Late-Night Snacking

Whether you’re dieting or just trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, late-night hunger affects us all. By ‘late-night’ I’m referring to the last 1-3 hours before going to sleep. You’ve heard it a million times before, “don’t eat right before bed.” And for the most part, I believe this is good advice. Yet, I do believe that you should listen to your body and if you’re really hungry, you should eat something before sleeping.

The real question is: “what should I eat before bed?” rather than “should I eat before bed?” Listen to your stomach, being hungry when sleeping will keep you from having a good night sleep and that’s not good for your health.

So what should you eat during those last few hours before hitting the hay? Here are some good choices and bad choices and overall dos and don’ts:

Good Snacking Options:

1. Protein shake: This is a good option because shakes are low in calories, sugar and carbs. The high amount of protein will help keep you fuller, longer.

2. Nuts: This is a good option because nuts are packed full of protein and healthy fats. They lack carbs and sugar so your body doesn’t need much time to ‘burn off’ the calories. Nuts like almonds will keep you satisfied for a long time and will help you overcome cravings. Just grab a palm-full of nuts and kill those cravings.

3. Piece of cheese: Cheese is full of protein and calcium. Plus, cheese is very filling and doesn’t contain carbs or sugar. Cottage cheese and plain yogurt are good choices. Avoid sugary yogurts and just keep ‘cheese eating’ in moderation and you’ll be fine and full.

4. Vegetables: Green vegetables are a good choice because of their high-fibre content. Fibre keeps you full for a long time and is good for you. You can’t get fat by eating vegetables. So eat a salad, spinach or some broccoli and you’ll ensure healthy late-night snacking.

5. Egg white omelette: Egg whites are full of protein and are low in calories. Ounce for ounce egg whites are the most satisfying and healthy snacking option. Don’t eat the yolks because they contain high levels of fat and cholesterol, which you don’t need before bed. A large egg has 70 calories; 53 are found in the yolk and only 17 are in the white. Egg whites are tasty and healthy – the perfect option.

Bad Snacking Options:

1. Baked goods: Muffins, croissants, danishes and/or donuts are the worst late-night snacks. They are full of fat, sugar and carbs. The carbs and sugar won’t be burned off fast enough before bed and thus, you’ll be sleeping with a stomach full of sugar and carbs. And when you don’t burn these carbs or sugars off, you gain weight. It’s simple and it’s bad. So avoid any baked treat.

2. Bread or toast: Again, just like baked goods, bread is full of carbs. It doesn’t contain much fibre or protein (even if it’s whole wheat) so your hunger probably won’t go away. In fact, bread will just rev-up your appetite and you’ll need to eat a lot in order to fill the void.

3. Pasta or cereal: Same principle as bread or baked goods; all carbs, no health benefits. Unless you’re carbo-loading before a marathon in the morning, avoid all these options because you won’t properly burn off the calories consumed during your late-night feeding.

4. Chocolate milk: Even though milk can be a good late-night snacking option, chocolate milk contains too much sugar for it to be a good choice. When sugar isn’t burned off, it sits in your stomach and turns into fat. So avoid chocolate milk at all costs.

5. Fruit: This is a controversial topic. Many people believe fruit is a good choice, any time of the day. But fruit contains a lot of sugar and even though it’s natural sugar, you still won’t be able to burn it off before sleeping. It will then turn to fat as you sleep. The fibre in fruit is good, but the high amount of sugar makes this a poor snacking option.

There you have it – some good and bad late-night snacking options. Just remember to eat foods with protein and fibre and lack sugar or carbs and you’ll be fine.

Healthy snacking!

Build a better back

Every guy wants a strong, wide, v-shaped back. However, strong traps and bulging lats aren’t built by performing ‘rowing exercises’ only. To build a better back, you need to target all the muscles in your back, not just the big ones.

