Mark Diaz is the head strength coach and owner of Physiqology, a personal training business based in New York City. He offers New Yorkers a sustainable system of personal fitness training that seamlessly integrates exercise, flexibility training, diet and supplementation.
True Spot Reduction for Fat Loss Spot reduction in fitness training is the outdated belief that one can lose body fat in specific areas by performing extra work in those areas. For example, it was once believed that performing abdominal work made the abs leaner, or that performing a high volume of arm work would […]
In part I of this series, I outlined the importance of controlling blood sugar and insulin response. These are the first most important steps when trying to lose body fat, whether it be in the legs, or anywhere in the body. For the sake of clarity, I will repeat it again: losing leg fat – […]
The first and second installments of this series on getting rid of leg fat focused on the importance of managing insulin levels and estrogen metabolism. This final article focuses on the importance of growth hormone and how to manipulate it through exercise and dietary protocols. Increasing Growth Hormone Lack of production of growth hormone is another […]
The short and sweet answer is no. There is a ton of published research stretching over the last twenty years, and not one study of note concludes that static stretching is helpful to producing maximum force or torque in a workout. Most studies actually support the idea that static stretching, since it stimulates the parasympathetic […]
Awhile back, a personal trainer from a small town in upstate New York sent me an email asking me about what Preacher curl (Scott curl) bench I liked best and why. His question came in two parts: what brand to buy; whether to purchase a seated Preacher curl, or a standing one. For my money, […]
A few years ago, a client of mine wanted to know what shoes I thought were best for strength training. My answer then was a sturdy leather sneaker for cross training or an Olympic lifting shoe. As technology and design has improved for barefoot shoes, so has my opinion of them. I am now of […]
A while ago, a client of mine asked about the reason for leg curls in his program. He’d been doing some of his own research, and come up with an article about deadlifting as a superior methodology for strengthening the hamstrings. From the article, authored by Eric Cressey: Strengthening the posterior chain with closed chain […]
The understanding of when – and by how much – to increase a weight in a given personal training session is one of the most basic concepts in weight training. It is an important skill to master early on, and one that is very misunderstood, even by most personal trainers. This skill is one of […]
Cardiovascular training is a single type of energy system training whose mode requires the body to produce energy using the cardiovascular, or aerobic, system. Referring to energy system work as “cardio” or “cardiovascular training” is like calling facial tissues Kleenex. It is far too general a term to describe the three distinct biochemical processes of […]
The debate over whether you can reduce the percentage of body fat in specific areas of your body is not a new discussion, but new information has led to a new conclusion. The old argument is that spot reduction is impossible through exercise, and that when a person loses body fat, they lose it uniformly […]