Fat Loss – Body Transformation – Advanced Nutrition

Great Nutrition Question from a reader of the personal trainer in San Antonio blog:

Hey Boyd,

I am not bullshi**ing you when I tell you that by simply following your basic nutritional guidelines that you have posted on the blog I’ve made more progress in the last month then I have ever made following any nutritional program or diet in my life. Your food list is very broad and I like that you give many options, but I happen to be a person that prefers limited options. What are your favorite sources of foods from each header?

Samantha, Hollywood Park

Hey Samantha,

I’m very much a creature of habit as well. During contest prep, I like to think as little as possible, and to lower the risk of deviating from my regimen, I limit myself to very few foods. I still choose foods that give me the full spectrum of amino acids, vitamins and minerals.

I do want to throw out a few caveats: first and foremost, I do not enjoy eating vegetables. With that being said, they are ESSENTIAL for vitamin and mineral content and digestive health, so I make it a priority to eat them. Also, I despise chicken breast, so you will not see it on my list. I’m just not a chicken eater. Considering that, I will say that a chicken breast is typically a good serving size and it’s simple. I totally recommend it, I just personally don’t like chicken!

Sources of Protein:
-extremely high grade lean beef
-yellowfin tuna (seared ahi)
-egg whites
-Protein powder blend (I like Syntha6 by BSN)

Sources of carbohydrates:
-oatmeal
-whole grain rice
-sweet potatoes

Sources of healthy fat:
-almond butter
-avocado
-salmon
I like to get my fats in oil form for ease of measurement, so I also use flax, fish oil, and Sesamin oil.

Veggies:
If it’s green or white, I suggest you eat it.

Bonus – supplements that I recommend no matter your goal:
-Scivation Xtend (BCAA Supplement
-Scivation Sesamin
-Probiotics
-Digestive Enzymes
-Protein Blend

Sesamin has nutrient partitioning capabilities. What does this mean? It stores the protein and carbs where they need to be stored, helps you burn what you want to burn (adipose), and also has antioxidant properties.

Do a blog search on BCAA on the right side here – I cover them extensively, and recommend them to anyone who is serious about changing their bodies.

Digestive enzymes and probiotics are key for digestion. It doesn’t matter what you put into your body if you are unable to absorb it, and your body is only as healthy as your digestive system!

Thanks for the reader questions – even when I don’t mention it, typically, it is a simple reader question that gives me an idea for a specific post, so keep them coming.

Oh, quick video of me doing Stiff-Leg Dead Lifts :)

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

To all of the fathers (and single mothers who play both roles), I want to take this time to wish you Happy Father’s Day. I believe that as a father, the holiday is everyday, as there is absolutely nothing that compares to being a daddy.

Peyton and I had a great breakfast together, and while he played in the pool, I was able to get a head start on the week and get a nice, intense workout in. The workout of the day was Push muscles (benching, shoulder work, triceps, etc) but I finished off with some calf work and then several sets of what I’ll call light box jumps, as it wasn’t scheduled to be a plyometric day – my entire posterior core is still on fire from a few days ago.

I was able to get a vid of me jumping on to a 36″ box (one guy was saying 42″, but this one is the one I’ve always called 36″ and I’m pretty sure I’m right) holding 25lb plates in each hand. Later this week, I’ll try to get a vid of me actually doing this with the bar on my shoulders (a jumping squat).

Nonetheless:

Sorry for the quality of the vid and my lack of energy, but this was more than 2 hours into an already intense workout in a very hot gym!

Now Peyton and I are going to get cleaned up for a nice, early dinner. I look at everyday I get to spend with him as a great day, and I’ve cherished absolutely every single day since he was born.

I hope everyone is enjoying this special day. I will be posting more workout related videos over the next few weeks as I start focusing on the insanity I like to train with!

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,

Here’s the segment that will be airing on the Springtime65 show in June on Public Access TV here in San Antonio. In this segment, I discuss what types of cardio you should do, reading food labels and the importance of leg training.

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,

Here’s another video of my client Julie, who has now only been performing dead lifts for one month, dead lifting 205lbs – she weighs 135lbs. She continues to become leaner and leaner, and is anything but big and bulky!