Far too many gym rats focus solely on rowing exercises; seated rows, bent-over rows, single arm rows and cable rows. But real results come from varying your back exercises. You should perform 1 rowing exercise, 1 pulling exercise, 1 fly exercise and 1 push exercise in every back workout. By doing these 4 movements, you will target your traps, lats and deltoids.

Here are 4 great exercises that will help maximize your back workout routine:
(click on each title to see how each exercise is performed)

1. Bent-over row (the row)

Stand over a weighted barbell, bend down and grip the bar at shoulder width with either a hockey grip, overhand grip or underhand grip. Bend your knees, keep your back straight and row the bar towards your midsection. Make sure you follow your thigh line and keep the row slow and controlled. Perform 3 sets of 10 – 12 reps.

2. Lat pulldown (the pull)

Sit at a pull-down station, reach up and grab the overhead bar. Place your hands at no closer than shoulder width apart. Try keeping your hands as far apart as possible without straining your back or shoulders. Keep your back straight, your butt flat on the seat and pull the bar down to your chest. Don’t rock back when you pull the bar. Make sure you’re using your back to pull the weight down, not your momentum. Perform 3 sets of 8 – 10 reps.

3. Rear deltoid fly (the fly)

This exercise is similar to a chest fly except you’re doing it in reverse to target your back. Sit on the edge of a bench and place your feet on the ground on a 45 degree angle so that you have room under your thighs to move the weights. Grip 2 dumbbells under your thighs, rest your chest on the tops of your thighs, look forward and raise the dumbbells sideways without moving your chest. Pretend you are ripping a shirt apart like Hulk Hogan and raise the weights at your sides. Raise the bells as far as you can without straining your back. Essentially, you are bringing your arms to a winged position (like a fly). Perform 3 sets of 10 – 15 reps. ***note - you can perform rear delt flies either in a seated, laying down or bent-over position. I prefer the seated rear delt fly, but all positions are effective.

4. Dips (the push)

Stand over a dip rack and grip each arm of the machine. Raise yourself up and bring your legs off the ground, holding them behind you. Then, lower yourself as low as you can without hurting your shoulders. You should try to get your biceps parallel with the floor. Hold for a second and then push yourself back up to the top. If you can’t perform free motion dips, then you can use the aided dip station; using machine weight to help dip your body weight. Perform 3 sets of as many dips as you can. ***note - this exercise also targets your chest and can be used in your chest workout as well.

You can vary your back exercises from week to week but always try to perform a pull, push, fly and row exercise.

As always, let me know if you have any questions!

Get fit!

Sculpting your legs

The Fifa 2010 World Cup is underway and even though some players are better than others, there is one thing every player has in common – strong legs! Have you seen how powerful and sculpted the players’ legs are?! They all have immaculate bottom halves. But you too can have soccer legs. It’s simple, just perform these 5 leg exercises (3 sets per exercise for 10 – 15 reps) once a week and you’ll attain Cannavaro-like legs.

1. Squats: Before you sculpt your quads, calves and butt, you need to pack on some muscle. And the best way to pack on leg muscle is to perform squats. Rest a weighted barbell on your shoulders and back of your neck, look forward, keep your back straight and slowly squat the bar. Lower the bar down so that your legs are at a 90 degree angle and then stand back up. Hold the position for 1 second at the bottom of the squat and then 1 second at the top.

2. Dead-lifts: To get strong legs, you need to have a strong lower back. The dead-lift is the perfect exercise to strengthen your lower back and legs. Stand over a weighted barbell, bend down, grip the bar with an over-handed or hockey style grip at shoulder width apart, keep your back straight and bring the bar up to your waist as you stand back up. Hold for 2 seconds and then slowly lower the bar back down to the ground. When you lower the bar, keep it as close to your legs as possible – follow your leg line. Rest for a second and then lift the bar again.

