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If you have watched any TV or logged into a computer the past couple of weeks, you have probably seen or heard of Taylor Lautner. This past Friday, I took my girlfriend, her 14 year old daughter and 14 year old niece to see New Moon (opening night). I realize that this movie isn't aimed at my demographic, but actually enjoyed the movie. Taylor Lautner, the guy who plays Jacob Black, got in outstanding condition for this role. What really struck me was the reaction of many of the teenage guys and girls in the theater. Every time there was a shirtless scene with Taylor Lautner you could hear a bit of whispering back and forth. Then it struck me: This could possibly be the first time this generation has had a blockbuster movie written for them, with an incredibly fit actor they can relate to.

[New Moon was shot just a few hours from where I live in various parts of the rain forest near the Washington and Oregon coast. Yes it rains like crazy, so as a bonus, they probably didn't need to bring in any props to generate fake rain.]

I Predict Taylor Lautner Will Create A HUGE Impact in Fitness

If I ever met Taylor Lautner in person I would shake his hand (then get his autograph for my girlfriend's daughter). I really believe that he will single-handedly make being in shape cool for Generation Y (the kids of Generation X). I believe that this impact will be felt almost immediately and it will be long lasting. My guess is that we will see more and more young people hitting the gyms and getting into fitness. I don't believe that this will just be young men. I think it will have just as big of an impact for young women.

Do Not Underestimate the Impact of a Major Motion Picture

Arnold Schwarzenegger created a massive boom in the fitness industry in 1984 when he appeared in The Terminator. My older sister's boyfriend took us to see that when I was 14 and both of us got intensely interested in exercise immediately after. My dad even bought a weight set for Christmas for our family that year. Arnold had a few more movies and then Top Gun hit in 1986. In the mid-to-late 80's these movies helped spur on a serious interest in fitness.

[Many of the younger readers of this site will have a hard time believing that Tom Cruise was once considered cool. Even I have a tough remembering Tom Cruise before his couch jumping days, but he made a huge impact back then. I'm guessing half of the guys in my High School had brown leather Bomber Jackets and many of them rode Kawasaki Ninja motorcycles...within 6-12 months of Top Gun's release in 1986.]

In the Late 80's Every Single One of My Friends Worked Out

In an 80's High School it was cool to lift and get in shape. Not so much with the young men and women of Generation Y. The young men seem to be more interested in oversized clothes or at the other extreme tight skater jeans than being in great shape. Don't get me wrong, I think having style is important…but so is being fit. I know that I am making big generalizations and this isn't true for everyone…these are just trends that I have noticed.

Many Women Followed Rachel McLish and Corey Everson

For the men of Generation X, it was all about Arnold back then…and for Generation X women it was about Cory Everson. Bodybuilding was mainstream in the 80's. You would see photos of Cory Everson almost as much as Arnold in those days…and each of them were on a lot of magazine covers! Now…I think the amount of muscle displayed was way over the top, but for some reason seemed perfectly normal back then. I have to admit, I got caught up in the gain-as-much-muscle-as-possible trend back then as well…

Brad Pitt Brought People Back to Their Senses in Fight Club

The 90's were an interesting time for fitness. The gyms were still "sort-of" busy but not to the extent of the late 80's. In the late 80's the gyms were blazing with energy and they were packed…especially on Monday nights. As the 90's pushed on less and less people belonged to a gym and I mainly saw guys around my age training. Very few younger men and women were working out. Than along comes Brad Pitt in Fight Club and all hell breaks loose!

[When Brad Pitt played Tyler Durden, he showed that you could get fit without having that "gym vibe". He wore stylish clothing most of the time and was a regular sized guy with exceptional muscle tone...the new definition of fitness.]

My Gym Was Packed Soon After Fight Club Was Released!

Back in 1999 I was a Store Manager for Structure (a men's clothing store that is now Men's Express). At that time, I had been consistently working out in a gym environment for over 12 years. I would bring protein shakes to work since I didn't want to eat the mall food and I trained 4-5 days per week. The sales guys and girls seemed to have no interest in training at all, but as soon as Fight Club came out their interest peaked in a major way. Within 6 months, I think every member of my staff had a gym membership and would ask me workout questions on a consistent basis.

