This is one of my favorite quick and healthy recipes. While you can make this on a stove top if you prefer, the slow-cooker allows you to simply dump the ingredients in, set it for the time you want, and then go on about your business (sleeping, working, etc.) for several hours until the chili is ready.
What You’ll Need For The Chili
Ingredients:
2lbs of ground or “stew” lean meat (beef, chicken, turkey, bison, etc.)
1 can of black beans
1 can of kidney beans
½ cup of organic brown rice
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup water
3 cups V8 or similar vegetable juice
Spices and Flavors:
Chili Powder 2 tablespoons – Up to you how much
1 tsp of each:
Oregano, Basil, Sage, and Thyme. Or just use an Italian seasoning mix.
Optional: 1 tablespoon minced garlic.
20 oz canned pineapples.
Slow Cooker
I highly recommend using a slow-cooker aka crock-pot with an automatic shut-off for convenience. It is quite literally the best kitchen device you can ever own. Here are some good options if you don’t already own one:
How To Make The Crazy Quick Crockpot Chili Recipe
Recipe:
Add ground lean meat to slow cooker, separate with a fork, and add seasonings. (Don’t worry about chopping up too much, you can separate it easier after cooking)
Add in ½ cup of dry organic brown rice.
Add in 1 cup of water or as much as desired.
Open and drain canned beans, add to mix.
Add in a cup of pre-sliced mushrooms as well as any other desired vegetables from a bag.
Add in various spices and garlic to taste.
Mix in up to 3-4 cups of V8 or similar vegetable juice and stir. Alternative: 1 28oz can of diced tomatoes.
Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
When finished, taste and add additional spices if desired. You can add 20 oz canned diced pineapples to really kick up the flavor.
Michael Phelps – Making History in 2012 London Olympics
Michael Phelps just made history in after getting his 19th gold medal in the London Olympics. The super athlete made headlines years ago for his performance in the Beijing Olympics along with rumors of a 12,000 calorie diet used to fuel his intense training.
But Phelps has recently unveiled his new strategy for healthier eating and revamped his gym training workouts. After claiming another gold medal, we can still see his effort has paid off.
Michael Phelps Takes On Intense Training for 2012
See video below to see Michael’s training and diet for 2012:
There’s been a trend among athletes like Phelps and Ryan Lochte to step up their dry-land training to include a lot more anaerobic exercise and reduce the aerobic exercise. Anaerobic exercise, like resistance training, works to increase speed and build muscle. The focus has shifted because swimmers in these events need speed and explosive power as much as they need endurance.
That means training with the Olympic barbell exercises (snatches, cleans, etc.), medicine ball work, throws, high jumps, and in Phelps’ case he also included sled pushing.
Sled pushing is an excellent form of exercise for training power and speed. It is also unique in that, unlike weight lifting, sled pushing doesn’t create as much soreness or muscle damage allowing an athlete to train more often without interfering with proper recovery.
This focus on more anaerobic work also means the athletes won’t burn as many calories allowing them to keep their weight up. Phelps has actually come into the 2012 games with less bodyfat and more muscle.
Of course, the average person can take note of this trend. Hours and hours of endless cardio sessions will not be as effective for getting both an athletic looking body nor an athletic functioning body like intense resistance training combined with speed and power work will.
Granted, training as intensely as he does combined with his fast metabolism certainly affords himself some additional calories. But like most things, the idea that he eats that much tends to fall into sensationalism for the sake of making a good story.
He has said doesn’t follow a specific diet, but that he’s not eating as much junk food as he did before and takes vitamins, including vitamin D.
This falls in line with an observation I’ve had, and that is that the more physically active one is, the less they need to concern themselves with how many calories they eat. However, this also doesn’t afford people a “free pass” to eat whatever they’d like.
Given that the 12,000 calorie notion was likely an exaggeration, let’s not forget that sensible eating comes first and foremost when it comes to keeping a fit body. Following the tips I’ve outlined on this site and in my free fitness survival guide will be adequate for the vast majority of people to figure out what and how much they should eat to burn fat and build or preserve muscle for their activity levels.
Summary:
Michael Phelps, and other swimmers like Ryan Lochte have increased their power training with weights, sleds, and other power exercises in preparation for the 2012 Olympics.
Michael doesn’t follow a set eating plan, but has become more conscientious about his food intake and reducing the junk, but more or less eats when he wants and doesn’t keep anything in particular too off limits.
