There is a reason few people reach their goals and make their dreams come true.
Know what that reason is?
It's because those few actually HAVE goals written down. The vast majority of people on this planet do not.
And not only do people that achieve goals actually set goals, they also create a a plan to make sure they make things happen.
So where does that leave you?
Do you keep telling yourself you are going to "lose some weight?" Or do you have specific goals and a plan to reach them?
Do you have a plan for what you're going to eat each day so you're not tempted to fill up on fast food? Do you have a deadline for when you're going to reach your goal?
Here's another one: you KNOW you need to be eating breakfast every day. Do you have nutritious food in the house you PLAN on eating each morning?
If not have you looked into taking advantage of a delicious meal replacement shake like Prograde Lean
This is YOUR life. Whether you want your body to look better naked, you want to improve your health, you want to have more energy, or whatever your goal is, you MUST have written goals and a plan to achieve them.
Let's MAKE IT HAPPEN! ;)
Keegan
P.S. - Fail to plan, plan to fail. Life is easy when you plan for it to be.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Monday, May 11, 2009
Fighting The Freshmen Fifteen
Keegan Harris is a local Tucson, Arizona personal trainer and fitness boot camp instructor. Today he shares his top 10 tips to prevent gaining 15 plus pounds your freshman year in college.
We’re rolling through May and graduation is just around the corner…
Which means seniors in high school are already knees-deep in the senior slump that typifies the last semester prior to graduation.
But, what they (and their parents) should really be concerned about is fighting the scary trend of gaining 15+ lbs their freshman year in college.
Seriously, they might soon start calling it the FRESHMAN 50 if someone doesn’t step in right NOW and educate our youngsters about proper training and sound nutrition.
This is also vital knowledge to pass on to your clients if you are a trainer!
Before I share my top 10 tips to fight this trend, let’s first identify why this is important, beyond the obvious health benefits:
1.) Perception is Reality: Studies show that leaner, more attractive people are more employable and earn higher wages- it’s a fact! If you want a fighting chance of getting and keeping a job, in addition to climbing the corporate ladder, you simply cannot overlook your personal appearance and presentation.
2.) Build a Recession-Proof Body: Whenever the economy is struggling and companies are forced to tighten up their budgets, they’ll “trim the fat” from their employee base (both literally and figuratively). If it comes down to two people with equal skills, the leaner, healthier employee will always win!
So enough with the politics already, let’s get to the meat and potatoes baby, here it is:
The Top 10 Tips to Fight the Freshman 15
You may have already heard me go over some of these tips with you but that’s how important they are, we can’t hear it enough ;)
TIP#1- Invest in a Whole Body Workout
Perform a five-exercise circuit employing body weight-based exercises that’s designed to work your upper body, lower body, and core within the same workout at least three times per week with a day of rest between workouts
- Alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each a double-leg (e.g. squat), push (e.g. push-up), single-leg (e.g. lunge), pull (e.g. row), and core (e.g. plank/bridge) exercise.
- Perform up to 4 rounds without rest for a killer 20-minute total body workout that you can do anywhere
TIP#2- Harness the Power of Intervals
-Interval training is scientifically proven to burn nine times more body fat than ordinary exercise and elevates metabolism for up to 24-48 hours following your workout.
-Perform cardio intervals on non-strength training days three times per week. Selecting your cardio exercise of choice, alternate between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest and repeat this 30 second interval eight times for four total minutes followed by a one-minute rest. Repeat for up to 20 total minutes.
-This routine works best on a stationary bike (airdyne), for indoor/outdoor running, or for body weight cardio exercises that you can do at home like running in place or jumping jacks.
TIP#3- Eat AND Hydrate Early and Often
- Eat immediately upon waking and then every two to four hours to starve fat and feed muscle.
- By continuously fueling your furnace, and eating some animal protein (meat, eggs, cheese, etc.) at every feeding, you'll also keep your metabolism revved up throughout the day and prevent overeating.
- Drink 2-4 cups of water immediately upon waking and then 1-2 cups of water every 2 hours, in addition to drinking 1-2 cups of water for every 15 minutes of activity.
- Consume 3 servings of green tea per day.
TIP#4- Think Fiber When it Comes to Carbs
-Eat an unlimited amount of fibrous, cruciferous green veggies to fill your belly both during and between meals (avoid corn, peas, carrots, beets, and potatoes)
-For optimal fat-burning, try to limit fruit and other carbohydrate consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout when your body best tolerates starches and sugars.
- The Carb Reduction Blueprint:
Step#1- Replace all white carbs with 100% whole grain carbs and all refined sugars with natural sugars
Step#2- Limit all whole grain starch and natural sugar consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout or immediately upon waking for breakfast
Step#3- Replace all starches and sugars with fruits and veggies
Step#4- Replace all fruits with green veggies
TIP#5- Focus on Stabilization Exercise for Flat Abs
-Integrated total body training and sound nutrition is the key to burning the fat covering your abdominal muscles so you can “see” them- spot reduction doesn’t work!
- Pillar stabilization, both static and dynamic, is the key to developing rock hard abs, preventing injuries, and improving posture- NOT endless crunches and sit-ups!
- The pillar collectively consists of your shoulders, hips, and core. It is your body’s powerhouse, foundational to all movement.
-For maximum benefits, you must seek to maintain a tight pillar position during all movements by actively pulling your navel to your spine, engaging your glutes, and maintaining a straight line from the heels through the shoulders.
TIP#6- Be a Flexible Eater
-Allot yourself 1 or 2 “reward meals” per week where you can enjoy the indulgences of college life in MODERATION as needed!
-Be sure to plan your reward meals in advance based on your weekly schedule and be sure to earn them with compliance at all other times!
TIP#7- Take These 2 daily Supplements for Life
- Daily Multi-Vitamin for Your Gender
- Daily EFA/Fish Oil Supplement
For more info, visit: www.symmetryfitness.getprograde.com
TIP#8- If you Booze, you WON’T Lose!
-How much damage? A 12-ounce beer contains about 0.6 ounces of alcohol. If you consumed 5 of these, your body would be inhibited from fat burning for up to 6 hours. This is aside from the fact that your body will actually be storing fat during these 6 hours! The more you drink, the longer your body is inhibited from burning fat in addition to a greater fat build up from excess acetyl CoA. As you can see, one day of binge drinking can set you back days if not a full week when it comes to fat loss!
-What’s the worst-case scenario? Mixing alcohol with sugary beverages promotes even further fat gain due to the resulting insulin surge that triggers fat storage (e.g. regular beer or cocktails mixed with regular soda and/or fruit juice)
The Bottom Line
If you want to be lean, you must minimize ALCOHOL consumption!
If you must drink:
a.) Choose wine or hard liquor and “light” beer
b.) Limit alcohol consumption to 1-2 days per week with a 1-2 drink per day max
TIP#9- Sleep, Stretch, and Self-Massage
- Sleep: Get at least 6-7 hours (ideally 7-8) of restful sleep per night and take 1-2 hour naps to fill in the gaps. Establish a pre-bed routine and avoid caffeine after 2 pm.
- Stretch: Ideally perform Dynamic Stretching to preferentially mobilize joints BEFORE exercise and perform Static Stretching to preferentially lengthen muscles AFTER exercise
- Self-Massage: Spend at least 30-60 seconds massaging sore and tight areas of the body before and after you exercise to regenerate your muscle and connective tissue in order to prevent nagging aches and pains in the joints
TIP#10- Build-Your-Own Dorm Room Gym
Mandatory Items (less than $100):
- Foam Roller
- Tennis Ball
- Hex Dumbbells
- Resistance Bands (www.resistancebandtraining.com)
Premium Set-up (less than $200):
- All of the above
- Door/Wall-Mounted Pull-up Unit
- Stability Ball
For a great website for fitness equipment, visit www.justweight.net
It is my sincere hope to you either use and/or pass on these 10 simple strategies to secure yourself a future filled with health, happiness, and longevity.
Remember, don't just sit there…
Let's Get it! ;)
Keegan Harris
We’re rolling through May and graduation is just around the corner…
Which means seniors in high school are already knees-deep in the senior slump that typifies the last semester prior to graduation.
But, what they (and their parents) should really be concerned about is fighting the scary trend of gaining 15+ lbs their freshman year in college.
Seriously, they might soon start calling it the FRESHMAN 50 if someone doesn’t step in right NOW and educate our youngsters about proper training and sound nutrition.
This is also vital knowledge to pass on to your clients if you are a trainer!
Before I share my top 10 tips to fight this trend, let’s first identify why this is important, beyond the obvious health benefits:
1.) Perception is Reality: Studies show that leaner, more attractive people are more employable and earn higher wages- it’s a fact! If you want a fighting chance of getting and keeping a job, in addition to climbing the corporate ladder, you simply cannot overlook your personal appearance and presentation.
2.) Build a Recession-Proof Body: Whenever the economy is struggling and companies are forced to tighten up their budgets, they’ll “trim the fat” from their employee base (both literally and figuratively). If it comes down to two people with equal skills, the leaner, healthier employee will always win!
So enough with the politics already, let’s get to the meat and potatoes baby, here it is:
The Top 10 Tips to Fight the Freshman 15
You may have already heard me go over some of these tips with you but that’s how important they are, we can’t hear it enough ;)
TIP#1- Invest in a Whole Body Workout
Perform a five-exercise circuit employing body weight-based exercises that’s designed to work your upper body, lower body, and core within the same workout at least three times per week with a day of rest between workouts
- Alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each a double-leg (e.g. squat), push (e.g. push-up), single-leg (e.g. lunge), pull (e.g. row), and core (e.g. plank/bridge) exercise.
- Perform up to 4 rounds without rest for a killer 20-minute total body workout that you can do anywhere
TIP#2- Harness the Power of Intervals
-Interval training is scientifically proven to burn nine times more body fat than ordinary exercise and elevates metabolism for up to 24-48 hours following your workout.
-Perform cardio intervals on non-strength training days three times per week. Selecting your cardio exercise of choice, alternate between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest and repeat this 30 second interval eight times for four total minutes followed by a one-minute rest. Repeat for up to 20 total minutes.
-This routine works best on a stationary bike (airdyne), for indoor/outdoor running, or for body weight cardio exercises that you can do at home like running in place or jumping jacks.
TIP#3- Eat AND Hydrate Early and Often
- Eat immediately upon waking and then every two to four hours to starve fat and feed muscle.
- By continuously fueling your furnace, and eating some animal protein (meat, eggs, cheese, etc.) at every feeding, you'll also keep your metabolism revved up throughout the day and prevent overeating.