There Has Largely Been a Void from 1999-2009

There have been a few actors and actresses that have got in great shape for movie roles…Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Jessica Biel, Daniel Craig, Cam Gigandet…all got in incredible shape, but not people that "Generation Y" could connect with on a deep level. Sure they made a decent impact, but not in the way Arnold did in Terminator or Brad Pitt did in Fight Club. Well New Moon has changed that completely. Taylor Lautner is Generation Y's main fitness role model…and New Moon is big enough to make a major impact on pop culture the same way Top Gun did back in 1986.

[I like to tease my girlfriend's daughter that Twilight was a rip off of The Lost Boys. Well we rented The Lost Boys recently and it was not as good as I remembered. New Moon blows it away. The soundtrack is pretty amazing as well....as good as the Garden State soundtrack...which I consider one of the best movie soundtracks ever.]

Even if You Think That New Moon is Just a Teen Movie…

New Moon is very well done…in fact I don't remember teen movies this well done since 80's movies like Pretty in Pink, Breakfast Club, Say Anything, etc. There have been two decades of teen movies that seemed like they were without a "soul". New Moon is the first current move that really feels like a well done 80's teen movie. It is worth watching for those who remember when teen movies were really moving….when they were written by people who understood you. This is a big difference than the shock value and cheesy comedies thrown together in the past few years. Mostly bad except for the occasional standout like Juno.

Thanks Again to Taylor Lautner…

…for getting in incredible shape for his role as Jacob Black in New Moon. He is a great young actor and has what it takes to revive the fitness industry…and possibly inspire an entire generation of young men and women to take an interest in fitness.

Note: I am a huge fan of movies (in case you couldn't tell). If you have never seen a massive blockbuster on opening night, I highly recommend it! The energy and enthusiasm for the movie makes it twice as fun to watch. Me and my girlfriend had a blast watching the reaction of all the teens going crazy during many of the scenes.

Tags: Main, brad pitt, cam gigandet, Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman, jessica biel, muscle tone, taylor lautner, working out, workout

People don't talk enough about height and how it relates to body composition, calories burned, muscle gains, etc. I'm a tall guy at just a hair over 6'3", but I'm envious of shorter people at times. I figured why not get the discussion going about height. Using my mad graphic skillz (not really), I came up with this masterpiece.

[Everyone knows Chewbacca, but only the true geeks like me know what's happening on the right. A young Gary Coleman posing with "Twiki" from Buck Rogers. Twiki carried a computer around his neck named "Dr. Theopolis". Buck Rogers is worth watching if you get the chance...for the cheesy disco music and bad special effects. Hilarious!]

Height and Plays a Large Role in Lean Mass

Your lean mass is basically everything on your body that isn't body fat. This is different than muscle mass. Your lean mass includes, bones, organs, water, muscles. A taller person will naturally have bigger organs, bigger bones, more water, than a shorter person. So they (will typically) have a higher lean body mass than a shorter person even without much muscular development. Tall people have a huge advantage in lean mass…which means they will typically burn more calories than their shorter friends. But what if someone is shorter but more muscular?

Your Organs Burn More Calories Than Your Muscles

I'm 6'3" and 190…I have a good friend who is 5'10 and 190. We are roughly the same body fat percentage. He has more muscle, so you would think that he would have a higher RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate). That assumption would be wrong. I will burn substantially more calories than him. Roughly 60% of RMR is from organs and 40% from muscle. Since I am tall, he will have to reach a higher lean body mass than me to reach the same RMR.

The Biggest Mistake I See Muscular People Make

I was going to do this post just on this idea alone. It is probably the biggest "takeaway". Guys in particular who get big believe they need many more calories due to their increase in muscle mass. Adding muscle contributes very little to calories burned (even less than I used to believe). Think along the lines of 6 calories per pound of muscle each day. So adding 20-30 pounds of lean muscle is just an extra 120-180 calories burned per day.

