10 Fat loss Questions You Should Be Asking (Part 1)
0 comments Friday, October 23, 2009There's stuff you know.
Then there's stuff you don't know.
But the key to success in anything is the discovery of one other variable:
The things you don't know you don't know.
Think about that.
So many people ask me questions like...
-- How can I get rid of my stubborn body fat?
-- How fast can I do it?
-- What's the best diet plan for me?
These are good questions, don't get me wrong.
But there are at least 10 questions most people never know to ask.
It's the stuff they didn't know they didn't know... make sense?
Today we'll cover 3 of the 10...
HIDDEN QUESTION 1: "What's The Best Dietary-Fat To Eat To Get Rid Of Bodyfat?"
Sounds nutty, doesn't it?
The media loves to deceive you when it comes to dietary fats... and I'm here to set the record straight:
You absolutely must consume dietary fat in order to burn-off your bodyfat.
There's an old saying: "Fat burns...but in the presence of dietary-fat."
It's true.
There are actually two "Best Fats" you should be eating:
Coconut Oil
CLA
Coconut oil is ideal to cook with. Use that in place of all the starchy foods you may be eating. You'll get leaner faster... and you'll be a ton more healthy too.
Coconut oil keeps you satisfied longer, lubricates your joints, and yes... actually helps you get rid of stubborn body fat.
Use 1 tablespoon per 50 lbs per day, but be sure to decrease your starchy carbs (breads, rice, potatoes, etc.)
CLA is a form of (gasp!) transfat... but it's a healthy form that helps your body get rid of body fat. You can only get it in supplement-form... well, that's the best way.
I personally take 4 grams per day. Jarrow is my favorite brand. You can get it at most health food stores.
I cover several other fats you need to eat in my video and book, found here:
http://www.everyotherdaydiet.com/go/Msfit31 <-- Click-Here
HIDDEN QUESTION 2: "Why Is Cardio Bad For Me?"
Okay... that's an over-statement. It's not 'bad' for you... it's just not nearly as 'good' for you as the media and magazines want you to believe.
Especially if you do it the way they suggest: Too long, too frequently.
Do it the way I suggest and watch what happens.
First, spend 80% of your exercise time doing 'resistance' training, not cardio... but rest very brief between sets.
My newest update to "7 Minute Muscle" is called "7 Minute Body". It combines both "7 Minute Muscle" and an additional 100 or so pages of in-home ONLY workouts.
That way you can train in the gym... or in your home... and get it done in 7 to 14 minutes a day. Done!
You will be shaping your body and burning-off some major calories at the same time... all without boring cardio.
Then when you "do" cardio, do it the way I detail in "7 Minute Body"... use the 9-minute GXP Cardio Workout.
Add simple walking to this several days a week and your cardio is set.
GXP works because it is progressive and does not over-tax the recovery system. You warm up, then hit about 85% of your max effort, then cool down.
But the key is 'when' to do it... and that's covered in my book.
I still enjoy sitting on my bike and watching TV, but I do that just to burn-off those last bits of bodyfat. Most of you do not need to do this.
It's a waste of time for the masses... but resistance training is not.
Oh, one more thing: Runners have a far higher degree of heart attacks than non-runners. So cardio 'can' be bad for you if you over-do it.
NOTE: You can pick up "7 Minute Body" at 77% off... but only if you get EODD...
More here: http://www.everyotherdaydiet.com/go/Msfit31 <-- Click-Here
HIDDEN QUESTION 3: "How Does Pizza Help Me Shed Body fat?"
Sounds like a dream, doesn't it?
Think again.
My dietary plan not only "lets" you eat pizza (or whatever your favorite foods might be) every week, several times a week... it DEMANDS that you do it.
What the.... ?
Yep. Here's why.
First, I have you eat less on certain days and certain times. If done the way I suggest your metabolism (the rate you use fat, energy, etc.) will not slow down that much.
Then... at a specific time... boom! You eat a lot more food... and the best way to do this is eating your favorite foods.
First, they usually have more calories.. duh! Second, you'll ENJOY the freakin' process! Most "diets" fail because people hate them... too restrictive.
So I created my System from the ground up to ensure I never got bored with my eating... and the extra cals from pizza (or my favorite... Mexican... or Key Lime Pie... yum) actually boosts my metabolism sky-high.
Here's an example:
Last week I ate the normal Every Other Day Diet-way... for me it's the "Extreme Plan" (there are 4 Plans, each for different goals.)
So, after several days of lower-cal, lower-carb eating, I ate about 5000 calories of Mexican food (so good!) But the TIMING is crucial. You just can wing it. Don't worry... I tell you exactly when to do it.
The next morning I saw more of my abs.
I went back to EODD-style eating, which I love btw... and then later had some Key Lime Pie... and what do you know? Leaner the next day.
Now I'm doing this as I "peak" -- I have to be in top shape in December. The only time I stop this is 4 weeks prior to a photo shoot... but unless you want to be 5% body fat (and you probably do not) you never have to stop it.
Works like a charm.
Watch this and find out why:
http://www.everyotherdaydiet.com/go/Msfit31 <-- Click-Here
Yours In Fitness,
Monica
P.S. Special freebie to those who watch my entire presentation on the page above... very nice... : )
An Explanation and Solution For Slow Female Fat Loss
0 comments Wednesday, October 7, 2009www.burnthefat.com
You may have heard (or, heh, realized), that it's more difficult for women to lose fat than men. Immediately most people think it must be estrogen or hormonal issues. But perhaps the biggest factor is NOT hormones, but the simple fact that women are usually smaller and lighter than men.
When you have a smaller body, you have lower calorie needs. When you have lower calorie needs, your relative deficit (20%, 30% etc) gives you a smaller absolute deficit and therefore you lose fat more slowly than someone who is larger and can create a large deficit more easily.
For example, if my TDEE is 3300 calories a day (I’m 5' 8" and moderately to very active), then a 20% deficit is 660 calories, which brings me to 2640 calories a day. On paper, that will give me about 1.3 lbs of wt loss per week, rather painlessly, I might add.
If I bumped my calorie burn up or decreased my intake by another 340 a day, that's enough to give me a 2 lbs per week wt loss.
That's hardly a starvation diet (Ahhh, the joys of being a man). For smaller women, the math equation is very different.
If your total daily energy expenditure is only 1970 calories, even at a VERY high exercise level, then a 20% deficit for you is only 394 calories which would put you at 1576 calories a day for (on paper) only 8/10th of a lb of fat loss/wk.
If you pursued your plan to take a more aggressive calorie deficit of 30%, that puts you at a 591 calorie deficit which would now drop you down to only 1382 calories/day.
That's starting to get fairly low in calories. However, you would still have a fairly small calorie deficit. In fact, I would get to eat almost twice as many calories as you and I'd still get almost twice the weekly rate of fat loss!
What this all means is that women who are petite or have a small body size are going to lose fat more slowly than larger women and much more slowly than men, so you cannot compare yourself to them.
It's great to be inspired by our success stories, but if you're looking for someone to model yourself after, choose one of our success stories of someone your body size and wt, rather than the folks who started 100 lbs overweight and were therefore easily dropping 3 lbs a week.
ONE POUND a week of fat loss is much more in line with a realistic goal for someone of a smaller body size. Overweight people can lose it faster. The best thing you can do is to be extremely consistent with your nutrition over time.
Suggestion #1: Weigh and measure all your food any time you feel you are stuck at a plateau, just to be sure. When your calorie expenditure is on the low side, you don't have much margin for error.
Suggestion #2: Take your body comp measurements with a grain of salt, especially if you are using Bioelectric Impedance Analysis (BIA) scales (they are a bit wonky) and remember that body comp testing is seldom perfect. Pay attention to your circumference measurements, how your clothes fit and how you look in the mirror and in photos as well.
Suggestion #3: You might actually want to take fewer refeeds - once a week instead of every 4th day, or even just once every 10-14 days, so you can get a larger weekly deficit.