- Drink 2-4 cups of water immediately upon waking and then 1-2 cups of water every 2 hours, in addition to drinking 1-2 cups of water for every 15 minutes of activity.
- Consume 3 servings of green tea per day.
TIP#4- Think Fiber When it Comes to Carbs
-Eat an unlimited amount of fibrous, cruciferous green veggies to fill your belly both during and between meals (avoid corn, peas, carrots, beets, and potatoes)
-For optimal fat-burning, try to limit fruit and other carbohydrate consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout when your body best tolerates starches and sugars.
- The Carb Reduction Blueprint:
Step#1- Replace all white carbs with 100% whole grain carbs and all refined sugars with natural sugars
Step#2- Limit all whole grain starch and natural sugar consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout or immediately upon waking for breakfast
Step#3- Replace all starches and sugars with fruits and veggies
Step#4- Replace all fruits with green veggies
TIP#5- Focus on Stabilization Exercise for Flat Abs
-Integrated total body training and sound nutrition is the key to burning the fat covering your abdominal muscles so you can “see” them- spot reduction doesn’t work!
- Pillar stabilization, both static and dynamic, is the key to developing rock hard abs, preventing injuries, and improving posture- NOT endless crunches and sit-ups!
- The pillar collectively consists of your shoulders, hips, and core. It is your body’s powerhouse, foundational to all movement.
-For maximum benefits, you must seek to maintain a tight pillar position during all movements by actively pulling your navel to your spine, engaging your glutes, and maintaining a straight line from the heels through the shoulders.
TIP#6- Be a Flexible Eater
-Allot yourself 1 or 2 “reward meals” per week where you can enjoy the indulgences of college life in MODERATION as needed!
-Be sure to plan your reward meals in advance based on your weekly schedule and be sure to earn them with compliance at all other times!
TIP#7- Take These 2 daily Supplements for Life
- Daily Multi-Vitamin for Your Gender
- Daily EFA/Fish Oil Supplement
For more info, visit: www.symmetryfitness.getprograde.com
TIP#8- If you Booze, you WON’T Lose!
-How much damage? A 12-ounce beer contains about 0.6 ounces of alcohol. If you consumed 5 of these, your body would be inhibited from fat burning for up to 6 hours. This is aside from the fact that your body will actually be storing fat during these 6 hours! The more you drink, the longer your body is inhibited from burning fat in addition to a greater fat build up from excess acetyl CoA. As you can see, one day of binge drinking can set you back days if not a full week when it comes to fat loss!
-What’s the worst-case scenario? Mixing alcohol with sugary beverages promotes even further fat gain due to the resulting insulin surge that triggers fat storage (e.g. regular beer or cocktails mixed with regular soda and/or fruit juice)
The Bottom Line
If you want to be lean, you must minimize ALCOHOL consumption!
If you must drink:
a.) Choose wine or hard liquor and “light” beer
b.) Limit alcohol consumption to 1-2 days per week with a 1-2 drink per day max
TIP#9- Sleep, Stretch, and Self-Massage
- Sleep: Get at least 6-7 hours (ideally 7-8) of restful sleep per night and take 1-2 hour naps to fill in the gaps. Establish a pre-bed routine and avoid caffeine after 2 pm.
- Stretch: Ideally perform Dynamic Stretching to preferentially mobilize joints BEFORE exercise and perform Static Stretching to preferentially lengthen muscles AFTER exercise
- Self-Massage: Spend at least 30-60 seconds massaging sore and tight areas of the body before and after you exercise to regenerate your muscle and connective tissue in order to prevent nagging aches and pains in the joints
TIP#10- Build-Your-Own Dorm Room Gym
Mandatory Items (less than $100):
- Foam Roller
- Tennis Ball
- Hex Dumbbells
- Resistance Bands (www.resistancebandtraining.com)
Premium Set-up (less than $200):
- All of the above
- Door/Wall-Mounted Pull-up Unit
- Stability Ball
For a great website for fitness equipment, visit www.justweight.net
It is my sincere hope to you either use and/or pass on these 10 simple strategies to secure yourself a future filled with health, happiness, and longevity.
Remember, don't just sit there…
Let's Get it! ;)
Keegan Harris
Monday, April 27, 2009
Do More Push-Ups!
Keegan Harris is a local Tucson personal trainer and fitness boot camp instructor. Today he shares his secrets to performing more push-ups asap!
The Push-up. It's probably the most popular exercise of all time and without a doubt one of my top 3 favorite exercises. But being popular doesn’t necessarily mean being well liked! In fact, I think it's pretty safe to say that the majority of people really HATE push-ups. More specifically, the push-up tends to be the undying nemesis for people who carry extra body weight and for most females who feel they do not have the upper strength to ever be able to do anything but “wuss-ups,” or modified push-ups on the knees, AKA "girl pushups". I'll have you know EVERY on of my girls at boot camp can do "real" pushups!
The goal of this article is to address everything you need to know about performing the push-up with proper form in addition to learning how to do more push-ups ASAP. Remember, people only hate what they are not good at it. In other words, I am confident that though you may currently hate push-ups, by following this program you will finally unveil your true push-up potential. And though you may never be madly in love with push-up, you’ll at least be able to stomach them!
Benefits of Push-ups
Right next to pull-ups, a push-up is the greatest upper body exercise of all time. In fact, I believe push-ups to be one of the best total body exercises around.
Push-ups work primarily your chest, triceps, and front shoulders. However they also place a great demand on your core strength and stability. After all, your spinal stabilizers (transverse abdominis and spinal erectors) need to have the endurance to maintain that critical straight-line position throughout the duration of your push-ups for optimal safety and performance. In addition, push-ups engage your scapular muscles (shoulder blades) in a way that most pushing exercises do not, thus providing some much needed mid and upper back work that most trainees are missing out on. Furthermore, maintaining the proper push-up position requires that you tense and engage every muscle on the front side of your body from your feet to your front shoulders. Heck, if you squeeze your glutes (which you should as this helps protect your lower back), you even get your booty involved!
Finally, push-ups are the ultimate anywhere, anytime exercise that requires nothing but your body weight and space the size of your frame to perform.
How to Perform a Perfect Push-up
Though nearly everyone to grace this earth has attempted a push-up at some time in his or her life, the vast majority of people have never performed a full range of motion floor push-up with perfect form and technique. If this describes, don’t sweat it. It’s not your fault if no one ever taught you how to perform push-ups properly. I mean, haven’t we all heard this at some point before from an authority figure, whether it be an old school athletic coach or gym teacher:
“Alright 100 push-ups now! No, not like that, get lower! What are you, weak? It’s just a push-up! If you don’t do them right, we’re going to do them all day! I’ve got the time!”
But, what’s done is done. And though it was be a blast to kick the tar out of our former punishers, let’s focus on doing things right for ourselves. Below is a complete list of technique and coaching points regarding how to perform a perfect push-up:
- Simultaneously tuck your elbows to your sides and pull your shoulders blades down and back: It’s critical to keep your elbows close to your ribcage while performing push-ups. Letting your elbows “sprawl” away from your torso puts your rotator cuff at a much greater risk for injury. In addition, since most of us are so upper trap dominant, we tend to shrug our shoulders during push-ups. This scapular elevation can lead to clicking and grinding of the shoulder (known as shoulder impingement syndrome). To avoid these pitfalls, visualize trying to hug your elbows to your ribcage while cracking a nut between your shoulder blades during all push-ups.
- Simultaneously suck in your gut and brace your abs: As mentioned earlier, the push-up is a great core exercise that requires good muscular endurance for your deep spinal stabilizers. By pulling your navel to your spine and bracing your abs as if you we about to be kicked in the gut, you will best activate those key core muscles while performing push-ups.
- Simultaneously tense your thighs and squeeze your glutes: The straighter your legs during the push-up the more stable you will be. This is easily accomplished by tensing your thighs throughout the exercise. Furthermore, tense your butt cheeks- this helps relax overactive hip flexors, thus alleviating unnecessary strain on the lower back.
- Power breathing: In general, seek to focus on inhaling during the lowering portion of the push-up and then forcefully exhaling during the lifting portion of the push-up. By filling your belly with air during the lowering portion of the push-up your make it easier to stabilize your spine, meaning that your core remains locked in thus allowing for a smooth and seamless transition from the down position to the up position.
- Spread your fingers: Many people complain of wrist pain while they do push-ups. This usually stems from a combination of a lack of mobility at the wrist joint and a lack of flexibility of the forearm flexors and extensors. Plus, many people simply have weak wrists from a lack of weight-bearing exercises in their daily routine. Think about it- we do not do as much as we used to do with our hands and are rarely in a position where our wrists our supporting our entire body weight (besides when doing push-ups). One way to take pressure off of your wrists during push-ups is to focus on spreading your fingers as far apart as possible. This expands the surface area and thus dissipates some of the excess strain on the wrists. Furthermore, doing fist push-ups or push-ups with your hands on a dumbbell (or push-up handles) tends to significantly alleviate if not eliminate any unwanted wrist issues. This neutral grip allows you get all of the benefits of push-ups so that your wrists do not continue to be the biggest limiting factor for your push-up goals. In addition, the neutral grip also makes it easier to keep your helps tucked to your sides and shoulders down and back for optimal shoulder safety.
- Be flat as a diving board: Throughout the entire movement, the key is to maintain a straight line from the heels through the shoulders. You must not let your hips sag as this will put undue strain on your lower back in the form of hyperextension. Furthermore, you must avoid raising or “piking” your hips because this not only takes a way much needed core work, but also results in a rounding of the upper back that potentially results in unwanted shoulder issues (impingement, rotator cuff strains, etc.).
The Official Push-up Boot Camp Program
Step#1- Find your current Push-up Total
Assuming a regular floor push-up position, perform as many reps as possible (AMRAP) with perfect form and technique in 60 seconds. Be sure to place a tennis ball or yoga brick on the floor- your chest must make contact with this object to count as a full rep. Record your rep total and then take 60 seconds of rest (no longer). Repeat by performing one more set of AMRAP in 60 seconds and then record your second set total. Add both your set one and set two totals and then divide by two. This is your current push-up total.