He hasn’t stated how much he eats, but we can assume it’s FAR below 12,000 calories as often stated.
Ryan Lochte has just won a gold medal in the 2012 Olympics in London beating out fellow American swimmer Michael Phelps. When you look at the hardcore out of the water on-land workout routines and training style of Ryan, you can see he has put in the sweat and effort to become a world champion.
Ryan Lochte’s Workout Routine – Strongman Training
Ryan has said he’s incorporated a lot of “strongman” type training into his routine. For those not familiar with the concept, that means things like flipping tires, lifting unconventional objects like stones, and doing any number of high strength exercises that require total body strength.
Here’s a video of him training (pre-haircut):
http://youtu.be/Va3JJuXDyhc
The benefit of this strongman style training vs. typical “bodybuilding” style training is that he’s utilizing a lot more of his core in the movements. Compound exercises like deadlifts, farmer’s walks, rope swings, squats, bent over rows, and the like all require a strong core.
Since much of a swimmer’s ability comes from their core strength, this makes sense. He’s even gone as far as to be releasing a core workout routine dvd.
Another aspect of his training is more explosive movements. This means things like high jumps, throwing heavy objects, medicine ball slams, and other types of “power” movements which activate the fast twitch muscle fibers. Since a swimmer needs speed, doing explosive fast movements is critical for training the nervous system to activate a muscle quickly and generate tremendous power.
Can The Average Person Do Ryan’s Exercise Program?
I would say yes and no. The style of training Ryan does is excellent for all around athleticism and physical fitness. But keep in mind he is a world class athlete that has built up a tremendous amount of physical strength and endurance and has access to the best trainers to ensure proper form and recovery.
The average person can however utilize many of the same exercises, but they must build up a certain capacity and base strength level before do workouts as hardcore as Ryan. If you’re just starting out, have only a few hours a week to workout, and want to get strong, fit, and ripped I’d suggest building the fundamentals with a book like Starting Strength which is the go-to book for the vast majority of people just getting into weight training. It teaches the proper form of the most powerful and essential exercises.
Once a person has built up a steady base of strength, they can start incorporating more strongman style training into their routine. Here’s an awesome article from T-Nation to get you started: Strongman Training.
If a person is more interested in building muscle mass, I recommend specialized strategies like those outlined in this report on maximizing muscle hypertrophy.
Ryan Lochte’s Diet Plan and Healthy Eating Style
Ryan’s success is in no doubt also related to the fact that he started changing how he eats. You may be surprised to know most athletes, even olympic athletes eat a lot of junk food. This is especially true for swimmers who burn a lot of calories during the day and it can be hard to consume enough calories without eating a bit of “junk”.
But Ryan Lochte wanted to be “the best,” so he put his effort into eating cleaner foods. While he used to eat fast food just about every day, he’s ditched that for a healthier diet.
He’s stated that some typical meals he eats are chicken breasts, eggs, oatmeal, fruit, salads, and other whole unprocessed foods. Nothing too “crazy,” just common sense stuff like we recommend here at Excuse Proof Fitness both on our healthy eating youtube channel and in our free weight loss survival guide.
What Ryan Can Teach Us
1. Hardcore training gets you hardcore results. Whether you want to be a world champion or just a bit stronger and more fit, you’ve got to put in the sweat and effort. Results don’t come without hard work. But you don’t need to spend hours and hours getting those results, high intensity work done for short periods of time often trumps spending hours doing something that isn’t very challenging.
2. Diet and exercise go hand in hand. He could have simply trained harder and would still be one of the best in the world. But he wanted to be THE best, so he put just as much focus on his diet.
3. He’s got a rock-solid mindset and will do whatever it takes to win. He trained harder and ate better than his competitors, and it paid off. Even if you’re not striving to be an Olympic caliber athlete or competing against others, why note compete against yourself to be better than you were yesterday?
If you’re looking for more mindset and motivation tips, be sure to like our facebook page and download our survival guide for diet and workout tips.
We here at Excuse Proof Fitness (Derek and Shane) LOVE our goji berries, also known as wolfberries or by their Latin name Lycium Barbarum.
Not only are they great because of their delicious taste, but they have some incredible health benefits. Goji berries are one of the most prized herbs in Chinese medicine for longevity. They are an adaptogenic “herb” which means they help balance the body’s chemistry and resilience to stress.