Ladies, I say it over and over – not only is weightlifting empowering, it is a vital part of the overall program to help you become leaner and more defined, and is key to obtaining that evasive “toned” look that so many desire. Cardio does have a place, but hours of it every week will not help you get to where you want to be. Ab work? Only for functionality – it will not tone your mid-section. Starvation? Only if you’re trapped on an island. My clients regularly tell me that I have them eating more than they’ve ever eaten, yet they lose more fat and their bodies get more and more lean. Stop listening to the myths of “higher reps, more cardio and starve!” (For those who are curious, we train at every rep range from 1 to 100)

Knowledge is key!

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

Our Facebook Fan Page:

Hey San Antonio,

Here’s a video of my client Andy dead lifting 225 for 12 reps at 170lbs of bodyweight. The impressive thing? He couldn’t do one single solitary push up. Not even ONE. He seriously struggled with bodyweight squats when he first started! Here are some pics of him when he first started… He’s down 50lbs and more than 10″ on his abdominal circumference.

Awesome work, Andy!!!

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’ve posted a few videos of clients lifting relatively heavy weights, with quite a few of those clients lifting at or more than their bodyweight in some lifts. I’ve gone into great detail how training with intensity will not make you big and bulky, and that becoming extremely large requires a variety of steps to be in place and isn’t going to accidentally happen. There are thousands of guys trying to become huge and they’re still small, so it’s even more difficult for a female.

With that being said, I have posted videos of women performing relatively heavy squats and dead lifts. Please understand that these ladies have worked up to performing these lifts, and when I train an individual, we start at their fitness level and progressively work toward making them stronger, leaner and more confident. They aren’t lifting 225lbs the first time they come to train with me, as the lifts are the result of intense training and following the strict nutritional regimen that I’ve laid out for them.

Here’s another case of hard work paying off. Again, this is Julie, and this time she’s squatting her bodyweight (135lbs) for 5 repetitions. Week after week, she is becoming more lean – not bigger and bulkier.

Had I told her when she first started that she’d be able to do what she’s doing now, I doubt she would’ve believed me. Now, nothing seems impossible for her!

Great job, Julie!

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,

A video of my client Chade with 700lbs on the leg press. A few months ago, one plate on each side was enough to burn him out. Now? The machine is completely full – his body fat keeps going lower and lower, while his abs become more and more visible.

Way to go Chade, great work (note – his workout partner Andy duplicated the feat with a set of his own for 20 reps)!

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,

Here’s another impressive bit of strength from a workout today.

First is Kwani deadlifting 185lbs. She is by NO MEANS big and bulky (by the way, this was more than 40 minutes into the workout…)

Second vid is a couple of reps of squats for 135 reps (bottomed on the safety rails on the last rep) and then 3 chin ups. For the record, the machine she is squatting on is not a typical smith machine – it has front to back movement (as well as vertical movement).

Nice work, Doctor!

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,

Just took this video of my client Julie performing dead lifts with her body weight (135lbs). She has only been deadlifting for just over two weeks, which makes this video more impressive. She’s an elementary school teacher, and I’m sure that 135lbs is more than most of her kids way (students beware!). This video was filmed on my webcam, so I apologize for the quality.

And for those women who are worried about getting big and bulky? Julie is rapidly dropping body fat and is looking more and more defined week after week, NOT getting big and bulky by any means!

If your personal trainer has you doing isolation exercise after isolation exercise, followed by a few little machines and maybe some assistance work, you’re being ripped off. Of course, you have to crawl before you walk, but hopefully, your personal trainer has developed a program that focuses on compound exercises that improve functionality and overall strength.

Stop wasting your time – there’s a reason it’s called WORKING out!

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,

Here’s a video blog where I discuss a few things you can do nutritionally to make a drastic impact in your fat loss. I have a lot of people that ask me how I train and since I train such a wide variety of people and everyone’s different, I touch on the things that are common factors in my clients’ training programs.

I still have a few slots open for my online personal training program, so if you’re not in San Antonio and are looking for a personal trainer, drop me a line. No matter your goal or current condition, I remove all guesswork for you.

Hope everyone’s having a great Tuesday!

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