Category Archives: Exercise

22 Minute Hard Corps Is Here!

Why Am I So Excited?

Because the whole “no time to workout” excuse is flying out the window with these 22 minute workouts…

And because that’s ME you see in the picture with Tony Horton! #EgoBoost #ShamelessSelfLove

I’m featured in the three “Spec Ops” workouts as part of the 22HC deluxe workout package.

I regularly workout with Tony Horton at his house, but this is the first time I’ve been in any of his workouts. And because I know first hand how what these workouts entail, I know they’re going to get YOU results.

What is 22 Minute Hard Corps?

A series of 22 minute, high intensity military bootcamp style workouts designed to get you ripped fast.

No time? No problem. Everyone can commit to 22 minutes a day.

The workouts are also a salute to the military and feature veterans from the four branches of the US military, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.

What Equipment Is Need For 22 Minute Hard Corps?

A sandbag or dumbbells is optional and a sandbag is included in the deluxe kit.

You would also want a pull-up bar or resistance bands for back exercises.

The vast majority of the exercises however don’t require any added equipment.

How Can You Get Started?

First, contact me if you’d like me to be your free Beachbody coach at info@excuseproof.com

You can get these workouts in either the Deluxe kit here: http://excuseproof.com/22hcdeluxe

Or if you’d like to be considered for an online accountability group, shoot me an email at info@excuseproof.com and I’ll have a special link for you.

Beachbody On Demand Review and Inside Look

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My Beachbody On Demand Review And Your Questions Answered

Trying To Find The Best At-Home Workout Routine?

When I first started, I was overwhelmed with options trying to find the “best” routine. Not only do you have to weigh in effectiveness, but you also have to factor in the time of the workouts, cost, equipment needs, and of course whether or not you’re actually going to ENJOY the workouts.

If you’ve struggled to find the right at-home workout program, or are looking to switch things up, Beachbody On Demand gives you a variety proven routines you can do at home so you are pretty much guaranteed to find something you love.

If you’re ready to get started, click here to skip ahead to the two ways you can start your fitness journey today.

An Inside Look At Beachbody On Demand

You can see what it’s all about in this review of Beachbody On Demand.

What’s The Cost Beachbody On Demand?

Beachbody On Demand is $2.99 a week, or $38.87 billed each quarter.

What’s Included In Beachbody On Demand?

The workouts it includes are: 10 Minute Trainer, Brazil Butt Lift, ChaLEAN Extreme, Hip Hop Abs, Insanity, Insanity: Asylum Volume 1, Insanity: Asylum Volume 2, P90X, P90X2, P90X3, P90X One on One: Volume 1, P90X One on One: Volume 2, RevAbs, Tai Cheng, TurboFire

This includes access to the nutrition guide and manuals in PDF form.

It includes a single workout from each of these programs: 21 Day Fix, 21 Day Fix Extreme, Body Beast, PiYo, Insanity Max:30, P90, Slim in 6, Focus T25

Plus, you get streaming access to the DVD programs you’ve purchased.

How Do I Get Started?

You can get started two ways. The recommended way is to get started and join a challenge group. This will provide added accountability and group support. If you’re the kind of person who starts a program and doesn’t stick with it over the long-haul, especially when life gets in the way, the challenge group could make all the difference.

I run a challenge group and I accept a limited number of applicants. Plus I throw in some bonuses and cool things for people that get started through my challenge group. Contact me at info@excuseproof.com and put in “challenge group request” in the headline. I’ll message you with more information about the requirements. It’s no cost to join the challenge group, but I do require taking Shakeology.

The second way is to join directly through beachbody at this link.

Yes! I’m ready to enroll in Beachbody On Demand!

Do you need to take Shakeology?

Some coaches will say Shakeology is essential or mandatory for success. While I would argue it makes things a helluva lot easier, technically you can get started without it. However, I often ask people how much they spend on a healthy meal. If it’s more than $5-6, then Shakeology is not only going to provide added benefits, but be more cost-effective as well.

You can get Beachbody On Demand for very little cost the first 3 months if you order Shakeology along with it. So it’s worth it to many people to give Shakeology a 30 day trial and see how it suits them. It’s a lot cheaper than surgery for weight loss. This is done by getting the challenge pack here.

Body Beast Review

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Body Beast – Beachbody’s At Home Muscle Building Workout

Hanging with the Beast himself – Sagi Kalev

Before diving into my review of Body Beast, let me give you a little background about me because you’re probably thinking, “why the hell should I listen to what this guy has to say?”

I’ve been seriously training and doing various bodybuilding, strength, and powerlifting style weight lifting programs for over 10 years by the time I started Body Beast. I’ve done body-part splits, full body routines, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s workouts (super high volume), 5×5, Wendler’s 3/2/1, HSS, many routines from t-nation.com, Ben Pakulski’s MI40, gymnastic bodyweight training, and more.

If there’s one thing a learned from doing all of this, it’s that many things can work. There are also different programs for different goals (duh). So be skeptical of anyone claiming “this is the best routine for everyone!” because there’s a good chance they’re just trying to sell you something or they’re incredibly ignorant of how different people respond to various styles of training.

With that out of the way, you may have heard about Beachbody’s Body Beast developed by Sagi Kalev and are wondering, “is this one of the best workout programs for building muscle, shedding some fat, and just plain looking freakin awesome?”

Read on to find out if this is a good fit for you and your goals or if something else may be better.

Who Is This For? Hint… It’s NOT Just For Men..

Body Beast was originally marketed as Beachbody’s bodybuilding program that you can do at home. That means it’s mostly aimed at the average guy that wanted to get jacked, ripped, swole or whatever other “bro” term you want to use for dude’s wanting to add more muscle and shed enough fat to get a six pack.

What ended up happening though is that thousands of women fell in love with the routine. Finally they were seeing the benefits of intense weight lifting, being able to eat more without gaining fat, and looking seriously sexy in a way that traditional workout routines weren’t delivering. If you’re a woman interested in Body Beast, I can tell you there’s a HUGE community on Facebook dedicated entirely to women doing this program where they cheer each other on, offer tips, and form virtual friendships.