Suggestion #4: You may want to take 2 or 3 of your long cardio sessions on the treadmill and switch them to intense intervals or ANY other type of activity that has potential to burn more than 362 calories for an hour's investment of time, or perhaps that equivalent calorie burn in less time. No need to add more days of cardio or more time - get the most out of the time you are already spending.
Suggestion #5: If you do intervals, don't make the workout too brief (ignore the advertisements for those "4 minute miracle" workouts, etc.), or you may burn fewer calories than you were before! In fact, you might even try the method where you do HIIT
for 15-20 min, then continue for another 30-40 at slow to medium intensity. Increasing total calories burned should be your focus.
Dropping only ONE pound per week (or less) may seem excruciatingly slow, but it's actually the same type of thing I do. As a bodybuilder, I go from lean to extremely lean when I diet and I don't expect more than a pound a week during contest cuts.
You are in a similar situation, even if not competing. Even if you get a half a pound a week fat loss, if you get that progress every week, that’s what you’re looking for - steady progress – even if slow.
It's entirely possible that you HAVE been making progress, only very slowly. With the way water weight and glycogen levels can fluctuate (and lean mass may increase), a half a pound or pound fat loss in a week could have been easily masked... and therefore, missed. That's one of the drawbacks of going by the scale alone.
Positively Fit: Fitness Tips
0 comments Tuesday, September 15, 2009The truth is you don’t gain body fat because of a lack of exercise. You gain it because your blood sugar levels exceed what you are using. You are eating too many calories at one time.
2. Your metabolism slows down once you hit 30.
WRONG! Actually, hundreds of research studies have shown that the slowdown in metabolism directly related to a lack of hard physical activity!
3. Pasta and bread are BAD.
Anything is BAD! Lettuce can be stored as fat! Any food or drink, which contains calories, can be stored as body fat if it causes your blood sugar levels to exceed what the body needs at that time. Whole Wheat Bread and pasta are actually great sources of complex carbohydrate! The key is how much you eat and when you eat it. (Of anything)
4. Eating after 6pm will make you fat.
False! It all depends on whether or not the body needs the extra calories at that time. Keep in mind your body is constantly burning calories, 24 hours per day, just the amount varies.
5. Strength training will make you bulk up.
Muscle burns calories, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn which makes easier to burn fat and harder to gain it! The Leaner you get, smaller/trimmed more toned physique.
Click Here For More Information On Fitness and Nutrition
Avoiding the phrase “I don’t have time...” will soon help you to realize that you do have the time needed for just about anything you choose to accomplish in life.
-Bo Bennett, "Year to Success"
Losing Fat is Like Draining a Swimming Pool...Why Spot Reduction Just Doesn't Hold Water
1 comments Monday, July 13, 2009Want to lose stomach fat? Have a problem area you want to tighten up?The bad news is simply training that area to death won't accomplish it! Learn why spot reduction doesn't work and what you CAN actually do about those problem areas.
"How can I lose my gut?"
"How do I stop my arms from flapping in the wind?"
"How can I get rid of this stomach fat?"
"How do I lose just the fat on my thighs?"
These are questions I hear regularly...the bottom-line question being asked is "how can I lose fat from one specific area?"
And I'm sorry to say, the quick answer is...
"You can't."
But don't panic! Just because you can't spot-reduce from one specific area doesn't mean you'll never lose that fat! It just means you have to look at things a bit differently when it comes to fat loss.
THAT is where the pool I mentioned comes in.
I would love to give credit to the person who I burgled this analogy from (if you're reading this, let me know!) but think of your bodyfat stores as a pool...
When you fill up a pool (i.e. bodyfat stores), the deep end fills up first, right? Of course! It's the deep end.
Well, the same thing happens in your body. Think of your stomach as the deep end. When you start putting on fat, your deep end starts filling up first.
So you're happily swimming along until one day you realize your swimming pool is too full and it's time to drain some water from the pool (i.e. lose some fat).
To spot reduce and lose that fat from the "deep end," you'd have to drain the deep end first. Not gonna happen. If you can think of a way to drain just the deep end of a pool, I'd like to know it!
This is what happens with fat loss. The stuff you put on LAST is the stuff that comes off FIRST. And generally speaking, the stuff you put on FIRST (i.e. problem areas like the gut and thighs) is the stuff that comes off LAST (because it's the deep end of the pool).
So what's the strategy?
You're going to have to drain more of the pool to get that deep end down.
In fat-loss terms this means you're going to have to lose fat from all over your body before the stuff you REALLY want to get rid of comes off.
I know...that's probably the LAST thing you wanted to hear but it's the unvarnished truth.
I'm afraid doing ten thousand crunches every morning won't get you the ripped six-pack you're looking for. And doing ten thousand leg-lifts (no matter how much you feel the burn) won't pull that fat from your thighs. It'll tighten up the muscles underneath that fat, but you won't really SEE much of a difference.
When the body switches on fat burning, it does so on a systemic basis. Going to back to the pool analogy, this would be like having multiple drains all draining water from the pool. The water level goes down evenly when you drain a pool, no matter how many drains you've got or where the drains are draining from.
So when you lose fat, even if you're exercising the heck out of your abs by doing ten thousand crunches, you could be pulling fat from your legs for fuel.
The REAL secret about spot reduction is that you can't pick your spots.
Your body picks the spots for you. Reducing ALL your spots is the only way to spot reduce.
So now that I've crushed your dreams about losing fat from just your stomach or thighs, I want to tell you that overall fat loss is not as hard as you might think!
Even small changes in your training and eating can really make a big difference in draining your fat pool. You don't have to go on a crash diet or train 3 hours a day to get results.
Eating better and training as little as 30 minutes, 3 times a week can get you moving in the right direction.
If you're interested in more information on how to lose fat, have a look at these articles:
1. How To Lose Fat NOW - A Basic Fat-Loss Program That You Can Put To Work Today!http://hop.clickbank.net/?msfitness1/betteru&l=1116
2. BASIC Nutrition - A Quick, Common-Sense Guide To What You Should Be Eating to Stay Healthy and Get Results Right Nowhttp://hop.clickbank.net/?msfitness1/betteru&l=1109
And if you want to REALLY kick-start your fat loss be sure to check out my book "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss!"
http://hop.clickbank.net/?msfitness1/betteru&l=400
------------------
Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 17 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at (http://hop.clickbank.net/?msfitness1/betteru). He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.
No Pain No Gain: Fitness Myth or Ultimate Fitness Truth?
1 comments Saturday, June 27, 2009www.BurnTheFat.com
No Pain, No Gain. Is this aphorism just a fitness myth and downright bad advice? A lot of people seem to think so. As a bodybuilder with 25 years of training experience and more than two dozen trophies on my shelf, I have another perspective to offer you. Success with your body and in every area of your life is all about stepping outside of your comfort zone and that means embracing pain.
To reach high levels of physical and personal success you must approach your training, and your entire life, as an endeavor in constant growth. The ultimate truth is, you are either moving forward or moving backward; growing or dying. There’s no such thing as comfortably maintaining.
To grow, you must step above past achievements; beyond your perceived boundaries and limits. That means stepping out of the known, into the unknown; out of the familiar and into the unfamiliar; out of the comfortable into the uncomfortable. You must get out of your comfort zone.
The Late Cavett Robert, who was founder of the National Speakers Association, said something I’ll never forget: “Most people are running around their whole lives with their umbilical cords in their hands and they’re looking for some place to plug it back in.”
Most people are scared of the unknown. They prefer to stay in that womb of comfort. When the going gets tough; when the effort gets painful, when the work gets hard, they always pull back into safety. But the extraordinary people do the opposite. They know they have to get out of the comfort zone, and into new territory or they’ll stagnate and die.
Walt Disney once said that he never wanted to repeat a past success. He was always creating something new. They called it “Imagineering.” Disney’s mission was to continuously dream up and create things they had never done before, and look at what Disney has become today.