Step#2- Follow the custom push-up boot camp program based on your current push-up total:
The following program will systematically take you from level I to level IV six weeks at a time (not including a week of rest between levels). It is important to note that you must be following the appropriate fat loss training (total body strength circuits and cardio interval training) and nutrition plan to lose unwanted body fat that is weighing you down and literally halting your push-up totals in its tracks. In addition, be sure to change up the selected push-up variation at each and every strength workout to best prevent training plateaus. Here’s an example of how to switch things up for one week of training:
Day1- Close-Grip Push-up Variation (to emphasize the triceps and front shoulders to improve push-up lockout)
Day2- Loaded/Band-Resisted Push-up Variation (to improve strength and thus make it easier to perform body weight push-ups)
Day3- Stability Ball Push-up Variation- Hands Ball (to build trunk and scapular strength stability to prevent injury and maximize force output)
Remember, the better you get at every push-up variation the better you will get at regular push-ups. Once you achieve a current push-up total of 30 reps or more, you will notice the focus now will be on getting stronger by mastering the 1-arm push-up. Improving maximum strength automatically improves your muscular endurance, though it doesn’t work the same the other way around.
Please note that you should only follow this program if you have healthy shoulders. In addition, since you will be performing extra pushing movements, it is critical to add in some scapular retraction and depression work to prevent unwanted strength imbalances. Please note the addition of a certain amount of reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats following each set of push-ups for your “Extra Push-up Work” to achieve this end. The Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squat was selected because it simultaneously works your upper back and opens up your chest while working your lower body to boost metabolism. Plus, it’s an exercise you can do anywhere. Lastly, the “Extra Push-up Work” is best performed throughout the day to be fresh and allow for full recovery.
Level I (0-1 push-ups)
- Main Strength Workout: Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts
- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of negative push-ups with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off):
Week1- 5 sets of 2 reps of 5-second negatives
Week2- 5 sets of 3 reps of 6-second negatives
Week3- 5 sets of 4 reps of 7-second negatives
Week4- 5 sets of 5 reps of 8-second negatives
Week5- 5 sets of 5 reps of 9-second negatives
Week6- 5 sets of 5 reps of 10-second negatives
- Follow each set of push-ups with 10 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats
Level II (2-5 push-ups)
- Main Strength Workout: Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts
- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of regular floor push-ups with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off):
Week1- 5 sets of 1 rep
Week2- 5 sets of 2 reps
Week3- 5 sets of 3 reps
Week4- 5 sets of 4 reps
Week5- 5 sets of 5 reps
Week6- 5 sets of 6 reps
- Follow each set of push-ups with 20 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats
Level III (6-12 push-up)
- Main Strength Workout: Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts
- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of regular floor push-ups with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off):
Week1- 5 sets of 5 reps
Week2- 5 sets of 6 reps
Week3- 5 sets of 7 reps
Week4- 5 sets of 8 reps
Week5- 5 sets of 9 reps
Week6- 5 sets of 10 reps
- Follow each set of push-ups with 30 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats
Level IV (13-20 push-ups)
- Main Strength Workout: Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts
- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of regular floor push-ups with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off):
Week1- 5 sets of 10 reps
Week2- 5 sets of 12 reps
Week3- 5 sets of 14 reps
Week4- 5 sets of 16 reps
Week5- 5 sets of 18 reps
Week6- 5 sets of 20 reps
- Follow each set of push-ups with 40 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats
Level V (21-30 push-ups)
- Main Strength Workout: Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts
- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of regular floor push-ups with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off):
Week1- 5 sets of 20 reps
Week2- 5 sets of 22 reps
Week3- 5 sets of 24 reps
Week4- 5 sets of 26 reps
Week5- 5 sets of 28 reps
Week6- 5 sets of 30 reps
- Follow each set of push-ups with 50 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats
Level VI (31+ pushups)
- Main Strength Workout: Get the heck outta here, you're already doin the damned thing! i'm just playing, heres how you can get even more in;
Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts
- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of a 1-arm push-ups variation with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off). Progress from stage 1 to stage 3 in choosing the appropriate 1-arm push-up variation:
Week1- 5 sets of 1 rep
Week2- 5 sets of 2 reps
Week3- 5 sets of 3 reps
Week4- 5 sets of 4 reps
Week5- 5 sets of 5 reps
Week6- 5 sets of 6 reps
Stage1- Modified 1-Arm Push-ups on Knees/Inclined
Stage2- Regular 1-Arm Push-ups 5-secondNegatives
Stage3- Regular 1-Arm Push-ups
- Follow each set of push-ups with 60 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats
Step#3- Re-Test Your Current Push-up Total
At the end of each 6-week training block, take 5 full days of rest before re-testing your new push-up total exactly as previously outlined in step one. Record your new push-up total and then take the rest of the week off for recovery before moving on to the next level of push-up boot camp.
Well, you now know everything you need to know to safely and effectively perform more push-ups than 99+% of the world. Remember, the leaner you are the better you will be at push-ups and the more push-ups you can do, the better you will look - time to master the push-up!
Let's Get it! ;.]
Keegan Harris
The Push-up. It's probably the most popular exercise of all time and without a doubt one of my top 3 favorite exercises. But being popular doesn’t necessarily mean being well liked! In fact, I think it's pretty safe to say that the majority of people really HATE push-ups. More specifically, the push-up tends to be the undying nemesis for people who carry extra body weight and for most females who feel they do not have the upper strength to ever be able to do anything but “wuss-ups,” or modified push-ups on the knees, AKA "girl pushups". I'll have you know EVERY on of my girls at boot camp can do "real" pushups!
The goal of this article is to address everything you need to know about performing the push-up with proper form in addition to learning how to do more push-ups ASAP. Remember, people only hate what they are not good at it. In other words, I am confident that though you may currently hate push-ups, by following this program you will finally unveil your true push-up potential. And though you may never be madly in love with push-up, you’ll at least be able to stomach them!
Benefits of Push-ups
Right next to pull-ups, a push-up is the greatest upper body exercise of all time. In fact, I believe push-ups to be one of the best total body exercises around.
Push-ups work primarily your chest, triceps, and front shoulders. However they also place a great demand on your core strength and stability. After all, your spinal stabilizers (transverse abdominis and spinal erectors) need to have the endurance to maintain that critical straight-line position throughout the duration of your push-ups for optimal safety and performance. In addition, push-ups engage your scapular muscles (shoulder blades) in a way that most pushing exercises do not, thus providing some much needed mid and upper back work that most trainees are missing out on. Furthermore, maintaining the proper push-up position requires that you tense and engage every muscle on the front side of your body from your feet to your front shoulders. Heck, if you squeeze your glutes (which you should as this helps protect your lower back), you even get your booty involved!
Finally, push-ups are the ultimate anywhere, anytime exercise that requires nothing but your body weight and space the size of your frame to perform.
How to Perform a Perfect Push-up
Though nearly everyone to grace this earth has attempted a push-up at some time in his or her life, the vast majority of people have never performed a full range of motion floor push-up with perfect form and technique. If this describes, don’t sweat it. It’s not your fault if no one ever taught you how to perform push-ups properly. I mean, haven’t we all heard this at some point before from an authority figure, whether it be an old school athletic coach or gym teacher:
“Alright 100 push-ups now! No, not like that, get lower! What are you, weak? It’s just a push-up! If you don’t do them right, we’re going to do them all day! I’ve got the time!”
But, what’s done is done. And though it was be a blast to kick the tar out of our former punishers, let’s focus on doing things right for ourselves. Below is a complete list of technique and coaching points regarding how to perform a perfect push-up:
- Simultaneously tuck your elbows to your sides and pull your shoulders blades down and back: It’s critical to keep your elbows close to your ribcage while performing push-ups. Letting your elbows “sprawl” away from your torso puts your rotator cuff at a much greater risk for injury. In addition, since most of us are so upper trap dominant, we tend to shrug our shoulders during push-ups. This scapular elevation can lead to clicking and grinding of the shoulder (known as shoulder impingement syndrome). To avoid these pitfalls, visualize trying to hug your elbows to your ribcage while cracking a nut between your shoulder blades during all push-ups.
- Simultaneously suck in your gut and brace your abs: As mentioned earlier, the push-up is a great core exercise that requires good muscular endurance for your deep spinal stabilizers. By pulling your navel to your spine and bracing your abs as if you we about to be kicked in the gut, you will best activate those key core muscles while performing push-ups.
- Simultaneously tense your thighs and squeeze your glutes: The straighter your legs during the push-up the more stable you will be. This is easily accomplished by tensing your thighs throughout the exercise. Furthermore, tense your butt cheeks- this helps relax overactive hip flexors, thus alleviating unnecessary strain on the lower back.
- Power breathing: In general, seek to focus on inhaling during the lowering portion of the push-up and then forcefully exhaling during the lifting portion of the push-up. By filling your belly with air during the lowering portion of the push-up your make it easier to stabilize your spine, meaning that your core remains locked in thus allowing for a smooth and seamless transition from the down position to the up position.
- Spread your fingers: Many people complain of wrist pain while they do push-ups. This usually stems from a combination of a lack of mobility at the wrist joint and a lack of flexibility of the forearm flexors and extensors. Plus, many people simply have weak wrists from a lack of weight-bearing exercises in their daily routine. Think about it- we do not do as much as we used to do with our hands and are rarely in a position where our wrists our supporting our entire body weight (besides when doing push-ups). One way to take pressure off of your wrists during push-ups is to focus on spreading your fingers as far apart as possible. This expands the surface area and thus dissipates some of the excess strain on the wrists. Furthermore, doing fist push-ups or push-ups with your hands on a dumbbell (or push-up handles) tends to significantly alleviate if not eliminate any unwanted wrist issues. This neutral grip allows you get all of the benefits of push-ups so that your wrists do not continue to be the biggest limiting factor for your push-up goals. In addition, the neutral grip also makes it easier to keep your helps tucked to your sides and shoulders down and back for optimal shoulder safety.
- Be flat as a diving board: Throughout the entire movement, the key is to maintain a straight line from the heels through the shoulders. You must not let your hips sag as this will put undue strain on your lower back in the form of hyperextension. Furthermore, you must avoid raising or “piking” your hips because this not only takes a way much needed core work, but also results in a rounding of the upper back that potentially results in unwanted shoulder issues (impingement, rotator cuff strains, etc.).
The Official Push-up Boot Camp Program
Step#1- Find your current Push-up Total
Assuming a regular floor push-up position, perform as many reps as possible (AMRAP) with perfect form and technique in 60 seconds. Be sure to place a tennis ball or yoga brick on the floor- your chest must make contact with this object to count as a full rep. Record your rep total and then take 60 seconds of rest (no longer). Repeat by performing one more set of AMRAP in 60 seconds and then record your second set total. Add both your set one and set two totals and then divide by two. This is your current push-up total.
