So how many calories are you burning a day?

If you've been working out or dieting for a while, you would have certainly came across the following statement: "If you consume more calories than you would expend each day, you will gain weight. If you expend more calories than you consume each day, you will lose weight."

Now, you may ask the question: How do I know how many calories I burn every day?

Well, here is simple formula for calculating that.

First, you must determine your basic metabolic rate (BMR).

For men, the BMR is: 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) - (6.8 x age)

For women, it is: 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.7 x height in cm) - (4.7 x age)

So, let's take a 30 year old man who weighs 70 kg and is 170 cm tall, for example.

His BMR would be: 66 + (13.7 x 70) + (5 X 170) - (6.8 X 30)
Which is: 66 + 959 + 850 - 204 = 1671

Now, multiply the BMR by an activity level (from sedentary, meaning doing nothing all day, to extreme activity being probably a professional athlete):
1.0 = sedentary
1.2 = very light activity
1.4 = light activity
1.6 = moderate activity
1.8 = high activity
2.0 = extreme activity

Let's say the guy works a desk job and goes to the gym 3-4 times a week. I would put him in the moderate activity level.

1671 x 1.6 = 2673.6 calories

So this means that if this guy wants to gain weight, he would need to consume more than 2674 calories a day. If he wants to lose weight, he would have to eat less than that.

Now of course, this is just a general rule as every person is different. You will have to experiment a bit to find out how your body reacts to more/less caloric intake. But this formula is a good starting point.

Don't underestimate your problems

Have the following thoughts ever crossed your mind?

"I've got a bit of a gut, but I'm not fat. I don't need to join a gym just yet"
"I really should exercise more often, but I'm OK for now... I'm still young, I don't have heart problems yet"
"I know I should quit smoking, but I don't smoke that much anyway, so I'm fine, I won't get cancer like those heavy smokers"

This is a dangerous mentality to have. And to be honest, I've been guilty of it in the past. Don't underestimate your problem and your ability to cope with it and leave it in the backburner until it becomes a real problem that is much more difficult to overcome. Better make that decision NOW... than have to deal with a real problem later.

My cardio routine

I have a stationary bike at home which I use for my cardio training. I would prefer to run, but a bad knee from an old injury means that that is out of the question. So here is what I do on my bike these days...

1. Warm up for 5 minutes at moderate pace at 65-75% of Maximum Heart Rate
2. Go nuts for 1 minute at 85-90% of MHR
3. Slow down for 2 minutes at 65-75% of MHR
4. Repeat steps "2" and "3" three times so that you have "gone nuts" for a total of four times.
5. Cool down for 5 minutes at moderate pace at 65-75% of MHR

Total time = 22 minutes

If I have time, I sometimes go another 20-30 minutes immediately after at a steady-state, moderate pace.

Forget how many "calories burned" the monitor shows. This type of interval training will make you burn more calories for many hours afterwards.

Here's how you determine at what bpm you should be working at:

Subtract your age from 220 to get your estimated Maximum Heart Rate.
Multiply by the percentage of MHR you should be working at.

So, for example, if you are 35 years old:

220 - 35 = 185 bpm is your MHR

Then, 65% of your MHR would be 185 x 0.65 = 120 bpm
90% of your MHR would be 185 x 0.90 = 166 bpm

You can do this on whatever equipment you choose. Treadmill, bike, ellipticals, jump rope, it doesn't matter. Choose the one you enjoy the most, but it's good to switch once in a while just to get some variety. Happy training!

Build muscle, burn fat, all at the same time?

As an ectomorph, I have always had a hard time gaining weight. I weighed 148 lbs when I was competing in Jiu Jitsu tournments back in the day, and I only needed to cut 3 lbs to fight in the 145 lbs division. After my competition days, I had only gained up to 15 more pounds... to 160 lbs. So I was always concerned with building a bigger chest, shoulders, arms, back and legs, while burning fat around the waist.

So for a long time, I was lifting weights on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, while Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays were cardio days. One would think that this is the perfect routine to build bigger muscles while working off your waistline at the same time. But I've learned that this method does not work. There is this thing which researchers call the "interference effect".

The interference effect is when you are doing two opposing types of exercise in the same period, you body will be confused and it will choose to react to one or the other. In most cases, it will choose endurance and fat loss over muscle growth. You will lose fat. Your endurance capacity will increase, your overall strength might increase also, but not your muscle size.

So, the most common way to get around this is to focus on fat loss first before trying to pack on muscle. Another way, if you have the time, is to do both in the same session. Combine an hour of lifting with an hour of cardio immediately after, three times a week. This method has been shown to be successful in multiple studies at the University of Winsconsin on athletes who wished to gain endurance and muscle size at the same time.

Welcome to my Blog

Hi there, and welcome to my little corner in cyberspace. My name is Edmund Tsoi, and I am a certified personal trainer in Hong Kong SAR. This is my first blog ever, so please bear with me as it may look a bit amateur right now, but in time, I plan to deliver as professional a site as I possibly can.

A little tidbit about me... I was born in Hong Kong, but had been living in Ireland and Canada for most of my life. I came to Hong Kong at the end of 2007 to visit my parents, who had moved back in 2004. At the time, I held a day job in a warehouse back in Canada and was basically a gym rat after work had finished. Upon arriving in Hong Kong, I realized that physical fitness was rapidly growing in popularity and ads for gyms were everywhere. I was very happy to know that a "gym culture" was flourishing in HK, and I felt that I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to contribute. That is why I decided to stay here and start my career in personal fitness training.

My training history goes back over 10 years. I was always an avid martial artist. First learning Pak Mei Kung Fu from my father at a very young age. Then, I took up "Military San Shou", from Dr. Mizhou Hui, a former military man from China who had just arrived in Canada. I also studied Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and finally gravitated towards no-gi submission grappling and Mixed Martial Arts.

In 1999, I was awarded "Black Belt" in Dr. Hui's San Shou method. It was also around this time that I started to lift weights. I started going to the gym with my buddies and just did what they did. We didn't really know what we were doing until my brother, a kinesiology major at York University, started working out with us and showing us the ropes. I soon became a "gym rat", training 5 days a week, after work every day. It was addictive. It became routine, and I would feel guilty for missing a day as I felt it would throw off my schedule for the entire week, lol.

Over the past 8 years, I have made great strides in weight training for endurance, hypertrophy, and strength. I also learned proper nutrition for gaining muscle mass, losing fat, and overall maintenance of a healthy life. I am certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), one of the most recognized authorities in fitness in the world.

I feel that I have come a long way since that first time I stepped into a gym. But the fitness industry is always changing. There are always new studies and research to keep up to date on. I am constantly learning new things. It is an on-going endeavor which I plan to share with you in this web log. So stay tuned for more updates.... ciao for now!

Ed