I have been wearing them for close to two years!). Anyway, I am a toe runner anyway (I run distances like I would sprint, up on my toes), and while running itself was challenging, my feet and legs feel great, and I was able to keep my time under 7 minutes and 30 seconds (not bad for a 240 pounder). If I decided to run regularly, I would definitely have to take it slow to get used to the “barefoot” style, but my feet feel surprisingly good (and I ran at 9:30am, it was still under 85 degrees).

As I have stated numerous times: I would wear my Vibrams absolutely anywhere. I honestly believe that they have helped improve the condition of my feet and have greatly reduced knee and ankle pain that I have had for years from prolonged running, skydiving, etc. The research speaks for itself (as it pertains to barefoot running) – my recommendation is simple: if you have been thinking about a set of Vibram Five Fingers, do it!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

I had a very nice and relaxing weekend getaway, and absolutely needed it to recharge and recover with friends – very relaxing and fun!

Today was the first day of first grade for my little boy, Peyton. I handled it a lot better than I handled the first day of Kindergarten. I sat and had breakfast with him at his school’s cafeteria and it is crazy to think that there are only a handful of “first days of school” in a child’s life!

I have to admit that I was disturbed that his new “healthier” meal served by the school included a carb (french toast) and a protein (a fried chicken patty) and both orange juice and milk. Not sure who in the hell determines what a healthy school lunch is, but I am guessing the government does not have a clue (hey, look at half of congress, they sure don’t know haha).

Big kudos to my client and good friend Nick Novak – Nick is the Kicker for the New York Jets. He is absolutely “kicking” butt in training camp, and I will be very shocked if he does not win the job outright, and is their kicker this season. I have worked with numerous professional athletes, and I can vouch for Nick’s work ethic – he kicks and works out every single day. I am glad to see it paying off.

I want to give a shoutout to my client Joe. Want to talk about lean? In 6 weeks he has gone from 13.4% bodyfat down to an absolutely chisled 7.4% – insane abs and one of the pound for pound strongest clients I have – just an obvious example of what focus can achieve.

The mind is the most limiting factor – it is UP TO YOU!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

Will we ever get a break from this heat? This is going to be kind of a random posting with no real train of thought – just had a few questions from readers that I thought I would answer!

Business Related
-I am running my two for one personal training special right now (two people train together for the price of one. Call me at 210.391.1454 for details (or email me at boyd@the-personal-trainer.com)

-Since most people would prefer to text than call, YES, you can text me questions about my personal training service: 210.391.1454 :)

-Speaking of which, text the word FITNESSTRAINER to the number 90210 for my health, fitness and fat loss tips. Your number is safe, never sold, and you can opt out of my messages at any time.

Reader questions (some not related to actual training):
Boyd: have you watched that Ninja Challenge Show – what are your thoughts?

Haha, I had heard about it and my son and I actually watched a few hours of the marathon this weekend. It looked like fun and very challenging. I would love to see the actual huge obstacle course in Japan. I suppose I could find it on YouTube!

How is the bench press world record going?

I am actually doing better than I would have hoped to be doing right now. I have some vids coming out soon, but I am way ahead of schedule. My next huge goal is a 675 bench, and I have recently adjusted my goals to do that at a lighter weight than I actually benched 650lbs! For those who are new and haven’t been following, that is completely raw bench pressing, and I am currently after the raw world record of 715lbs.

Hey Boyd: From a fitness standpoint, who is your favorite athlete?

Hmm, good question. I am a huge football fan, but to be honest, many of those guys are genetic freaks and don’t have an insane training regimen. Based on what I know about specific athletes and their training, I would have to say that UFC Fighter Georges St Pierre is the most impressive. The guy does a little bit of everything and is in incredible shape.

He is pushing his workout videos now, and I doubt he does any of that that is in the vids. He is very meticulous with his diet and his old workout vids, (weights, plyometrics, etc) were pretty impressive.

Whatever it takes!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

I hope everyone had an amazing Father’s Day weekend and was able to spend time with your family! We were able to catch the new X-Men movie at the Paladium in San Antonio and I thought it was the best movie of it’s genre that I have ever seen (and my 6 year old absolutely loved it).

I am just between clients right now and am chomping at the bit to get my workout in today. I took a few days down to rest last week and allow myself to completely recover before I decided to throw myself to the wolves and turn it on and start chasing some of my big time personal goals, both physical and fiscal! Doing everything I can to inspire both with each of my businesses that I run.

I’ve cut my normally massive caloric intake back over the last several weeks to give my joints a little break as well. My body wants me to be a very skinny guy, and I typically carry way more muscle mass than my body appreciates. This morning, I was weighing in at 225, which is extremely light for me. I do not pay a lot of attention to the scale, but I usually stay in the 245 range. I will stay light for a bit, but of course, as chasing my personal power lifting goals requires, I will be adding back a little more weight in the near future.

I have a few pics I want to put up, but I am typing this on my iPad and WordPress and iPad aren’t the most integrated yet, but I am sure they will get it figured out soon.

Time for meal number 3 of this early day and to get ready to finish my morning clients. Make your week great!

Text FitnessTrainer to 90210 for fitness and nutrition related info sent right to your cell phone!

Boyd Myers
San Antonio Personal Trainer
210.391.1454

Good morning Texas!

I hope everyone is having a great start to their week.

I had no fewer than 20 messages this morning asking my thoughts on Lance. Each time a former teammate comes out, it seems I get a lot of questions about him.

I will take the time to go in-depth later (hard to type on my phone) but I’ll preface my stance with this: if you believe that everyone else in cycling was dirty during a period (as most have come to light) except the guy who was the most dominant ever, then I am guessing you also believe in the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy.

I will get to more later, but feel free to comment!

Today starts the next round as I go after the bench press record. Time to get the central nervous system ready! I will cover the different stages of training this week as well.

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454