Step#2- Follow the custom push-up boot camp program based on your current push-up total:
The following program will systematically take you from level I to level IV six weeks at a time (not including a week of rest between levels). It is important to note that you must be following the appropriate fat loss training (total body strength circuits and cardio interval training) and nutrition plan to lose unwanted body fat that is weighing you down and literally halting your push-up totals in its tracks. In addition, be sure to change up the selected push-up variation at each and every strength workout to best prevent training plateaus. Here’s an example of how to switch things up for one week of training:
Day1- Close-Grip Push-up Variation (to emphasize the triceps and front shoulders to improve push-up lockout)
Day2- Loaded/Band-Resisted Push-up Variation (to improve strength and thus make it easier to perform body weight push-ups)
Day3- Stability Ball Push-up Variation- Hands Ball (to build trunk and scapular strength stability to prevent injury and maximize force output)
Remember, the better you get at every push-up variation the better you will get at regular push-ups. Once you achieve a current push-up total of 30 reps or more, you will notice the focus now will be on getting stronger by mastering the 1-arm push-up. Improving maximum strength automatically improves your muscular endurance, though it doesn’t work the same the other way around.
Please note that you should only follow this program if you have healthy shoulders. In addition, since you will be performing extra pushing movements, it is critical to add in some scapular retraction and depression work to prevent unwanted strength imbalances. Please note the addition of a certain amount of reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats following each set of push-ups for your “Extra Push-up Work” to achieve this end. The Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squat was selected because it simultaneously works your upper back and opens up your chest while working your lower body to boost metabolism. Plus, it’s an exercise you can do anywhere. Lastly, the “Extra Push-up Work” is best performed throughout the day to be fresh and allow for full recovery.
Level I (0-1 push-ups)
- Main Strength Workout: Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts
- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of negative push-ups with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off):
Week1- 5 sets of 2 reps of 5-second negatives
Week2- 5 sets of 3 reps of 6-second negatives
Week3- 5 sets of 4 reps of 7-second negatives
Week4- 5 sets of 5 reps of 8-second negatives
Week5- 5 sets of 5 reps of 9-second negatives
Week6- 5 sets of 5 reps of 10-second negatives
- Follow each set of push-ups with 10 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats
Level II (2-5 push-ups)
- Main Strength Workout: Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts
- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of regular floor push-ups with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off):
Week1- 5 sets of 1 rep
Week2- 5 sets of 2 reps
Week3- 5 sets of 3 reps
Week4- 5 sets of 4 reps
Week5- 5 sets of 5 reps
Week6- 5 sets of 6 reps
- Follow each set of push-ups with 20 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats
Level III (6-12 push-up)
- Main Strength Workout: Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts
- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of regular floor push-ups with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off):
Week1- 5 sets of 5 reps
Week2- 5 sets of 6 reps
Week3- 5 sets of 7 reps
Week4- 5 sets of 8 reps
Week5- 5 sets of 9 reps
Week6- 5 sets of 10 reps
- Follow each set of push-ups with 30 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats
Level IV (13-20 push-ups)
- Main Strength Workout: Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts
- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of regular floor push-ups with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off):
Week1- 5 sets of 10 reps
Week2- 5 sets of 12 reps
Week3- 5 sets of 14 reps
Week4- 5 sets of 16 reps
Week5- 5 sets of 18 reps
Week6- 5 sets of 20 reps
- Follow each set of push-ups with 40 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats
Level V (21-30 push-ups)
- Main Strength Workout: Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts
- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of regular floor push-ups with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off):
Week1- 5 sets of 20 reps
Week2- 5 sets of 22 reps
Week3- 5 sets of 24 reps
Week4- 5 sets of 26 reps
Week5- 5 sets of 28 reps
Week6- 5 sets of 30 reps
- Follow each set of push-ups with 50 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats
Level VI (31+ pushups)
- Main Strength Workout: Get the heck outta here, you're already doin the damned thing! i'm just playing, heres how you can get even more in;
Perform max reps or a max hold for time for a different push-up variation at each of 3 strength workouts per week with ideally a day of rest between workouts
- Extra Push-up Work: Perform 5 sets per day of a 1-arm push-ups variation with the following weekly progressions Monday through Friday (weekends off). Progress from stage 1 to stage 3 in choosing the appropriate 1-arm push-up variation:
Week1- 5 sets of 1 rep
Week2- 5 sets of 2 reps
Week3- 5 sets of 3 reps
Week4- 5 sets of 4 reps
Week5- 5 sets of 5 reps
Week6- 5 sets of 6 reps
Stage1- Modified 1-Arm Push-ups on Knees/Inclined
Stage2- Regular 1-Arm Push-ups 5-secondNegatives
Stage3- Regular 1-Arm Push-ups
- Follow each set of push-ups with 60 reps of Body Weight Prisoner or Y Squats
Step#3- Re-Test Your Current Push-up Total
At the end of each 6-week training block, take 5 full days of rest before re-testing your new push-up total exactly as previously outlined in step one. Record your new push-up total and then take the rest of the week off for recovery before moving on to the next level of push-up boot camp.
Well, you now know everything you need to know to safely and effectively perform more push-ups than 99+% of the world. Remember, the leaner you are the better you will be at push-ups and the more push-ups you can do, the better you will look - time to master the push-up!
Let's Get it! ;.]
Keegan Harris
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Top 2 Fitness Tips Ever. Times 2!
I want to share some tips with you today that pretty much sums up what all of us need to do to get lean and stay lean for life.
It doesn't get any simpler than this… but simple works!
TOP 2 EXERCISE TIPS
* Invest in a Whole Body Workout: This can be as simple as doing a five-exercise circuit (designed to work your upper body, lower body, and core) at least three times per week with a day of rest between workouts. Alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each of the following; a double-leg exercise (e.g. squat), push (e.g. push-up), single-leg (e.g. lunge), pull (e.g. row), and core (e.g. plank) exercise. Perform up to 4 rounds without rest for a killer 20-minute total body workout.
* Harness the Power of Intervals: Interval training is scientifically proven to burn nine times more body fat than ordinary exercise and elevates metabolism for up to 48 hours following your workout. Perform cardio intervals on non-strength training days three times per week. Selecting your cardio exercise of choice, alternate between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest and repeat this 30 second interval eight times for four total minutes followed by a one-minute rest. Repeat for up to 20 total minutes. This routine can be performed on a treadmill, stationary bike, or rowing machine or with body weight cardio exercise that you can do at home like running in place or jumping jacks. Don’t forget the great outdoors also, I personally prefer to do my cardio outside!
TOP 2 DIET TIPS
* Eat Early and Often: Eat as soon as you wake up and then every two to three hours to starve fat and feed muscle. By continuously fueling your furnace, and eating protein (meat, eggs, cheese, etc.) at every feeding, you'll also keep your metabolism revved up throughout the day and prevent overeating.
* Think Fiber First When Consuming Carbs: Eat an unlimited amount of fibrous, cruciferous green veggies to fill your belly both during and between meals. For optimal fat-burning, try to limit fruit and other carbohydrate consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout when your body best tolerates starches and sugars.
Live by these 2 training and nutrition rules and you will have a body to be proud of... I guarantee it ;)
Let’s Get It! ;)
Keegan Harris
PS- Please forward this blog post to anybody that you know who can benefit from it!
It doesn't get any simpler than this… but simple works!
TOP 2 EXERCISE TIPS
* Invest in a Whole Body Workout: This can be as simple as doing a five-exercise circuit (designed to work your upper body, lower body, and core) at least three times per week with a day of rest between workouts. Alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each of the following; a double-leg exercise (e.g. squat), push (e.g. push-up), single-leg (e.g. lunge), pull (e.g. row), and core (e.g. plank) exercise. Perform up to 4 rounds without rest for a killer 20-minute total body workout.
* Harness the Power of Intervals: Interval training is scientifically proven to burn nine times more body fat than ordinary exercise and elevates metabolism for up to 48 hours following your workout. Perform cardio intervals on non-strength training days three times per week. Selecting your cardio exercise of choice, alternate between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest and repeat this 30 second interval eight times for four total minutes followed by a one-minute rest. Repeat for up to 20 total minutes. This routine can be performed on a treadmill, stationary bike, or rowing machine or with body weight cardio exercise that you can do at home like running in place or jumping jacks. Don’t forget the great outdoors also, I personally prefer to do my cardio outside!
TOP 2 DIET TIPS
* Eat Early and Often: Eat as soon as you wake up and then every two to three hours to starve fat and feed muscle. By continuously fueling your furnace, and eating protein (meat, eggs, cheese, etc.) at every feeding, you'll also keep your metabolism revved up throughout the day and prevent overeating.
* Think Fiber First When Consuming Carbs: Eat an unlimited amount of fibrous, cruciferous green veggies to fill your belly both during and between meals. For optimal fat-burning, try to limit fruit and other carbohydrate consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout when your body best tolerates starches and sugars.
Live by these 2 training and nutrition rules and you will have a body to be proud of... I guarantee it ;)
Let’s Get It! ;)
Keegan Harris
PS- Please forward this blog post to anybody that you know who can benefit from it!
Thursday, February 05, 2009
6-Pack Abs Without a Single Crunch
Face it - we all want a flat, sexy midsection. But for many of us no amount of crunches or sit-ups seems to get the job done. I can’t tell you how many times people have asked me the following questions:
“I do hundreds of crunches and sit-ups a day and I still have a flabby midsection. What gives?”
Well, before I reveal your six-pack abs blueprint, let’s first call Bull$&@! on some very widespread myths about how to get six-pack abs:
Myth#1- Weight loss is the key to seeing your abs
WRONG!
The key to seeing your abs is fat loss, not weight loss. Let me further explain: your body consists of fat mass and lean body mass (water, muscle, bone, organs, etc.). You want to minimize your fat mass and maximize your lean body mass to build a sexy metabolism: one that starves fat and builds muscle like clockwork. By improving body composition you will put yourself in the best position to rock that coveted six-pack.
So if you lose 17 lbs on the scale at the expense of losing some lean muscle mass in the process you will end up slowing your metabolism, decreasing performance, and losing that good looking muscle tone. But if you lose 17 lbs on the scale and you manage to keep or gain lean muscle mass you will increase performance, see more visible definition throughout your body, and lose primarily body fat.
The scale has far too many variables to account for that lead to frequent fluctuations such as hydration levels, sodium intake, and for women the menstrual cycle. I firmly believe one should NOT get addicted to checkingin on the scale too often, if at all. it is such an anchor, particularly for women. Get off the scale and get over the numbers. The true goal is fat loss, not weight loss. Focus on clothing size reduction, digital before and after pictures, body fat percentage readings and of course the mirror for the most accurate progress tracking.
