So what forms the basis - what are the necessary conditions for us to lose fat?  To lose fat you must create a calorie deficit.  Simply put, a calorie deficit refers to consuming less energy (i.e. food) than your body requires or expends in a given period of time (typically measured within a 24 hour period).  Now, the common MISTAKE made by dieters and CICO “deniers” is assuming that CALORIES IN literally refers only to the total (known) numerical value of calories eaten/drank and that CALORIES OUT literally refers only to calories “burned” through exercise - and for some slightly more acquainted with bioenergetics, resting metabolic rate.

CALORIES IN
Calories-In is relatively simple: it’s the food you digest.  However, the calorie content of food is imperfectly determined and calorie availability can vary between species/variety/source and even due to the degree of processing involved.  These are small inconsistencies, but inconsistencies nonetheless.  For example, dietary fiber cannot be digested through typical enzymatic action in our small intestine (we do not produce cellulase).  So even though fiber HAS calories, it doesn't mean we "absorb" those calories.  However, gut flora in our large intestine can - through fermentation - convert fiber into short-chain fatty acids.  Those SCFA can translocate from the intestinal lumen into circulation, yielding calories.  Thus, the composition of your gut flora influences your CALORIES IN, and that composition differs between people, and across your lifespan.

CALORIES OUT 
This gets more complicated.  CALORIES OUT is not simply represented by what the treadmill tells you.  You inhabit a living body that, whether you are conscious of the fact or not, is perpetually dependent on energy availability.  In short, CALORIES OUT may be summed up as:

• Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
• Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)
• Exercise Activity (EA)
• Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)

Most people only consider EA when calculating their calorie expenditure, but this is only a fraction of it.  BMR refers to the energy required to “keep the lights on” - the energy needed to keep your organs functioning, while conscious, but not including activity.  This accounts for most of your daily energy needs (~1200 kcals).  NEAT refers to all the low-level or general activities you may perform that don’t include deliberate acts of exercise or sports, such as chores, walking, fidgeting, errands, etc.  Lastly, TEF represents the energy demands of digestion, and these demands can change based on your food choices.  How much do each of these things contribute to your energy expenditure?

• BMR - ~60%
• TEF - ~10%
• NEAT (~20-30% if EA is low)
• EA (~20-30% if NEAT is low; you exercise, but are otherwise sedentary)

IMPORTANT CAVEATS:

• As you lose weight, your BMR decreases
• The longer you stay in a deficit or below your “bodyweight set-point”, the more your NEAT decreases
• Two people with identical genetics can demonstrate a difference in NEAT by up to 2000 kcals!

All of the above caveats make your “target calories” a moving target!  Embarking on a weight-loss journey without considering the marvel of your metabolism - which is designed to keep you alive in times of food scarcity - is possibly the greatest oversight in nutrition.  Now, despite all the underlying complexity of metabolism, the process of determining and narrowing down what YOUR calorie needs are is actually quite straightforward:

1. For 1-2 weeks gather the following data:
   1. daily bodyweight
   2. all foods eaten or drank daily
   3. daily activity (time, type, and intensity)
      1. "All foods" not only refers to the what, but specifically how much (e.g. 1 cup of cooked rice, 200g of raw chicken breast, etc.)
2. Use a reliable reference database for caloric values of common foods (e.g. USDA database, appendices of a nutrition textbook, MyFitnessPal, etc.) to calculate your daily caloric intake.
3. Is your weight decreasing, maintaining, or increasing?  Also take note whether the first 7 day average is within 100kcals or less as the last 7 days.  Generally, most people put on weight over the Fall/Winter holiday season.  In other words, you are likely maintaining weight on your current intake.
4. If maintaining, you are neither in a deficit nor a surplus for your CURRENT weight AND activity level.  Sometimes people's eating habits don't really change all that much from age 20 to age 30.  However, their activity level can reduce drastically upon leaving house league or varsity sports and entering a sedentary workplace.  People buy cars, start families, and ultimately begin to rely on the daily conveniences of fast-food, snack-foods, delivery options, and of-course... get-thin-quick schemes.
5. Now in order to lose fat, you must induce a caloric deficit, which if you'll recall has several moving parts: Calories-In & Calories-Out (and all its divisions).  So if you consume less calories but maintain your activity level and lifestyle, or conversely maintain calorie intake but become more active - a calorie deficit can be achieved.  Ideally, a combination of the two major determinants is best, however that may depend on the specific scenario. 