3. Weighted lunges: This exercise targets every part of your legs. Stand with a dumbbell in each hand, step forward with one leg and then lower your other leg down to the ground. Once your knee touches the ground, pull your front leg back to the initial position and stand. Then, step forward with the other leg and continue the movement. Continue rotating legs until you get at least 10 steps per leg.

4. Weighted stand-ups: This exercise not only targets every part of your legs, but it also targets your core as you need to engage your abs for balance. Stand in front of a bench or 24 inch platform with a dumbbell in each hand. Put one foot on the platform or bench and then stand up, bringing your other leg up to the platform. Stand on top of the platform for a second then jump back down. Rotate legs and continue the movement until you reach 10 reps per leg.

5. Interval sprints: This exercise works your legs and gives you a great cardio workout. It’s a simple exercise and it can be done anywhere. Go to a park, field, or even your backyard (if it’s big enough) and just sprint! Sprint hard for 10-15 seconds, then walk or lightly jog back to your starting point. Wait a few seconds and then sprint again. Sprinting is an explosive movement that targets all those little muscles in your legs that are hard to engage in the gym. Soccer players do sprints at all their practices and it’s the reason why they are all so fit.

There you have it, 5 leg exercises that will help you sculpt perfect legs. Skip the leg machines (leg press, quad extensions, etc.) and just focus on these compound movements. You’ll be sore for a few days but you’ve heard it before, “no pain, no gain.”

Leave a comment if you have any questions.

Post-workout nutrition

Whether you’re trying to add muscle or just trying to ‘lean up,' you need to eat right after a workout. Besides breakfast, your post-workout meal is your most important meal of the day. Why is that you ask? Well, it’s simple; during a workout you literally tear and break down muscle. They are put under strain, regardless if you train heavy or you light. Your now torn muscles need fuel to rebuild and grow. You can’t expect to gain muscle if you aren’t refuelling your body properly. Everyone knows that protein builds muscle, but it’s not that easy. Protein needs some help from two types of carbs in order to properly rebuild muscle.

After a workout you need to take in a good amount of simple carbs, protein and complex carbs (and in this order). Below are the 3 most important types of foods/drinks your body needs after a workout:

1. Simple carbs

These sources are also referred to as simple sugar foods or drinks. Fruits and juices are the best sources of simple carbs and when consumed with a protein shake, can lead to positive muscle growth. Eat a banana or drink a glass of orange juice, along with a scoop of protein powder, right after a workout to get nutrients to your muscles quickly. And don’t worry about taking in these natural sugars after a workout. Your body has just been shocked and craves new sources of energy and nutrients. Simple sugars ingested right after a workout will be used immediately by your body to help restore lost energy. They cause an insulin spike that will help move nutrients to your muscles quickly.

2. Protein

Consume anywhere from 20 to 50 grams of protein right after your workout, depending on your body size. Protein provides the building blocks for muscle growth. But protein alone won’t help build muscle. Simply put, you need ‘cement’ (carbs) for the ‘bricks’ (protein) to help build the ‘house’ (body). The simple carbs should be consumed at the same time as the protein. Because simple carbs are easily and quickly digested, they allow the protein to rapidly become digested and absorbed by your body. They help carry the protein to your damaged muscles so that they can regenerate as quickly as possible. The quickest dissolving protein is found in any protein powder shake. A scoop of whey protein (concentrate or isolate) is the best form of protein you should consume immediately after a workout.


3. Complex carbs

You should consume anywhere from 30 – 60 grams of complex carbs an hour or two after your workout. Complex carbs will enable the protein to reach your muscles and continually rebuild what was damaged during the workout. These carbs will enable your body to restore lost muscle glycogen. If you don’t eat carbs after a workout your body will actually use muscle tissue to repair itself; counter-productive to say the least. These carbs should make up the bulk of your post-workout meal. You can schedule your workout right before lunch or dinner so that you optimize your regular meal timing. Although this meal calls for complex carbs, you should still add some lean protein to the mix.

