Momentum: Jump Start Your Fat Loss Journey With the Two-Week Challenge!

Have you ever watched a football game where both teams are competing touchdown for touchdown, then suddenly one team creates a turnover and everything changes?  The team who creates the turnover gains momentum and soon a 7-point deficit turns into a 21-point lead and a lopsided victory.  Momentum is the game changer whether in football or weight loss.  Get momentum going and everything gets easier.  If you are new to the weight loss journey or thinking of starting today I want to provide you with a TWO-WEEK CHALLENGE that will help you build momentum and get started on your weight loss journey.

Reduce Carb Intake

Reduce your carb intake for two weeks. Learn to count net carbs and lower your total net carb intake below 100 grams per day.  Reducing carb intake is the key component of fat loss.  Measure your waist and hips and check your progress.  It starts the ball rolling!

Strength Train

Start a consistent strength training program for two weeks. Increasing muscle mass improves metabolism and helps you burn more fat while resting.  Nothing increases overall metabolism and provides a longer fat burn like strength training.  Be consistent 3-5 days per week!

Eat More Vegetables

Eat 2-3 cups of vegetables a day for two weeks. Broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, squash, spinach, and any other food classified as a vegetable.  For those of you who are just starting the changes to your diet, I’m not worried about types of vegetables.  Just eat vegetables every day for two weeks!

In addition, put cheese on everything.  Do everything you can to add fat to your diet.

Run/Walk Intervals

Start an interval run/walk program for two weeks. The key to an interval program is to work hard for 30 seconds to 1 minute, with a 1-2-minute recovery between the work intervals.  Complete 4 of these work/rest intervals if you’re just starting and increase one per week until you reach 8-10.  Do this 2-3 times per week. Doing 4-5 intervals per day will make a difference in two weeks!

Drink More Water

Drink 48 oz. of water per day for 2 weeks. Eliminate soda and sweet tea and concentrate on drinking water.  Carry a bottle with you all the time and drink up.  Make sure you add some type of no/low carb electrolyte drink mix to your intake, and yes that counts as part of your 48 oz.

Take the Challenge

Take the two-week challenge and get the momentum rolling in your favor.  Once you start losing fat and see the changes in your body.  More changes become easier and before you know it, a NEW YOU are staring back in the mirror.  Two weeks, 14 days and start the momentum!

A Little Extra Work: How to Improve Trouble Area’s

I know many of you have heard me say this but it’s true.  Forget about your scale weight and concentrate on losing inches and gaining muscle.  Muscle fuels metabolism and helps turn you into a fat burning machine.  If your unhappy with a part of your body instead of focusing on a number on a scale, focus on increasing muscle at or around that area.  For instance, many of you are unhappy with their chicken wings that jiggle.  The only thing that’s going to fix the jiggle is building muscle in the triceps and biceps.  Some folks are unhappy with their derriere.  Stop worrying about the size and concentrate on the lift.  If things are headed north you’re in good shape, just avoid the saggy south.  Finally, many of you want to eliminate your gut, this must be attacked from all three sides.  With that said let’s give you some additional work to hit those trouble areas.

Getting Rid of the Arm Jiggle

Toning arms and getting rid of the jiggles is probably one of the easiest things to do if your disciplined enough to be consistent with the training.  Add this to your training 2-3 days per week.

Exercise                                    Weight          Sets                       Reps

Close Grip Bench Press             Mod              3-4                          20

Row                              Feet Close to Wall      3-4                          10-15

Triceps Extensions              Heavy/Mod        5-6                          10-20

Dumbbell Biceps Curls        Heavy/Mod         5-6                          10-20

Getting Rid of the Other Jiggle

Keeping things firm on the backend requires the same discipline just different exercises.  Many of these we already do at Boot Camp but you may need to add an exercise, a few more sets or reps to your training 2-3 days per week.

*If you don’t want your legs to grow but want the backside firm use less or no weight and more reps.

Exercise                                  Weight               Sets                       Reps

Squats                                   Heavy/Mod          4-6                          10-20

Lunges                                  Mod/Body            4-6                          10-15

Band Walks                            Heavy                  4-6                          10-15

Bulgarian Squats               Mod/BodyWt            3-4                          10-15

Pelvic/Hip Bridge            Mod/Body Wt              4-6                          15-20

Removing the Keg to See the 6 Pack

The gut is a different animal.  You can do the perfect ab routine and your abs are going to look tight, but you won’t see them if they are covered with a layer or two of fat.  Great looking abs require a low carb/high fat diet, total body strength training and 10-20 minutes of high intensity cardio 3-5 days per week.  Improving your abs require the whole diet/fitness approach.

