A little about me!

This blog is still new and you may want to know a little bit more about me. I found this and thought it would be fun to post up for you all!'

A.   Age: 22
B.    Bed size:  Queen works for me!
C.   Chore you hate: I do NOT like to dust haha! Anything but that.
D.   Dogs: I don't have one but I do like them. I have a cat though :)
E.    Essential start to your day: Coffee is a must for me in the morning. After I do that then my world begins
F.  Favorite color:  Blue and Red
G.  Gold or silver: I think gold makes a lot of $$$ so gold!
H.  Height: I am 5'9
I.   Instruments you play: It's been a while but I can play guitar, bass guitar and drums. No one wants to live with a drummer though haha
J.   Job title: Personal Trainer
K.  Kids: I have no kids but maybe somewhere down the road

L.  Live: Ft.Myers, FL
M. Mom’s name: Peggy
N.  Nicknames: People have always called me BigBen so I go with that. Turns out my name can leads to a lot of nicknames though so I will respond to almost anything haha
O.  Overnight hospital stays: 3 nights I believe...not a fun place to be!
P.  Pet peeve: Drives me crazy when you are upset about something and someone tells me to calm down! We are allowed to feel emotions don't tell me to calm down haha!!
Q.  Quote from a movie: Roses are red, violets are blue, I'm a schizophrenic and so am I - Bill Murray in What about Bob
R.  Righty or Lefty: I write with my left hand but I play sports with my right
S.   Siblings: 3 older brothers (my mom is a saint)
T.   Time you wake up: Everyday is different for me. Depends on when I have clients.
U.   Underwear: Got some white boxers with blue and green stripes right now
V.    Vegetables you dislike: Beets...Maybe I have never had them the right way?
W.   What makes you run late: Showers and brushing my teeth :(
X.    X-rays you’ve had: No clue but hopefully none more anytime soon!
Y.    Yummy food you make: I make good pan-fried chicken! I also have a chocolate peanut butter protein pudding I love!
Z.     Zoo animal favorite: Monkeys!


That's some information on me. I would like to hear about you all so feel free to fill it out and post it!

Cardio Last!!!

Hey guys its BigBen! Got a tip for the day. It's Sunday and most of us who workout will more than likely find ourselves in the gym tomorrow. I love sunday's because it is a new week and a good day to plan for the week. How can you meet your fitness goals this week? When I am working at the gym it almost never fails. The guys come in and go straight to the weight room. The ladies come in and go straight for the cardio. Who is right? When you enter the gym one of the first things on your agenda should be to warm up on a piece of cardio equipment. I like to do five minutes on the treadmill walking at a decent pace. You don't want to sweat and pant this is just a warm up! Then go do your weight training or resistance exercise. Then when you are done with that go back to the cardio section and do your real cardio session! Why do we do this? When you go to the gym you should have eaten. Do you want to burn all of your food off doing cardio? No! This would cause you to weight train on an empty stomach. When you weight train on an empty stomach the body is going to use muscle for fuel and not your bodyfat. If you waste all of your food energy on weight training and do LOW intensity cardio on an empty stomach the body responds differently. It will use bodyfat for fuel at this point and spare the muscle. Do your cardio last and you will have more muscle and less fat!

Ben's rant against Flour!

Why You Should Exclude FLOUR From Your Diet

Bread's primary ingredient is flour. The problem with flour is that it lacks much nutritional value. Most store bought breads offer little in the way of nutrients. It does not aid in digestion and slows down the bodies metabolism This is why:
Generally refined white flour is produced from the whole wheat grain and then goes on to the refining process which removes all of the husk, or bran and leaves you with no nutritional value. It then is bleached using chemicals which contain chlorine and is then dried in kilns at high temperature which kills off anything beneficial. They then add gluten, which is a product that an increasing number of people are building allergies to. This helps to produce a more evenly risen and air filled loaf. A standard loaf of bread also has sugar added to it which adds more calories and damages the body. Salt is also added to check the progress of the yeast and prevent the loaf from rising too much, or over-proving. In turn adding to one's overall sodium consumption.
Eating mass produced bread has no health benefits whatsoever. Small bakery bread and home made loaves usually taste a little better but because flour is used in their production, there is still no health benefit.

Today's Healthy Dessert

Healthy dessert - strawberry, raspberry with chocolate waffles and yogurt. Isolated on white.

The reason I like this dessert is because it is full of flavor while still staying low on calories. I do not encourage eating dessert frequently but sometimes we all need to give in and enjoy food a little. This way you can have dessert and not spend five days trying to work it off!

Introduction

Hello all:
     
My name is BigBen and I am a personal trainer, nutritionist and bodybuilder. I'm writing this blog in order to help teenagers with weight loss. I was overweight as a child all the way into my teens. From my first hand experience I know the pains and struggles that a teen goes through when they are overweight. Weight loss is a confusing subject for everyone...especially teenagers. I will be addressing things from diet and training to proper supplementation and lifestyle. The journey to be in shape is a lifestyle and it is not an easy one to jump into. People need direction while they are trying to obtain their goals. I am here to discuss things that I have learned through schooling, research and first hand experience. I welcome everyone to feel free to ask any questions in here. The goal is to help everyone reach their peak physical shape the easiest way possible!