Now, I won’t go overboard and claim they are going to fix all of one’s health problems like some overzealous health gurus out there are saying, but a few thousand years of successful use in China for improving overall health and well-being leads me to believe there really is something to this fruit, and anyone who’s tried them on a regular basis can likely attest the same. I’ve even heard stories saying that Tibetan monks who study Chinese medicine have said if one is going to start studying any herb in Chinese medicine, study the goji berry first.
But if you’ve ever tried Goji Berries bought from a local health food store or vitamin store, you may find them to be very dry, somewhat bitter, and not particularly all that enjoyable by themselves.
I felt the same until I found what I consider to be the best Goji Berries out there, Dragon Herbs Heaven Mountain Goji Berries. I have no association with Dragon Herbs, but we as well as some other goji fanatics found them to be the best because they are:
A) Much more moist than the typical hard-as-a-rock gojis
B) Fresher
C) Come from the original source of Goji Berries in Tibet.
Best Places To Buy Goji Berries Online
Having a local Dragon Herbs here in LA makes getting access to them easy. But you can actually find them at the best price online through iHerb, one of my favorite online supplement retailers. Considering they are pretty much the same price as most other goji brands, I figure you can’t go wrong.
Note: First time iHerb customers save $5 on their first order through that link
Other Places To Purchase Goji Berries
Goji berries are popular enough that you can find them in most major health food stores like Whole Foods and supplement retailers. The price will be higher and typical gojis don’t taste that great, but if you buy in bulk or just before expiration you can find good deals and the health benefits are still there in the drier gojis.
How Much To Take
The health benefits of goji berries can be obtained with just an ounce or two a day. That makes a typical 8oz bag last a week. So factoring that in, you’re looking at spending a few dollars a day to get your goji fix. Not bad when you can consider them a “supplement” that far exceeds any multi-vitamin. But that being said, we realize they’re not within everyone’s budget.
If you’re looking for a good alternative adaptogenic herb that’s more budget friendly, I highly recommend the herb Ashwagandha as the Sensoril extract. It amounts to a few bucks a month and has been shown in research to have a pretty powerful effect at reducing excess cortisol, the primary stress hormone. This is due to its adaptogenic nature similar to goji berries. While they don’t offer quite the exact same health benefits, Ashwagandha is worth taking regardless as an all around general health tonic.
Note, some cortisol is necessary and the beauty of herbs like Ashwagandha is they keep things in balance without dropping hormone levels too low or raising them too much.
It doesn’t get much easier (or tastier) than this!
Getting Raw Greens To Taste Great
I have a confession… I HATE raw dark leafy greens like spinach. Despite their numerous health benefits, I had the hardest time finding a way to make greens like spinach taste good.
If I decided to cook spinach, I’d end up with a slimy nasty mess. And if I kept it raw and made a big salad, it was time consuming, boring, and something I would have to force myself to eat.
So what’s a health fanatic to do? Well, I developed a super ninja tactic that turns any leafy green like spinach into a downright delicious meal, all in about a minute. Using this technique, I’ve unlocked the secret of how to make spinach taste great and I actually look forward to chowing down on a bunch of greens.
Granted, I may just be weird for not liking spinach and perhaps you love raw greens. But either way, when you learn how to make any healthy food like spinach taste better, you’re far more likely to eat healthier on a regular basis.
But before we get to the recipe, let’s cover briefly why you should be making an effort to get a crap-ton more dark greens and spinach into your diet.
Health Benefits of Spinach and Dark Leafy Greens
Chlorophyll – Chlorophyll, the pigment that give greens their green color, is a wonder compound all in its own. Chlorophyll can increase the production and quality of red blood cells, has been associated with reduction in cancer, it prevents free radical damage (aging), detoxifies heavy metals, helps fight infection, provides magnesium, and does more than could possibly be listed here. All-in-all, eat more greens!
Cancer Protective – The abundant flavonoids in spinach have been linked to protecting against cancer. Leafy greens are some of the most powerful cancer fighting foods on the planet.
Nutrient Dense – Spinach and other leafy greens are constantly ranked as some of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet. That means you get a lot of nutrition without a lot of calories. This is particularly important for fat loss as the fiber in these greens can fill you up while the vitamins and minerals can nourish you so you don’t feel deprived even if you’re eating less calories.
Bone Strength – Spinach is one of the richest sources of vitamin K which works to keep the bones strong.
Quick and Easy Sixty Second Spinach Salad Recipe
See video above for the basic run-down of how to make the salad.