It also provides a way for women (and men) who may have been intimidated by going to the gym to learn how to lift properly in the comfort of their own home. That being said, this is one of the only routines offered by Beachbody that easily lends itself to doing it in the gym. That’s how I did it. I watched the DVDs to learn the workouts, then printed out the worksheets they provide to bring to the gym.

The workouts are done six days a week, and typically last around 45 minutes. If you’re working out at home, then you save the drive to and from the gym which makes this reasonable for many people.

Finally, if you’ve NEVER done any type of weight lifting, that’s OK. The workouts are designed to ease you into the routine. Don’t rush and take your time. Both absolute beginners and seasoned pros can do this routine and get great results.

Is This Only For Building Muscle?

Body Beast includes two plans – Lean Beast and Huge Beast. If it’s not obvious, lean beast is for those who are looking to shed fat while maintaining or perhaps adding a bit of muscle. It incorporates the very intense “Beast Cardio.” To be straight up, the cardio is not fun. It’s so brutally intense you will hate your life while doing it, but the results make it worthwhile.

What Equipment Do You Need?

You’ll ideally want some adjustable dumbbells as well as an adjustable bench OR stability ball. I’d recommend a bench if you’re looking to lift heavier. A pull-up bar isn’t required, but I would recommend it. Finally, an EZ barbell can be used for some exercises in place of dumbbells.

Alternatively, you can print out worksheets and do the workouts at a gym which is what I do.

What Kind Of Results Did You Get?

Some of the results I got on Body Beast were:

Adding 5 pounds, 1/4 inch to my arms, and 1 inch to my chest in the first 30 days
Adding a few more pounds in the second month (don’t have my measurement info)
Placing top 10 (out of 50 or so competitors) in a physique competition at the end of the three month cycle

Putting on almost 10 pounds through the 90 day program would be great results for anyone, but I was most impressed because I started out with a decent amount of muscle to begin with. A newbie can easily add size when starting something new, but I was coming from a place of regular lifting and training already.

Who WON’T Get Results With This?

While Body Beast is a proven system for delivering incredible results for transforming both men’s and women’s bodies, it’s not going to work if you don’t work it.

The first type of people who won’t get results are those who take it easy the whole time and don’t progress by continually challenging themselves.

The second situation in which people won’t see results is they don’t stay committed to the program. This typically happens because they lack accountability in the form of a coach or group support. This is why I offer FREE coaching for anyone that purchases a Body Beast challenge pack through me. Simply contact me at info@excuseproof.com for more details about making me your free Beachbody/Body Beast coach.

Final Thoughts

I am not responsible for blindness caused by my overwhelming whiteness 🙂

Body Beast is a great routine for:

Men and women wanting to look ~~good~~ great
Those who can carve out 30-45 minutes six days a week to exercise
Those who want a plan that is versatile for both fat loss and muscle gain
Those who like challenges and are tired of wimpy workouts that don’t deliver noticeable changes very quickly
Beginners who are looking to get into weight lifting as well as experienced lifters who want a new stimulus

One final note, this is a routine aimed at building muscle more than strength. However, despite not doing barbell bench pressing at all for over 3 months, by adding in some bodyweight strength training to my Body Beast routine, I ended up barbell bench pressing an easy 315 after finishing Body Beast.

If you’d like some of my best tips for maintaining or gaining strength in addition to size on Body Beast, shoot me a message.

How Do I Get Started Now On Body Beast?

Get the Body Beast challenge pack, which includes Shakeology to replace one meal a day, the DVDs, and FREE fitness coaching from me here: http://excuseproof.com/bodybeastchallenge

If you just want the DVDs by themselves, you can get them here: http://excuseproof.com/bodybeast

Questions?

Hit me up with your questions about Body Beast or this Body Beast review in the comments below, shoot me an email at info@excuseproof.com, or hit me up on Facebook here and I’ll be happy to help.

Only have 25 minutes to workout? Do this!

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Too Busy To Exercise?

When I first started Excuse Proof Fitness, I surveyed a group of people to see what their biggest challenge was to getting in and staying in shape. It probably won’t come as a surprise that the thing that came up the most was not enough time.

The first hurdle to overcome here is recognizing that you’ll never “have” time since it’s intangible. Instead, you manage what you do with your activities. You ALWAYS find time for what’s important to you. If getting a drop dead sexy body matters enough, you’re going to find the time.

The issue is that most people think getting ripped means spending 45+ minutes on a treadmill in addition to resistance training. This is the slow, boring, and downright less effective way to do things. With the right routine, you only need 25 minutes a day and you’ll see dramatic transformations in a matter of weeks.

25 Minute Workouts

The most popular 25 minute workout routine is Focus T-25 which is run by Shaun T, the trainer in Insanity. I just did one of these workouts the other day and it’s no joke. There’s very little rest between exercises, but the movements vary enough that it’s not overwhelming.

The pros of this workout is that you can get incredible results in only 25 minutes a day. The downside is that some of the moves require more coordination and it will take a little getting used to. Shaun tends to incorporate more rhythmic elements in his routines which, even for coordinated people like myself, have a learning curve.

Watch the video to learn more:

Getting Started

To get started on Focus T-25, you have two options which both include complementary coaching and group support from myself as I’m a Beachbody coach.

The first is to get the workout program and get your breakfast included for 30 days with Shakeology, the ultimate superfood shake which is what I take daily. I recommend this because not only will you get a greater discount, but I’ll offer personal one on one email coaching for anyone that orders here.

Order T-25 With Shakeology and get a personal coaching session and free book from me. ON SALE UNTIL MAY 1st.

Another option for those who don’t want to take advantage of the special deal and health benefits of a superfood shake is to get the program by itself here.

Order T-25 Workout Program Only

If you have any questions, you may contact me at info@excuseproof.com

The Best Fitness Book Ever?

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Get This Book Today!

The Fitness Tips You WISH You Knew

I am super psyched to announce the release of what I consider to be hands down one of the best health and fitness books for the price you’re ever going to find. My new book “50 Fitness Tips You Wish You Knew” has just launched and it reveals cutting edge tips you won’t find anywhere else.

