Fitness and Nutrition Center

Orthorexia and the New Rules of Clean Eating (Part 2)

2009-11-09T06:39:00.001-06:00

By Tom Venuto

In part one, I described the growing obsession many people have with eating only the purest, healthiest foods, aka “clean eating.” You’d think that nothing but good would come from that, but some experts today dislike the concept of clean foods because it implies a dichotomy where other foods, by default, are “dirty” or forbidden - as in, you can never, ever eat them again (imagine life without chocolate, or pizza… or beer! you guys). Some physicians and psychologists even believe that if taken to an extreme, a fixation on healthy food qualifies as a new eating disorder called orthorexia.

Personally, I have no issues with the phrase “clean eating.” Even if you choose to eat clean nearly 100% of the time, I don’t see how that qualifies as a psychological disorder of any kind (I reckon people who eat at McDonalds every day are the ones who need a shrink).

However, I also think you would agree that any behavior - washing your hands, cleaning your house, or even exercise or eating health food - can become obsessive-compulsive and dysfunctional if it takes over your life or is taken to an extreme. In the case of diet and exercise, it could also lead to or overlap with anorexia.

It’s debatable whether orthorexia is a distinct eating disorder, but I’m not against using the word to help classify a specific type of obsessive-compulsive behavior. I think it’s real.

The truth is that many people are quite “enthusiastic” in defending – or preaching about - their dietary beliefs: no meat, no grains, no dairy, only organic, only raw, only what God made, and on and on the rigid all-or-nothing rules go.

What people choose to eat is often so sacred to them, it makes for tricky business when you’re a nutrition educator. Sometimes I don’t feel like telling anyone what to eat, but simply setting a personal example and showing people how I do it, like, “Hey guys, here is how natural bodybuilders eat to get so ripped and muscular. It may not suit you, but it works for us. Take it or leave it.”

On the other hand, I can’t help feeling that there’s got to be a way to better help the countless individuals who haven’t yet formulated their own philosophies, and who find nutrition overwhelmingly confusing. For many people, even a simple walk down the aisles of a grocery store, and trying to decipher the food labels and nutrition claims is enough to trigger an anxiety attack.

That’s where I hope this is useful. I can’t draw the line for you, or tell you what to eat, but I can suggest a list of “new rules” for clean eating which simplifies nutrition and clears up confusion, while giving you more freedom, balance, life enjoyment and better results at the same time.

New Rule #1: Define what clean eating means to you

Obviously, clean eating is not a scientific term. Most people define clean eating as avoiding processed foods, chemicals and artificial ingredients and choosing natural foods, the way they came out of the ground or as close to their natural form as possible. If that works for you, then use it. However, the possible definitions are endless. I’ve seen forum arguments about whether protein powder is “clean.” Arguments are a waste of time. Ultimately, what clean eating means is up to you to define. Whether your beliefs and values have you restrict or expand on the general definition, define it you must, keeping in mind that your definition may be different than other’s.

New Rule #2: Always obey the law of energy balance

There’s one widely held belief about food that hurts people and perpetuates the obesity problem because it’s simply not true. It’s the idea that calories don’t matter for weight loss, as long as you eat certain foods or avoid certain foods. Some people think that if you eat only clean foods, you’re guaranteed to lose weight and stay lean. The truth is that eating too much of anything gets stored as fat. Yes, you can become obese eating 100% clean, natural foods. There’s more to good nutrition than calories in versus calories out, but the energy balance equation is always there.

New Rule #3: Remember that “foods” are not fattening, “excess calories” are

There’s a widespread fear today that certain foods will automatically turn into fat. Carbohydrates – particularly refined carbohydrates and sugars - are still high on the hit list of feared foods, and so are fatty foods, owing to their high caloric density (9 calories per gram). Foods that contain fat and sugar (think donuts) are considered the most fattening of all. But what if you ate only one small donut and stayed in a calorie deficit for the day – would you still say that donut was fattening?

If you want to say certain foods are fattening, you certainly can, but what you really mean is that some foods are calorie dense, highly palatable, not very satiating and eating them might even stimulate your appetite for more (betcha can’t eat just one!). Therefore, they’re likely to cause you to eat more calories than you need. Conversely, “non-fattening” foods have no magical properties, they’re simply low in caloric density, highly filling and non-appetite stimulating.

New Rule #4: Understand the health-bodyfat paradox

Two of the biggest reasons people choose to eat clean are health and weight loss. Health and body composition are intertwined, but dietary rules for health and weight loss are not one in the same. Weight gains or losses are dictated primarily by calorie quantity. Health is dictated primarily by calorie quality. That’s the paradox: You can lose weight on a 100% junk food diet, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be healthy. You can get healthier on an all natural clean food diet, but that doesn’t mean you won’t gain weight… and if you gain too much weight, then you start getting unhealthy. To be healthy and lean requires the right combination of calorie quantity and quality, not one or the other.

New Rule #5: Forbidden foods are forbidden.

Think of you on a diet like a pressure cooker on a burner. The longer you keep that pot on the heat, the more the steam builds up inside. If there’s no outlet or release valve, eventually the pressure builds up so much that even if it’s made of steel and the lid is bolted down, she’s gonna blow, sooner or later. But if you let off a little steam by occasionally having that slice of pizza or whatever is your favorite food, that relieves the pressure.

Alas, you never even felt the urge to binge… because you already had your pizza and the urge was satisfied. Since the “cheat meal” was planned and you obeyed the law of calorie balance, you stayed in control and it had little or no effect on your fat loss results. Ironically, you overcome your cravings by giving in to them, with two caveats: not too often and not too much.

New Rule #6: Set your own compliance rule

Many health and nutrition professionals suggest a 90% compliance rule because if you choose clean foods 90% of the time, it’s easy to control your calories, you consume enough nutrients for good health, and what you eat the other 10% of the time doesn’t seem to matter much. Suppose you eat 3 meals and 2 snacks every day, a total of 35 feedings per week. 90% compliance would mean following your clean eating plan for about 31 or 32 of those weekly feedings. The other 3 or 4 times per week, you eat whatever you want (as long as you obey rule #2 and keep the calories in check)

You’ll need to decide for yourself where to set your own rule. A 90% compliance rule is a popular, albeit arbitrary number – a best guess at how much “clean eating” will give you optimal health. Some folks stay lean and healthy with 80%. Others say they don’t even desire junk food and they eat 99% clean, indulging perhaps only once or twice a month.

One thing is for certain – the majority of your calories should come from natural nutrient-dense foods – not only for good health, but also because what you eat most of the time becomes your habitual pattern. Habit patterns are tough to break and what you do every day over the long term is what really counts the most.

New Rule #7: Have “free” meals, not “cheat” meals

Cheating presupposes that you’re doing something you’re not supposed to be doing. That’s why you feel guilty when you cheat. Guilt can be one of the biggest diet destroyers. Consider referring to these meals that are off your regular plan as “free meals” instead of “cheat meals.” If having free meals is part of your plan right from the start, then you’re not cheating are you? So don’t call it that. What can you eat for your free meals? Anything you want. Otherwise, it wouldn’t truly be a free meal, would it?

People sometimes tell me that my bodybuilding diet and lifestyle are “too strict.” I find that amusing because I love eating clean 95-99% of the time and I consider it easy. I had a butter-drizzled steak, a glass of wine, and chocolate sin cake for dessert to celebrate my last birthday. I had a couple slices of pizza just four weeks before my last competition (and still stepped on stage at 4.5% body fat). Oh, and I’m really looking forward to my mom’s pumpkin pie and Christmas cake too. Why? How? Because as strict as my lifestyle might appear to some people, I’ve learned how to enjoy free meals and I will eat ANYTHING I want - with no guilt. Meanwhile, my critics are often people with rules that NEVER allow those foods to ever cross their lips.

New Rule #8: For successful weight control, focus on compliance to a calorie deficit, not just compliance to a food list

Dietary compliance doesn’t just mean eating the right foods, it means eating the right amount of food. You might be doing a terrific job at eating only the foods “authorized” by your nutrition program, but if you eat too many “clean” foods, you will still get fat. On the fat loss side of health-bodyfat paradox, the quantity of food is the pivotal factor, not the quality of food. If fat loss is your goal and you’re stubbornly determined to be 100% strict about your nutrition, then be 100% strict about maintaining your calorie deficit.

Lesson #9: Avoid all or none attitudes and dichotomous thinking

If you make a mistake, it doesn’t ruin an entire 12 week program, a whole week and not even an entire day. What ruins a program is thinking that you must either be on or off your diet and allowing one meal off your program to completely derail you. All or nothing thinking is the great killer of diet programs.

Even if they don’t believe that one meal will set them back physically, many “clean eaters” feel like a single cheat is a moral failure. They are terrified to eat any processed foods because they look at foods as good or bad rather than looking at the degree of processing or the frequency of consuming them.

Rest assured, a single meal of ANYTHING, if the calories don’t exceed your energy needs, will have virtually no impact on your condition. It’s not what you do occasionally, it’s what you do most of the time, day after day, that determines your long term results.

New Rule #10: Focus more on results, less on methods

I’m not sure whether it’s sad or laughable that most people get so married to their methods that they stop paying attention to results. Overweight people often praise their diet program and the guru that created it, even though they’ve plateaud and haven’t lost any weight in months, or the weight they lost has begun to creep back on. Health food fanatics keep eating the same, even when they’re sick and weak and not getting any stronger or healthier.

Why would someone continue doing more of the same even when it’s not working? One word: habit! Beliefs and behavior patterns are so ingrained at the unconscious level, you repeat the same behaviors every day virtually on automatic pilot. Defending existing beliefs and doing it the way you’ve always done it is a lot easier than changing.

In the final analysis, results are what counts: weight, body composition, lean muscle, performance, strength, blood pressure, blood lipids, and everything else you want to improve. Are they improving or not? If not, perhaps it’s time for a change.

Concluding words of wisdom

We need rules. Trying to eat “intuitively” or just “wing it” from the start is a recipe for failure. Ironically, intuitive eating does not come intuitively. Whether you use my Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle program or a different program that suits your lifestyle better, you must have a plan.

After following your plan for a while, your constructive new behaviors eventually turn over to unconscious control (a process commonly known as developing habits). But you’ll never reach that hallowed place of “unconscious competence” unless you start with planning, structure, discipline and rules.

Creating nutritional rules does NOT create more rule breakers. Only unrealistic or unnecessary rules create rule breakers. That’s why these new rules of clean eating are based on a neat combination of structure and flexibility. If you have too much flexibility and not enough structure, you no longer have a plan. If you have too much structure and not enough flexibility, you have a plan you can’t stick with.

To quickly sum it all up: Relax your diet a bit! But not too much!

Tom Venuto, author of:
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, independent nutrition researcher, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: http://burnthefat.rxsportz.com

Orthorexia and the New Rules of Clean Eating (Part 1)

2009-11-08T07:37:00.001-06:00

By Tom Venuto

Clean eating has no official definition, but it’s usually described as avoiding processed foods, chemicals, preservatives and artificial ingredients. Instead, clean eaters choose natural foods, the way they came out of the ground or as close to their natural form as possible. Vegetables, fruits, legumes, 100% whole grains, egg whites, fish, and chicken breast are clean eating staples. Clean eating appears to be a desirable, sensible, even noble goal. Eating clean is what we should all strive to do to achieve optimum health and body composition isn’t it? Arguably the answer is mostly yes, but more and more people today are asking, “is it possible to take clean eating too far?”