The basic recipe is as follows:
Ingredients:
6-8oz of leafy greens, spinach was used in this video
1/2 teaspoon of unrefined salt
Toppings of choice (dried fruit, berries, garlic, chopped cucumber, etc.)
Dressing of choice (coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, dried spices, salsa, etc.)
Directions:
1. Add a pinch of salt to spinach and crush down with your hands.
2. Add toppings as desired. In the video, I use salsa, dried “Italian spices,” and a little bit of curry powder.
3. Mix the wet toppings like the salsa with the spinach and enjoy!
This recipe is great not only because it improves the flavor of the spinach, but also because it condenses it down into a much smaller size making it easy to eat quickly. Now you can easily get in 8 – 16 ounces of spinach in a single sitting or all in a matter of about 5 minutes. Try to eat a regular spinach salad with a pound of spinach and see how long it takes you!
Variations of The Sixty Second Salad
1. Use Kale, Romaine Lettuce, or any other dark leafy green in place of spinach.
2. Add coconut oil for enhanced fat loss.
3. Use healthy homemade sauces like greek yoghurt combined with onion soup mix for a “onion spinach dip.”
4. Get creative and add in whatever spices, flavorings, and sauces you can think of.
As a special free gift to my readers, Dave Ruel and Karine Losier has provided a free pdf ebook with 7 great fat loss cooking tricks to download including some great home-made salad dressings to use on the sixty second spinach salad. Just right-click this link or the image and save to your computer.
What Is Hypothyroidism and Do You Actually Have It?
Hypothyroidism is one of the most common reasons people give for not being able to lose fat. While it can be scoffed at as merely an “excuse” for not following a proper diet or exercise program, it is nevertheless a very real condition that is relatively common.
Hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormones. It is usually characterized by having insufficient T4 (thyroxine) and raised TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) which has increased in order to raise T4 levels. While this is a simple explanation, it is extremely insufficient to cover the wide range of thyroid problems as there are many variations of hormone imbalances that could be responsible for an under active thyroid.
Difficulty losing weight is the most notable symptom of an under performing thyroid, but some other common symptoms include constipation, sensitivity to cold and cold skin, fatigue, dry skin, brittle nails, and decreased immune function.
Home Test For Thyroid Insufficiency
A simple home test that can be done is something called the “Barnes” test. It is done by taking your temperature under the tongue first thing in the morning. 97.2-98.2 is considered normal. If you find your temperature falls below this, that may be a sign of under-active thyroid. Menstruating women should only take this test the 2nd or 3rd day after menstruation begins.
The Best Supplements To Increase Thyroid Function Naturally
Perhaps you’ve done the Barnes test or ideally gone to a Dr. and determined your thyroid function isn’t what it could be. While drugs are a potential fix, they doesn’t always address the underlying root cause of a thyroid condition.
Luckily, there are many great natural things that can be done to boost thyroid function safely, and improve health at the same time. The great thing about these supplements is that they are safe and effective for anyone to take regardless of their thyroid health.
Natural Thyroid Booster 1 – Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha is quite possibly my favorite herb to take for overall health and healthy weight loss. It is an adaptogenic herb which means it helps the body cope with stress, reduce cortisol levels (another cause of abdominal weight gain), and improve the thyroid function. It is safe, affordable, and the extract has been shown to be highly effective both in reducing cortisol levels and in subjective experiences of increased energy. Given that it helps not only the thyroid but the adrenals as well, it makes an excellent all around “must-have” tonic herb that everyone can take.
Iodine is the most important mineral for thyroid function. Without enough iodine the body cannot produce enough T3 (thyroxine) a thyroid hormone. While it’s been said in mainstream medicine that iodine deficiency is usually not a problem, the work of researchers such as Dr. David Brownstein and Dr. Guy Abraham have shown that supplementing with higher doses of iodine is not only safe, but very effective in treating many thyroid conditions.
Considering that in many Asian countries the intake of iodine rich sea vegetables is much higher than in other countries and they don’t suffer ill effect, it leads me to believe that increasing iodine can be beneficial and prudent when done through quality sea vegetables like kelp or dulse. Taking Lugol’s or Nascent iodine is another option, but one I recommend a bit more caution with as it can be too powerful for some.
Dose: 2-4 tablespoons of kelp or dulse, or 1mg iodine and work up to more a day.