Ok, maybe you can find some of these tips elsewhere. I won’t claim to have “invented” everything I share in this book. But it did take me nine years and thousands of hours of research and personal experimentation to distill down all the various insights of psychology, motivation, herbal remedies, body hacks, exercise tips, healthy eating strategies for broke and busy people, end more into one simple to read guide.

Do You Wish You Knew…

• How to get your best night of sleep ever? Tip #5 reveals something that modern research has just discovered in the past couple years and normalize your circadian rhythms and help you sleep like a baby your first night using it – Hint: It’s NOT a supplement!

• The root source of all of your behaviors? Tip #15 reveals what this is so when you change this, your entire life will change!

• The top 5 supplements you must take for ideal health? Tip #37 reveals the essential nutrients you’re likely missing that can all be replaced for less than the price of a cup of coffee a day!

• What to do if you have almost no time to exercise? Tip #45 reveals how to cut your exercise time down into half while increasing your fat loss and muscle building results!

Get All Of This And More

Just go to http://www.amazon.com/Fitness-Tips-Wish-Knew-ebook/dp/B00ANJ484W to claim your copy.

Don’t Have A Kindle? – No Problem

You can get a free kindle reading app for your computer (or tablet or smartphone) by going here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

How To Not Be Skinny – 5 Tips To Get Big Muscles Naturally

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Me after I gained over 40lbs naturally.

Overcoming Skinniness For Men

I know first hand how much it sucks to be weak and skinny. Growing up, I wasn’t very athletic. Although I enjoyed certain sports, being smaller meant I would be one of the last picked on teams. I also got teased for my size and although I was never seriously bullied, my friends and classmates wouldn’t hesitate to push me around knowing they could get away with it. I can still recall getting thrown around on the playground by a classmate (who later actually became a friend) in grade school and feeling helpless.

Throughout most of high school, I weighed a massive 118lbs. But before going into senior year, I studied the secrets to building muscle naturally. I was determined to figure out how to not be skinny and maximize my muscular potential. Once I knew these simple steps, I was able to pack on over 25 pounds in a matter of a few short months – all without adding extra fat and maintaining a six pack.

Later, I built upon my foundation with some more advanced techniques. I have at one point benched press 345 pounds at a bodyweight of just over 165 making it just over twice my bodyweight. At another point, I hit a bodyweight of 176 pounds while maintaining a six pack. All of this done without illegal drugs, steroids, or even legal pro-hormones. Needless to say, I figured out a few tricks to packing on muscle and you’re about to discover some of these same methods so you can go from skinny to huge fast.

Tip 1: Eat More High Quality Nutrient And Calorie Dense Foods

Eating more is essential if you want to not be skinny anymore. This was and still to this day is the hardest part for myself when it comes to building muscle. The reason a guy is usually skinny is that he either has a fast metabolism and/or a small appetite. If you want to get big, you’re going to need to eat big.

While this is obvious, where some people screw up is they eat a lot of the wrong kinds of foods. This best foods for building muscle are those high in both calories and nutrients. This is because, given a limited appetite, you’ll want to maximize the amount of calories and nutrition you take in.

A plate full of broccoli is healthy, but it will fill you up before giving you the calories you need to grow. On the flip side, sugary drinks and desserts will add a ton of calories, but not a lot of nutrients. They’ll also mostly be calories from sugars and unhealthy fats rather than from healthy fats, slow digesting carbohydrates, and quality protein. We want to get big from muscle, not adding fat.

Examples of a nutrient and calorie dense foods that are great for bodybuilding would be nuts, eggs, meats, fish, sweet potatoes, organic potatoes, hemp seeds, buckwheat, quinoa, rice, wheat germ, avocado, coconut oil, macadamia oil, olive oil, whey protein, and others.

These foods should of course still be balanced with other foods that are high in nutrients even if not high in calories such as fiberous vegetables.

One problem is that many skinnier guys, as much as they may want to build muscle, fear they’re going to add too much fat. This is particularly an issue for guys that are “skinny-fat” who have little muscle but still carry extra fat. By choosing the right kinds of foods and avoiding too much junk, this can largely be avoided.

But a big part of it is psychological. Remember, it is a lot easier to lose 10 pounds of fat than to gain 10 pounds of muscle. My favorite method for keeping fat gains low while building muscle is by following a lean gains type of intermittent fasting approach. See more details here.

Tip 2: Follow A Proven Hypertrophy Workout Program

I’m thankful that when I started out I had a great workout routine to follow designed specifically from a former skinny guy to help hardgainers build muscle. I’ve found over the years however there is no “one size fits all” program. Skinny “hard gainer” guys in particular need a routine that takes into account their unique body type.

For those who don’t have a solid foundation of muscle, I’ve found training splits that workout muscle groups more frequently such as HST to be very beneficial. The frequent training sessions allows the nervous system to quickly learn the proper movement pattern for each workout.

As I progressed, I’ve found upper and lower body splits as well as “traditional” one body part per week style training can be effective. I don’t recommend body part splits as much for beginners though as I feel more frequent hitting of each muscle group results in quicker gains for newbies.

See my recommended routines for a variety of good routines to suit your needs.

The most progress I ever made was following what some would consider extreme overtraining. It was a routine in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Encyclopedia of Natural Bodybuilding. I was supplementing heavily with branch chained amino acids to aid in recovery and it worked extremely well.

Even if you don’t have access to a gym, you can still get huge. Doing a combination of gymnastics style bodyweight training with a set of rings and a pullup bar allowed me to get insanely strong while still packing on muscle in my own home. Water jugs can also be used as inexpensive dumbbell replacements along with a set of affordable resistance bands.

Tip 3: Change Exercise Routines That Aren’t Working

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Having worked out in a variety of gyms over the past 9 years, I can see a lot of guys doing the same routine month in and out without any changes in their body. There is no shame in quitting if you’re quitting something that doesn’t work.

The caveat here is that you don’t simply change something every single week because of not seeing progress. But if you’ve been doing the same routine for a while and have little to no gains for it, assuming your diet is in check, it’s time to switch things up. The body will adapt to whatever demands are placed on it.

