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1. Sleep more
Most of us don’t get
nearly enough sleep. This can not only affect your fat loss or muscle building
efforts but your overall health as well. Stop staying up late to watch
crappy television!
2. Perform interval training
In its simplest
definition, interval training is alternating bouts of high intensity with bouts
of lower intensity. One example would be hill sprints. Sprint up the hill, walk
down, and repeat.There are many ways to incorporate interval training into your
program.
However you do it, DO
IT! You can read more about it here, hiit training
3. Eat more protein
Eating more protein
will help you twofold. It will help boost your metabolism and aid your fat loss
efforts. Protein is also crucial for adding sexy, calorie burning muscle mass
to your body.
Eating more protein to
burn fat was confirmed in a study published in the American Journal of
Physiology. One group was fed a high protein diet (just over one gram per pound
of bodyweight per day) while the second group consumed a protein diet near
equal to that of the RDA.
The group eating the
high protein diet burned more fat than the group consuming protein near equal
to the RDA.
4. Use a green drink
We don’t get nearly
enough nutrition from our nutrition these days. Be absolutely sure you’re
feeding your body what it needs. And don’t get some “green” drink that has a
lot of filler in it or tastes so absolutely horrible that you stop taking it
after a day or two.
5. Include bodyweight exercises in your routine
Adding bodyweight
exercises to your fitness routine will work wonders for you. Bodyweight
exercises allow you to workout any time, anywhere, so lack of time or space is
no longer an excuse for missing a workout.
You can get an endless
variety of workouts with bodyweight
You can do an interval
workout, a challenge workout, an endurance workout or even a strength workout.
Yes, really. Don’t believe me?
Give me twenty true
single legged squats or one arm push ups or pull ups. With good form and no
cheating. Yeah, that’s what I thought.
6. Perform a comprehensive warm up before each workout
You MUST warm up
properly! Without a proper warm up your workout performance will suffer, you’ll
increase the chance of injury, and you’ll develop aches and pains that nag you
the rest of the day, instead of feeling great, like you should!
Be sure to use a
variety of bodyweight exercises for your warm up, as well as a foam roller. Do
NOT just ride the stationary bike for a few minutes.
7. Divide your meals into two types, Carbs + Protein and Fat +
Protein
This is the best way
to keep your metabolism revving the way you want, as a highly efficient
machine. High carb, high fat meals jack up your insulin levels like it’s
shooting out of a firehouse, signaling your body to pile on the blubber so you
look like the Michelin Tire Man in no time flat. And who wants that
8. Hit the big compound movements
Compound movements
give you the most bang for your buck, whether you want to jack up your
metabolism so you burn tons of calories and drop fat, or you want to add pounds
of muscle mass and reshape your body.
9. Quality over Quantity
It’s not about how
long you workout but about how smart you workout (and yeah, hard too, although
you don’t want to go all out all the time, hence the smart).
Don’t just go into the
gym and run yourself into the ground for two hours (or do something really
crazy and stupid like pedal the stationary bike for two hours while reading a
magazine).
Utilize a properly
designed workout routine as part of an overall program designed to get you the
results you want according to your goals.
10. Go Green
You know what I mean;
spinach, peas, beans, broccoli, asparagus, etc. Just do it, you’ll thank me
later. Hate this stuff?
I put spinach in my shakes. Don’t taste it at all.
11. Train like an athlete
Sure, some of you are
going for the big bodybuilder look, but most of you reading this want to look
(and be) fit and healthy. Like sprinters, linebackers, hockey players, MMA
fighters (not including heavyweights, although some of them look great, too),
etc.
These athletes don’t
training to look a certain way. They train for performance and the lean, ripped
look is a byproduct of that training. Want to look like an athlete? Train like
an athlete
12. Get more fiber
Fiber is SO important!
And we don’t get nearly enough of it. Last I checked the average intake in the
typical American diet is about 14 grams and we should be getting at least 35
grams. So grab a fiber supplement and drop some into your shake every day.