Myth#2- Do lots of abs work to preferentially burn off stomach fat
WRONG!
Spot reduction doesn’t work. You can’t just work the muscles of a certain area of your body and expect to have the fat in that region go away. Think about it: almost everyone does crunches but proportionately very few people perform total body workouts. So, with all of these crunches, we’d expect to see nothing but people with flat tummies and fat depots everywhere else on their body (arms, legs, etc.). But think of how many people you know and see on a regular basis whom have more than a few inches to lose in their midsection. See what I mean- spot reduction doesn’t work!
See, your body loses fat in a genetically pre-determined way when there is the appropriate caloric deficit AND hormonal environment created by proper eating and training. So your best bet is to focus on burning as many calories during your workouts as possible by engaging your whole body each and every training session (not just your abs). Compound, multi-joint movements like squats, push-ups, lunges, etc. (or better yet, total body exercises like squat presses, a boot camp staple) burn a lot more calories than isolation movements like crunches and sit-ups. So be sure to focus on these movements first and then if you have time, you can do some extra core work if you deem it necessary.
Myth#3- Crunches and Sit-ups are the best exercises for your abs
WRONG!
The scientific term for your six-pack muscles are your rectus abdominis. For years now, we have been conditioned to think that the best way to work your rectus abdominis is by doing endless crunches and sit-ups since these trunk flexion exercises make the muscles you want to see in the mirror “burn.” However, the true function of the rectus abdominis is to prevent hyperextension, not to flex forward over and over again. Anytime you brace your abs (think slight crunch before you get punched in the gut) and pull your navel into your spine you effectively stabilize your spine into a safe, neutral position. And the moment you relax your abs and lose that braced abs position, your back will begin to hyperextend putting you at greater risk for injury.
So, we focus on stabilization exercises in all three planes of movement (saggital- front to back, frontal- side to side, and transverse- rotational) by using pillar exercise variations (also know as planks). Besides training the true “anti-extension” function of your superficial ab muscles, these bridging/stabilization exercises also activate the key transverse abdominus muscles, or your deep abdominal stabilizers, that wrap around your spine and support your internal organs. Strengthening these inner ab muscles is the key to optimal posture and performance in addition to injury prevention, yet another benefit to performing pillars over primitive crunches and sit-ups that often cause unwanted neck and back pain.
Myth#4- Do lots of long-duration cardio to burn the fat covering your abs
WRONG!
Both scientific research and real world case studies show that aerobic training for fat loss alone doesn’t work. Total body resistance training is the true foundation of any solid fat loss plan. In addition, interval training, where you alternate between bouts of maximum effort and active recovery, is scientifically proven to burn nine times more fat than ordinary exercise. Please note that you can perform both resistance interval training and cardio interval training to combine the best of both worlds. More on this to come!
Without further adieu...
The Crunch-Free Six-Pack Abs Blueprint:
Step#1- Lose the fat that is covering your abs so that you can see them
A.) Eat to lose fat and elevate metabolism
- Drink at least 2-4 cups of water immediately upon waking and then drink at least 1-2 cups of water every 2 hours you are awake. Drink 1-2 cups of water for every 15 minutes of vigorous activity. Not to give you too much information overload, but try not to drink much with your meals. You want to let your food properly digest.
- Eat immediately upon waking and then every 2-4 hours after that for a total of 6-8 feedings per day (3 meals, 3 snacks- half the size of your meals, workout nutrition)
- Focus on a wide range of organic lean proteins, natural fats, and fruit and veggies. Think colors! I know we’ve always heard eat your greens, but you really want to shoot for as many colors as you can. Think Red Peppers and beets, radish, ets. Yellow squash, corn, etc. you get the picture.
Sample One-Day Menu:
Breakfast- Scrambled Eggs, Greens, and Turkey Sausage or Bacon
Mid-Morning Snack- Mixed Nuts and Fruit/Veggie of Choice
Lunch- Chicken, Salmon, or Shrimp Caesar Salad
Mid-Afternoon Snack- Cheese and Fruit/Veggie of Choice
Dinner- Turkey or Beef Meatballs and Spaghetti Squash
Pre-Bed Snack- Protein and Flax Shake or cottage cheese
- Take a daily multi-vitamin for your gender and an essential fatty acid (EFA) supplement
- Use The Carb Reduction Blueprint: Use the following step by step process in the exact order listed to breakthrough any plateaus in your six-pack abs quest
Step#1- Replace all white carbs with 100% whole grain carbs and all refined sugars with natural sugars
Step#2- Limit all whole grain starch and natural sugar consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout or immediately upon waking for breakfast
Step#3- Replace all starches and sugars with fruits and veggies
Step#4- Replace all fruits with green veggies
Step#5- Use strategic carb and calorie cycling to take your body to next level (my clients and I have had great success with this but it is beyond the scope of this article)
B.) Train to lose fat and elevate metabolism
- Monday, Wednesday, and Friday- (just a sample, you can choose your own 3 days of the week) Perform Total Body Circuit Strength Training
Sample Total Body Circuit Strength Workout- 20 Minutes (not including 5 minute warm-up and cool-down)
50-10 Interval Five Exercise Total Body Circuit- You will alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 s of rest for each exercise in the following five-exercise circuit. Perform this 5-minute circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body workout:
Exercise# Exercise Category Exercise Variation
1 Double-Leg: Bilateral Hip-Dominant Hip Extensions
2 Push: Horizontal Push Push-up Variation
3 Single-Leg: Unilateral Knee-Dominant Single-Leg Wall Sit
4 Pull: Horizontal Pull Body Weight/Inverted Rows
5 Core: Linear Stabilization or Trunk-Dominant Upper Body Twist Variation (Russian Twists)
- Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday- Perform Cardio Interval Training
Sample Cardio Interval Training Workout- 20 Minutes (not including five minute warm-up and cool-down)
30-30’s- You will alternate between 30 seconds of maximum effort and 30 s of active recovery. You will perform this 1-minute round up to 20x for 20 total minutes. You can perform this workout on your cardio machine of choice (airdyne or spin bike, running, etc.) or by alternating between the following body-weight cardio exercises for the ultimate in-home workout:
Exercise# Body Weight Cardio Variation Body Weight Cardio Exercise
1 Linear
Locomotion Emphasis Stationary Running
2 Lateral/Rotational
Locomotion Emphasis Jumping Jacks Variation
Step#2- Train your abs based on their true function: STABILIZATION
Below is one of my boot camp client’s favorite (and most hated) core workout. It involves no crunches or sit-ups by using all pillar stabilization exercises. Once you master these killer moves and follow everything else I previously listed above, you will have a sweet pair of rock hard abs to show for it… I guarantee it!
The Power to the Pillar Workout- Tabata Style
This 20-minute total body core workout focuses entirely on pillar stabilization. The pillar collectively consists of your shoulders, hips, and core. It is your body’s powerhouse, fundamental to all movement.
For each exercise below you will alternate between 20 s of work and 10 s of rest. You will repeat this 30-second sequence eight times for four total minutes followed by a one minute rest and transition before moving on to the next exercise listed.
For maximum benefits, you must seek to maintain a tight pillar position during all movements by actively pulling your navel to your spine, engaging your glutes, (squeeze that butt!) and maintaining a straight line from the heels through the shoulders. The following coaching cues work really well for our clients:
“Suck in your gut – give yourself a wedgie – be flat as a board.”
Exercise#1- Front Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Exercise#2- Left Side Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Exercise#3- Right Side Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Exercise#4- Back Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Is that some killer info or what? But seriously If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. All that tired, played out information that’s been going around for so many years is done! Please, take this and run with it.
Until next time…
Let’s Get It! ;)
Keegan Harris
“I do hundreds of crunches and sit-ups a day and I still have a flabby midsection. What gives?”
Well, before I reveal your six-pack abs blueprint, let’s first call Bull$&@! on some very widespread myths about how to get six-pack abs:
Myth#1- Weight loss is the key to seeing your abs
WRONG!
The key to seeing your abs is fat loss, not weight loss. Let me further explain: your body consists of fat mass and lean body mass (water, muscle, bone, organs, etc.). You want to minimize your fat mass and maximize your lean body mass to build a sexy metabolism: one that starves fat and builds muscle like clockwork. By improving body composition you will put yourself in the best position to rock that coveted six-pack.
So if you lose 17 lbs on the scale at the expense of losing some lean muscle mass in the process you will end up slowing your metabolism, decreasing performance, and losing that good looking muscle tone. But if you lose 17 lbs on the scale and you manage to keep or gain lean muscle mass you will increase performance, see more visible definition throughout your body, and lose primarily body fat.
The scale has far too many variables to account for that lead to frequent fluctuations such as hydration levels, sodium intake, and for women the menstrual cycle. I firmly believe one should NOT get addicted to checkingin on the scale too often, if at all. it is such an anchor, particularly for women. Get off the scale and get over the numbers. The true goal is fat loss, not weight loss. Focus on clothing size reduction, digital before and after pictures, body fat percentage readings and of course the mirror for the most accurate progress tracking.
Myth#2- Do lots of abs work to preferentially burn off stomach fat
WRONG!
Spot reduction doesn’t work. You can’t just work the muscles of a certain area of your body and expect to have the fat in that region go away. Think about it: almost everyone does crunches but proportionately very few people perform total body workouts. So, with all of these crunches, we’d expect to see nothing but people with flat tummies and fat depots everywhere else on their body (arms, legs, etc.). But think of how many people you know and see on a regular basis whom have more than a few inches to lose in their midsection. See what I mean- spot reduction doesn’t work!
See, your body loses fat in a genetically pre-determined way when there is the appropriate caloric deficit AND hormonal environment created by proper eating and training. So your best bet is to focus on burning as many calories during your workouts as possible by engaging your whole body each and every training session (not just your abs). Compound, multi-joint movements like squats, push-ups, lunges, etc. (or better yet, total body exercises like squat presses, a boot camp staple) burn a lot more calories than isolation movements like crunches and sit-ups. So be sure to focus on these movements first and then if you have time, you can do some extra core work if you deem it necessary.
Myth#3- Crunches and Sit-ups are the best exercises for your abs
WRONG!