30 Pounds of Muscle Fails Against One Pack of Skittles

[Adding 30 pounds sounds like a impressive feat...and it is...but can't touch the power of just one pack of Skittles. I haven't had a pack of Skittles in a long time, but is is right up there with Swedish Fish, Red Vines, and Gummy Bears in pure deliciousness.]

Adding Muscle Makes a Bigger Impact on a Shorter Person

As a somewhat tall guy, I can add 5 pounds of muscle and it won't be as noticeable as someone 6 inches shorter doing the same thing. The advantage of being shorter is that you don't have to spend as much time adding muscle to achieve a certain look compared to someone who is taller. Another advantage is the increased leverage a shorter person has when it comes to lifting. I used to work out with a guy who was 8 inches shorter than me back in high school. It was frustrating how much stronger he was in many of the lifts…especially the bench press. It took me a couple of years to just bench 225 pounds and I think he was doing it within a few weeks of training. Stupid long arms!

Eating With a Taller Person or Lifting With A Shorter Person

As a relatively tall person I have much more wiggle room when it comes to diet than most people. More often than not, I simply have a higher RMR than a person who is shorter than me. I still can't pig out and expect to be lean, but I will have a slightly easier time than a shorter person (everything else being equal). When it comes to the gym it is a different deal. Guys who are in the 5'6" – 5'10" range with the same amount of lifting experience often are stronger than me in certain lifts (mainly pressing movements like bench or military press). This isn't always the case, but just a trend I notice.

These Are Just a Few of the Differences…

I kind of just want to get this conversation started and get the comments rolling along. Height is one of those things I don't read much about when it comes to getting in shape, dieting, etc. I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject and other points I missed. Let's get this party started!

Note: Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I just got back from a vacation and I tried my best to stay away from the Internet while I was away.

Tags: Main, bench press, body composition, body fat, body fat percentage, lean mass, muscle mass, muscular

I have never met anyone who stays as lean as Martin Berkhan does year round. In fact, most people think it is near impossible to stay below 6% body fat for more than a few days at a time. Martin has held at a steady 5-6% body fat for three years straight! Many people will immediately think it is just do to great genetics or a naturally fast metabolism, but they would be wrong. He was a chubby kid growing up and simply figured out a methodology of staying lean without depriving himself of good food. He outlines these methods on his outstanding blog, Lean Gains. Here is an exclusive guest article he wrote for Fitness Black Book.

[Yeah, I probably overdo the fire effects on this site. I just couldn't resist with the word "scorch" in the title.]

-by Martin Berkhan

This articles title was originally going to be Food Choices That Kill Your Chance of Getting Lean per Rustys suggestion. But it would be highly ironic if I, who regularly ate ice cream and cereal on my last cut to 5.5% body fat, told you that there are certain foods that would kill your chance of getting lean.

Besides that, there are about one billion articles on what foods cause fat gain or stall fat loss. Youve seen them and its usually the same tired stuff. Do you guys need another article telling you to avoid white bread, fast food and hot pockets? Nope.

So I asked myself how to approach this topic and make it worth your while. Theres no food that, once you eat it, flips on a metabolic switch that completely shuts down fat burning and weight loss if youre maintaining a daily caloric deficit. Its a question of quantity, moderation and context.

[Martin Berkhan at 5.5% body fat]

I believe most foods can be consumed in the right context, but should be avoided in another context, in order to optimize body recomposition and fat loss. For example, most of my clients consume a fair amount of starchy carbohydrates following a workout. This isnt a problem because its part of optimizing the plan. In this context, starchy carbs are great for restoring muscle glycogen. On rest days however, my clients might skip starches, eating fewer carbs and more satiating ones. This strategy optimizes satiety, fat loss, diet adherence and performance.

That being said, there are some foods that should be ditched first from your diet if weight loss is stalling or if you want to speed things up. Same thing goes if you just want to make the diet as easy and painless as possible. Having reviewed and created hundreds of meal plans throughout the years, I know a little something about this topic.