NOTE: Iodine works with other minerals like zinc, magnesium and selenium. Adding in a few brazil nuts for selenium can help assist the functioning of iodine in the thyroid. Magnesium is an extremely common deficiency and I suggest taking 200-400mg a day.
What better way to improve the thyroid than to take an actual thyroid? It may sound strange, but taking glandulars (the glands of an animal) has actual been shown to improve the same gland in the body. The reasons for this could be many, but the take home point is that freeze-dried bovine thyroid could be beneficial for those needing a boost to their own thyroid function. It’s also worth noting that our ancestors would have eaten the organs and tissues of the animals they ate. This obviously goes without saying, but this supplement choice is not vegan friendly so if that’s an issue, stick with the other options as this isn’t necessary.
Coleus Forskohlii contains an active compound called forskolin which has been shown to improve thyroid function and increase fat breakdown with little to no side effects. It increases thyroid hormone production as well as stimulates the release of the thyroid hormones. It is also useful for other conditions such as cramps, high blood pressure, boosting the immune system, and for improving blood flow to the brain.
10-30 mg a day.
Getting Tested For Your Unique Supplement Needs:
While I can offer general advice for addressing various deficiencies, getting objective analysis of your own needs is often the best course of action. Getting a test done to determine any potential nutritional deficiencies can help you find what you’re low in, and avoid wasting your money supplementing on things you don’t need or worse yet, getting too much of something and throwing things off-balance.
Check out http://spectracell.com and schedule a mineral analysis to find what you may need to supplement with.
Top Foods and Diet Tips For Thyroid Health
A healthy diet is one of the most critical aspects of a health body and healthy glands. Luckily, there are a few things we can do to improve the diet to boost thyroid function. These things include what we can add in, as well as things to look out for and minimize.
Natural Thyroid Booster 5 – Coconut Oil
Using coconut oil in place of vegetable oils and other fats can not only offset the negative effects of those oils, but provide its own benefits. In fact, this fat can actually help you lose fat! Well if you’ve been following the natural health movement in recent years, you’ve probably already heard about the benefits of coconut oil. If not, check this out.
Coconut oil is rich in medium-chain triglycerides which have been shown to reduce fat and improve insulin sensitivity.
Dose: 1-3 tablespoons a day.
Bonus Natural Thyroid Booster – Goji Berries
While goji berries aren’t directly a “thyroid boosting food,” their indirect benefits make them incredibly worthwhile. They’re rich in antioxidants, are associated with longevity, and are powerful adaptogenics which help bring everything back into balance. You’ll see that I’m a big believer in adaptogens as they work with the body rather than forcing it to do something like a drug does. This means over time they help correct disorders and are safe for anyone to take regardless of their specific health concerns.
Whether or not a person suffers from thyroid problems, taking more foods like goji berries can have a huge impact on overall health and well-being.
Foods To Watch Out For
Goitrogens – Goitrogens are found in foods like the cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, kale, brussels sprouts) and are best limited for those suffering from hypothyroidism. That being said, so long as these foods are cooked that will significantly reduce the level of goitrogens.
Soy – Soy also has a negative effect on thyroid function. It’s best to be reduced or eliminated.
Vegetable Oils – The oxidation caused by vegetable oils like canola, sunflower, and soybean oil can reduce tissue response to thyroid hormones.
Overcoming Weight Issues
A sound diet and exercise program are the best bets to overcoming weight issues for anyone regardless of their thyroid health. The problem however with typical recommendations to “eat less, exercise more” is that, when a person has a underactive thyroid, simply eating less won’t do. They must take the necessary steps to boost thyroid function, and engage in a diet that doesn’t cause metabolic shutdown.
You can also just follow the healthy eating and lifestyle tips found in my free survival guide which will give you a good start.
Getting Professional Help
If you’re truly worried about the health of your thyroid, please seek the professional care of an integrative physician. You can find a physician through acam.org or ICIM.
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Reader Comments: What are your favorite natural thyroid or metabolism boosters?
Women are often searching for the best ab exercises and workouts because nothing highlights a physique more than a well-defined core. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed with all the information out there, don’t worry. I’m going to give you the absolute best exercises that can be done right at home for a midsection guaranteed to turn some heads.
Despite all the information out there on how to train the abs, most people still end up going about it all wrong. When the abs are trained the right way, you can easily sculpt a defined stomach in a matter of only 15 minutes of exercise a week. In order to do that though, we have to sort through all the nonsense and BS out there about how to exercise the core, and get to what really works.