Physician Steven Bratman thinks so. In 1997, Bratman was the first to put a name to an obsession with healthy eating, calling it orthorexia nervosa. In his book, Health Food Junkies, Bratman said that whether they are trying to lose weight or not, orthorexics are preoccupied with eating healthy food and avoiding anything artificial or “toxic.”

Orthorexics are not only fanatical about eating the purest, healthiest, most nutritious (aka “clean”) foods available, says Bratman, they often feel a sense of righteousness in doing so.

Whether orthorexia should be officially classified as an eating disorder is controversial. The term appears in pub med indexed scientific journals, but it’s not listed in the DSM-IV as are anorexia and bulimia. Opponents wonder, “Since when did choosing a lifestyle that eliminates junk food become a disease?”

Media coverage and internet discussions about orthorexia have increased in the past year. Websites such as the Mayo Clinic, the Huffington Post and the UK-based Guardian added their editorials into the mix in recent months, alongside dozens of individual bloggers.

In most cases, mainstream media discussions of orthorexia have focused on far extremes of health food practices such as raw foodism, detox dieting or 100% pure organic eating, where some folks would rather starve to death than eat a cooked or pesticide-exposed vegetable.

But closer to my home, what about the bodybuilding, fitness, figure and physique crowd? Should we be included in this discussion?

In their quest for adding muscle mass and burning fat, many fitness and physique enthusiasts become obsessed with eating only the “cleanest” foods possible. Like the natural health enthusiasts, physique athletes usually avoid all processed foods and put entire food groups on the “forbidden” list. Oddly, that sometimes includes rules such as “you must cut out fruit on precontest diets” because “fruit is high in sugar” or “fructose turns to fat”.

According to Bratman’s criteria, one could argue that almost every competitive bodybuilder or physique athlete is automatically orthorexic, and they might add obsessive-compulsive and neurotic for good measure.

As you can imagine, I have mixed feelings about that (being a bodybuilder).

If I choose to set a rule for myself that I’ll limit my junk food to only 10% of my meals, does that make me orthorexic or is that a prudent health decision?

If I plan my menus on a spreadsheet, am I a macronutrient micromanager or am I detail-oriented?

If I make my meals in advance for the day ahead, does that mean I’m obsessive compulsive, or am I prepared?

If I make one of my high protein vanilla apple cinnamon oatmeal pancakes (one of my favorite portable clean food recipes) and take it with me on a flight because I don’t want to eat airline food, am I neurotic? Or am I perhaps, the smartest guy on the plane?

Some folks are probably shaking their heads and saying, “you bodybuilders are definitely OCD.” I prefer to call it dedicated, thank you, but perhaps we are obsessive, at least a wee bit before competitions. But aren’t all competitive athletes, to some degree, at the upper levels of most sports?

Athletes of all kinds – not just bodybuilders - take their nutrition and training regimens far beyond what the “average Joe” or “average soccer mom” would require to stay healthy and fit.

What if you don’t want to be average – what if you want to be world class? What then? Is putting hours of practice a day into developing a skill or discipline an obsessive-compulsive disorder too?

Okay, now that I’ve defended the strict lifestyle habits of the muscle-head brother and sisterhood, let me address the flipside: being too strict.

Where does the average health and bodyweight-concerned fitness enthusiast draw the line? How clean should you eat? Do you need lots of structure and planning in your eating habits, or as Lao Tzu, the Chinese philosopher said, does making too many rules only create more rule-breakers?

Debates have started flaring up over these questions and as inconceivable as it seems, there has actually been somewhat of a backlash against “clean eating.” Why would THAT possibly happen? Eating “clean” is eating healthy, right? Eating clean is a good thing, right?

Well, almost everyone agrees that it’s ok to have a “cheat meal” occasionally, but some experts - after watching how many people are becoming neurotic about food - are now clamoring to point out that it’s not necessary to be so strict.

The diet pendulum has apparently swung from:

“Eat a balanced diet with a wide variety of foods you enjoy.”

To:

“You MUST eat clean!”

To:

“Go ahead and eat as much junk as you want, as long as you watch your calories and get your essential nutrients like protein, essential fats, vitamins and minerals.”

Talk about confusion! Now we’ve got people who gain great pride and a sense of dedication and accomplishment for taking up a healthy, clean-eating lifestyle and we’ve got people who thumb their nose at clean eating and say, “Chill out bro! Live a little!”

The current debate about how clean you should eat (or how much you should “cheat”) reminds me of the recent arguments over training methods such as steady state versus HIIT cardio. Whatever the debate of the day, most people seem to have a really difficult time acknowledging that there’s a middle ground.

Most dieters, when they don’t like a certain philosophy, reject it entirely and flip to its polar opposite. Most dieters are dichotomous thinkers, always viewing their endeavors as all or nothing. Most dieters are also joiners, plugging into one of the various diet tribes and gaining their sense of identity by belonging. In some cases, I think these tribes are more like cults, as people follow guru-like leaders who pass down health and nutrition commandments that are followed with religious conviction. Seriously, the parallels of diet groups to religious groups can be downright scary sometimes.

Whether the goal is to optimize health, to build muscle or to burn fat, there’s little doubt that many individuals with all kinds of different motivations sometimes take their dietary restrictions to extremes. Obviously, an overly restrictive diet can lead to nutrient deficiencies and can adversely affect health, energy and performance.

In some cases, I can also see how swinging to any extreme, even a “healthy obsession” with pure food could lead to distorted views and behaviors that border on eating disorders. If you don’t believe it’s a real clinical psychological problem, then at the very least, you might agree that nutritional extremes could mean restricting social activities, creating inconvenience or making lifestyle sacrifices that are just not necessary.

I believe there’s a middle ground - a place where we can balance health and physique with a lifestyle and food plan we love and enjoy. Even more important, I believe that your middle ground may not be the same as mine. We all must find our own balance.

I believe that going back to BALANCE, but this time with a better definition of what balance means, is the approach of the future.

I also believe that some new rules would help us find that balance.

If you'd like to learn the rules that bodybuilders and fitness models follow to "eat clean" and stay lean, then visit http://burnthefat.rxsportz.com.

Tom Venuto, author of:
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

About the Author:

5 Tips to Avoid Plateaus and Metabolic Slowdown

2009-11-07T07:04:00.001-06:00

By Tom Venuto
http://burnthefat.rxsportz.com

QUESTION: Tom, Is it possible to not lose body fat because you're eating too little?
-Linda

ANSWER: Yes and no. This gets a little complicated so let me explain both sides.

Part one of my answer: I say NO, because if you are in a calorie deficit you WILL lose weight.

Most people have heard anecdotes of the dieter who claims to be eating 800 calories a day or some starvation diet level of intake that is clearly in a deficit and yet is not losing fat. Like the mythical unicorn, such an animal does not exist.

Every time you take a person like that and put them in a hospital research center or metabolic ward where their food can be counted, weighed, measured and almost literally "spoon fed" to them, a calorie deficit always produces weight loss.

There are no exceptions, except possibly in rare diseases or mutations. Even then metabolic or hormonal defects or diseases merely lead to energy imbalance via increases in appetite, decreases in energy expenditure or changes in energy partitioning. So at the end of the day it's STILL calories in versus calories out.

In other words, NO - it's NOT your thyroid (unless you've got a confirmed diagnosis as such...and then guess what... it's STILL calories in vs calories out, you're just not burning as many as someone should at your height and weight).

One famous study that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine years ago proved this point rather dramatically. After studying obese people - selected specifically because they swore they were eating less than 1200 calories but could not lose weight - Steven Lichtman and his colleages at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York came to the following conclusion:

"The failure of some obese subjects to lose weight while eating a diet they report as low in calories is due to an energy intake substantially higher than reported and an overestimation of physical activity, not to an abnormality in thermogenesis."

That's right - the so-called "diet-resistant" subjects were eating more than they thought and moving less than they thought. This was probably the single best study ever published that debunks the "I'm in a calorie deficit but I can't lose weight" myth:

Part two of my answer, YES, because:

1) Energy intake increases.

Eating too little causes major increases in appetite. With hunger raging out of control, you lose your deficit by overeating. This happens in many ways, such as giving in to cravings, binge eating, eating more on weekends or simply being inconsistent, so some days you're on your prescribed 1600 calories a day or whatever is your target amount, but on others you're taking in 2200, 2500, 3000 etc and you don't realize it or remember it. The overeating days wipe out the deficit days.

2) Metabolism decreases due to smaller body mass.

Any time at all when you're losing weight, your metabolism is slowly decreasing due to your reduced body mass. The smaller and lighter you get, especially if there's a large drop in skeletal muscle mass, the fewer calories you need. So your calorie deficit slowly shrinks over time as your diet progresses. As a result, your progress slows down even though you haven't changed how much you eat.

With starvation, you always lose weight, but eventually you lose so much weight/body mass that you can reach energy balance at the same caloric intake you used to lose weight on. You might translate that as "I went into starvation mode" which wouldn't be incorrect, but it would be more accurate to say that your calorie needs decreased.

3) Metabolism decreases due to adaptive thermogenesis.

Eating too little also causes a starvation response (adaptive thermogenesis) where metabolic rate can decrease above and beyond what can be accounted for from the change in body mass (#2 above). This is "starvation response" in the truest sense. It does exist and it is well documented. However, the latest research says that the vast majority of the decrease in metabolism comes from reduced body mass. The adaptive component of the reduced metabolic rate is fairly small, perhaps 10% (ie, 220 calories for an average female with a 2200 TDEE). The result is when you don't eat enough, your actual weight loss is less than predicted on paper, but weight loss doesn't stop completely.

There is a BIG myth about starvation mode (adaptive thermogenesis) that implies that if you don't eat enough, your metabolism will slow down so much that you stop losing weight. That can't happen, it only appears that way because weight loss stops for other reasons. What happens is the math equation changes!

Energy balance is dynamic, so your weight loss slows down and eventually stops over time if you fail to adjust your calories and activity levels in real time each week.

I teach a system for how to adjust calories and activity weekly using a feedback loop method in my Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle program (more info from www.BurnTheFat.com)

So what can be done to stop this metabolic slowdown caused by low calorie dieting and the dreaded fat loss plateau that follows? I recommend the following 5 tips:

1) Lose the pounds slowly.

Slow and steady wins in long term fat loss and maintenance every time. Rapid weight loss correlates strongly with weight relapse and loss of lean body mass. Aim for one to two pounds per week, or no more than 1% of total body weight (ie, 3 lbs per week if you weigh 300 lbs).

2) Use a higher energy flux program.

If you are physically capable of exercise, then use weight training AND cardio to increase your calorie expenditure, so you can still have a calorie deficit, but at a higher food intake (also known as a "high energy flux" program, or as we like to say in Burn The Fat, "eat more, burn more.")

