Questions with David Grisaffi

Since 1994 David Grisaffi has been an exercise specialist, strength coach and personal trainer, working with all types of people from professional boxers to housewives who want to get rid of cellulite.

He is certified by the International Sports Sciences Association and also by the prestigious Chek Institute as a Corrective High Performance Exercise Kinesiologist, Health and Lifestyle Coach and Golf Biomechanics Pro. He is one of only 37 trainers in the United States to hold all of these credentials.  


Are there any other ab exercises that are really common in the gym but you wouldn’t recommend to your clients?

DG: Unfortunately, many of the abdominal exercise gadgets on the market are ineffective and sometimes even unsafe. I would stay away from the Ab Roller or Torso Track because these machines can create muscle imbalances. I'm also not a fan of machine crunches because these machines - like all machines - stabilize your body and isolate the rectus abdominis, which doesn't allow for true functional movement. Let's see, what else? Russian twists on a roman chair with a plate sound like a good way to ruin your lumbar spine. Torso twists on a machine fall in that category too.

Yeah, those rotary torso machines are always being used in every gym I’ve ever been in. What about the ab machines you see on TV – ANY of them any good?

DG: The infomercial ads on TV try to make the machines and devices seem new, fun and easy. Everyone wants nice abs fast and easy. But nice abs do not come in a machine! The first step is a not a machine, it’s a proper diet based on the individual. I would say the E book Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle is one of the best on the shelves these days when it comes to nutrition and the motivational techniques to stay on the plan.

So what’s probably on everyone’s mind now is that if sit ups and most machines are out, that must leave crunches as the exercise of choice right?

DG: Yes and No - crunches have become more popular because of the popularity of ab rollers and crunch machines. But like sit ups, crunches are overused and misused - frequently! Floor crunches also limit your range of motion compared to using a Swiss ball.

Eating for muscle and fat loss

Your body is very adaptable. Thats why weightlifting works, your body gets stressed by the lifting and realizes that it must get stronger in order to survive this rigorous exercise. Your body then must decide what the most efficient way to adapt to this activity is. If you regularly consume a lot of food then your body will likely decide that the best course of action to take is to create more muscles because more muscles will allow it to more easily handle this lifting.

When you first start lifting your central nervous system will likely keep you from lifting to your full strength because your tendons aren't strong enough to handle this much force. This is why people that are pumped up on adrenaline or some drugs can perform super human feats of strength, they aren't instantly creating more muscles, they are just using their full muscle potential. But under normal circumstances their body's limits this so that you don't tear a tendon or rip yourself apart under your full strength. This is part of the reason that many people see very immediate strength gains in the gym, they start lifting and within a few weeks they have made huge strides in strength. The more they lift the slower those gains come. They aren't building muscles that fast, they probably don't look bigger at all, their central nervous system and probably their muscle memory are just allowing them to use the muscular strength they already have.

But after these initial gains the easiest way to get stronger is to add more muscle. This may sound kind of obvious to someone that doesn't understand strength very well but in actuality you can get stronger with out adding more muscle mass, and this is exactly what many people like competitive weightlifters, wrestlers, boxers and mixed martial artists want. They have to make a certain weight class. They want to be as strong as possible without getting bigger. However if you want to get bigger then this isn't what you are looking for.

It takes more calories to sustain a bigger body, especially a more muscular one. Two people that are the same height and weight but with one being much more muscular and the other one carrying more bodyfat will use differing amounts of calories (well this will differ from person to person but it they were identical twins). The muscular one will require more calories just to get up and around. As I have said the body is very adaptable and is looking for the best way to survive. If you are eating a lot then your body decides the best way to handle this weightlifting is to create more muscle. But if you aren't getting enough calories then it decides that this isn't the way to go because if there is a food shortage you will starve to death quicker if you are more muscular.

So if you are trying to gain muscle mass then you need to be lifting hard but also eating a lot. You should be grazing, that is eating all of the time and not just gorging on a few meals a day. I believe that whether you are trying to lose weight or gain the best way of eating is to eat continually throughout the day. Difference being a person trying to lose weight would eat small meals throughout the day and someone trying to gain would eat medium or possible even large meals, continually through the day.

You see when the body isn't getting a regular feeding then it doesn't add muscle as I have stated above because it figures if you never know where your next meal is then you had better not get to muscled up because it might be awhile before you get another one. What it does do is add fat because it wants to store something up for hard times.