Here’s a little quote that you should post on your bulletin board, your computer desktop or somewhere you will always see it:
“Do what you always did, get what you always got.”
You can't grow or change by doing what you’ve already done. You’ve got to train just to prevent yourself from going backwards. Maintenance doesn’t occur when you do nothing, maintenance is working to fight entropy, the tendency for things to naturally deteriorate.
Still, most people won’t leave their comfort zones. They won’t do it in business, they won’t do it in their personal lives. They won’t do it in their sport. They won’t do it for personal health and fitness. Why? The answer is simple… It hurts.
By definition, what’s it like outside the comfort zone? It’s UN-COMFORTABLE, right? Change is uncomfortable. Sometimes it’s physically painful, but it’s always mentally and emotionally painful, in the form of discipline, sacrifice, uncertainty and fear.
The maxim, “no pain no gain” gets knocked all the time as if it were bad advice. The fact of life is that you don’t grow unless you’ are constantly stepping outside the comfort zone, and outside the comfort zone is discomfort and pain.
I find that it’s mostly the non-achievers who make out “no pain, no gain” to be a bad thing. But the winners get it. The champions understand stepping outside the comfort zone in a healthy context, so they embrace it.
When you’re talking about the Olympics, or pro bodybuilding or the Super Bowl or a world championship, you’d better believe it’s physical pain, it’s discipline, it’s sacrifice, it’s blood, sweat, and tears - literally. But for most people who simply want to go from unfit to fit, from overweight to ideal weight, it’s not so much about physical “pain”; it’s more like stretching yourself.
How do you develop flexibility? What does your trainer tell you? You stretch to the point of discomfort, but not to the point of pain, right? You get into a position of slight discomfort and you hold it just long enough, then what happens? The discomfort goes away, because the muscle becomes more pliable, and the range of motion is increased.
Each time, you stretch a little further, just barely into the range you’ve never been in before, and eventually, you’re doing the splits. And why do you approach it like that? Because you don’t want to injure yourself. Stretch too far, too fast and your muscle tears.
The elite athletes and high achievers really have to push themselves; they’re going to push their boundaries and test their limits. But if you’re not an elite athlete or seasoned bodybuilder, and you take the advice, “no pain, no gain” too literally, you’re going to end up getting injured.
I always say to my training partner when I watch him cringing during a set and he finishes up with that pained look on his face, “Are you injured, or just hurt?” He knows what I’m talking about. If he says he’s hurt, I say, “OK, good. As long as you’re not injured. Let’s get on with it. Next set.”
It’s not about injury. That is bad pain. That is stupidity. But do stretch yourself. You can’t improve unless you stretch yourself. If that’s what some people want – if they just want to “stay fit” – OK fine. It actually doesn’t take that much to stay fit, once you’ve already achieved it.
But what if you want to improve? What if you want a new body? What if you want to change? If that's what you want, you’ve got to push yourself a little. You’ve got to break comfort zones. And if your body is not changing, then I don’t care how hard you think you’re working, whatever you’re doing right now is inside your comfort zone.
The statement “no pain, no gain” has been misinterpreted, criticized and labeled a fallacy by many. However, the people doing the criticizing are almost always comfort zoners who haven’t achieved much. Don’t listen to them. Instead, follow the small percentage of people who step out and achieve great things. If you don’t like the sound of it, then say, “No effort, no gain.” We’re still talking about the same thing.
Embrace the discomfort like the champions do. Soon it subsides, you enjoy the benefits of the change and the pain is forgotten. You’ve reached a new, higher plateau of achievement. Enjoy the view for a short while. But be on guard because it’s not long before that higher level becomes your new comfort zone and then its time to press on again.
About the author
Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, freelance writer and best selling author of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat Burning Secrets of the World’s Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. Tom has been featured in IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Italian IRONMAN (Olympian’s News), Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness, Muscular Development, Men’s Exercise, and Men’s Fitness Magazines. Tom’s hard work, no-quick fixes approach has won him multiple titles in drug tested bodybuilding including Mr. Natural Pennsylvania, Natural New Jersey, Natural New York State, Natural Mid Atlantic States and NPC Natural Eastern Classic championships. More important, tens of thousands of people in 141 countries have used Tom’s Burn The Fat program to lose as much as 253 pounds or just the last stubborn 5-10 pounds and achieve that coveted 6-pack of abs. To learn more about Tom’s all-natural approach to fat burning, visit his site at http://www.BurnTheFat.com
What should you eat?
1 comments Thursday, June 18, 2009How many times have you asked that question? How too often do your lunches turn into fast food and how many times do your dinners resort to take-out?
Even if you don't eat fast food or do take-out, figuring out what to eat can become very tedious, especially if you're trying to stay healthy and lose fat. Knowing what and when to eat can feel like studying for final exams again.
Before you go into anymore of a panic, take a deep breath, and feel reassured that fitness expert
Vince DelMonte and Empowered Nutrition Meal Plans has come to the rescue to teach you how to make healthy meals to strip away any excess body fat.
For the next 7-days, you get an opportunity to whip your diet into shape so you can trim and lean down, burn fat and combat any health issues.
Have you downloaded your FREE 7-day Fat Loss Meal Plan yet?Check out what my buddy,
Vince DelMonte, is hooking you up with this week:--> http://tinyurl.com/mwze5f
Your nutrition meal plan should be set up just like your training program.
Just like exercise, there are beginner, intermediate and advanced programs.
Nutrition, if done properly, follows the same set of rules.
Empowered Nutrition Meal Plans has beginner, intermediate and advanced meal plans depending on your level of nutrition knowledge and fitness and goals.
Today we are handing you a sample from the 7-day beginner program with 2000 calories for men and 1600 calories for women.
We don't care how big or how small you are, if you're a guy, follow the 2,000 calorie meal plan to the letter. That goes for women too. I don't care how big or how small you are, follow the 1,600 calorie meal plan to the letter.
When you order the complete system on June 30th, Vince and Empowered Nutrition will hook you up with all the different calorie levels and different program levels. For now, all you need is what we're giving you today, to get started seeing fat burning results and incredible energy in just 7 days.
The goal is to achieve the following:
- Tell you exactly what to eat so you have no guesswork.
- At what time to eat so you don't slow down your metabolism.
- How much you should be eating in each meal so you can monitor your progress.
- What to shop for at the grocery store so you can't bring home anything unnecessary.
- How to cook it so you're eating healthy and delicious meals at the same time.
- To remove the stress that food causes in your life and give you an easy and simple plan.
- To put your body in hormonal balance to control and improve your energy levels.
- Start stripping away the next 10, 20, 30 ? or more pounds of fat you want to lose.
However, if you follow Vince's advice and use these meal plans over the next 7-14 days you'll see real results on the scale, at your waistline and in your energy levels. This might even be the first step to getting you into or back into the best shape of your life.Check it out here:--> http://tinyurl.com/mwze5f
Yours Truly,
Monica Batiste, CT, SN, & Pilates Instructor
Download your FREE 7-day Fat Loss Meal Plan
0 comments Wednesday, June 17, 2009I have some REALLY exciting news to share with you today.
My good friend and fellow fitness author Vince DelMonte is GIVING AWAY the most powerful and fastest acting resource to overcome the number one culprit to losing your belly fat and getting a ripped and flat stomach.
Nutrition!
We both know that proper nutrition, more specifically, following a Done-For-You MEAL PLAN, will lead to faster fat loss and a more chiseled and flat stomach than anything else.
It's a FREE opportunity to get better results in the next 2 weeks than most people experience in 2 months.
This is perhaps one of the most valuable giveaways EVER.
Yes, 100% FREE stuff!
But there is a catch... it's only available until Wednesday June 17th at midnight EST time.
Each gift you'll find at the below address are retailed at $57 US, but today you can grab them for the best price ever - zero.
Click here for your free gifts:--> http://tinyurl.com/mwze5f
Why is Vince doing this??