3) Use a conservative calorie deficit.

You must have a calorie deficit to lose fat, but your best bet is to keep the deficit small. This helps you avoid triggering the starvation response, which includes the increased appetite and potential to binge that comes along with starvation diets. I recommend a 20% deficit below your maintenance calories (TDEE), a 30% deficit at most for those with high body fat.

4) Refeed.

Increase your calories (re-feed) for a full day periodically (once a week or so if you are heavy, twice a week if you are already lean), to restimulate metabolism. On the higher calorie day, take your calories to maintenance or even 10, 15, 20% above maintenance and add the extra calories in the form of carbs (carb cycling). The leaner you get, and the longer you've been on reduced calories, the more important the re-feeds will be. (You can learn more about this method in chapter 12 of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle at http://burnthefat.rxsportz.com)

5) Take periodic diet breaks.

Take 1 week off your calorie restricted diet approximately every 12 weeks or so. During this period, take your calories back up to maintenance, but continue to eat healthy, "clean" foods. Alternately, go into a muscle building phase if increasing lean mass is one of your goals. This will bring metabolism and regulatory hormones back up to normal and keep lean body mass stable.

There is much confusion about how your metabolism, hormones and appetite mechanisms are affected when you're dieting, so this was really one of the most important questions anyone could have asked.

If this didn't REALLY click - then you may want to save this and read it again because misunderstanding this stuff leads more people to remain frustrated and stuck at plateaus than anything else I can think of.

If you'd like to learn exactly how you should be eating to lose 2 lbs of fat per week, then visit http://burnthefat.rxsportz.com .

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto,
Author of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle
http://burnthefat.rxsportz.com

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and a certified personal trainer (CPT). Tom is the author of "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using methods of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: http://burnthefat.rxsportz.com

Booty For Life: 8-Week Workout Program

2009-11-04T22:26:00.001-06:00

And here's a short summary about "Booty For Life":

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The days of going to the gym and simply hoping your workouts would produce the coveted firm and round booty are long gone.

In just 8 short weeks of following TT Booty For Life, you will begin to see incredible changes in the shape of your butt, while also having implemented a nutritional lifestyle that will power you to experience unbelievable fat loss results.

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28 day weight loss blueprint

2009-11-04T09:07:00.001-06:00

I hope you read this before 1:00pm EST. Nutritionist Mike Roussell and Trainer Alwyn Cosgrove have lost their minds.

They are releasing a completely new 28 day weight loss blueprint today.

The kicker is that they are giving away f.ree mp3 players to the first 150 people. These are going to go fast.

Go here at 1:00pm EST today to claim yours:

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If you want to lose weight this is one of the best packages EVER.

Don't take my word for it.

Check it out for yourself

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P.S. You'll be happy you got this

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Top 10 Transformation Fat Loss Tips

2009-11-03T12:47:00.001-06:00

A group of women dedicated to achieving their fitness and fat loss goals this fall just crossed the finish line completing the 12 Week "Get Back To Fit" Fall Transformation Challenge.

To help celebrate as well as motivate others to take action on their goals, these women made a list of their most helpful fat loss tips and strategies....

...actions taken to help lose 10-15 pounds, 3-5 inches off their mommy belly, skyrocket their energy levels and even wear a bikini for the first time with confidence.

These ladies have shared their Must Have Tips creating a "Top 10" list so you can give your fat loss plan a jump start and look your very best this holiday season!

Top 10 Transformation Fat Loss Tips

1. PLAN, PLAN, PLAN.
Don't wing it.

2. GET RID OF THE SCALE
I would have given up if I was weighing myself every day! That is what sabotaged me in the past.

3. Social support is crucial.
If you don't have someone to cheer you on, it's going to be one hundred times harder than it needs to be. If I didn't have this support there is no way I would have finished.

4. Keep a DETAILED journal
And Be Honest - no sense fooling yourself.

5. Think positive.
Some days are harder than others; when you have a bad day, forgive yourself for the mistakes you made and move on.

6. Consistency.
In workouts, in eating, in all of it. Get back on the nutrition/workout wagon, even if you fell off one day.

7. Keep only supportive food in the house all the time, and make sure you eat enough of it.

8. Be teachable.
Don't ever think you know it all or know better.

9. Look for inspiration wherever possible.
Be an inspiration magnet! Reach out to your support system, get encouragement when needed, give it every chance you get, look for quotes, create vision boards, make a goals list of things that really get you excited and read it often.

10. Take it day by day.
12 weeks seems like a long time but in the end it totally flies! Take it one day at a time and you will be victorious in making it to the end!

We are after all in a fun journey.If there is ever a slip up, calm down , own up and get back up!

Congratulations to ALL the women who completed the 12 Week "Get Back To Fit" Fall Transformation Challenge!

VOTE HERE for the Yummy-est Fit Yummy Mummy!

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Sincerely,

Arthur M.

Fat Burning Abdominal Circuit Workout

2009-11-02T07:00:00.001-06:00

Most people think abdominal workouts require hundreds of sit-ups and crunches. The truth, however, is that they are just a waste of your time, and in some cases, may actually injure your low back.

If you really want 6-pack abs along with a sculpted body then the most efficient and effective way of achieving it is through total body exercises.

In this workout you will be performing nine total body exercises in circuit fashion. Therefore, each exercise will be performed back to back to back with no rest in between.

Start with kettlebell swings. These are 2-hand swings and you need to power up with the hips. Drive them back and power them back up.

Move immediately into extended pushups. Move your arms out in front of you as you lower yourself down and back up.

The next exercise is a stability ball pike. This is a more advanced version of the stability ball jackknife. Place your feet on the ball and your hands on the floor and pull the ball in as you push your hips up until you are in a pike position. Try to get your hips as high up as possible. If you are not very flexible, just do jackknifes in place of them.

Move immediately into stability ball back extensions. Plant your feet against a wall or something stable. Your chest is supported by the ball. Place your hands behind your head and raise yourself up and back down.

Next is a 1-arm kettlebell swing. Make sure you are driving back with your hips and back up. If you are more advanced, you can do snatches in place of the swings. Do all reps on one side and then do all reps on the other side.

Next you will do high rep close grip pushups. Tuck your elbows into your sides with your hands closer together as you move down and back up. Do as many as you can.

Move immediately into stability ball leg curls. Place your feet on the ball and bridge your hips up with your arms out to the side. Curl the ball in while keeping your hips up the entire time. Do 20 reps.

The next exercise is a stability ball rollout. Place the ball in front of you and start in an upright position, roll the ball out. Get a nice long stretch as you roll out and contract your abs when you pull it back in. If you have an ab wheel, you can use that in place of a stability ball. This is going to be harder than using a stability ball.

Finally, you're going to finish off preferably with a sprint as the last exercise. If you can't do sprinting, you can sprint in place or finish with burpees.

In most cases, although you aren't directly targeting your abdominals, you are still required to brace them which in turn indirectly works your abdominals for a powerfully efficient abdominal workout.

If you want maximum fat burning results, switch from crunches and cardio to the belly fat burning Turbulence Training workouts:

=> http://turbulencetraining.rxsportz.com

A Vegetarian Travel Nutrition Tip

2009-10-30T07:17:00.001-05:00

By Kardena Pauza
http://bit.ly/3yXmhE

For many of us traveling, it means skipping workouts, eating processed foods, and generally feeling guilty and frustrated because our commitment to a healthy lifestyle has temporarily gone by the wayside.

But with a little effort and following some quick and easy tips I'll share with you, you'll never have to resort to the over-priced, high-calorie food options that are prevalent in airports.

But first, did you know that when you're at the airport you can actually take your own food through the security check? Most people don't know this, but as long as it isn't liquid, gels, or gooey stuff over 3 oz. then you're in the clear.

Okay, so you know that preparation is the key for anyone looking to lose weight and stay fit. Well, this is especially the case when a last minute road trip unexpectedly arises.

So, with that in mind, here are some healthy food options suitable as snacks, breakfast, or dinner, that you can easily put together.

1. Grab all the veggies you have in the refrigerator and combine them to make one big tasty salad.

2. Pack 2-4 healthy nut bars. My favourite is the RAW bar.

3. Cut up fresh celery, carrots, and cucumbers – it's quick and it's easy.

4. Add a few pieces of fruit to your "lunch pack".

5. Nuts are another excellent snack option.

6. Seaweed snacks. These delicious treats are sure to draw some wandering eyes as people try to figure out just what the heck it is you're eating.

7. And lastly, pack a bag of flax crackers.

If you can put just 10 minutes into preparing some snacks for your trip, you'll feel so much better later on when everyone else is stuffing their face with high fattening foods and you're sticking to you healthy diet.

Even if it's just some healthy snacks to tie you over while waiting at the airport, this plan with help you eat healthier and avoid the junk you know is bad for you.

Kardena Pauza
Author, Easy Veggie Meal Plans For Fat Loss
http://bit.ly/3yXmhE

Bodybuilding Training Tip For More Growth Hormone Release

2009-10-29T07:00:00.001-05:00

By Jeff Anderson

More growth hormone (GH) = more MUSCLE, right?

It's a known fact that anyone looking to build more muscle mass must address your body's natural "hormone factory" to see some real gains in size.

But different hormones are stimulated in different ways.

Here's a cool (and SIMPLE!) "Quick Tip" to add to your next workout to raise GH naturally and kick start some KILLER MASS...

=============================
"Quick Tip" For Skyrocketing GH..
=============================

On your very LAST SET of each exercise, when you know that you have 2 REPS left in you...

...DON'T take them!

Instead, bring the weight to the PEAK CONTRACTION POINT or "flexed" position (e.g.- for bicep curls, it would be the "up" position) and hold the weight while flexing your targeted muscle.

Your goal is to hold this flexing for 20 SECONDS (called "static contraction) before slowly letting the weight down.

This is going to burn like HELL...

...and that's EXACTLY what you're looking for!

=============================
Why This Works...
=============================

That "burn" you feel is your body's natural "lactic acid response".

When lactic acid is triggered in the body, it sends a signal to your endocrine system to release growth hormone as a "recovery aid".

And that GH release is a powerful mass-building chemical in your body and your gains will SOAR!

Note: Do this for no more than 1 EXERCISE per body part in your workouts for 1 WEEK. Skip a week before doing it again.

=============================
Special Consideration For...
=============================

...if you're using my Advanced Mass Building program (http://mass.rxsportz.com), then give this method a try in WEEK 3 of your mass-building cycle.

In other words, instead of the insane "DSP" technique I teach you, give this method a try instead to change this up a bit.

Go for it...and feel the burn! ;-)

Did you know that October is World Vegetarian Month?

2009-10-28T08:38:00.001-05:00

And to celebrate, fitness expert Craig Ballantyne is giving away a cool new bonus when you get the complete Turbulence Training for Fat Loss package.

"The Lazy Man's Guide to Vegetarian Eating" ($47 Value)

You'll get inside access to world-famous fitness expert Craig Ballantyne's 55-day diary where he shows you every single meal that he ate while living the Vegetarian Lifestyle. About 90% of his meals are vegan, and this is an amazing look inside the diet plan of a "lazy guy" who doesn't like to cook but still LOVES to eat.

