Father’s Day should be a time for celebrating what our father’s have sacrificed to allow us to lead the lives of our dreams.  Unfortunately for many, it’s a time of mourning the father they no longer have.

Now, I’m very fortunate.  I’ve got a Dad who for the most part is in good shape and very good health – and he’s in his sixties.  But, I’m one of the lucky ones.

Look, I hate to be the party pooper, but someone has to say something already.

Our father’s are now in the worst shape of their lives, many suffering from a very scary condition called Metabolic Syndrome X.

One of the main indicators of someone who has metabolic disorder is abdominal obesity, as clearly demonstrated by that lovable character Fat Bastard from Austin Powers.

The scary part is that many of our father’s look just like this!

Please read below for an excellent 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)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has slightly different criteria for the metabolic syndrome:

1. High insulin levels, an elevated fasting blood glucose or an elevated post meal glucose alone with at least 2 of the following criteria:

2. Abdominal obesity as defined by a waist to hip ratio of greater than 0.9, a body mass index of at least 30 kg/m2 or a waist measurement over 37 inches.

3. Cholesterol panel showing a triglyceride level of at least 150 mg/dl or an HDL cholesterol lower than 35 mg/dl.

4. Blood pressure of 140/90 or above (or on treatment for high blood pressure).

And though Metabolic Syndrome 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.

See below for the top 7 fitness tips to help save our father’s lives:

1.) Lay off the Brewskis

It’s no wonder why our dads have more of a keg for a gut than a six-pack.  See below for the best way I know of explaining how detrimental alcohol can be on your body composition:

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 booze, you WON’T lose fat!

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, one day of binge drinking can set you back days if not a full 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 regular soda and/or fruit juice)

The Bottom Line

If you want to be lean, you must minimize alcohol consumption!

If you must 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”

2.) Quit being such a pansy and work your lower body

Most dads just want to do the typical meathead workout that emphasizes the upper body only.  If you are going for the Johnny Bravo look where you are built up top with chicken legs for wheels, then keep doing what you’re doing.

He kinda looks like a light bulb. :-b

However, it is important to note that strong, muscular legs are the key to boosting your metabolism and torching your gut.  After all, the majority of your body’s muscle mass, and thus metabolism, is contained within your lower body.  Not working your legs is like going to a gunfight 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 – one pound of muscle burns an 40 – 60 calories per day!

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 if you want better abs, you better start using those legs!  This can be easily accomplished with 3 total body workouts per week that train your upper body, lower body, and core within the same workout.

3.) Do something besides heavy bench presses and curls

Look- I get why guys love to do these exercises.  They’re real manly and really feed the ego.  They’re the first two exercises we learn as kids, and all the big cool dudes in the gym are doing the.

You gotta love an old school chest and bi’s workout!

However, if you are trying to develop a really nice upper body, you need to start venturing outside the realm of bench presses and curls.  Don’t forget, you do have muscles on the backside of your body too!

In fact, your lats (the wings that extend from your arm pit to the bottom of your rib cage) are the biggest muscles in your upper body and when developed they really help promote that V-shaped torso that both makes your waist look smaller and your wife happy

Start doing at least the same amount of pulling as pushing (if not more), and only do isolation movements like bicep curls if you have extra time after your main workout.  Compound movements like rows and pull-ups work your biceps just as hard and since they allow for the use of heavier loads, they also provide a better growth stimulus to maximize results in minimal time.

4.) Forget about “manly diet programs” like NutriSystem

Here’s my take on how NutriSystem was created:

“I’ve got an idea for an incredible product and marketing campaign:

Let’s gather a group of genetically gifted former professional athletes that have put on some pounds since ending their playing days.  We’ll have them all get their asses kicked by top personal trainers while following a restricted calorie diet so we lean them out real nicely.

But then we lie to the overweight male coach potato consumer and tell them that they got these results from eating the same food they are currently eating- you know, pizza, lasagna, sweets, etc. Of course, we’ll make the meals the size of a dime so they can still technically eat what they want and lose weight at the same time.

To make it even better, we’ll pre-package all of their meals for them to buy from us so these lazy bastards don’t have to do anything besides nuke it up and eat it!

We’ll make millions!”

Well, that’s exactly what has happened- thousands of sports-loving, ESPN-watching dads have been swindled to buy into this gimmick that you can eat whatever you want and still lose weight without exercise- because their heroes did it.

C’mon!  If you honestly think you can keep eating the same foods that got you that gut in the first place, then I’m not sure how much more I can help you.  And yes, there is portion control within the system, but to me it’s a like a big terd versus a small terd… IT’S STILL A TERD!

5.) Stop and ask for directions for crying-out-loud!!!!!!!!

Most of my male clients that I’ve had success with worked out for YEARS before they met me – many of them started working out before I was born!  The funny thing is, they were still doing the same routines they started with and getting the same results – NONE!

Us guys can be so stubborn.  We’ll drive around lost for an hour before embarrassing ourselves by asking for directions.  We’re no different in the gym.  It’s just so hard for us to ask for help, especially from some punk kid personal trainer.

But, here’s the reality Einstein, “you can’t keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result!”  If it ain’t working, it’s time to ask a fitness professional.

Seek out a fitness expert like David did and get life-changing results!

Dads- quit being so stubborn and macho.  It doesn’t make you any less of a man to hire a personal trainer or join a boot camp because your wife and her lady friends do it.  In reality, your wife (and women in general) are simply smarter than you because they effectively outsource their fitness needs to an expert whereby you try to re-invent the wheel on your own with little to no results.

If you want to lose your gut, follow the lead of the ladies ?

Oh yeah, by the way, all of your macho heroes have trainers! :-b

6.) Stop being so old school and do a 5-minute warm-up

You simply can’t afford to NOT warm-up. It’s like pushing the pedal to the medal in the dead of winter in your frozen car- things just don’t work right and you’re not going anywhere.

A super-fast sports car is worthless if it’s not properly warmed up

It only takes about 5 – 10 minutes to loosen your muscles and lubricate your joints to best prevent injury and ready your body for a more effective fat burning workout.  So, slow down tiger and don’t skip the warm-up!

Check out this video of a 5-minute warm-up.

7.) The “no pain-no gain” attitude will leave you a bitter, crippled, and grumpy old man

The “no pain, no gain” methodology is quite possible the most abused practice in fitness, and it’s so outdated.  Pain is a good thing as long as it’s the right type of pain as outlined below:

When exercise BURNS YOUR MUSCLES that’s a good pain.  This means you are:
•    pushing past your comfort zone to create change
•    working with enough intensity to torch calories, burn fat and build muscle
•    burning sugar so your body can burn fat for hours and hours after your workout

When exercise 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.  Hey remember Tip #5- seek professional help!

I have worked with too many dads who have beaten their bodies down with outdated, old school workouts.   When they come to me they are so slow and achy, and can’t even play with their kids without paying the price for the next few days.  It’s pretty freakin’ sad, really.

Do yourself and your family a favor and stop being such a meathead when it comes to exercise.  Exercise doesn’t have to hurt to get results and nobody wants another grumpy AND injured old man.

Happy Father’s Pop – The Original J-man!  I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me.

Have Faith & Take Action!

Justin Yule, B.S., CPT

Your friendly neighborhood Chaska boot camp instructor and online personal trainer

Burn 9x more fat at a fraction of the cost of other personal training programs.

P.S. – Share your appreciation for you dad with a comment to this post.  Thanks!