The best strategies that people often overlook for maximizing muscle gains are found in this free report on utilizing various muscle building factors in your training. Things to try are one or more of the following:

Go to an entirely new workout style.
Change the order of the exercises.
Change the rest period.
Incorporate heavier weights and power lifting style exercises.
Incorporate lighter weights and high rep “pump” training.
Utilize explosive movements like high jumps, medicine ball slams, and “clapping” pushups.
Targeting a weak muscle and training it more frequently.
Follow a routine that incorporates all of these elements over several months.

Tip 4: Get Adequate Rest And Recovery

Your body grows when you’re resting, not in the gym. I credit a lot of the gains I made early on to making sure I was getting enough sleep and not getting to stressed out in my life. While a solid program will make sure your muscles are rested up enough between workouts, it’s up to you to make sure you’re getting enough sleep and managing stress for total body recovery.

There are a few things that can be done to enhance recovery such as:

Get enough sleep.
Use a grounding mat.
Drink chamomile tea to relax nerves after a workout.
Alternating hot and cold water in the shower to enhance recovery.
Practice meditation.
Utilize the stress reduction techniques from Heartmath.

Tip 5: Know Your Supplements

I know I got really caught up in the whole magic pill idea of a supplement that’s going to build a ton of muscle for me. The hyped up adds create a false illusion that a pill is going to get you jacked and be the answer for how to not be skinny.

Just the other day, I was walking down the street and a guy out of the blue goes “creatine?” He was asking if my big muscles were built by creatine.

While I have used creatine in the past and do recommend it, it is just a supplement. It’s easier for him to think that my results came from creatine or even protein powder than from hours in the gym and a strict diet. There are many times nowadays where I don’t take any particular supplements (including protein powder) outside of a few herbs for general health.

The truth is, you don’t need supplements to get big, and most of them are a waste of money. Not because they don’t ever work (though they usually don’t), but because spending $50-$100 on something that may add an extra pound or two of muscle per month isn’t as economical as investing that money into quality food.

The supplements I do recommend for building muscle naturally as well as general health (without breaking the bank) are:

Hemp, Whey, and/or Rice Protein from TrueNutrition.com (use coupon code DKD714 to save money)
Fish Oil
Vitamin D
Astaxanthin (for general health and recovery)
Magnesium or magnesium oil
Digestive enzymes (good for skinny guys who have trouble digesting and absorbing food properly)
Chaga and/or reishi mushroom for keeping immune system strong and total health.
Creatine (proven) Creatine is not needed, but it does help.
Beta Alanine (Debatable effectiveness)
BCAA (Debatable effectiveness) I only use BCAA if I’m training really hard and want an extra edge. Otherwise your diet and protein powders supply enough branch chained amino acids.

Reader Comments: What Challenges Have You Faced Building Muscle Naturally As A Skinny Guy?

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How To Keep Gaining Muscle – 5 Tips To Always Be Growing

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Building Mass All Year Round

When I first started training, every week I was excited to hit the gym and blow past my previous best lifts. I can still recall the excitement of getting that much closer to a 200 lb bench press as each week went by. I could literally see myself transforming in the mirror month after month going from a skinny guy to someone that actually looked somewhat manly. All in all, it pretty easy to stay motivated with rapid newbie gains.

But that didn’t last forever. Eventually progress stalled, and it felt like I was having to fight tooth and nail to just add a rep or two to a lift and get even a fraction of an inch bigger.

This can be one of the most frustrating issues a guy deals with when trying to pack on muscle. Slowed or non-existent gains can sap motivation if one doesn’t know what to do about it. Before I did the things I’m about to share with you, I felt like I was doomed to just slowly grind away for the rest of my life to get every last ounce of additional muscle.

But after I made a few simple tweaks, particularly when I saw what a friend was doing that was getting him incredible results, I’ve found that gaining muscle non-stop without plateauing is possible for just about anyone serious about their bodybuilding training. Keep reading to find out my top 5 tips on how to keep gaining muscle year after year.

Increase Calories

If you want to grow, you’re going to need a lot of quality calories. The thing that can easily be overlooked however is that as you gain more muscle, you’re going to need to increase your calorie intake appropriately.

When I started out and went from 118lbs to 153lbs, I had to continually ramp up my calorie intake. Once I was in the 150s and wanted to get to the 170s, I couldn’t keep eating the same amount of calories that got me my initial muscle mass. I had to eat like a 170 pound person to become a 170 pound person.

While this may seem stupidly obvious, what isn’t so obvious is how many calories one may actually be eating vs. thinking they’re eating. If you’re not gaining any weight, be it fat or muscle, it may have less to do with what’s going on in the gym and more to do with what’s going on in the kitchen. The first place to turn to when your mass gains slow down is what’s on your place.

Focus On Exercise Form And Technique

The second area that I’ve seen countless guys in the gym screw up is their exercise form in the gym. As a beginner, a person can get away with crappy form and still get stronger and grow. But once someone gets more advanced, those weak links and sloppy habits will catch up with them.

“Proper” form though isn’t just about doing exercises with picture perfect technique. It’s also about learning how to create tension in the proper muscles. Here’s an example.

Do a pushup.

Now this time, focus on contracting your pecs, squeezing your hands together, and imagine pushing the ground away from you. Maintain tension in your pecs the entire time and go a bit slower up and down.

Notice a difference?

When it comes to building muscle, it’s not just about getting a weight from point A to point B. It’s about learning how to recruit the right muscles for the job. This can mean leaving the ego at the door, dropping the weights down, slowing the tempo a bit, and learning to really contract the proper muscles.

While lowering the weights you use and focusing on better form and muscle recruitment may seem like a step backwards, it’s actually setting you up for much better and more continuous gains down the road.

Specialization

Specialization is a form of training where you do extra work for one or only a couple target muscle groups while doing less work (maintenance) for the rest of the body. This is not recommended for beginners, but it is absolutely perfect for those who’ve built a solid foundation and want to continue getting those “newbie” type of gains in certain muscles or lifts.

People have reported out of this world gains in certain lifts and muscle groups, even if they had many years of training already, by doing specialization programs.