Here are a few good examples of complex carbs:

- Baked potato
- Sweet potato
- Yams
- Whole wheat bread and cereals
- Oatmeal
- Whole wheat pasta
- Beans and legumes

Your post-workout meal doesn’t just help restore lost energy sources and repair muscle, it also helps your body get ready for your next workout. Simply put, it’s crucial to eat right after a good workout.

Again, message me if you have any questions!

The key to 6-pack abs

Everyone wants 6-pack abs and if you’re like most people, attaining a washboard stomach seems impossible. You do all the crunches and perform multiple sets of sit-ups, yet your abs are still nowhere in sight. So what do you do?! Well, it may be easier than you think.

Here are 5 tips to help you get that flat stomach you’ve always wanted:

1. Nutrition

You’ve probably heard it a million times, but it’s true; abs are made in the kitchen. You need to ‘fuel up’ properly before and after hitting the gym. You need quality protein (chicken breast, egg whites, beans, nuts and protein powder) and fibre rich carbs (oatmeal, yams, fruit and whole wheat grains) to keep your body in top form. Doing 500 crunches is great, but if you’re eating a pound of pasta and pizza every day, forget about seeing that flat mid-section. Make sure you’re eating 6 small meals a day, full of quality protein and fibre rich foods. Nutrition is vital to exposing your abs.

2. Exercise variation

Vary your ab exercises. Crunches and sit-ups are thought to be the best ab exercises, but these 2 alone, won’t get you abs. You need to vary your routines and keep your mid-section guessing. If you perform the same exercises each time, your body gets used to the exercises and your results will plateau. You need to change it up and make sure your taxing all parts of your core. Click here for some great ab exercises to get you on your way.

3. Proper form

A million reps of one exercise done incorrectly won’t get you six-pack abs. Pay close attention to your form and make sure you’re doing each rep properly. Don’t forget to breathe during each exercise and flex your abs at the top of each movement. Don’t get caught up on total reps, instead, focus on proper reps. 20 properly performed reps are much more effective than 200 incorrectly performed reps.

4. Don’t over-train

You shouldn’t train one muscle group more than 3 times a week and the same goes for your abs. Target your abs 3 times a week, no more. If you train your core more than 3 times a week, you won’t be able to properly rest and grow your ab muscles. And don’t forget, abs are muscles. They need rest and time to heal and grow. I like working my abs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. But feel free to work your core on any combination of days; Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays is also a good routine. Try not to work your abs on consecutive days.

5. Full-body exercises

Compound exercises like pull-ups, dips, push-ups, squats and dead-lifts do much more for your core than concentrated crunches. These exercises target your entire core and help build your obliques and smaller stabilizer core muscles. Building these muscles will help build those bigger 6-pack muscles. Why? Because they help with your form and keep your entire core strong. Check out my older post on the benefits of compound exercises.

There you have it, 5 tips to get you that rock-hard mid-section.

The 3 best exercises you should do be doing

You can waste time and effort with machine exercises. Or, you can do 3 exercises that target most of your muscles and get out of the gym quickly. The choice is yours.

Obviously, you don’t want to be in the gym for 2 hours a day, but you want 2 hour a day workout results. So what exercises can you do to get you in and out of the gym in less than an hour and maximize results?

Well, it’s simple actually. Perform these 3 compound exercises and you’ll be more than happy with your results: deadlift, bench press, squats.

A compound exercise targets several muscles and strengthens your entire body. Compound exercises burn a lot of calories, give you a full body workout, keep your heart-rate up and build muscle.

1. Deadlift

Stand over a weighted barbell, reach down, grab the bar with an open or closed grip, keep your back straight, push your chest out and lift the bar up to your waist. At the top of the movement, stand straight and pinch your shoulder blades together. Then lower the bar back down to the ground and start again. Perform 3-5 sets of 8-15 reps.

This exercise targets all the muscles in your forearms, core, back, shoulders and legs. Can it get any better? The deadlift blasts calories and works hundreds of muscles all over your body. It’s a demanding exercise but it’s extremely rewarding.

