If you only have 30 minutes, get OFF the elliptical!

As I walked into the gym today, I saw a sign: "You must sign in to use elliptical/treadmill due to high demand. 30 minute time limit."

Wow. As I made my way to the locker room I walked past the packed out "cardio" area. A few minutes later I entered the weight lifting room. There was a whopping 3 people in there; all on machines . . . of course.

Before I continue, I must make a confession: Several years ago I used to spend several hours a week on an elliptical machine. I thought I was doing the “right thing” for keeping my body lean and healthy.

I continued this for probably a year or so. One day, I realized my true hatred of spending so much time on a machine. I never liked it to begin with, but now I really hated it.

In my frustration I searched for a better answer to my body composition goals. To keep a long story short, I discovered the truth about intervals and weight training.

To keep this from being a 10 page report, I’ll be brief. The truth is that if you want maximum results in minimum time, you absolutely must engage in strength training. If you want to do more to help your body composition, do interval training (bodyweight exercises, or machines-bike, treadmill, rower).

After learning this exciting news, I got off the elliptical for good and just stuck with my weight training and added intervals a few times a week. To be honest, I was nervous. Would I gain more fat? Would my body suffer from removing hours of activity every week?

Nope. I didn’t gain any additional fat. Heck, to be honest, I felt a lot better! I was no longer a slave to a machine. After I learned about better nutrition and continued my education on weight training and intervals, my body went to a whole new (and improved) level.

I was leaner. I was stronger. I just felt better. And I had more time! I will never go back to wasting time on a machine.

I am still amazed when people come up to me in the gym and ask how I “got in such great shape.” I’ll reply with, “I lift weights at least 3 times a week. I’ll also do some bodyweight circuits or intervals with dumbbells once or twice a week. “ Then they automatically ask, “But what about cardio? Do you run?” This is always the fun part, “No. I don’t use any machines or do any long cardio sessions.”

A couple days later, I run into the same person. Guess what she’s doing? She’s plodding along on the elliptical, reading a magazine nonetheless.

It confuses the hell out of me sometimes. When people ask how I got my body lean, and I tell how, they still don’t listen! If only they would get off the machine and use that 30 minutes to lift weights! They would see amazing results!

Oh well. I’ll stop ranting now. I only hope that you heed my advice and stop spending endless time on a machine in hopes of getting your ideal body.

Lift weights, and use a weight that is actually challenging. Don’t even think about touching the pretty pink dumbbells.

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.

10 Minute In-Home Christmas Workout!

Christmas time is officially here! With all of the “have to do’s” this month, many people don’t think they have time for an effective fat-burning workout. Well, I am here to tell you that that is not true! In fact, you can get in a great workout in the comfort of your own home!

You may be wondering how you can maintain and even improve your body composition at home with no equipment. Well, to be honest; the possibilities are endless! I’m going to share with you a few workouts you can incorporate into your busy schedule that will allow you to burn fat and sculpt your body in as little as 10 minutes!

For this workout, you will do each exercise for 1 minute each. Perform the first exercise for 1 minute, and then move immediately to the next. Continue doing this until you complete every exercise, and then rest 2-3 minutes and repeat 1-2 more times.

1) Squats
2) Pushups
3) Squat Thrusts*
4) Jumping Jacks
5) Staggered Pushups**

*Squat down, put your hands beside your feet, kick your legs back so you are in a pushup position, and then kick your feet back up to your hands, and stand up.

**Place one hand a few inches in front of the other; do pushups in this position for 30 seconds, and then switch hands for the other 30 seconds.


Here is another in-home workout to help you lose fat and sculpt your body!

Perform the designated number of reps for each exercise, and proceed through the circuit with no rest. After every exercise is completed, rest about 2 minutes and repeat 1-2 times.

1) Squats—20
2) Jumping Jacks—50
3) Pushups—15
4) Mountain Climbers*—10 reps each leg
5) Squat Thrust—12 reps

*Get in the top part of a pushup (arms straight) and bring one knee up to your chest; as you return that leg to the start position, bring the alternate knee up to your chest.

There you have it! Two awesome workouts you can do at home in less than 20 minutes! Now you have absolutely no excuse for not getting in a terrific workout!

No BS Nutrition Info that WORKS!

Whenever a person plans to go on a diet they envision weight scales, measuring cups, flavorless food, hunger pangs, and even hippies chasing them down with granola. Well, maybe not that last one, but you get the point.