For myself, my legs are a strong-point and responded well to training early on. The thing is, working the legs demands a lot of my body’s recovery abilities. So it makes sense for me as I advance to do less work for my legs and then bump up the work for something like my arms. This allows my body to take its limited recovery abilities and direct all that growth to my arms so they keep growing while my legs stay the same size and strength with relatively little work.

You can actually cycle specialization workout routines throughout the year (tip #5) to keep up your motivation and to keep growing constantly. For information on how to set up a specialization routine, check out this article.

Do A Different Style Of Training

I can still recall the shock of seeing how my friend had blown past me on many major lifts while I was away at college. I thought I knew everything there was to know about how to train to maximize muscle gains. What was his secret?

It turns out, he was doing everything wrong!

Or at least so I thought…

I believed at the time the best way to train was with body part splits where each muscle group was hit once per week. He was hitting each muscle group three times a week with total body workouts. As much as that didn’t fit my “dogma” of proper bodybuilding, I couldn’t argue with his results. I also couldn’t argue with my results either when I copied what he was doing and started getting similar gains.

So was there something wrong with my previous routine? No. It just turns out that there’s no one best way to train. Oftentimes the thing that your body will respond most to is something that it hasn’t adapted to yet.

That means switching up your routine to something different than what your current routine does.

Doing a high volume routine? Try a low volume higher intensity routine.

Doing once per week body part splits? Try 3 full body workouts each week.

Lifting heavy weights for low reps and long rest periods? Try lifting lighter weights with less rest.

The key thing is to recognize that whatever you’ve been doing for a while, it needs to be switched up to prevent the body from adapting. Just don’t keep switching it up every workout so your body never adapts to anything unless you have a set plan in place for how you’re going to progress.

(I should note, if you’re in a particular sport or Olympic lifting where building muscle is secondary to mastering a skill, this isn’t the best approach)

Periodization Routines

Periodization is a way of switching up the style of training throughout different periods of time to maximize performance and gains. There are different types of periodization, and it often takes the wisdom of a trainer to understand how to set up a training cycle to match an individual’s goals. But when done correctly, this is a powerful way to ensure you’re constantly making noticeable gains for the rest of your life.

If you’d like to learn more about how to implement one version of this advanced technique, I highly suggest this free article here.

If you’d like a proven program that already has a plan laid out for lasting gains for an entire year, fitness trainer JC Deen has a great one that I’ve checked out here.

Conclusion

I want to wrap up by making a note that it can be important to manage your expectations. If you’re still getting stronger each workout, even if it’s just adding a pound to a lift, that’s still progress!

If a person could add 5 pounds to every lift and a pound of body weight every week, then we’d all be 300 + pound monsters bench pressing 1000 pounds after a several years. Obviously, this doesn’t happen.

On the other hand, if you’ve been doing the same thing month after month and haven’t seen any gains, it may be time to reconsider your approach. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Leave a comment below to let me know how you plan on keeping your gains going strong.

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Best Fitness Gifts For Men and Women

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Gift Ideas For Fitness Enthusiasts

Trying to find that perfect Christmas, holiday, or birthday gift idea for the fitness junkie in your life? Look no further! You’re about to discover the perfect gifts for guys and girls that can match any price point. I can attest as a fitness lover myself that just about any of these gifts would hit the spot for me.

Click a link to scroll down to the section on the page:

Workout Routines and DVDs ($70 – $140)
Exercise and Workout Gear ($10 – $400)
Pedometers and Tracking Devices ($65 – $100)
Fitness Books ($16 – $21)
Health and Wellness Equipment ($100 -$600)
Kitchen Items ($100)

$50 – $70

$60 – $80

Pedometers and Tracking Devices

Fitbit Tracking Device

What Is It?

A device that tracks a person’s steps, calories burned, and sleep cycle and syncs to computer software for additional features.

Who’s It For?

Men and women with health goals and want a near effortless way to track and monitor progress. This is one of the top gifts for people that like “tech” sort of stuff. Great for those who are strict or want to be strict about measuring and tracking their fitness levels.

What Are The Features and Benefits?

Tracks steps and calories burned then transmits that information wirelessly to a computer. Helps a person keep track of their goals and progress automatically. Includes a silent alarm that allows a person to wake themselves up without waking their partner.

Price Range?

$100

Polar Heart Rate Watch Pedometer

What Is It?

A watch that tracks heart rate.

Who’s It For?

Cardio lovers who want to target a certain heart rate during exercise.

What Are The Features and Benefits?

Tracks heart rate and records up to 16 training sessions to measure progress.

Price Range?

$60 – $90

Fitness Books

The 4-Hour Chef by Tim Ferriss

What Is It?

A book that covers how to cook as well as how to learn new skills.

Who’s It For?

Men and women both young and old who want to learn the skills of cooking, eating healthy, and the art of learning new skills. Perfect for both inexperienced and experienced cooks alike.

What Are The Features and Benefits?

Best selling author Tim Ferriss always delivers with his work. This book is full of high quality color photos and details that allow a person to quickly pick up the art of cooking. Tim also covers the important aspects of developing any new skill making this an interesting read even for those with little interest in cooking specifically. Books always make a great affordable gift.

Price Range?

$21

The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss

What Is It?

A book that covers how to burn fat, build muscle, develop incredible strength, overcome injuries, and improve sex life in the least amount of time possible.

Who’s It For?

Any fitness enthusiast. Especially those who want to know how to maximize their health and fitness results in the least amount of time spent each week.

What Are The Features and Benefits?

No matter how knowledgeable a person is, they’ll likely pick up a new thing or two from this book making it an excellent gift idea. Tim has spent years personally experimenting and talking with the world’s elite trainers and professionals on how to “hack” the body to get maximum performance and results.

Price Range?

$16

Health and Wellness Equipment

Inversion Table

What Is It?

A table that allows a person to invert aka. hang upside for back relief and health benefits.

Who’s It For?

Anyone that wants the benefits of inversion therapy or that complains about back and neck pain.

What Are The Features and Benefits?

Inversion therapy benefits include pain relief, strengthening the body and joints, and decompressing the spine. For details about the benefits of inversion, check out this article.

Price Range?

$100 – $150

At Home Infrared Suana

What Is It?

An infrared suana that can be set up at home.

