But there is also a darker side to this story…many dads (30+, 40+, 50+ years old) are now in the worst physical shape of their lives. Sad, but true.
A lot of fathers are suffering from a dangerous condition
called “Metabolic Syndrome X”.
One of the main indicators of someone who has this metabolic disorder
is “abdominal obesity” (as pictured here). The really scary part is
that far too many are in this exact shape.
One of the main indicators of someone who has metabolic disorder
is abdominal obesity, as clearly demonstrated in the picture above.
The scary part is that many of our father’s look just like this!
So WHAT exactly am I talking about? Please read below for a
description of Metabolic Syndrome from www.MedicineNet.com:
What is metabolic syndrome?
An association between certain metabolic disorders and
cardiovascular disease has been known since the 1940s.
In the 1980s this association became more clearly defined and the
term metabolic syndrome (also known as syndrome X or the
dysmetabolic syndrome) was coined to designate a cluster of metabolic
risk factors that come together in a single individual.
In more current times, the term metabolic syndrome is found throughout medical literature and in the lay press as well. There are slight differences in the criteria of diagnosis – depending on which authority is quoted. Regardless,
the concept of a clustering of risks factors leading to cardiovascular
disease is well accepted.
The main features of metabolic syndrome include insulin resistance,
hypertension (high blood pressure), cholesterol abnormalities,
and an increased risk for clotting.
Patients are most often overweight or obese.
Insulin resistance refers to the diminished ability of cells to
respond to the action of insulin in promoting the transport of
the sugar glucose, from blood into muscles and other tissues.
Because of the central role that insulin resistance plays in
the metabolic syndrome, a separate article is devoted to insulin resistance.
How is metabolic syndrome defined?
The definition of metabolic syndrome depends on which group of experts is
doing the defining. Based on the guidelines from the 2001 National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel (ATP III),
any three of the following traits in the same individual
meet the criteria for the metabolic syndrome:
1. Abdominal obesity: a waist circumference over 102 cm (40 in) in men and over 88 cm (35 inches) in women.
2. Serum triglycerides 150 mg/dl or above.
3. HDL cholesterol 40mg/dl or lower in men and 50mg/dl or lower in women.
4. Blood pressure of 130/85 or more.
5. Fasting blood glucose of 110 mg/dl or above. (Some groups say 100mg/dl)
And though Metabolic Syndrome actually affects more women than men, there is certainly no shortage of men 40 years and older who have that “deadly beer gut” that literally makes them a ticking time bomb for a slew of serious medical conditions.
But there is good news amongst this frightening reality: The most common cause of metabolic disorder is of course a vicious combination of a lack of exercise and poor diet.
OK, fellow dads…here are my top 3 fitness tips to help save your life.
If not for yourself, do it for those that love you!
Life Saver Tip #1. Ease up on the brew-hahas.
For most, it’s no secret how a lot of daddy bellies end up looking more like a keg than a 6 pack…beer…and lots of it.
It is truly amazing how detrimental alcohol can be on your body composition
…check it out:
How Alcohol Makes You Fat
-Alcohol first passes through the esophagus as it travels to your stomach.
-From there, 20% of the alcohol is absorbed immediately by your bloodstream.
-The remaining alcohol travels to your intestines and is absorbed from there.
-The alcohol in your bloodstream then travels directly to your liver.
It is here that the body breaks the alcohol down, something that is
absolutely essential since alcohol is toxic to the body.
-Alcohol brakes down into acetate and acetaldehyde which IMMEDIATELY
signals to your body to stop burning fat. Even worse, another waste product of
alcohol, acetyl CoA, actually starts to make more body fat.
If you’re boozin’, you AIN’T losin’!
What Does this Mean?
-Your body can only effectively process 0.5 to 1 ounce of alcohol per hour
-How much damage? A 12-ounce beer contains about 0.6 ounces of alcohol. If
you consumed 5 of these, your body would be inhibited from fat burning for up to
6 hours. This is aside from the fact that your body will actually be storing fat
during these 6 hours!
