Lose More Fat Without a Treadmill!

Whenever a client comes to me with the goal of losing fat, they always ask, "How long do I have to walk/run on the treadmill?" Well, they become very shocked when I reply, "You don't have to even touch a machine."

Let me explain: people still think they must be a slave to a treadmill (or other "cardio" machine) in order to lose fat, get a better body, and get healthy. It's just not the case. In fact, there are other training methods that could get you results faster and in less time.

Sound too good to be true? Stay with me for a minute.

First of all, if you hate doing something (such as spending endless time on a machine), what makes you think you're going to be consistent? If you're not consistent, you won't get long lasting results. It's as simple as that. Plus, who has the time to spend hours per week on a machine?

Instead of spending time on a machine, I suggest other, more effective, alternatives.

1) Bodyweight circuits. Pick a few exercises and perform them back-to-back with no or minimal rest time. For example: squats, pushups, jumping jacks, lunges, and planks. You could perform several repetitions (about 10-15) of each exercise and perform the circuit for 10-15 minutes. You'll get your heart rate up for sure. The other benefit to this over a treadmill: you'll build muscle. Muscle increases your metabolism, which allows you to burn more calories. Get creative here: pick any bodyweight movements you can think of. Also, feel free to perform each exercise, rest 1-2 minutes, and repeat the circuit for about 5-6 total rounds.

2) Dumbbell intervals. Pick an exercise: dumbbell thrusters*. Perform about 10 repetitions of this exercise, rest 60 seconds, and repeat for about 5-6 more rounds. You could pick many other exercises, too, and mix and match. For example: you could do a few rounds of dumbbell thrusters, and then perform a few rounds of squat thrusts**. For a progression, you should either increase the number of rounds you perform and/or decrease your rest periods.

There are many other methods you can use, but these two should be sufficient for now.

You may never step foot on another machine again!

*Dumbbell thruster: stand with the dumbbells at your shoulders. Perform a squat, and as you are standing up, simultaneously press the dumbbells overhead. Lower the dumbbells back to your shoulders, and immediately perform another squat.

**Squat thrust: stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Squat down and put your hands outside your feet on the floor. Kick your feet back so you are in the top of a pushup position. From here, jump your feet back up to your hands, and then stand up. You could also use dumbbells for extra resistance. You would just hold them in your hands the entire time. Make sure they don't roll away from you!

The Best Workout Tool

You are looking at a picture of my new toy! It's a 16 kg kettlebell! I'm sure most of you know what this is; it's one of the latest trends in the fitness industry.

That brings us to the question: what is the best workout tool?

Contrary to what you may have been told, there is no best workout tool.

Nope. There isn't a single piece of equipment that will give you every result you desire. Is it possible to get amazing results with just one tool? Absolutely. However, there isn't one that could get you greater results than another. Granted, this is all dependant upon your personal goals and abilities.

What do I use and personally recommend? I say use everything you can.

For example, my workouts include a mix of bodyweight, dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, straps, bands, cables, sandbags, and any other thing available. I will someday incorporate strong man lifts and equipment, tires, sledge hammers, punching bags, sleds, prowlers, ropes, and anything else I can find.

Why?

Why not? Why just use one thing when you can get so much more variety?

I would never want to have to settle for using just one piece of equipment for the rest of my life. New equipment can bring new results, increased performance, and help you to discover any weaknesses you may have. Not to mention, it keeps training fun! Some times we get burned out on doing the same thing; adding in some different pieces of equipment can be refreshing and keep us motivated.

Make sure you don't get caught up in searching to the "next best thing." There isn't one, and there never will be.

Diet MADNESS

Since it's January, most people have set "New Year resolutions."

Well, because of this popular time, many diet ideas have emerged.

The worst new diet I have heard of is the "Naked Diet." The idea behind this diet is that you should eat your meals naked in front of a mirror. The theory is that people will be so disgusted by what they see that they will eat less.

ARE YOU SERIOUS???

Is this what we are resulting to for weight loss?

This diet is probably going to bring a lot of problems. First: this diet centers on people losing weight as a result of self-hatred. This can cause terrible emotional pain along with a host of other problems.

Look, here is all you need to do for fat loss.

1) Eat whole, natural food

2) Eliminate grains and grain products from you diet. This includes bread, pastas, cereal, crackers, potatoes, corn, tortillas, etc

3) Drink calorie free beverages

4) Increase your fruit and vegetable intake. Try to include a fruit and/or vegetable with every meal and snack. Start out by having 1 every day, and then try to increase to 2 servings, than 3, etc

5) Have a meal or two each week that satisfies whatever you are craving. You simply can't avoid all food for more than a few days at a time. It won't work. You'll fail. You can't eliminate a food (especially if it's one of your favorites!) for an extended period of time. That is a plan for failure, plain and simple.

Yes, I could easily give you more extensive guidelines to follow. But, you need to get the BASICS down before you use "advanced" methods.