Who’s It For?

Anyone that wants to enjoy the benefits of a sauna and infrared therapy in their own home.

What Are The Features and Benefits?

Saunas and particularly infrared sauna are a great way to detoxifying the body and relieve stress. They provide cardiovascular and calorie burning benefits while simply sitting in the sauna. For more details about the benefits of infrared saunas, check out this article.

Price Range?

$500 – $600

Kitchen Items

Breville Juicer

What Is It?

An easy to use juicer for juicing fruit and vegetable juices at home.

Who’s It For?

Guys and girls that want to enjoy the health benefits of juicing.

What Are The Features and Benefits?

Juicing is a tremendous way to improve health with little effort. This Breville juicer is the one I personally use and have found it to be extremely easy to use, quick, and requires very little clean up time. It is one of the best gifts you can give to help someone improve their health.

Price Range?

$100

Reader Comments

What are your favorite gift ideas for fitness lovers?

By: [googleplusauthor]

Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

How To Stay Fit In College – The Ultimate College Fitness Guide

The Challenge Of Staying Fit In College

The challenges of staying in shape during college can seem daunting. Limited time with classes and possibly working a job. High levels of stress and lack of sleep. Depending on the school, you may not always have access to a great gym either.

Is all of this to blame for the “freshman 15,” or are these merely minor obstacles to be overcome with a little ingenuity?

Despite being pretty busy and broke in college (and my school gym constantly closing for events), I still managed to get in the absolute best shape of my life during that time.

You’re about to discover my “ninja” strategies on how to stay fit in college. Discover which exercises and workout routines will get and keep you in shape even if you’re busy, broke, and don’t have access to a gym.

For those who find the healthy eating aspect of college to be the biggest challenge, I highly recommend you check out my other article on eating healthy with a busy schedule as well as my free fitness survival guide which has tips for eating healthy on a budget.

Workout Routines For Busy College Students

High Intensity Resistance Training Workouts

I highly recommend everyone, guys and girls, do some form of heavy resistance training. The reason being is that more muscle helps keep your metabolism high and body fat low.

While some women (and a few guys) shy away from heavy training for fear it will make them “bulky,” it is very difficult to get too bulky from resistance training without eating a lot of extra calories on a consistent basis. Just look at how many guys try to bulk up and struggle to do so despite their best efforts.

For busy college students, I recommend following a program that only requires you to workout 2-3 times a week at most. Even if you think you have more time, I’ve found there are so many unexpected things that can come up in college that it’s better to be cautious.

I also recommended full body routines or upper / lower body splits instead of working out each body part on its own day. While each way is effective, full body or upper/lower routines seem to maintain fitness better if you happen to miss days at the gym.

Finally, a weekend only weight training routine works great for college students who may be too busy with classes during the week.

Quick and Effective Resistance Training Routines

3 Day Minimalist Workout – PDF, right click and save to computer. Courtesty of fitnessblackbook.com
3 Day Weekend Training Routine
Starting Strength 3 Day Routine
2 Day A Week Minimalist Program

No Gym Routines

Supersets and Circuit Routines

Let’s say you’ve already got an exercise plan you’re following, but you’d like to cut it down from 45-60 minutes to something under 30 minutes.

A great way to do this is alternate between exercises for different muscles in a “super-set” fashion.

For instance, if your plan calls for 3 sets of squats, with 2 minutes rest between sets, followed by 3 sets of calf raises with 2 minutes rest between sets, you can simply go back and fourth between squats and calf raises in a circuit fashion only resting momentarily between each set.

Another way to think of this is “active rest.” Rather than resting between sets, always be doing some exercise. This works particularly well with smaller muscle groups likes calves, abs, and forearms which are easy to incorporate between sets for larger muscle groups.

Rather than spending 20 minutes at the beginning or end of a workout working your abs (keep in mind six pack abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym), simply mix in your sets of ab exercises while resting up between your exercises for other muscles.

As a bonus, by cutting down rest time, you’re taxing your cardiovascular system and are getting cardio benefits as well.

Complexes

Complexes are similar to circuit training in that you’re doing multiple exercises in succession with no rest between them. The difference is complexes utilize the same barbell or dumbbell weight throughout.

For instance, you may take a 45 pounds barbell and do a set of 6 reps for squats, then go to overhead presses for 6 reps, to lunges for 6 reps, and then finish with rows for 6 reps. Each exercise is done one right after the other with no rest between each exercise. Each cycle through the exercises is one “complex.”

Complexes allow you to burn fat, enhance your conditioning, and even can spur on a little extra muscle growth all around the body. This makes them the perfect option for time crunched students who need to get in and out of the gym in 20 minutes and want to get everything taken care of. The downside is… they’re brutal.

Complex Workout Routines

Cardio Routines

Do you need to spend hours on the treadmill punishing yourself for a weekend of partying and desparately hoping to prevent the after effects from showing up on your midsection?

Not at all!

From both a fat loss and conditioning standpoint, shorter and more intense workouts tend to be more effective so long as they don’t interfere with recovery from other activities.

Here are a few simple things you can do to keep your body fat down and conditioning high. Note, you only need to do a total of 2-3 cardio sessions a week when they’re high intensity. So pick one of these things and do it 2-3 times a week, or pick 2-3 different workouts and do each one once a week.

Kettlebell Swings

If you only had 10 minutes to spare a week to exercise and could only do one thing, just do these. 10-20 minutes a week is all you need when done right. Kettlebell swings are on of the best exercises for a better butt, and more power for men in sports. Plus, they can even be done in a dorm room.

Aim for 75 total reps in a session. Rest around 60 seconds between sets. Do this 2-3 times a week.

Intervals

You can do intervals by either sprinting on land, using a treadmill, or cycling on a bike.

After a 5-10 minute warmup, apply all out effort for 30 seconds. Then go at a low intensity slower pace for 1:30 to catch your breathe, then do another 30 seconds of high intensity. Repeat the cycle of high intensity and low intensity for 4-6 cycles total. Do this 2-3 times per week.

Walking As Fast As Possible

Believe it or not, this is how some of the world’s elite athletes keep their conditioning high. One problem with aerobics is that as your body becomes more efficient at doing the movements. Over time they are less challenging and don’t burn as many calories.