Your diet is where you fix things first and foremost. Adding more cardio when your diet is suboptimal is an inefficient and time-wasting strategy that will result in an increased risk of burnout and overtraining.

In this article Ill spotlight a few less-than-obvious staples that people tend to include in their diets. These are foods that people generally think of as healthy and diet friendly, when they can be diet killers in disguise.

Nuts, protein bars and dried fruit

Nuts in all their various forms are the most overrated and overhyped foods in the health conscious community. Just because its a natural food doesnt mean its all that diet friendly or even healthy for that matter.

Packing a higher calorie density than chocolate, its no big mystery that people easily overdo it with nuts. Some people rationalize a high nut consumption by saying its a healthy and natural snack, but this is wrong. Nuts contain an incomplete amino acid profile and consist mostly of plant fats. The westernized diet is already highly unbalanced in the omega 3: omega 6-ratiothe polyunsaturated fats from nuts certainly wont help.

Optimize the fat composition of your diet by kicking nuts to the curb and add more fish, thats my recommendation. Youll be more satiated and healthier to boot.

A protein bar is nothing more than a chocolate bar with slightly higher protein content and crappier taste. A whopping 300 calories for a bar that youll gulf down in a few minutes is crazy. For most women that amount makes up about -1/5 of the daily total calorie intake needed to lose fat efficiently. Besides that, eating protein bars to up your protein intake isnt a great strategy as a bars protein content makes up only about 30-40% of its calories. You could down half a Snickers bar and a protein shake, and end up consuming fewer calories with a better nutritional breakdown than having your typical protein bar. Protein bars are nothing more than glamorized candy. And you dont eat candy on a regular basis if you want to optimize fat loss and diet adherence.

Unprocessed fruit is good, but dried fruit including dried apricots, dates and raisins are just sugar lumps with some extra fiber. These snacks have high calorie density and tend to stimulate hunger rather than quench it. Out of the three popular snacks discussed here, dried fruit may just be the worst of the lot. You dont want or need them on a fat loss diet.

Shakes

Shakes, liquids and anything else that resembles baby food shouldnt stay on menu when its time to shave off calories or make your diet more manageable and painless. This includes recovery shakes with high-glycemic index carbs and protein shakes, fruit juices, milk and yogurt. Packing a good deal of calories in proportion to the little satiety they provide, liquid calories have no place in your diet other than for convenience.

Think you need a recovery shake post-workout? Think again. Unless youre an elite athlete training twice a day and need to refill muscle glycogen as fast as possible for your next training session, fast carbs are a complete waste of calories. Your time (and money) is better spent with whole food carbohydrates that offer chewing resistance.

Are you drinking whey protein shakes throughout the day because youre too lazy to cook or eat real food? Well, if youre too lazy to step into the kitchen or chew your food, youre probably not going to reach your fat loss goals anyway. Id rather have you learn to savour a good steak with veggies rather than rapidly chugging insulin-spiking and appetite-triggering whey protein shakes. Liquid calories should be replaced with whole foods, including your protein choices. But if you must supplement your diet with protein shakes, I recommend casein or milk protein isolate over whey.

What about those vitamin drinks, smoothies and fruit juices people are drinking to make sure theyre getting enough antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals? Another complete waste of calories Do you think you risk missing vital nutrients if you cut these health drinks out from your diet? Its actually the other way around: strong evidence suggests that overdoing intake of antioxidants and vitamins can negatively affect your health and your training results. A balanced diet with wholesome foods such as meat, eggs, berries, veggies and some starches, doesnt need vitamin or antioxidant support. It has everything in abundance. If youre still paranoid, take a multivitamin with your first meal.

Breakfast

I apologize in advance to readers who were expecting a third group of food items that I think should be ditched from your diet. This is in part tongue-in-cheek. There is nothing inherently bad about breakfast. Nor is there anything inherently good about it either. But for me, skipping breakfast was the single greatest diet fix I ever made and the one that allowed me to really take it to the next level in terms of lowering my body fat. Theres a lesson in here, so keep reading even if you dont think you can live without breakfast.