On Tuesday June 30th at 12pm EST Vince is releasing his highly-anticipated joint venture product with Empowered Nutrition Meal Plans, called the Empowered Nutrition Done-for-You-Fat loss Meal Plans.
This is a comprehensive 3 phase done for you meal plan system that includes fifteen 84-day meal plans for both men and women, which is the most complete stomach flattening and ab-sharpening meal plan and nutrition solution to ever be released on the internet. And he wants you to have first crack at his limited time only 50% off sale of this done for you fat loss meal plan system.
Once the 50% off sale is over the complete meal plan system goes up to full price and is going to stay there.
DATE- Tuesday June 30th at 12pm EST
...there's more.
Vince wanted me to reassure you that there is ZERO pressure to try out the Empowered nutrition done-for-you fat loss meal plan system when they are ready to be mailed out on the launch date and you are more than welcome to get INSTANT ACCESS to his two free gifts right now.
... FOLLOW THIS ADVICE ...
#1 - Check out the link below.--> http://tinyurl.com/mwze5f
#2 - Watch the entire video
#3 - Enter your name and email to get on the Early Bird VIP list to be notified before the public, which means you will be able to buy before the site goes live. You'll also be given INSTANT ACCESS to a free 7-day sample of the done for you fat loss meal plan system absolutely free.
So make sure to follow ALL 3 STEPS to ensure you're one of the lucky people to get access to your free gifts plus first shot to try out the Empowered nutrition Done-for-You Fat Loss Meal Plans on Tuesday June 30th 12pm EST.
Check it out here:--> http://tinyurl.com/mwze5f
Yours Truly,
Monica Batiste
CFT, SN, & Pilates Instructor
P.S. This page really is coming down Wednesday June 17th at Midnight EST. If you don't grab your gifts today, you WILL miss out (not a marketing ploy, just the honest truth). There is NO CATCH at all. Nothing for you to buy so take advantage and start carving your six-pack abs now, compliments of my good friend Vince and the team at Empowered Nutrition Meal Plans.
Free Goal Setting Tricks
0 comments Saturday, June 13, 2009That's why I want to share with you free report "7 Goal Setting Tricks" that will help you to turn your dreams into everyday reality.
You will find out:
- The one question you must answer before you take any action towards achieving your goals.
- How to trick yourself to finally get started working on your goals and stay on track until the goal is accomplished.
- One simple, yet powerful, technique that drives you into actions every day and helps overcome procrastination.
- The secret formula that helps you to define the perfect moment for working on your goal.
- The one simple technique that will make any boring task a pure fun and increase your productivity.
Here's direct download link: http://alturl.com/inf4
To your success,
Monica
The Cardio Machine that Sucks
1 comments Monday, June 1, 2009Recently, I was in Tampa, Florida, at a seminar. Between sessions, a physician from Georgia stopped me in the hall and said, "Hey Craig, you were right about those crosstrainer machines. I've had your program for a few months now and I'm getting better results with the bodyweight circuits."
It's always great to meet clients, and I was curious to find out how he heard of me. Turns out, he found me through Google, landing on an article I wrote about "how elliptical machines (crosstrainers) suck for fat loss".
That's right, I think those machines are almost a complete waste of time.
"I was using one of those machines for a long time and was wondering why I wasn't getting any results," the physician continued, "I'm so glad I found your program and now I'm using the bodyweight circuits from the Dumbell-Bodyweight Fusion Workout", he added.
I told him how I wasn't surprised. In fact, I've never personally known anyone to get great results with one of those crosstrainer machines. Now I've watched really lean people use them, but they didn't get lean with those machines.
I know some people will be angry with what I have to say because they like exercising on the crosstrainer, but the truth is that they just don't work as well as harder forms of interval training.
And hey, any time you are traveling or want a break from regular interval training workouts, you can use one of the 4 bodyweight circuits from the TT DB-BW Fusion Fat Loss program that you get as a bonus when you order the Turbulence Training fat burning workout routine.
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Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MSAuthor, Turbulence Training
About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com
Calorie Restriction For Life Extension: What They Didn't Tell You On Oprah
0 comments Thursday, May 28, 2009By Tom Venuto
On a recent episode of the Oprah show, one of the guests was a 51 year old man with the heart of a 20 year old. He's been following a calorie restriction plan and they said he might be one of the first people to reach 120 years old by following this plan. There have been stories both in the lay press and scientific press about calorie restriction for years and it has been a frequent talk show topic on other many other TV shows. However, before you cut your calories in half in hopes of adding another decade onto your life, you'd better get the other half of the story they didn't talk about on Oprah.
I’ve seen a lot of strange things in the health field, and although calorie restriction (CR) is the subject of serious and legitimate scientific study, I consider CR to be one of those strange things. Of course, that’s because I choose a different lifestyle - the muscle-friendly Burn The fat, Feed The Muscle lifestyle - but there’s more than one reason why I’m not a CR advocate:
Hunger while dieting is almost always a challenge. There’s some hunger even with conservative calorie deficits of 15-20% under maintenance. Prolonged hunger is one of the biggest reasons people fall off the weight loss diet wagon because it’s unpleasant and difficult to resist. This is why pharmaceutical and supplement companies spend millions of dollars on researching, developing and marketing appetite suppressants. Yet CR advocates put themselves through 30-50% calorie restriction on a daily basis as a way of life in the hopes of extending life span or health.
Practitioners of CR follow a low-calorie lifestyle, but technically, they are not in a chronic 30% calorie deficit. That would be impossible. What happens is their metabolisms get very slow (that’s part of the idea behind CR; if you slow down your metabolism, you allegedly slow down aging). So a 6 foot tall man who would normally require nearly 3,000 calories to maintain his weight, might eventually reach an energy balance at only 1800 or 1900 calories. This is not just due to a ‘starvation mode’ phenomenon, that’s only part of it. It’s primarily because he loses weight until he is very thin and his smaller body doesn’t need many calories any more.
Does caloric restriction really extend lifespan?
The biological mechanisms of lifespan extension through calorie restriction are not fully understood, but researchers say it may involve alterations in energy metabolism (as mentioned above), reduced oxidative damage, improvements in insulin sensitivity, reduction of glycation, modulation of protein metabolism, downregulation of pro-inflammatory genes and functional changes in both neuroendocrine and autonomic nervous systems.
Mouse studies on CR go back as far as 1935 and monkey studies began in the late 1980’s. So far the results are clear on one thing: caloric restriction does increase lifespan in rodents and other lower species (yeast, worms and flies). Studies suggest the life of the laboratory rat is 25% longer with CR (even longer with aggressive CR). Primate studies are still underway and humans have been experimenting with CR for some time. In primates and humans, biomarkers of aging show signs of slower aging with CR. This makes many proponents talk about this CR as if it were a sure-thing, already proven through double-blind randomized clinical human trials.
The truth is, there is NO direct experimental evidence that you will live longer from practicing CR. Due to the length of human lifespans, we will not have the necessary data for at least another generation and perhaps multiple generations. Even then, it will still be highly speculative whether CR will extend human life at all and if so how much. We can only estimate. I’ve seen guesses in the scientific literature ranging from 3 to 13 years, if CR is practiced for an entire adult lifetime.
Jay Phelan, a biologist at UCLA is skeptical. He says the potential life extension is on the lower end of that range and the increase is so small that it’s not worth the semi-starvation:
“There is no current evidence that lifelong caloric restriction leads to increased lifespan in primates. It’s certainly tantalizing that things like blood pressure or heart rate look as though they are a lot healthier and I believe they are. Whether or not this translates to a significantly increased lifespan, I don’t know. I predict that it doesn’t.”
I don’t quibble qualitatively with their results. Yes, it will increase lifespan, but it will not increase it by 50% or 60%, it won’t increase it by 20% or 10%, it might increase it by 2%. So if you tell me that I have to do something horrible for every day of my life for a 2% benefit - for an extra year of life - I say no thanks.”