Exercise                                  Weight                Sets                       Reps

Low Carb/High Fat Diet  Less than 50g Carbs  3 meals                 Everyday

Bench Press/Push-ups         Mod/Heavy              4-6                          8-12

Shoulder Press                      Mod/Heavy               4-6                          8-12

Row                                       Mod/Heavy                4-6                          8-12

Lat Pull/Pull-ups                 Mod/Heavy                 4-6                          8-12

Squats                                   Mod/Heavy                 4-6                          10-20

Lunges                                  Mod/Heavy                 4-6                          10-20

Starfish Crunch                                                       4-6                          20-30

Circle Crunch                                    4-6                          10-15 each direction

Knee to Elbow Plank                                               4-6                          10-20

Run/Walk fast for 20-30 sec then run/walk slow for 1 minute.  Repeat this for 15-20 minutes 3-5 days per week.

The Little Things

Much of this will look the same as boot camp but a little extra work in trouble area’s will help you reach your goals.  Whether it’s a little extra arm work, a few extra lunges or squats, some additional road/track work or really counting and lowering those carbs, it’s all about doing the little things every day that makes the difference over time.

5 Tactics that Help You Lose that Trouble Fat!

 

How do you get rid of that trouble fat?  You know that stubborn fat in your gut, thighs and butt.  It’s the fat that smiles at you every morning in the mirror as to say we’re not going anywhere and you can’t make us.  There’s good news and bad news.  Well the good news is you can win the battle, but the bad news is it takes a combination of building muscle and diet (20% Strength Training and 80% Diet).  The battle you’re waging on your lower abs and backside can only be won a one bite at a time and one workout at a time.   You must focus on improving insulin sensitivity and the only way you achieve this with high intensity strength training and being stringent with your diet.  I’m going to provide 5 proven tactics that work if you apply them every day.  I challenge you to take the next 30 days and see what you can achieve.

Ketogenic Diet May Be An Option

I’ve completed a lot of research on the ketogenic diet and have found it to be very effective for both improving insulin sensitivity and weight loss.  I’ve seen research that advocates this diet but even more so I’ve seen it work on clients who have the discipline to do it completely.  A standard ketogenic diet is composed of 75% fat, 20% protein and 5% carbohydrates.  I know many of you may see 75% fat and think it will cause heart problems.  It won’t, because fat doesn’t cause heart disease.  Instead you’re risk for heart disease is increasing due to that sugary soda you’re drinking or that processed cereal you’re eating for breakfast.  To lose fat and improve your health it’s time to make some changes.

Instead of providing you with a meal plan in this blog post I will encourage you to check out The Ketogenic Diet 101 and learn how to easily implement this diet.  The Ketogenic Diet 101 provides you with the what, why and how.  I would encourage you to speak with your physician before starting this diet and make sure it doesn’t conflict with any meds you may be on.  Make sure you provide him/her with information regarding this diet so they are informed.

Bad Carbs Are The Problem

If you read The Ketogenic Diet 101 and decide it’s too strict.  Then I will suggest a diet that provides a little more flexibility.  The low carb diet is composed of 65% fat, 25% protein and 10% carbohydrates.  It works similarly to the ketogenic diet but is a little less restrictive.  If this diet seems more fitting I encourage you to read The Low Carb Diet and use their meal plan.  Whether you have lots of fat to lose or your trying to lose those last stubborn 10 pounds the key is to push insulin levels low and the way you do that is reduce your carb intake.

One other thing I must tell you is the first two weeks of a low carb or ketogenic diet will suck.  Some people call it the low carb flu.  You may feel weak, lethargic, dizzy, and have stomach discomfort during the first two weeks.  Stay with it and you will feel like a new man or woman with-in 10-14 days.  In addition, you will lose fat like you never thought possible.

Larger Muscles Burn More Fat

I am convinced that reducing processed and simple carbs is essential to losing fat and keeping it off.  If insulin is not lowered in the body it’s impossible for fat cells to release fat.  With that said diet is the most important part of the fat loss equation; however exercise also plays a role.

Building muscle must be the priority for exercise.  Think about it this way, which car burns more fuel a Camaro with a V8 engine (muscle car) or a Cruze with a 4 cylinder engine.  The big V8 is a gas guzzler.  Muscle is the engine of the body and if you have huge engines (muscles) you will burn fuel (fat) like mad.  Every time you hit the weights think heavy weight and as many reps as I can. The key to increasing muscle size is volume of training (Reps + Sets + Weight = Muscle Size).  Work hard every set and never take a rep off, the goal is to build muscle every day.