You'll find out how Craig got enough protein to build muscle while at the same time getting more and more variety each week as he stumbled across foods like, "Spelt flour veggie patties", "Kamut pasta", "high-protein quinoa", and his "Lazy Man's Chili".

If you've ever doubted your ability to stick to a Vegetarian Diet, this diary of a former high-protein, meat-eating farm boy-turned-vegetarian will show you just how SIMPLE and EASY it is to live the Vegetarian Lifestyle.

Click here to get this new bonus along with the world's most fun and effective home fat loss workout program: http://turbulencetraining.rxsportz.com

Pec-Poking Pain From This Chest Training Technique!

2009-10-27T07:32:00.001-05:00

By Jeff Anderson

When was the last time you really had that "chest poke pain"?

You know...like when 24 hours after your chest workout, you can't stop poking your pecs with your finger to marvel at how much it hurts?

Yeah, it's a secret pleasure of mine too! (ha ha!)

If it's been a while, then here's a "Quick Chest Training Technique" I did last week that will have YOU pokin' away by tomorrow evening:

(Warning to "skimmers": This will LOOK like a simple, giant "tri-set", but there are a few twists...so READ EACH STEP!)

1. First, you're going to be using the bench press for this exercise (your favorite, right? ;-)

2. Choose a weight that you can do for about 12 reps before hitting failure BUT (and this is IMPORTANT!) load up the bar with either 10lb or 25lb plates so that you can quickly take off 50% of what you have loaded on each side.

(Sure, you'll look like a whuss! But ARE you? Hell no...so "grab 'em" like you got a pair and don't give a damn what the other guys think! ;-)

3. Now, do a traditional set (8-12 reps) on the bench press until you reach full muscular failure.

4. As soon as you rack the weight, jump up and strip 50% off each side.

5. Now...with no rest, grab the bar with a WIDE, WIDE grip (up to 12 inches past your shoulders) and knock out your reps to failure.

Side Note: This works by really taking your burned out triceps out of the picture as much as possible and give you a WICKED PUMP in your chest!

Read on...

6. LASTLY...as soon as you hit failure on this second set and rack the weight, with no rest, grab a dumbbell (just about 30-50 lbs will do nicely) and do a set of Dumbbell Pullovers, keeping your arms VERY, VERY STRAIGHT (to take your triceps out of the movement even more) and feel a good stretch in your chest at the bottom.

This will allow you to really burn out your Type 1 muscle fibers for a serious Growth Hormone (GH) response and a massive pump!

Once you hit failure, give yourself a good 2-3 minute rest to recover and run through this giant set just one more time.

That will give you 6 total "chest sets" and the next day all your co-workers will be wondering why you keep poking your chest and wincing! ;-)

------------

Muscle Specialization Secrets

Expert Review About the Ab Exercise Infomercial Gadgets

2009-10-25T22:20:00.001-05:00

If you've ever watched an abdominal exercise gadget infomercial and wondered if those products worked, fitness expert Craig Ballantyne, author of Turbulence Training, recently reviewed a research study on ab exercise gadgets to help you get the truth about abs.

According to Craig, one of his favorite ab exercises includes one of those cheap infomercial gadgets, "the ab wheel". You can pick one up at Walmart for under 20 bucks, and it works your abs hard without crunches.

But do other ab gadgets hold up?

Researchers (from the Mayo Clinic, of all places) tested the "Ab-Slide" device and compared it to the ab crunch, the supine double leg thrust (seated knee tuck-in), and side plank.

Reference:
J Strength Cond Res. 2008 Nov;22(6):1939-46.

Ten young men and twelve young women did all the exercises.

Tests showed that the Ab-Slide, a contraption fairly similar to the Ab Wheel, worked the abs the hardest.

On the other hand, the seated knee tuck-in required a lot of hip flexion, and the doctors believed it could cause BACK PROBLEMS in people prone to low back injury.

Craig recommends sticking with the Ab Wheel, and of course, keeping crunches out of your program. He also suggests adding the Seated Knee Tuck-in to your list of ab exercises to avoid.

For best results, stick to the exercises in the Turbulence Training workout program.

Click here for more ab exercises and workouts:

=> http://turbulencetraining.rxsportz.com

Train hard and safe,

Arthur M.

PS - Just say NO to crunches.

Not only are crunches hard on your low back, they are also useless for helping you get a flat stomach.

Instead, stick to interval training, the ab exercises in Turbulence Training, and the TT nutrition guidelines if you want to transform your body.

Click here to burn belly fat fast:

=> http://turbulencetraining.rxsportz.com

A FRUIT That Pumps Up Your Muscles With Nitric Oxide?

2009-10-25T07:25:00.001-05:00

By Jeff Anderson

Those of us who eat 45lb iron plates for breakfast LIVE for that awesome "pumped up" feeling you get after an intense set of bicep curls, right?

That muscle "pump" is the result of a naturally occurring molecule, nitric oxide (abbreviated "NO"), that dilates blood vessels, increasing blood flow throughout your body.

Bottom line...

...the more nitric oxide you have in your body, the more of a "pump" you'll get from your curls, flyes, presses, etc.

(And yes...the "pump" DOES help increase muscle size as over time by promoting capillary expansion, increasing blood pathway size, and increasing nutrient update.)

So how can you increase your natural levels of nitric oxide for a better pump?

=====================================
How To Increase Nitric Oxide NATURALLY...
=====================================

Sure, nitric oxide supplements (NO2) have become all the rage in the supplement industry for nailing that "pump".

I even include my own personal "do-it-yourself" nitric oxide booster supplement in my "Homemade Supplement Secrets" book at http://supplement.rxsportz.com.

But here's an even EASIER way to naturally increase NO2 for more muscle gains...

About 30-45 minutes BEFORE your workout...

...eat an ORANGE!

Oranges are high in VITAMIN C which are a potent "protector" of nitric oxide levels in your body, thereby making more available during your workouts.

Then, in your post-workout protein shake, throw in ANOTHER orange (preferred) or pour in about 1 cup of natural orange juice.

This double shot of vitamin C will pack a powerful pump punch that will have you feeling good...and looking good!

=====================================
Here's My Favorite Post-Workout Smoothie...
=====================================

In a blender, combine:

=> 1 cup of fat free plain yogurt

=> 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla soy milk

=> 1/4 cup raw honey

=> 1 whole orange or 1 cup natural orange juice

=> 5 frozen strawberries

=> 1/2 frozen banana

=> 2 Tbsp canola or flax oil

=> 2 scoops vanilla whey protein isolate powder

Blend...chug...BUILD! ;-)

Back Pain? Sciatica? Grab This Free Book Right Now

2009-10-22T22:27:00.001-05:00

I don't know if you saw it, but a few weeks ago I wrote about a great new book called "The 7-Day Back Pain Cure"...

Well, it was written by a good friend of mine, Jesse Cannone. Jesse is recognized as one of the leading back pain relief experts in the world and right now he is giving away FREE copies of this new book.

It's not an eBook or anything like that... it's a real book and it's for sale on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble, but don't go buy it because if you go to his website you can get a free copy. You just pay a small shipping fee...

Plus, a portion of your shipping fee is donated to one of two great charities: Habitat for Humanity or St. Jude's Children?s Hospital - you choose.

Click here to grab a FREE copy
http://bit.ly/1e3eGC

Not only is the book fabulous, but he's done such a great job in taking complicated issues like back pain and the many things that cause it and he's broken it down into an easy to read and understand book.

I found it very eye-opening and I have already made many changes to my daily routine from how I sit, to what I eat (or don't eat), to how I exercise and more... and I don't have back pain! But I do want to prevent it.

Plus, what I like most about the book are the "7-Day Action Plans" that he has at the end of the book... so based on your situation, you choose the action plan that's best for you... then all you have to do is follow the steps.

So, if you suffer from any type of back pain, I highly recommend you go grab yourself a free copy of his book now... and if you get to his website and they are out of free copies, I'd go buy it... it's that good!

Click here to grab a FREE copy
http://bit.ly/1e3eGC

I hope find it as helpful as I have.

Best,
Arthur M.

P.S. If you don't have back or neck pain, but you know someone who does, please be sure to forward this to them... I'm sure they'll thank you greatly.

Cable Gripping Trunk Twists For a TIGHT, Powerful, Rock-Solid Core

2009-10-22T07:50:00.001-05:00

Secret Training Tip #887 - Cable Gripping Trunk Twists For a TIGHT, Powerful, Rock-Solid Core
By Nick Nilsson

If you want a tight, strong midsection that's "show" AND "go," you'll definitely want to add this exercise to your list. A simple "twist" to a simple twisting exercise is all you need!

When most people think ab training, they don't think explosive rotational movements...they think crunches or sit-ups.. But YOU'RE not most people, are you!

Because you know (or at least you will in a second!) that powerful, rotational movements against resistance are the REAL key to developing a tight, strong core that not only looks great but gives you serious improvements in functional strength.

And I'm not talking "functional" like standing on a Bosu ball on one leg catching bean bags "functional." I'm talking throw harder, run faster, jump higher NOW type of "functional." Basically, the kind of functional you actually WANT.

That's where the Cable Gripping Trunk Twist exercise comes in...

This is not your standard twisting exercise where you use little light weights or even no weight at all. You are going working against resistance and eventually working your way up to substantial resistance.

WHY YOU NEED ROTATIONAL TRAINING:

First off, from an aesthetic point of view, if you want a flat stomach or tighter waist, you NEED exercises that work in with a rotational movement (assuming your bodyfat levels are low enough - direct ab training won't burn abdominal fat away).

Think of it this way...if somebody handed you some elastic bandage and told you to wrap yourself so that it made your waist smaller, how would you wrap it?

Would you loop it over your shoulder and between your legs up and down your body?

NO! You'd immediately wrap it AROUND your waist and cinch it up tight.

So now comes the question...why would your "six pack" abs (the rectus abdominus) be the muscle to work if you want a tighter waist and flat stomach? This sheet of muscle runs vertically on your body, just like throwing that elastic bandage over your shoulder and through your legs.

You need to work the muscles that wrap AROUND the waist - the transversus abdominus and the obliques (internal and external). THESE are the muscles that tighten the waist and flatten the stomach area.

It's still a good idea (if your goal is a six-pack) to keep in some specific training for the frontal ab muscles, but to really make the waist smaller and the stomach flat, rotational training is what you need.

Second, rotation is CRITICAL to pretty much ALL sports and related movements.

Look at ANY throw or strike or hit or swing or kick or punch or stride...notice any rotational component there?

The rotational muscles of the abs are the KEY to transferring force through the midsection.

HOW TO DO IT:

Naturally, if this is your first time doing a rotational exercise against resistance, start light and work up slowly. DO NOT start with explosive movements the first time you do this exercise.

That comes later. We're going to progress to it, not jump right into it.

Attach a single handle to a cable. If you've got an adjustable-height pulley, set it to about stomach level. If your cable doesn't adjust, you can use either the low or high pulley, no problem. The angle of the exercise will just be different.