Is prolonged caloric restriction unhealthy?
When caloric restriction is practiced with optimal nutrition (CRON), it is not inherently unhealthy. Actually, it appears the reverse is true. First, the weight loss that comes with the low calories produces improvements in the health markers, as you would expect. Second, the meticulous choice of food from CRON practitioners, where they pick high nutrient foods and avoid empty calories means that they are making healthy food choices. Third, advocates say that the CR itself improves health. I wonder, however, how much does CR improve health independent of the weight loss and the optimal nutrition?
By losing fat and maintaining an ideal body composition (the fat to muscle ratio) and eating high nutrient density foods, I propose that even at a more normal caloric intake, you will get very significant health and longevity benefits. I also propose that gaining muscle in a natural way (no steroids) will increase your quality of life today and as you get older.
Aside from the fact that we are not lab rats, the truth is, none of us knows when our day will come. We could get plucked off this physical plane at any moment and have no control over how it happens. My belief is that we should make our lifestyle decisions based on quality of life, not just quantity of life. That includes our quality of life today as well as our anticipated quality of life when we are older. Maybe we ought to be focusing more on “health span” than life span.
Downsides of calorie restriction for life extension
One fact about calorie restriction that they often don’t mention on these talk shows is that the benefits of CR decline if you start CR at a later age. This was discussed in a research paper from the Journal of Nutrition called, “Starving for life: what animal studies can and cannot tell us about the use of caloric restriction to prolong human lifespan.” The author of the paper, John Speakman from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, said that the later in life you begin to practice CR, the less of an increase in lifespan you will achieve. Even if the CR proponents are right, if you started in your late 40’s or mid 50’s for example, the benefit would be minimal. If you started in your 60’s the effect would be almost nonexistent. Essentially, you have to “starve for life” to get the benefits.
While some CR proponents claim that they aren’t hungry and they cite studies suggesting that hunger decreases during starvation, Speakman and other researchers say that hunger remains a big problem during CR - especially in today’s modern society where we are surrounded with convenience food and numerous eating cues - and that alone makes CR impractical:
“Neuroendocrine profiles support the idea that animals under CR are continuously hungry. The feasibility of restricting intake in humans for many decades is questionable.”
Let’s suppose for a moment that CR is totally legit and the claims are true. Many of the proposed benefits of CR come at the expense of what many of us are trying to do here: gain and maintain lean body mass. One spokesman for CR is 6 feet tall and 130 pounds. Another poster boy for CR is 6 foot tall and 115 lbs. Measurements of rodents under CR not only show large reductions in skeletal muscle but also bone mass.
I am not suggesting that these CR practitioners are anorexic, a concern that has been raised about CR when practiced aggressively. However, they are losing large amounts of fat-free tissue and that is plainly obvious for all to see when you look at their bony physiques. I am not imposing my body standards on others, but 115 to 130 lbs at 6 foot tall is underweight for a man by any standard. Furthermore, researchers say that at the body mass indices sustained by most voluntary CR practitioners, we would expect females to become amenorrheic. “One thing that is completely incompatible with a CR lifestyle is reproduction” says Speakman.
With that kind of atrophy, I have to wonder what their quality of life will be like in old age. While many people struggle with body fat for most of their adult lives, I’m sure almost everyone knows an elderly person who wrestles with the opposite problem: they are seriously underweight and they struggle to eat enough and maintain lean body mass.
My grandmother, before she passed away, was under 80 lbs. We could not get her to eat. She was weak and very frail. I have reported many times about the research showing how most overweight people under estimate calorie intake and eat more than they think or admit. In elder care homes, the research has often showed the opposite - the patients over estimate how much they eat. They swear they are eating enough, but they arent and they keep losing dangerous amounts of weight. With underweight, atrophied seniors, weakness means less functionality and lower quality of life and a fall can mean more than broken bones, it can be life-threatening.
Life extension with more muscle
While there is a commonality between CRON and the way I recommend eating (high nutrient density, low calorie density foods), in most regards, CR is the opposite of my approach. In my Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle program, we go for a higher energy flux nutrition program, which means that because we are weight training and doing cardio and leading a very active lifestyle, we get to eat more. Because we are so active and well-trained, the eating more does not have a negative effect as it would on a sedentary person, who might get sick and fat from the additional calories. We active folks take those calories, burn them for energy, partition them into lean muscle tissue and we enjoy a faster metabolism and extremely high quality of life.
As a bodybuilder, CR is not compatible with my priorities, but hypothetically speaking, if I were to practice a lower calorie lifestyle, I wouldn’t follow an aggressive CR approach. I’d probably do as the Okinawans do. They have a very simple philosophy: hari hachi bu: eat until you are only 80% full. While this does not mean there is a carefully measured 20% calorie deficit, it’s consistent with what we practice in the Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle lifestyle for a fat loss phase, and avoiding overeating is certainly a smart way to avoid obesity and health problems. Incidentally, the Okinawans eat about 40% less than Americans, and 11% less than they should, according to standard caloric intake guidelines, and they live 4 years longer than Americans.
If someone is being “sold” on CR by an enthusiastic CR spokesperson, or simply curious after watching the latest TV talk show (where they are looking for controversial stories), it’s important to know that there is more than one side to the story. If you carefully read the entire body of research on CR, you will see that the experts are split right down the middle in their opinions about whether CR will really work. CR for humans remains highly controversial and there are no guarantees that this will extend your life.
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health in Baltimore, MD put it this way:
“Because it is unlikely that an experimental study will ever be designed to address this question in humans, we respond that “we think we will never know for sure.” We suggest that debate of this question is clearly an academic exercise.”
In closing, let me go back to one of the original questions I was asked: “Can the BFFM food plan also be thought as a longevity lifestyle, but with more muscle mass?” Absolutely beautifully said! That’s precisely what Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle is.
I believe that by making healthy food choices but doing so at a higher level of calorie intake and expenditure, that we can fend off sarcopenia - the age related decline in muscle mass that debilitates many seniors - while enjoying a more muscular physique, greater strength, and a less restrictive lifestyle. Most gerontologists agree - by making simple lifestyle changes that include strength training and good nutrition, you can easily turn back the biological clock 10 years without going hungry.
For more information about Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, the “longevity lifestyle with more muscle”, visit: http://tinyurl.com/qz6h89
Train hard and expect success,
Tom VenutoFat Loss Coachhttp://tinyurl.com/qz6h89
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, independent nutrition researcher, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: http://tinyurl.com/qz6h89
References:
Hunger does not diminish over time in mice under protracted caloric restriction. Hambly C, Mercer JG, Speakman JR.Rejuvenation Res. 2007 Dec;10(4):533-42.Aberdeen Centre for Energy Regulation and Obesity (ACERO), Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Starving for life: what animal studies can and cannot tell us about the use of caloric restriction to prolong human lifespan.Speakman JR, Hambly C. J Nutr. 2007 Apr;137(4):1078-86. School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, Scotland, UK.
Can dietary restriction increase longevity in all species, particularly in human beings? Introduction to a debate among experts. Le Bourg E, Rattan SI. Biogerontology. 2006 Jun;7(3):123-5.
The potential for dietary restriction to increase longevity in humans: extrapolation from monkey studies. Ingram DK, Roth GS, Lane MA, Ottinger MA, Zou S, de Cabo R, Mattison JA.Biogerontology. 2006 Jun;7
(3):143-8. Laboratory of Experimental Gerontology, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, 5600 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
Caloric restriction in humans: potential pitfalls and health concerns. Dirks AJ, Leeuwenburgh C.Mech Ageing Dev. 2006 Jan;127(1):1-7. Epub 2005 Oct 13, Wingate University, School of Pharmacy, 316 N. Main Street, Wingate, NC 28174, USA.