Breathing Hard Turns YOU Into A Fat Burner

In addition to increasing muscle with strength training you will also want to do some High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).  We do this with Tabata, Circuit and Kick Boxing Circuit at Boot Camp however you can also do it at home as well.  On days you can’t make Boot Camp make your own circuit (push-ups, crunches, squats, lunges, mountain climbers, jumping jacks, plank, squat punches, front kicks and power knees) and do multiple rounds of 30 seconds work or use tabata.  You can get an app on your smart phone that counts down for both 30 second circuit and tabata.

If you’re more of a runner you can use this type of training with the run as well.  Set your watch or smart phone and run for 20-30 seconds hard and then jog or walk for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  The most important part is to get winded.  This is a great addition to your strength training workouts for those of you trying to bust through weight loss plateaus or wanting to lose those last 5-10 lbs.

Add These Supplements To Your Tool Box

The last thing is doing everything you can to get your gut right and prime your muscles for optimal growth. The optimal way to do this is through supplementation.  No matter how good your diet is, it will always have gaps.  Below are a few extra’s you can do to fill the gaps.

1.  Take a probiotic.  Probiotics improve your gut health by increasing good gut bacteria.  This good bacteria restores or maintains optimal health in the gut.  If your gut is lacking good bacteria it will become ill and cause you to become sick.  Most auto-immune diseases can be directly linked to gut health.  If your gut health is poor your ability to lose fat is compromised.  Get your gut right first.

2.  You need a multi-vitamin. Most of us lack some of the essential vitamins and minerals we need daily.  A multi-vitamin will fill the gaps and prime you for optimal health, the kind of health that promotes fat loss.

3.  Consume fish oil daily. Fish oil studies show it’s an effective anti-inflammatory that protects the body from many chronic diseases and aids in joint health.  However, the latest research has shown it to be an effective weight loss tool as well.  According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, fish oil combined with exercise contributes directly to fat loss, which is just another reason to add this to your fat loss tool box.

4.  If you know me I can’t leave out Turmeric. Besides being the most powerful natural anti-inflammatory available turmeric also shows the potential to lower estrogen levels and improve insulin sensitivity.  Both of these improve your ability to improve your health and lose fat.

5.  Apple Cider Vinegar every night before bed. Taking 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar every night before bed has shown to lower morning blood sugar.  Lower blood sugar means less insulin which promotes fat loss.  In addition, apple cider vinegar helps improve gut health as well.

6.  Use Branched Chain Amino Acids daily. Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) help preserve lean muscle mass and because muscle drives metabolism preserving it is job one.  Using BCAA is an easy way to provide your muscles with what they need quickly pre and post workout.  If long term weight loss is your goal you want to do everything possible to grow and maintain muscle mass.

Conclusion

Fat loss begins and ends with your diet.  The more quickly you get your carbohydrate problem under control the more quickly you will see fat loss results.  Until you understand and take control of those ugly simple and processed carbs you will be frustrated with your progress.  Learn to like the big three:  vegetables, meat and good fat.  Your fitness program must be designed to increase muscle mass and strength, muscle drives metabolism. In addition, you must learn to do short very hard bout of aerobic exercise with small rest periods between.  The harder you go during this training the more results you will reap. Last, add a few supplements to your tool box for fat loss optimization.  The new YOU is ready to be unleashed, put these tools to work and start seeing the results before summer!

4 Steps to a Leaner You in 2017

Are you ready to make some fat disappear?  I mean really obliterate some fat!  If this is you and you’re serious, then you need to work on these four things ASAP!

Throw Your Scale Away

Number one; the scale just became the enemy unless you’re into watching your scale numbers increase.  We will be measuring progress in inches and millimeters.  Scale weight doesn’t differentiate between muscle and fat and there’s a huge difference between the two.  I could weigh 200 pounds and be a chiseled running back for the Dallas Cowboys or I could weigh 200 pounds and not be able to see my feet.  The scale weight is the same but the type of weight is totally different.  If you are a scale person you must change the way you think.  It’s not about weight, it’s about inches.

Build Muscle

Number two; it’s time to begin training like a body builder.  Muscle drives metabolism and if you want your metabolism to hum then building muscle is job one.  I’ve spent the past several months reading everything I can about body builders and figure/physique competitors.  Why?  Because these people have the lowest body fat on earth and if you follow their template you too can lose body fat and improve your health along the way.