Attempting to walk as fast as possible is by its very nature inefficient. This makes it very demanding without adding stress to the joints like running. The other benefit is that it only takes 15 to 20 minutes to achieve maximum benefits.

How to do it? Just walk as fast as possible for 15-20 minutes. Next time, attempt to beat the distance covered in the previous session in the same time period. Repeat 2-3 times a week.

Incline Walking

Incline walking is a low impact way to get in a great cardio workout while also working the calves and glutes extra hard.

Set a treadmill incline to 15-30 degrees, and walk at 2-4mph for 15-20 minutes 2-3x per week.

Rebounding

Rebounding, more commonly known as jumping on a trampoline, is considered by many to be the best form of exercise. NASA even uses rebounding to train their astronauts.

The reason? Rebounding increases gravitational forces on each cell of the body causeing a flush in the lymph system and a literal strengthening of every cell in the body. Your lymph system requires movement to keep it flowing (perhaps one reason why exercise is needed for good health) and nothing I’ve come across does a better job of this than rebounding.

It also burns more calories per hour than jogging making it very time efficient. Not only that, but you can rebound in a dorm room (even while watching TV) on a mini-trampoline making this quite possibly the perfect exercise for college students.

Rebound for 20-45 minutes as many times per week as you want. Great to do while watching tv, listening to audio lecture notes, or just when you want to clear your mind.

Dorm Room Friendly Exercises

If you can’t get to a gym, that doesn’t mean you can’t get in a good workout. Your bodyweight, and perhaps a few accessories are all you need to get a great workout in the comfort of a dorm room.

Here are some great bodyweight exercises.

Pushing Exercises

Pushups – Hands against the wall as the easiest variation all the way up to handstand pushups as one of the hardest variations.

Pulling Exercises

Pullups – An inexpensive pull-up bar can be purchased that doesn’t need to screw into your door. If you’re not strong enough to do pullups, you can use a chair or a partner for assistance. If you want to make pullups more difficult, try adding a backpack with some books for extra resistance.

For the really hardcore, you can add some gymnastic rings to the pullup bar for the best upper body workout of your life. Even if you’re one of the strongest guys in the gym, the various bodyweight exercises that can be done on rings provide endless challenge.

Lower Body Exercises

Squats
Single Leg Squats
High Step Ups
Lunges
Sprints

Inexpensive Dorm Room Exercise Equipment

Water Jugs

If I had virtually no budget, than just getting a couple 1 and 2.5 gallon water containers would be all I need to get in a good workout. Water jugs make the perfect alternative to dumbbells. You can simply buy a handful and fill them up to various weights.

1/2 gallon = 4 pounds
1 gallon = 8 pounds
2 gallons = 16 pounds
2.5 gallons = 20 pounds
3+ gallons = You’re the college student, figure it out.

Resistance Bands

Just about every single exercise can be done with resistance bands making these perfect for getting a total body workout in a dorm room. Resistance bands with door anchors also allow you to set up resistance bands at various heights using your door to keep them in place.

Ab Wheel

As far as I’m concerned, this is the only piece of exercise you equipment you need for your abs. They are brutal, but that’s what makes them effective.

Mini Workouts

You don’t have to have 30-60 minute blocks of time to get in a good workout. 2-3 minutes here and there is all you really need to drop down and do a set of pushups or bodyweight squats. You can carry a set of resistance bands in your backpack and whip them out on breaks to do a few band rows and arm exercises.

These “mini workouts” start to add up throughout the day and week. Remember, something is better than nothing. So don’t let a busy schedule keep you from keeping active and keeping yourself in great shape.

Reader Comments

What are you favorite ways to stay fit in college?

By: [googleplusauthor]

LGN365 Review – How To Look Great Naked 365 Days A Year

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What Is LGN365?

JC Deen – Creator Of LGN365

LGN365 is a fitness guide and series of workout routines created by trainer, blogger, and all around great guy named JC Deen who is well known among the fitness community as being one of the most respected sources for no-BS fat loss and bodybuilding information. The name of the program stands for “Look Great Naked 365” because it covers just about everything a person would need to know to burn fat, build muscle, and enjoy an awesome looking body year round.

JC Deen has given me the honor and privilege be one of the guest experts he interviews for the program. So naturally, any program with yours truly is going to be good.

I’ve since got a copy of LGN365 and, even though I would expect nothing less than something spectacular from JC, I was very impressed with how well put together his guide is. Keep reading to find out what I enjoyed about the guide, and to get a no-BS look at if it is the right solution for your physique goals.

Who Is LGN365 For?

To begin with, you can tell this guide is obviously not aimed at the typical “get super huge” bodybuilding crowd, nor is it for the people looking for a “quick fix” to burn 30 pounds in 30 days.

That’s not because it doesn’t contain great information on how to burn fat or build muscle, but this guide is more for those who want to simply… look great naked. More muscle, less fat, and what I would consider an “athletic” looking physique. It’s for people who are busy with other priorities in their lives and aren’t looking to drop everything they have going on to go on a hardcore bodybuilding routine or a radical (and unsafe) fat loss routine for quick but unsustainable results.

That’s because the entire layout of the program is designed so the average person will quickly and easily be able to find out exactly what steps they need to take to reach their goals, but more importantly how they can integrate these steps into their lifestyle so they can maintain their great looking body year round.

What Makes LGN365 Different?

Extremely Effective: While there are certainly many good training programs and diet guides out there, JC has spent a good portion of his life digging into countless hours of research on everything related to body recomposition. He has then tried and tested numerous methods not only on himself, but many clients to find the exact formula that is most effective for the vast majority of people. Combine that with his connections to the world’s top trainers, fitness experts, and researchers, and you’ll realize how valuable it is to have all of that knowledge distilled down into one easy to read guide.

I’ve started to put the workout routines to the test and am currently utilizing his most advanced muscle building routine in the guide. I”ll have an update post on my personal results later.

JC’s Results

Hype-Free: The first thing you’ll notice about the program, and this says a lot about JC, is that it is very “hype-free.” That’s because even though this stuff works far better than most nonsense out there, JC recognizes that overly hyping things up creates unrealistic perspectives in people. Namely, people think in terms of quick fixes instead of lifestyle habits.