You have probably heard fat people say the line “if this was caveman times I would be a survivor and the skinny people would starve to death” while this is an annoying line there is some truth to it. Their bodies are storing fat for starvation times, So you must eat on a regular basis so that your body realizes that it doesn't need to worry about when your next meal is coming and therefore doesn't need to store fat. If you are lifting weights then it will concern its self with how to better handle these weights and will add more muscle. Not eating and it will store fat whenever you do eat because your body thinks the reason you aren't eating much is because you don't have steady access to food and it wants to store for the day when you don't have any food.

Caffeine for Intensived Training

 Working out hard is a good thing. However when we do things like use caffeine and other supplements to boost our workout we must be aware of something. As you hopefully know you shouldn't be lifting weights everyday. The muscles need time to recover and that is why a lot of people lift every other day or even just twice a week. When I am deadlifting I lift twice a week, when doing other less intense lifts I go three times a week with a day off in between every session.

 Why do I lift less when I am deadlifting? The answer is because the central nervous system (cns) needs to rest after lifting and heavy compound lifts like squats and deadlifts (the ones I promote the most) take a heavy toll on the cns. It takes longer for the cns to recover then it does for the muscles to recover.

 When we use anything to give us extra energy or strength, this depletes the cns more and takes longer for us to recover. Drug users may be able to stay awake for long periods of time while on a high and receive super strength, but eventually they come down and crash. You can do something like take a lot of caffeine while studying and keep going for a while but eventually things will kind of even out as you will need extra sleep to recover from this extra energized caffeine session.

 When we take caffeine to lift, it might help kickstart our morning or help keep us up after a long day and get us in the gym. But it is going to take an extra high toll on us and we will pay later. If we are able to lift extra heavy, thats great but we will need longer to recover. Even if we don't hit the weights extra hard we are taxing the cns more just from the caffeine use and once again we will need an extra long recovery time.

 I use caffeine as an example because that is the most common stimulant, but if you are using anything legal or illegal that gives you a boost of energy then you are probably going to be tiring your cns a little more then normal. Even if you aren't taking anything just getting really pumped up can do the same thing. Have you ever worked out while really mad about something? Did you find that you had extra strength and energy at first but eventually you just wore yourself out?

  For every action their is a reaction and so after you get a energized "high" there is going to be a crash of an equivalent level. Not saying you can't have an extra energized workout ever. In fact it can work great doing it once in a while just to help boost you over some plateau or sticking point, such as when you are stuck at the same weight and just can't seem to move up. But I don't feel that it should be done all the time.

  If you do choose to do this then I recommend getting some extra rest afterwards. This can be both time wise as in waiting 2 days before lifting again instead of just 1 day off. But also in what you do on your off days. Having a lot of sleep and general laid back rest is boring but beneficial to someone lifting weights. You need to be extra restful when you are working out real intense under the aid of stimulants or psyching yourself up or whatever.

 Hitting the gym heavy, then working hard all day then staying up all night partying, harmful to anyone lifting. But especially bad for someone that is using stimulants.

Fitness Fads Come And Go, But The Swiss Ball Is Here To Stay

Fitness Fads Come And Go, But
The Swiss Ball Is Here To Stay
By David Grisaffi
www.FlattenYourAbs.net

What’s hot in the world of abdominal and core training today seems to change as fast as the latest clothing styles. New gurus, new infomercials, new machines – today’s fitness marketplace is all about “what’s new.” I often write reviews about the latest, greatest ab and core training gadgets, usually debunking most of them, but this time I'm actually going to do the opposite.

As new products push their way into the fitness scene, some truly legitimate, cost effective devices get pushed out, forgotten, or even worse – dismissed as “fitness fads.” Such is the case with the swiss ball (also known as a “exercise ball”, “gym ball” or “stability ball”)

Why Some Fitness Experts Condemn The Swiss Ball

Swiss balls have been around a long time in physical therapy and rehab settings and when they crossed over into the mainstream fitness world, they were probably hyped a bit too much. It’s not that they didn’t deserve the attention, its that many fitness “experts” placed the swiss ball up on a pedestal as the end-all be-all of abdominal, core and fitness training, rather than representing the ball for what it really is - a single training tool among many– just like barbells, dumbbells, cables or any other fitness equipment.

As a result, entire training systems were built around the swiss ball (neglecting other forms of training), and people misused and overused the ball. Some trainers used the ball for “exercises” that were nothing more than circus acts. I’ve seen it all – everything from standing on top of the ball and squatting to bench pressing on the ball with 400 pounds..