No one ever says, “Yay! I’m going on a diet!” Have you even noticed that the first 3 letters in diet are die? It’s no coincidence. No one wants to go on a diet because they perceive future suffering and misery. Many people think they will have to give up their favorite foods. Many people think they can never eat treats again. Well, in my opinion, many nutritionists and fitness professionals are making nutrition way too complicated.

Is it practical for someone who eats the majority of their meals away from home in the form of fast food, drinks several cokes in a day, and only eats vegetables in the form of fried potatoes to drastically change their eating habits in one day? Would it be realistic (and would it be long lasting) for this person to wake up the next morning and eat all natural foods and drink nothing but water? No! The person may last a couple of days, if even that, before they returned to their old eating habits!

The key is to make small gradual changes that produce long lasting results. Having changes that produce short-term changes only is not enough!

Here are my guidelines for nutrition. No filler, no fluff, and it may not be politically correct, but it’s damn effective.

1) Consume whole, natural foods. These are items that don’t come in a bag or a box, and are usually single ingredient items. Examples: fruits, vegetables, lean meats, raw or dry roasted nuts, seeds, legumes, etc.

2) Do not purchase anything that has these words on the ingredient list: high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated, or colors and numbers (e.g. Yellow5, Blue3, etc).

3) If you consume any grains at all, limit them to post-workout only. Grains are items such as breads, cereals, rice, corn, crackers, tortillas, pasta, etc. By consuming them after a workout, your body uses the carbohydrates in the foods to build muscle and restore muscle glycogen stores. Limiting them to these times (if you eat them at all) helps to prevent potential fat gain.

4) Increase your daily intake of fruits and vegetables. Yes, this is nothing new. Fruits and veggies are loaded with good-for-you nutrients such as phytochemicals, antioxidants, and a host of other things that are necessary for good health. Begin slowly by adding 1 fruit and 1 vegetable to a meal a day. The next week, try to include a fruit and vegetable in 2 meals a day.

5) Consume caloric-free beverages. Drink more water. Period. Caloric-free beverages include water and unsweetened teas and coffees. Here’s a bonus tip: drink a full glass of water immediately before each meal; this will help fill you up quicker if you are trying to lose some extra fat.

6) Be cautious where you get your information. Food corporations who promote their foods as being “figure friendly” and even “healthy” do not have your best intentions in mind. All they want is for you to buy more of their products; not to help you acquire better health, but to get more of your money. General Mills, Kellogg’s, the dairy industry and other food companies don’t give a rip about your health, and they are not qualified to tell you how and what to eat. Keep that in mind the next time you see an advertisement.

7) Make a time to enjoy foods that don’t necessary fit these guidelines. If you plan on restricting your favorite foods for a long period of time, you are just setting yourself up for disaster. The more you tell yourself you can’t have something, the more you want it and the more likely you are to binge on it. Have a meal once or twice a week where you don’t make it conform to the above guidelines. Enjoy these meals guilt-free, and then get back on track.

8) Revolve your eating regime around your life not vice versa. This is another area in which I greatly differ from many experts. Five to 6 small meals a day may be the ideal, but for some people it just isn’t practical. I strongly believe that if you adhere to the principles listed above, the rest is just details for someone looking to lose fat and acquire better health. There are too many important things in life, so don’t spend excess time worrying about your eating habits and exercise regimen.

So now you have some general guidelines, but where do you go from here? As I mentioned earlier, take things slowly. Try to incorporate 1 or 2 principles each day, and go from there. Don’t try to drastically change everything overnight; it’s just not effective.

What You Should Know!

It is officially Christmas season. People everywhere are putting up lights, trees, shopping, and eating lots of food.

During this time, many people think they simply don't have enough time to workout. Because of this, the same people tell themselves, "I'll just enjoy all of this food and stuff now. I don't really have the time to workout and eat better. I'll just start my workout program and start eating better on January 1st."

Let me tell you something: do not wait until January 1, 2009 to start getting healthy! You need to start today. Think about it: if you start eating whole, natural foods and cut out the processed junk, and you get in 20 minute workouts 3-5 times a week, you could lose several pounds of fat by December 31, 2008!

What are you waiting for? The more you put off something you want and know you should do, the more likely you are to not do it!

It's a busy season, I know. But there are no excuses for not eating better and getting in quick, total body workouts. Remember, you can do a great body scuplting workout in the comfort of your own home.