E.g. A previous client came to me with a markedly low-energy intake (according to the Harris-Benedict equation, she was already in a caloric deficit), yet was still 20-30lbs overweight.  The calories weren't adding up!  Clearly this meant the calorie model didn't fit!  YES!  CICO debunked! ..... or maybe something is being overlooked?  - what jumped out at me was her remarkably low-activity level.  SOLUTION: we kept her calorie intake where it was while increasing her protein intake moderately, but our ace-in-the-hole was getting her started with a progressive, resistance training program for home.  Without changing her calorie intake she lost over 20lbs and was her lightest since high school! 

So was this client actually in a caloric deficit when she came to me?  According to the equation, yes - according to real-life, NO!  By definition, because she was not losing weight she was NOT in a caloric deficit.  It's important to remember that equations are crude estimations of calorie needs, and just exactly how efficiently individuals digest and utilize/partition the food molecules they eat is unique to them.  Activities like resistance training stimulate muscle protein synthesis (MPS) to a large enough degree that we can actually see its effect in 1-2 months - which is pretty amazing to think about!  The food you eat literally forms the essential elements of contractile muscle!  Because we created a demand for protein and energy (in the molecular form of ATP), we robbed her adipose (fat cells) to maintain, build, and repair actively trained muscles.  Training created the deficit, but it also told her body what to do with her food: Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle!

Do you have a good understanding of why your diet didn't work, or why it may have worked initially but you couldn't sustain it?  Millions of people diet, and dieting is a Billion dollar if not Trillion dollar industry.  The culture of body image and weight loss means big bucks for people looking to capitalize by marketing diet products and programs.
You've probably tried a few different diets and achieved similar results, or perhaps you experienced divergent results but a common regression to your original starting point - perhaps you ended up gaining more than you lost.  This is a common problem.  It's been said that we don't have trouble losing weight - people do it everyday.  Rather, we have trouble keeping weight off.  Why?

The reason....

Please watch, listen, and share the video lecture.

What is connection?

Connection means connecting the arm holding the kettlebell to your body (i.e. the hips) in order to conduct the force of your hip drive into the bell.
This is the foundation upon which kettlebell swinging works.  You cannot create a ballistic swing if you don't have connection, because you cannot launch the bell (i.e. arm) off a surface it was never connected to.
Connection means more power, but it also means lifting safer because it shortens what is referred to in the study of biomechanics as the moment arm.
A moment arm is the length between a joint axis or fulcrum and the line of force acting on that joint.

This is my interpretation of the line of action in a kettlebell swing.  I'm not a physics wizard so if anyone else is well studied on lines of action and moment arms feel free to add your take if you feel like there is a significant discrepancy with what actually happens during the swing.
Basically, the longer the line of red dots (moment arm), the more stress the back lever undergoes.  Not connecting to the hips also displaces the relative load higher up the spine to the scapula (anchor) increasing the risk of back injury.  So example (A) exhibits less risk and less stress, whereas example (B) exhibits more risk and more stress.

It cannot be stressed enough how fundamentally crucial this concept is.  If you don't get this concept then you should not be lifting.  It's fine if you're working on it, and really it's something you should ALWAYS be working on.  But not adhering to this principle makes you a back lifter, and a back lifter is not a safe lifter.

Play safe!

Coach Solly

On June 4, 2018, the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (JISSN) published an open access research article by D. AyotteJr and M. P. Corcoran, comparing the effects of a Personalized hydration plan (PHP) to a Normal (ad libitum) hydration plan (NHP).  The article reviewed previous findings in other research worth knowing.