You’re about to learn:
1. Why endless crunches are not the answer to getting great abs.
2. Why dancers, gymnasts, and fitness models have some of the best abs and how you can use their secrets.
3. The true cause of stubborn belly fat and how to get rid of it to show off your great abs.
Warning: Not responsible if these workouts make your abs so sexy others start to become jealous.
The Ab Training Mistakes Almost Every Woman Makes
Mistake 1 : Endless Crunches
The most common mistake women make when training the abs is to simply focus on crunches, and perhaps a few other crunching type movements. While I won’t argue that crunches are moderately effective, there’s two big problems.
Problem 1 – Potentially Harmful
Dr. Stuart McGill has extensively studied the effects of crunches on the spine and the results aren’t pretty. Excessive flexion movements (like crunches) can damage and weaken the spine and cause lower back problems. Now while this isn’t an issue in small doses, think about the hundreds and thousands of crunches some women do! This can get ugly over time and lead to some pretty nasty problems down the road.
Problem 2 – Better Options
There are numerous ab exercises (no ridiculous infomercial product required) that recruit the abdominal muscles far more than the standard crunch. The problem with only focusing on crunches and flexion type movements is that they don’t train the core to do one of its most important jobs which is to stabilize the body. That means, to resist movement with the core rather than create it.
Mistake 2 : Not Training Intensely Or With Variation
Dancers and gymnasts don’t get their great abs from doing crunches, they do a variety of movements that incorporate stabilizer muscles to keep the body tight, and then they constantly challenge themselves with more and more difficult movements.
That means exercises like planks and their variations can be some of the absolute best exercises you can do. Also, rather than simply increasing the reps or hold time on a particular exercise, strive to move on to more difficult versions of an exercise. This also makes things more fun. Don’t worry, the abs won’t “bulk up” from doing high strength moves because their natural shape and function doesn’t lend them to getting “bulky.”
The Best Home Ab Workout Exercises
Lying Leg Lift Exercise
Super Secret Tip: Most women have a posture with more anterior pelvic tilt, and this keeps their lower back off the ground during this exercise. Actively push the lower back into the ground (where you can’t slide your hand under your lower back) and feel how much more intense this exercise becomes! If it’s too difficult, you may bend the legs until you become stronger.
The Plank Exercise
If you only do one core exercise, do this! Make sure to keep the body straight and prevent the hips from dropping too low or sticking them up high. Start from your knees if too difficult.
The Side Plank Exercise
The Reverse Plank Exercise
This is intense! Work your way up to this one if you need to.
The V Sit Up Exercise
Bonus: The Glute Bridge Exercise
It’s important to train the glutes as well as the core to keep the body in balance and prevent lower back problems. While glute training is a whole other issue, this is the number one recommended exercise. Do it one-legged once you develop the proper strength.
A Killer At Home Ab Workout Routine
These two workouts are some of the best at home ab workouts for women that can possibly be done. Don’t let their simplicity fool you though, it’s about intensity. You don’t need 20 different ab exercises, or adding in 5 days of yoga and Pilates a week to get a great core. Simply focus on a few basics for a while and really get good at them, and then eventually you can switch things up just to keep from getting bored.
Two Day A Week Ab Workout Routine:
Day 1:
Lying Leg Raises: 3 sets of 15-20 reps
Plank: As many sets as need for 120 seconds hold
Side Planks: 60 seconds each side hold (as many sets as needed to total 60 seconds)
Glute Bridge: 2 sets of 20 reps
Day 2:
V-Sit Ups: 3 sets of 15-20 reps
Reverse Plank: As many sets as need for 60 seconds hold time
Side Planks: 60 seconds each side hold (as many sets as needed to total 60 seconds)
Glute Bridge: As many sets as needed to hold top for 120 seconds
Rest as little as possible between sets, start with 1-2 minutes or as much as needed.
Dealing With Stubborn Belly Flab
Getting great abs doesn’t mean a whole lot if there’s body fat covering them up. No matter how many ab exercises you do, that won’t do a whole lot to burn the fat that’s on TOP of your abs.
What’s the cause of stubborn stomach fat?
There are two causes, one is simply all around excess fat. This shouldn’t be much of a surprise. A solid healthy eating program that is designed to rapidly burn fat like the Diet Solution or any other good eating program will work to take care of this. You can also check out my post on making quick healthy meals for some healthy eating tips.