Caloric restriction and human longevity: what can we learn from the Okinawans? D. Craig Willcox, Bradley J. Willcox Hidemi Todoriki. Biogerontology (2006) 7: 173—177
Endocrine alterations in response to calorie restriction in humans. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2009 Feb 5;299(1):129-36. Epub 2008 Oct 21. Redman LM, Ravussin E. Pennington Biomedical Research Center, 6400 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, United States.
Caloric restriction in the presence of attractive food cues: external cues, eating, and weight. Polivy J, Herman CP, Coelho JS.Physiol Behav. 2008 Aug 6;94(5):729-33. Epub 2008 Apr 13. University of Toronto, Canada.
Life Extension by Calorie Restriction in Humans. Everitt AV, Le Couteur DG.Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2007 Aug 23, Centre for Education and Research on Ageing, University of Sydney, Concord, New South Wales, Australia.
EXERCISE MELTS BODY FAT
0 comments Thursday, May 14, 2009These studies have also indicated that the government’s current recommended daily allowance for calories does not correlate with the body's actual energy needs. For example, although 2400 calories have been calculated for older men, they in fact burned an average of 2800 calories daily.
The leading experts now recommend that people who want to lose weight start increasing their physical activity. Just being more active in general (such as climbing the stairs instead of taking the elevator, moving around instead of sitting still, sitting up instead of lying down as well as showing some excitement and enthusiasm instead of boredom), are things that more effectively burns calories and reduces body fat. Everyone seems to have lost sight of the value of being active. Consider this, a half-hour aerobic workout accounts for far less energy expenditure than our minute-to-minute movement in the office or at home.
Millions of Americans are trying to lose weight, spending approximately $30 billion a year on diet programs and products; often they do lose some weight. However, if you check with the same people five years later, you will find that nearly all have regained whatever weight they lost. A national panel recently sought data to determine if any commercial diet program could prove long-term success. Not a single program could do so. Being seriously overweight and particularly obesity predisposes individuals to a number of diseases and serious health problems, and it's now a known fact that when caloric intake is excessive, some of the excess frequently is saturated fat.
People who diet without exercising often get fatter with time. Although your weight may initially drop while dieting, such weight loss consists mostly of water and muscle. When the weight returns, it comes back as fat. To avoid getting fatter over time, increase your metabolism by exercising regularly.
Walking is one of the best exercises for strengthening bones, controlling weight, toning the leg muscles, maintaining good posture and improving positive self-concept.
To lose weight, it's more important to walk for time than speed. Walking at a moderate pace yields longer workouts with less soreness - leading t more miles and more fat worked off on a regular basis. High intensity walks on alternate days help condition one's system. But in a walking, weight-loss program, you are not required to walk an hour every day as some people would have you believe.
When it comes to good health and weight loss, exercise and diet are inter-related. Exercising without maintaining a balanced diet is no more beneficial than dieting while remaining inactive.
Click here for diet & exercise plan
The Muscle-Building Troubleshooter...
0 comments Sunday, May 3, 2009Not gaining muscle? Use this quick troubleshooting guide to fix what's wrong and
get yourself back on the right track to building maximum mass FAST.
So you're stuck...haven't gained any muscle in months...the scale hasn't gone up and neither have the weights you're using...
What do you do? How do you step back and assess what you're doing and where you're going wrong? Just randomly changing things with your program and your eating isn't going to cut it...
That's where the Muscle-Building Troubleshooter comes in.
This step-by-step guide will walk you through what you need to do to analyze what's stopping you from achieving the results you want and help to get you back on the right track to muscle growth.
And, don't be shocked when I don't start throwing out info about your NO2 deficiency and the need for some expensive crap supplement with ingredients you can't pronounce...this is the real deal.
STEP 1 - NUTRITION
There's an old saying that you can't out-train a bad diet. Totally true. You don't have to eat perfectly but if you're not eating ENOUGH or if you're eating the wrong foods or at the wrong times, you just won't gain muscle. Simple as that.
So step back and have a look at what you're eating. Write down EXACTLY what you're eating over the course of a few days, covering both training and non-training days.
Be sure to log EVERYTHING, including what TIME you ate. Go through these steps one-by-one...
1. Are you eating protein foods with every meal?
-> If NO, make sure you eat some with EVERY meal. Your body needs a continuous supply of protein to build muscle tissue.
-> If YES, go to #2...
2. How much total protein are you eating over the course of the day?
-> If less than 1 gram per pound bodyweight, you need to eat more. Without sufficient protein, muscle-growth stops. Better to err on the side of too much than not enough. A little extra protein will NOT hurt your kidneys, contrary to the myth.
-> If equal to or more than 1 gram per pound bodyweight, go to #3
3. How much time do you have between meals?
-> If greater than 3 hours, you need to eat more frequently. Your body needs a steady supply of calories to keep the muscle-building process fueled.
-> If every 3 hours or less, go to #4
4. How many overall calories are you eating in a day?
-> If less than your bodyweight (in pounds) multiplied by 15, you need more calories (e.g. 200 lbs x 15 = 3000 calories)
-> If equal to or more than your bodyweight x 15, you STILL may need more calories but you're on the right track
-> If more than your bodyweight x 20 and you're still not gaining, go to #5
5. What quality of food are you eating?
-> If you eat more than 50% junk food, focus on bringing that down to 25%
-> If you eat less than 25% junk food, you're on the right track - some is ok, especially if you need more calories in your diet, but you don't want to get too many calories from poor food sources - go to #6
6. How much fat are you eating?
-> If you eat less than 30 grams of fat per day, that's NOT enough for muscle-building and optimal hormone production - increase that to at least 50 to 60 grams a day.
-> If you eat more than 50 grams a day, look at what TYPE of fat it is...your body does need some saturated fat for hormone production. Stay away from processed fats but unprocessed animal fats can be useful. Go to #7
7. Are you eating IMMEDIATELY after training?
-> If not, i.e. you're waiting a few hours or so, this will KILL your progress. Take in something as soon as possible after training (e.g. protein shake) to start the anabolic processes going. About an hour after training, eat a big meal.
-> If yes, go to STEP 2 to look at your training...
STEP 2 - TRAINING
So now that you've got your nutrition in good order, THAT shouldn't be what's holding you back. It's time to look at your training...
1. How long are your training sessions?
-> If greater than 1 hour, cut back NOW. Training longer than an hour decreases your testosterone below useful levels. Training for 45 minutes or less is better.
-> If already less than an hour, go to #2
2. How many days a week are you training?
-> If 5 or more times week and you're not gaining, reduce to 4 sessions per week. You may not be giving your body enough recovery time.
-> If 1 or 2 times per week and you're not gaining, increase to 3 or 4 sessions per week. The body often needs a more frequent training stimulus in order to build muscle.
-> If you're at 3 or 4 times per week, and you're not gaining, go to #3
3. What types of exercises are you using?-> Curls, bench presses, and crunches...mirror-muscle syndrome. These exercises will not build significant muscle on their own...you need to focus on basic exercises like deadlifts, squats, and rows.
-> Lots of machines...get off 'em. Free-weight exercises are MUCH more effective for building muscle. Anything that uses barbells, dumbells or kettlebells is going to be far better.
-> Free-weight exercises like squats, deadlifts, presses and rows. If you're already using these exercises and still not gaining, go to #4
4. How hard are you pushing yourself on your sets?
-> Using lighter weight for higher reps (12+) and not getting close to failure...time to buckle down and get some weight on the bar. Use weights that push you to get 5 to 7 reps per set.
-> Using VERY heavy weight for low reps (1 to 3). Time to back off a bit on the weight. Low reps are great for strength but aren't the best for building muscle mass. Use less weight and aim for 5 to 7 reps per set.
-> Pushing to failure (and beyond using intensity techniques) on more than 1 or 2 sets per workout. Stop doing that NOW. Pushing to the limits like this may feel good in the short-term but isn't the most effective way to train for muscle mass. It compromises recovery by bringing down the nervous system and slows growth by inducing excessive muscle damage. Some is necessary but too much can be counterproductive.
