Four Rules To Live By

Today I want to share some killer tips with you that pretty much sums up what all of us need to do to get lean and sexy and to be able to stay lean and sexy for life.

It doesn't get any simpler than this… but simple works!

TOP 2 EXERCISE TIPS

Make Your Workouts Total Body:

This means doing a five-exercise circuit (designed to work your lower body, upper body, and core) at least three times per week with a day of rest between workouts. A great way to perform the workouts are to alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each a double-leg (e.g. squat), push (e.g. push-up), single-leg (e.g. lunge), pull (e.g. row), and core (e.g. plank) exercise. Perform up to 4 rounds without rest for a killer 20-minute total body workout.

Harness the Power of Intervals:

Interval training is scientifically proven to burn nine times more body fat than ordinary exercise and elevates metabolism for up to 48 hours following your workout. What you should do is perform cardio intervals on non-strength training days three times per week. Selecting your cardio exercise of choice, alternate between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest and repeat this 30 second interval eight times for four total minutes followed by a one-minute rest. Repeat for up to 20 total minutes. This routine works best on a stationary bike (airdyne) or for body weight cardio exercise that you can do at home like running in place or jumping jacks. If you're up for the challenge, try outdoor sprints or hill sprints to really kick your butt.

TOP 2 NUTRITION TIPS

Eat Early and Eat Often:

Get something in your stomach immediately upon waking and then every two to four hours to starve fat and feed muscle. By continuously fueling your furnace, and eating some animal protein (meat, eggs, cheese, etc.) at every feeding, you'll also keep your metabolism revved up throughout the day and prevent overeating.

Think Fiber First When Consuming Carbs:

Eat an unlimited amount of fibrous, cruciferous green veggies to fill your belly both during and between meals. For optimal fat-burning, try to limit fruit and other carbohydrate consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout when your body best tolerates starches and sugars.

Live by these 2 exercise and nutrition rules and you will have a body to be proud of for the summer... I guarantee it ;)

Get after it!

Mike
PS- Please forward this blog post to anybody that you know who can benefit from it!

Pill Poppers

I've got a mission for you today.

Go flip through a magazine, scan the newspaper, surf your TV channels and see if you can run across some type of ad that says:

“Eat all the foods you want and still lose the weight!”
“Lose up to 2 lbs a day without diet and exercise”
No hunger, no exercise, no disappointment, miracle, breakthrough, revolutionary, destroys, eliminates, dissolves, melts, flushes, soaks up FAT...

Something along those lines.
I bet you can find a couple within 30 seconds...these type of ads are EVERYWHERE.

And don't assume that just because it's FDA approved that it's safe.

So what's in a “fat loss pill”?

Well, the goal of most of these pills are to STIMULATE fat loss by doing one or more of the following:

Decrease food cravings, speed up metabolism, interfere with the body's ability to absorb specific nutrients in food and shedding excess water.

I'd prefer you stimulate fat loss by strength training and intense cardio intervals, but that's kinda tough to put into a bright bottle :)

Most of these pills contain caffeine (supposed to increase energy and metabolism), diuretics (dehydrate cells to reduce water weight), and appetite suppressants.

Now I was reading an article today promoting these weight loss pills and this was a direct quote from that article:

“While all of these different functions of weight loss pills stimulate your body, keep in mind that it does not create fat loss- you do , through diet and exercise.”

Now, I applaude them for admitting to this. Fat loss pills DO NOT work!

So why the heck do Americans continue spending billions of their hard earned moolah on pills that even admit to not being effective for fat loss??

I think it's a combination of things like deceptive advertising, feeling desperate, etc.

But I also think it's because it requires no responsibility. People can pass the blame onto someone else, the pill company. They can just say the pill didn't work and that's why they didn't lose any weight. People don't want to take a hard look in the mirror and face the facts. Most people are looking for the easy way out but there are no magic pills for fat loss.

People need to stop just treating the symptoms and get after the cause of their weight gain.

If you're putting on excess pounds because you always have junk food hiding in the cupboards, then clean them out! Out of sight, out of mind.

If you are stressed out or depressed and use food to comfort you, get rid of that chocolate ice cream and spoon and grab a pair of dumbbells instead. Exercising is a great stress reliever and triggers your body to release a chemical called endorphins which makes you feel happy. This feeling of euphoria can last up to 12 hours.

So throw that bottle of ThermaSlim away. Look at yourself and figure out what things caused you to put on the weight. If you don't know the real reason behind your weight gain, then you can't move forward and be successful in your own weight loss efforts.

And don't just say it's because you eat too many hamburgers and fries. That's not the answer I'm talking about.

Look deeper into the root of the problem. Once you figure that out, then and only then can you truely progress and be on the road to getting the body you deserve and can maintain for the rest of your life!