As a result of the over-hyping and misuse of the swiss ball, some coaches and trainers have recently spoken up and publicly renounced the ball as a " gimmick." This has caused a flood of emails to pour into my office as consumers and fitness enthusiasts have become more confused than ever.

It’s no wonder: Trainer A says, “The ball is the best thing since sliced bread” and trainer B says “the ball is and always was a gimmick.” I believe the ball is a very valuable training tool and that the truth is somewhere in the middle, so I’d like to help put things back into proper perspective.

Swiss balls are powerful, portable, inexpensive and versatile training tools

I use swiss balls nearly every day in my own workouts and in workouts for my clients. The versatility of the swiss ball is simply unmatched as proven by the fact that I can use a swiss ball to help a 65 year old sedentary woman overcome muscle weakness and improve balance or use the same ball to help a professional boxer build stamina and add power to his punches. I can also show you how to use the swiss ball to develop "six pack abs" as well as train literally every muscle in your entire body.

New Research Reveals That The Swiss Ball Can Make
Abdominal Exercise Up To 104% More Effective

To give you a research-proven example of just how effective a swiss ball can be, let’s focus on one of the most basic and well-known of all abdominal exercises: The Crunch

As most people know, the crunch is a modified (partial) sit up that involves raising the head, neck and shoulder blades up off the floor. Many personal trainers believe that the crunch is highly overrated and overused. I won’t argue, as I agree there’s a lot of truth to that. However, the crunch can be greatly improved with one simple change: Do your crunches on a swiss ball.

Electromyography (EMG) studies have demonstrated that the swiss ball crunch (unstable surface) effectively recruits more muscle fibers than the floor crunch (stable surface). This leads to greater strength, stability and muscle development in your core region.

In 2000, a study by Vera-Garcia and colleagues showed a significant increase in muscle activity in the core area while performing a crunch on the swiss ball, as compared to a floor crunch. The swiss ball improved the level of muscular activity as well as the co-recruitment of spinal stabilizers. The researchers said:

“Performing the curl over the gym ball with the feet on the floor doubled activity in the rectus abdominis muscle, and activity in the external oblique muscle increased approximately fourfold.”

Although research results have been mixed in the past, the studies showing no increase in abdominal muscle activity using a swiss ball may have been due to the exercise technique used on the ball, including velocity and body placement on the ball. Earlier this year, Dr. Eric Sternlicht and colleagues at UCLA designed a study to test this hypothesis and they measured for differences in muscle activity while using different positions on the ball.

The EMG analysis confirmed their hypothesis and demonstrated that body position on the swiss ball could decrease or increase the amount of muscular activation. When the ball was positioned with the upper back high on the ball (just below scapulae), the muscular activity was less than a floor crunch. But by strategically positioning the ball so it was firmly placed at the lower lumbar region, there was a 66%, 93% and 104% increase in upper abdominal, lower abdominal and external oblique activity, respectively.

More Proof That Form Is Everything And Little Things Make A Big Difference

For years I have preached about proper form on all abdominal and core exercises and I have taught my clients “little tweaks” and “tricks” in technique that look minor, but which can lead to huge improvements in results. This new research is proof. It also reveals how the ball is a versatile tool for exercise progression: The high on back position is easier, while the ball lower on the back is more difficult, accommodating for different strength and fitness levels. Further progression can be added by using resistance (dumbbell or weight plate held on chest or at arms length from chest).

Swiss balls are only one of many training tools, but in my opinion, when used properly, they are one of the best of the bunch. I created an entire core training system that uses the ball for many of the exercises, I put all my clients on swiss balls and I highly recommend that you use the ball as well. Just remember, the swiss ball is only a tool – it’s not the “end all be all” of core training and it can’t work miracles. It will also not burn fat off your stomach – you need a caloric deficit to achieve body fat reduction.

Use the ball as one part of a balanced training program that includes other tools such as free weights, cables and your own body weight. Forget the potentially dangerous ”circus act” swiss ball stunts, use good exercise form, purchase only quality, high-strength exercise balls, use them in a clear area, clean them often, check them for leaks and I promise you will have a fantastic versatile training aid that will last you for years and never go out of style. Fitness fads will always come and go, but the swiss ball is still a winner.

Coach David Grisaffi,
Tacoma Washington
www.FlattenYourAbs.net/index.html

What is a diet?