What Makes LGN365 Great?

Mindset Focused: If you’re familiar with my work, you know how much I emphasize mindset as playing the biggest role in getting results with your health and fitness routine. Nothing works until you make it work, and JC knows how important the psychology of an individual is in terms of the results they will get. He gives very simple but effective ways to get yourself motivated to not only get started, but stay on track day after day and year after year. This is the missing link in most fitness programs, and by including it, he’s virtually guaranteed you’re going to stick through long enough to see results.

Step-by-step: You’ll know how much to eat including the proper ratio of fats, protein, and carbohydrates including automatic calculators to figure it all out just by typing in your body weight, activity levels, and goals. You learn how to properly read nutrition labels. Exactly what exercises to do with the right amount of sets and reps for both fat loss and muscle gain. You get a breakdown into how JC assesses what kind of program is best for someone. You then get multiple programs to run through the year so your body keeps “guessing” and never adapts to one thing for too long. You even get exercise videos showing you proper form.

Basically, it’s like have a world class trainer right by your side giving you a personal evaluation and setting up all of your training and diet for you. Except in this case, you learn how to do it yourself so you can always adjust and readjust as needed over the course of the years so you’re never left wondering what you should be doing.

This ability to never have to worry about “is what I’m doing really working?” is worth the price of admission alone. So many people who try to piece things together only to end up unsure of themselves and hesitant to invest much effort. But by having everything laid out with a system that has been proven time and time again to get great results, this allows you to leave second guessing behind and get straight to seeing your body start to transform.

Practical: Practicality is another thing that sets this program apart. It doesn’t just tell you the “ideal” thing to do leaving people feeling like it would be next to impossible to actually fit the recommendations in with their lives. Instead, JC is a realist. He knows the everyday challenges people including himself face, and he doesn’t give overly restrictive rules. This includes having things like multiple workout routines that fit into a variety of schedules and how to stay on track while eating out a restaurants.

Expert Interviews: The expert interviews really rounds out the program. JC ties up any loose ends by bringing in others, like myself, to explain things like how to create habits that stick, how to prepare fast healthy meals, and how to sort through all the conflicting information floating around out there in the fitness advice world.

When it’s all said and done, anyone going through the guide will have all the tools to ensure they will be successful in reaching their physique goals.

Is LGN365 The Best Fat Loss and Muscle Gain Guide Out There?

I myself, and even JC wouldn’t say anything is the “best.” There are many great programs out there that are effective for fat loss and muscle gain and it all depends on the individual and their circumstances. But very few programs can match the caliber of LGN 365. If I had this program when I first started, I would have saved myself a lot of obsessive worrying about things that ultimately don’t make a whole lot of difference and instead would have been able to focus only on what I knew was essential for my goals.

That being said, if you’re not able to invest at least several days a week to training in the gym and tracking your food intake, this probably isn’t the guide for you. Because it follows a proven template of what will work for either fat loss or muscle gain based on real world testing, just randomly following bits and pieces of the system probably won’t yield as good of results as JC’s clients. So, you’ll want to make sure you’re really committed and that your lifestyle allows for you to take some time and energy to learn and apply the system.

If you are committed and able, then I’m confident this program will give you what you need to look great naked 365 days a year. I don’t recommend a lot of courses and programs, so I’m staking my reputation on this one by both including myself in it and recommending it here. That’s how much I believe this guide will benefit my readers. So if you’d like to look great naked all year round, click the link below to find out more:

Click here to learn more about LGN365 and purchase the program

By: [googleplusauthor]

Why Am I So Excited?

What is 22 Minute Hard Corps?

What Equipment Is Need For 22 Minute Hard Corps?

How Can You Get Started?

My Beachbody On Demand Review And Your Questions Answered

Trying To Find The Best At-Home Workout Routine?

An Inside Look At Beachbody On Demand

What’s The Cost Beachbody On Demand?

What’s Included In Beachbody On Demand?

How Do I Get Started?

Do you need to take Shakeology?

More Questions?

Body Beast – Beachbody’s At Home Muscle Building Workout

Who Is This For? Hint… It’s NOT Just For Men..

Is This Only For Building Muscle?

What Equipment Do You Need?

What Kind Of Results Did You Get?

Who WON’T Get Results With This?

Final Thoughts

How Do I Get Started Now On Body Beast?

Questions?

Too Busy To Exercise?

25 Minute Workouts

Getting Started

The Fitness Tips You WISH You Knew

Do You Wish You Knew…

Get All Of This And More

Don’t Have A Kindle? – No Problem

Overcoming Skinniness For Men

Tip 1: Eat More High Quality Nutrient And Calorie Dense Foods

Tip 2: Follow A Proven Hypertrophy Workout Program

Tip 3: Change Exercise Routines That Aren’t Working

Tip 4: Get Adequate Rest And Recovery

Tip 5: Know Your Supplements

Reader Comments: What Challenges Have You Faced Building Muscle Naturally As A Skinny Guy?

Building Mass All Year Round

Increase Calories

Focus On Exercise Form And Technique

Specialization

Do A Different Style Of Training

Periodization Routines

Conclusion

Gift Ideas For Fitness Enthusiasts

Table Of Contents

Workout Routines and DVDs

P90x

What Is It?

Who’s It For?

What Are The Features and Benefits?

Price Range?

P90x 2

What Is It?

Who’s It For?

What Are The Features and Benefits?

Price Range?

Tony Horton’s 10 Minute Trainer Home Workout

What Is It?

Who’s It For?

What Are The Features and Benefits?

Price Range?

Insanity Home Fat Loss Workout DVDs

What Is It?

Who’s It For?

What Are The Features and Benefits?

Price Range?

Zumba DVDs

What Is It?

Who’s It For?

What Are The Features and Benefits?

Price Range?

Exercise and Workout Gear

Cellerciser Rebounder

What Is It?

Who’s It For?

What Are The Features and Benefits?

Price Range?

Adjustable Kettlebell

What Is It?

Who’s It For?

What Are The Features and Benefits?