Stand with your left side to the pulley. Reach across your body and grip the handle with your RIGHT hand. Now take a big step to the right to get the weight up off the stack. Your right arm will be stretched across your body. Open up your left hand and get ready to grab the cable. Rotate through your core, using your right hand to pull the cable. As the handle comes across the midline of your body, grab the cable itself with your left hand.

Now comes the cool part of this exercise...the part that makes it FAR more effective than a simple twisting exercise.

Continue to rotate around to the right but now, instead of just pulling with your right hand (the one on the handle), you will start to PUSH forward on the cable with your left hand. Keep pushing all the way through and forward as far as you can with the left hand. This pushing movement with the left hand on the cable is what will really target those rotational muscles of the core and teach them how to transfer power through your lower body to the upper body.

This version is done under control...it's a deliberate movement done with light to moderate weight. Do 5 or 6 reps on one side then switch to the other side.

You will really feel this one hitting the abs in a unique way...if you're never done rotational ab training against resistance or have never done "pushing" ab exercises, you're going to be in for a treat (if you like being pleasantly sore through the core, that is!).

The first time you do this exercise, I recommend you just stick to the moderate weight, controlled movement style of training.

Once you get more familiar with the exercise (after a few sessions), you can start getting into a more "power" based style of training.

THIS style is the one that really builds tremendous core power. If you're into any sort of athletics, this is the one to work towards using regularly...

One nice benefit I didn't mention...you do it standing up. You see, if you're an athlete, you're pretty much almost ALWAYS going to be standing up (unless you stink and fall down a lot, of course). You need to know how to exert force and develop maximum strength and power in a standing position.

Back to the instructions...

To perform the explosive version, you'll be in pretty much the same start position. But this time, instead of planting both feet and then starting to rotate, you will instead start on one foot (the one closest to the cable stack) then forcefully transfer your bodyweight in the other direction.

Think of it like you're "taking a run at it." You're going to use the momentum of your bodyweight to get the heavier weight moving then EXPLOSIVELY begin the rotation and cable grab, exactly as before.

The main difference here is that you're doing as fast and as powerfully as you can rather than with a controlled movement. You're stepping into the weight and using a forceful bodyweight throw to blast it off.

Use heavier weight for this and keep to only about 3 reps per side here. We want POWER, not endurance on this version. Do your reps on one side then switch to the other. It's a good idea to practice with a moderate weight before getting into the heavier stuff.

CONCLUSION:

If you want to develop great core strength AND/OR a flat stomach, this is an exercise that belongs in your program. I'd recommend doing 3 sets of it, at the end of your training sessions (but first in your regular ab exercises).

Even if you're strong enough and ready to do the explosive version, start with at least one set of the controlled version in order to warm-up the target area for rotational work.

To see pictures and video of this exercise in action, click here: http://bit.ly/45Dvl7

------------------

Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 18 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "Muscle Explosion! 28 Days to Maximum Mass," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at http://fitness-ebooks.rxsportz.com .He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.

10 Ways To Use Your Workout Towel OTHER Than Wiping Up Sweat...

2009-10-20T06:59:00.001-05:00

By Nick Nilsson

The humble gym towel can actually be an extremely effective training tool! When you get done putting these quick and easy methods to the test, you'll never look at your towel the same way again.

The towel is your friend...

And to prove it to you, I've got 10 ways you can use your gym towel to get a great workout (not counting mopping up sweat, of course).

1. Towel Chin-Ups

Throw a towel over the chin-up bar and grip the ends. Now pull yourself up! Gripping and holding your entire bodyweight up on a loose towel is GREAT for the grip and will activate a lot of muscle fibers in your lats because of the instability.

2. Towel Calf Stretch

Lay on your back on the floor and loop your towel around the forefoot area of one of your shoes. Now pull HARD towards you, stretching the calf. This technique works extremely well because you can very easily adjust the tension of the stretch. Forget fancy stretch straps - just throw a towel over!

3. Abdominal Sit-Ups

This is a GREAT abdominal exercise...roll up a towel, lay down on the floor and slide it under your lower back. Now do a sit-up. The rolled-up towel braces your lower back so that instead of using hip flexors and putting stress on the lower back, all the tension of the exercise goes directly onto your ABS.

Be sure your not pulling on your head - you can also make it easier by holding your arms across your chest or at your sides.

4. Towel Bodyweight Tricep Extensions

Throw a towel over a railing or something else a few feet off the ground. Now hold onto the ends. Set your feet back a few feet. Now, keeping your body stiff, bend at the elbows ONLY then extend back up. The instability of the towel grip will set your triceps on fire!

For the exercise done on a bar - just loop a towel over the bar and grip the ends. Move your feet closer to make the exercise easier.

5. Towel "Fat" Bar/Handles

Thick bar and thick handle training is GREAT for the forearms and grip strength. You can accomplish this cheaply by simply wrapping a gym around the bar or the dumbell handles and then gripping around THAT as well.

The padding and "squeezability" (I sound like a toilet paper commercial...cripes) of the towel around the bar activates a tremendous amount of muscle fibers in the forearms and hands.

6. Towel Pushdowns and/or Pulldowns

The easiest way to set this up is to attach a single handle to a high pulley then loop a towel through that. Grip on the ends of the towel and do a pushdown or pulldown (depending, of course, on what exercise you want to do)! It's just like using a rope attachment but without the solidness of a rope (or the knots on the end to brace your hands).

7. Towel Pull-Up Rows

This exercise gives you some excellent options for training your back in pretty much any situation you find yourself in. As long as you can loop a towel around a solid object, you can grab the ends and perform a rowing movement...two hands on the ends or even one hand gripping both ends to do one arm at a time rows.

8. Towel Cable Face Pulls

This is a great rear-delt exercise. Attach the single handle to a high pulley and loop the towel through. Use a light weight to start with. Grip the ends of the towel then take a couple of steps back so your arms are directly forward, out in front of you.

Now, pull the cable towards your face, bringing your hands out to the sides of your head, trying to pull the towel ends out to the sides as you do so. This one is excellent for the Rotator Cuff.

9. Towel Cradle Sit-Ups

Lay on the floor with the towel end held in your hand and with the towel itself across your upper back (like you would hold it if you were drying off your back with it).

Now perform a sit-up...instead of trying to pull yourself up using your abs, though, pull yourself up using the TOWEL. Come up and to the right by forcefully pulling on the RIGHT end of the towel, while bracing with your left. You'll be surprised at how strongly this hits the abs.

10. Neck Training

Using a towel is a great way to do isometric training for your neck. Basically, you just put the towel around your head (any direction - front, sides, back) and pull on the ends, resisting that pull with your neck muscles.

---

And that's just the beginning! Take these techniques and try and think of other ways you can take the common gym towel and come up with multiple uses for it.

I told you you'd never look at your gym towel the same way again!

------------------

Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 18 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "Muscle Explosion," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at http://fitness-ebooks.rxsportz.com. He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.

Got No Chest? How to Feel Your Pecs Actually WORK When You Do Chest Training

2009-10-17T07:09:00.001-05:00

By Nick Nilsson

If you have a hard time feeling your chest working when you do chest exercises, THIS is the information you need. I'll give you my best techniques for ensuring maximum activation of your pecs with every set and rep you do.

One of the most comment training questions I get with regards to chest training is simply not being able to feel the pecs working at all when doing chest exercises!

And when you can't feel the pecs working, you know darn well that actual muscle development is simply NOT going to happen.

So enough about the problem...how do you FIX it?

I've got a number of techniques for you to try out, some of which may work better than others for you.

But they should get you well on your way towards the chest development you're looking for.

1. Pre-Exhaust Training

When performing a movement like the bench press, the pecs are definitely involved but can be easily pushed into a secondary role by the front delts and the triceps.

So instead of doing a regular bench press movement, you will instead do 6 to 8 reps of dumbell flyes (an isolation movement for the chest) THEN immediately go right to the bench press.

The idea here is to "pre-exhaust" your pecs so that when you do the bench press, your pecs are the weakest link and the shoulders and triceps then push the chest harder than it would normally be pushed.

When you have to stop, it's going to be pec fatigue that ends the set while the shoulders and triceps are still relatively fresh.

2. Feeling The Flye

Now, the pre-exhaust training is all well and good...but what if you can't feel your pecs even doing FLYES? Pre-exhaust won't be much help.

The first thing you need to do is get off the flat bench and onto a Swiss Ball. Get into position on the ball and wrap your entire back AROUND the ball. Don't just put your shoulders on the ball and keep your body straight, like many people are taught with the ball.

To get the most out of flyes, you need to open up your rib cage and get your shoulders back (which helps focus the tension on the pecs instead of the shoulders). The ball is PERFECT for this position. So lay back on the ball, wrap your back around it and consciously force your shoulders back and down. THEN do a dumbell flye.

Imagine on the way down like you're trying to push your chest up to the ceiling. And imagine on the way up that you're wrapping your arms around a big tree.

When doing flyes, don't hold the dumbells perfectly parallel to each other...hold them at about a 45 degree angle to your body (thumb end in closer to the head - pinky side outwards). This takes stress off the shoulders and helps keep tension on the pecs.

3. Tilt the Dumbells

When doing dumbell presses (either on the ball or the bench), tilt the dumbells down and in...if the dumbells were pitchers or water, it would look like you're pouring them on yourself.

This tilt (and make sure and keep that tilt through the whole exercise) keeps tension on the pecs. If you keep them horizontal or tilting outwards, the tension goes to the shoulders.

4. Concentration Flyes

These are done standing, in a bent-over position, with light weight. They're a great exercise for developing that "feel" in the chest. They won't build a chest - just assist in getting that connection.

Grab the dumbell and bend over a bit. Now, keeping your arm slightly bent but stiff (no movement other than at the shoulder), bring the dumbell up and across your body as though trying to touch it to your opposite shoulder.

Because your arm is hanging down and the dumbell is coming across your body, it takes the front delt pretty much completely out of it, forcing the pec to do all the work. Hold at the top and SQUEEZE the pec hard.

Remember to go light on this one - it's not about building but developing that mind-muscle connection. And be absolutely sure you're NOT bending your elbow - the movement must occur only at the shoulder.

5. The Rolled-Up Towel Trick

This is a technique I came up with to force the shoulders down and back (as I mentioned with the flyes above) and get the pecs involved in the bench press. This is done on the flat bench.

Roll up a towel and lay it lengthwise down the centerline of the bench. Set it on the bench right between where your shoulder blades will be. Your head should be on a flat section and your butt should be on a flat section.

Lay down on the bench, feeling the towel run right down your spine. This elevation immediately forces your shoulders back and down (the proper position for benching and feeling it in your chest). It's not particularly comfortable but it's a great teaching tool to force your body into the proper position.

6. Stop Trying To Go So Heavy

Half the time, you're probably just trying to go too heavy on the chest exercise and you just lose the feel for the exercise. Back off on the weight and feel the pecs working rather than focusing on blasting up the weight.

When you load the exercise heavy, your body immediately turns to its strongest movers. If your chest isn't part of that A team, it won't be called upon.