-> Pushing to near failure (when doing lower-volume routines) or staying away from failure (when doing higher-volume routines) and still not gaining, go to #5
5. What type of program are you using?
-> Using a low-volume, high-intensity style of program like Mike Mentzer's "High Intensity Training" and not gaining, your body may need a break. Switch to higher-volume, lower-intensity training for 3 to 4 weeks.
-> Using a volume-based program like Charles Staley's "Escalating Density Training" and not gaining, your body may respond better to lower volume but a more intense training stimulus.
-> Using a program for more than 3 weeks without noticeable results...time to get a new program. If something doesn't get you results within 2 to 3 weeks, it's not EVER going to work for you. An effective program will start working within that timeframe. Go to #6
6. What bodyparts are you focusing on?
-> Training a lot of arms and chest...back to the mirror muscle problem. The arms and chest don't contain that much muscle mass and working them doesn't stimulate much testosterone production. Time for a more balanced program - work your legs or suffer the consequences of looking like you're riding a chicken.
-> Nothing in particular but covering all bodyparts. This is better but if you're still not gaining, it's time to eliminate the training for the smaller bodyparts such as arms and calves that can affect recovery but not contribute much to overall muscle growth. This will allow you to put all your energy into the big exercises like squats, dead lifts and heavy presses and rows.
-> Just legs...I only work my legs. You're just a figment of my imagination...you don't exist...
STEP 3 - SUPPLEMENTATION
Now we come to the section that most trainers seem to want to START with...supplements. Contrary to what the ads in the magazines will tell you, training and nutrition actually ARE more important than supplements. Just look at the standout physiques of the "Golden Age" of bodybuilding, before fancy supplements and steroids came into the picture...Chuck Sipes, John Grimek, Bill Bearl, Steve Reeves, Reg Park, and MANY more.
I can promise you these guys knew their stuff when it came to training and eating.
1. Are you taking a protein supplement?
-> If no - this is the best place to start. A good protein supplement will help you get enough protein to support muscle growth throughout the day and in the important post-workout period.
-> If yes, go to #2
2. Are you taking a good multivitamin/multimineral supplement?
-> If no, this is a critical mistake. Your body requires vitamins and minerals to function properly. Without optimum levels, you are compromising results. Sure, doctors say you can get the RDA without supplements but who wants to have just enough to avoid deficiency? When building muscle, you need EXCESS, not "just enough."
-> If yes, go to #3
3. Are you taking creatine?
-> If no, you may be missing out on some serious results. Creatine is one of the very few PROVEN supplements that can help you build muscle and strength. It is well-researched and very safe. It is highly recommended.
-> If yes, go to #4
4. That's it for supplements...there really isn't anything else proven to really help with muscle-building that I would recommend as a "missing link" in your results.
And honestly, if you're not doing the training and nutrition right, even the protein, vitamins and creatine aren't going to help you build muscle. Which brings us to...
THE MAIN LESSON
When you're stuck in a muscle-building plateau, look first at your nutrition, then at your training then, and ONLY then, your supplementation. By systematically going through the Troubleshooter above, you'll be able to pinpoint what you need to change to get your mass moving in the upwards direction again.
RESOURCE LINKS:
I've got a number of useful links to information that can help you get the most out of each step of this Troubleshooter. Once you know what's wrong, you can use these links to access specific information that can help you make adjustments.
1. My Practical "Lazy Cook" Recipes For Building Muscle! So Easy Even a Caveman Can Make Them...
-> http://hop.clickbank.net/?msfitness1/betteru&l=1137
2. Muscle Explosion - 28 Days to Maximum Mass
-> http://hop.clickbank.net/?msfitness1/betteru&l=700
3. Training on the Edge - Learn How Overtraining on Purpose Can Get You Maximum Results FAST!
-> http://hop.clickbank.net/?msfitness1/betteru&l=1014
4. Rest-Pause Training
-> http://hop.clickbank.net/?msfitness1/betteru&l=3015
5. A Quick, "No B.S." Guide To Muscle-Building and Fat-Loss Supplementation
-> http://hop.clickbank.net/msfitness1/betteru&l=1113
-----------------
Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 17 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Muscle Explosion - 28 Days to Maximum Mass," "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at (http://hop.clickbank.net/?msfitness1/betteru). He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.
Why "Toning Up" Can Spell Disaster For Your Fitness Results!
0 comments Saturday, April 18, 2009Save yourself from the heartbreak! Find out why "toning up" as a training goal can leave you high and dry with NO results at all. And find out exactly what you can DO about it!
I have to be honest...the first thing I do when someone tells me they "just want to tone up" is slap my palm to my forehead and groan. It's not because I'm frustrated with that person...quite the contrary!
The reason is the whole insidious but popular myth that it's possible to just "get toned" in the first place!
It's a myth that is found every aspect of popular fitness and it's time to put a stop to it once and for all before it robs yet another unfortunate person of their results.
Please realize, I'm NOT frustrated with the the person asking me the question about how to "get toned," but I AM frustrated with a fitness industry and popular media that LEADS people to believe they can make changes to their body without any real meaningful work and without actually building any honest-to-goodness, fully-functioning, metabolism-boosting muscle!
To be blunt and to put it another way, tricep kickbacks with a soup can will NOT stop your underarms from flapping in the wind.
You see, I'm frustrated because this is a myth that keeps people doing useless training that gets them nowhere. And then they give up and may write off all fitness and training as useless for them.
This is something I can't stand to see because I desperately WANT you to succeed in changing your body and getting healthier (it's why I'm in the business I'm in). But ineffective training information can stop you right in your tracks.
Now if you're reading this article because it's your goal to "get toned," PLEASE keep reading because I'm going to lay it all out for you right now...
1. You can't "tone" muscle. You can build muscle. You can lose muscle. Or your muscle can stay the same.
2. You can't "tone" fat. You can gain fat. You can lose fat. But you can't "tone" it.
The look that most people would describe as "toned" is ALWAYS a result of building muscle (or keeping the muscle you've got!) and losing fat...PERIOD. If you don't have muscle mass, you can lose fat but you'll just be a smaller version of what you are right now.
The problem arises when a person uses exercises and programs that bend to the desire not to build a single extra ounce of muscle for fear of "getting big bulky muscles." By doing that, you basically throw out most, if not all, of the most effective things you can do for fat loss!
Unfortunately, what you pretty much achieve with a goal of "toning up" is nothing at all.
And please believe me, I'm not saying this to be mean or discourage anyone from exercising. I'm saying this becuase you DESERVE to know the truth...
Toning up is a myth.
If you want results, you just need to train with challenging exercises and targeted fat-loss programs. It's not glamorous but it works!
And before I go any further, I do need to lay another myth to rest really quickly...merely touching a dumbell or barbell is NOT enough to build massive muscles and make you "bulk up," ESPECIALLY if you're female.
I can only WISH it were that easy! To really build the amount of muscle it takes to get that "bulky" look, you need to train specifically for muscle growth and eat plenty of food. It's hard work and it definitely doesn't come as easily and many people fear!
But by staying away from those challenging weight training exercises, you're NOT going to get the best fat-loss results possible.
You DON'T need to do bicep curls with a jar of pickles. You need to do squats and lunges and work the big muscles of your body that DRIVE your metabolism to burn fat 24 hours a day.
You DON'T need to lie on the floor and do five hundred crunches to tighten your stomach. You need to do interval training for cardio to burn the fat off to show those abs!
Bottom line: if you are serious about wanting results for the effort you put in but an exercise or program isn't challenging you, it won't get you there.
If you DON'T want results and you prefer to spin your wheels, no problem! Just grab a magazine at the grocery store and do the latest toning program that "all the celebrities are using!"
Like I mentioned above, it takes more than touching a dumbbell to get massive muscles...but a little hard work will go a LONG way towards building the body you want!
So now that you know what to do (burn fat and build muscle), how do you do it?
Glad you asked!
Below, I've listed some excellent resources you can check out to get started on your journey...