A second cause is a hormone called cortisol. Excess cortisol can promote extra fat storage in the abdominal area which is very difficult to get rid of if stress levels are high.
The solution is to manage stress. The book the Sedona Method was really for myself for stress management as well as the Heartmath Solution.
Also, the herb ashwaghanda is really beneficial (very inexpensive as well and great for overall health) for balancing cortisol levels and it’s my “secret weapon” for stubborn stomach fat.
I created a free guide with all of my best tips and tricks for burning stubborn fat that you can download now for free here.
Reader Comments
What are you favorite ab exercises or routines you can do at home?
There’s been a bit of buzz lately though about her recent slimming down in 2012 thanks to her unique diet and exercise approach. Combine this with her sudden recent wedding engagement to Liam Hemsworth and she’s got a lot of people talking.
I wanted to take a look Miley Cyrus workout routine and diet plan as I’m always a bit curious about the approach celebrities take to getting in shape because:
A) Whether “fair” or not, celebrities and in particular female celebrities like Miley have ridiculous pressure to make sure they look good and stay in shape leading to…
B) Using their crap-tons of cash to hire the world’s best trainers and nutritionists to make sure they look good and stay in shape.
Factoring in celebrities often fall for worthless fad diets and programs, we’re left with
C) The fun job of sorting fact from fiction so we can get the same “secrets” celebs use to get a Hollywood body without having to spend a fortune.
Luckily, I’ve done the heavy lifting for you and will share the good, the bad, and the ugly of Miley Cyrus’ fitness regimen.
Stick around to find out:
Miley Cyrus’ workouts and exercise routines
My favorite “tricks” to get Miley Cyrus’ lean body without having to spend hours a week in exercise classes
The “controversial” diet purported to be responsible for her rapid slim down, and whether it really works
The one thing to absolutely AVOID in order to lose fat following her diet and the best alternatives
What Type Of Workouts Does Miley Do?
Miley takes Pilates classes regularly under the instruction of Mari Winsor. While traveling, she uses Mari Winsor’s workout dvds including the pilates lower body dvd and pilates abs dvd.
Pilates Videos:
Pilates is a good form of exercise for developing body awareness, improving posture, strengthening, and enhancing flexibility. It is low-impact, lower intensity, and generally very safe. Women tend to like it because they can often focus on strengthening the core and glutes, two areas almost every women wants to “shape up.”
Now here’s the kicker, Miley does these Pilates classes 6 times a week!
Now in case you’re wondering if you need to do Pilates 6 times a week to get those results, my educated answer is a resounding no.
While you can get away with doing Pilates six times a week because it is fairly low intensity, that doesn’t mean you need to in order to get similar results. Alternatively, you could add another type of training all together for similar results with less time spent exercising.
How Ordinary Women Can Get Miley Cyrus’ Results:
For those who are unable to take one-on-one Pilates classes with Mari, she’s made her dvd programs available where you can follow along.
Women tend to flock to Pilates because they use words like “tone,” “slimming,” “shaping,” and the like. While Pilates, yoga, and other similar forms of exercise are all wonderful in their own rights, my (admittedly biased) opinion is that most women should still include some higher resistance strength training.
Heavier resistance training, either on its own or in combination with Pilates, Yoga, or other forms of exercise will strengthen and “tone” a muscle much faster than low intensity exercise. This allows women to train 2-3 times a week and still get the same (or better) results.
While some women fear this will make them “bulky,” resistance training done properly will NOT result in too much muscle, but the right amount for whatever a woman desires as a woman can always tone her resistance training down according to her needs. I would argue that resistance training is the fastest way to a lean sexy body most women want.
Her Dramatic Dietary Weight Loss Diet Strategy?
Miley Cyrus has stated she follows a gluten-free and lactose free diet, and that those are the reasons she has lost weight rather than anorexia.
For those who don’t know, gluten is a type of protein found in certain grains like wheat, rye, and barley. Individual’s with Celiacs do not tolerate gluten and some people have a mild sensitivity to it. Gluten can be an irritant to the GI tract in sensitive people and it’s been purported that removing it would thus allow for a reduction in inflammation and potentially enhanced health.
Books like the G-Free Diet have popularized the gluten-free approach and many celebrities have been jumping on board. Doctors promoting more natural approaches to health like Dr. Mercola have also long encouraged the reduction or elimination of gluten and most grains.