The scientific term for your six-pack muscles are your rectus abdominis. For years now, we have been conditioned to think that the best way to work your rectus abdominis is by doing endless crunches and sit-ups since these trunk flexion exercises make the muscles you want to see in the mirror “burn.” However, the true function of the rectus abdominis is to prevent hyperextension, not to flex forward over and over again. Anytime you brace your abs (think slight crunch before you get punched in the gut) and pull your navel into your spine you effectively stabilize your spine into a safe, neutral position. And the moment you relax your abs and lose that braced abs position, your back will begin to hyperextend putting you at greater risk for injury.
So, we focus on stabilization exercises in all three planes of movement (saggital- front to back, frontal- side to side, and transverse- rotational) by using pillar exercise variations (also know as planks). Besides training the true “anti-extension” function of your superficial ab muscles, these bridging/stabilization exercises also activate the key transverse abdominus muscles, or your deep abdominal stabilizers, that wrap around your spine and support your internal organs. Strengthening these inner ab muscles is the key to optimal posture and performance in addition to injury prevention, yet another benefit to performing pillars over primitive crunches and sit-ups that often cause unwanted neck and back pain.
Myth#4- Do lots of long-duration cardio to burn the fat covering your abs
WRONG!
Both scientific research and real world case studies show that aerobic training for fat loss alone doesn’t work. Total body resistance training is the true foundation of any solid fat loss plan. In addition, interval training, where you alternate between bouts of maximum effort and active recovery, is scientifically proven to burn nine times more fat than ordinary exercise. Please note that you can perform both resistance interval training and cardio interval training to combine the best of both worlds. More on this to come!
Without further adieu...
The Crunch-Free Six-Pack Abs Blueprint:
Step#1- Lose the fat that is covering your abs so that you can see them
A.) Eat to lose fat and elevate metabolism
- Drink at least 2-4 cups of water immediately upon waking and then drink at least 1-2 cups of water every 2 hours you are awake. Drink 1-2 cups of water for every 15 minutes of vigorous activity. Not to give you too much information overload, but try not to drink much with your meals. You want to let your food properly digest.
- Eat immediately upon waking and then every 2-4 hours after that for a total of 6-8 feedings per day (3 meals, 3 snacks- half the size of your meals, workout nutrition)
- Focus on a wide range of organic lean proteins, natural fats, and fruit and veggies. Think colors! I know we’ve always heard eat your greens, but you really want to shoot for as many colors as you can. Think Red Peppers and beets, radish, ets. Yellow squash, corn, etc. you get the picture.
Sample One-Day Menu:
Breakfast- Scrambled Eggs, Greens, and Turkey Sausage or Bacon
Mid-Morning Snack- Mixed Nuts and Fruit/Veggie of Choice
Lunch- Chicken, Salmon, or Shrimp Caesar Salad
Mid-Afternoon Snack- Cheese and Fruit/Veggie of Choice
Dinner- Turkey or Beef Meatballs and Spaghetti Squash
Pre-Bed Snack- Protein and Flax Shake or cottage cheese
- Take a daily multi-vitamin for your gender and an essential fatty acid (EFA) supplement
- Use The Carb Reduction Blueprint: Use the following step by step process in the exact order listed to breakthrough any plateaus in your six-pack abs quest
Step#1- Replace all white carbs with 100% whole grain carbs and all refined sugars with natural sugars
Step#2- Limit all whole grain starch and natural sugar consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout or immediately upon waking for breakfast
Step#3- Replace all starches and sugars with fruits and veggies
Step#4- Replace all fruits with green veggies
Step#5- Use strategic carb and calorie cycling to take your body to next level (my clients and I have had great success with this but it is beyond the scope of this article)
B.) Train to lose fat and elevate metabolism
- Monday, Wednesday, and Friday- (just a sample, you can choose your own 3 days of the week) Perform Total Body Circuit Strength Training
Sample Total Body Circuit Strength Workout- 20 Minutes (not including 5 minute warm-up and cool-down)
50-10 Interval Five Exercise Total Body Circuit- You will alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 s of rest for each exercise in the following five-exercise circuit. Perform this 5-minute circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body workout:
Exercise# Exercise Category Exercise Variation
1 Double-Leg: Bilateral Hip-Dominant Hip Extensions
2 Push: Horizontal Push Push-up Variation
3 Single-Leg: Unilateral Knee-Dominant Single-Leg Wall Sit
4 Pull: Horizontal Pull Body Weight/Inverted Rows
5 Core: Linear Stabilization or Trunk-Dominant Upper Body Twist Variation (Russian Twists)
- Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday- Perform Cardio Interval Training
Sample Cardio Interval Training Workout- 20 Minutes (not including five minute warm-up and cool-down)
30-30’s- You will alternate between 30 seconds of maximum effort and 30 s of active recovery. You will perform this 1-minute round up to 20x for 20 total minutes. You can perform this workout on your cardio machine of choice (airdyne or spin bike, running, etc.) or by alternating between the following body-weight cardio exercises for the ultimate in-home workout:
Exercise# Body Weight Cardio Variation Body Weight Cardio Exercise
1 Linear
Locomotion Emphasis Stationary Running
2 Lateral/Rotational
Locomotion Emphasis Jumping Jacks Variation
Step#2- Train your abs based on their true function: STABILIZATION
Below is one of my boot camp client’s favorite (and most hated) core workout. It involves no crunches or sit-ups by using all pillar stabilization exercises. Once you master these killer moves and follow everything else I previously listed above, you will have a sweet pair of rock hard abs to show for it… I guarantee it!
The Power to the Pillar Workout- Tabata Style
This 20-minute total body core workout focuses entirely on pillar stabilization. The pillar collectively consists of your shoulders, hips, and core. It is your body’s powerhouse, fundamental to all movement.
For each exercise below you will alternate between 20 s of work and 10 s of rest. You will repeat this 30-second sequence eight times for four total minutes followed by a one minute rest and transition before moving on to the next exercise listed.
For maximum benefits, you must seek to maintain a tight pillar position during all movements by actively pulling your navel to your spine, engaging your glutes, (squeeze that butt!) and maintaining a straight line from the heels through the shoulders. The following coaching cues work really well for our clients:
“Suck in your gut – give yourself a wedgie – be flat as a board.”
Exercise#1- Front Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Exercise#2- Left Side Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Exercise#3- Right Side Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Exercise#4- Back Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Is that some killer info or what? But seriously If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. All that tired, played out information that’s been going around for so many years is done! Please, take this and run with it.
Until next time…
Let’s Get It! ;)
Keegan Harris
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
New Year’s Res(olutions)ults!
It makes me happy to be able to say that over the last several years, I have helped countless people maximize their overall health, performance, and body composition faster than ever before. Put bluntly, I know how to help people lose ugly, unwanted body fat faster than most people can fathom. It’s very true that a big reason for this is because our integrated rapid fat loss training and nutrition system is second to none. I have done the countless hours of research and trial and error and I have had hundreds of people as real world case studies to prove that our system flat out works. But, today I am going to share something more powerful; something that must be set in place before you can even start to think about following a fitness program.
So, let’s just get right to it. What do you think is the real secret behind my client success? Well, if your answer was my aforementioned training and nutrition system, then your answer is wrong. Ok,ok, you’re right ,it’s an incredible program, but unfortunately it’s useless if someone is unwilling to start it AND stick to it, right? So, no question, the most important component of changing your body is finding the motivation to achieve your goals, and that’s the main thing I’m trying to get across. I am going to literally walk you through the initial consult and three step goal setting process that each one of my clients undergoes before they start working with us. This is so important to weight loss success that I now require it for any new client to be considered for joining our program.
Before I get into this goal setting process, I just need to get something off of my chest. I know a lot of people think goal setting is just a cheesy, useless thing. Unfortunately, these people just don’t get it and frankly if you are one of those people, please do us both a favor and stop reading this article and go buy another useless weight loss book or pill because I simply cannot do anything for you. I can only help people who want to learn. I simply cannot help people who already think they know it all and think they are too good to take some time to figure out what the hell it is that they actually want to accomplish. The bottom line is that the most successful people out there, and I mean not just weight loss success, I am talking business, lifestyle, etc., are shamelessly goal driven. They know exactly why they want to do something and harness that super motivation to figure out what and by when they want to go about accomplishing that. Furthermore, they plan and prepare for every possible roadblock they will encounter in their path to success. This is what I want to teach you how to do today, so let’s get it!
Step One- The Why: Why do you want to do this?
This is where it’s time to get real. In almost every initial consult I do, when I ask why they have contacted me today, here is the typical blanket response that I first hear:
“Well, I guess I just want to get healthy and lose weight.”
Nope, I don’t buy it. Sure, I know they want to lose weight and be healthy, I mean who doesn’t, but really WHY do they want to do this? Think about it. I have people getting up at 4:30 in the morning to get to our morning boot camps. Just wanting to “be healthy” might get them out of their warm comfortable beds and out to boot camp (remember we’re outside so in December and January and some of February it’s cold and dark!) but that will not be enough (though it should be). Any of these unspecific goals for some reason just aren’t very powerful motivators for most people .
Let’s face it: everybody, including YOU, wants to look better naked. Stop giggling, you know it’s true and it’s okay! The desire to improve one’s appearance is the most powerful motivator there is. This shouldn’t be such a big surprise since the main life mission of humans, or any species for that matter, is to procreate. This is instinctual. And obviously, looking better makes this more of a reality.
So, after a little digging, I find out the real reason why they want to do this; I find their past or present pain and then establish their current and future ambitions. Some people want to be able to mow the lawn in the summer with their shirt off and not feel self-conscious. Others want to get back into their skinny-jeans that they haven’t been able to get one leg into for the last five years. Then there are those who want to look and feel more attractive to ignite some passion back into their relationships and/or put forth their best image at work. And of course, my personal favorite is preparing for big events that have built in deadlines. Wanting to get as lean and tight as possible to rock that dream bathing suit in Argentina, or get off the plane in Texas when visiting family you haven’t seen in two years to blow them away with your new body, or being a classic beauty in your wedding dress on the big day, it all works! This is the stuff that gets people jacked up and ready to commit to making some real changes. How do I know? Well, I just shared with you verbatim the exact “WHY’S” of some of my own clients.
So, the first thing you have to figure out is your personal WHY. To make this even simpler for you, just answer this question: what are your physical dreams? Once you establish this, everything else is easy baby! J
Step Two- The What and When: What do you want to accomplish and when do you want to accomplish it by?
So we already figured out the obvious: you want to look better and maximize your sexy! (and be healthy) So, now we need to establish what objective goal(s) need to be accomplished in order to realize this subjective dream.