7. Don't Grip So Hard

One of the things I've noticed with chest exercises is that the harder you grip the bar/handles, the more the tension gets moved to the shoulders and triceps.

Try easing up on your grip a little - not to the extent that you make the exercise dangerous, but back off on the death grip and see if you feel a difference.

8. "Shocking" High-Rep Training

This is best done on the very first set of your workout with NO warm-up. You're going to just be using a moderate weight, so don't worry about not doing a huge warm-up. If you have a decent amount of training experience, you'll be just fine.

We're going to literally "shock" your chest muscles into responding here. Load the bar with (or select dumbells) a weight you'd normally be able to get about 12 to 15 "strict" reps in your regular workout.

Now lay down and CRANK OUT as many reps as you can with that weight as fast as you possibly can. Don't worry if your form isn't perfect...just hammer the reps out.

And when I say crank, I mean CRANK...don't bounce the bar off your chest or anything but you must quite simply EXPLODE out of the bottom of every single rep...and don't even think about slowing down to get the negative.

The idea here is very rapidly call upon every available muscle fiber worked by that exercise to contribute an emergency situation, especially the power-oriented type 2 muscle fibers.

And this emergency idea is why you're not going to do a warm-up...we want it to be a TRUE emergency situation where you go from zero to kablammo!

ONE set of this is all you need. Because once you do that first set, not only will the entire area be fatigued, you won't be able to get nearly as many reps and it won't have the same emergency effect on your body.

9. Static Contraction Holds and Pushes

This can be done on almost ANY chest exercise...though it doesn't work too well on dumbell flyes or presses. It works best on cable cross-overs or pec deck, where the tension is greatest at the top, when the arms are close together. It's also pretty good on barbell bench.

A straight static hold means just hold that contracted position for as long as you possibly can. Then fight the negative all the way to the bottom.

This systematically exhausts all the muscle fibers of the chest AND gives you time to really get your mind into the muscle, shifting your arm and body position during the hold until you really feel it targeting the pecs. By taking this time, you get to feel what you don't normally get during a standard exercise.

And those pushes I mentioned?

As you're holding that static contraction, have a partner push down on the weight stack (if you're on a pec deck). Just a quick push is all you need. This sets off a stretch reflex in the pecs, activating even more muscle fibers. It's basically another emergency situation.

When using cable cross-overs, have your partner put their hands in between yours and push outwards really quick. If you're doing a static hold in the top position of the barbell bench, have them push down on the bar really quick while you maintain the hold.

A couple of these pushes is all you need.

10. Cable or Band Push-Ups

This technique combines two type of resistance - a bodyweight push-up and direct outwards-pulling resistance of cables or bands. When you put them together, it's CRAZY how much tension you'll get on your pecs.

It's like combining a static hold with a dynamic exercise - two of tension, both targeted on the pecs.

For the cable version, set two handles on the low pulleys and use a light weight. Kneel down holding both handles. Now set your fists on the floor in the push-up position. Straighten out your body and start doing push-ups.

The cables will be trying to pull your hands directly out to the sides. Your pecs have to fight this outwards-pulling tension. When you add in the push-ups, you'll feel these even more in the chest than you usually would, simply because your pecs are ALREADY working by holding the cables in place.

It's a two-for-one exercise that will light your pecs FAST.

You can easily accomplish the same thing with bands by hitching a couple of bands to solid objects out to the sides of you. The just hold the bands in your fists or loop around your wrists, make sure you get tension in them, then do the push-ups.

YOUR CHEST WILL BE TOAST...

I have to say, if you've not really felt your pecs before, these techniques should get you seriously moving in the right direction. I would recommend taking a few "chest" days and just trying all these techniques to see which ones work best for you.

For pictures and video of many of these tips in action, click on the following link:

http://tinyurl.com/yg32bx7

------------------

Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 18 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Muscle Explosion! 28 Days To Maximum Mass", "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at http://fitness-ebooks.rxsportz.com. He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.

An Explanation and Solution For Slow Female Fat Loss

2009-10-16T07:44:00.001-05:00

By Tom Venuto
http://burnthefat.rxsportz.com

You may have heard (or, heh, realized), that it's more difficult for women to lose fat than men. Immediately most people think it must be estrogen or hormonal issues. But perhaps the biggest factor is NOT hormones, but the simple fact that women are usually smaller and lighter than men.

When you have a smaller body, you have lower calorie needs. When you have lower calorie needs, your relative deficit (20%, 30% etc) gives you a smaller absolute deficit and therefore you lose fat more slowly than someone who is larger and can create a large deficit more easily.

For example, if my TDEE is 3300 calories a day (I’m 5' 8" and moderately to very active), then a 20% deficit is 660 calories, which brings me to 2640 calories a day. On paper, that will give me about 1.3 lbs of wt loss per week, rather painlessly, I might add.

If I bumped my calorie burn up or decreased my intake by another 340 a day, that's enough to give me a 2 lbs per week wt loss.

That's hardly a starvation diet (Ahhh, the joys of being a man). For smaller women, the math equation is very different.

If your total daily energy expenditure is only 1970 calories, even at a VERY high exercise level, then a 20% deficit for you is only 394 calories which would put you at 1576 calories a day for (on paper) only 8/10th of a lb of fat loss/wk.

If you pursued your plan to take a more aggressive calorie deficit of 30%, that puts you at a 591 calorie deficit which would now drop you down to only 1382 calories/day.

That's starting to get fairly low in calories. However, you would still have a fairly small calorie deficit. In fact, I would get to eat almost twice as many calories as you and I'd still get almost twice the weekly rate of fat loss!

What this all means is that women who are petite or have a small body size are going to lose fat more slowly than larger women and much more slowly than men, so you cannot compare yourself to them.

It's great to be inspired by our success stories, but if you're looking for someone to model yourself after, choose one of our success stories of someone your body size and wt, rather than the folks who started 100 lbs overweight and were therefore easily dropping 3 lbs a week.

ONE POUND a week of fat loss is much more in line with a realistic goal for someone of a smaller body size. Overweight people can lose it faster. The best thing you can do is to be extremely consistent with your nutrition over time.

Suggestion #1: Weigh and measure all your food any time you feel you are stuck at a plateau, just to be sure. When your calorie expenditure is on the low side, you don't have much margin for error.

Suggestion #2: Take your body comp measurements with a grain of salt, especially if you are using Bioelectric Impedance Analysis (BIA) scales (they are a bit wonky) and remember that body comp testing is seldom perfect. Pay attention to your circumference measurements, how your clothes fit and how you look in the mirror and in photos as well.

Suggestion #3: You might actually want to take fewer refeeds - once a week instead of every 4th day, or even just once every 10-14 days, so you can get a larger weekly deficit.

Suggestion #4: You may want to take 2 or 3 of your long cardio sessions on the treadmill and switch them to intense intervals or ANY other type of activity that has potential to burn more than 362 calories for an hour's investment of time, or perhaps that equivalent calorie burn in less time. No need to add more days of cardio or more time - get the most out of the time you are already spending.

Suggestion #5: If you do intervals, don't make the workout too brief (ignore the advertisements for those "4 minute miracle" workouts, etc.), or you may burn fewer calories than you were before! In fact, you might even try the method where you do HIIT for 15-20 min, then continue for another 30-40 at slow to medium intensity. Increasing total calories burned should be your focus.

Dropping only ONE pound per week (or less) may seem excruciatingly slow, but it's actually the same type of thing I do. As a bodybuilder, I go from lean to extremely lean when I diet and I don't expect more than a pound a week during contest cuts.

You are in a similar situation, even if not competing. Even if you get a half a pound a week fat loss, if you get that progress every week, that’s what you’re looking for - steady progress – even if slow.

It's entirely possible that you HAVE been making progress, only very slowly. With the way water weight and glycogen levels can fluctuate (and lean mass may increase), a half a pound or pound fat loss in a week could have been easily masked... and therefore, missed. That's one of the drawbacks of going by the scale alone.

Understand the calorie math I explained above and be patient, watching for slow and steady progress, paying special attention to the trend over time on your progress chart.

Keep after it - the persistence will pay, I promise!

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto, author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle
http://burnthefat.rxsportz.com

PS. You can learn about more fat loss strategies (including the details about the carb cycling method) inside my e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle. Learn more and see some of the inspiring before and after success stories at:
http://burnthefat.rxsportz.com

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, independent nutrition researcher, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: http://burnthefat.rxsportz.com

Tried these workouts?

2009-10-14T07:26:00.001-05:00

If you are struggling to transform your body and you don't like going to the gym, then I have amazing news for you from fitness expert, Craig Ballantyne.

While nothing beats training with Craig Ballantyne in person, the next best thing is having every one of his Turbulence Training workouts demonstrated on video so that you can watch in the comfort of your own home (or hotel room, as you'll see in a minute).

And the great news is that today is your one and only chance to get one of 45 copies of the Turbulence Training Complete Package.

You'll get...

1) The Turbulence Training for Fat Loss DVD's and Manual

2) The 6-Month Bodyweight Workout and Manual plus the Bodyweight 500 and Bodyweight 1000 DVD's

3) The Turbulence Training Hotel Room Workout DVD's

4) A bonus 1-Year Platinum TT Membership

5) An autographed copy of Craig's best-selling book, "Just Say NO to Cardio"

Whew! That's one big box that is going to show up on your doorstep when you get started with the Turbulence Training Complete Package.

Click this link to get your copy:

=> http://bit.ly/2i7O8y

Oh, and you'll also get access to every workout Craig creates for the next 12 months (as part of your 1-year Platinum TT membership).

So treat yourself to an early Christmas gift and get the Turbulence Training Complete Package.

It contains everything you'll ever need to transform your body at home...and if you ever have any questions, you'll be able to ask Craig on the forum thanks to your 1-Year Platinum TT membership.

To your success,

YOUR NAME

PS - Craig only created 50 copies...

...and 5 have already been given away. And since over 125,000 readers of fitness sites all over the Internet will hear about this one-time sale, those remaining 45 copies are going to go fast!

I'll be surprised if they aren't gone within 24 hours. So don't wait, visit this website to get your copy immediately:

=> http://bit.ly/2i7O8y

PPS - It's just like having Craig show you the exercises in the gym, but even better, because you'll have access to the Turbulence Training membership forum for the next 12 months to ask Craig all of your nutrition and exercise questions.

PPPS - Craig is also taking care of the shipping on all orders, so you'll get the Turbulence Training Complete Package for only $197 today...but hurry, this offer ends when those 45 copies are gone.

Intensity or Insanity: How Much Training Effort is Enough?

2009-10-13T09:07:00.001-05:00

By Tom Venuto

QUESTION: Tom, do you think that the intensity of your workout is “THE THING” that gives you results or is it more about being consistent with your workouts? The reason I ask is because I’m following your Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle nutrition program and I also just got a new high-intensity workout program called the Insanity series. I like doing these workouts, but I’m having a hard time pushing myself that hard every day and I’m finding now that I’m starting to dread doing them. I have been doing these workouts only 2-3 times per week instead of the 5 times per week that is recommended in the program. This workout brings me to my knees. I’ve started questioning myself and wondering if it’s even worth the torture. - Paul

ANSWER: Intensity is one of the most important training variables, and at times, you’ll definitely want to train with high intensity to get maximum results in the shortest time.