It’ll improve your health AND your fat loss efforts.
13. Train Unilaterally
What is unilateral
training? It is simply working one side of your body at a time. This is not the
same as, say, alternate dumbbell curls where you do a rep with the left arm,
then a rep with the right, etc.
You do a complete set
for one side before moving to the other. For example, do a set of 10 reps on
the leg press with your right leg only and then do a set of 10 reps with your
left leg only.
Unilateral training
allows you to increase your focus on the muscle you are working by doing a
better job of isolating the working muscle.
Your intensity
increases because you increase the muscle involvement due to the bilateral
deficit.
The bilateral deficit
means the total weight you can lift by working one limb at a time is more than
the total weight you can lift when working both limbs together.
This increase in focus
and intensity will help your muscle building efforts while boosting your
strength.
14. Skip the ab exercises
Forget the crunches or
the silly circles you sit on and spin, those things will never get you the flat
abs you want
15. Workout at home or with friends in a bootcamp setting
You don’t need a lot
of fancy equipment or a lot of space to get a killer effective workout and the
results you want.
Working out at home
also helps avoid the excuse of getting up off the coach and making the trek to
the gym. Plus, you don’t have to worry about the right piece of equipment being
used when you need it.
You can listen to the
music you want, etc. Some people are motivated by working out in a gym setting
and that’s fine, but don’t think you need a fancy gym to get great results.
In fact, a home gym
with a few pieces of quality equipment and bodyweight exercises are really are
you need. Even if you like to hit a gym, try a home workout now and then for a
nice change of pace.
16. Superset, superset, superset
One of my absolute
favorite techniques! A superset is simply doinng two exercises back to back
without rest between them.
You can do supersets
using different exercises for the same bodypart (ex. Incline dumbbell curls and
standing barbell curls), for opposing bodyparts (like back and chest) or for
completely different bodyparts like squats and shoulder presses).
Supersets allow you to do more work in less time, jacking up the intensity and quality of your workouts. And they are great if you don’t have enough time to get in your full workout.
Supersets allow you to do more work in less time, jacking up the intensity and quality of your workouts. And they are great if you don’t have enough time to get in your full workout.
16. For a smaller waist, train your shoulders
It’s all about
proportion. If you want to make your waist appear slimmer, work your shoulders
(and your hips/glutes). This will give you that hourglass appearance. And guys,
wider shoulders don’t get hidden under clothes in winter like your upper arms
do.
17. Eat more beans
Yes, really.
18. Include HRA’s in your workout to burn more fat
These go by different
names, dynamic interrupts, dynamic finishers, metabolic accelerators, Heart
Rate Accelerators. These are exercises you through into the middle of your
workouts to boost your heart rate (metabolism).
For example, you might
be doing circuits or supersets like this:
1A.
Dumbbell Bench Press
1B. Barbell Bent Over Row
1C. Dumbbell Squat
1B. Barbell Bent Over Row
1C. Dumbbell Squat
After 3 circuits you
go to your HRA. Some examples of an HRA could be:
Jump
Rope – 2 minutes
Jumping Jacks – 100
Squat Thrusts – 25 reps or 45 seconds
Jumping Jacks – 100
Squat Thrusts – 25 reps or 45 seconds
You would only do one
of those, not all three.
Sometimes your dynamic
interrupt could be two exercises like:
Push
Ups – AMRAP
Sit Ups – 25
Sit Ups – 25
19. Become a photographer (Take pictures)
You don’t ever need to
show these pictures to anyone else but it’s a great way to keep motivated and
actually SEE the progress you’ve made over time. When you see yourself every
day it’s tough to see the results and so it’s easy to get frustrated.
But being able to look
at pictures over time it’s much clearer to you. It’s easy to keep a
photographic record with today’s technology. Try snapping a few pics every 4
weeks or so and keep them in a photo album.
20. Get SMART
The S stands for
specific. Be specific about
the goals you want to achieve. Forget things like, “I want to get in shape,” “I
want to get big,” or “I want to lose weight,” or “I want to increase my bench
press.”