Well, from a logistics standpoint and keeping things as cost effective as possible, there are three major ways I track “look better” progress with my clients, in order of importance from least to most important:
1.) Scale Weight: This is by far the least important goal, but it gives a number that’s worth tracking. The key is to taking your initial weight before you start and then not weighing more than every 2 weeks. I have found most people do better with tracking their weight every month. There are simply too many variables for controlling your body weight and the natural fluctuations based on diet (and for women, their menstrual cycle), means the less frequently you do this the better. If the scale is just too de-motivating for you in general, then just skip this one altogether if you must, because the next two markers are far more important.
2.) Dress/Pant Size: This is probably the most simple and effective unused method of tracking whether or not you look better. I think it’s safe to say that if you are dropping dress and/or pant sizes that you will be looking better, right? Your best bet is to also select one dress or one pair of pants that you really want to get into since that is the true end goal in mind. I tell my clients to assess how they are fitting in their preferred dress/pant size tracker on a weekly or bi-weekly basis since our clients that follow our program exactly as outlined typically lose a dress and/or pant size every month (until they get to their ideal dimensions). For those of you would want to argue that every outfitter has different sizes, well that’s a moot point if you use the same pant or dress size to track. There’s nothing more powerful than literally being able to feel yourself comfortably get into clothes that used to almost rip when you tried to put them on!
3.) Digital Pictures: Pictures don’t lie, that’s the bottom line. If you want to look better, what better way is there to assess this than pictures? I cannot begin to tell you how important this is. Taking a before picture is essentially you telling the whole world that you are ready to change and that you are ready to do whatever it takes to make those changes. Game time! The key is to take pictures wearing exactly what you want to look your best in. Now, don’t be sending me nude pictures of yourself, (though you can keep these for yourself to track if you’d like). Maybe it’s taking pictures of you in the dress or pair of pants that you are using to track your dress or pant size. Or maybe it’s a sleeveless shirt and tank top that you want to wear during the summer. And if you want to see your abs, then you best believe that you need to take pictures of your abs to track how much more definition you get. Take a front, side, and rear view picture and be sure to note the exact conditions in which the picture was taken (lighting, distance from camera, time of day/week, etc.) to be as accurate as possible in your assessment. The clients whom I’ve transformed that failed to take before pictures in the past have nothing but regret about it. Your before pictures will become your trophy and they are an absolute must if you really are serious about getting results that count. We tell our clients to take new pictures either bi-weekly or monthly until they reach their goal(s).
Step Three- Planning and Preparing for Roadblocks: What are the big obstacles that will prevent you from having the success you desire? What’s contributed most to past failures?
Now that we know what you want to accomplish, it’s time to plan and prepare for any obstacles that might get in your way of getting the job done based on your own personal schedule.
In general, the number one thing I hear is that people are too busy and tired and don’t have enough time to get their workouts in or make their meals. Well, I don’t care how busy you think you are, there is always hidden time throughout the day and week that can be freed up if your re-prioritize. Again, think back to why you wanted to do this in the first place and then examine what’s most important to you. Make your workouts and your meal times just like work appointments. Either you make the appointment or you don’t. And if you want to keep your job (or get your dream body) then you better make that appointment.
Another big obstacle is alcohol. People like to drink and unfortunately alcohol is about as detrimental to burning fat as it gets. Again, what’s more important to you, looking sexy or getting hammered. The choice is yours. Remember, once you achieve your goal(s), alcohol can be added back in with moderation. But know this, lean people just don’t get wasted unless they are genetic freaks. Low to zero alcohol consumption is needed if you want to look your best year round and that’s a fact.
Lastly, many people deal with boredom eating or emotional eating. Boredom eating means just that, eating to fill up dead time when you have nothing better to do. The best way to deal with this is, you guessed it, to do something! Find an active hobby to keep your mind off of eating when boredom strikes and you can beat this trend. Emotional eating describes the use of food to cope with stress or to reward for accomplishment. Food is not unlike drugs or alcohol in this regard, it can be very addictive. There is no quick fix for emotional eating other than avoiding trigger situations (bars, parties, etc.) and trigger foods (starches, sugars, fast food, etc.) in the short term to break bad habits.
At the end of the day, whether your roadblocks are very individual or if they fall in line with the general roadblocks our clients encounter on a regular basis, the key is to be honest about them and to plan and prepare for them. And that’s where social support and accountability come into play. The clients who have had the most success with us have undergone their transformation with the support of other friends or family members. This is so critical, especially since most of the poor food and drinking choices that sabotage one’s progress occur on the weekend, when most people hang out with their friend and family. If they are committed with you and your goal to get fit and look better, you can put yourself in a much better position to realize the success you desire and deserve. The last thing anybody needs is sabotage or peer pressure from those closest to you, so get them on board and get them on board early. Which gives me a perfect opportunity to remind you that one of the greatest benefits of a boot camp is the built-in support group. That positive, accountable environment is priceless! I really encourage you to try one and find out for yourself. If you’re in the Tucson area you can try ours out for up to two weeks free. Just call or click this link.
One more thing, just rember the root of resolution. It’s resolute- and it means to be firm, unyielding and determined. If you are than nothing can stand in your way!
Let’s Get It!
So, let’s just get right to it. What do you think is the real secret behind my client success? Well, if your answer was my aforementioned training and nutrition system, then your answer is wrong. Ok,ok, you’re right ,it’s an incredible program, but unfortunately it’s useless if someone is unwilling to start it AND stick to it, right? So, no question, the most important component of changing your body is finding the motivation to achieve your goals, and that’s the main thing I’m trying to get across. I am going to literally walk you through the initial consult and three step goal setting process that each one of my clients undergoes before they start working with us. This is so important to weight loss success that I now require it for any new client to be considered for joining our program.
Before I get into this goal setting process, I just need to get something off of my chest. I know a lot of people think goal setting is just a cheesy, useless thing. Unfortunately, these people just don’t get it and frankly if you are one of those people, please do us both a favor and stop reading this article and go buy another useless weight loss book or pill because I simply cannot do anything for you. I can only help people who want to learn. I simply cannot help people who already think they know it all and think they are too good to take some time to figure out what the hell it is that they actually want to accomplish. The bottom line is that the most successful people out there, and I mean not just weight loss success, I am talking business, lifestyle, etc., are shamelessly goal driven. They know exactly why they want to do something and harness that super motivation to figure out what and by when they want to go about accomplishing that. Furthermore, they plan and prepare for every possible roadblock they will encounter in their path to success. This is what I want to teach you how to do today, so let’s get it!
Step One- The Why: Why do you want to do this?
This is where it’s time to get real. In almost every initial consult I do, when I ask why they have contacted me today, here is the typical blanket response that I first hear:
“Well, I guess I just want to get healthy and lose weight.”
Nope, I don’t buy it. Sure, I know they want to lose weight and be healthy, I mean who doesn’t, but really WHY do they want to do this? Think about it. I have people getting up at 4:30 in the morning to get to our morning boot camps. Just wanting to “be healthy” might get them out of their warm comfortable beds and out to boot camp (remember we’re outside so in December and January and some of February it’s cold and dark!) but that will not be enough (though it should be). Any of these unspecific goals for some reason just aren’t very powerful motivators for most people .
Let’s face it: everybody, including YOU, wants to look better naked. Stop giggling, you know it’s true and it’s okay! The desire to improve one’s appearance is the most powerful motivator there is. This shouldn’t be such a big surprise since the main life mission of humans, or any species for that matter, is to procreate. This is instinctual. And obviously, looking better makes this more of a reality.
So, after a little digging, I find out the real reason why they want to do this; I find their past or present pain and then establish their current and future ambitions. Some people want to be able to mow the lawn in the summer with their shirt off and not feel self-conscious. Others want to get back into their skinny-jeans that they haven’t been able to get one leg into for the last five years. Then there are those who want to look and feel more attractive to ignite some passion back into their relationships and/or put forth their best image at work. And of course, my personal favorite is preparing for big events that have built in deadlines. Wanting to get as lean and tight as possible to rock that dream bathing suit in Argentina, or get off the plane in Texas when visiting family you haven’t seen in two years to blow them away with your new body, or being a classic beauty in your wedding dress on the big day, it all works! This is the stuff that gets people jacked up and ready to commit to making some real changes. How do I know? Well, I just shared with you verbatim the exact “WHY’S” of some of my own clients.
So, the first thing you have to figure out is your personal WHY. To make this even simpler for you, just answer this question: what are your physical dreams? Once you establish this, everything else is easy baby! J
Step Two- The What and When: What do you want to accomplish and when do you want to accomplish it by?
So we already figured out the obvious: you want to look better and maximize your sexy! (and be healthy) So, now we need to establish what objective goal(s) need to be accomplished in order to realize this subjective dream.
Well, from a logistics standpoint and keeping things as cost effective as possible, there are three major ways I track “look better” progress with my clients, in order of importance from least to most important:
1.) Scale Weight: This is by far the least important goal, but it gives a number that’s worth tracking. The key is to taking your initial weight before you start and then not weighing more than every 2 weeks. I have found most people do better with tracking their weight every month. There are simply too many variables for controlling your body weight and the natural fluctuations based on diet (and for women, their menstrual cycle), means the less frequently you do this the better. If the scale is just too de-motivating for you in general, then just skip this one altogether if you must, because the next two markers are far more important.
2.) Dress/Pant Size: This is probably the most simple and effective unused method of tracking whether or not you look better. I think it’s safe to say that if you are dropping dress and/or pant sizes that you will be looking better, right? Your best bet is to also select one dress or one pair of pants that you really want to get into since that is the true end goal in mind. I tell my clients to assess how they are fitting in their preferred dress/pant size tracker on a weekly or bi-weekly basis since our clients that follow our program exactly as outlined typically lose a dress and/or pant size every month (until they get to their ideal dimensions). For those of you would want to argue that every outfitter has different sizes, well that’s a moot point if you use the same pant or dress size to track. There’s nothing more powerful than literally being able to feel yourself comfortably get into clothes that used to almost rip when you tried to put them on!
3.) Digital Pictures: Pictures don’t lie, that’s the bottom line. If you want to look better, what better way is there to assess this than pictures? I cannot begin to tell you how important this is. Taking a before picture is essentially you telling the whole world that you are ready to change and that you are ready to do whatever it takes to make those changes. Game time! The key is to take pictures wearing exactly what you want to look your best in. Now, don’t be sending me nude pictures of yourself, (though you can keep these for yourself to track if you’d like). Maybe it’s taking pictures of you in the dress or pair of pants that you are using to track your dress or pant size. Or maybe it’s a sleeveless shirt and tank top that you want to wear during the summer. And if you want to see your abs, then you best believe that you need to take pictures of your abs to track how much more definition you get. Take a front, side, and rear view picture and be sure to note the exact conditions in which the picture was taken (lighting, distance from camera, time of day/week, etc.) to be as accurate as possible in your assessment. The clients whom I’ve transformed that failed to take before pictures in the past have nothing but regret about it. Your before pictures will become your trophy and they are an absolute must if you really are serious about getting results that count. We tell our clients to take new pictures either bi-weekly or monthly until they reach their goal(s).