But the real answer to your question may depend on your goals, the shape you’re in now and even your personality type.

Some things to consider:

Are you a beginner or already in shape and looking for the next challenge?
Do you like home bodyweight workouts or are you a gym and weights/ cardio machine type?
Are you the “hard-core” fitness nut type of person or do you simply want to get leaner and healthier, nothing crazy?
When you say you want “results”, are you talking about fat loss, cardiovascular fitness improvement, muscle growth or all of the above?

With that in mind, let’s answer the HOW MUCH INTENSITY question in the context of fat loss first.

I’m sure you can appreciate that people can lose weight while lying in a hospital bed. If someone is sick and can’t keep food down, then there can be a significant calorie deficit even without exercise. That rules out high intensity training as an absolute prerequisite for weight loss. In fact, this simple example proves that exercise is not a requirement to lose weight at all.

Obviously, starving yourself is NOT the approach I recommend! My burn the fat program (www.BurnTheFat.com) is based on the opposite: train more and feed the muscle and fuel the training. I’m simply making the point that it’s NOT intensity PER SE or even ANY type of particular workout that creates the fat loss, IT’S THE CALORIE DEFICIT!

To burn fat, focus on establishing and maintaining a calorie deficit.

To increase speed of fat loss, focus on increasing the size of the calorie deficit.

Calorie deficit = fat loss is a liberating concept because it makes you realize you have endless options for achieving your fat loss goal using all kinds of different combinations of nutrition and exercise. Furthermore, none of the workouts have to beat you into submission to achieve a calorie deficit, especially if you work diligently on the nutrition side of the equation.

Countless thousands of people have acheived their goal weight with walking (low intensity exercise) as their only cardio. They chose walking because that’s what suited their needs and their personality.

Here’s where intensity comes in:

From a bodyfat loss perspective, using higher intensity training makes the workout more EFFICIENT. The higher the intensity, the more calories you burn. The more calories you burn, the more fat you lose, if all else remains equal (ie, if you don’t compensate by eating more).

Some trainers claim that low intensity steady-state exercise is “ineffective” or even “totally worthless.”

THIS IS TOTALLY FALSE!

Low intensity training is not ineffective, it’s simply less efficient. For example, it takes a lot of time walking to burn enough calories to put a major dent in your fat stores. If you were to increase the intensity of your cardio, you’d burn more calories in less time and you’d drop the fat faster. You’d also be improving time efficiency by achieving a calorie deficit with less time investment.

But think about this: If that high intensity workout made you start to dread it, or if you started to think of it as torture, or if it got you injured, then how long would you stick with it?

If you can’t stick with it, what good did it do you? It gets tossed on the ever-growing pile of other quick fixes.

It’s surprising how often a moderate approach, or even the slow and steady approach, beats out the quick and intense approach if you extend your time perspective and think long term.

It’s the classic story of the tortoise vs the hare:

The hare comes blazing out of the gate in a sprint and leaves the tortoise in the dust. Looks like the hare will be the clear winner. But the hare gasses out after that sprint and takes a nap.

The tortoise, being the more consistent of the two, slowly but surely keeps making progress, getting closer and closer to the goal, never missing a step.

As the fable goes, the tortoise eventually passes the complacent and or exhausted hare, who is lazily snoozing under a shady tree. In the end, the Tortoise wins the race. Leisurely, I might add… (no “pukey” t-shirt necessary).

Intensity gets you there faster, if you can stick with it, but consistency ALWAYS pays in the long run when it comes to fat loss.

What about intensity in the context of fitness improvement?

It’s important to know that you can get health benefits from moderate and even light exercise. But when you compare it to intense exercise, there’s no contest. Higher intensity types of cardio kick low intensity’s butt.

In fact, it’s almost shocking how much cardiovascular improvement you can get from a fairly small amount of intense, or sprint-like training:

This is one of the reasons High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is justifiably so popular.

A paper just published in the ACSM’s Exercise and Sport Sciences Review (July 2009) discussed the research suggesting that intense aerobic interval training provides greater benefits for the heart than low or moderate intensity exercise.

The benefits discussed included:

Increased maximal oxygen uptake
Improved heart muscle contractile function
Improved heart muscle calcium handling
reduced cardiac dysfunction in metabolic syndrome
Reversed pathological cardiac hypertrophy
Increased physiological hypertrophy of the heart muscle
Overall: improved quality of life and length of life by avoiding fatal heart attacks.

The researchers concluded:

“The studies indicate that high intensity may be an important success factor for designing effective exercise programs and that high intensity may be particularly critical for improving cardiac function.”

Ok, so that covers intensity in the contexts of fat burning and cardiovascular improvement. What about for building muscle?

Once again, training intensity is a critical factor. For muscles to grow, you have to literally break down muscle fibers, disrput your body’s homeostasis and create a stress response. The adaptation to that disruption is strength and hypertrophy, but it only occurs if you can recover from the stress. The major point is that intensity is a critical factor for all kinds of health and fitness training, but it’s also the one variable that has to be managed the most carefully… and sensibly!

Doing knock-you-to-your-knees workouts of any kind, every single day is not a smart strategy.

I know a few guys - like my friend Mike the kickboxing instructor - the dude is indestructable! He could take any workout you give him, chew it up, spit it out and then say, “Is that it?” (Then he would go teach 3 classes in a row!)

But unless you’re one of these super-human genetic mutants, your body just can’t take a nonstop pounding. Yet there are lots of people with the dispostion and personality type to go in the gym and beat themselves to a pulp each time. Despite the heroic effort, they may be doing their bodies more harm than good (of course, I was never one of those crazy “insane training” people, ahem, cough, cough)

This is why most experts today are recommending only 2-3 HIIT style or high intensity cardio workouts per week when you’re concurrently doing intense weight training. If you want to increase your calorie deficit so you can burn more fat in less time, go ahead and do more training. But for most people, the additional workouts should be low or medium in intensity so they don’t interfere with physical recovery or lead to mental burnout.

Intense daily boot-campish workouts may appeal to the “I want to be tough as a navy seal” personality types and advanced workouts serve their purpose - to provide an appropriate challenge for advanced fitness enthusiasts. If you enjoy it, and if you can recover from it, and if you can stay injury-free, and if you can stick with it consistently, then go for it. But be sure to balance your intensity with recovery:

* Balance your weight training and cardio (volume, frequency and intensity) so you can recover from both and reap the benefits of both forms of training.

* Vary your workouts with some form of periodization or intensity-cycling system.

Last but not least, I believe that weight training should sit atop the exercise hierarchy as one part of a total fitness program.

Fat loss programs that are based entirely on calisthenic, aerobic or body weight exercise are popular today, but I recommend a 4-element model:

1. Nutrition
2. Weight training
3. Cardio training (low/moderate and intense)
4. Mental training (mindset and motivation)

For total fitness and physique development - muscle, strength, conditioning and leanness, combine weights with cardio…

Judiciously balance hare-like intensity with recovery…

AND do it all with tortoise-like consistency…

Then, watch what happens to your body. You will like it!

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto
Author
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

PS. You can learn more about my 4-part model of fat loss in my burn the fat program at: http://burnthefat.rxsportz.com

About the Author:

Low Carb Diets For Weight Loss: Just a Myth After All?

2009-10-11T07:22:00.001-05:00

By Tom Venuto

QUESTION: Tom, I’ve been reading your stuff for years and I also read a lot of other sites and message boards including some of the low carb boards. I have finally come to the conclusion, both from all my reading and my personal experience, that the idea that one will lose weight just by cutting carbs is a myth.And I welcome anyone who thinks they can to go ahead and try to prove me wrong. I’m not looking for a fight of course, just looking for good information and discussion.

Consider the following two situations; each involves an identical male who requires 3,000 calories/day to maintain his current weight.

SITUATION #1: The individual reduces his calories to 2,500/day, which theoretically will result in losing one pound/week. The individual divides his calories so 60% (1500) come from Carbs and the remainder come from Fat and Protein. Will he lose weight even though he’s eating a lot of Carbs? I believe the answer is YES because even though the carbs are high (60%), he is in a calorie deficit.

SITUATION #2 The individual adopts a Low Carb Diet by eating only 25 grams of Carbs daily (100 calories). He then eats an additional 2900 calories of Fat and Protein. Will he lose weight? I believe the answer is NO because even though the carbs are low, he is eating at his maintenance level.

Now, I understand that there are advantages to controlling insulin and reducing Carbs, including some health benefits for some people, but what I often don’t see on the low carb benefit list is the impact that fat has on controlling appetite. I believe that Fat satiates even the largest appetite, causing you to eat less.

Therefore, I believe that the reason a Low Carb Diet works is because people who follow it eat fewer calories.

I would love to get your feedback on this Tom and if you or any of your newsletter or blog readers have any studies or information proving me wrong, please let me know.

- John in Texas

ANSWER:

Thanks for your well-thought out question John. Yes, we’ve discussed this before, but it’s timely and worth discussing again, especially with some of the long-term research that was just published earlier this year.

You are preaching to the choir though, my friend. You are right, fat loss hinges on calories in versus calories out. BUT — and there is a big BUT — we really need to make some distinctions about low carb and high protein so we don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. Low carb has some advantages. More imortantly, so does high protein. Heres where most of the confusion comes from in this whole low carb thing:

Are we talking about low carb in a free-living / ad-libitum (non calorie counting) situation, or are we talking about a laboratory-controlled study or a strict calorie-counting situation?

This makes all the difference because in a real world (free-living) scenario, low carb almost always beats high carb for weight loss, especially in the early weeks and months on the program.

This can be partly explained by water weight and glycogen loss in the initial weeks, but also by actual greater fat loss during the early stages.

However, this is not because of “metabolic advantage” of low carbs over high carbs, it is because subjects in these types of studies ate less in the low carb group.

In other words, low carb diets usually control calorie intake better, when you’re not counting calories (you get “automatic” calorie control, provided you’re not a totally unrestrained eater, of course).

So you are correct in your conclusion.

Furthermore, it’s difficult to eat too much when you remove an entire group of calorie dense foods (sugars and starches) which are a food group responsible for providing a huge portion of the calories in most people’s diets. Sure, you can overeat on dietary fat as well, at least in a mixed diet, but apparently not easily in the absence of carbs. Now, here's the kicker… As soon as you start controlling calories.. I mean hospital ward or research facility controlled, where the subjects cannot pick and choose their own food, and instead, the food is weighed and measured and almost literally spoon fed to the subjects, the difference in weight loss between low carb and high carb shrinks or even vanishes. In other words, when calories are matched, there is little or no difference in fat loss between a high carb and low carb diet, when dietary fats and carbs are the variables manipulated.