The key to turning your body into a fat burning machine is building muscle.  No matter your age, gender, or current body status you are capable of building muscle.  I thought I knew a lot until I learned I didn’t know diddly about body building and truly growing muscle.  We will be redesigning our boot camp programming to provide you with the best training techniques that will help you improve muscle mass while also attempting to make it fun.  I think we can do both.

Every day of training will be designed to improve your muscle mass.  I will be flipping on some of my past training techniques.  You will be seeing higher rep counts when it comes to legs and upper body but this does not mean to lower your weight but rather attempt to do the higher reps with the same or a slightly lighter weight.  The longer we can maintain tension on your muscles the more muscle we build and the more fat you burn.  I’m looking forward to the results you’re going to see in the next 30, 60 and 90 days.  I’ve already started training this way and can already see positive things happening to my body.

Improve Insulin Sensitivity With Diet

Number three; focus on your diet.  I’ve reviewed and contemplated every kind of diet possible, however the most important thing as it applies to long term fat loss is doing things you can stick with over the long haul.  Sure I could have advocated a ketogenic diet and those who have the will power to stick with it would have seen great results in the short term but can you stick with it long term.  Most can’t.

So let’s attack things we can do long term.  The key to losing fat hasn’t changed and hinges on reducing insulin resistance.  Lowering insulin levels is the key to eliminating fat especially for those of us struggling to lose fat in those trouble area’s (men in their stomach and women in their muffin tops and hips).  Insulin blocks fat cells from releasing fat, reduce insulin and fat loss becomes easy.

With that said, what are some things you can do to your diet to get insulin moving in the right direction.

  1. Of course the first thing you can do is load up on lots of vegetables and protein. A diet that is primarily made up of vegetables and protein maintains low blood sugar resulting in lower insulin levels and better insulin sensitivity.
  2. Always begin simple/starchy carb meals (bread, pasta, rice, etc.) with protein (eggs, beef, chicken, fish, etc.). Eating protein on the front end of simple/starchy carb meal has been shown to decrease blood sugar thus decreasing insulin levels.  The only exception to this rule is post workout.  Post workout is the only time insulin becomes your friend and eating carbs (fruit, yogurt, cheese and milk are a few great post workout foods) first is acceptable.
  3. Add apple cider vinegar to your night time routine. One study indicates taking two tea spoons of apple cider vinegar before bed to decrease blood sugar levels thus reducing insulin levels.

Improve Efficiency With Supplements

Number four; add a few supplements to your fat busting arsenal.  While supplements can be controversial I’m learning some can be very beneficial as well.  Add these five supplements to your tool box and they can assist you in accomplishing your goals more efficiently.

  1. Take fish oil several times during the day. Fish oil has the same effect on blood sugar that exercise does. In addition, when used in conjunction with exercise it compounds the effect.  If dropping body fat is your goal, then fish oil must be a part of your plan.  (High quality fish oil is important to insure the elimination of heavy metals)
  2. Add a protein supplement or protein meal replacement shake to your diet. This is no replacement for real food but rather a healthy snack when you need that chocolate fix or a quick breakfast when you’re on the run.  You must feed your body for muscular growth and fat loss.  Protein supplements are a great way to fill nutrition gaps.
  3. Take a multi-vitamin daily. No matter how good your diet is you will always have nutritional gaps.  A great multi-vitamin fills the gaps and provides you with all the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants you need.  One of the main things that drive hunger is a lack of vitamins and minerals in your diet.  Fill these gaps and kill your hunger pains.
  4. Branch chain amino acids (BCAA) help maintain and build muscle and are especially important for people losing fat with exercise and diet. The last thing you want to do is lose metabolism driving muscle while burning fat.  BCAA help make sure your body has what it needs to build muscle and burn fat.
  5. Make sure you add some fiber and probiotics to your diet. Fiber helps lower blood sugar and lowers insulin resistance resulting in stubborn fat loss.  Probiotics improve good gut bacteria which improve insulin sensitivity, lower inflammation, and improve health in general.  Advogreens Greens Powder is a great way to get both.  You can drink this by itself or add it to a smoothie.

I will be doing more articles over how and what supplements to use and to improve muscle growth over the next month or two as I study more and use myself as a lab rat.

I look forward to 2017.  Many of you are going to unlock potential that you never knew existed.  I can’t wait to see what you accomplish this year.  My commitment to all of you is to provide you with best possible workouts, incredible nutrition advice and a support system/fitness family second to none.  Here’s to a great 2017.