Step Three- Planning and Preparing for Roadblocks: What are the big obstacles that will prevent you from having the success you desire? What’s contributed most to past failures?
Now that we know what you want to accomplish, it’s time to plan and prepare for any obstacles that might get in your way of getting the job done based on your own personal schedule.
In general, the number one thing I hear is that people are too busy and tired and don’t have enough time to get their workouts in or make their meals. Well, I don’t care how busy you think you are, there is always hidden time throughout the day and week that can be freed up if your re-prioritize. Again, think back to why you wanted to do this in the first place and then examine what’s most important to you. Make your workouts and your meal times just like work appointments. Either you make the appointment or you don’t. And if you want to keep your job (or get your dream body) then you better make that appointment.
Another big obstacle is alcohol. People like to drink and unfortunately alcohol is about as detrimental to burning fat as it gets. Again, what’s more important to you, looking sexy or getting hammered. The choice is yours. Remember, once you achieve your goal(s), alcohol can be added back in with moderation. But know this, lean people just don’t get wasted unless they are genetic freaks. Low to zero alcohol consumption is needed if you want to look your best year round and that’s a fact.
Lastly, many people deal with boredom eating or emotional eating. Boredom eating means just that, eating to fill up dead time when you have nothing better to do. The best way to deal with this is, you guessed it, to do something! Find an active hobby to keep your mind off of eating when boredom strikes and you can beat this trend. Emotional eating describes the use of food to cope with stress or to reward for accomplishment. Food is not unlike drugs or alcohol in this regard, it can be very addictive. There is no quick fix for emotional eating other than avoiding trigger situations (bars, parties, etc.) and trigger foods (starches, sugars, fast food, etc.) in the short term to break bad habits.
At the end of the day, whether your roadblocks are very individual or if they fall in line with the general roadblocks our clients encounter on a regular basis, the key is to be honest about them and to plan and prepare for them. And that’s where social support and accountability come into play. The clients who have had the most success with us have undergone their transformation with the support of other friends or family members. This is so critical, especially since most of the poor food and drinking choices that sabotage one’s progress occur on the weekend, when most people hang out with their friend and family. If they are committed with you and your goal to get fit and look better, you can put yourself in a much better position to realize the success you desire and deserve. The last thing anybody needs is sabotage or peer pressure from those closest to you, so get them on board and get them on board early. Which gives me a perfect opportunity to remind you that one of the greatest benefits of a boot camp is the built-in support group. That positive, accountable environment is priceless! I really encourage you to try one and find out for yourself. If you’re in the Tucson area you can try ours out for up to two weeks free. Just call or click this link.
One more thing, just rember the root of resolution. It’s resolute- and it means to be firm, unyielding and determined. If you are than nothing can stand in your way!
Let’s Get It!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Procrastination Nation Gift List Pt II
Allright, I'm back with the second half of my Top 10 list. Here it is :
6.) Supplements that Work: Protein Powders, Fish Oil, Multi-Vitamin
I have helped hundreds of people lose thousands of pounds of fat. No joke. In my journey, I have found only three supplements to be a mandatory part of the optimal fat loss program: protein powders, fish oil, and multi-vitamin supplements.
Protein powders provide great liquid workout nutrition and a convenient meat alternative for on-the-go snacking. For a protein powder, look for a brand low in sugar and carbohydrates and with a mix of both whey and casein (fast and slow absorbing proteins). If the taste of most proteins powders keeps you from using them, I recommend Muscle Milk. They seriously have like 30 flavors or something crazy like that and they actually taste good!
Fish oil, or more appropriately entitled an essential fatty acid (EFA) supplement, is critical to providing key omega 3’s to maximize overall health, performance, and body composition. Studies show that krill oil provides the most effective dosing of EFA’s.
A multi-vitamin provides keys vitamins and minerals that are tough to obtain unless your diet is near picture perfect. I don’t know about you, but I like to cover my bases when it comes to my health. Be sure to choose a multi-vitamin supplement that is made from whole foods rather than synthetic materials, in addition to being made specifically for your gender.
My clients and I rock with VGF+25 and EFA Icon, both included in Prograde’s Health+ Package available at http://www.symmetryfitness.getprograde.com/
7.) Sport-Specific Gift
This one’s pretty basic: if you want to give a great gift to an athlete then get them something unique that compliments what they like playing or doing, whether it be fitness equipment, apparel, or both.
8.) Fitness Book or Subscription to Fitness Magazine
Everybody needs bedtime or bathroom reading baby! If you have just read a good fitness book that you know a friend or family member would benefit from, hook them up with their own copy. Better yet, people love magazine subscriptions. Personally, I am a big fan of Men’s Health and Women’s Health. These magazines are filled with tons of workout, nutrition, and lifestyle tips catered to each sex. I know it sounds funny that I read Women’s Health being a dude, but I work with a lot of women so I need to keep up with the lingo like skinny jeans and muffin-tops, ha ha!
9.) Ipod Shuffle
So I’m kind of addicted to Ipod. Ihave a shuffle, a classic, a nano and an Iphone and I’ve actually justified reasons for having each of them! The classic is for the truck, (I have almost 10,00 songs on it so I have the 80 gig), and nothing is better for working out than the shuffle or the nano. The nano is good if you want to see what’s playing or want to pair it with the Nike + running chip but honestly, I love the shuffle. I just load it with strictly workout music and push play, I don’t need to know whats playing next. It’s like the size of a quarter so you can hardly tell it’s there and for 50 bucks it’s hard to beat!
10.) A Gift Card to a Fitness Boot Camp
Boot camps provide a fun and exciting team environment that guarantee better results than one-on-one personal training for only a third of the cost… it’s a total no-brainer.
Look for a local fitness boot camp with tons of social proof (client testimonials, especially in the form of pictures and video) to make sure they have a solid reputation and a bunch of raving fans of people just like you. Plus, any good boot camp worth its weight offers free trials and money-back guarantees to all newcomers because they are so confident their program works that you’ll more than likely continue after a test-drive, This way there is typically no risk on your part… besides getting you butt kicked, in a good way ;)
So join a fitness boot camp with at least one other friend or family member or buy a boot camp gift card to give to your loved ones. As a boot camp instructor myself, I know firsthand that clients always get better results when they embark on a fitness journey with others.
And if you live in the local Tucson, Arizona area, come work with us for the best personal training in Tucson by visiting http://www.lookbetternakedtucson.com/ just call or email and will give you a free two week trial pass! We’ll change your life and have you looking better naked this New Year, guaranteed!
Let’s Get It!
6.) Supplements that Work: Protein Powders, Fish Oil, Multi-Vitamin
I have helped hundreds of people lose thousands of pounds of fat. No joke. In my journey, I have found only three supplements to be a mandatory part of the optimal fat loss program: protein powders, fish oil, and multi-vitamin supplements.
Protein powders provide great liquid workout nutrition and a convenient meat alternative for on-the-go snacking. For a protein powder, look for a brand low in sugar and carbohydrates and with a mix of both whey and casein (fast and slow absorbing proteins). If the taste of most proteins powders keeps you from using them, I recommend Muscle Milk. They seriously have like 30 flavors or something crazy like that and they actually taste good!
Fish oil, or more appropriately entitled an essential fatty acid (EFA) supplement, is critical to providing key omega 3’s to maximize overall health, performance, and body composition. Studies show that krill oil provides the most effective dosing of EFA’s.
A multi-vitamin provides keys vitamins and minerals that are tough to obtain unless your diet is near picture perfect. I don’t know about you, but I like to cover my bases when it comes to my health. Be sure to choose a multi-vitamin supplement that is made from whole foods rather than synthetic materials, in addition to being made specifically for your gender.
My clients and I rock with VGF+25 and EFA Icon, both included in Prograde’s Health+ Package available at http://www.symmetryfitness.getprograde.com/
7.) Sport-Specific Gift
This one’s pretty basic: if you want to give a great gift to an athlete then get them something unique that compliments what they like playing or doing, whether it be fitness equipment, apparel, or both.
8.) Fitness Book or Subscription to Fitness Magazine
Everybody needs bedtime or bathroom reading baby! If you have just read a good fitness book that you know a friend or family member would benefit from, hook them up with their own copy. Better yet, people love magazine subscriptions. Personally, I am a big fan of Men’s Health and Women’s Health. These magazines are filled with tons of workout, nutrition, and lifestyle tips catered to each sex. I know it sounds funny that I read Women’s Health being a dude, but I work with a lot of women so I need to keep up with the lingo like skinny jeans and muffin-tops, ha ha!
9.) Ipod Shuffle
So I’m kind of addicted to Ipod. Ihave a shuffle, a classic, a nano and an Iphone and I’ve actually justified reasons for having each of them! The classic is for the truck, (I have almost 10,00 songs on it so I have the 80 gig), and nothing is better for working out than the shuffle or the nano. The nano is good if you want to see what’s playing or want to pair it with the Nike + running chip but honestly, I love the shuffle. I just load it with strictly workout music and push play, I don’t need to know whats playing next. It’s like the size of a quarter so you can hardly tell it’s there and for 50 bucks it’s hard to beat!
10.) A Gift Card to a Fitness Boot Camp
Boot camps provide a fun and exciting team environment that guarantee better results than one-on-one personal training for only a third of the cost… it’s a total no-brainer.
Look for a local fitness boot camp with tons of social proof (client testimonials, especially in the form of pictures and video) to make sure they have a solid reputation and a bunch of raving fans of people just like you. Plus, any good boot camp worth its weight offers free trials and money-back guarantees to all newcomers because they are so confident their program works that you’ll more than likely continue after a test-drive, This way there is typically no risk on your part… besides getting you butt kicked, in a good way ;)
So join a fitness boot camp with at least one other friend or family member or buy a boot camp gift card to give to your loved ones. As a boot camp instructor myself, I know firsthand that clients always get better results when they embark on a fitness journey with others.
And if you live in the local Tucson, Arizona area, come work with us for the best personal training in Tucson by visiting http://www.lookbetternakedtucson.com/ just call or email and will give you a free two week trial pass! We’ll change your life and have you looking better naked this New Year, guaranteed!
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