In the long term studies, even more valuable data has emerged…

The big study by the New England Journal of Medicine that got all that publicity earlier this year confirmed it once again… Even though low carb diets work better in the short term for weight loss in free living subjects, the advantage decreases by month six, and disappears after a year or two. The moral of the story is (drumroll please)… Most people don’t stick with ANY type of diet very well for very long. And… the extreme low carb diets in particular have lower long term adherence rates and poor long term maintenance rates. Now, this does not mean that low carb diets do not have benefits. They certainly do, and some of them are health related (which is beyond the scope of this column). Other benefits are fat loss related… If you automatically eat less due to appetite suppression and removal of calorie dense foods, that is clearly an advantage, it’s just not the advantage that most low carb advocates suggest. There is no proof of metabolic advantage purely from restriction of carbs and insulin does not lead to obesity in a cause and effect sense, insulin merely plays a role in the process of partioning surplus carbs into fat stores or in suppressing fat release. Insulin is important to manage, but not the deciding factor in whether you lose fat or not. One change in macronutrients that DOES help fat loss is an increase in protein. Protein is highly thermogenic - about 30%. So 30% of the energy in protein is not available for potential fat storage, as it is metabolized just in the digestion process. So in reality, you could say it’s the higher protein, NOT the reduced carbs, that provides the real advantage!

Ironically, a low carb diet is NOT always high in protein! Ketogenic low carb diets for example, are actually high in dietary fat, not so much protein. most people don’t realize that. Too much protein is somewhat gluconeogenic and kicks people out of ketosis.

Likewise, a high protein diet is not always low in carbs. Take the 40-40-20 macro split from BFFM (or BFL) for example. 40% of calories from protein is very high. And yet 40% carbs is not very low!

The protein-induced thermodynamic advantage is somewhat small, but it’s significant if a large shift in protein intake is made as is the case with a 30-40% protein program. For example, the old food pyramid/ traditional dietician-style diet is 15% protein. Research from the University of Washington School of Medicine showed that when protein is doubled to 30% (replacing carbs), there is a small but measureable advantage even when matched calorie for calorie. In free living studies, the advantage is even larger because protein is a great appetite suppressant and is highly satiating. In fact, protein NOT FAT, is the most satiating nutrient. It appears that fat is psychologically satiating, but protein is the hands down winner as the most satiating, appetite suppressing macronutrient, physiologically speaking. Thus, a protein with every meal and a 30% (or even higher) ratio of protein is conducive to better fat loss - which incidentally is EXACTLY how the Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle program is set up. There's much more to good nutrition and health than just calories, but ultimately the most important factor is not macro ratios or low carb vs high carb. When you sort it all out, fat loss all comes down to a calorie deficit in the end. In my 26 years of bodybuilding and 20 years as a fitness professional, I’ve tried it ALL… I’ve gotten ripped on high carb and I’ve gotten ripped on low carb; thousands of others can testify the same for either side. What successful approaches have in common is a calorie deficit… AND they are programs you can actually stick with. I simply believe that if you can get even a slight advantage by bumping up the protein and dropping the carbs, at least a little, why not take it? So that’s why my bodybuilding-style pre-contest maximum fat loss program is high in protein and low to medium in carbs.
learn more at ====>http://burnthefat.rxsportz.com

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto,
Fat loss coach

About the Author:

5 Surprising Things That Make You Leaner

2009-10-10T07:21:00.001-05:00

Want to be leaner?

Good deal... here's 5 tips that will help you along...

TIP 1
Ditch The Starch

Starches, such as rice, potatoes, some veggies, oats, etc. are often considered "health foods."

While they can be healthy, they can also pack on stomach bodyfat like crazy if you overdo them.

As you may know, my "Every Other Day Diet" System (EODD) actually encourages you to eat starches and even sweets several days a week to get rid of excess weight:

http://eodd.rxsportz.com <-- click.

( Some of you may see a survey here on how best to help with your bodyweight goals. )

Well... how does THAT work?

Simple: Timing is everything.

And we take a "weekly" approach to foods rather than a daily approach. This keeps your metabolism guessing. If your body cannot figure out what you're up to, fatburning is that much more powerful. And you can get by with eating starches... at least a specific times on specific days.

But if you're not going to do EODD, then you'll have to wing it. And the best way to wing it is to simply cut starches out entirely for 4-8 weeks. Then slowly add them back a few days per week.

This is no where near as effective (or as fun) as the EODD method, but it will get you pointed in the right direction.

TIP 2
Can The Sodas

This one is really hard for me. I've been hooked on diet-soda on and off for years. When I go to get into top shape (like I am now) I have to get rid of the diet-sodas... yes, DIET-sodas. Need I say "real" sodas too? They are loaded with sugar.

Why diet-sodas? A recent study revealed that people who drank diet-sodas actually increased bodyfat when compared to those who drank sugar-sodas. What the... ??

Yep. Your body cannot be fooled by aspartame and chemicals. Sorry, but that's the truth.

Here's a personal story: When I cut out the diet-sodas my bodyfat drops like a rock in a pond of clear water.

And that's what you need to be drinking: A quart of pure water per 50 lbs of bodyweight a day.

I mix it with lemon and a bit of Stevia (an herbal sweetener) and make lemonade. It's wonderful!

TIP 3
Stay Hungry

Arnold's first movie was "Stay Hungry" (well, after "Pumping Iron" that is). You cannot rest on your butt and stay hungry. You cannot think you've "arrived" and stay hungry.

It takes a special person to be hungry... and an even greater one to stay that way.

I want you to stay hungry in two ways: In how you workout and literally... stay a bit hungry before you go to bed. Not "starving"... just a bit hungry.

For your workouts, I have a great solution. If you pick up EODD you'll get a limited shot at "7 Minute Body"... my combination of "7 Minute Muscle" and "The 7 Minute In-Home Workout" in one book... and for more than half off... but that's a very limited deal. Gotta have EODD... you'll need them both...

http://eodd.rxsportz.com <-- click.

( Some of you may see a survey here on how best to help with your bodyweight goals. )

You see, progression -- "forced" progression -- is the best way to stay hungry. 7 Minute Body forces you to progress without thinking about it. Progression is built into the System.

As far as staying hungry at night? Check with your doctor and if he/she okays it take 500mg of potassium and 1000mg of magnesium/calcium a few hours prior to bed. This helps with the hunger pangs. Also, keep hard-boiled eggs in the fridge. If you get really hungry, eat one with half the yolk (toss the other half.) It keeps me full for an hour at least.

TIP 4
Cardio Clarity

Hours and hours of cardio a day is not the answer. However, you can do "light" cardio (i.e. brisk walking, or riding the bike at 60% of your max) just to burn off calories. That's okay... and personally I don't find it that boring if I'm watching a TV show. It does not interfere with my main fatloss exercise (weight training... YES!) and it burns off about 400 calories an hour.

What does work is early morning fasting cardio... but you only need 9-15 minutes. I explain the GXP Protocol (Modified) in the 7 Minute Body book, available only if you pick up EODD, and you can get it at more than half off:

http://eodd.rxsportz.com <-- click.

( Some of you may see a survey here on how best to help with your bodyweight goals. )

TIP 5
Get Raw At Night

Raw veggies with your last meal and as a snack will really help your fatburning along. I started with red peppers because they're sweet. Now I eat virtually every veggie raw at night without thinking about it. Give this a shot. The fatloss is well worth it.

----> Note From Me: Jon is still giving away "Radical Fatloss Blueprint" along with EODD for a few more days. And he is giving a lucky few the chance to pick up the Supplement-Kit that comes with Radical Fatloss for almost 100 bucks off... the video and details are here:

http://eodd.rxsportz.com <—click.

[ Editor's Note: Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you. ]

Today is your day to choose

2009-10-09T06:50:00.001-05:00

Keep doing what you’ve always done, and get the results you’ve been getting.

Or…

…Follow a proven formula that guarantees your success.

What am I talking about?

Today is your absolute LAST chance to get Holly Rigsby’s Fit Yummy Mummy DVD Set that is literally a done-for-you, follow along fat loss solution.

You can see exactly what I mean here:

==>http://www.healthybiz2000.com/fitmummy.htm

You want to know why most people fail? It’s not because they don’t have a plan.

It’s because they can’t follow the plan.

That’s why Holly’s DVDs are the perfect fat loss solution.

She teaches you exactly how to do everything in the Learn IT section on each DVD and then coaches you through the entire workout in the Do It section of each DVD.

It’s paint-by-numbers simple fat loss.

This program, this 15 minute a day BLUEPRINT, is your answer to that age old question:

“How can I get the body I want in the time I have?”

But only if you order before 3pm today.

==>http://www.healthybiz2000.com/fitmummy.htm

Take care,

Arthur M.

P.S. – Holly has included over $250 worth of tools and resources guaranteed to get you back into your skinny jeans, but only if you order today!

==> http://www.healthybiz2000.com/fitmummy.htm

Are you being lied to?

2009-10-08T07:32:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I (along with my friend, Holly Rigsby) told you about the difference between trying to follow a workout and actually doing a workout as it’s designed – and how much impact that will have on your results.

Let’s talk for a minute about those workouts.

A lot of people make the mistake of thinking they need to workout for an hour or two a day, doing miles of long, slow cardio to reach their fat loss goals.

It’s a lie.

You’ve been lied to by health clubs, infomercials and expensive personal trainers – all telling you that you need to work out for hours on end to get the body you want.

You’ve been told to that you can spot reduce your trouble spots and you can use the ‘fat burning zone’ to lose your love handles.

Lies.

It’s no wonder so many moms just give up. They don’t have time to sift through all the B.S. along with all of the other responsibilities on their plate.

The truth is…you only need about 90 minutes a *week* to get the body you want.

If you’re doing the right exercises in the right combinations, you can get great results in less than 15 minutes a day.

That’s why I want you to get Holly Rigsby’s Fit Yummy Mummy DVD Set available at

–> http://www.healthybiz2000.com/fitmummy.htm

If you want to burn your baby fat and get your pre-baby body back in only 15 minutes a workout, it’s critical that you know how to do every exercise with the right technique, in the right combinations, with the right intensity.

Otherwise you’ll miss out on most of the results.

I love these DVDs because Holly teaches you exactly how to do each move and then guides you through each workout to ensure maximum fat burning effectiveness.

Basically, everything is already DONE-FOR-YOU!

You just follow along and watch those unwanted pounds melt away.

You can check out Holly’s Fit Yummy Mummy DVD Set here:

–> http://www.healthybiz2000.com/fitmummy.htm

To your success,

Arthur M.

P.S. – Hurry! Holly has included 6 Incredible Success Bonuses to jumpstart your success, but only if you order before Friday, October 9th at 3pm EST.

Click here to join the thousands of other moms who have already PROVEN Holly’s system works –> http://www.healthybiz2000.com/fitmummy.htm

The 7-Day Back Pain Cure

2009-10-07T11:14:00.001-05:00

If you suffer from any type of back, neck or sciatic pain, then you need to go grab a copy of The Healthy Back Institute's new book, "The 7-Day Back Pain Cure"...

Right now they are actually giving it away for FREE... You just pay a small shipping fee. Plus they are also they are also donating a portion of the shipping fee to St. Jude's Children's Hospital or Habitat for Humanity - you even get to choose the charity!

Click here to get your FREE copy now
http://tinyurl.com/le7mlm