2. Bench press



Lay down on a bench, pinch your shoulder blades together, reach up and grab the bar at shoulder width. Lower the barbell down to your chest and then push it back up to the top. Don’t forget to breath and always firmly grip the bar. Perform 3-5 sets of 6-15 reps.

This exercise works your entire upper-body; chest, forearms, biceps, shoulders, back and core. Again, this exercise will build strength and shred fat because you’re taxing your muscles and burning a tonne of calories.

3. Squats



Stand in front of a barbell, rest it against the top of your back, grip the bar with both hands, keep your back straight, press your chest out and squat down, bringing your knees to a 90 degree angle. Then, stand back up, keeping a straight back and pressed out chest. Perform 3-5 sets of 8-16 reps.

This exercise taxes your entire lower body and core; glutes, quads, shins, calves, heels, abs and obliques. Squats target the largest muscles in your body, your legs, which use a lot of energy. When you tax a large muscle group, you burn a lot of calories. It’s simple and helps you shred fat and tone your bottom end.

There you have it, do these exercises at least once a week and get ready for some amazing results.

Healthy snacking on the go

You haven’t eaten in a few hours, you’re hungry and you’re in a rush. So, should you eat something? If so, what do you eat? Or should you just ignore your hunger and wait till your next meal?

It’s simple - YES, you should eat something if you’re hungry! Healthy snacking is an important part of any healthy lifestyle. Even if you’re trying to shed a few pounds, you should NEVER avoid eating when you’re hungry. You keep your metabolism firing by consuming low calorie, high fibre and protein snacks. If you wait too long between meals, your metabolism slows down and thus, makes it difficult to burn calories.

Your body needs food for energy, so give it what it wants! If you deprive yourself of food/snacks, then your metabolism slows down and starts to store fat. This storing of fat makes it hard to burn calories because your body is basically saying: “because you haven’t fed me in a while, I will store food as fat because I need future energy and I don’t know when I’ll be fed again.” Get it?

Simply put, eat something every 3 hours so that your metabolism doesn’t fall asleep. NEVER avoid snacking between meals.

But with that being said, what should you eat? Eating sugary, greasy, fatty snacks is not the answer as you will end up storing these foods as fat because your body can’t break them down efficiently. Choose high fibre, high protein snacks that will satisfy your hunger and keep your metabolism firing. And when you’re on the go, you should always have a few snacks on-hand to satisfy between-meal hunger.

Here are 5 healthy snacks:

Trail Mix – Any combination of dried fruit and nuts constitutes a healthy trail mix snack. This snack is perfect because it’s packed full of fibre (dried fruit) and protein (nuts). Also, the healthy fat in nuts will keep you satisfied for a long time. But, don’t be fooled by trail mixes that contain chocolate chips or smarties as these are not healthy snack options. Chocolate has no place in a trail mix.

Energy bar – Any granola or protein bar makes for a perfect snack. They have a good amount of fibre, protein and healthy fats. For females, choose a bar that has apx. 150 calories. For men, 200 calorie bars are the best.

Fresh fruit – Simple, fast and healthy. Fruit is a perfect snack option as it contains natural sugars and a high amount of fibre. Fruit contains enzymes that allow for easy digestive breakdown, making it a healthy go-to snack when you’re in a rush.

Vegetables – A bag full of carrots, celery, broccoli or any other vegetable is a perfect snack choice. Packed full of vitamins and fibre, these little packages of natural goodness make choosing a healthy snack easy.

Peanut butter and whole wheat crackers – healthy, easy, and portable. The protein and healthy fats in peanut butter make for a perfect ‘any time’ snack option. Whole wheat crackers also contain protein and fibre. The combination is as healthy as it is delicious.

There you have it - 5 simple snacks that can be consumed when you’re on the run.

Need more healthy snack options or clarification on anything? just let me know!