The more you drink, the longer your body is inhibited from
burning fat in addition to a greater fat build up from excess acetyl CoA.
As you can see, just one day of over the top drinking can set you back days (probably more like a week) when it comes to fat loss!
-What’s the worst-case scenario? Mixing alcohol with sugary beverages
promotes even further fat gain due to the resulting insulin surge
that triggers fat storage (e.g. regular beer or cocktails mixed with
soda, juice or “energy drinks” like Red Bull)
The Bottom Line?
If you want to be lean and keep your fat burning furnace stoked to the max, you must minimize ALCOHOL consumption!
If you just gotta drink:
a.) Choose wine or hard liquor and “light” beer
b.) Limit alcohol consumption to 1-2 days per week with a 1-2 drink per day max
References:
Campbell and Volek, “TNT Diet: Targeted Nutrition Tactics”
Life Saver Tip 2.) Spend less time working on the “Mirror Muscles”.
Most dads I see in the gym just want to imitate the meatheads they read about
in the latest fitness magazine, emphasizing the mirror muscles…”big chest, big biceps, big chest, big biceps” as they spend a good majority of their workout
focusing on these areas.
Look, I think I know why most guys won’t spend the same amount of time working their legs…unless they wear a speedo to the neighborhood pool party (please, fellas – don’t), legs are not the first thing on display.
Do not underestimate the power of strong, muscular legs…they are the key to torching your gut. After all, the majority of your body’s muscle mass, and thus metabolism, is contained within your lower body.
Not giving proper attention to your lower body is like going to a gun fight without a gun, and here’s why:
a.) Training your whole body (legs included) not only helps you burn more calories each workout, it also maximally depletes your body’s glycogen stores (the sugar in your muscles) to allow for more total body fat burning
b.) The more lean muscle mass you have in your lower body the more calories your body will be burning 24-7-365 outside of your workouts
c.) Whenever you work your legs you generate the largest increases in natural anabolic hormone levels which translates into more total body muscle and less ugly, unwanted body fat
So in other words, if you want better abs, you better start working those legs in total body fashion! This can be easily accomplished with 3 full body workouts per week that train your upper body, lower body, and core within the same workout.
Life Saver TIP 3.) The “no pain-no gain” mentality will beat your body into serious submission.
The “no pain, no gain” mantra is quite possible the most misunderstood battle cry inside the gym.
“Pain” is a good thing as long as it’s the right “type of pain”, as explained here:
When a workout BURNS YOUR MUSCLES and you working them to fatigue, that’s a good pain.
This means you are now pushing past your comfort zone to inspire change, working with intensity to torch calories and build muscle, and burning sugar so your body can burn fat for hours and hours after your workout.
When a workout HURTS YOUR JOINTS that’s a bad pain- it means you are quickly wearing down the structural integrity of your joints and will soon be unable to do anything without pain or stiffness. This is most often caused by a combination of using too heavy of loads, poor exercise form and technique, strength imbalances, and lack of mobility and/or flexibility- more reason to seek professional fitness guidance!
So there you have it. Nothing is more disheartening than watching dads who don’t train for longevity…and in turn, are not able to fully play (or keep up) with their kids or grand kids, or even participate in everyday recreational activities with their buddies.
Do yourself, your family and friends a huge favor stop training like such a meathead when it comes to working out.
Take good care of yourself and I wish you the best of luck!
PS: I love you Dad!
(photo below is my little boy Lincoln with my dad, Curtis Sr.
…yes, I am Curtis Jr. ;))
##########
So you are at home with the kids, but you still want to get
a good, total body fat-burning interval workout in.
What do you do?
Try this 4 minute 20-10 interval sequence with "weighted"
push ups and "loaded" squats. :)
Enjoy...
1 comment:
Hilarious video! One I can appreciate with two kiddos of my own.
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