Instead try things
like “I want to run a 6 minute mile,” “I want to add 10 pounds of muscle,” “I
want to lose 20 pounds of fat, or “I want to add 40 pounds to my best bench
press.”
The M stands for
measurable. This ties in well
with specific. You can’t measure ‘getting in shape,” but you sure can measure
‘running a 6-minute mile’ or ‘bench 3 plates’.
In addition to
specific and measurable, your goals must be A, or attainable. The R stands
for realistic.
As I’ve said before,
it’s important to set challenging goals.Challenging, but attainable, that is.
A goal of a 50-pound
increase on your bench press max in 12 weeks would be a challenging goal, but
also one that is possible.
However, setting a
goal of bench pressing 300 pounds in 4 weeks when you currently bench press 75
pounds will do nothing but set you up for failure and frustration.
The T stands for
Timely. If you do everything
previously mentioned, it’s still not enough. You must give yourself a deadline
to achieve your goal.
More importantly, if
your goal is attainable and realistic, but also long term, break it up into
smaller goals.
If you wish to lose 75
pounds, start with losing just 10 pounds in 2 months. Reaching that goal will
motivate you further and before you know it, enough time has passed that you’ve
lost the 75 pounds.
But if you focus
solely on losing the 75 pounds, which could take a year or more to accomplish,
your motivation and discipline could wane, and you could fail to follow through
on what you need to do to make your goal a reality.
21. Drink water BEFORE you eat
Be sure and drink 8 to
16 ounces of water 15 to 30 minutes before each meal. Doing so will help you
feel full and reduce the number of calories you eat.
22. Extend your set
Most people’s set
length is too short, which doesn’t give them the optimal training stimulus for
muscle building or accelerating fat loss. Unless you’re specifically working
pure strength, try and make each set last for at least 30 seconds.
23. Beware the fitness trend
Fitness trends come
and go. Techniques that work stick around (and sadly sometimes get lost amongst
the “new” stuff). Use REAL tools, like barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, TRX or
Jungle Gym, sandbags, bodyweight, etc. You can’t sit and spin your way to great
abs and you can’t squeeze a piece of plastic between your thighs for great
legs. You’ll have to work. Be sure to work smart.
24. Go nuts
Nuts. Eat them.
Walnuts, almonds. Get them natural, not with a bunch of crap added.
25. Burp your way to dropping fat fast
Burpees. Do them. What
are they?
26. Vary your workouts
The body adapts. It’s
efficient. If you’re constantly doing the same workout over time, the body will
get better at it and your results will stagnate.
27. Keep the same workout
WTH?? Yeah, yeah, I
know. But too many people change their workouts ALL THE TIME and don’t stick to
a good program long enough to get results. In general try sticking to the same
workout for at least 6 to 12 weeks and sometimes longer.
28. Eat more fat (for muscle AND fat loss, oh, and better health, too!)
Yep, eat more fat. And
I’m not talking a low carb diet for losing weight. Essential Fatty Acids are
extremely anabolic and help you build muscle. But that’s not all.
EFA’s may also:
Help
protect your heart
Improve your memory
Strengthen your immune system
Minimize the damage caused by free radicals
Reduce joint pain and PMS symptoms
Aid the fat loss process – yep, really.
Improve your memory
Strengthen your immune system
Minimize the damage caused by free radicals
Reduce joint pain and PMS symptoms
Aid the fat loss process – yep, really.
You can read a great
article about this right here – EFA’s for better
healthy, more muscle and less fat
29. Move your body
We don’t have an
obesity epidemic solely because we eat too much (although we DO eat too much
and too much junk) but just as much because we’re sedentary. Modern convenience
has us much less active than our ancestors.
Instead of working
hard all day from sun up to sun down, we sit at a desk or on a couch. We drive
everywhere. We take elevators and escalators. We watch movies and play video
games. We are gluttony and sloth. STOP THAT!