I was never a breakfast person in the sense that I wasnt hungry in the morning and preferred to eat later in the day and evening. Yet I forced myself to eat breakfast on every diet attempt I made until a few years ago. I believed breakfast was absolutely crucial for a few different reasons.

First, sleeping supposedly leaves your muscles without a steady supply of amino acids for several hours, making breakfast crucial to keep your muscles from falling off.
Second, my poor fragile metabolism apparently couldnt handle a few hours without food before completely shutting down.

And third, breakfast-eaters were on average healthier and weighed less than breakfast-skippers so there had to be something good about it, right?

One day I looked into all of thisthe actual studies that is, and not what I had learned through fitness magazines and supplement ads. Guess what? All of those claims about the healthiness of breakfast, muscle catabolism and metabolic rate were wrong.

Ive written a lot about this topic on my blog, but let me provide the main points.

Your metabolism doesnt scavenge amino acids from your muscles after an overnight fast. Fatty acid metabolism is highly up-regulated, but muscle catabolism doesnt occur in short-term fasting for up to 24 hours. If youre still paranoid about this (I am), make sure to eat some slowly absorbed protein before bed, such as cottage cheese, egg white protein or meat with veggies (the extra fiber will slow absorption as meat is generally considered a fast protein). Another thing to keep in mind is the very slow absorption rate of whole food proteins. Were talking a few grams per hour, which means that a mixed meal with 40-50 grams of protein will maintain a steady level of amino acids in your bloodstream well through the night and into the next day. The belief that a few hours without food will cause muscle catabolism is absurd.

Metabolic rate does not slow down during short-term fasting. It actually increases slightly. Thats probably the complete opposite from what youve heard, but this is an undisputed fact. It takes more than three days without food before metabolic rate is negatively affected via down-regulation of thyroid activity. That skipping breakfast or missing a meal affects metabolic rate, a myth still propagated in the fitness and health community, is ludicrous.

What about those studies showing breakfast is healthy and people that eat breakfast weigh less than breakfast-skippers? Those are all correlational studies. Skipping breakfast is connected to a certain dysregulated eating behavior that predisposes people to weigh more. The Average Joe or Jane breakfast-skipper is the personality type to grab a donut on the way to work, eat junk food for lunch and finish the day off with a big dinner and snack in front of the TV. Those studies have no relevance to the conscious dieter that skips breakfast as a fat loss strategy.

Summary

Did you see the red line with regards to what foods should be ditched from your fat loss diet in order to optimize it? Chew your calories. Generally speaking, the more chewing resistance a food provides, the slower the digestion will be and the longer and faster youll stay satisfied and full. Dont half-ass your calories with calorie-dense snacks and shakes. Another factor to consider with snacks and shakes is the appetite stimulating effect they have on some people.

A new study shows that, if the choice stands between three big meals and six small meals, three meals come out on top with regards to appetite control. Three meals is also a meal frequency that I have favored for years. Invest some time in your meals and eat less frequently. Ditch the snacks and shakes in between meals.

Dont let dogma or false beliefs dictate your meal frequency. Choose a meal frequency completely based on personal preferences. That was the lesson I wanted to teach through with my tale of skipping breakfast. If you never were a breakfast-eater like me, skip breakfast and eat later in the day. You can have lunch, dinner and an evening meal. Or whatever other eating pattern that lets you adhere the best to your diet.

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Make sure and visit Lean Gains and learn more tips for getting lean from Martin. He actually has one of the more entertaining posts I have ever read where he downs an entire cheescake: Cheesecake Mastery Part 2: Easter '10 Massacre. In fact, the picture from that post is so clever, I have to post it here. All former video game geeks will instantly know what this is all about. The comments on the post are hilarious. People told him it was irresponsible, he was setting a bad example, etc. I give him props for crushing the entire cheesecake (plus being able to pull off the Fatality in style).

Tags: Diet Tips, body fat, metabolism, protein shake, weight loss