Background:

• It is common for athletes to show up to training already dehydrated and consume inadequate fluid levels despite the ready availability of water or sports drinks [8, 11, 14, 15, 16]
• People sweat at different rates, and sodium losses are unique to individuals [8]
• losing 1–2% of body mass through sweat can yield
  • increased heart rate
  • increased core temperature
  • accelerated muscle glycogen use
  • decreases in cardiac output, cognitive awareness, anaerobic power, and time to exhaustion [2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
• Sodium is the main electrolyte lost through sweat
  • inadequate replacement can disrupt sleep and INCREASE blood pressure [7]
  • for most athletes, commercial sports drinks supply inadequate sodium [9]
• Relying on thirst signals often result in dehydration during exercise [8, 11, 13]

The Study:

• Randomized, crossover study
• Fifteen collegiate athletes
  • between 18 and 24 years of age, injury-free, able to exercise at greater than 75% of their maximal heart rate for a minimum of 45 min
  • athletes that were currently engaged in heavy, in-season, sports-specific training sessions
  • assessed for hydration habits and knowledge
• participants were assessed for sweat loss, then randomized to either a prescription hydration plan (PHP) or asked to continue with their normal hydration habits (NHP)
• Participants in each group underwent performance assessments prior, during, and immediately after a moderate to hard training session (goal average heart rate ≥ 75% of maximum for at least 45 min in duration)
• Mean and peak heart rate were recorded throughout the entire training session
• ADDITIONAL DETAILS HERE

Methods (PHP):

• A range of fluid consumption per 15 min was calculated (Min vs. Max in fl.oz) sufficient to prevent mild dehydration (2%)
• participants were advised to drink between the min and max amount of fluid at the agreed upon intervals from pre-measured bottles
• exact volumes varied from athlete to athlete
• The composition of fluid that each participant consumed for the PHP was supplemented with a level of NaCl corresponding to the participant’s sweat sodium loss

Athletic Assessments:

• Neurotracker (Spatial awareness and attention)
• Standing Long Jump (lower body anaerobic power)
• Training Session (monitoring sweat losses and HR Recovery)

Results:

Compared with pre-training performance:

• decrease in jumping distance following a NHP
• increase in jumping distance following a PHP
• PHP improved attention and awareness
• NHP did not significantly impact movement tracking, but result was negative
  

Compared with athletes' respective normal hydration plans:

• PHP improved HR Recovery significantly at both 10 & 15 min intervals, post training

Final Remarks:
So the authors of this study ultimately concluded that a PHP was effective in improving heart rate recovery, attention and awareness, and mitigating the loss in anaerobic power in collegiate athletes from various sports.

Their conclusions are supported previous research investigating the effectiveness of hydration plans against ad libitum fluid consumption.[13]

Results were not confounded by carbohydrate content of fluid replacement drinks used in the study because beverage consumption of each participant was held consistent between NHP and PHP training sessions.

"In all cases, the final [Na+] of the PHP beverages were higher than any of the sports drinks available to our athletes"

For activity lasting 120 min or less, commercial drinks are likely sufficient.  However, in this study benefits were seen in athletes who trained 70 min - 2 hours.

The authors listed some modest and understandable limitations of the study.  You can view them HERE.

Precision Hydration has offices in Vancouver and Toronto.  They can offer an Advanced Sweat Test, as well as provide pre-formulated electrolyte drink mix packets.

Other companies, like LEVELEN, offer a self-administered test that you send back for analysis.

If you are a competitive or elite level athlete, it is probably worth your time investigating the benefits of a PHP.  If you believe your recovery might be suffering due to insufficient hydration or electrolyte replacement, or you feel as though you might adhere to a hydration schedule better if you were given a prescription, then you might want to book a sweat test.

Q: I know you lift weights, but what do you do for cardio?
A: I lift weights faster
Don't let anyone convince you that "cardio" is a physical state you achieve in the absence of weights - whether it be on a bike, a treadmill, or a skipping rope.