30. Eat like Tarzan (or Jane)
Want the world’s
simplest nutrition tip? If man made it, don’t eat it!
31. Find support
Most people are much
more likely to stick to something when they have the necessary support from
others. Sadly many people in our lives are our worst enemies when we want to
change ourselves and our lives for the better. Tell them to shut the F up and
find real support.
32. Use a training journal
It’s crucial to your
success. A training diary or journal is indispensable for keeping you on track
for training success.
No matter where you
are now — 180-pound squat or 500, 13-inch arms or 17, 135-pound bench press or
350, 10 pounds of fat to lose or 100 — the systematic organization and focus on
achieving goals that a training journal enforces will help you to get bigger,
stronger, leaner and sexier.
As simple as it is to
use a training log, do not underestimate its vital role in helping you achieve
your fitness goals
33. Incorporate metabolic training
Metabolic training
will get you fitter and leaner and do it faster. Read more about metabolic conditioning.
34. Knowledge isn’t Power. APPLIED Knowledge is power
You could memorize all
these tips and be able to recite them to anyone but if you never actually TAKE
ACTION and use them, you won’t change a darn thing.
35. Get Stronger
Even if your goal is
to “tone up” (no such thing) or lose fat, you still need to get stronger. It
makes everything easier.
36. Follow a 4 Fruit System
Yellow, green, blue
and red. Eat them.
37. Keep workouts to 60 minutes or less
You don’t have to (and
should NOT) workout for hours every day, unless you are training for an
endurance sport. 45 minutes of hard work is plenty if you are doing it right.
38. Be better… (than yourself)
Yes, be better… than
yourself. It doesn’t matter where other people are, or how far they’ve come.
The only one to compare yourself to is you. You can always improve and be
better in some way today than you were yesterday.
39. Jump, jump, jump around
Jump up, jump up and
get down. Be sure and include jumping exercises like burpees, jump squats, jump
lunges, side hops, tuck jumps, etc., in your workouts from time to time.
Don’t overdo it and be
sure and check with your doctor before doing any exercise.
If you have a lot of
weight to lose, due to the stresses on your knees you’ll want to lose weight
first before including explosive jump exercises in your routine.
40. Get back up (I get knocked down!)
You’ll have obstacles.
You’ll have times you don’t see results. You’ll backslide. You’ll feel like
giving up. You’ll binge. You’ll quit working out for a week, or a month.
So what? Start again TODAY! You can’t change yesterday. As Rocky says,
it’s about how hard you get hit and keep moving forward.
41. Sprint, Sprint, Sprint
If you want to boost
your metabolism, burn serious amounts of body fat, get fit and look freaking
fantastic, you gotta use sprint workouts in your training! Period!
42. Just say no… to 1 RM training
While I personally
believe you can test your one rep max in exercises like squats, deadlifts, and
bench presses in relative safety, there is no need for most people to risk
injury by doing so, unless you’re a powerlifter. Now, doing multiple heavy sets
of single reps, like the 10 x 1 workouts is a different story. Go for it.
But here’s what I
REALLY hate about 1 RM training! It’s not doing a 1 rep max! It’s designing a
program with workouts, sets and reps based on 1 RM numbers and calling it high
or low intensity because of that! You’ve seen these workouts. They give you
different training days (heavy, light, etc.) and give you workouts like:
Bench
Press 4 x 8 with 80% of your 1 RM
Or
Bench
Press 5 x 12 with 60% of your 1 RM
The only problem is,
based on muscle fiber makeup, limb length, leverage, etc. the intensity of
those two workouts can vary wildly from one person to the next. I might be able
to crank out 15 reps with 80% of my max while you can only get 7 reps with 80%
of your RM. And it varies from body part to body part amongst individuals. STOP
THE INSANITY!
43. Enjoy the benefits
As Zig Ziglar would
say, you don’t pay the price, you enjoy the benefits.
More info on bootcamp fitness go to www.PrincetonBootCamps.com
Don’t think about
making sacrifices when it comes to things like your favorite unhealthy foods.
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