1. How To Lose Fat NOW - A Basic Fat-Loss Program That You Can Put To Work Today!
http://hop.clickbank.net/?msfitness1/betteru&l=1116
2. BASIC Nutrition - A Quick, Common-Sense Guide To What You Should Be Eating to Stay Healthy and Get Results Right Now
http://hop.clickbank.net/?msfitness1/betteru&l=1109
3. All Fitstep.com Fat Loss Articles and Information
http://hop.clickbank.net/?msfitness1/betteru&l=1039
4. Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat LossCrafted over 16 years, Metabolic Surge is the result of the combination time-tested training experience and the latest scientific research on the most effective methods of fat loss. By following specific dietary and training programs, you will see EXTREMELY RAPID fat loss, all while hanging onto every ounce of muscle mass.
http://hop.clickbank.net/?msfitness1/betteru&l=400
Conclusion:
Building the body you want is definitely possible! It's my hope, after reading this information, you've got a fresh perspective on the kind of things you can do to REALLY get the results you want and not fall into the "toning up" trap that stops so many people in their tracks with training and eating.
Because with the right training and right nutrition, you'll get to where you want to be MUCH faster.
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Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at (http://hop.clickbank.net/?msfitness1/betteru). He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.
Exercise Less, Not More!
0 comments Saturday, April 11, 2009If I had to pick out the number one reason most people fail to achieve good results in the gym, guess what it would be?
Over-training. Exercising too much.Sounds counter-intuitive, but trust me: It's quite real.
Folks write to me all the time and say...
"Jon, I don't get it. I cannot lose body fat and I'm running six days a week for an hour and training in the gym five days a week for 45 minutes!"
My answer back is usually:
"You are training 4x more than me, and I'm a fitness pro!"
Look, do you take 21 aspirin for a headache, thinking the more you take the faster your pain will go away?
No?
So why apply the same logic to fitness? Only a certain amount is required. Beyond that, you are spinning your wheels.
When I wrote 7 Minute Muscle (available here: http://tinyurl.com/ddsak5, I exposed all the lies about training too long and why this is not the best way to achieve the results you want. Check it out if you want the facts.
One more thing: 75% of your progress will come in the kitchen, not in the gym or on the treadmill.
As for me, I would much rather eat smart and train less than train all the time and be forced to eat 6-8 times a day just to recover from it all.
That makes no sense to me at all. You?
http://tinyurl.com/ddsak5<--- Less Is More!
"Free fat loss course and book!"
0 comments Tuesday, April 7, 2009This is one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time.
Fitness pro Jon Benson released a bombshell last week on the fat-burning world.
He is giving away a book's worth of material in his freee 7-Day Personal Fat Loss Certification Course.
Freee... and get this: Anyone who completes the course gets his book "The Radical Fat loss Blueprint" freee as well.
So there's nothing to buy at all... in fact you get tons of freee stuff AND you can even earn bucks in the program.
It's just too cool for words.
So go see it for yourself:
http://www.fit365online.com/friends/register.php?aff=Msfit31 <--- freee fat loss Course and book
Here is a short review:
The Course is for anyone who wants to become their own "personal" fat loss expert. It is complete with a quiz each day and more material than most people sell in a book... and it's totally freee.
After the course, you get his "Radical Fat loss Blueprint" freee too. This is all about how he and a group of "guinea pigs" experimented with natural techniques and got up to 21 lbs of unwanted body fat off in just 21 days.
The average was 17.5, but some people got as much as 30 lbs off.
All with little to no muscle lost.
It then outlines the 'exact' workout and supplement "feeding" schedule Jon still uses to get into top shape in 21 days.
This is down to the 'hour'... and it includes home workouts or gym workouts. Your choice.
This is his gift to my readers, and I am thrilled to share it with you.
Here you go:
http://www.fit365online.com/friends/register.php?aff=Msfit31 <--- freee fatloss Course and book
Enjoy the course!
“The Five Simple Steps for Losing Twenty Pounds Quickly and Safely”
0 comments Friday, April 3, 2009By Registered Dietitian Jayson Hunter
It’s unfortunate, but true: Many women feel the need to starve themselves when they have twenty pounds they want to lose so they can look great for a special occasion. Whether it is a wedding, class reunion or some other special event there is a tremendous amount of pressure on women to look great. And this pressure often leads to the yo-yo dieting and weight gain that is so prevalent in our society today.
You know the pattern: You starve yourself and seem to drop a ton of weight fast. But then when you go back to your normal eating patterns you gain not only the weight you lost back, but you gain even more!
And it’s all the result of one thing: Starving your body of the nutrients it needs.
As you’ve probably read somewhere by now, your body’s metabolism actually burns more fat when it’s fed more often. So if you want to lose dress sizes and inches fast you need to be good to your body. And that means eating the foods it craves to help it melt fat.
So here are 5 simple steps you can follow to help you lose twenty pounds of pure fat. And these steps will help you keep the weight off and end – once and for all – the yo-yo dieting dilemma.
Oh, but before I forget, at the end of the five tips I will tell you about a website for you to visit where you can even more great FREE info and even a 30 day meal plan to make your life even easier!
1. Increase Non-Starchy Vegetable Intake
You have probably seen this many times before, but I guarantee it is one of the most important steps to losing weight. Why you ask? One reason is because eating non-starchy vegetables increases your fiber intake which makes you feel fuller quicker.
Another reason is that vegetables are energy consumers. It takes more energy to digest a vegetable than a type of carbohydrate. You could actually be in a negative calorie balance if you compared one carrot’s calories to the amount of calories it took to digest and utilize that carrot.
There are studies that show on average for those that ate 4 or more servings of non-starchy vegetables a day were the biggest losers when it came to weight loss.
2. Protein Should Be At Every Meal
To optimally preserve your lean body mass while losing weight it is extremely important to consume some type of lean protein at every meal.
Protein is a great nutrient to prevent you from overeating because it will fill you up quicker.
It is also another nutrient that is energy costly, which means it takes more calories to digest and utilize protein than it does a carbohydrate.
Your best sources of protein are beef, chicken, fish, eggs, and dairy.
3. Eat Whole Grain Carbohydrates
Consuming whole-grain carbohydrates regulates your insulin levels and keeps your body from producing too much insulin. This, in turn, keeps you losing weight.
Large amounts of insulin promote fat storage and fast digesting or simple carbohydrates produce large amounts of insulin. You want to limit or avoid these fast digesting carbs.
By doing this you not only improve your health, but will speed up your fat loss.
Some studies believe that up to 70% of successful weight loss stems from keeping insulin levels in check and to do this means eating whole grains and avoiding simple carbs.
4. Eat More Healthy Fats
Consume adequate amounts of healthy fat foods such as olive oil, walnuts, almonds, or other Omega-3 products.
Healthy fats are great antioxidants. They also help with brain function and many other essential processes that take place in the body on a daily basis.
Essential Fatty acids also help prevent certain diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Some studies are starting to show that consuming Omega-3 products may boost your metabolism by as much as 400 calories a day.
5. Eat Frequent Meals
There is a direct correlation with eating patterns and volume of food consumed as well as insulin levels.
Eat 4-6 small meals day a day instead of the usual 2-3 large meals. Eating frequently will help regulate and boost your metabolism to burn more calories.
By eating smaller portions throughout the day, you tend to eat less food overall. You also control your blood sugars because, by ingesting a steady state of nutrients throughout the day, your body has no need to significantly elevate insulin levels to handle large amounts of food.
Now of course I do recommend you exercise while making these 5 changes to your diet because nutrition and exercise go hand in hand for fat loss. If you make these simple changes to your diet and take part in an exercise program that has you burning calories then you will drop dress sizes and inches quickly, safely and permanently.
Jayson Hunter RD, CSCS is the author of the Carb Rotation Diet. To discover the 5 absolute truths Every Serial Dieter Who Seeks Rapid-Weight loss MUST come to grips with visit The Carb Rotation Diet.