Cardiovascular Demand VS. Oxidative Metabolism / Aerobics
Have you ever finished a challenging set of deadlifts, maybe a 5x5 at 80% 1RM, and realized that even though you took 2-min rest in between sets that your heart is now racing like a jack rabbit?  That's cardio.

Cardio doesn't mean spandex and headbands, and it doesn't mean bobbing up and down on ellipticals for 45min or more.

Cardiovascular training means placing a demand on your heart to increase its rate of contractions (HR in BPM) as well as its stroke volume (SV: amount of blood ejected by left ventricle with each contraction) in order to feed (and flush) working muscles.  Arnold constantly spoke of of "the pump", that feeling of blood-filled muscles creating pressure underneath the skin.  When you lift weights, blood is directed to the working muscles.  As you continue to lift weights (duration), or increase your pace (speed), or increase the weight (intensity/load), this demand for blood increases and SV and HR go up.  Moreover, the heavier the weight, the more mental acuity required.  This increased focus and alertness stimulates and is facilitated by increased HR.

Aerobics is essentially any activity that lasts longer than 90 seconds.  Beyond this point, oxidative phosphorylation/cellular respiration becomes the dominant energy system during continuous exercise.  As exercise duration increases, heart rate and respiration tends to increase.  In most cases, we stay at a pace where we can maintain a constant and steady rate of breathing and heartbeat. 
Engaging in this type of exercise with relative frequency is typically sufficient to improve cardio-respiratory function, mitochondrial density, and oxidative capacity.
However, adapting to exercise and seeing improvements means you have become fitter than you were, which means your aerobic training needs to be more intense to see continued improvement, or to even maintain aerobic fitness (metabolic rate may decrease as much as 5% per decade after puberty). 
By definition, the greatest demand you can place on the heart lies closest to the anaerobic threshold - the point at which the aerobic system cannot produce energy fast enough to address the energy demands placed on it.  If you've ever done interval training with a work-to-rest ratio of 1:1 or less rest, then you know what this intensity feels like.

According to a study by the Journal of Applied Physiology, a low-volume, high-intensity interval protocol of 60s:60s work-to-rest at 90% Max HR over 2-Weeks resulted in improved glucose control and metabolic health:

• reduced avg 24h blood glucose concentration
• reduced 3hr post-meal blood glucose concentration
• increased mitochondrial capacity (~20%)
• increased enzymatic activity (~227%)
• increased GLUT4 content (~369%)
  • transports glucose across muscle cell membrane

TOO MUCH, TOO LITTLE:
You don't want to be doing an hour of aerobic training each day, but then again I wouldn't advise repetitious high-intensity interval training (HIIT) each day either.  The key is balance.  You have two facets to your autonomic nervous system.  The (1) parasympathetic system is responsible for stimulation of "rest-and-digest" or "feed and breed"activities that occur when the body is at rest.  The complimentary (2) sympathetic nervous system's primary process is to stimulate the body's fight-or-flight response. 

When organizing your training it's important to schedule days that facilitate the parasympathetic response, allowing time to "rest and digest" - a Rest Day.  The term rest is relative.  Sometimes you do indeed require a day of absolutely no activity to optimize recovery.  The rest of the time you should aim to, at the very least, alternate training days of higher intensity with days of lower intensity.  It also helps to avoid stimulants (e.g. caffeine) on these days.

Example:
MON - 1hr of weight training paired with 10-15min of HIIT

TUES - 30min of Low-Intensity aerobic exercise 
WED - 1hr of weight training paired with 10-15min of HIIT
THURS - OFF
FRI - 1hr of weight training paired with 10-15min of HIIT
SAT - 30min of Low-Intensity aerobic exercise
SUN - OFF

Sources:
Low-volume high-intensity interval training reduces hyperglycemia and increases muscle mitochondrial capacity in patients with type 2 diabetes. Jonathan P. Little, Jenna B. Gillen, Michael E. Percival, Adeel Safdar, Mark A. Tarnopolsky, Zubin Punthakee, Mary E. Jung, Martin J. Gibala. Journal of Applied Physiology Dec 2011, 111 (6) 1554-1560; DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00921.2011