With regards to lactose, it is a type of sugar found in milk products. Those whom don’t produce the enzyme lactase cannot properly digest it also leading to digestive disorders.
So reducing gluten and lactose seem to be prudent for those who are sensitive to them for health reasons, but does it lead to weight loss or is it recommended for everyone?
Gluten Free Diet Controversy – I CAN’T Believe This!
While this article from US Weekly explains how experts have “slammed” Miley for her gluten free diet, closer examination reveals something a little different.
What’s being said is that a gluten free diet may not be necessary for everyone, gluten free diets can actually lead to weight gain from increased nutrition uptake (a good thing), and that gluten free diets have been associated with nutritional deficiencies.
While I won’t argue with the technicality of those points, let’s look at what’s really being said.
Gluten Free Diets aren’t need for everyone: Yes, but gluten-containing diets aren’t needed for anyone. While I don’t think everyone must follow a gluten free diet for either health or fat loss, technically speaking gluten and gluten containing foods aren’t necessary for human health so a person can do just fine without them.
Gluten Free Diets can lead to weight gain in those with Celiacs: Yes, by increasing nutritional absorption. This would be a “healthy” weight gain. Weight loss via a gluten free diet would likely be an indirect result of other things like better food choices.
Gluten Free Diets have been associated with nutritional deficiencies: Yes, but only when people substitute gluten containing foods for crappy alternatives. The nutrients found in wheat, the most common gluten containing food people eat, can easily be replaced by other foods MUCH richer in those nutrients like greens, beans and lentils, vegetables, fruits, and meat.
Is gluten free healthy?
Done properly, in my opinion (I’m not a registered dietician and am no way telling anyone how to eat) I would prefer a gluten free diet most of the time. I don’t strictly eat gluten free as most people can tolerate it well enough in small amounts, and the thing to remember is that gluten is just one of many dietary components that could or could NOT lead to health issues.
Eating gluten free doesn’t mean one has to buy all these expensive specialty gluten free products. Nor is it a free ticket to eat a bunch of crap in place of gluten.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when going gluten free is to assume “gluten free = healthy” and then going overboard with a bunch of unhealthy foods all in the name of avoiding gluten. Instead, it’s much healthier (and cheaper) to eat quality whole foods like brown rice, quinoa, beans and lentils, and or just other non-starchy foods like fiberous vegetables, fruit, and protein in place of gluten containing grains.
If you want a simple free weight loss diet guide, then check out this free fat loss e-series which lays out the basics of eating for weight loss.
Following the suggestions in my free health and fitness free survival guide would also be a good starting point.
Lactose free?
I also like a lactose reduced or free diet as lactose can cause digestive issues in many people. If you still like your dairy, try including some greek yoghurt or kefir with active cultures. Cultured dairy often has far less lactose. Cultured dairy like kefir is also an excellent source of beneficial bacteria referred to as probiotics. Probiotics have been shown to play a role in everything ranging from immune system health, skin appearance, and even weight gain or loss!
Getting Your Own Miley Cyrus “Hollywood” Body:
Pilates Videos:
Free Diet And Weight Loss Guide:
Free Fat Loss E-Series – Isabel De Los Rios lays out the basics of which foods to eat and avoid in this highly recommended series for anyone looking to learn the must know information for healthy weight loss.
Tom’s Diet and Workout Get Him Ripped For Rock of Ages
Although I’m not big on celebrities, I’ve got to give Tom Cruise some credit for not only his acting abilities, but for getting in great shape at his age. His recent Mission Impossible films and his newest movie “Rock Of Ages” (which I hear isn’t great; which is sad being a fan of 80’s rock myself), shows of a physique that makes many men half his age jealous. I guess you can say his body… “rocks of age-lessness.”
No? So that wasn’t my best. Stick around and I promise a better pun.
What’s Tom’s secret to getting such a lean ripped body?
Is it some extreme diet, hardcore exercise plans, supplements, or even drugs? (Don’t underestimate what some actors do for a role)
I adopted the phrase “excuse proof” for several important reasons.
First of all I wanted people to know that there were solutions out there that were essentially “excuse proof.”
I don’t have enough time to eat healthy…
Nonsense
Solution: I’ll show you how to cook healthy meals in less time than it takes you to walk out to your car to drive to the nearest fast food place or pick up the phone and order take out.
I can’t afford a gym membership so I’ll never get in shape… Continue reading →