First thing I want to do in this article is clear up what I mean by the term “diet”. When I say diet I mean what you eat on a regular basis. “I sometimes make exceptions but my normal diet is...” Many people think of diet as what they are eating for a short time period followed by going back to their normal foods as in “I am going on a diet TILL after my cousins wedding”.

You need to eat less calories to lose weight then to keep it the same. Also if you add muscle then you will boost your metabolism and can eat more calories. So if you are overweight and you get down to where you want then you can get away with eating more then you did when you lost weight. But all in all your should be striving to make permanent healthy changes to your diet, diet just like in anything else you should be trying to get better.

Trying some crazy diet plan for a short period of time in order to lose weight isn't a good idea for a couple of reasons. If it is a diet plan that is bad for you like something that neglects important nutrients then you probably shouldn't be on it at all even for a temporary period. Even if there is nothing unhealthy about the plan, many people gain their weight back as soon as they go back to their normal eating. As I have stated you may have a little room to splurge once you are no longer actually trying to lose weight. But if you eat the same as you did when you gained the weight in the first place then what do you think is going to happen this time?

I believe in the power of forming a habit. I also believe that it is easier to stick to easy things then hard things and that when it comes to diet small changes are easier. Put all this together and I think that making permanent improvements to your diet is easiest done by picking one or two things and sticking to them for a month (I believe they say it takes 21 days to form a habit). Eventually you will just make it a habit, from there you can pick something else to do and the previous issue will just be a habit that no longer takes effort to keep. You can just keep doing this your whole life.

When you get discouraged you will have several previous milestones to look back on and say “I accomplished this, I know I can do it!”. I used to love candy, soda was ok but I didn't like it nearly as much. Had I tried to cut candy out it would have been very hard and I likely would have quit. Instead I quit drinking soda, it wasn't nearly as hard for me though there were some times when I was tempted. Once this was a habit it wasn't hard to keep anymore. It was automatic to order something else and the few times when I was tempted I didn't want to end my streak of X long without any.

From there I cut out other sugarier beverages, like sports drinks and orange juice which I preferred and was harder for me to cut down on. I still have them sometimes but not as much. Then I started on the big one for me, candy. This was harder but when I went to the store I tried to get things with what I considered “useful” carbs instead of empty ones like candy. Way I figured it was that I was lifting weights and trying to gain muscle. Sometimes my body needed simple carbs (like the sugar in candy) but most of the time it didn't. Other junk foods contained proteins and complex carbs my body would need later. These alternatives (like pizza) weren't exactly health foods but they at least had some good things in them besides the bad.

Eventually I was just in the habit of avoiding things I considered pure sugar with no other calories. It wasn't so hard anymore. My cravings were reduced and when I did want some, once again I didn't want to ruin my habit of avoiding them. I did eat them sometimes but not as much.

After this it wasn't so much about what I had to eat as I was doing good here, but just a matter of picking off the few bad things remaining in my diet and I did this one by one. I don't think you should ever reach a point where you say you shouldn't better yourself anymore. But I have never looked at it as I can never eat such and such a thing again. This would just make me depressed. I am in good shape with low body fat and occasionally if I want to splurge then this doesn't mean a full blown dive back into a terrible diet. Just knowing I can occasionally have something and haven't shunned it for life makes it easier to pass on it.

Kettlebell or dumbbell swings to lose weight

 

I don't do a lot of cardio or anything else to burn fat. I have mentioned before that I am not a big fan of what some people call “endless cardio”. 

Incidentally I am not a fan of endless cardio. I prefer activities such as intense weight lifting, bodyweight exercises and sprints to long slow jogs and other forms of endless cardio. Not only are they not as beneficial but they are also just plain more time consuming. 
How Many Crunches Should I do a Day alternative exercises

I look at marathoners and other people who do distance type events and they are usually very skinny and emancipated looking. A lot of times they are skinny but have no abs or a little tiny six pack where each “pack” is about as thin as a pencil.

Honestly I have a fast metabolism, am pretty active most of the time, working jobs where I walk around a lot and sometimes pretty physical and just “doing” stuff on my free time as opposed to sitting around watching tv.

The weight lifting I do (primarily dead lifts) burns off most of the calories I need. Losing fat is mostly about diet anyway. I feel the key of dieting is sugar control. So I don't usually preach a lot about doing anything else to burn fat.

