THE FITNESS CHALLENGE
SURVIVAL GUIDE
you MUST know & do
3 Things
to make the most out of it!
© 2016 ACCESSCHANGE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
OVERVIEW
I’m going to let you in on a little secret. There are three things that you need to
know in order to survive this fitness challenge:
1. How to balance calories for weight loss and weight gain
2. How to balance your macronutrients for weight loss and weight gain
3. Strength training and conditioning for weight loss and weight gain
If you want to be successful, you MUST do these things in a version right for you.
Your personal trainer will figure out the specifics, but it will be up to you to follow
them.
{1} CALORIES IN/CALORIES OUT
Food is energy, energy is calories,
calories are directly responsible
for weight control.
1 pound of bodyfat is
equal (=) to 3,500 calories.
Everyday, you take in a certain amount of calories through the food and drinks that
you consume and you burn a certain amount of calories through exercise and daily
living. When your calorie intake is the same as your calorie expenditure, your body
will be in a state of balance and your weight will remain constant. If either side of
this internal scale exceeds the other, changes in weight will occur.
Calories For Weight Loss
The ONLY way to lose weight is by eating less calories than you burn. When you
do this, the body is required to draw upon stored energy for fuel. This calorie deficit is achieved by lowering your calorie intake and increasing your calorie burn.
One pound is equal to 3,500 calories. In order to lose one pound per week, you
need to eat a deficit of 3,500 calories per week, or 500 calories per day less than
your calorie burn. This is how weight loss works. It’s really simple. Don’t even think
about metabolism, that’s not your problem. If you’ve gained weight in the last few
months or years it’s because you ate more calories than you burned. PERIOD. All
we need to do to lose weight is reverse that. Boom. Your trainer will help you figure
out your specifics.
Calories For Weight/Muscle Gain
Gaining weight (big surprise) requires a calorie surplus, meaning that you need to
eat more calories than you burn. When you increase your calorie intake above your
calorie burn, the body has enough energy that it doesn’t need to pull from storage.
This allows you to maintain the body mass that you have. Then, the remaining calories that aren’t used get stored on the body. Your increased intake only needs to
be around 200 calories above your burn.
THE FITNESS CHALLENGE
SURVIVAL GUIDE
© 2016 ACCESSCHANGE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
page 1
{2} NUTRIENTS
There are six classes of nutrients: carbohydrates, protein, fat, water, vitamins, and
minerals. Carbohydrates, protein, and fat are considered macronutrients because
they are needed in large quantities as well as provide energy for the body. Vitamins and minerals are considered micronutrients because they are needed in
smaller quantities and do not provide energy for the body. While all nutrients are
essential for optimal health, the macronutrients play a much more direct role in
the success of a weight loss or muscle gain program. Protein fuels your muscles
and allows your muscles to rebuild and grow. Carbohydrates are the body’s prefered source of energy and the only form of energy that your brain can use. Fat provides an alternative form of energy, carries nutrients, and helps insulate the body.
Macronutrients For Body Fat Loss
There’s one thing that I can guarantee, you’re not get
ting enough protein! Even if you think you are, you are
not getting enough protein. Most people aren’t. Pro
tein intake is extremely important while you are losing
weight because, without enough protein, the body will
use muscle for energy instead of the stored body fat. Yes, you read that correctly.
If you don’t get enough protein, you will lose muscle and keep body fat. Protein
should make up 30-40% of your daily calorie intake. You also need carbohydrates
to keep your energy levels up. If you cut out carbohydrates, it can increase feelings of sluggishness. Carbohydrates should make up 40-50% of your daily calorie
intake. While fat should be consumed in moderation because there are more calories per gram of fat than the other two macronutrients, you need it. Eating fat will
not make you gain body fat. It’s not the same thing. Fat should make up 20-30% of
your daily calorie intake.
Proteins
Carbohydrates
Fats
Macronutrients For Muscle Gain
Protein intake is extremely important to muscle gain in order to maximize muscle
growth and not body fat. I can guarantee that you are not getting enough protein.
Protein intake needs to be 30-40% of your calorie intake, which means that if you
eating 2000 calories per day, you need to be taking in roughly 150 grams of protein per day. Once again, you are not getting enough protein! Carbohydrate and fat
intake are also important for weight gain because they will provide your body with
the extra fuel that it needs function and store energy. Carbohydrate intake should
remain at 40-50% of calories consumed and fat intake should remain at 20-30% of
calories consumed.
Supplementation
Supplementation is used to fill in gaps in your nutrition where essential nutrients
are missing. This is done through taking a multivitamin, fish oil capsule, and meal
replacement protein shake or bar. It is difficult to get all of the nutrients that your
body needs without taking in extra calories. Supplements make it easy to get all of
the essential vitamins and minerals everyday in a real, practical world. Let’s face it,
almost no one has enough time to cook and measure everything they need… We
use supplementation as a tool to make this process much easier.
THE FITNESS CHALLENGE
SURVIVAL GUIDE
© 2016 ACCESSCHANGE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
page 2
{3} EXERCISE
Walking on a treadmill for hours is not only boring, but it isn’t very effective or efficient. When it comes to exercise, the best thing to do is strength training, combined with an intense, interval-style conditioning program. Strength training is
“lifting weights” with proper science in mind. We have to overload the muscles to
promote muscle growth and retention. This can be done through weight lifting,
resistance bands, or even by using your own body weight. Conditioning utilizes
a variety of methods for endurance training, such as high intensity intervals and
footwork drills commonly used in sports performance training.
Strength and Conditioning For Weight Loss
Strength Training
EVERYONE should be doing some sort of strength
is necessary!
training. Seriously. Don’t be afraid to lift weights.
Strength training is the key to losing body fat.
Without it, your body will just lose muscle and keep the body fat because it wants
to get rid of whichever it doesn’t need. Conditioning is also important to weight
loss because it increases your daily calorie burn and gets your heart into shape.
High intensity interval drills allow you to see maximum results in a minimal amount
of time. Without strength training though, you will most likely lose muscle instead
of body fat.
Strength and Conditioning For Weight Gain
I repeat, EVERYONE should be doing some sort of strength training. If you want to
gain muscle, you need to lift heavy weights. You will not build muscle if you aren’t lifting weights. What you need is a focused and intense strength program. We
have to overload (not overtrain) those muscles in order to create growth. Train your
muscles hard not long… And do it the right way. Conditioning for weight gain is best
done in high intensity intervals. If you are focusing on longer intervals of cardio,
you may lose muscle. Conditioning in high intensity intervals will increase muscle
activity and aid in increasing muscle size.
SUMMARY
There you have it. The building blocks of your success. Study these concepts
hard. Check out accesschange.com/blog to dig deeper. The next step is putting
them into action. Sign up for our next fitness challenge at accesschange.com/fitness-challenge, meet your personal trainer ahead of time, and delevop a successful program at Access Change.
THE FITNESS CHALLENGE
SURVIVAL GUIDE
© 2016 ACCESSCHANGE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
page 3