Author Archives: Derek Doepker

About Derek Doepker

Derek Doepker is the founder of the health and fitness blog Excuse Proof Fitness. He offers tips and resources for getting in shape on a busy schedule as well as methods for staying motivated to eat healthy and exercise.

Woman's Abs

The Best At Home Ab Workouts For Women

Woman's AbsGetting Great Abs At Home

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 CrunchesCrunch Ab Exercise

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?

By: [googleplusauthor]

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus’ Workout Routine and Weight Loss Diet Plan

Miley Cyrus Workout and Diet 1Miley’s Slimmed Down Sexy Body Workout Secrets

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.

Top Of The Line Female Fitness Training:

Gluten Free Eating:

 

Sources:

http://www.celebuzz.com/2012-05-24/how-does-miley-cyrus-stay-in-shape-the-stars-pilates-trainer-spills-all/

http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/10/11122520-can-miley-cyrus-gluten-free-diet-help-you-lose-weight

http://www.shape.com/blogs/fit-famous/miley-cyrus-flat-stomach-secret

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-body/news/miley-cyrus-slammed-for-gluten-free-diet-2012104

By: [googleplusauthor]

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise’s Workout Routine and Diet

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)

Continue reading

What it means to be “Excuse Proof”

Why “Excuse Proof?”

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

Pushups exercise

The Stupid Simple Guide to Exercise

Exercise: Why is it important?Pushups exercise

When it comes to getting fit and sexy, there’s some debate as to what is more important:  diet or exercise.

Here’s a mind-blower, they’re both important.

With regards to immediate fat loss or fat gain, diet can have a bigger impact.

That being said, for adjusting the body’s fat “set-point,” getting results quickly, “shaping” the body, maintaining a lean sexy physique, and improving overall health and longevity, exercise is vitally important.

That’s because vigorous intense exercise not only burns fat (and glycogen) for energy, but it also increases the body’s metabolism throughout the day.

Continue reading

Simplest Diet

The Simplest Diet Strategy – 3 Idiot-Proof Tips To Healthy Eating

Diet Information Overload

Simplest Diet Eat RightIt seems you can’t walk into any bookstore without seeing hundreds of different books all promoting contradictory approaches to what the “best” diet is for any purpose.  It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the recommendations ranging from low-carb, low-fat, vegetarian and vegan, paleo, intermittent fasting, high protein, Mediterranean, blood type, and countless other incarnations.

Almost everyone is claiming they’re right about the best way to lose fat, pack on muscle, and banish disease forever, but in the end people looking for answers just end up more confused, overwhelmed, and likely to give up all together with the massive amount of conflicting advice going around.  I’ve spent literally thousands of hours digging through all sorts of conflicting advice, so I know first hand how hard it can be to make sense of it all.

And yet I can’t help but wonder, how many people need to read a frickin’ book to realize that perhaps french fries and soft drinks everyday aren’t going to get them the six pack and lean body they’ve wanted.  The biggest problem may not be that people are ignorant to what they can do, but they’re just simply overwhelmed with too much information and need something simpler that they can latch onto.

Continue reading

Motivation

How To Get Yourself Motivated – The Ultimate Fitness Motivation Guide

Motivation

The Source Of Your Results

Need More Motivation?

Struggling to stick with a diet, exercise plan, or healthy lifestyle?  Having trouble getting or staying motivated is quite possibly one of the biggest challenges people have when trying to get in shape.

I’m going to be sharing some of the biggest insights I’ve discovered in my years of psychological research and personal development for creating lasting motivation.  This stuff has the power to not only get you motivated to get in shape, but literally transform every area of your entire life.

I have to warn you however, some of what you read can be hard to hear for some people.  This guide going to keep it real and hit you with so truth.

Are you ready?

First of all, if you whine, complain, make excuses, fear anything that resembles hard work, don’t take responsibility for your life, and spend more hours in the day browsing the Justin Bieber fan page than you do trying to improve your life, then don’t be surprised if your life doesn’t magically get better.  You can’t expect your world to change if you don’t make a change in your world.

Now, I know a few people out there may feel like I’m being “preachy” here… deal with it.  I have to tell you the truth if you want to get results.  That means telling you what you need to hear to get motivated vs. all the fluff and “feel good” stuff out there that doesn’t actually do anyone any good.

I will say this; don’t believe anything I or any other “expert” says without evaluating it for yourself.  I’m just sharing my observations of what works for me and what I’ve seen work for others.  It’s also what psychology has shown is essential for creating lasting motivation.  Discover for yourself whether anything I share has benefit in your life.

Continue reading

Recipe and Cooking Resources

Healthy Recipes

https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/blog/recipes – Beachbody offers tons of free recipes.

http://bodyecology.com/recipes/recipes.php – Body Ecology diet friendly recipes.

carascravings.com – A blog by Cara Lyons using healthier ingredients in delicious recipes.

http://www.cleaneatingmag.com – Clean Eating Magazine includes recipes and tips for healthy eating.

Metabolic Cooking Fat Loss Cookbook – A great cookbook specifically designed for the fitness minded with fat-burning ingredients and time-saving recipes.

http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/index.htm – Coconut based recipes using coconut oil, coconut flour, and other coconut products.

http://www.veganfusion.com – Healthy vegan and raw food recipes.

Shopping Guides

www.nongmoshoppingguide.com – Shopping guide to assist in avoiding genetically modified foods.

www.ewg.org – Ratings of the highest and lowest pesticide levels found in various foods to help in determining which foods should be prioritized as organic or pesticide free.

Where To Find Local Health Food

www.localharvest.org – Find local farmers and community supported agriculture programs for healthy food direct from the source. Often less expensive than grocery stores.

Resources For Culturing / Fermenting Foods

www.bodyecology.com – Learn about fermented foods.

Body Ecology Kefir Starter – Starter culture for making your own kefir.

Body Ecology Culture Starter – Starter for culturing your own fermented vegetables.

Body Ecology Cocobiotics – Coconut Water Kefir

Favorite Supplements

NUTRITIONAL TESTING

Use this test to determine specific needs for supplementation with individual vitamins and minerals.

www.spectracell.com – A variety of nutritional testing including micronutrient for determining what vitamins and minerals may are deficient. They also offer genetic tests, omega 3 tests, and others.

TOP RECOMMENDED SUPPLEMENTS

1.Vitamin D3 – Softgel or liquid form

2.Omega 3 – Recommend any fermented marine oils for www.greenpasture.com, “Whole Omega” by New Chapter, Barleans Omega Swirl, Spectrum Fish Oil, or any other pharmaceutical grade fish oil.

3.Greens powder: Healthforce Nutritional’s Vitamineral Green, Organic Spirullina, and/or Broken Cell Wall Chlorella

4.Astaxanthin – The world’s most powerful antioxidant. Safe and effective to take at recommended doses (unlike other antioxidants that may be harmful). Protects skin against sun damage, protects eyes, aids in athletic recovery, and more.

5. Sensoril Ashwaghanda Extract – Highly affordable. Rebalances stress and sex hormones, aids in energy, all around good adaptogen. Only $3 a month!

6.Country Life – Bone Solid – Great as a “multivitamin.” Take this as opposed to other calcium supplements. Also supplies boron, vitamin K2, small amounts of vitamin D, and magnesium.

7.Magnesium Oil

8. Earthing/Grounding Products and Mat – Visit earthing.com for more details.

Appetite Control:

9. Caralluma – A safe and effective appetite suppressant that also helps burn fat while preserving muscle.  It boosts energy preventing a crash that can occur from restricted eating.