But I realize that most people don't have my fast of a metabolism and haven't become accustomed to eating as carefully as me (kind of becomes habit after a while and when you do cheat occasionally you feel bad). So a little more work to burn that fat may be necessary, possibly only because dead lifting and similar weight lifting is something that you should probably only be doing a couple days a week for under an hour a day. Meaning it may be necessary to do some stuff that you can do more frequently to burn more fat.

One of my favorite activities for this is swings. Even though I don't do any exercises strictly for burning fat as I mentioned I don't need too. I have had to perform cardio/conditioning type training for boxing and this is a great exercise both for burning fat and for getting in shape for a fight. It is something that can be done everyday depending on your workout routine (I recommend having a “weekend” where you rest for a couple days).

Boxers do a lot of training in rounds since we fight that way. Often this is 3 minutes of work with 1 minute of rest done several times. I started out doing this, I liked doing one armed swings with a 35 pound dumbbell, alternating between arms every 10 reps. Pretty soon I found that I did about a 100 in this time span and just found it easier to do sets of 100 instead of timing it. I also acquired and switched to a kettlebell somewhere during this time.

The exact weight you use shouldn't be big deal as long as it isn't overly over or under what you should be using. Proper form is key as among other things this can give you a sore back if done incorrectly. If you are only getting less then 10 or 12 reps then this is great for strength training but you aren't going to be doing any conditioning (if using one arm then maybe you might try two armed ones to handle that weight or use less) if you are knocking out sets of 100+ without breathing hard then you need more weight (or if doing them two armed maybe you want to use one). But I would say if you can continually do reps (switching arms if done arm armed and working both evenly) and get 30 to 100 max in then this is probably a workable weight for you.

You can do these in 2 (beginner) or 3 minute sets (or count, though I like a number that takes around that much time to complete) then take a minute off and repeat for 3 to 5 sets. This can be a great way to burn fat.

Compound lifts to develop full body

There was a time when I thought lifting weights wasn't worth it because I would need so much work in order to build up all of the muscles in the body enough to look good. I figured if I could just do sit ups 3 times a week then I could get a good six pack and this would be good. There was a time when I thought lifting weights wasn't worth it because I would need so much work in order to build up all of the muscles in the body enough to look good. I figured if I could just do si tups 3 times a week then I could get a good six pack and this would be good enough because as the best looking muscle you can get I figured it didn't matter if you didn't have a big chest or nice arms. If you have a six pack then that trumps all other muscles right?

Well if you have looked at my website How Many Crunches Should I do a Day then you know that doing sit ups is a lot like crunches. Not a great way to burn off stomach fat or develop those ab muscles. But that is almost besides the point. Even if you do get a great six pack you will find that developing your body is addictive.

You think "if I could just get that six pack" but then you realize it kind of looks pathetic with that flat chest then you notice those tiny shoulders, great upper body but chicken legs etc. If you are going to improve one body region you will find that you might as well help them all.

Isolation lifts are lifts that isolate one body part. Like curls for your arms, flys for your chest, crunches for your abs etc. If you do these then you must do a different lift for every body part. You could be in the gym forever.
Compound lifts are lifts that work multiple muscle groups. These give you more bang for your buck and develop a better looking body where each muscle groups is in better proportion to all the other groups. Squats, dead lifts and bench press are good examples of compound lifts. I feel that dead lifts alone can do so much for you. I like to add an upper body lift as well but if you were short on time then this lift alone would be enough to develop a great physique. enough because as the best looking muscle you can get I figured it didn't matter if you didn't have a big chest or nice arms. If you have a six pack then that trumps all other muscles right?

 Well if you have looked at my website How Many Crunches Should I do a Day then you know that doing sit ups is a lot like crunches. Not a great way to burn off stomach fat or develop those ab muscles. But that is almost besides the point. Even if you do get a great six pack you will find that developing your body is addictive. You think "if I could just get that six pack" but then you realize it kind of looks pathetic with that flat chest then you notice those tiny shoulders etc. If you are going to improve one body region you will find that you might as well help tem all. Isolation lifts are lifts that isolate one body part. Like curls for your arms, flys for your chest, crunches for your abs etc. If you do these then you must do a different lift for every body part. You could be in the gym forever.

Compound lifts are lifts that work multiple muscle groups. These give you more bang for your buck and develop a better looking body where each muscle groups is in better proportion to all the other groups. Squats, deadlifts and benchpress are good examples of compound lifts. I feel that deadlifts alone can do so much for you. I like to add an upperbody lift as well but if you were short on time then this lift alone would be enough to develop a great phyique.